The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Local News

HACA Food Pantry & HFCS Weekend BackPack Program

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As the school year begins, so does another successful Weekend BackPack year. The BackPack Program helps alleviate child hunger by discreetly providing hungry children with bags of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food every Friday afternoon, so they have food to eat throughout the weekend. Although free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs provide significant nutritional benefits to students during the school day, many disadvantaged children do not have access to regular meals when school is not in session.

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Community Day

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On October 19th the hamlet of North Chatham will be holding its fourth annual Community Day. All are invited to come to North Chatham and see what makes it a great place to live! The North Chatham Free Library will be open with books for sale on the front lawn, chili for sale, story time reading for kids, a fall bulb sale, lawn games, and a quilt raffle. The North Chatham United Methodist Church clothing barn will be open and the church will have a “sweet treats” sale, silent auction, quilt show, “tailgate sale,” donated items for sale, and lunch available.

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Jon Craig Surprise – Obituary

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Grafton – Jon Craig Surprise of Grafton passed away on Thursday, August 22, 2024, after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Troy, Craig was the son of the late John E. and Lois M. Wagner Surprise. Craig resided in Grafton most of his life. He was a graduate of LaSalle Institute and Huson Valley Community College.

Craig had a 37-year career with Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and when he retired, he was a Traveling Operator for Hydro Facilities and Substations. Craig was Tax Assessor for many years at a number of municipalities. He was currently Tax Assessor for the Towns of Grafton, Petersburgh, Greenport and Taghkanic. Craig was also a member of the NYS Association of Assessors. [Read more…] about Jon Craig Surprise – Obituary

The Petersburgh Street Walkers

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Submitted by Mary Lou Walters
The women who walk every road in Petersburgh completed them again this year. Pictured here are Kathy Mitaly, Kate Bagley, Mary Lou Walters, and Nan Lance. Mary Lou has been doing this for 15 years now for a total of 3,330 miles. Nan has been doing it for 5 years for a total of 1,110 miles. Kathy and Kate joined them this year and walked the majority of the roads. Their favorite road was

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History of the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department

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Rik McClave will present a History of the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department at the next meeting of the Stephentown Historical Society. The talk will be at 2 pm on Sunday, October 6th at the Stephentown Heritage Center, 4 Staples Road. Come and learn about Stephentown’s emergency services, how they started, how they have grown, and how technology has changed things. For information, call 518-729-9334.

The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department began in

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Dog Attack

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Submitted by the Hoosick Falls Police Department
On Wednesday, September 11th, Hoosick Falls Police were dispatched to Fourth Street in the Village of Hoosick Falls for a dog bite. Upon investigation it was found that a 2-year-old had been attacked by four Rottweilers. The child was rendered care by the Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad and a Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad Paramedic and was transported to Albany Medical Center for treatment. The Rensselaer County Health Department made contact with the owners of the dogs and the owners chose to

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East Nassau Town Board Highlights

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by Denise Wright
The September 11th meeting for the East Nassau Board was relatively brief, but business was still occurring. The meeting opened with the approval of the treasurer's report and August minutes. According to the building department's report, a property on Webster Hill Road has a sale pending. A permit and a site inspection were issued for a property on State Route 66 after a new owner's renovation was completed. A permit was issued for the roof on a property on Route 20, and two other permits on Dunham Hollow Road and also on Route 20 are pending. The building inspector also held a consult on a property on Tayer Road.

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Sentencing for Murder and Rape

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Submitted by the Office of District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly
Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly recently announced that Robert Fisher, 34, of Rensselaer has been sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison for his guilty plea to Murder in the 2nd Degree, a class A-I Felony, and Rape in the 1st Degree, a class B violent Felony.

Fisher was charged in the death of 3-year-old Josefina “Josie” Cunningham of Rensselaer. Fisher pled guilty to

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Stephen E. Bowman

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Petersburgh – Stephen Earl Bowman passed peacefully from this life, in the home he built, surrounded by the love of his family on September 13, 2024 at the age of 81.

Stephen was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 28, 1943, the son of the late Earl Bowman and Ruth (Scholz) Albrecht. He was an area resident for much of his life and had served in the U.S. Army from 1963 until 1967 in Germany. He was honorably discharged from service and with his wife, the love of his life, Kathleen M. (Schaefer) Bowman settled locally. He was employed by General Electric in Pittsfield for 26 years and later worked for Seagroatt Riccardi in Berlin from where he retired in 2008. [Read more…] about Stephen E. Bowman