The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Stephentown

Free Movie Screening 

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Looks to Encourage New Volunteers

Submitted by Mary Grant
The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) relies solely on volunteers to respond to emergencies in our community. When you call 911, it's not a paid professional coming to help, it’s your neighbor. Members are a diverse group from all walks of life, in all age groups, with many different talents and interests. What members share is the desire to help neighbors and our community. SVFD needs additional help to keep doing all we do. We especially need some younger members of the Stephentown community to step up and join us.

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Raising Money for Suicide Prevention

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month (SPAM), a time dedicated to addressing a difficult topic and to raising awareness through promoting preventative measures and spotlighting mental health support. Heather's Heart Forge in Stephentown will host their Heartbreaker Competition, an annual forging competition hosted by the business's owners, farrier and bladesmith Steve Wayne and artist Heather Papoojian, and a mini Renaissance Faire to raise funds and awareness for SPAM. The Heather's Heart Forge sadly knows the pain of suicide following the death of a young apprentice. In the aftermath, Wayne and Papoojian have established the Thomas M. Wilson Scholarship to support young promising blade/black smiths.

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Free Screening of Movie Filmed on Local Farm

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Mount Meadow Farm, located in Stephentown and owned by John Senter and Cynthia Blair, was filmed in the summer of 2021 for the psychological thriller Abaddon's Pit by 454 Productions. The farm exterior as well as the interior of the farmhouse and outbuildings feature prominently in the film, which will screen at the New York City Chain Film Festival on Saturday, August 12th.

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Early Morning Dam Break Causes Road Closure

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Courtesy of the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department
At 5:48 am on the morning of July 24th, the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department (SVFED) was paged out for a service call for a flooded roadway in the area of 1315 Garfield Rd. Car 1 was on scene to find that a large barrage of water was coming down off the adjacent hill and running directly into the residence owned by Fire Police Lt. Ian Lanier. A beaver dam had become unstable at the edge of an approximately 44 acre pond above the residence and ultimately gave way from the pressure. Garfield Rd was closed between Joe Ward Rd and Gentile Rd. Car 1 and a Rensselaer County Highway Superintendent gained access to the pond area and found the source and the breach in the dam. Garfield Rd sustained damage from the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water that made its way down the hill and ultimately into the Kinderhook Creek. The SVFD would like to thank the members of the Rensselaer County Highway Department for working to get the roadway reopened as soon as they can. Additional thanks goes out to NYS DEC and members of the Rensselaer County Bureau of Public Safety for their assistance throughout the afternoon. 

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Richard T. Smith – Obituary

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Richard Tilden Smith passed away June 23rd, 2023 after an extended illness. He was born February 9th, 1937 in New York City. He was predeceased by his parents Glady and Harold Smith, and brothers Thomas and Peter. Richard is survived by his wife Milli Smith, daughter Denise (Thomas), son Jeffrey (Tricia), and 3 grandchildren Daniel, Emma, and Jack. 

He was active in the Naval Reserve, graduating from Adelphi University and was activated by the Navy serving on the U.S.S. Harris during the Cuban Crisis. Afterwards, he worked for Philips Medical North America supervising the installation of medical x-ray equipment in hospitals across Upstate NY. The family moved to Stephentown in 1989. He volunteered at Red Cross and Tanglewood for over 25 years.  [Read more…] about Richard T. Smith – Obituary

Stephentown Town Board Highlights

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by Denise Wright
The June 19th meeting of the Stephentown Board was brief but busy. During the claims audit, it was mentioned that the Solutions by Design claim was for increasing the cyber-security at the town hall using ARPA funds. Supervisor Roder said that they had finished upgrading the security at the town hall, which was why the live stream did not work last month. Roger assured me it had been corrected, so the live stream is now working. 

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Upcoming Community Forums

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Berlin Central School District

Submitted by BCS Communications
Berlin Central School District (BCSD) has announced a series of four upcoming community forums. The forums will discuss such topics as changes to arrival and dismissal times, availability of after school programs, impact on student learning and Berlin-New Lebanon (BNL) athletics, and a reduction in the number of students on afternoon bus runs. 

The four forum locations and start times are as follows: [Read more…] about Upcoming Community Forums

Myron W. Adams Jr. – Obituary

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Stephentown – Myron Wesley Adams, Jr. “Junie” passed away on June 5th, 2023 after a battle with cancer. He was born May 15th, 1950 and was the son of the late Wesley and Marion (Thomas) Adams of Cherry Plain, NY. 

Wesley grew up on the family farm and took great pride in the house his father built for him there, which was lost to a fire in February. Wesley faced many hardships after an accident at the age of 18. He received an honorable discharge from the armed services and worked at Zwack Inc. for a short time. His love of horse racing [Read more…] about Myron W. Adams Jr. – Obituary

Celebrating Customer Loyalty

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Braveheart Books, 874 State Route 43 in Stephentown, is now Braveheart Books & Bazaar with the opening of a clothing, retro treasures, vinyl records, art, and handmade crafts store next to the bookstore. The bookstore, which originally opened in 1987 under the name Down in Denver Books, was bought in 2015 and rebranded by Scottish native Louise Hendry. Braveheart Bazaar is a marketplace for more than 20 regional small businesses and artists. It is open the same hours as the bookstore, Fridays through Mondays, from 11 am to 6 pm.

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Tobias J. Cornell – Obituary

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Stephentown – Tobias J. “Toby” Cornell, 42, of Calvin Cole Road, passed away suddenly on Friday, May 5th, 2023 at the Samaritan Hospital in Troy after being stricken ill on Thursday. Born in Pittsfield, Toby was a lifelong resident of Stephentown. He was a 1998 graduate of the Berlin High School. Toby started his working career at XCA Composite Mfg. in Stephentown and at the time of his passing had worked for 10 years at Evonik in Waterford where he was a Chemical Mixer. In his spare time Toby enjoyed Star Trek and anything related to space adventure, computer gaming, listening to music, nature and could be found at home cooking great food. [Read more…] about Tobias J. Cornell – Obituary