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Thomas Dimopoulos

Thomas Dimopoulos

City Beat and Arts & Entertainment Editor
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SARATOGA COUNTY — Nine-year-old Charlotte Sena, who went missing Sept. 30 while on a bike ride in Moreau Lake State Park, was located safe and in good health by state police shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 2. 

Craig N. Ross Jr., of Ballston Spa, was charged with kidnapping in the first degree, a felony, on the suspicion of abducting the girl. Ross, 46, was taken into custody, arraigned at Milton Town Court and sent to Saratoga County Correctional Facility without bail. Additional charges are anticipated. 

The Oct. 2 arrest followed the issue of an AMBER alert on Oct. 1, and an investigative “search of multiple residences where (Ross) is known to reside,” authorities said. 

“When you hit that 48-hour moment, you realize it’s going to be tough, and you start thinking the worst. But what happened was extraordinary,” NY Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a press conference following the arrest. 

Timeline of arrest: at 4:20 a.m. Oct.2, a car pulled up to the Sena family home, which was being guarded by State Police, and a ransom note was left in the mailbox. Fingerprints on the letter were entered into the New York State database in search of a possible match. 

“The hit came at 2:30 (Monday) afternoon. There had been a DWI in 1999 in the city of Saratoga (Springs),” Gov. Hochul said. “A fingerprint was found that matched what was found on the ransom note.”

Further research led police to a residence with a camper located behind it. Ross’ mother lives in the residence - described as a double wide house, and Ross lived in the camper. 

“They have what they call a dynamic entry, a tactical maneuver, and within the camper, they located the suspect,” the governor said. “After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody, and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet, cupboard. She was rescued. And she knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.” 

“Ultimately, it was the two SWAT teams, one federal and one state, that landed in helicopters in Ballston Spa to rescue Charlotte,” said Hochul, who thanked law enforcement officials, several fire departments, city, county, state and federal agencies, and some 400 volunteers for their diligence in the search for the girl.

Thursday, 05 October 2023 13:12

New Development, Demolition Proposals

SARATOGA SPRINGS — New business presented to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals this week include the seeking of an area variance to permit the construction of a mixed-use building at Station Lane, and another to permit the demolition and construction of a new single-family modular home on South Franklin Street. 

Station Lane: at the northwest corner of West Avenue and Station Lane, the “West Ave Site Plan” project proposes the development of a four-story mixed-use building, with a footprint of approximately 23,500 square feet. 

The first floor is proposed to house retail space, a restaurant, and nine apartments. The remaining three floors will provide 59 multi-family rental units. The basement level will provide 60 parking spaces. 

At 72 South Franklin St., the applicants are seeking to remove the existing structure and build a new modular home on the property. New setbacks would be needed for the development of the new home. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The region’s contributions to American history and its role in the birth of the nation will receive a prominent boost in the new year with an appearance on a nationally broadcast popular PBS series. 

Darley Newman - producer and host of the long-running “Travels with Darley,” was in town this week, filming segments for the series that will launch in January. 

“This area is interesting because it’s a big part of the story,” said Newman, taking advantage of some down-time during filming to speak with journalists at the Old Bryan Inn in Saratoga Springs this week. “Saratoga was a turning point and really is significant in the shaping of America. It was a big part of what turned the American Revolution.“

Newman was in town with a film crew for a five-day run, arriving Sunday, Sept. 24 and working through Thursday, Sept. 28. 

Monday’s filming tour took place along the eastern edge of the county and visited Saratoga National Historical Park - home of the battlefield and the infamous Benedict Arnold “Boot” monument. Tuesday explored Hadley’s Revolution Rail and Saratoga Springs, and Wednesday’s focus captured the historic Schuylerville region and adjoining communities, with pre-planned visits to the Schuyler House, the Saratoga Monument, and the sword Surrender Site.   

Saratoga County Historian Lauren Roberts accompanied Newman for much of the visit. Roberts also serves as Chair of the Saratoga County 250th Anniversary Commission. The 250th anniversary celebrating the Turning Point of the American Revolution will reach full fruition in 2027.

“I think it’s great when we can be more educated about culture and history in the world. What people see, how people dress,” Newman said.

“All these things play into knowing more about ourselves because this is all part of our past. I mean, my grandparents came from Sweden and Finland. They were immigrants. So I haven’t been in America that long but I still feel that it’s all part of my history, too,“ she said. 

Newman began showcasing her work on PBS in 2007 with the series “Equitrekking” – “I went horseback riding around the world,” she explained – and her latest long-running series, “Travels with Darley,” has been broadcast on PBS since 2016 and depicts 10 seasons which have included episode visits to everywhere from Istanbul, Turkey to Seoul, South Korea.   

The Revolutionary War Trip segments launch in January 2024. Newman’s visit to Saratoga County follows earlier journeys to South Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey for the series. 

“We’re taking a look back at the history of the American Revolution, but from the perspective of places that you can still visit today,“ Newman said. “We still find there are so many mysteries - things people are thinking about and still trying to solve. You read your normal history that you might learn about school – when I learned about the American Revolution I felt like it might be a little dry, but now when you get to go out and meet people you get new things coming to light.”

Thursday, 28 September 2023 15:16

Saratoga New Year’s Fest Announced

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Joan Osborne, Robert Randolph, and the Gibson Brothers will be some among the many performers to stage live events during this year’s Saratoga New Year’s festival. The events take place Dec. 29 to Jan. 1. 

“This is a joint presentation: the city the Chamber, Discover Saratoga, the City Center and myself,” said producer Robert Millis of the 398Group, during this week’s festival announcement. “We put this idea together last year to bring back First Night – and it worked. We met our milestones. It’s all part of a three-year-plan to make this thing get bigger and bigger.”    

This year’s events will feature more than 30 performers on nearly two dozen stages. In addition to live music performances there will be a 5K run, fireworks show, a family-friendly pre-fireworks block party and other events. Standard tickets are $25 in advance, kids under 16 are admitted free of charge, and Shelters of Saratoga will serve as this year’s beneficiary of a portion of the proceeds. 

The musical lineup includes Joan Osborne, Robert Randolph, Gibson Brothers, Dogs In A Pile, DJ Logic, Toubab Krewe, Organ Fairchild, Tracy Bonham, and others. For a full lineup and/or to purchase tickets, go to: facebook.com/saratogafirstnight, or www.saratoga.org/tourism/saratoga-new-years-fest/.    

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city of Saratoga Springs is seeking proposals from professional consulting engineering firms to prepare preliminary engineering feasibility studies and detailed design services related to bicycle and pedestrian accommodations along Grand Ave. between West Ave. and Rowland St. 

The project description calls for the development of final construction plans and specifications for bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and/or improvements that provide for safe and efficient transportation of vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles along Grand Avenue.

Returned bids for the RFP (Request For Proposal) will be opened Oct. 12, and subsequently awarded.  Construction is anticipated to begin in 2024.

BALLSTON SPA — The Board of Supervisors proclaimed October 17, 2023 as Surrender Day in Saratoga County in recognition of the Turning Point of the Revolutionary War. 

“We wish to elevate this commemoration to a countywide holiday to commemorate the Battles of Saratoga, the siege of the British Army, and its ultimate surrender to the Patriot Army,” according to the Board resolution. “We encourage the countywide recognition of Surrender Day by providing any town, village, or city that adopts October 17 as an official holiday to be known as an Affiliated Community Partner of America’s Turning Point.” 

On October 17, 1777, British Gen. John Bourgoyne surrendered his sword to Gen. Horatio Gates. The Saratoga Surrender Site, located one mile south of the village of Schuylerville on Route 4, memorializes Gen. Burgoyne’s surrender after the Battles of Saratoga. The British Army grounded arms at the surrender nearby in what is currently Schuylerville’s Fort Hardy Park. 

The historic moment is often referred to as “the Turning Point” of the Revolutionary War.

Saratoga County will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga and Turning Point victory in 2027.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —A 62-year-old Albany man accused of posting videos and photographs of female runners in and around Saratoga Springs to an Instagram account has been charged with stalking in the fourth-degree. 

Charles A. Ross, of Grant Avenue in Albany, was taken into custody and processed on the active arrest warrant for the charged misdemeanor and subsequently released without bail to pre-trial services. 

In August, the Saratoga Springs Police Department reported it had been made aware of the social media account that displayed videos and photographs taken in public places and that it began to investigate the matter to determine if any crime has occurred. Police also asked anyone recognizing themselves on the social media website regarding the case to contact them. One such person has apparently stepped forward. 

According to court documents, the suspect is alleged on Aug. 18 to have “intentionally and for no legitimate purpose” followed a woman from the Saratoga Spa State Park to Broadway near Caroline Street, conduct which – the report adds – was likely to cause reasonable fear of material harm to the woman’s health and safety. 

“I felt like someone was watching me or following me and I felt unsafe,” the unnamed woman, who is in her early 20s, told police related to her run that began in the Saratoga Spa State Park. She added that she felt sufficiently unsafe to the point that she moved off of her normal running path to get away from the road.   

The woman was later informed by a friend of the social media website and recognized herself in multiple images and/or videos, according to court documents. 

An apparent 2018 arrest image, widely circulated on social media without attribution, allegedly depicts Ross with short gray hair.  The fall 2018 image is connected with a felony stalking charge of Charles A. Ross of Whitehall – then 57 years old – who was arrested shortly after South Glens Falls Police received complaints that he followed a group of 12- and 13-year-old girls near a middle school while driving a Mr. Ding-A-Ling ice cream truck, the Post-Star reported at the time. The girls believed he was either videotaping or taking photos of them, and the man had also been the subject of a similar complaint in Lake George earlier in the year, but no charges were filed.

A more recent image, posted by NewsChannel 13 and filmed inside Saratoga Springs city court, depicts Ross with shoulder-length lightened hair and black-frame eyeglasses, nearly unrecognizable from the image of five years ago. Given the current charge in Saratoga Springs is a misdemeanor, city police said they will not be releasing a current arrest image.   

BALLSTON SPA — During its monthly meeting, held Sept. 19 at the county complex in Ballston Spa, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors announced the acceptance of two grants from the NY State Department of Health totaling approximately $670,000 overall, authorized more than $30 million in spending to three health providers related to medical insurance costs to cover county employees for the 2024 calendar year, and announced a series of countywide proclamations to be initiated in October.      

Acceptance of Funding, Grants

• The Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act Grant: $67,437, for the term through March 31, 2024. The Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act (ATUPA) regulates the sale of tobacco and vaping products to restrict their access by youth and young adults, including banning the sale of flavored vapor products, ending price discounts on tobacco and vapor products, banning exterior display of tobacco and vapor product ads near schools, stopping shipment and delivery of cigarettes and vapor products to private residents, increasing retailer penalties for tobacco sales violations, and raising the minimum legal sale age to purchase tobacco and vapor products 

•Immunization Action Plan Grant.  Acceptance of the NYSDOH five -year grant in the amount of $118,680 per year, through March 31, 2028, totaling $593,400. Grant funding shall be used to reduce and eradicate vaccine preventable diseases in adults and children by eliminating barriers to the receipt of the immunizations. 

•Acceptance of $343,450 in funding from the New York State Office for the Aging, for the Saratoga County Department of Aging and Youth Services. The funding will assist with the Senior Nutrition Program, Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly, senior transportation, and mandatory caseworker conference fees, among other items. 

Medical Insurance Costs for County Employees

The Board authorized an agreement with Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. for the provision of medical and prescription health care insurance and administrative services for County employees for the 2024 calendar year at a projected cost of $25,884,468.25.

Authorized to execute any and all agreements required with MVP Health Plan, Inc. of Schenectady, for the provision of medical and prescription drug health care insurance for Medicare eligible retirees from County employment under MVP’s Medicare Advantage Plan for the 2024 calendar year at a projected cost of $3,816,471.98.

Authorized an agreement with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Inc. for the provision of dental health care insurance for County employees and the offering of voluntary dental health care insurance plans to County retirees, for the 2024 calendar year at a projected cost of $925,696.75. 

Proclamations

• The Board proclaimed Oct. 7 – 13 as “National Fire Prevention Week” In Saratoga County, and encourages all residents to plan and practice a home fire escape for Fire Prevention Week 2023. Home fires caused 2,285 civilian deaths in the United States in 2022, according to the National Fire Protection association (NFPA), and fire departments in Saratoga County responded to 899 residential fire alarms of which 372 were reported structure fires. 

• The Board proclaimed the month of October 2023 as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” in Saratoga County and urges all of our citizens to support and participate in on-going programs designed for the reduction and elimination of domestic violence. Each year more than 10 million adults experience domestic violence; on a typical day, domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive over 20,000 calls. 

One community member requested to speak during the public input session of the monthly county meeting. 

Darlene McGraw, of Halfmoon, suggested Saratoga initiate a reporting App for county residents to inform community leaders of street signs being down, and requested the county institute a smoke-free and vape-free policy in the vicinity of county buildings. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “Hi, I’m Stephen King,” author James Patterson said to the audience, packed the inside the Saratoga Springs City Center Sunday afternoon. 

“And I’m Mich Albom,” added longtime Daily News sportswriter and novelist Mike Lupica. 

Lupica and Patterson were in town celebrating the release of their novel “12 Months To Live,” in an event sponsored by Northshire Bookstore Saratoga. 

A brief interview with WAMC’s In Conversation host Joe Donahue was followed by a session during which the two authors answered questions solicited from the audience.    

“This is fantastic,” Donohue said. “This is better than football.” 

Thursday, 21 September 2023 13:45

Belmont in Saratoga: Everything We Know

SARATOGA SPRINGS — August Belmont Jr. died ninety-eight Decembers ago in his midtown Manhattan apartment, but during the past few weeks his surname has been circulating around the local Saratoga community perhaps louder than it ever had before. 

With a massive $455 million renovation project slated to take place at Long Island’s Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association is considering staging the high-profile Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, the company’s president recently told the Daily Racing Form. 

That temporary relocation of the Belmont Stakes – a race which traditionally sites the third and final leg of the Triple Crown - could include the next two runnings of the renowned race, to be held in June 2024 and June 2025, until its normal Long Island home venue would be ready for prime time in 2026.    

“I think this is a huge opportunity – not only for the city of Saratoga Springs, but for the county and the entire region,” said Darryl Leggieri, President at Discover Saratoga - a Saratoga Springs based promotion and marketing organization.  “This will bring huge tourism dollars to our region and have an economic impact for many of the businesses as well. Many people think about lodging with tourists – and they should do well – but people spend money where they stay and that will trickle down to many of the small businesses in the community such as the restaurants and the retailers.” 

The 2024 Belmont Stakes will be staged in its traditional calendar spot in early June, following May’s running of the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness, the first and second legs of the Triple Crown, respectively. That would presumably place the Belmont at Saratoga on Saturday June 8 - although the number of racing days prior to the stakes race and/or the length of a Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in Saratoga is up for discussion. This year’s festival was a three-day affair on Long Island, according to NYRA’s June 2023 calendar. 

“June is traditionally a busy time for Saratoga Springs but there’s always room for a major historic event of this magnitude,” Leggieri said. “We’re optimistic that this will be boon for our whole area and really put a spotlight on our destination internationally – especially if there’s a Triple Crown (horse) in contention.” 

An early June Belmont date in Saratoga raises a series of potential ramifications for the local community. 

The traditional start of the 40-day Saratoga meet is typically held one month later. And while that meet is anticipated to stay the same, a flurry of activity in early June featuring the last leg of the Triple Crown series would create a special set of scenarios for the local community – from business owners and hoteliers to public safety officials who would be dealing with an accelerated flow of traffic and tourism.    

“We’re going to have to wait and see what the details look like. Maybe it’s for a long weekend – we’re hearing that, maybe it will change into something else, we just don’t know yet, but we’ll be ready,” said Saratoga County Administrator Steve Bulger. 

Economically? “We have to think there would be positive impacts on both – occupancy tax and sales tax that weekend – which the county would welcome,” Bulger said. 

“From a county perspective, law enforcement and the Sheriff’s Office especially would probably be the department most impacted, making sure we have proper coverage across the board, helping the city (of Saratoga Springs) out, like we usually do during Travers Weekend,” Bulger said. “Having Emergency Services ready to go in case anything popped up; maybe the district attorney’s office might have a busier weekend than normal. But using an enlarged Travers Day Weekend as our baseline, we would make sure we’re working with the city and NYRA so that any and all resources the county can provide will be made available.” 

So, who was August Belmont, Jr? A synopsis via the National Museum of Racing & Hall of Fame:  August Belmont II was born in New York City in 1853 and upon his father’s death became heavily involved in racing. Belmont, Jr. took over August Belmont & Co., the New York City bank founded by his father August, Sr. He continued his family’s practice of raising horses and bred 129 stakes winners, Man o’ War, among them. He was also associated with William Collins Whitney in the revitalization of Saratoga in the early 1900s and was among the founding members of The Jockey Club in 1894. In 1905, Belmont opened Belmont Park on Long Island and transferred to the park the Belmont Stakes, inaugurated in 1867 and named in his father’s honor.

The potential temporary relocation of the Belmont Stakes and the renovation at the Long Island racecourse that holds the Belmont name is dependent on various approvals. An official decision is anticipated to be announced sometime this fall. 

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  • New York State Police The New York State Police announced that it issued 5,576 tickets during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day enforcement initiative. The campaign began on Friday, March 15, and continued until Sunday, March 17. During the campaign, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and underage drinking and sales to minors detail. State Police also ticketed distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices. State Troopers arrested 132 people for DWI and investigated 199 crashes, which resulted in 25 people being injured and no fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also…

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  • BALLSTON Heather DiCaprio sold property at 473 Garrett Rd to Justine Levine for $288,000 Sharon Willman sold property at 99 Jenkins Rd to Charles Lemley for $165,000 CORINTH George Montena sold property at 422 Oak St to Stephen James for $142,250 Mark Makler sold property at 313 Oak St to Sabrina Sinagra for $195,000 GREENFIELD Landlord Services of Upstate New York sold property at 1935 NYS Rt 9N to Cochise Properties LLC for $210,000 MALTA  Linda LaBarge sold property at 35 Snowberry Rd to Qu Haozheng for $270,000 Dennis Mitchell sold property at 60 Village Circle North to BGRS Relocation…
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