Great Pumpkin Challenge Raises Close to $27K
SARATOGA SPRINGS — MVPHealth Care presented the 14th Annual Great Pumpkin Challenge to benefit Saratoga Bridges in the Saratoga Spa State Park on Saturday, October 18.
Over 1,700 runners, walkers, spectators and volunteers packed the Columbia Pavilion, raising close to $27,000 (NET) for Saratoga Bridges’ programs and services. The overall Female and Male 5K winners were Jennifer Bennice of Ballston Lake & Pat Carroll of Saratoga Springs.
The overall Female & Male 10K winners were Lindsay Choppy of Troy and Shaun Donegan of Malta.
The event included a very popular Kids Fun Run for children 12 and under with close to 200 participants, NET Chip Timing, Disposable Bibs/Chips, give-a-ways from MVP Health Care and Druthers, homemade refreshments, favorite pumpkin and costume contests and many raffle prizes.
Also, there were over 120 volunteers including some from Staples, Criminal Justice Students from BOCES and the Saratoga Bridges staff, board members and friends making the day most enjoyable for all.
The Collection Drop Off included Saratoga County Kids Care Club members Ariana Sajjad, Aydin Sajjad, Isabella Fuda, Giulianna Fuda, Jonathan Jones, Ariel Jones, Joanna Jones as well as Franklin Community Center Project Lift and Family Outreach Educator Lindsay Welsh.
Saratoga County Kids Care Club Halloween Costume Drive
SARATOGA — Saratoga County Kids Care Club Members Collected and Delivered 300 Halloween Costumes for local Children served by the Franklin Community Center. The Saratoga County Kids Care Club proudly announced that Club members collected and donated 300 gently used and new Halloween Costumes for children and teens that are not able to afford a costume to celebrate Halloween and “trick-or-treating.”
The Saratoga County Kids Care Club members and facilitators dropped off the collected costumes on Sunday, Oct.19 to the Franklin Community Center at 10 Franklin Street in Saratoga Springs. The costumes will be distributed on Tuesday, October 21st to children and teens that received a voucher by the Franklin Community Center.
The Club members were very excited to put their gently used costumes to good use and donate them to other children in need. The Members of the Saratoga County Kids Care Club held a collection drive that ran from Sept. 8 until Oct. 17 and requested that local organizations and businesses participate in the drive as drop off locations as well as spread the word through posted flyers.
This year, with the community’s help and participating organizations that served as drop-off sites, as well as the 4H Discovery Club, PassItOnKids and KT consignment organizers, they were able to double the number of costumes collected last year.
This means that the Franklin Community Center will be able to hand out more vouchers to struggling families who can use the costumes.
Saratoga County Announces Youth Advisory Council for 2015
SARATOGA — Chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Paul Sausville (R-Malta) and Vice-Chairman Matthew Veitch (R-Saratoga Springs) announced today the formation of the Saratoga County Youth Advisory Council. The council is scheduled to be appointed in January 2015, and County is seeking interested students to volunteer for this new initiative.
Supervisor Sausville was supportive of the initiative.
“This initiative will be a great continuation of the program we instituted this year at the County, and well do much to develop the character of young adults and get them interested and involved with County Government,” Sausville said.
This year, Sausville championed the ‘Character First’ program, which sought out young people in the county to write essays on various topics such as courage, commitment, integrity, etc., and those essays were read on the floor of the board at each of the regular meetings of the County Board of Supervisors. The program was a great success and this new Committee will be the next step in the County’s commitment to youth.
“This committee, which will be appointed in January, will be a natural extension of Character First, and is a great way for young people looking at various aspects of the county, and finding ways where youth can get more involved,” said Supervisor Veitch.
Veitch added that the committee will be appointed on the date in early January, when he is sworn in as the incoming Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The Committee will begin work immediately.
“We are looking to get the group on-task and working on projects immediately,” Veitch said. “I am happy and honored that we can continue providing an outlet for interested youth next year.”
The committee, once it meets, will draft a mission statement; develop by-laws, and a form of governance that will suit the Committee. At that time, they will look at various areas of the County, such as Youth and Family Services, Office of the Aging, the District Attorney’s office, and look at potential ways youth could get more involved with these programs, either as volunteers, or make suggestions on how youth could be better served within County Government.
“Many of us are looking to get involved, and we approached the County to see if the Youth Committee would be a good idea, we are happy they were so receptive to us, and look forward to working on some projects,” said Brian Stanley, the first volunteer for the committee and sponsor.
The Committee will have Wes Carr, the director of the Saratoga County Youth Bureau, as its advisor. The committee is looking for approximately 20-25 members, and will welcome any youth within the County aged 16 and over to be on the Committee.
Interested youth, parents, teachers or advisors can contact either Wes Carr at Saratoga County (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at (518) 884-4180, or Supervisor Veitch (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at (518) 587-2198.
Man Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Assault Following Crash in March in Clifton Park
CLIFTON PARK — Saratoga County Acting District Attorney Karen A. Heggen announced that Jeffrey D. Horton pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to the crime of second degree vehicular assault in Saratoga County Court before Honorable Judge Jerry J. Scarano.
The conviction arose out of a car crash involving serious physical injury that occurred on Crescent Road, in the Town of Clifton Park in the vicinity of Exit 8 on March 29.
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department investigation revealed that Horton was operating a 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck as he traveled southbound on the Exit 8 ramp towards Crescent Road.
At the intersection of the exit ramp and Crescent Road, Horton struck an eastbound 1999 Mitsubishi in the driver’s side door and pushed the Mitsubishi into a guide rail on the south side of the roadway. The operator of the Mitsubishi suffered serious physical injuries from the crash. Blood was taken from Horton and test results determined Horton was operating his motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .23 percent— over twice the legal limit of intoxication.
The operator of the Mitsubishi suffered serious physical injuries from the crash, including fractures and long term injuries as a result of this incident.
