July 2007 Archives

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Calvin Borel just can’t stop smiling.

Saratoga Springs is renowned for the abundance of great restaurants, the gorgeous mansions lining Broadway, the horse races and faces of high fashion, and also for its citizens’ generosity.

North Carolina resident Tom Cotter has been looking for treasure for decades.

Way back in 1907, Frank Gill won the 40th running of the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. He earned a cool $5,800 for finding the winner’s circle.

Music. Mingling. Drinks. Horses. The kick-off of the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway track season sees many bands and betting hands. But to truly celebrate Saratoga Spring’s Hats Off weekend, you must put on a hat.

When race fans look at the Saratoga Race Course calender each summer, most scan the dates to see when the Travers Stakes will be run.

Another season of thoroughbred racing began on Wednesday, July 25, at the Saratoga Race Course. To kick off the first week of racing right, both locals and folks visiting Saratoga Springs will likely want to check out “Hats Off to Saratoga.”

Schuyler Tymula

This is why I like Saratoga Springs.

At Virgil’s House, when a customer walks through the door they’re taking a step into the past.

The Goo Goo Dolls almost certainly have one of the worst names of any band in the history of rock and roll. That said, as Shakespeare so eloquently declared, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

The Bright Light Motion

Who’s who:

Joe Mansman – guitar and vocals

Alex Mansman - guitar

Ken Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake used late-race heroics to take his third Modified Feature of the year at Albany Saratoga Speedway last Friday night. Tim Hartman and John Proctor started on the front row and both led the early laps before Matt DeLorenzo blasted from third to first on Lap 10.

In today’s busy lifestyle, how elusive are these concepts of taking time to slow down or even momentarily come to an abrupt halt.

My fondness for the atypical has rarely made my life easier. Instead, it often leads me to problematic situations and heartache.

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the growing population and danger of coyotes in our immediate area and throughout the Adirondacks.

The Eagle Crest Golf Club has a new junior champion for 2007.

In only its second year of existence, the Wilton Youth Baseball Program has grown to include nearly 400 players within five levels of play, and this summer achieved the ultimate success of qualifying four all-star teams for the state playoffs.

Bank robbery isn’t a common occurrence in Saratoga Springs. In fact, up until recently there hadn’t been one since late 2001. Yet, in less than six weeks two banks on Broadway have been held up.

Asign in the meeting room reads “We’re in the fun business.” After serving as general manager of the Saratoga County Fair for 18 years and sitting on its board for almost a quarter of a century, Dick Rowland knows that business well.

Saratoga Springs will receive $783,226 from the county after the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors voted to disperse a $5 million portion of its funds to the various municipalities throughout the county.

“I’ve seen a lot of horses over the years and that one that just got off the van looks as ready for the Derby as any I’ve ever seen,” spoken to me by an older gentleman on the Churchill Downs backstretch in the early morning hours of May 1, 2003.

The Saratoga Race Course starting gates opened Monday morning for hogs instead of horses when 174 motorcycle riders lined up alongside the track to kick off the third leg of Kyle Petty’s 13^th annual Charity Ride to benefit camps for chronically ill children.

Aliya El Sawi

Saratoga Springs is a wonderful place to live. In the summer time I sign up for track at the State park and it is very fun.

Every week night of every summer, words of fiction and poetry resound in the lecture halls of Skidmore College

Who’s who:

Melanie Krahmer – vocals, drums, bass and flute

Rich Libutti – guitar, bass and snare drum

Even though I'm not a sports fan, don't eat red meat and despise video games, part of me is definitely a "guy's guy."

For the past few weeks, I’ve shared some of the great sights and places that my wife and I experienced during our recent vacation to the Great Northwest. However, we also had an unfortunate experience along the way that is a reminder that as beautiful as Mother Nature can be, so too can she be extremely cruel.

There were two noteworthy tournaments held over the weekend. The first was the annual Eagle Crest Shoot-out.

Mike Ronca of Scotia held off a persistent Matt Sheppard to win his first Albany Saratoga Modified feature in 4 years. Ronca has been knocking on the door all season with several great runs and Friday night he wasted little time getting to the front.

Bloomfield survives late scare in Spa Cup match

Doesn’t it feel good when something turns out to be better, or more than you expected? Especially when you weren’t even looking for it?

With the month of July comes the pesky broadleaf weeds that come to invade your lawn and migrate into your garden bedding area around your home.

After working several years as an engineer at DuPont, Allison M. Meyers moved back to Saratoga Springs. While she enjoyed the people aspect of the job, she "didn't like the product."

There’s no better time than the summer for backyard games, barbecues and pool parties. But if you’re planning on hosting a get-together this summer, make sure you have adequate insurance coverage. The outdoor activities of the summer can bring with it any number of accidents, many of which we rarely stop to consider, and many of which could have been prevented.

When it comes to pool safety and children, the single most important preventative action a parent can take is to supervise young children at all times. Children aged 4 and under have a higher rate of death by drowning than any other age group. Approximately 300 kids in this age group drown in home swimming pools every year and another 2,600 are treated in emergency rooms for near-drowning incidents. Following a few simple safety precautions may save a child from drowning and chances are it will be your own son or daughter’s life that you save.

What motivates us to do the things we do? What drives our emotions, desires and physiological needs? How do we stimulate ourselves into action? Every day we face the challenge to start; to begin our endeavors whether we like it or not. The choice is easy for some, an exciting proposition. For others it is plain hard.

Do you have trouble

…reading the menu in a restaurant?

…reading the fine print on your prescription bottle?

…with fatigue while working on your computer?

With more of a focus being placed on the environment, going green in the home is becoming more commonplace, even businesses are putting more of an emphasis on green practices.

Every year in July, one of the oldest fairs in New York state takes place in the village of Ballston Spa. The Saratoga County Fair, scheduled to run July 17-22, attracts thousands of people annually and remains a cherished local tradition.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – In a few short weeks, people will walk into Saratoga Race Course and notice the more than $1.2 million in renovations at the historic track. It’s a safe bet that some of the patrons will be shaking their heads in disgust.

Saratoga Springs may be best known for its Race Track, however underneath the glaring popularity of the track, there lies many hidden treasures. One of which is the Saratoga Polo Club.

Earlier this week, I received an announcement from Ed Lewi’s office that said a bunch of NASCAR stars are coming to the Spa city.

The Saratoga Springs Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, in the school district’s administration building.

Saratoga TODAY brings you the many reasons to love our city, through the eyes of Nancy Hoover’s third grade class at Dorothy Nolan Elementary School.

Musician’s Corner

Alex and Zac

Who’s who:

Alex Grout – guitar, vocals and keyboard

Zac Rossi – guitar and background vocals

All the world may be a stage, but it’s awful convenient when you have your own.

I have some very exciting news to share! But first, turn back to the front page. Okay, look under the Saratoga TODAY header, toward the right. Do you see it? Yes? Saratoga TODAY is now available online!

Want to know a surefire way to find out who your real friends are? It’s easier than you might think. Just move.

Have you ever seen the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”? If you have, you can’t help but remember the big rock tower that was the focal point of Richard Dreyfus’ building escapades in his living room and finally where the spaceships came to visit, depositing all the souls they previously kidnapped and picking up a fresh load.

The other day we were thinking about parking downtown in Saratoga Springs. Thinking about it. Not parking. We were driving around trying to find a place to park within reasonable walking distance of our destination. We were going to have lunch below the east side of Broadway, so west side parking was out. In case you haven’t noticed it, going back it’s all uphill.

Windows provide light, ventilation and a view of the world. When considering buying or replacing your home windows you can accomplish these three tasks while doing so in a more energy-efficient way. In recent years, windows have undergone several technological advancements and it is now possible to purchase windows that have lower heat loss, less air leakage and reduced solar heat gain to improve overall comfort and style. No single solution is right for every home or every climate. There are many factors for homeowners to consider when purchasing windows.

The tournament schedule at local golf clubs is in full force as July is the usual month for such events. Events include member-guest, couples scramble and association events. McGregor Links appears to be the leader in tournaments held.

It is often thought that your house is a projection of your personality. It is also said you should put your best foot forward. So it stands to reason that you would want your home’s exterior to astound and your interior design to dazzle; Jane Hughes and Melissa Coonradt of Hughes Interior Design can help sculpt the image you’re after.

Remember when you were a kid, learning about color from that box of chunky crayons in kindergarten? To my teacher’s dismay, I not only colored outside of the lines, I tended to mix up my colors.

Think for a moment about all the things we customize - iPods with songs, cell phones with ring tones, Web site homepages and even wellness plans online. We customize our cars and tailor our clothes.

If your home could use a little sprucing up, consider a new countertop – or dining room table or fireplace or even bathtub – made out of beautiful natural stone.

Most Americans today consider polio a disease from generations past but there are approximately 2 million North American polio survivors and 20 million survivors worldwide, many of whom are now facing symptoms of post-polio syndrome. Because the poliovirus has not been eradicated worldwide, future survivors will be seeking medical treatment for these new symptoms for years to come.

Hilarious. Playful. Zany. Absurd. Offbeat. Bizarre. Irreverent. All these words have been used to describe Dr. Michael Wayne’s new book, “The Knuckleball From Hell,” which he refers to as a story of life, love, the New York Mets and everything in between.

Nilas Martins, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, was arrested earlier this week and charged with drug possession in Saratoga Springs.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced Monday, July 2, that Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts has been selected to operate the Gideon Putnam Hotel and Convention Center and the Roosevelt Spa in Saratoga Spa State Park. Starting in January, DNC will run the 120-room hotel which opened in 1935 for at least the next 20 years.

If you call us “oldies” we don’t like it. But the phrase “golden oldies” has a totally different (positive) emotional impact. We should probably be called “silver oldies,” but let’s not quibble.

Good leadership is hard to find in any industry. According to the National School Boards Association, urban school superintendents average only five years in a district.

The great adventure-lover Jeff Ames has once again embarked on a new journey called Cantina. The entrepreneur is not new to the game, having owned five restaurants back in San Francisco, including the renowned The Blue List that was originally built by Boz Skaggs. He started off amidst the thought-riots of Berkley, waiting tables on the side. Yet Ames seemed to always drift back to the “challenging and theatrical” restaurant environment. After every restaurant you swear you’re never going to do it again, the owner joked. “But there is something intoxicating about the restaurant business.”

About the artist:

The 20-year-old singer/songwriter started playing guitar in December 2003. A senior at SUNY Oneonta, Kissinger is studying business and economics and hopes to graduate this winter.

Ever wonder just how much artistic talent could possibly be found in such a small town?

See you on Saturday!

The countdown started as soon as I asked my girlfriend Jen to marry me. Now it’s only a matter of time before I leave Saratoga Springs.

Funny Cide, the locally-bred and owned 7-year-old gelding, won his first race in over a year Wednesday at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack.

Wow!! I just returned from an 18-day trip during which my wife and I drove over 4,120 miles throughout a very large portion of this great country of ours. We flew into Denver where we began our journey. First stop was Cheyenne, Wyoming to rest up and get ready for the rest of our trip. We had an itinerary laid out that would take us to a list of state and national parks and monuments.

Brett Hearn of Sussex, NJ has won just about every major Modified race at one time or another but never a Race of Champions Tour race until last Friday night when he took the 75-Lap Modified feature at Albany Saratoga Speedway.

Two of the area’s longest running fund-raising golf tournaments were in action last week. At the Albany Country Club, the Time Warner Cable Company hosted its annual fundraiser to help fray the expenses of our area Special Olympians in a variety of winter and summer sports. It is Time Warner’s largest community event.