.png)
.png)
.jpg)
Photos by Venus Louise
On Saturday December 14, 2025 Santa Claus paid a visit to the Esperance Volunteer Fire Department.
The Grinch and his elves were there to help Santa deliver his packages to 75 children. It was a great time with eight local vendors selling fried food, crafts, jewelry and baked goods. The night ended with some caroling and a tree lighting ceremony.
By Tom Coughlin
With there not being a Schoharie Mountain Eagle next week I wanted to remind everyone of some great things that you can checkout during the holidays on those dates when you are looking for something to do. Please call ahead of traveling to confirm their days and hours of operation.
We have a number of museums for motor enthusiasts and history buffs all within a short driving distance. Motorcyclepedia is located in Newburgh, NY at 250 Lake Street and with over 500 motorcycles on display including a timeline of Indian motorcycles it will definitely
open your eyes to the two and three wheel world. Their phone number is
845-569-9065.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum In Saratoga Springs, N.Y. at 110 Avenue of the Pines has their latest exhibit titled the Evolution of Performance & Design. Where you can inspect a replica of a 1886 Benz-Motorwagen, a 1932 Auburn 12-160A Boattail Speedster and a 2010 Alfa-Romeo TZ3 Stradale by Zagato to name a few. Their number is 518-587-1935.
The Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich, N.Y. at 24 Rexford Street has over 200 classic and vintage vehicles to view including the largest collection of Franklins. Their number is 607-334-2886.
The Northeast Dirt Modified Museum and Hall of Fame located at 1 Speedway Drive, Weedsport, N.Y.offers you the opportunity to walk among many divisions of race cars that raced locally and nationally on dirt and asphalt creating headlines wherever they competed. Their phone number is 315-374-3661. All of these locations are handicapped accessible and have elevators for easy access to the various floors of their facility.
Don't forget that Utica-Rome Speedway will Ring in 2025 with a 100-lap, $500 minimum to win Enduro on Wednesday, January 1.
With the crazy weather pattern that we are experiencing. I was hoping to see what the Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club would release as far as their 2024-2025 ice racing schedule. This week the Lake George Winter Carnival announced that they will have ice racing (Ice Dependent) on the following weekends. A.M.E.C. sanctioned cars are scheduled for February 8-9. Motorcycles and ATV racing sanctioned by Electric City Riders will happen on February 15-16, and cars return on February 22-23.
Glen Ridge Motorsports Park is planning to release their 2025 schedule soon. One thing that already is notable is the listing of weekly divisions racing every Sunday evening which include DIRTcar 358 modified, DIRTcar pro stock, DIRTcar crate 602 sportsman, DIRTcar mini stock, All-Star slingshot/Junior slingshot, street stock, and limited sportsman. Add to that every other week the addition of the Crown Vic
division.
Brookfield Speedway at the Madison County Fairgrounds has listed their opening date as Sunday, May 25, with the Short Track Super Series-crate 602 sportsman division North Region headlining the day's
Program, Fonda Speedway and Utica-Rome Speedway have listed the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Series as having a limited schedule in 2025 of Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet weekly series events. I’m not sure how many events, but more information will be available shortly. M2 Metal LLC. will present the series.
If you are undecided on a last minute gift idea, remember that all of our local speed shops and merchandise vendors offer gift certificates for your favorite driver or fan, and that you never have to worry about your gift being the right size or style.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
SCHOHARIE – Approximately 60 counselors from more than two dozen school districts visited the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus on Thursday to hear what’s on tap for workforce development and career and technical education in the 2025-26 school year.
During a daylong event, counselors learned about the new Plumbing Technology and New Visions: Emerging Technologies programs being offered, as well as heard updates on the construction of the new Career and Technical Education Extension Center. Construction of the 46,377-square-foot CTE Extension Center began in September and is expected to be complete and ready to open in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Capital Region BOCES also rolled out its new video, “Your Future Starts Now” which is also available on the Capital Region BOCES YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/I6pRDAUcf4E?si=CxCWmhuxQUGYCAnB.
Counselors spent part of the day shadowing students in a myriad of programs, from Welding and Metal Fabrication to Digital Media Design.
Representatives of some of Capital Region BOCES 300 business partners also spoke about the wide-ranging value of a career and technical education and how it fuels the regional, state and national economies.
Tom Carrigan, President and Marketing Director for UA Local 7, Plumbers and Steamfitters, and Capri O’Hara, of NY CREATES, said skilled workers are in demand.
“If you take a look at the 2023 outlook from Gov. Kathy Hochul, she addressed the housing shortage. She forecasts that 800,000 new homes and apartments are needed over the next decade. Currently, there are not enough workers to complete this task,” Carrigan said.
Held each December, the annual counselor meeting serves as the unofficial kick-off to the recruiting season for the Career and Technical Education center.
Director of Career and Technical Education Jeff Palmer reminded counselors that a CTE education is for everyone.
“CTE is for everybody. The CTE experience opens pathways for students, it doesn’t close any. You can be an honors student, attend CTE and then go on to a great college with fantastic skills,” he said, noting that graduates have gone on to such esteemed institutions as the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Culinary Institute of America.
School district representatives said they understand the importance of CTE.
"I am a big advocate of CTE and the opportunities it affords. We have a lot of kids coming this year and we will have more kids next year," said Brian Spofford, Hall Principal of Shaker High School.
“It's great. The kids are immersed into their work and doing it with very limited interaction with their instructor,” added Middleburgh counselor Paul Pierce.
CTE Extension Center
Located across from the BOCES Administrative Offices on Watervliet-Shaker Road, the CTE Extension Center will house several programs, including the new Plumbing Technology and New Visions: Emerging Technology program. The center will also house the expansion of the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program, which is currently only offered on the Schoharie Campus.
Additionally, new Electrical Trades, Building Trades, Cosmetology, Manufacturing and Machining Technology and Digital Media Design program space will be in the facility.
The CTE Extension Center will mark the third expansion of the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center this decade.
New Programs
The new programs are being offered at the request of BOCES business and education partners.
“We are thrilled to once again be able to take the input of our business and education partners and create programming that will directly benefit not only future students, but strengthen the local, state and national workforce,” Palmer said.
The Plumbing Technology course will be a comprehensive, hands-on program designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in the plumbing industry.
Students will learn essential skills, including safety protocols, plumbing math and blueprint reading, while working with various piping materials such as plastic and copper.
The course covers key plumbing systems such as drain, waste, and vent (DWV) systems, water distribution, and much more.
The New Visions: Emerging Technologies program will offer students a comprehensive introduction to two rapidly growing industries: hydrogen fuel cell technology and semiconductor manufacturing.
Students will gain hands-on experience and theoretical knowledge in advanced manufacturing, mechanical and electrical systems, hydrogen safety and semiconductor processes. The program covers key topics such as fuel cell systems, pneumatics, automation, cleanroom protocols and troubleshooting techniques.
For more information on Career and Technical Education programs, visit https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/.
GALLUPVILLE - The future of the Town of Wright was on the agenda for two separate meetings on Tuesday night. The Gallupville House Association (GHA) met in the historic building to discuss plans for 2025. After a busy and successful 2024, the few members who did gather brainstormed about what kinds of events to put in in the coming year. Perennial favorites like the Easter egg hunt and the July ice cream social were discussed and easily added to the list without too much consideration. 2024 saw the arrival of a new sound system, and the members hope to host more musical performances in the coming year. Lessons learned from the past year were also discussed (an exciting marionette performance was scheduled in conflict with Schoharie Systems Soccer games). The meeting was essentially an idea session meant to get a list of proposed ideas with the intention of fleshing them out further in January.
At the opposite end of Gallupville in Town Hall, the Wright Planning Board met in front of a packed house to discuss the proposed Dollar General along 443. After considerable conversation regarding the New York State Department of Transportation and the possibility of lowering the speed limit near Shutters Corners should the project go through, Chairperson Evan Motschmann turned to open the meeting for public comment with the stipulation that there be "no banter back and forth" between attendees and that those wishing to speak up restrict their comments to two minutes. It rarely works out that way entirely, but for the most part, speakers minded the rules and expressed their concerns, support for, and opposition to the Dollar General project. Jeff Senecal, whose home is one of six located in close proximity to the site, asked the board to consider if they would want a Dollar General in their side yard. He also noted a 3-1 ratio of no vs. yes at the public hearings. George Kramer wondered if anyone had considered the potential for the project to devalue surrounding homes. Kramer, who far exceeded his allocated two minutes, passed around photos of a Dollar General in Schenectady surrounded by trash and lacking snow removal. He also passed around a photo of the Dollar General in Duanesburg with porta-johns in the parking lot, which are currently serving as the store's bathrooms. "Something went wrong," said Kramer. "Brand new store. Porta-johns." The one issue that seemed to unite those either for or against (and on Tuesday, those in opposition far outnumbered those in favor) was the speed limit. Connie Skinner, a neighbor in favor of the project, suggested the speed limit should be reduced from the Wright line through the village. "It's a real dangerous area," said Frank Weber, a neighbor opposed. "Even without a Dollar General." Board member Bill Lee suggested the speed limit should be lowered anyway. "Even if it doesn't go through, it should be lowered."
The board plans to have its final vote in January (if the board were not to vote at all, it would default to approval by next month). While not official, a straw vote offered a glimpse into how the board will vote. All but one voted in favor of the project (Bill Lee voted to abstain, explaining he wanted to read more). The burden of the decision was visible on most of the board's faces. January will mark three years since the project was introduced. Motschmann explained that he could not find good enough ground to oppose, explaining that if they were to vote no, it would "go higher" (presumably meaning higher courts), at which point much of the work the board has done in the past three years, the requirements they had made of Bohler Engineering, including the building's façade, landscaping, and dampening of lights after 10:00 pm., could all fall away. While it may not appear so on the surface, by voting yes, they are protecting the town from the project, leaving their domain and influence. Hopefully, it is a strategy that works. Before the straw vote, Motschmann spoke of thinking about the project's impact in the middle of the night and reflected on how whatever decision the board makes can alter the Town of Wright permanently. Motschmann's late-night musings are weighty, and they are certainly not wrong. A final vote on the project is set for Tuesday, January 14, at 7:30 pm at the Wright Town Hall.
MIDDLEBURGH - Volunteers manned the church hall at the Our Lady of the Valley Church in Middleburgh last week to help with the Adopt a Family program for the Joshua Project. Last Thursday from 9 am to 7 pm, Friday from 1 pm to 7 pm, and Saturday from 12 noon to 4 pm. there were adopters bringing their wrapped gifts. On Sunday from 11 am until done, volunteer drivers picked up and delivered the bagged gifts and the Schoharie Masons will be distributing ham dinners for each family. More than 65 families were helped this Christmas season.
MIDDLEBURGH - Players gathered at the Middleburgh High School gym Saturday afternoon for the Hoop Dream, The Legacy game.
Fans cheered as Special Needs Athletes played a 90-minute game starting at 2 pm.
There was also a Rural Kid Initiative- RKI and FCA for Schoharie County with a Half Time of Hope: with Seth Franco.
Hoop Dreams was the desire of a young boy who wanted to know what it's like to play in a real game with fans cheering.
The game was coached by Andrew G. Wright Berne Andrew Johns of Regent University and Allison Ohanlon of Siena Women's Basketball. Also helping out were: Middleburgh cheer coach Karen Schaffer and referees Jim Wood and
Kyle Buel.
There was also food and a silent auction.
SCHOHARIE - With an eye toward their own futures, the Schoharie high school sophomore class held a student-run career exploration event on Friday that gave them a chance to learn about a variety of occupations and paths.
Students heard from presenters on careers running ranging from biological engineering to the performing arts. We’re proud of our students for taking an active role in shaping their own futures by learning about a variety of possibilities.
Presenters included Chris Kenny, an engineer; Erik McKenny who does graphic design for video games; Jackie Hadam, an attorney for New York State United Teachers; Jason Castle, who spoke with students about research in the field of drug product processing sciences; Travis Lindsey and Justin Forsthoffer, who are highway department workers; Austin Jetton, an actor who toured with the musical productions of Cats and Starlight Express and who also owns a small-batch handmade chocolate business; Laura Rosenthal, who manages a team that determine the rates for New York State health care; and Tylor Stevens, the K-9 officer for the Guilderland Police Department and his four-legged partner, Boreas.
MIDDLEBURGH - On Tuesday, December 10,, Middleburgh Elementary School students decorated the Christmas trees in Memorial Park on upper Main Street. All Pre-K-sixth grade students participated. The fifth and sixth grade students made cards for shut-ins. The cards will be delivered along with poinsettias by the Middleburgh Rotary Club. Village Mayor Timothy Knight stopped to thank the students for their community service and spirit.
Schoharie Varsity Boys’ Basketball Coach Mitchell Barton talks strategy during halftime.
Posts
All Comments
