Kiwanis Club of Sand Lake, NY

President Gary Meislin                                                                                                                                          Secretary Patricia A. Lane

President-Elect Skip Patton                                                                                                                           Treasurer Robert S. Pasquarelli

Webmaster David E. Booker                                                                                                                       Immediate Past Pres Gerald Tysiak

Sandpiper Editor Margaret Weiss                                                                                                                         Photographer James Rogers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John C. Brownrigg, James M. Colabelli, Eve M. Ward

Joseph M. Behson, Raymond C. Turner, , William M. Whipple

Barbara Fioravanti, Robert R. Loveridge & Ron Wagner

MEETING OF APRIL 26, 2010

PRESIDENT Gary Meislin presiding

GREETINGS & INVOCATION by Nancy W. Davis

GUESTS:  Prospective member Ken Noland, 2nd visit; APCSD Board Pres Neil Bonesteel; Asst. Supt. for Business Michael Oimet; BOE member Chris Foster

(left to right) Chris Foster, Jo Moccia, Mike Oimet & Neil Bonesteel

WELCOME BACK:  APCSD Supt of Schools Jo Moccia!  And Jim Parslow!

SIGNUP SHEETS FOR PROJECTS

            DOORS OF HOPE for Fri May 7 and Tues May 18:  No names received!

            BLOOD DRIVE Thurs Apr 29:  Davis, Weiss, James, Pasquarelli, Gates, Ward, Lane

            PARADE OF VEHICLES Sat May 8:  No names received!

            FOOD TRAILER Sat May 8 @ Butler Park after Parade of Vehicles:  No names received!

            BLOOD SCREENING Sat May 15 @ APHS:  No names received!

            INTERCLUB to Hoosick Falls Tues May 4:  Ward, Weiss, Lane, Brownrigg, Tysiak, Rogers, Booker & Behson

PERFECT ATTENDANCE AWARDS to Barb Fioravanti for 16 years, and to Fred Wurtemberger for 37 years! 

         CONGRATULATIONS!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         Nancy:  Thanks to all who helped clean up Route 351 between Routes 43 and 66!  Workers were SLKs Fioravanti, Lane, Behson, Dorr, Ginther, Mulligan, Patton, Davis, Loveridge, plus Key Clubbers, 1 from Averill Park, and 6 from Columbia HS.

·         Nancy also thanked ALL who unloaded the food truck at Doors of Hope last Tues Apr 20:

Carpenter, Wheeler, Patti, Behson, Mulligan, Booker, Ginther, Tysiak, and Davis!

·         Eve:  The official NY District GOVERNOR’S VISIT (of our own Gov Dave!) to the Van Rensselaer Division will be held Sat June 5 from 3 to 7 PM at Butler Park, but it is NOT just a picnic!  Dress is dressy casual (no shorts, tee shirts or jeans) and it will be a catered pig roast with sides, hors d’oeuvres, and beverages (beer, wine, soda, water) served on tables with cloths under tents.  SLK members will be asked to bring an hors d’oeuvre.  All Clubs in the Division are invited.  Cost will be $30 pp, and prepaid reservations are required by Wed May 12.  Call Eve at 674-2994 or email <wsandlake@aol.com> for more information.   We hope to see everyone there!

·         Jerry Tysiak:  The nominating committee announces the following slate of DIRECTORS & OFFICERS for the Kiwanis Administrative Year October 2010 through September 2011.        To fill 3 vacancies on the Board of Directors:  John Brownrigg, Michael Gates, Bryce Ginther, John Mulligan, Eve Ward, Miller Young. 

Officer candidates are President Skip Patton, President-Elect Pat Lane, Vice President Randy Wheeler, Treasurer Bob Pasquarelli.  There were no additional nominations, and the slate will be announced again at the next meeting on May 5, and again at the annual meeting on May 10.  Additional nominations may be made at those times.

·         From Wendy Prout of the Troy Club, an invitation to the 2nd Annual “TASTE OF BRITTONKILL” this Sunday, May 2 from 4 – 7 PM at the Troy Country Club.  Participating establishments will be serving an array of delicious treats, and businesses have donated an outstanding array of raffle prizes for you to win.  Cost is $20 pp ($10 children under 12).  Tickets are available from Wendy at 279-4536 or <wensped@aol.com>.

·         Community Health Night will be at the APHS this Wed April 28.  All are invited to attend.

·         Mark your calendars – BSA CAMP ROTARY WORK NIGHT will be Mon June 14 in lieu of our regular meeting.  Signup later; a popular steak roast follows the work of getting the camp ready for the summer season so reservations are necessary.  Members will be asked to bring salads and desserts.

·         Bob Loveridge:  30 of us pledged to support the Annual SKIP-A-MEAL, and our donations are due to Kiwanis International Foundation by April 30.  Will the following 6 please contact Bob either at home 470-0017 or work 270-5448X255 ASAP:  Colabelli, Johnsen, Meislin, Pasquarelli, Patton, & Rosenberger.

·         Bob Loveridge announced TOURS OF THE KPTU at Albany Med.  Priority is for those who have never seen the facility, and for Key Club members.  They will be Weds May 12 and 19 at 6 PM. 

PROGRAM

          Dr Jo Moccia, Averill Park’s Superintendent of Schools, introduced Neil Bonesteel, Board of Education member for 18 years and President for the last two years, Michael Oimet, Assistant Superintendent for Business, and Chris Foster, Board member.  Cooperatively they presented a power point picture of the AP school situation.  The district now has 3357 students from 2200 families with next year’s enrollment showing 3262, a drop of nearly 100.  It encompasses 140 square miles, with 73 buses traveling 1 million miles per year.  AP is supported by 8814 taxable parcels, is academically successful, and the largest local employer.  Compared to other districts, we are very stable, with fewer minorities, fewer students with disabilities, and very few with limited English proficiency, or homeless.  5% are enrolled in private schools, and 1% are home schooled.  We show 96% student attendance, have a 91% graduation rate, with 85% post secondary education.  Our graduation rate is the highest in Rensselaer County, and we are in the top 3 with Niskayuna and Bethlehem in the Capital District.  Between 86% and 99% of AP students pass all Regents exams on the first attempt.  Obviously, we are doing our jobs!  The total budget for 2010-11 is down 0.92%, (or $512,787), with 73.7% going for program, 18.6% for capital expenditures, and 7.7% for administrative costs.  The tax levy increase is 1.96%.  The budget as proposed maintains class sizes, instructional programs, transportation, athletics, extra-curricular activities, art, music, and library.  To attain this, two buildings have been slated for closing, George Washington Elementary and Sand Lake Elementary.  The GWS closing in particular is an emotional casualty for those involved, but all students will be together in the Poestenkill Elementary School, and the 4th & 5th grades from SL will go to Miller Hill.  Full time faculty will be reduced by 12.5 (including retirements, resignations, some on leave not to be replaced, and lay-offs), and some professional development and mentoring will be reduced, as will business offerings, and BOCES services.  The district also has reduced its energy use and has saved $1.7 million over 4 years.  Like all other districts, we have lost state aid, but due to wise use of reserve funds, will not have to resort to borrowing money.  Plans are to rent the two empty buildings for some form of educational activities.  Defeat of the proposed $55,437,669 budget will cause a contingency budget to go into effect, which will require a further reduction of $738,695.  Detailed copies of the budget are available in a 13 page handout.  There are 7 candidates for 3 Board seats:  Schaefer, Dimin, Reinhardt, Fanfa, Salisbury, Valente, and Bonesteel.  They can be met at an informational meeting at Algonquin MS on Tues May 11 at 6:30 PM.  VOTE MAY 18 at the HS from 7 AM to 9 PM.  You must be a US citizen, a district resident for at least 30 days, and 18 years of age or older.  Picture ID will be required, with NO exceptions.

Dr Jo and her 3 associates were soundly thanked for a most lucid presentation.

HAPPY DOLLARS

$     Nancy, for all the cooperation on the highway cleanup last Saturday morning!

$     Gov Dave, for another wonderful Gov’s visit to the Genesee Division (Brockport/Leroy), and for the “$20 Booker Bills”!

$     Jerry:  I’m so glad our Governor is making money!

$     Pat:  Thanks to Dr Jo and Company for all that hard work!

$     Pres Gary:  My son from Washington attended a session of the Jewish War Veterans.  He has been working with the Israeli Defense Force, and next year he will be going to Command and General Staff College, and hopes to become a Lt Col! 

DOOR PRIZE, a dinner provided by Dr Jo, was won by Dudley Dorr!

50/50 for $23 was won by Bryce Ginther!

MEGA 50/50 grew to $78.50 but outsmarted Peg Weiss who picked the Queen of Spades from the 48 card deck.  Too bad!

NEXT WEEK            NO PROGRAM:  BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 

MAY 3                        GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  John Glasser

MAY 10                      ANNUAL MEETING & ELECTION OF OFFICERS/DIRECTORS

                                    GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Bill Keiley

MAY 17                      PROGRAM BY THE LEGACY COMMITTEE

                                    GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  George Raneri

MAY 24                      PROGRAM:  Joe Cybulski

                                    GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Botsy Rosenberger

MAY 31                      NO MEETING – MARCH IN MEMORIAL DAY PARADE!

JUNE 7                       NO PROGRAM – BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

JUNE 14                     WORK NIGHT AT CAMP ROTARY – STEAK ROAST

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

          “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

                                                                                                                        James M. Barrie

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