How much of a tax increase will voters approve?

Notes to Self

Budget Woes
Schodack School District


The Schodack Central School District presented the first draft of its 2011-12 Budget at the February 17 Board of Education meeting, a $21,072,866 budget that would require an estimated 4 percent increase in the tax rate. Details are outlined in this  Power Point Presentation.


Be sure to attend the next Budget Advisory Meeting March 3. 
The Board of Education wants your input.

• Fundraising with The Raisers Edge: A Non-Technical Guide
• School District Budgeting 
• School Finance: A Policy Perspective 
• Beyond the Bake Sale: The Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book 

What To Do

Click the link What To Do and check out what's going on at local libraries and museums. 

There are plenty of offerings in and around town for the President's Week break from School!

Find something fun to do in and around the neighborhood!
Most activities are FREE too! Go out and play!
Don't forget your camera!

Artists or Athletes?

Are modified sports more important than music and art? These are some of the tough questions facing our Board of Education as they wade knee-deep into the school's budget season.

Art or Athletics - Who can decide? To make a choice like that, I suppose it depends on your child's passion.

Budget Season is Underway in Schodack

Robert Horan, Superintendent of Schodack Central Schools sent information to residents who have joined the discussion about the upcoming school year's budget.

Read about the Budget Advisory Meeting!

In an email from Mr. Horan, he writes:
"As expected, there was a lot of very good discussion and conversation, something we want to continue with at our next CBAT meeting scheduled for March 3^rd."


Mark your calendar, get involved! 

Feel Good Discount

Feel Better 50% OFF

Ivy Spa Discount

• Expires in 1 year
• Limit 1 per person. Valid only for service purchased. New clients only. Must use in 1 visit, no cash back. Gratuity not included.

Schodack Board of Education Meeting - Thursday, February 17 at 7 p.m.

The Board of Education will hold a meeting on Thursday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the High School library. The first draft of the 2011-12 school budget will be presented. Interested residents are welcome to attend.

Budget Season is underway.  Stay tuned...

Public Meeting Notice

The Board of Trustees of the Castleton Public Library will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 21, 2011 at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Castleton Village Hall, 85 South Main Street, Castleton, New York. 

The meeting is open to the public. Residents of the Village of Castleton and the Town of Schodack are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Questions may be directed to the library at 518.732.0879.

Free Music

Get 15 free songs including some of the top hits from Broadway!

Lacrosse at Maple Hill

Maple Hill Youth Lacrosse

 

Registration Now Open for Maple Hill Youth Lacrosse

Maple Hill Youth Lacrosse has opened its registration for the 2011 spring season. For information, please visit the Maple Hill Youth Lacrosse website. Please note, the Maple Hill Youth Lacrosse League is run independently from Schodack CSD and is self-financed, receiving no school district funds. 

Posted on Schodack's site 2/14/11.

Go Wildcats!

Maple Hill Seniors Win Section Championships in Wrestling

Advertise Locally

Advertise on the SCENE

Your neighbors make the best customers.



 

Teen Day at the Castleton Public Library

The F Word

Vistaprint offers FREE STUFF ~ Really Free!

NYS Museum

So much to do at the NYS Museum

Check out the Calendar of Events

LaFarge Public Health Assessment

The New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) is completing a public health assessment for communities near the Lafarge Cement Plant in Ravena, New York. Using the public health assessment process, scientists at the NYS DOH Center for Environmental Health are helping to address people's concerns about emissions from the cement plant and possible effects on health.

Public Comment Draft, Phase One Report during a public comment period which will extend until February 15, 2011. After that time, NYS DOH will develop a final Phase One Report that will include consideration of public comments.

• Public Comment Draft, Phase One Report (PDF, 3.26MB, 137pg.)

This is the ONLY OPPORTUNITY left and it will end on Feb 22nd.

 

Free Ice Skating 

The Ice Skating rink at Schodack Island State Park in now open seven days a week.

Free admission!

Friday night skating will start January 14. On Friday nights the snack bar will be open from 5 to 8 pm. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pork chop on a stick, and more hot foods. 

Food by the Schodack Landing Fire Company!

http://nysparks.com/parks/attachments/SchodackIsland2011IceSkatingSchedule.pdf.

Fire at Evergreen Country Club

Schodack Valley called to Evergreen Country Club

At around 5 a.m. Saturday, February 12, a fire destroyed a maintenance building on the grounds of the Evergreen Country Club. The Schodack Valley Fire Department with other local fire companies extinguished the fire and assisted with clean up of what was left of the destroyed building.

Photo by Catherine Sager

Read More Here

Pizza Night This Saturday

Schodack Valley Pizza Night Saturday, March 19

Schodack Valley Pizza Night is scheduled for Saturday, March 19 from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Eat in or Take Out (518) 477-4215. Pizza, wings with home-made wing sauce (mild, hot, BBQ and Garlic Parmesan), mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, fully loaded, freshly made, antipasto and side salads all available!

The next Pizza Night is scheduled for Saturday, April 15.

What To Do

Free Ice Skating 

The Ice Skating rink at Schodack Island State Park in now open seven days a week. Free admission!

 View the flyer 

http://nysparks.com/parks/attachments/SchodackIsland2011IceSkatingSchedule.pdf.

Fed Ex in EG

Nearby 

 Fed Ex Coming to East Greenbush

 

 

 

 

 

Teen Day at CPL

Come to the Library on February 22, anytime from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Teen Day

•  Wii Games

• Snacks

• Board Games

• Watch a Movie 

 

Check out the F Word

Free Coffee or Oatmeal at Pilot Travel Centers

Artificial Intelligence

Meet Watson

A computer named Watson is the latest contestant in machine versus human battles of the "mind."

Next week the IBM supercomputer known as "Watson" will take on two of the most accomplished Jeopardy players of all time, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, in a three-game match starting on February 14.

A computer taking on the best human contestants on Jeopardy!?—the prospect is perhaps even more astonishing than when IBM's Deep Blue computer challenged the world's top chess player in 1997 (and won). NOVA recently asked three experts on artificial intelligence about Watson, its capabilities, and its implications beyond the game show. They include David Ferrucci, head of the IBM team that programmed Watson to play on Jeopardy!; Rodney Brooks, roboticist and recently retired head of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT; and Luis von Ahn, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon and an inventor of CAPTCHA, the squiggly words and numbers used in computing to ensure a response is not coming from a computer. The following is an edited version of that conversation.

 Click the link above and read the whole interview with NOVA.

So we don't have to worry about HAL from 2001...

Von Ahn: We don't have to worry about HAL just yet. Maybe in a hundred years or so. But that's okay; we'll be dead. [laughter]

One last question for Dave: What's the silliest answer you ever heard from Watson?

Ferrucci: Well, as Watson's developed over the years, it's had a lot of silly answers; there's quite a variety of them. I guess one of my favorites is we asked it "What do grasshoppers eat?" and its answer was "kosher." [laughter]

Community Budget Advisory Meeting

Schodack residents discussed the budget challenges facing its schools on January 6 when the Community Budget Advisory Team met for the first of four scheduled meetings.

This year’s meetings will provide more opportunities for residents to ask questions and offer advice, noted Superintendent Robert Horan. He encouraged anyone interested to attend the remaining meetings, scheduled for February 8, March 3 and March 29.

“Your input is very, very important to us. These are your meetings. We want to hear from you,” Mr. Horan said. “We’re all in this together. We’re all here to provide the best education we can for our students.”

Freebies Check out the F Word Page

Freebies from Pilot expires Mar. 31, 2011

Free Photo Collage at Sears through Apr. 19, 2011

Free movie drink – Use this Facebook coupon to get a free drink at Regal Cinemas when you buy any popcorn.

So much to do at the NYS Museum

Coming up

“Rain or Shine ... It’s Reading Time” Family Fun

Where: State Museum - South Hall lobby

When: Wednesday, February 9, 10:30 a.m.

Animal Tracking in the Pine Bush
February 12, 2011 :  9:30 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. 

• Snow Day!
• Let It Snow
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

Invisible Children Benefit Concert

The Benefit Concert on Saturday night raised almost $300 for Invisible Children.

Thanks to performances by:  

• Ryan Rodriquez
• Boyish Good Looks
• Rachelle Honsinger
• Like Lions
• Emily Fuller
• Uncle Joel's Comb!

Take a look at some photos from the show.

What To Do

What To Do

Castleton Library Calendar of Events

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
So much to do at the NYS Museum

This week

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday at MHHS

Benefit Show Saturday~

Paying for College Without Going Broke 

Workshop  at MHHS

-Thursday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. 
 
MHHS will host a "Paying for College Without Going Broke" workshop tonight Thursday, 
February 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the MHHS Distance Learning Lab. 

If interested, please register by e-mailing Continuing Education Director Theresa Hovish 
thovish@schodack.k12.ny.us  Subject:Paying for  College Workshop.  

The workshop is free but parents are asked to pre-register.

Friday

Notes to Self

Blotter 1/3-1/8

Blotter

SCHODACK 1/3-1/8, 2011

Be Safe with Winter Weather Tips from the CDC

Winter Weather: Take Steps

Taking preventive action is your best defense against having to deal with extreme cold-weather conditions. By preparing your home and car in advance for winter emergencies, and by observing safety precautions during times of extremely cold weather, you can reduce the risk of weather-related health problems.

• Before a Storm
  Plan ahead. Prepare for a winter storm before it hits.
  More
•  
• During a Storm
  Find out what you can do to protect yourself and your family during a winter storm.
  More
•  
• After a Storm
  Learn how to clean up safely after a winter storm.
  More

Saturday at MHHS

Benefit Show Saturday~

Postponed show rescheduled

NEW DATE, February 5,2010

Concert at MHHS 

 

 Time - Saturday, FEBRUARY 5 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Location - Maple Hill High School

Created By- Emily Nicole Fuller

Read more »

All You Can Eat Breakfast

All You Can Eat Breakfast

Castleton Fire Company All You Can Eat Breakfast Sunday, February 6, from 8 - noon (11 Green Avenue, Castleton, NY). Come down for some great food. Eggs cooked to order, home fries, bacon, sausage, french toast, toast, coffee, tea and orange juice!

"Weather" we like it or not

Winter Storm Warning
	Issued: 541 PM EST MON JAN 31 2011
	Expires: 600 AM EST THU FEB 03 2011

February Events at CPL

Castleton Library Calendar of Events

Blotter

SCHODACK 1/1-1/3, 2011

What to Do

Plenty to do this week at the New York State Museum.

Erica Sager Graduates From SUNY Potsdam

 Erica Sager Earns Spot on President's List

Benefit Show Saturday~

Postponed show rescheduled

NEW DATE, February 5,2010

Concert at MHHS 

Time - Saturday, FEBRUARY 5 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Location - Maple Hill High School

Created By- Emily Nicole Fuller

Superbowl Sub Sale

Castleton Volunteer Ambulance
Sub Sandwich Sale

 

For many football fans in the area, the superbowl just wouldn't be the same with a stop by the The Castleton Volunteer Ambulance Superbowl Sub Sale.

The Ambulance company will again be having their sub sandwich sale on Super Bowl Sunday, February 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Cathy Jensis has been making subs for this event with in Castleton for more than 10 years.  
"For 20 years before that," she said, "we made subs at the NYS Jaycees."  

The 12 inch subs are $5.00 each, and are available with ham, turkey, roast beef, or Italian mixed. Call Cathy at 732-2722 to pre-order. Drive through the ambulance garage, to pick up your order before you head to the game!

Ice Skating

SCHODACK ISLAND STATE PARK

1 Schodack Island Way

Schodack Landing, New York 12156

FREE

Chicken Dinners

Castleton Kiwanis Club Chicken Barbecue Dinners
 

The Castleton Kiwanis Club will be selling chicken barbecue dinners on Sunday, January 30, to raise monies for its community service programs.  The cost of the dinners is $8.50, and the dinners may be picked up from 12:00 noon to 5:00 P.M. at the Castleton Volunteer Fire Company in Castleton.  For more information or to order the dinners, call 732-2225.

Election to be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Legal Notice - Village of Castleton

The Board of Trustees designates the following offices vacant at the end of the current official year, to be filled at the Village Election to be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2011, for the following terms.


Click here to read more

International Dessert Night Rescheduled

MHMS International Dessert Night Tonight

  Wednesday, April 27.