U.S. consulate in Afghanistan attacked

BREAKING NEWS: 

U.S. consulate in Afghanistan attacked

Updated: Friday, September 13 2013, 04:44 AM EDT  

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The State Department says all U.S. personnel are safe after Taliban militants attacked a U.S. consulate in western Afghanistan Friday morning.   The attackers used a car bomb and guns to battle security forces just outside the compound in the city of Herat. It was not entirely clear whether any attackers managed to breach the facility, but at least two Afghans were killed along with five alleged militants.   The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.   Insurgent strikes have shifted in recent months. Once concentrated in the country's south and east, they now frequently occur in the north and west, which had been the more peaceful areas in years past.   Herat, the site of Friday's attack, lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran and is considered one of the better developed cities in the country, with a strong Iranian influence. 

Read More at: http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/features/top-story/stories/breaking-news-us-consulate-afghanistan-attacked-10862.shtml#

Oil spill disrupts traffic near ICC

Written by Emilia Teasdale  

Thursday, 12 September 2013 12:40

KINDERHOOK--State Police are investigating a fuel oil spill at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 9H where a tanker apparently rolled over at about 12:30 p.m. today (September 12).

The traffic circle will be closed until further notice. Police advise motorists to seek alternate routes. A State of Emergency has been declared for a two mile area around the accident site.

Read more...

See more coverage:

http://www.news10.com/story/23415401/tanker-rolls-over-spilling-oil-in-valatie
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101669800623030

Remember

A moment of silence, a solemn look back... 

Former NFL star's area home damaged after party of 300 teens

Posted: Sep 09, 2013 4:00 PM EDT

By Anya Tucker - email

 

 

STEPHENTOWN, N.Y. - A vacant Rensselaer County home belonging to a former NFL star was trashed after police allege 300 teens broke in, converting the old farmhouse into a wild party house.

Former New England Patriots player Brian Holloway tells NEWS10 ABC he was in Florida on August 31st when he received word that his vacant Stephentown farmhouse was the scene of a large party.

Holloway says he received word of the party from his son, who saw notifications about the party on Twitter, getting tweets that a break-in was going on at the home including drugs, alcohol, and destruction of property. 

The police were called to the scene, where they allegedly found the yard full of cars and around 300 teenaged people running from the home and barns on the property.

Investigators with the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office documented the damage finding walls spray painted, windows broken, floors scuffed by beer kegs and soaked with urine. 

But Holloway says that isn't even the worst of it. He says someone stole an eagle statue that was part of a memorial for his stillborn grandson and very important to his family.

Arkansas SWAT officers kill man, 107, in standoff

Posted: Sep 08, 2013 10:53 AM EDTUpdated: Sep 08, 2013 4:03 PM EDT

PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - A 107-year-old man was killed after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home, police in the southeastern Arkansas city of Pine Bluff said Sunday.

Police were called to the home Saturday afternoon about a disturbance and say officers arrived to find Monroe Isadore had threatened two people by pointing a weapon at them.

Obama Rejects G20 Pressure To Abandon Syria Air Strike Plan

By Matt Spetalnick and Alexei Anishchuk

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama resisted pressure on Friday to abandon plans for air strikes against Syria and enlisted the support of 10 fellow leaders for a "strong" response to a chemical weapons attack.

Obama refused to blink after Russian President Vladimir Putin led a campaign to talk him out of military intervention at a two-day summit of the Group of Twenty developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg.

He persuaded nine other G20 nations plus Spain to join the United States in signing a statement calling for a strong international response, although it fell short of supporting military strikes, underscoring the deep disagreements that dominated the summit.

A senior U.S. official said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the only European leader at the summit who did not sign the statement, held off because she wanted to let the European Union have a chance to weigh in first.

Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, made clear on Thursday that the United States had given up trying to work with the Security Council on the issue, and accused Russia of holding it hostage.

Two startups find a home in a Schodack middle school basement

Pam Allen

Reporter- The Business Review

The Schodack Central School Districtmoved in its first twostartup companies this fall, and Bob Horan is expanding the reciprocal arrangement.

Horan, Schodack’s superintendent, sees dual benefits to giving free space to the two fledgling energy companies, MICROrganic Technologies and Tumalow.

In exchange for the free space (both companies are miles away from generating revenue yet), the owners will give their time to students, and their expertise to faculty members who will develop curricula and experiments based on the companies’ technologies.

Horan said both companies’ technologies fit well with Schodack’s biotech, semiconductor and energy programs.

“It’s a great trade-off,” said Horan, who is preparing to sign on a third startup. The companies’ first introduction to the school community drew 50 faculty members.

Read more...

Wrecks stop Route 7 traffic

GREEN ISLAND — A two-car accident involving a school bus full of football players halted rush-hour traffic leaving Troy on Route 7 westbound Friday evening, officials and a witness said.

Tom Nastars, who drove by the accident just before the exit for Interstate 787, said it appeared that an East Greenbush Central School District bus had been involved in an accident with a car that "looked like it was completely smashed and had spun around" before coming to rest in the middle of the westbound lanes.

The bus was full of Columbia High Schoolfootball players and coaches heading to a game against Shenendehowa, and Nastars said no one appeared to be injured in the accident. A Colonie Emergency Services dispatcher said one minor injury had been reported shortly after the accident.

The bus reportedly arrived at the field shortly before 6:30 p.m., pushing back the start time by one hour.

The Department of Transportation shut down Route 7 westbound shortly after the accident. The road was reopened at 6:40 p.m., with continued delays, according to the DOT.

Nastars said when he passed the accident just before 6 p.m., traffic had come to a standstill.

Meanwhile, Nastars said a fender-bender on the eastbound side of Route 7 across from the westbound accident had slowed traffic to a crawl. The DOT announced at 5:45 p.m. that the eastbound lanes were closed and motorists should expect long delays.

The exhaust pipe of the bus went right through the car!" said one witness.

Word is everyone is fine.  The team made it to the game, just a little late! 

Ariel Castro found dead in prison cell

Tribune staff and wire reports

6:19 a.m. CDT, September 4, 2013

CLEVELAND—

Ariel Castro, sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape and beatings of three Cleveland women he held captive for years in his house, was found hanged in his prison cell Tuesday night, a state corrections official said.

The former school bus driver, who was under protective custody and isolated from other inmates at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, was found dead at about 9:20 p.m. when prison staff were making their rounds, Rehabilitation and Correction Department spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.

After prison medical personnel tried to resuscitate him, Castro, 53, was transferred to an area hospital and pronounced dead about 90 minutes later, she said.

Castro was sentenced on Aug. 1 to life plus 1,000 years in prison without the possibility of parole for abducting his three victims and keeping them imprisoned in the dungeon-like confines of his house, where they were starved, beaten and sexually assaulted for about a decade.

Read more... 

See more coverage

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's been just four months since Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were found in the Seymour Avenue home of Ariel Castro.

Now, the swift-moving story that caught the attention of the world has taken another staggering turn. Castro, 53, was found dead in his prison cell Tuesday night at theCorrectional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, south of Columbus.

Have you been to the Columbia County Fair yet?

School Cafeterias Improved at No Cost to District

School cafeterias are receiving new equipment and improvements this year at no cost to the district thanks to funding received from a settlement between the parent company of Chartwells food services and New York State’s Attorney General Office.

Last year, the state Attorney General announced a settlement with Compass Group USA after the company did not pass on rebates from vendors, manufacturers and distributors. As a result, Schodack CSD was one of dozens of schools to receive part of the settlement. Schodack received $105,000.

“I want to stress that we could not use this money for anything except to improve our food services. The State Attorney General’s Office was very specific about that,” said Superintendent Bob Horan. “We decided the best way to use the money was to improve our facilities for students.”

Read more... 

The British aren't coming

Read more...

WASHINGTON — The goal of the cruise missile strikes the

United States is planning to carry out in Syria is to restore

the smudged “red line” that President Obama drew a year 

ago against the use of poison gas.

Even an attack that the president has described as no more than an effort to restore the “red line” could diminish the ability of Syrian forces to attack population centers with conventional munitions, depending on how the attack is devised.

Read more... 

4th Annual Gathering of the Tribes

Another Uncle Sam statue vandalized

TROY, N.Y. -- Another case of vandalism against an Uncle Sam statue in Troy in under investigation by police.

This time is was the Uncle Sam at Barker Park that was damaged. Like two others before him, the head was removed, and the body of the statue is now in storage.

Police have not made any arrests, although they have located the head of one of the statues at a home in Mechanicville and an arrest could be imminent. 

Read more...

Thoma Tire Closing for good

766 - 8473 (TIRE)

Our hours are:  Monday - Friday    8:45am  --  5:30pm

Saturday                  7:45am   - 12:30pm

WE WILL MAINTAIN THESE HOURS UNTIL WE CLOSE 9/28.

WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY.

Thoma Tire - 3725 US RT 20  Nassau

Since 1945 - A family of tire professionals.

YES, IT IS TRUE.......

Thoma Tire is closing for good,

09/28/2013.  

See "Newsletter" page for all the details....

I am retiring to do some of the things I didn't make time for earlier.  I'll be 68 soon and can use the old joke about "retire-ing."

Nikki Hart's killer to be sentenced - 20 years to life

Updated: Monday, August 26 2013, 
12:22 PM EDT TROY -- 

The estranged boyfriend of the local 33-year-old real estate agent he admitted to killing in a drunken rage  
will be sentenced on Monday morning.   
29-year-old Jason Guynup of Troy, the live in boyfriend and father of Nikki Hart's two young 
daughters, pleaded guilty to second degree murder earlier this year. Guynup confessed to breaking into Hart's Schodack home and  stabbing her to death while she slept back in December 2012.

6 DAYS OF ENTERTAINMENT!

6 DAYS OF ENTERTAINMENT!

Cheer demo derby smackdowns. Eat pepperoni-filled bread ends til you bust. Jam to a tribute of great Eagles classics with Hotel California.

Scream like a banshee on the midway rides. Cover your ears for the thundering, black smoke-throwing, monster-pulling tractors.

Sing loud and proud the megahits of country star Joe Nichols. And while you are at it, check out the honest buckers at our Labor Day rodeo.

You can only get away with this much fun one week of the year...and it’s only at the Fair.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28

6:30PM

DEMOLITION DERBY!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29

6:30PM

DEMOLITION DERBY!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30

8:00PM

HOTEL CALIFORNIA “A SALUTE TO THE EAGLES”

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31

4:00PM

MONSTER TRACTOR PULL!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

3:00 & 8:00PM

JOE NICHOLS

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

4:00 to 6:00PM

PAINTED PONY RODEO

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

The Week

10 things you need to know today:August 24, 2013

Hasan could face the death penalty after being found guilty on multiple premeditated murder and attempted murder charges.

AP Photo/Brigitte Woosley

1. FORT HOOD SHOOTER FOUND GUILTY
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 soldiers and injured 31 more at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, was found guilty on multiple premeditated murder and attempted murder charges. Hasan, a radicalized American-born Muslim, could face the death penalty. [USA Today]
………………………………………………………………………………

Read more...

Wounded Warrior & disabled youth Military-style ‘Boot Camp’

For Immediate Release
                            
 STRIDE, Inc.                   476 North Greenbush Rd. Ste. 9 ,   Rensselaer NY 12144
        
EMAIL:  mwhitney@stride.org WEB: www.stride.org
Contact: Mary Ellen Whitney- (518) 598-1279
For Immediate Release Photo Opportunity

Wounded Warrior & disabled youth Military-style ‘Boot Camp’ 

(Chatham, NY)  If there is something that Soldiers and Marines are good at, it is leading from the front and working as a team to serve. These ideals will be put to test when Wounded Warriors are paired up one-on-one with STRIDE Adaptive Sports youth athletes for a military –style Boot Camp  retreat at the STRIDE Center for Outdoor Recreation and Education ( SCORE) in Chatham NY. 
Ten disabled youth will don Army issued uniforms, and sleep in canvas tents on cots at the campsite named ‘Yellow Ribbon’ pavilion. The 4-day event takes place this weekend Aug 22-25.  

Re-connected at last

It has been a strange, somewhat solitary week...

My computer was in the shop being de-bugged and for a solid week I was unable to connect with Facebook, my bank account, my online bill pays and my email friends - Hi everybody!

Moving my desk and office furniture has been on my list for far too long...first step was to unplug the computer, modem, monitor and mouse.  OOPS.  I probably should have taken a photo of where all those wires belong. 

After several attempts to re-connect, I called my good friend to come over and straighten me out.  

One wire plugged in the wrong port - literally 35 seconds and he had me up and running. :D Love you R.J. :D

Now when my armiore, and filing cabinet make it up the stairs my 'office' will be complete. Yay!

What's going on?

Calendar of Events

http://thescene-thescene.blogspot.com/p/what-to-do.html

August 10

August 6-18

SHREK

25 Years of free theatre… The Park Playhouse

***

August 17

The 2013 Clove Run Road Races are Coming Soon!
The Castleton Road Racing Commission in conjunction with theCastleton-Schodack Kiwanis Club have scheduled the Clove Run races to be held in the beautiful Village of Castleton on August 17th. All proceeds will once again benefit the Anchor food pantry in Castleton. There will be a children’s 1 mile fun run, a new event this year, a 5K walk, a 5K running race and a 10 mile race all starting from the Castleton Elementary School at 8:30 am. The awards ceremony will begin immediately after the races are completed with a great lunch and live music. For more information, visit the Clove Run web site at http://www.vanrensselaerdivision.org/Clove_Run/  or call the Race Director at 518-732-2940.  Runners who are interested in online pre-registration can do so at Active.com or via a link on the Clove Run web site.  A brochure containing the Race Application may be downloaded from the Web Site and mailed to the address on the Race Application. We look forward to seeing you at Castleton’s Community Running Event of the Summer! 

See more...

Pope Cries With Nathan de Brito, The Little Boy Who Brought Him To Tears (VIDEO)

Meet Nathan de Brito, the little boy who broke past barriers to run into Pope Francis' arms on Friday in order to tell him something that moved the pontiff to tears.

They embraced on the Popemobile as de Brito confided to Pope Francis, "Your Holiness, I want to be a priest of Christ, a representative of Christ."

Read more...

FREE Movie Night @ EG Pop Warner Field

To celebrate the start of the 2013 Season, the EGPW Board invites you to join us for Movie Night!

We will be showing "Here Comes the Boom" Starring Kevin James

Driver on phone when Spanish train derailed, court says

By CNN Staff

Driver on phone when Spanish train derailed, court says

Authorities have charged the train's driver, Francisco Jose Garzon, with 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.

Read more...

New, potentially fatal tick borne illness found in local areas

Posted: Jul 29, 2013 6:10 PM EDT

By Lindsay Nielsen - email

 

ALBANY, N.Y. - Ticks are now carrying a new, potentially deadly virus in our area.

According to researchers at the Wadsworth Center, the deer tick virus, also known as Powassan virus, has been found in Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia Counties.

Read more...

Hobo Heyseus filmed in Schodack

A Native (Albany) New Yorker

A cosmopolitan New York City actor known for daring roles in edgy films, Theodore Bouloukos returns to his Capital Region roots to play a gentle pastor

by Ann Morrow on July 18, 2013 · 0 comments

Actor Theodore Bouloukos is every inch a New Yorker: erudite, meticulously cultured, and almost famous within an avant-garde career. So quintessentially Manhattan is this sharp-dressed man that he was profiled in New York magazine for a series called The Locals (his locale was Carnegie Hill).

Theodore Bouloukos on the set, photo by Nathaniel Kramer

What's up?

Community Calendar

• 8/1 New Kids on The Block
• 8/4 A Day at the Dairy
• 8/6 Shrek The Musical
• 8/10 Mini Market Chicken BBQ
• 8/17 The Clove Run
• 9/7 & 9/8 Gathering of the Tribes

View the calendar here...