July
• The Guilderland Town Board unanimously passes a ban on natural gas extraction within the town’s limits in an attempt to preserve the “health, safety and welfare” of the municipality’s residents.
• The Bethlehem YMCA receives a $7,500 grant through the Walmart Foundation. The money is put toward a summer camp scholarship fund and purchasing food to feed lunches to needy campers.
• Some Bethlehem Town Board members call into question the legitimacy of a Governance Options Study drafted by an advisory committee after subcommittee members say the final version doesn’t match previous drafts. Board members say they heard concerns from members of the ward system subcommittee that the final report was changed to include recommendations from Supervisor John Clarkson and Deputy Supervisor John Smolinsky. The committee chairman says town supervisors usually take on an advisory role with committees, and oftentimes their suggestions are incorporated.
• Bethlehem’s Del Lanes celebrates its 50th anniversary under the alley’s third owner, Marvin Sontz. Del Lanes was opened in 1962 by John German during the golden age of league bowling. The facility has since been updated with more modern technology and recently underwent a $100,000 renovation of the snack and lounge area.
• Local business owners and New York Giants fans are excited for the team’s return to Albany, after a league-wide lockout led coach Tom Coughlin to hold training camp in East Rutherford in 2011. Many local businesses saw a significant dent in revenues for 2011 after it was made clear area restaurants, hotels and coffee shops wouldn’t be getting the patronage of Giants fans.
• Bethlehem police confirm the identity of a body found in a wooded area off of Route 9W in Selkirk. The body is identified through fingerprints as that of George W. Flannery Jr., 46, who was reported missing in July of 2011 by his sister in Florida. Flannery is believed to be deceased for six months before he was found and the cause of death is listed as “undetermined.”
• A Bethlehem teen is severely injured after being hit by a tractor trailer. Witnesses say 16-year-old Shayne Coluccio was “visibly intoxicated” after leaving a house party on Elm Avenue and was hit by the truck while riding home on his bike. He was not wearing a helmet. Brett Belleville, 21, and Mike Anthony Crisafulli, 17, who threw the party, are charged with misdemeanors counts of unlawfully dealing with a child, acting in a manner injurious to a child and possession of marijuana after turning themselves in.
August
• The first Trader Joe’s grocery store in the Capital District opens on Wolf Road in Colonie. Several hundred people wait in line to be among the first to enter the 13,000-square-foot store after a Facebook campaign worked to catch the company’s attention.
• Work officially begins on a $2.2 million project to expand the Slingerlands Firehouse. The entire project is expected to be completed by the spring. The expansion will add two bays,more storage areas for equipment and files, a radio room in the front of the building and a decontamination station.
• The Bethlehem Central school board asks the public to weigh in on borrowing for district-wide facilities upgrades. At this initial stage, about $9.1 million of upgrades are suggested over 10 years to fix the infrastructure of buildings, upgrade water and lighting fixtures and replace aging equipment. About another $4 million would be needed to make expansive athletic facilities improvements and I.T. system upgrades.
• Bethlehem Comptroller Mike Cohen presents the Town Board with a mid-year fund balance analysis that shows the town saved more than $1 million in 2012 by leaving the equivalent of 17 full-time jobs unfilled. The suggestion is made to use the money to offset growing pension costs.
• Construction begins on a new guided school program building at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Five Rivers Education Center in Bethlehem. The money for the project was donated by the Friends of Five Rivers and the family of Wendy Repass Suozzo, who began the program in 1978.
• After less than one year in her position as Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District superintendent, Elisabeth Smith opts to retire. She was appointed interim superintendent in August of 2011, before being named superintendent in December. Smith announces her decision at the district’s Aug. 21 Board of Education meeting and says it had nothing to do with the recent tumultuous events at RCS.
September
• Budget and economic development are the main discussion points at a forum between the two Democratic primary candidates for an open Bethlehem Town Board seat. On Tuesday, Sept. 4, candidates Bill Reinhardt and Jack Cunningham meet to answer questions from the audience at a forum sponsored by the Albany County League of Women Voters and Spotlight Newspapers at Delmar Presbyterian Church. Reinhardt narrowly wins the primary the next week.
• A crowded field of Democratic candidates for the 109th Assembly District make efforts to differentiate their positions to voters one week before a primary that would see most of their bids ended. At a Thursday, Sept. 6, forum at Albany Law School, Democratic and Independent candidates met to discuss issues like hydraulic fracturing, property tax relief and the need to stop unfunded mandates. Former president of the Albany City School Board Patricia Fahy eventually wins the race.
• As incumbent Neil Breslin attempts to win a ninth term as a state senator, 44th Senate District primary challenger Shawn Morse says it’s high time for a change at a forum held on Sept. 6 at Albany Law School. Both men campaign in favor of an increase to minimum wage, a change to education funding and the need for campaign finance reform, but Breslin wins the race several days later.
• At a forum held by the Bethlehem Central School District to discuss bonding for facilities upgrades, residents and parents say they felt slighted by previous bonds because only half of the money went to infrastructure projects, while they presumed it would have taken care of all the needed upgrades. They ask for greater transparency from the district and more specific cost projections.
• After a multi-month struggle, the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Community Library is allowed to stay in its space within the Ravena Village Building until the end of the year, after a deal is struck with the mayor. However, library officials say more time is needed to finalize a deal to move to their new location at the former Knights of Columbus building at 95 Main Street and make renovations.
• Bethlehem Supervisor John Clarkson’s 2013 tentative town budget calls for an 8 percent tax levy increase and the loss of 16 staff positions through attrition. The $37.9 million plan also calls for a 1.8 percent decrease in spending through a number of cuts, including no longer funding the Colonial Acres Golf Course, reducing operation days at the compost facility and transfer station, reducing staff hours for the Parks and Recreation Department and increasing field use fees to offset maintenance costs.
• After more than two years of work, the Slingerlands Historical District is officially added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Town residents and local officials come together to celebrate the milestone at the Slingerlands Community United Methodist Church. All of the research required to finish the project and qualify for the distinction took many months, but residents had talked about creating the district for nearly two decades.
• Plans for the Vista Technology Campus are becoming a reality as the first business within the park opens its doors. The Slingerlands ShopRite officially opens to long lines of eager customers. Ending the wait for Bethlehem residents, the 65,000-square-foot location is the third ShopRite supermarket to open in the Capital District since last October.
October
• Delmar resident and Elsmere volunteer firefighter Christopher Massie is selected to appear on comedian Mo Rocca’s new cooking show “My Grandmother’s Ravioli’s” after applying online. The Cooking Channel show comes to Bethlehem to film for several days and the topic of the show is about grandparents sharing their favorite recipes so they aren’t lost for future generations. The show aired on Dec. 12.
• Bethlehem’s Democratic Party is under new leadership after Councilman Jeffrey Kuhn is voted into the position of town committee chairman after a weighted committee vote. Longtime committee Chairman Matt Clyne is forced to step down as a result, but maintains his county leadership.
• Albany County Executive Dan McCoy’s 2013 tentative budge calls for an 8.9 percent tax levy increase and includes a plan to privatize the county nursing home. The proposed $568 million budget would increase spending by 1.4 percent from 2012. The tax hike, in excess of the state property tax cap, would result in a $60 tax increase for a home valued at $200,000.
• The Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency opts to restructure its tax abatement policy after receiving pushback over tax breaks given to retail businesses. The new structure is meant to be easier to understand and eliminates an abatement level that was rarely used. The new policy has eliminated the use of tiers and businesses applying for abatements can now apply for “standard” or “enhanced” policies. However, they can also still apply for a special abatement tailored to their specific needs.
• In a split vote, the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District Board of Education appoints former Voorheesville Superintendent Alan McCartney as interim superintendent. McCartney left his previous post after an audit from the state comptroller’s office found he was misappropriating district funds. The board votes 5-4 in favor of the appointment, with some saying McCartney is not the best choice.
• The Bethlehem Central School District saved more money than expected by consolidating bus stops and operating buses at fuller capacities, according to district officials. School board members are told the changes are expected to end up saving the district between $500,000 and $800,000. Conservative estimates last spring called for a $125,000 savings. The majority of the savings came from eliminating bus drivers.
November
• Incoming Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District Superintendent Alan McCartney asks parents, staff and school officials to give him a chance to prove his worth. McCartney says he’s trying to move forward from previous mistakes and is working to get RCS on the right path and get everybody working in the same direction. Some of his goals include making sure parents are more informed to prevent rumors, giving teachers and staff more of a voice and to solve the district’s “extraneous issues.”
• Bethlehem resident and hardware store owner Jon Phillips brings supplies and generators to a store in New Jersey to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy after he overstocked his stores in preparation for the storm in the Capital District. He also begins a drive to ask those who recently bought generators to donate then or resell then so they could be brought to areas worse off.
• After a close Democratic primary race for Bethlehem Town Board, Bill Reinhardt wins the general election with a significant lead over his opponents. Reinhardt beats Republican candidate Jeremy Martelle, 8,532 votes to 5,760 votes, in the Tuesday, Nov. 6, election. Former Supervisor Jack Cunningham, who ran against Reinhardt in the primary, stayed on the ballot on the Independence line but did not campaign after the primary. He comes in third with 1,762 votes.
• Democratic candidate Patricia Fahy has wins her bid to represent the newly redrawn 109th State Assembly district by a wide margin. Fahy beats Republican candidate Ted Danz 35,043 votes to 18,039 votes. Conservative candidate Joseph Sullivan receives 1,897 votes. In the 44th Senate District race, incumbent Democratic candidate Neil Breslin beats the Green Party’s Peter LaVenia 79,459 votes to 8,232 votes.
• After weeks of discussions and public meetings, the Bethlehem Town Board passes unchanged the 2013 budget proposed by Supervisor John Clarkson. The budget passes in a 3-2 vote, with Town Board members Kyle Kotary and Joann Dawson dissenting. Both say they do not agree with increasing the tax levy by 8 percent, saying residents are already struggling.
• Author and alumni Gregory Maguire selects the University at Albany as the place to donate his professional papers for future scholarly use. Maguire is the author of “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” published in 1995. He grew up in Albany and says the construction of the dorm towers at UAlbany may have inspired him to write about Oz.
December
• Some caring citizens step forward to help out the Bethlehem Lions Club after a holiday Grinch steals dozens of Christmas trees from the lot where the group’s annual sale is held. Club members Dan Ryan and Ulrich Rudofsky, co-organizers of the sale, say 34 trees were stolen with an estimated value of $1,200. Members from the community and surrounding area donate a surveillance system and funds to help make up the loss. The sale benefits the club’s community projects.
• Bethlehem Central Board of Education members exhibit a slight case of sticker shock when estimates for facilities upgrades jump by millions following an architect’s review. Daniel Heukrath from educational design firm Ashley McGraw presents the school board with estimates and options to upgrade the high school’s athletic field and make repairs and upgrades at several buildings. Doing all the work will cost close to $29 million, including future material costs and labor.
• The Elsmere Fire District is looking to cut costs by reducing its annual benefits contributions to its volunteer firefighters. Jack Brennan, chairman of the Elsmere Fire Commissioners, says payments into the district’s Length of Service Award Program now make up a significant amount of the district’s budget. Officials want the change to lower the burden on taxpayers. Each year, firefighters would be given a flat amount of $700 to be placed into their account to accrue interest. The proposal is eventually accepted after a public referndum.
• The Christopher Porco murder story will soon be portrayed through a Lifetime television movie. The network announces the movie will be called “Romeo Killer: The Christopher Porco Story” and will focus on the Delmar native and University of Rochester student who was convicted of killing his father and attempting to kill his mother with an ax in 2004. The movie will air sometime in 2013.
• As a special service project to honor Girl Scout’s founder Juliette Gordon Low, members of Bethlehem’s Junior Girl Scout Troop 1546 make it their mission to collect 100 winter coats to donate them to local charitable organizations.
• A group of Bethlehem commuters unhappy with recent changes to their bus route meet with town and Capital District Transportation Authority officials to discuss problems they have witnessed along Route 18 since the changes went into effect on Nov. 11. Complaints include busses being off schedule, overcrowded or having unsafe riding conditions. CDTA officials ask for more time to address the issues.