The Altamont Enterprise

Wednesday 19 June

Laurel Dover Searle

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Eye of The Hawk

young coopers hawk img 5974-web The Enterprise — James E. Gardner
On the lookout: This Cooper’s hawk recently perched near the bird feeder at a Knox home, was not looking for sunflower seeds. The strong reddish-orange around its pupil means this bird is a juvenile; the eye turns to full red in adults. The pronounced white in the feathers is another indication of a young bird.

Spring Home & Garden

homegarden2013 Click here for our Spring Home & Garden section

Regional

Protesting Tests

Details: Published on Tuesday, 18 June 2013 19:31

dsc 6877-web The Enterprise — Mike Seinberg
Signs of protest dotted the crowd Saturday at the State Capitol in a protest of standardized tests with messages that included “Life Is Not a Multiple Choice Test,” “Opting Out Is An Option,” “We Teach Outside the Bubble,” “John King, Not King John,” and this message held by a serious 10-year-old.

dsc 6854-web The Enterprise — Mike Seinberg
Fist raised high, Richard Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers, rallies a crowd protesting standardized tests at the state capitol in Albany on Saturday. NYSUT had earlier agreed to allow student performance to be part of an evaluation system for teachers and principals in order for the state to qualify for federal Race to the Top funds. At the same time, the state has implemented tests as part of its adoption of Common Core — a new set of standards and curricula being used nationwide, meant to enrich student learning.

After sequestration, Head Start services outside of city cut

Details: Published on Friday, 24 May 2013 21:44

By Marcello Iaia

ALBANY COUNTY — Head Start programs at Berne-Knox-Westerlo and three other areas outside of Albany could lose funds next year for pre-school students in low-income families. The cuts are tied to a grant renewal affected by sequestration.

A council of parent representatives for the Albany Community Action Partnership voted for a proposal to cut its Head Start funding in Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Ravena, Cohoes, and Watervliet. ACAP has administered the federal grant money since 1966.

The ACAP Head Start program was reduced by about 77 slots down from nearly 500, in order to absorb the $232,000 taken from a $4.4 million grant for Albany County, said ACAP’s executive director, Kathleen Cloutier.

Head Start provides two meals a day, special-education services, parenting skills training, and medical and dental services for 3- and 4-year-olds and their low-income families. At BKW and other districts, Head Start programs are combined with Universal Pre-K classes that are not income-based and are funded separately through the State Education Department.

Cloutier said the decision to cut enrollment instead of hours was based on need and was suggested by the federal Office of Head Start. The highest numbers of children on waiting lists and living in poverty are near inner-city locations, she said.

Decker emerged from shyness to help others, now recognized for leadership

Details: Published on Monday, 20 May 2013 15:15

“The love of what is right is easily communicated.”

— A meditation by Saint John Baptist De La Salle

By Melissa Hale-Spencer

kenneth decker rev. ward-web — Photo from the La Salle School
Wearing matching Founders Week shirts, Kenneth Decker, right, a La Salle School senior, and Rev. Richard Ward, the campus minister, share a smile. Decker is one of six area youth honored yesterday by the Rotary Club of Albany. The La Salle School was founded in 1854 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers to serve abandoned and orphaned boys. The school now provides both residential and day services to 230 adolescent boys and their families.

Sometimes a life can be crystallized into moments, each one distinct and riveting.

Kenny Decker remembers throwing the opening pitch for a ValleyCats game last year. A Yankees’ fan, he loves the sport. When the West Coast matches are too late for him to watch, he checks the next day’s newspaper to catch up.

He was at the ValleyCats game with a group from the La Salle School.

“It was nerve-wracking with all the fans watching,” he said. “I think I threw it over the plate.”

Decker was recognized yesterday with five other local kids who have beaten the odds — who have gotten the ball over the plate despite their hardships — at a luncheon put on by the Rotary Club of Albany.

Decker shared another snapshot: He was recently confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church. He’s over six feet tall and weighs 163 pounds. He’s fit and active — most comfortable outdoors in casual clothes.

But there he was in a suit and tie in a church filled with 600 people. He walked down the church aisle towards the bishop with Rev. Richard Ward, the La Salle campus minister, a half-foot shorter, literally and figuratively behind him.

Life is busy, smelly, but always interesting

Details: Published on Friday, 17 May 2013 21:03

By Jo E. Prout

beagle buddies-web — Photo by Jo E. Prout
Beagle buddies: When Clara and Marcela are not busy with home-improvement work, they enjoy relaxing with their beagle, Annie. All three smiled for the picture, Annie most of all.There’s an office joke about how my house tends to need major improvements just in time for each special section. Since I’m footing the bill for these improvements, otherwise known as repairs, I don’t usually laugh.

When my editor, knowing that my home has been for sale for four years, asked me to submit a column for the Spring Real Estate section this week, I smugly smiled to myself; I had no column to write. Not only had no misguided Realtor or potential buyer insulted my taste or my home, but nothing requiring improvement had happened at my house in the last six months.

Oh, sure, there had been a nibble of interest in the house, but it hadn’t ended badly, merely awkwardly and disjointedly.

I’d placed an ad on Craigslist for our rural Victorian farmhouse. One woman wrote back, asking for more information and more pictures. She didn’t seem to be a scammer, so I responded. She said the pictures were beautiful and she asked to see the house.

While she may not have been a scammer, she could have been casing the joint — for what, I don’t know. Chewed up dog bones, or broken plastic toys, maybe.

She signed her name. I’m a reporter. Naturally, I looked her up. I wasn’t going to clean my house for a would-be thief. Worse than that, what if she didn’t have a pre-qualification letter from a bank? Horrors! No letter, no cleaning! No way!