A common saw on the worth of bats is human-centric: They eat bugs.

A bat, in a single night, will eat half of its weight in insects — not just the mosquitoes that plague us but all manner of night flyers, like moths and beetles.

My lifelong fear of bats was eased by insights gained from well-versed experts — an antidote as sure as the shots I'm now getting to prevent rabies.

Long Time Courting, a Boston-based neo-traditional band comprised of all female players, will bring its high-energy show to the Old Songs Festival in Altamont this weekend.

Monday, June 16, rolled around and I was excited because I knew my granddaughter, Danielle, had taken the day off and she, Zoey and I could spend some time together.

I went to their house and we just enjoyed a quiet couple of hours playing with Zoey mostly on the front porch in the shade because it was hot out.

To the Editor:

My wife, Kristin, and I read with dismay the recent headline concerning the possible closing of Altamont Elementary School.

These local students are among 1,687 to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates of advanced study as members of the Class of 2014 at The College of Saint Rose in Albany:

— Kayla Furnia of Schenectady, earned a bachelor of arts;

The telephone is a wonderful instrument. We have seen it grow from a simple box with a hand crank attached to a wall. Turning the crank rang a bell that would let an operator know you wanted to speak.

John Boyd Thacher was one of the most distinguished and revered Albanians of his day. He was born at Ballston, Saratoga County on Sept. 11, 1847, the elder son of George Hornell and Ursula Jane (Boyd) Thacher. His father married his mother in 1843. She was the daughter of David Boyd, Esq. of Schenectady.

Now a skilled barrel racer, Dana Erickson was once told to stay away from her horses after getting a blood clot. She wasn't going to have any of that.