Van Horn said it is different than some of the bigger box stores because it has more of a family atmosphere, and the employees often get to know the customers and their needs.

GUILDERLAND — Local restaurateur Sam Pontillo has settled in as general manager of the Blu Stone Bistro in Loudonville.

In close votes on Oct. 14, a $17.3 million project to update Guilderland’s seven school buildings passed while an $846,300 plan to renovate the high school auditorium and better light the football field was defeated.

Altamont Trustee Bill Aylward wanted residents to be notified before allowing the marketing of a communications tower in Altamont; the board tabled the decision.

What the high school principal described as "raunchy sexual comments" in a rap posted to YouTube has led to the suspension of four male students; police are deciding whether they will be arrested under a county cyberbullying law, currently being challenged in the state's top court.

Ryan Venter, the new YMCA director, hopes more of Guilderland's 10,000 members will use programs besides fitness — its more than "a gym and a swim," he said.

 A student who killed his mother in 2001 planned to attack the high school, the cop now stationed at the school told the board last week during a presentation on safety. This was the first public mention of such an attack, surprising the board president.

The Guilderland school district will get a check as part of settlement money for several states paid by a Long Island tech company for double billing for software maintenance.

These students have recently distinguished themselves:

— Carli Zimmerman of Altamont, a student in the Dental Hygiene program at Hudson Valley Community College, represented the college at the Empire Conference for the Dental Hygienists’ Association of the State of New York, held on Long Island, Nov. 1 to 3.

The worship schedule at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 140 Maple Ave., in Altamont on Sunday, Nov. 17, is as follows:

— 8:30 a.m., informal worship with special guest Deacon Don Bunk. He will lead a discussion on the Lord’s Prayer;