Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (14): Phil Kellerman, Murray Forth, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Ray Hannan, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Becky Raymond, Wells Packard, Roberto Martinez, Debbie Rodriguez.

Guests (2): Kurt Vincent, Mike Stangl.

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President Phil welcomed members and guests. … Jim Leyhane will represent the club at an informational meeting with East Greenbush Central School District personnel and law enforcement officials to discuss ways to get seed money to begin installing cameras on school buses in line with a new state approval. The aim is to help enforce the prohibition on passing a stopped school bus, which seems to be on the rise. The cost is about $1,000 per camera, and the EGCSD has about 100 buses, so outfitting all of them would be cost prohibitive at first. The theory is that each fine for violating the rule would go toward purchasing additional cameras. In the long term, if such a program comes to fruition, SRC might then work with other local school districts to expand it. …

Dean Calamras reported that the recent Gift of Life golf tournament raised $13,752.49 for the medical philanthropy. He also reported that the Bolivian child who had been scheduled to come to Albany for cardiac surgery will not be able to because his mother cannot get a travel visa. GOL will hold a fundraiser and silent auction. Details are available online. … Debbie Rodriguez volunteered to chair this year’s Adopt-a-Family holiday effort with Circles of Mercy, succeeding Bill Dowd. Bill said he would be happy to work with her. Details will be shared once Circles send us the details on the families and their needs. …

Phil has begun selling specialty fair trade coffees at $15 a bag or $25 for two, with $5 from each sale going to our ShelterBox drive. … Our annual Holiday Party & Gift Basket Silent Auction will be held on Thursday, December 19, at the home of Murray and Maggie Forth. Details to come, but start working on your basket ideas now. … Next week’s speaker will present a program on the Norman Rockwell Museum, located in Stockbridge, MA.

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PROGRAM: “Trolleys Across the Hudson”

Kurt Vincent, prominent local historian and the Village of Nassau’s official historian, provided a PowerPoint look at the history and the future of the trolley system that opened in 1900 and ran between Albany and Hudson.

Portions of the system remain in various pieces and a large chunk of it is being incorporated under the name Albany-Hudson Rail Trail into the state’s under-development system of rail trails that eventually will run from New York City to Buffalo.

The local project’s Facebook page contains updates and progress report. Go here to access it.

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