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| November 2008 »
Everything about the talk concerning the town highway department is in the newspaper, but what I didn't get to cover was the preliminary budget numbers. he Whitehall town board voted to give a $15,000 raise to the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Department, and that will raise the tax base 4.83 percent for those living outside of the vilage. Vern Scribner said that the tax rates may actually drop because of re-assessments, but if your assessment went up, it could wash. The town public hearing is next Thursday (Nov. 6) at 7 p.m. Another qustion I have is if they will immeadiately sware in the councilman who will have been elected, beause there were a couple of insatnces where there could have been a 2-2 deadlock vote during the budget meetings, which would have been broken with a fifth member. There will also most likely be talk about the highway department, as well.
In a seasonm where there have been many frustrating days, the Whitehall cross country and soccer teams picked up some huge victories on he eve of homecoming. First off, congratualtions to the Adirondack Lague Champion boys cross country team, who took the title in Queensbury yesterday. I talked with Curt Thompson on Wednesday and he was almost prophetic, saying that he would finish third and the team would take the title. For the girls soccer team, it came down to a penalty kick in the first overtime on the foot of Lindsay Aubin, who drilled it into the back of teh net and helped Witehall score a 3-2 win over Duanesburg in the first round of the Section II Class C playoffs. Britt St. Clair and Paige MAson also scored goals, while Britt Shelrick stopped eight shots. heur next opponent is top-seed Maple Hill. Personally, this is where you put five defenders and four midfielders back and play for kicks with Sheldrick in net, who has stopped 2-of-3 this year. The girls play Saturday in Maple HIlls at 3 p.m.; the cros country team now preps for sectionals, while football kicks off at 1 p.m. against a mad Rennselaer team, who lost a one-pointer against Lake George last weeek ad is looking to get back on the winning track.
The soccer pairings are out for the Class C Section II tourney, and Whitehall will be traveling to Duanesburg to take on a school that has been their long time rivals in wrestling. Offensviely, the Railroaders welcome the return of Brittany St. Clair, who has scored seven goals to go with a pair of assists (16 points) this season. Whoever, the offensive punch drops after that, with Aerial Ramey (two goals) next leading scorer. Defensively, Brittany Sheldirck boasts a goals against average under 2.00, a save percentage over 85-percent and has recorded three shutouts along with stopping two out of three penalty kicks she has faced. Having her in the net, however, means that the team has to go into their bench of the defensive line. So what does Whitehall have to do to beat Duanesburg - it's pretty much standard answers. First, control the midfield, which is a concern not only because of their depth but because they were unable to do that against their last opponent, Greenwich, who had wide open runs between the 30's. Offensively, no shot is a bad shot. Pepper the net from as far away as you can. Defensively, keep the ball between them and the goalie. Good luck to the Railroaders, who if they advance will take on top seed Maple Hills on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Well, I finally got th chance to be home in time to see te news this week, and all I can say is, well, ugh! You see, where I come from (Westport), we get our NBC Channel out of Plattsburgh - and their former anchor and state assemblyman Chris Ortloff has been in the news - this is a family show, so if you want to know more, google his name and join in the disgust.
I didn't get the chance to comment on the Whitehall football game until now, but I am probably in the minority that thought there were some good things that came out of their 39-0 loss to Canajoharie last Friday night. First, they held the Cougars to ZERO points in the first quarter. Here are some of the other Whitehall first quarter totals, opposition score first: 6-0 (Salem), 20-0 (Bishop Gibbons), 21-0 (Lake George), 21-6 (Warrensburg), 24-0 (Fort Edward). So while I was wrong in the fact that every team had scored more than 20 points in the opening quarter on them this season, I wasn't far off. Second, they continue to move the ball. They can go from 30-to-30 with the best of them, but then something comes over the team and that's as far as they go. Big penalties, dumb penalties and, of course, turnovers. That I won't make an excuse for, you cannot turn the ball over EIGHT times in one game. So Friday night is Spa Catholic, and the Railroaders are looking for their first win of the season. It could happen, but the Railroaders are going to have to play their best game of the season. Spa Catholic is also 0-6, but they play in the mush tougher southern division of Class D, have scored more points and given up fewer. According to coaches and others, this game will be replayed in three weeks as the crossover game on a Thursday night.
I have had a lot of people comment to me that this has been some of the best color they have seen in the leaves in quite some time. I think they may be right. Most people thought that the colors had peaked two weeks ago, but they are even brighter now. On Tuesday, I went over the hill to Hulett's for a fire depatrment salute, and there was one stretch on the road where there was a long line of Maples and the leaves were a very bright orange. In the middle of that was a tree with leaves as red as the Canadian Flag. It was nice. If you haven't, get out and enjoy the colors quickly, because the forecasted rain means that there is going to be more leaves on the ground than in the trees by the end of this weekend.
I think I may have to stay away from the football games from now on. The proof: in the two games that I have been to, I have seen a total of 0 points scored by the Railroaders. In the two games I have not been to (last Saturday I had a wedding to attend), the Railroaders have scored 20 points. Kevin McDonald is looking to continue the line of top-level running backs for the Railroaders. With his 145 yard performance, McDonald is now averaging over 100 yards per game. He'll have to do a lot in order to hit the 1,000 yard mark, but it is a possibility. On the soccer front, the injuries just keep mounting. Heading into their 2-1 loss against Salem yesterday, there was a chance that the Railroaders would send a team out that had never scored a goal in varsity play with the absence of Britt St. Clair, Shelby Cuomo, Mary Foote and Chelsea Steves. However, congratulations go to Brianna Cook, who scored her first varisty goal against Salem. The cross country team has been competitive throughout teh season, but is still looking for someone to step up in the five spot. The top four runners are consistent, but they need five to beat some of the better teams in the league. The golf season is over, and Tim Tipton joined Travis Beayon as qualifiers for the first day of the Adirondack League tournamnet. Neither advanced, but both had solid regular seasons. Everything is on the road this week, so I will get in touch with coaches on Monday to review the week.
ORCA will be holding a Celebrate One Year of play event on Saturday at the town park. There will be refershments and different activities, along with a noon-time dedication ceremony of John Neary Hill. The event will run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information, call Christina Sumner at 499-1949.
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