Bronck Museum to hold Heritage Craft Fair, Oct. 2

In Events, Events - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

September 28, 2022

This year’s Heritage Craft Fair will be held at the Bronck Museum on Sunday. Contributed photo

COXSACKIE — On Sunday, Oct. 2, celebrate the fall season in the Hudson Valley at the Bronck Museum’s Heritage Craft, Food and Beverage Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year you won’t want to miss the changes that are being made. In addition to heritage crafters, the museum will be adding brewers, distillers, vintners and all manner of purveyors of heritage foods and drink.

On porches, nestled beside the barns and spread across the lawns, crafters will be offering for sale all manner of traditional handmade goods. Visit crafters offering a variety of hand-knitted, hand-sewn and quilted goods, hand-spun knitting wool, spicy candles, handmade teddy bears, pottery and much more.

Buy local maple syrup, honey products and homemade jams. Purchase unique things for your home or as Christmas presents.

Stop under the oak trees on the south lawn to chat with Pieter Bronck himself and try the potent drink he concocted over 300 years ago. Stroll along the old King’s Road to visit the farm’s unusual 13-sided hay barn and exhibits in the Bronck Barracks.

Place your bids in the silent auction, then rest awhile and enjoy American bluegrass and country music performed by Running the River.

Make the short trip to the Bronck Museum Heritage Craft, Food and Beverage Fair and celebrate for one early autumn afternoon the rural heritage of America.

Admission to this event is free and it takes place in fair or foul weather. The Bronck Museum is located just off Route 9W, 1.5 miles south of the intersection of Routes 385, 81 and 9W near Coxsackie.

For additional information, contact the Bronck Museum at 518-731-6490 or visit gchistory.org. This event is made possible with funds from the Greene County Legislature.

Turkey Bowl brings ‘youngs’ and ‘olds’ together again

In News, News - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

November 25, 2022

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

Turkey Bowl 2022 pit younger RCS grads versus older players in the annual tradition at Mosher Park. Melanie Lekocevic/Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA — Before the first course was served on Thanksgiving, the community gathered Thursday for Turkey Bowl 2022 at Mosher Park.

The just-for-fun competition between the “youngs” and “olds” brings together former RCS football players, athletes and others to go head-to-head.

“This is a tradition we do every year,” said Jeremy Putorti, a graduate of the RCS Class of 2006. “As soon as I was 17 or 18, I started to play here. Everyone comes out on Thanksgiving morning and we all say thanks to each other, we hug each other and it’s just a great tradition. We usually play until we get tired, the ‘old guys,’ but we all come out and play and it’s a great time.”

The rules to play in the Turkey Bowl are pretty lax. You just have to be out of high school and willing to have a good time.

“It used to be ages 25 and younger play 25 and older,” Putorti said. “Now we are lacking in people, so we try to see what ages show up. Last year I think it was 28 and above against 28 and younger. It’s not strict but most are former RCS football players or other athletes. We do make some exceptions for people who didn’t go to RCS but are friends of RCS grads.”

William Stewart — who went to Albany High in his school days — is one of those exceptions and played in his first Turkey Bowl on Thursday. He came into the game by happenstance.

“I was down at Jordan’s Barbershop and they were talking about this and I asked if they let people 50 and over play,” Stewart said. “They said yeah so I thought about it and decided to come down and play.”

Players went head-to-head in a just-for-fun game on Thanksgiving. Melanie Lekocevic/Capital Region Independent Media

Keith Geraldsen, on the other hand, has played in the annual game for years.

“I have been playing this for at least 25 years,” Geraldsen said. “Friends of mine started playing when we were young and it just escalated from there. Now it’s the next generation — I am playing with my son now.”

The game, as far as Geraldsen knows, has been going on in Ravena for 40 years or more.

“We love the game and love meeting everyone on Thanksgiving. It’s always a great gathering,” he said. “I love it — it’s nice to see everyone and to see the next generation, players who are now bringing their kids to play. It’s just awesome.”

His son, Keith Geraldsen Jr., joined his father on the makeshift football field.

“I started at 18 after I graduated and I’m 34 now,” Geraldsen Jr. said. “I play because my dad plays — we love it, it’s amazing. It’s great to see everybody, especially since a lot of people have moved away, but here we get to all be together at one time and see everyone.”

Evan Bullis, a graduate with the RCS Class of 2009, was on the Indians football team during his high school days.

“This is basically a football reunion every year,” Bullis said. “It’s the one time you can count on seeing everybody and it’s a lot of fun.”

With family and friends cheering from the sidelines, there were no helmets and no pads, just a bunch of guys having fun.

Michael Allen, the new president of Ravena Pop Warner who played semi-professional football with the Albany Metro Mallers, said the event is good for the community and gets the blood pumping, especially for the so-called “old guys.”

“We are older but we are still trying to be young at heart — that is the most important thing,” Allen said with a smile. “I think the community needs this. The people need to rally around each other. It’s about camaraderie and brotherhood, and the young kids get to see the old boys play.”

The players may not be on an official team anymore, but the Turkey Bowl definitely got the adrenaline pumping. Melanie Lekocevic/Capital Region Independent Media

Social Security Matters: Does Congress pay into Social Security?

In Lifestyle, Lifestyle - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

August 12, 2024

By Russell Gloor

For Capital Region Independent Media

Dear Rusty:

I’ve been told that members of Congress do not have Social Security deducted from their pay, and that their retirement dollars come from the Social Security Administration purse even if they only serve as a member of Congress for a short number of terms.

If this is true, are there other individuals that enjoy these advantages?

Thank you in advance for your service as a Social Security advisor.

Signed: Concerned Senior

Dear Concerned Senior:

I’m afraid this is one of those “urban legend” kind of rumors that just seems to keep popping up, especially when the issues surrounding Social Security’s financial problems come up.

In addition to being untrue, it often is used to display the public’s animosity toward elected officials and the feeling that Congress—and other elected officials—are above the fray, so to speak, and therefore not affected by the implications of Social Security’s looming insolvency problem.

Here’s the reality. Since Jan. 1, 1984, all members of Congress, the president and vice president, federal judges and most political appointees are covered under the Social Security program. The rumor that these elected officials do not pay Social Security tax most likely is attributable to the fact that from 1920 to 1983, they were participants in the Civil Service Retirement System – CSRS – the federal retirement plan federal workers used even before the Social Security Act was passed. CSRS provided a pension for federal employees, so they were exempted from contributing to or collecting from the new Social Security program.

In 1987, the federal government officially changed over to FERS – the Federal Employee Retirement System – and all employes hired from that point forward are now covered under FERS.

There are multiple parts to FERS, and one of them is mandatory FICA contributions. So, all federal employees—including members of Congress—are subject to the 6.2% FICA tax, are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, and are governed by the multitude of rules and regulations associated with Social Security.

But other than standard SS benefits that they may normally be entitled, no Social Security funds are used to supplement Congressional retirement.

In other words, the rumor that Congress didn’t pay into Social Security was actually true prior to 1984, but today it is a misstatement of fact. And the federal employee retirement plans (both the prior CSRS plan and the current FERS plan) are totally independent of Social Security and do not negatively affect program solvency.

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.