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RCS Drama Club: The lights of Broadway beckon

In Lifestyle, Lifestyle - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald
March 18, 2022
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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RCS students perform in this year’s musical production, “Newsies.” Courtesy of RCS School District

RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — After a digital-release-only show in 2021 due to continuing pandemic restrictions, the RCS Drama Club was back in the spotlight this weekend for their annual musical production.

The club staged the Disney musical “Newsies” on Friday and Saturday evenings — despite a sizable snowstorm during the day Saturday — and a Sunday matinee.

“Newsies” is a musical based on the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899 and tell the story of a rebellious newsboy, Jack Kelly, who dreams of a life as an artist away from the big city, according to Broadway.com.

“After publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer raises newspaper prices at the newsboys’ expense, Kelly and his fellow newsies take action,” according to the website. “With help from the beautiful female reporter Katherine Plumber, all of New York City soon recognizes the power of ‘the little man.’”

The main character leads the group in striking to obtain fair working conditions and pay.

Students took to the stage this weekend. Courtesy of RCS School District

For faculty and the cast, being back on the stage live after staging a digital production last year was gratifying.

“We are incredibly excited to be back on stage with live performances,” said co-director Michelle McLoughlin, according to the district’s website. “The students have poured their hearts into this performance, and it shines through in every scene. We are incredibly proud of all of our students, and seeing them do their very best work and grow throughout this process has been an extraordinary and remarkable journey.”

In addition to singing performances, the production featured numerous dance numbers culled from a variety of dance styles, including tap, jazz and Broadway-style.

Students worked hard on the production for months.

“It is such a labor of love for everyone involved, from the stage crew to our volunteers and everyone in between,” said co-director Emily Haas. “Seeing it come together is really special. Theater and the arts are such an amazing outlet for our students to express themselves. As we move back to this space, to the stage, it has been so meaningful and memorable for all of us.”

After a digital-only production was released last year due to the COVID pandemic, students and faculty were glad to be back on stage in front of a live audience. Courtesy of RCS School District

Students taking to the stage this weekend in the cast included: Emma Banahan, Katherine Birch, Angelina Brandt, Caitlin Collins, Kylie D’Esposito, Madeline Dewsbury, Allison Evans, Victoria Faragon, Jenna Grogan, Lydia Hommel, Makayla Morris, Maria Morrow, Arianna Ortiz, Cooper Penzabene, Christopher Pittz, Renee Rivers, Elizabeth Robertson, Katori Ross, Sonia Snyder, Abigail St. John, Paul Truncale, Chesnie Waddingham, Aurora Wagner, Aidan White and Brody White.

In addition to all the singing, dancing, music and costumes that appear on stage, there is plenty of work done behind the scenes in any production. Students Chesnie Waddingham and Tyler Schwabrow were stage managers for this year’s show, and Jasmine Weidman was assistant stage manager. Fourteen students worked on other production aspects, including AnneMarie Bradt, Sydney Campbell, Zeppelin Chateauneuf, Anthony Close, Robert Conners, Carl-Hanee Coquillon, Savanna Fitzgerald, Nina Kozlowski, Casiana Pagan, Maeve Newkirk, William Robertson, Hannah Ryan, Arika Vogel and Brody White.

Harry Lindmark led the pit orchestra and Molly Engelhardt choreographed the dance numbers.

Numerous RCS alumni also lent a helping hand on “Newsies,” including Simon Lindmark, Thomas Marra, Cindy Neumann, Rachel Neumann, Charlotte Snyder, Kevin Thorne, Peyton VanDerheyden, Diana VanWormer, Scott VanWormer and Scotty VanWormer.

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Collins spearheads vehicle purchase for Senior Projects

In News, News - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald
July 24, 2023
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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

Albany County Legislator Zachary Collins, R-Coeymans, secured $30,000 in funding from the county to purchase a new vehicle for Senior Projects of Ravena. Pictured, left to right, are Collins, Department for Aging Commissioner Deb Riitano, Senior Projects board member Darlene Mergendahl and Senior Projects Assistant Director Lakken Kovacik. Contributed photo

RAVENA — Senior Projects of Ravena delivers thousands of meals every year to homebound seniors in southern Albany County, but they can’t do it without transportation.

With an aging vehicle that costs more to fix than it was worth, the organization has for some time been trying to purchase a new one, a costly venture.

So, the team at Senior Projects reached out to Albany County Legislator Zachary Collins, R-Coeymans, and after months of work, Collins was able to shepherd the group’s request into a funding expenditure through the county Legislature.

“The Legislature just approved a budget amendment for $30,000 to enable the Senior Projects of Ravena to purchase a much-needed van,” Collins said at the July 13 meeting of the town council. “They have purchased the van and are using it.”

Collins worked with Albany County Department for Aging Commissioner Deb Riitano to secure the funding.

“When I brought this to [Riitano’s] attention, she was amazing and she really helped me get this through,” Collins said. “They were a lot of hurdles, and it took a very long time, but it doesn’t take too much digging to find out how important our senior center is. That was something that Deb was very adamant about. If they don’t have transportation or if they’re in need of something, they need to get it because they do a lot for the county. It’s not just Coeymans, it’s for the county.”

Since it opened in 1980, Senior Projects has delivered tens of thousands of meals to homebound seniors in the community, said Lakken Kovacik, assistant director of Senior Projects.

“So far this year, we have served and delivered nearly 23,000 meals to over 500 clients, and that’s just in the first six months of 2023,” Kovacik told the town council. “We are set to exceed our numbers from last year.”

This year the facility also added a new service that provides assistance to seniors beyond Meals on Wheels.

“We also implemented a new program in January that’s called the In-Home Contact Program. There’s nothing like it in southern Albany County,” Kovacik said. “This program enables us to help seniors in ways that we were never able to do before. It includes friendly visits and phone calls with homebound seniors who would otherwise be completely isolated other than their daily Meals on Wheels delivery. It also enables us to assist seniors with grocery shopping a well as other tasks such as light housekeeping, running local errands, and other things like ordering things online… so this program really allows us to help them in more ways than just feeding them.”

The work of Senior Projects reaches beyond Ravena and Coeymans; the facility also serves seniors in Bethlehem and Glenmont, and the new van will help with delivering those meals as well as to local residents.

Senior Projects board member Darlene Mergendahl has worked with the organization in several capacities since 1984.

“Over the last 43 years, we have become a well-respected staple in our community, providing a service to our great-grandparents, our grandparents, our parents, and even now, I find that my friends from high school are at that age and are showing up, too. We are all getting older.”

Mergendahl thanked Collins “for all his hard work and diligent effort in working with us to get funding for our new vehicle that we desperately were in need of in order to continue serving meals across our community.”

Collins said he worked with his fellow county legislators, the town council and the state to get the budget amended to include the $30,000 needed to purchase the vehicle.

“To me, this is a home run when all those levels work together and can make something like this happen,” Collins said.

Living on Purpose: Are you in love with God?

In Lifestyle, Lifestyle - Greenville, The Greenville Pioneer
July 20, 2023
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By Dr. William Holland

For Capital Region Independent Media

The Almighty has the power to unlock all doors and break down every obstacle. We also believe He can do whatever He wants, but often are left clueless to comprehend His decisions.

I’ve heard testimonies from individuals who were in a grave situation and suddenly they were delivered. Coincidence? No, I believe God had a precise plan that would bring Him glory.

On the other hand, as a chaplain, I’ve been on scene where someone was involved in a terrible accident or had taken their own life and obviously, He did not prevent that. No human can understand why sometimes He intervenes and other times He does not, but His sovereignty is defined as Him being the omniscient judge with all authority. Didn’t we pray, not my will but thy will be done?

So, what about our desires and choices? If we want to spend time each day praying for a stronger spiritual awareness, and focusing on developing a closer relationship with Christ, we certainly have the opportunity to do it. He designed us with free will which means we choose what we do and whom we serve, and it’s evident who desires to be filled with God’s Spirit and who could care less.

The religious masses will scoff and say, “It’s ridiculous! No one can think about God all the time!” Really? This is not true. Responses like this are a defense mechanism trying to disguise guilt by justifying rebellion. There is a remnant today that is devoted to being one with God. They desire to pull away from the dark persuasions of the world and passionately invest their entire lives in drawing nearer to Him. Are you included with these disciples?

I can hear the arguments now: “Am I supposed to live in a monastery and chant day and night, I have a family and I want to enjoy the pleasures of life!” Did I say the only way to know and love God was to live in the isolation of a dungeon? I’m just trying to relay that every Christian can live in the awareness of God’s presence while also receiving all the blessings that God wants to graciously give. What I’m talking about is love.

It would be amazing if we loved Him only a fraction of how much He loves us. Do we love Him enough to give Him our will completely? Let’s see, should I pray, study and worship, or watch this next movie? I’ll do it later. We are guilty of drawing blueprints for our lives, but shouldn’t we be following the plans God has made for us? There are consequences when we manage our daily affairs without first consulting our Master.

I know a man that had a wonderful wife, two beautiful children, a great job, a nice house, and new cars, but one day he sold everything and set out to walk with God and live completely by faith. I consider him a Bible scholar, but he thought that by pulling away from trusting and depending on this world, he could lead his family into the realms of a higher spiritual existence. However, instead of finding peace and joy, he was confronted with every possible attack imaginable. They faced fear, worry, discouragement, frustration and stress, and after all the money was gone, he was haunted by feelings of failure. Since this idea was supposedly sanctioned by the Lord, he felt accountable to hold firm to his faith. Long story short, his wife took the children and divorced him.

I realize there are different opinions about this story, but whether God intervenes or not, or even if we relocate to an igloo in the North Pole, we are still who we are and our relationship with Him is in our heart.

The only reason why we would not live in the awareness of His presence is because we are not really in love with Him. Going off-grid and living in a recreational vehicle does not make us more holy, it’s all about loving Him to the point that we want to be with Him more than anything else in the world. When this happens, the nature and character of Christ will be seen within us wherever we are.

Beyond the words and deeds, walking the narrow path is to know God so intimately that we are constantly listening for His still small voice, however, we cannot obey God and live according to our own decisions at the same time.

Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.a

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