GOOD NEWS!: Coeymans marks 350 years of history and heritage

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

COEYMANS HOLLOW — A crowd gathered at the memorial opposite the Coeymans Hollow firehouse Monday for the annual Memorial Day ceremony honoring the fallen.

The annual ceremony rotates between several area firehouses, and this year the service was hosted by the Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Corporation.

“We would like to welcome everybody to Coeymans Hollow as we give remembrance to those who have sacrificed their lives for our safety, for our freedom,” Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Corporation President Jerry DeLuca said to welcome the crowd.

Commander Scott Kyle of VFW Post 9594 gave a brief history of Memorial Day — originally called Decoration Day — which honors those who died in service.

“In 1868, Decoration Day came out and it was a remembrance of the soldiers who fell in battle, particularly during the Civil War and the War of the Revolution,” Kyle said. “With that, it was done in May because the flowers started blooming and families could gather and celebrate the lives of those individuals.”

Decoration Day was created three years after the end of the Civil War, on May 5, 1868, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The birthplace of the holiday remains uncertain, with 25 cities claiming to be the first to celebrate it, but in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson and Congress declared Waterloo, NY, to be the “birthplace” of Memorial Day, according to the department.

The day is not a time to remember war, but to recall those who were lost, Kyle said.

“Memorial Day is not about battle — it’s about the people that lost their lives during those conflicts,” Kyle said.

VFW Post 9594 Past Commander Trip Powell said after the ceremony that Memorial Day is a poignant day that can be difficult for veterans.

“You can see the emotion here — this day means a great deal to veterans because we all know somebody who was killed in service,” Powell said. “It’s a very difficult day for many of us because it takes us back to a painful time, and for everybody else, it’s great to have the support of our community to help us. We appreciate that.”

If care is not taken to remember those who were lost, they die twice, Kyle said.

VFW Post 9594 Chaplain Dan LaMora served in the U.S. Army in the infantry in Vietnam and echoed that sentiment.

“It’s important to remember that when a person dies, they die twice — they died when they went to heaven, and the second time they die is when people forget, when they forget the sacrifice that the men and women have made throughout the ages,” LaMora said. “And that’s not just recently — this goes back to prior to the Civil War and the Revolutionary War, when there were men and women serving in combat units.”

Those who died in combat are not the only ones that need to be remembered, he said.

“When we have a Memorial Day, we are remembering deceased veterans, but we also have veterans, too, that did not see combat, that are deployed throughout the United States, and those that have died in accidents — their memory is still kept alive. This is about all veterans,” LaMora said. “Even though the primary thought is about combat veterans, we have to remember all the veterans and also their parents, the Gold Star Mothers, the Blue Star Mothers. We are here to remember all those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, either in war or in peacetime. As long as they are being remembered, they will not be forgotten.”

Gold Star Mothers are those who lost a child in the armed forces, and Blue Star Mothers are those with children in active service.

Kyle urged everyone to remember those who died serving their country.

“Those guys raised their right hand, they felt a calling or a need to serve, and they paid the ultimate sacrifice. They lost their lives on the battlefield doing what their country asked them to do,” Kyle said. “That’s why it is important to celebrate it. I don’t think it’s a time of mourning, I think it’s a celebration — a time to celebrate their lives and to honor the fact that they gave their lives for something greater than themselves.”

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — The Class of 2024 walked the stage Thursday evening as they accepted their diplomas at commencement at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.

The ceremony opened at 6 p.m. as faculty, staff and then the stars of the evening — the graduating seniors — filed into the convention center to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” as family and friends cheered them on.

RCS High School Principal Ryan Funck welcomed the graduates and the crowd.

“I often find myself in awe of the determination and resilience demonstrated by the students who pass through these hallways each day,” Funck said. “Each of you has faced a unique challenge, overcome obstacles and worked tirelessly to reach this point. And now you are here, poised to take the world and armed with knowledge, skills and a spirit of endless possibilities.”

Funck, who has led the school for the past two years, advised the graduates to take risks, pursue their dreams and always remember the potential that lies within each of them.

“The world is yours for the taking,” Funck said.

He then handed out medals to the top 10 students, ranked by grade point average, who sat in a place of honor on the stage.

This year’s top 10 students are: valedictorian Maxwell Deyoe, salutatorian Alivia Ortiz, Sienna Rinella, Chloe Canham, Carl-Hanee Coquillon, Nicole Kamp, Jack Reif, Nina Kozlowski, Jillian Hallisey and Roksolana Voronko.

District Superintendent Dr. Brian Bailey noted that the past couple of weeks the district has seen a number of celebrations as students at all levels moved up to the next grade, from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, and now the graduating high schoolers.

The high school Jazz Ensemble and Chorus performed several songs, and then the valedictorian and salutatorian addressed the crowd.

Salutatorian Alivia Ortiz noted that graduating high school is a milestone that is accomplished after a path that differs for each student.

“I know it’s a cliche to say that everyone is different. Sure, but it’s also a fact that means a lot in the walk of life and in the journey of high school,” Ortiz told her fellow graduates. “If you look at the person next to you, chances are they have had to overcome at least one different obstacle than you in order to call themselves a graduate of RCS High School. We’ve all run the race, but differently.”

But no matter the path they took to get to graduation, they should be proud, she said, and should look to the future as an opportunity to learn who they are in life.

“Spend your time in this new race building a character that leaves a positive impact wherever you go,” Ortiz said.

Valedictorian Maxwell Deyoe told the graduates they should take the time to pause and appreciate the opportunities that lie before them.

“As Americans we are so unbelievably lucky and while many of us downplay it, we have been given this incredible opportunity to learn, to grow, to discover what we’re capable of,” Deyoe said. “The past four years have been more than a series of classes and exams, but a journey of self-discovery, a chance to build the foundations for our future.”

Each of the graduates walked across the stage as their name was called to accept their diplomas, handed out by Bailey and Board of Education President Michael Deyo.

As the new graduates returned to their seats, Deyo instructed them to move their cap tassles from right to left, signifying their graduation and symbolizing their move on to the next chapter in their lives.