G'town restricts wintertime parking on Main Street

GERMANTOWN–This month’s Town Board meeting included a public hearing on and the adoption of Local Law No. 3 of 2018, which prohibits parking in the hamlet from November 15 through March 15 from midnight to 6 a.m.

The new law was initiated because of the difficulty the Highway Department has in completely clearing Main Street when it snows. The parking ordinance will impact approximately 12 parking spots. Red and white signs will be posted throughout town, three of which will be posted in the municipal parking lot. Parking spaces in the municipal lot will be available but restrictions apply: unregistered vehicles, vehicles with invalid inspections, trailers and unhitched trailers or any unauthorized vehicle will be issued tickets and towing will be at the drivers’ expense.

Residents also learned at the meeting the Columbia County will charge for disposal of recyclable materials starting in 2019. The town clerk will be selling permits at $50 dollars per household or $35 for seniors 65 and older. The permits will be $100 for out-of-town users. This new expense is a result of China no longer accepting recyclables from the United States and the use of the county recycling drop-off places by out-of-town residents.

Also at the meeting:

• The board announced that sewer district will be updated at a cost of $2.5 million, however that cost will be reduced by a grant from the state in the amount of $625,000 for the waste water treatment plant, which will reduce the cost to $1.9 million. Some homeowners will see an bill increase. A public hearing is scheduled for the January Town Board meeting at 6:45 p.m.

• National Grid has offered the town a grant for $2,600 for the conversation of the some 50 streetlights to LED lights at the cost of $742.16.

• The town clerk received a letter of resignation from Town Historian Susan Raab, effective January 1, 2019.

• Supervisor Robert Beaury will revise and arrange to print new parking tickets

• Ice-skating on Lake George South is approved and a flag will indicate when it’s. However, skating will be at the individual’s “own risk”

• The Kellner Community Center will serve a staging area for the Red Cross and Columbia County Emergency Management in the event of a large-scale medical emergency.

• There will be a blood drive Saturday, December 22 at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Kellner Activity Building.

The yearend Town Board meeting is December 27 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road.

Get your Irish on at St. Pat’s parade

March 21, 2023

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, pictured in a 2022 file photo, will be held in Greenville on Saturday. File photo

GREENVILLE — St. Patrick’s Day may have been last Friday, but there’s still time to get your Irish on at Saturday’s parade in Greenville.

All things Emerald Isle will be celebrated this weekend as the community is expected to turn out in force for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Greenville Irish American Club.

The parade will be held on March 25, beginning at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, proceeding down Route 81, turning the corner at the intersection of Routes 81 and 32, and concluding on the steps of the Greenville Public library.

“We will start at 1 p.m. at the church,” parade chairwoman Betty Hayden said. “Marchers will line up there beginning at 12:30 p.m. and step-off is at 1 p.m.”

The parade route used to be longer, but a couple of years ago the Irish American Club decided to shorten the route to accommodate some of the parade’s aging marchers, she said.

Dozens of groups are registered to march — 37 of them including the fire companies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, law enforcement, high school marching bands from Greenville and Cairo-Durham, and more — and additional groups may participate as well.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a long-standing tradition in Greenville, this year marking its 49th year.

The parade got off to a humble start.

“Some Irish farmer sold a cow and that was the money to start the first parade,” Hayden said. “Whatever money they had they used to start the club and the parade.”

Local resident Anne Lafferty is the only club member from the original founding group to still be with the club that started five decades ago.

Hayden has been working on the parade for 23 years and said she hopes it can continue even though the event’s organizers are getting on in years.

“We are keeping the Irish traditions alive,” she said. “It’s things like a parade or a concert or step dancer performances that keep the traditions alive.”

Turnout for the parade is typically high, but it all depends on the weather, she added.

“If the weather is nice, we get the crowds,” Hayden said. “It’s something that I don’t think many other towns are doing and we are trying to keep ours going, even if we can just go until next year to celebrate our 50th.”

This year’s parade grand marshal will be Neil Wallace, a member of the Greenville Irish American Club.

“We always pick someone who participates and helps the club in various ways — someone we can depend on, someone who attends all the meetings and helps out and who we can depend on to run things,” Hayden said.

After the parade’s conclusion outside the library, everyone will head a couple of doors down to Scott M. Ellis Elementary School on Route 32 for a party and plenty of refreshments, all provided by the Greenville Irish American Club.

G’town restricts wintertime parking on Main Street

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