Your perfect comfort zone! Long Energy Where "service" counts FLEXIBLE OPTIONS Learn More

Ravens win blowout homecoming game 42-8

In Sports, Sports - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

September 27, 2024

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

The Ravens scored big in Friday night’s homecoming game, defeating Broadalbin-Perth 42-8. Contributed photo

RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — The Ravens won a blowout 42-8 in Friday night’s homecoming game against the Broadalbin-Perth Patriots.

The win brings the team’s season record to 3-1.

RCS took an early first quarter lead in the game when Gavin Lochner had a 56-yard punt return for the first touchdown of the game with 11 minutes to go in the stanza. A rushing touchdown five minutes later gave the team a 14-0 lead and they never looked back.

The Ravens got into the endzone less than 1 minute into the second quarter on a 25-yard pass from Mason Carkner to Ta’rae Makhi Green and the extra point kick by Cameron D’Ambrosio was good, to pull out on top at 21-0.

A big second quarter saw the team score four touchdowns to put 28 points on the board, including a 41-yard pass from Carkner to Joseph Foy for a touchdown and in the closing minute of the half, Carkner completed a 15-yard pass to Green for the team’s sixth TD of the game and the Ravens headed into the locker room with a 42-0 lead.

During halftime the school celebrated homecoming, inviting the players and coaches from all the fall teams onto the field to celebrate.

The Patriots put 8 points onto the board in the third quarter and that’s where the game would end, with the Ravens up 42-8.

The victory was the team’s third in a row. The Ravens now have a 3-1 season record, with their only loss coming in the opening matchup.

The Ravens will next face off against the Fonda-Fultonville Valley Hawks in a home game Oct. 4, beginning at 7 p.m. The Valley Hawks have a 2-1 record.

Whittling Away: March: A ‘tween’ month

In Columns, Columns - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

March 26, 2024

By Dick Brooks

For Capital Region Independent Media

It’s March. March is not one of my favorite months.

Telly, my trusty canine companion, loves the occasional light coating of snow that we sometimes find during our first morning stroll, running in the fluffy stuff and rolling in it making several “snow dogs.”

We usually stop near the bird feeders to watch the birds as they frolic and chow down. A couple of foot stomps and a shake from both of us and in we go for coffee and a dog biscuit.

Spring is a fun time for our morning trip. We check each of the gardens on our yard tour and are usually rewarded with something new poking its head out of the soil. The air has excitement in it, green smells, the sun has warmth in its beams.

March is a “tween” month. There’s not much about it that’s crisp, there’s cold weather but it’s always followed by a thaw.

Telly and I have just returned from our morning slog around the property. It’s a gray, foggy start to the day. There is a cold drizzle falling. The birds aren’t singing, a lot of them are hunched up in the forsythia bush looking damp and miserable. The ground squishes underfoot, muddy and slippery.

Telly attends to business with little of his usual sniffing and frisking. We slurp our way back to the porch, heads down against the damp wind. I peel off my wet coat and rub Telly down with his towel. It takes a lot of scraping and stomping to unmuddy my shoes to the point where they won’t draw a hard look from The Queen.

I settle into my recliner with my coffee, Telly curls up on his comfy bed and we resolve to stay here until it looks like spring has really made its arrival. Telly starts making soft little snoring noises and I go into ponder mode. Nothing like a good ponder to improve a gray day.

There are so many good things that need a good ponder. I usually run through a few of my favorite oxymorons and pick one for its ponderability.

Here are a few to help you to get through the gray times until spring.

If your vacuum sucks, is that a good thing or a bad thing? If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he get the words? Why do we say something is out of whack, what’s a whack? Why does “slow down” and “slow up” mean the same thing? Why do “tug” boats push their barges? Why do we sing “Take me out to the ball game” when we’re already there? Why are they called “stands” when they’re made for sitting? Why do we call it “after dark” when it’s really “after light”? Why isn’t “phonics” spelled the way it sounds? How come “abbreviated” is such a long word? Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle? Why do you press harder on the buttons of the remote control when you know the batteries are dead?

I generally find that a good ponder leads to a nice restorative nap, which is a good way to pass time on a gray day.

I’m beginning to think that bears have the right idea. See you in the spring.

Thought for the week — one more oxymoron — why is bra singular and panties plural?

Until next week, may you and yours be happy and well.

Reach columnist Dick Brooks at Whittle12124@yahoo.com.

HEARt Ear Boutique opens new Glenmont location

In News, News - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

November 23, 2022

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

A ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday celebrated the grand opening of the new office of the HEARt Ear Boutique in Glenmont Plaza. Pictured, left to right, are Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven; owner Robert LaCosta; LaCosta’s wife Vini Cavaleri; LaCosta’s daughter, Guinevere Gorman; and Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce President Terri Egan. Melanie Lekocevic/Capital Region Independent Media

GLENMONT — The HEARt Ear Boutique cut the ribbon on its new office in Glenmont Plaza on Route 9W last Thursday.

The business, which sells hearing aids, was formerly in a space a few doors down in the same plaza and celebrated its new space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew local officials and business supporters. The new office is near the KeyBank branch in Glenmont Plaza.

“This brings attention to where our new office is, and we also wanted to tell people about the new technology that is available,” owner Robert LaCosta said. We stand out in that we do customization of hearing aids, which is a little bit of a lost art, but it is a very important art.”

State-of-the-art technology in the hearing aid industry is also changing the face of the business.

“The most important technology is rechargeability, which is important for seniors, especially those who have dexterity issues,” LaCosta said. “The second is background reduction noise and the third is clarity — those are the three biggest issues people with hearing impairment have.”

LaCosta said his business has been focusing on reduction of background noise, which can impede hearing for some clients, since the 1990s, in the days of analog hearing aids — these days, the units are digital.

“Background noise reduction is the number one thing that mostly seniors complain about,” LaCosta said.

Hearing aids that are rechargeable can also be an important factor for seniors with dexterity issues who find changing batteries a challenge.

Unlike many competitors in the field, HEARt Ear Boutique also offers customized hearing aids, taking impressions of their client’s ears for the best fit and service.

Terri Egan, president of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the business to its new location.

“This is a very timely ribbon cutting because on The Today Show this morning there was a segment on hearing loss,” Egan said. “There is a new study they were focusing on that over a billion people are at risk for hearing loss from music, the way we listen to phones — basically, we are listening to things too loudly and too long.”

Other factors that can lead to the need for a hearing aid include excessive ear wax, ear infections and ruptured ear drums, Egan said.

“The list goes on and on, and [hearing is] just such a key sense that we all have to have,” she added. “This is such a huge service.”

The Mayo Clinic identified several warning signs that a hearing aid may be necessary, Egan said, including muffled speech and other sounds, difficulty understanding words particularly with background noise, trouble hearing consonants, frequently asking others to speak slower or more loudly, and withdrawing from conversations or social interactions.

“With his 30 years of experience, we feel very fortunate that he (LaCosta) has come home and has reopened at this new location. It is phenomenal,” Egan said. “We are fortunate to have someone with his expertise, his professionalism and the desire to continue staying on the cutting edge of technology.”

Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven said services such as the HEARt Ear Boutique serve a vital purpose in the community.

“When we think about our quality of life in Bethlehem, we tend to think about retail and the things we can go and do, but we sometimes forget that our quality of life requires care as well,” VanLuven said. “It’s wonderful to have Bob LaCosta here to help care for us as we age and especially as we move into a world with increasingly loud noises, often in very small spaces.”

HEARt Ear Boutique has two office locations — the newly opened space in Glenmont Plaza, and a second office in Hope Plaza on Route 9W in Coxsackie.