RCS basketball alumnus inducted into state Hall of Fame

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

As 2024 winds down to a close, it’s time to take a look back and see what some of the top issues and stories were in the Ravena News-Herald’s coverage area.

We took a look at Google Analytics, which analyzes which of our stories received the most views from the News-Herald’s readership. Here is a summary of the top five most-viewed stories of 2024, starting with No. 5.

No. 5: Ravena man charged with possessing child pornography

In October, a Ravena man was arrested and faced charges of possessing images of child sexual exploitation, New York State Police said at the time.

A search warrant was executed at his home and he was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child, a class D felony, and possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony.

The case was investigated by the state police Troop G Computer Crimes Unit, the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with the State Police at Latham.

No. 4: Priest shortage forcing a new look at Catholic Masses

In August, a series of listening sessions were held by the Hudson Valley Vicariate West to look at how to conduct Masses in the local churches as the shortage of priests increases.

St. Patrick’s Church in Ravena and all of the Catholic churches in Greene County are part of the vicariate.

The first listening session was held Aug. 18 at St. Mary’s Church in Coxsackie and drew a large contingent of parishioners from St. Patrick’s Church in Ravena.

In recent years, the number of priests available to rotate among the 10 churches has dwindled, and now there are only two, which means priests are racing between churches every Sunday trying to conduct Mass.

Vicariate and church leaders said they are looking at several options, including SCAP, which is conducting a service using specially trained deacons and lay people in lieu of a priest, but was considering all of its options.

No. 3: Power line construction begins locally for Canada-to-NYC project

In January, construction of more than 20 miles of cables in the local area for the Champlain Hudson Power Express Project got underway, running through Coeymans and Ravena.

The $6 billion project, which remains under construction, will run from Quebec to New York City, with one segment of the massive project going through the local area.

“Segment 10 of the CHPE Project includes installation of 20.9 miles of buried overland cable beginning in the Town of Bethlehem (Albany County) and ending in the Town of Catskill (Greene County), primarily along railroad and highway rights of way,” Josh Bagnato, vice president of Development for Champlain Hudson Power Express, said at the time.

In the local area, most of the power line was installed adjacent to the CSX Rail tracks.

Once completed, the project will deliver renewable energy from Quebec in Canada to New York City along a 330-mile stretch, ending in Astoria, Queens, in New York City.

No. 2: Hannacroix woman killed in fatal car crash

A Hannacroix woman was killed in August in a car crash on River Road in Selkirk.

The 60-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene following a two-car motor vehicle crash in the area of 1463 River Road, according to Bethlehem Police.

The vehicle, driven by a 24-year-old Troy woman, was travelling northbound on River Road when her vehicle crossed the double yellow lines, crashing into the other vehicle. The driver and her passenger were taken to Albany Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while ability impaired by drugs.

No. 1: Two arrested after public disturbance

A public disturbance on Main Street in Coeymans in early September drew a crowd of around 20 people who surrounded the responding deputies and tried to prevent the arrest, according to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

“Upon arrival, deputies observed a male in the street who immediately became aggressive with deputies and showed signs of intoxication,” according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies attempted to detain the person, but the suspect became combative, according to the statement.

Two men were arrested, including an unidentified juvenile, and several sheriff’s deputies were injured in the melee.

It took a total of five law enforcement agencies to get the incident under control.

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA — A new exhibit was unveiled celebrating the history of Riverview Missionary Baptist Church.

The Ravena Coeymans Historical Society held its annual Holiday Open House to shine a light on local history and to unveil a new exhibit featuring the church. Joint pastors the Rev. Antonio Booth and the Rev. Dr. Roxanne Jones Booth will be retiring at the end of the year after 13 years of serving the community.

“We decided to focus on the brickyards and the Coeymans area this year, using James Lipscomb’s book,” said Historical Society President Joseph Boehlke. “The first 30 pages of his book talks about growing up in the hamlet of Coeymans as a young Black man. We transitioned that to the history of the Riverview church, especially since Antonio and Roxanne are transitioning out and the Rev. Graham is coming in.”

Riverview Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1926, with the project spearheaded by three women from a prayer group that worshiped in the area.

“They got some help from the brickyard families, but a lot of the donations came from church members,” Boehlke said.

The church building itself was actually built using bricks created in the Coeymans brickyards by the African-American workers who moved into the area, many of them from the South.

“The church got its start with the brickyards because the African-Americans who came here came because they were recruited to work in the brickyards,” the Rev. Antonio Booth said. “They started a prayer meeting and the brickyard owner said, why don’t you just find a piece of land and start a church. That’s why we call it The Church That Prayer Built, because it came out of a prayer meeting.”

Over the years, the church and its congregation have expanded and diversified, drawing congregants from all ethnicities and from as far away as Albany and beyond.

“The church is considered an African-American church, but it has evolved into a more multi-ethnic congregation and there are all sorts of people who worship there,” Booth said.

Booth said he would like for people who view the history museum’s exhibit to see how much the church has contributed to the community over nearly 100 years.

“The most important thing to take away from this exhibit is how invested Riverview has been in this community and what a long history it has here in the community,” Booth said. “It had a summer camp long before the town did, it had a play yard where the kids could come and play — it has always been invested in this community.”

As the Booths step down from the pulpit at the end of the year, the Rev. Reginald Graham will be taking over leadership of the congregation. Originally from Albany, Graham has known the Booths for years and has been working to transition into the position for the past two years. Graham has already preached at Riverview a number of times.

“I plan to continue what the Booths started as far as preaching the gospel,” Graham said. “I am a little younger and I think the Lord is bringing me here to preach the gospel for this generation. This generation in particular is dealing with a lot of addiction and mental illness and things of that nature. That is an area where God has gifted me to minister to people — that will be one of my focuses.”

The Riverview exhibit will likely be on display for most of 2024, Boehlke said, and will be expanded to include more photos of previous pastors at the church.

Another new addition to the historical society’s displays is a bell donated from a church in Alcove, formerly occupied by Teen Challenge, which has left the area and the building has been closed, according to society member Tom Sweeney.

The historic bell is made of cast iron and is 22” in diameter. It was donated to the museum in late August.

Historical Society board member Roger Wilber said he hopes visitors to the museum develop an appreciation for the history of the local area.

“I hope people see the richness that this town has historically,” he said. “We have such a rich and valuable heritage that stretches all the way back to Barent Coeymans and I would like them to see that, to see how much we have here.”