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Image provided by: Guilderland Public Library
2 The Altamont Enterprise Our 1( Serving tfa Guilderland, New Scotland, Bethlehem, I Including Altamont, Voorheeavtte, Westmere, GuUderiond Ce Number 48 Thursday, The Karner Blue By DENNIS SULLIVAN Every housing subdivision in America boasts of some unique feature or other. Westmere's Canterbury Park, located on Johnston Road just south of Church, is no exception; But it does have one feature no other housing development anywhere can come close to: A wildlife preserve in its own backyard. The 3.1-acre preserve was desig- nated by the Town of Guilderland Planning Board as \forever gregn\ for the protection and management of the Karner Blue biitterflycolony that resides there, the very same critter that caused all the stir during the 1981 zoning hearings for Grossgates Mall. And if you're driving by you can't miss the preserve. Several hundred yards down the main entrance to Canterbury Park stands a six-foot galvanized chain link fence enclosing the area, the western side of the fence rising high up and over the sole remaining dune. The need for some kind of protected area for the Karner Blue was discovered in 1984 while the engineering survey was being done. Pine Bush specialist Don Rittner, then a member of the Guilderland Conservation Advi- sory Council) informed engineer Jim Green of Standard Engineer- ing Corporation that a colony of Karner Blues was living on a site on which several townhouses were scheduled to be built. In a telephone interview Rittner said that he came upon the colony in 1978 during research on the life of the pine barrens for his book, \Pine Bush: Albany's Last Frontier.\ This colony, which the Department of Environmental Conservation was also aware of at the time, is considered to be the westernmost colony of Karner Blues in New York State. In response to Rittner's offer- ings, Standard • Engineering re- vised its original housing plan, knocking out several houses on the site where the colony residedl And the Guilderland Planning Board after some discussion declared the area \an irrevocable common area\ that would remain \forever green.\ What seems most unique about this situation is that responsibility for the management of the forever-green area resides not in the hands of EnC'on or even the Guilderland Conservation Council but in those of the Canterbury Park homeowners. Talk about taking care of what's in your own backyard first! But a $64 question that remains unanswered is: What exactly will the management of this small enclosed area entail? Paul Empie, town planning and zoning coor- dinator, says that little if anything will be required; that the wildlife will take care of itself as it always has. But Don Rittner, who also carries the title of president of the American Pine Barrens Society, says it's not that simple. He noted that the preserved area will not have to be cleared by burning, as larger pine barren areas must from time to time. But, he Guilderland Schools Experience Growing Pains—Again ByJOHNADDYMAN Like a large person settling into a small car, the fit is getting a little tight in some of the Guilderland school buildings, especially at the elementary level. This year the district reopened its school 1 on Western Avenue, Guilderland Elementary, to ac- commodate four classrooms of kindergarteners. That wasn't a stopgap but the beginning of a healthy trend, according to re- marks made at Tuesday night's meeting of the school board. Of the 17 teachers appointed to positions starting in September, seven are slated for the elemen- tary school: — three alone to Westmere, where two new posi- tions were added for the 1986-87 school year. \Westmere is at capacity now,\ said Assistant Superintendent Hal McCarthy, \andLynnwood is close to capacity. We added two teachers to the Westmere staff this year; we can't do that next year.\ McCarthy explained that each classroom has a section assigned to it at Westmere, where Lynn- wood has one \classroom\ space left. But during the last five weeks, We're Taking A Vacation The Altamont Enterprise staff will take a brief vacation beginning Tuesday, July 1. News and advertising copy for the Thursday, July 3 issue must reach this office no later than next Wednesday, June 25. more than 15 new students have been registered and will start school in the fall. And that number is expected to grow and grow during the summer. The developments along John- ston Road are bringing many new families into the area, and that's putting pressure on the elementary schools first. McCarthy said the- board will begin to talk about the fall of 1987, when Guilderland Elementary may see more kids from Lynnwood and: Westmere. \If the trend in Westmere continues,\ said: McCarthy, \we'll 6 From Here Wiii Empire Scholarships Six graduating high school seniors from suburban Albany County are among 1,000 throughout the state to win 1986 Empire State Scholarships for Excellence. Recognized for earning the highest test scores in the Regents scholarship competition for Albany County were Todd Sinkins and William Stone, who attend Guilder- land High School, and Beth Ammerman, Steven Ayers, Peter Blaustein and Karen Rosewater, students at Bethlehem High School. The scholarships, established this year, will provide recipients with $2,000 per year in addition to their $250 Regents scholarship awards — if they choose to attend an accredited four or five-year college program in New York State. have to do something about it. Right now, we're just talking about it, and nothing will happen until 1987. We will have no changes this fall — we couldn't: that would be absolute chaos.\ New Teachers Jamilyn Becket, a graduate of SUNY Oneonta, will join the staff at Altamont Elementary; Robyn Eaton, with a master's degree and five and a half years of teaching experience, will be at Westmere; Dena Markey, a graduate of the University of Vermont, will also be at Westmere; Jeanmarie Moore, • the third new Westmere teacher, has .taught for three and a half years and has her master's degree from SUNYA. Three teachers will be assigned to Lynnwood: Eileen Bray, who (Continued on Page 4) Fair Premium Books Ready Premium booksare now ready at the Altamont Fair. To have one sent free, call 861-6671 or send a postcard .to the Altamont Fair, Box 506, Altamont, N.Y. 12009. Whether it's a handicraft, a large vegetable or ponies, horses or livestock, the premium book will have the details on how to enter the 1986 Altamont Fair and what the deadlines are for doing so. Entry forms are included. Many of this year's classes have been changed and many of the premiums have been increased to make it more attractive to enter. This year's fair will be Monday,' Aug. 11 through Sunday, Aug. 17. id Rensselaerville md Surrounding Area* 25 Cents continued, some ongoing active management of the vegetation will be required if the colony is to flourish. This means that someone know- ledgeable about pine barrens wildlife and vegetation will have to go in and remove by hand all the larger unwanted vegetation. This, in order that the sun can reach through to the smaller plants, particularly the wild lupine.. It is the leaves of this perennial legume that is the sole source of food 1 for the Karner Blue during its cater- pillar stage. And the biological cycle says the more lupines there are, the more food there is for the Karner Blues. But if the larger vegetation is allowed to overrun the area whose natural life cycle has already been interfered: with 1 , the lupines will 1 be shut out and the food source of next generation Karner Blues will be destroyed: What struck me as odd during my first visit to the site several weeks ago was that I could identify only about a half dozen lupines inside the fenced-in area, while dozens upon dozens grew on the outside, particularly on the west- ern and southern perimeters. .When I returned a week-, later to photograph the site; I discovered that nearly all the lupines outside the fence on the southern side had been bulldozed flat. If the colony of Karner Blues that live at Canterbury Park is to be preserved 1 , the homeowners, the designated managers of the site, (Continued on Page 4) Altamont EnterpriK — Bob'Hagyard' Bulldozers sit idle in front of what remains of center sand 1 dune at Canterbury Estates off Johnston Road. Photo illustrates key problem for the fenced-in preserve: How can lupine continue to flourish within the fenced area with all those white pines blocking the sunlight? AllamoM Enterprise — Bob Hagyatd McKOWNVILLE PARADE is nine days away, but firemen are already ready for the hamlet's June 28 parade, sponsored by the department. Polishing ornamental bell is fireman Dominic Adami as parade chairman Frank Casatelli (left) and member Jhn Pendergast look on. The line of march will begin at Country Road, then proceed to Schoolhouse Road and thence to the new Fred B. Abele-McKownville Town Park. There the park will be dedicated in memory of the late Mr. Abele, longtime fire official, amateur historian and correspondent for The Altamont Enterprise. The public is invited; events will get Underway at 11 a.m.
