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Neighborhood news, events, civic notices, and the local issues worth organizing around.

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Event

Home Runs for Hope: a ballgame with a bigger purpose this Sunday

Rensselaer County, the Nopiates Committee and the Tri-City ValleyCats are turning Sunday's game at the Joe into Home Runs for Hope, recognizing Overdose Awareness Day and bringing the recovery community to the ballpark. Gates at 3:30, first pitch at 5, fireworks after.

Civic Desk
News

Why the sea lions aren't coming to the fair

The Sea Lion Splash show booked for the Schaghticoke Fair was cancelled after the truck carrying three of its sea lions crashed on a Missouri interstate on August 13. The animals came through unhurt, a reptile show takes their slots this year, and the fair says the sea lions are expected in 2027. Federal inspection records about the show's operator are worth knowing before then.

Civic Desk
Event

Two more nights of summer at Grafton Lakes: tot time Thursday, a moonlit hike Friday

The state park up the hill is closing out August with a free toddler nature hour Thursday morning and a guided full-moon hike Friday night under the Sturgeon Moon, $5 and worth every dollar of it. Both take registration, one phone call: 518-279-1155.

Civic Desk
Notice

Hoosic Valley heads back September 10, with a new superintendent at the wheel

First day of classes at Hoosic Valley is Thursday, September 10, and elementary dismissal moves to 2:12. There is also a new hand on the wheel: Michelle Gabree-Huba took over as superintendent July 1, and she is asking families and neighbors to tell her what the district does well and where it can grow. Plus a 7th-grade open house September 1 and the rest of the opening week.

Civic Desk
Notice

Lansingburgh's back-to-school week: orientations, a clothing giveaway, and one changed location

All Lansingburgh students return Tuesday, September 8, and the week before is orientation week: 6th graders Tuesday, Pre-K/K and 9th graders Wednesday, 3rd graders Thursday, plus the free Clothing Giveaway Wednesday evening. Also in here: free K–5 after-school care, which doesn't start until the 14th, a 9th-grade orientation location change, and the rest of the district calendar at a glance.

Civic Desk
Notice

Lansingburgh fall sports: registration is open, so sign up before the whistle

Registration for Lansingburgh's Fall 2026 sports is open now on ArbiterSports, and the district's advice is simple: do it as soon as possible, so your athlete is cleared before the season starts. Cross country, football, golf, soccer, volleyball, and Unified Bocce, where students with and without intellectual disabilities play on the same team.

Civic Desk
News

The Rustic Barn's new deck is done, just in time for the good evenings

"The deck is done!!" the Rustic Barn Pub announced over the weekend, and the photo backs it up: fresh decking, café tables, a railing strung with lights, and Speigletown sky where the hard part used to be. More tables, shade and plants are coming, but the door to eating your ribs outdoors is officially open.

Civic Desk
Event

The Fair is back: six days at the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds, starting Wednesday

The Great Schaghticoke Fair opens Wednesday, September 2 and runs through Labor Day, September 7. Opening day is $2-ride day, kids 13 and under get in free all week, and 2026 brings two new free shows: a big-top circus and a live reptile show, the latter a late substitution after the sea lion act's truck crashed en route to another fair (the sea lions are fine). The tradition dates to 1819, and it is ten minutes from your driveway.

Civic Desk
News

The storms did spin: two tornadoes confirmed just north of us

Update: the National Weather Service confirmed Thursday evening's storms produced two tornadoes near Wilton in Saratoga County, an EF-1 with 110 mph winds and a brief EF-0, with no one hurt. The forecast had said "a tornado or two." Our Wednesday heads-up, and the 2020 Schaghticoke tornado history it recalled, follows as published.

Civic Desk
Event

Five Sundays to fix the cat — and one Friday night to dress like one

Kitten Angels has posted its fall calendar, and there's something on it for both kinds of cat people: five low-cost spay/neuter clinic dates for owned cats between now and December, sign-up by online form — and the fifteenth annual Black Cat Gala, an old-Hollywood night at Troy's Franklin Terrace Ballroom on October 30 that pays for all that compassion.

Civic Desk
Event

Box the cat, leash the dog: $20 shots in Troy on September 19

Mark the fridge calendar: Operation Snip's walk-in vaccine clinic comes to Troy on Saturday, September 19 — rabies and distemper shots, twenty dollars apiece, no appointment, 11 to 3 in the Old Taylor Apartments lot on River Street. Your dog's town license needs that rabies certificate anyway. Might as well get it for twenty bucks.

Civic Desk
News

Chrissy's Cravings turns twenty today, and the whole town's invited

Twenty years ago Christina Newton spent her birthday opening an ice cream shop on Main Street. This afternoon Schaghticoke returns the favor: music until nine, a bounce house, a dunk tank for a good cause, and a dinosaur-roar contest. Bring a chair — the ice cream's covered.

Civic Desk
News

Your trash bill is going up in January. Here is what to watch, and when.

The town opened bids on its next garbage and recycling contract on August 6, and the Town Board says it will award it at the September 9 meeting — with a rate increase residents will see on their bills at the first of the year. Here is what you pay now, where that charge actually lives, and the three meetings that will set the number.

Civic Desk
News

The hamlet noise law passed: what Chapter 92 does, and what the town said about enforcing it

The Town Board adopted the hamlet noise law on August 12, 2026 as Local Law No. 3 of 2026 — no amplified noise in Speigletown, Pleasantdale, Hemstreet Park or Melrose between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., with fines from $250 to $1,000. At the hearing the town explained how it intends to enforce it: a warning first, no decibel meters on purpose, the Sheriff's Office doing the enforcing, and ATVs and sand-pit parties handled by other laws entirely.

Civic Desk
Notice

Mechanicville DPW is hiring a Skilled Laborer — $26.04/hr, apply by August 7

The City of Mechanicville's Department of Public Works has an immediate opening for a Skilled Laborer — 40 hours a week at $26.04/hour with health insurance, dental/vision, a pension, and paid time off. A short drive from Speigletown, and applications are due August 7, 2026.

Civic Desk
News

Archaeologists dug up Schaghticoke's mill-town past. The 143-page report is now online.

Before the Route 40 bridge over the Hoosic was replaced, state archaeologists excavated thirteen historic sites in the village — mill workers' houses, shops, and the factories themselves — and wrote the most substantial published history of Schaghticoke's industrial era. It quietly appeared on the town's new website, and it's a remarkable read.

Civic Desk
News

Record rain floods southern Rensselaer County — Speigletown spared the worst

Wednesday's record rains brought flash flooding and road closures across the southern and western parts of Rensselaer County — Schodack alone took about a foot of rain, the equivalent of 10 feet of snow. By Thursday only two county roads remained affected, though several town roads were still closed. No deaths or injuries were reported, and Speigletown escaped the worst.

Civic Desk
News

The Town of Schaghticoke is live at townofschaghticoke.gov

The town has moved to a new website at townofschaghticoke.gov — a .gov address, which only verified U.S. government bodies can hold. Old .org links redirect, meetings and notices have clearer homes, and the filed local laws are online for the first time. A few things got left behind in the move, so here's where they went and what we've done about it.

Civic Desk
News

Rett Fest comes to the firehouse September 19 — and the fund behind it is now a nonprofit

The beloved fall fundraiser at the Speigletown firehouse has a new name — Rett Fest — and a big milestone behind it: organizers Alyssa and Rick Otis have established the Barrett D. Otis Charitable Fund as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit for Rett Syndrome research. The festival runs Saturday, September 19, 11 AM–5 PM, with live music, food, raffles, kids' activities, a motorcycle ride, cornhole, and a dunk tank.

Civic Desk
News

Grant Hollow bridge repair underway; Barton Road repair starts this week

The town's highway department confirms the Grant Hollow bridge repair has been underway for about a week, and the Barton Road bridge repair is starting this week. The Town Board financed the $710,000 Barton Road work on July 8, authorizing borrowing over five years.

Civic Desk
News

Dollar General proposed at Route 40 and East Schaghticoke Road gets its first hearing

A 10,600-square-foot Dollar General is proposed for the corner of Route 40 and East Schaghticoke Road, on one lot of a new three-lot subdivision. At its July 1 public hearing, neighbors and the Planning Board pressed on screening, lighting, truck traffic, and water — and the chairman and one member recused themselves, each intending to bid on the build. Written comment is open, and the plan returns August 5.

Civic Desk
News

Registration is open for DEC's 'Becoming an Outdoors-Woman' fall weekend on Lake George

New York's long-running Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program is holding a fall skills weekend October 2–4, 2026 at the Silver Bay YMCA on Lake George. Registration is a lottery, open only July 21–30 — so if you're interested, the window to enter is now.

Civic Desk
News

What the Dark Skies Protection Act could mean for Speigletown

A bill in Albany, the Dark Skies Protection Act, would set statewide rules for outdoor lighting — requiring most fixtures to be shielded and aimed downward starting January 1, 2028, and dimming late-night lights at recreational facilities. Here's what's actually in it, where it stands, and what it would and wouldn't change for homes and businesses here, from backyard floodlights to new commercial construction along Route 40.

Civic Desk
News

DEC hosts a free webinar on accessible outdoor recreation — Wednesday, July 29

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is holding a free, public webinar on accessible outdoor recreation for people with disabilities on Wednesday, July 29 (1:00–2:30 p.m.), and has launched a statewide interactive map to help people find accessible trails, campgrounds, waterway access, and day-use areas near home.

Civic Desk
Notice

Town finances the Barton Road bridge repair — $710,000, subject to referendum

On July 8, 2026 the Town Board voted to fund the long-troubled Barton Road crossing — authorizing the $710,000 repair and agreeing to borrow the money over five years. The borrowing is subject to permissive referendum, so it takes effect unless residents petition for a public vote within about 30 days (by roughly August 7), and the highway department expects work to begin the week of July 13.

Civic Desk
Notice

Town puts trash & recycling collection out to bid for 2027–2028

The Town of Schaghticoke is taking sealed bids for its residential garbage, recycling, and yard-waste collection contract for 2027–2028. Bids are due by 3:00 p.m. on August 6, 2026. For residents, the service the contract describes looks much like today's — weekly curbside pickup with carts provided.

Civic Desk
News

Three Flock cameras destroyed in Troy as surveillance debate sharpens

Troy police are investigating after three of the city's Flock automated license-plate cameras — including ones on Oakwood Avenue and Northern Drive, near Speigletown — were destroyed late Thursday. The vandalism lands in the middle of a running fight over the cameras: police call them a valuable investigative tool, while residents and civil-liberties groups warn about privacy, data-sharing, and wrongful stops. Updated August 2 with the new negotiated safeguards — data-sharing limits, use restrictions, and annual audits — and the council's proposed charter change on emergency powers.

Civic Desk
News

A $50,000 Powerball ticket was sold at LaPosta Brothers Market

The New York Lottery says a third-prize Powerball ticket worth $50,000 from the July 22 drawing was sold at LaPosta Brothers Market, the neighborhood grocery at 181 Speigletown Road. If you played Wednesday's drawing, check your numbers.

Civic Desk
News

Fire destroys structures at Field of Horrors on Farrell Road

A July 20 fire tore through structures at the Capital Combat Zone and its "Field of Horrors" haunted attraction at 100 Farrell Road in the Town of Brunswick. Speigletown firefighters and a long list of mutual-aid partners fought the multiple-alarm blaze for about an hour and stopped it from spreading. No injuries were reported; investigators ruled the cause electrical.

Civic Desk
Notice

The Town of Schaghticoke is moving to a .gov website

The Town of Schaghticoke is refreshing its website and moving to an official townofschaghticoke.gov domain, with new .gov email addresses for town employees and a slightly updated design. The older townofschaghticoke.org address will keep receiving email and redirect visitors during the transition.

Speigletown Community
News

Dog daycare hearing: board backs personal-service reading — not a kennel — with conditions to come

The Zoning Board's July 20 special meeting on a proposed dog grooming and daycare at Route 40 and Eastover Road filled the room, with traffic safety the dominant worry and several neighbors backing the reuse of a long-vacant building. Attendees say the board rejected treating it as a kennel but approved reading it as a "personal service" use, and a straw vote favored approval with restrictions — likely including no overnight boarding and a 2–3 year review. The town attorney is drafting the stipulations and will post them when ready. Updated August 19: the Planning Board has set the special-use-permit and site-plan hearing for September 2 at 7 p.m.

Civic Desk
Event

Tee up for a good cause: Speigletown Fire's Golf Scramble returns September 26

The Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company's annual Golf Scramble returns Saturday, September 26, 2026 at Frear Park in Troy — a shotgun-start tournament with lunch, dinner, and awards. This year's proceeds go toward refurbishing the company's 1936 American LaFrance fire truck.

Community Calendar
Event

Live music among the monuments: an afternoon at Oakwood Cemetery this Saturday

This Saturday, July 18, from noon to 5 PM, local musicians play throughout historic Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. Follow the roads, learn the history, and catch Deb Zep at 1 PM.

Community Calendar
Notice

Tomatoes are on the stand at Remington's Harvest

A Friday update from Remington's Harvest: the first tomatoes of the season are out on the farm stand. The family-owned stand is open 10am to 5pm, late June through Thanksgiving.

Community Bulletin
Event

Speigletown Fire's Chicken BBQ is back, October 24, to save a 1936 fire engine

The Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company's Chicken BBQ returns Saturday, October 24, 2026. Pre-order your dinners by October 16. This year the proceeds go toward restoring the company's 1936 American LaFrance fire engine.

Community Calendar
Notice

Lansingburgh schools are hiring substitute custodians and nurses

The Lansingburgh Central School District, just south of Speigletown, is looking for substitute custodians and substitute nurses (RN and LPN) for the coming school year. Here are the pay rates, shifts, and how to apply.

Community Bulletin
Notice

Air quality alert: wildfire smoke over Speigletown into Thursday

New York State has extended its Air Quality Health Advisory for fine particulates, now in effect until midnight Thursday night (July 16), as Canadian wildfire smoke lingers over our area (Rensselaer County). Sensitive groups should keep limiting strenuous time outdoors.

Civic Desk
Event

Tag sale this Saturday benefits The Animal Support Project

A one-day "Huge Tag Sale" runs Saturday, July 18, from 10 AM to 3 PM at the Veterans of Lansingburgh parking lot, a short drive down Route 40 from Speigletown. All proceeds benefit The Animal Support Project, a local nonprofit that helps at-risk pets and their owners through hard times.

Community Calendar
News

Project Lifesaver: help finding a loved one who wanders

Since 2015 the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office has offered Project Lifesaver, a small wearable radio transmitter that helps trained deputies quickly locate a person with autism, dementia, or another condition who has wandered. Here's how it works and who to contact.

Speigletown Community
News

Calhoun's Farm Stand opens for the season with sweet corn

Calhoun's Farm Stand on Grange Road, the closest fresh produce to the hamlet, opened for the 2026 season on July 12, its first open weekend, with homegrown sweet corn, fresh vegetables, fruit, and more. The family has grown its own corn since 1983.

Civic Desk
Recipe

Lemon–Olive Oil Cake

Our first community recipe: an Italian-style lemon and olive oil cake with a soft, moist crumb and three kinds of lemon. Makes one 9-inch cake.

E. Hinkson
News

Suburb or Country? What Speigletown Really Is

Ask ten neighbors whether Speigletown is a suburb or the country and you'll get ten answers. The honest take: we're the populated, city-connected corner of a town that is otherwise rural, and knowing which is which matters.

A. Luchi
Notice

Two reasons to hit the library: a school supplies drive and summer reading

Troy Public Library is collecting new school supplies for Troy and Lansingburgh students through August 1, and you can even ship from their wishlist. And "Unearth a Story" summer reading runs through August 7 for all ages, with sign-up at either branch.

Civic Desk
Notice

Free summer meals for kids, now through August

Lansingburgh schools are serving free breakfast and lunch to any child up to age 18, with no registration and no income check. The closest site to Speigletown is Turnpike Elementary. Meals run weekdays through mid-to-late August.

Civic Desk
News

What's in Speigletown's water? The 2025 quality report, explained

The town's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report is out. The short version for Speigletown: no water-quality violations, no lead service lines in the system, and everything detected came in under state limits, plus a few details worth knowing if you're on town water.

Civic Desk
Notice

On town water? The Water Department still needs a photo of your service line

State and local health departments require the town to document what kind of pipe supplies each home on municipal water. If you haven't sent yours yet, a single photo of your indoor water connection takes care of it.

Civic Desk
Notice

County Waste: put your cans out the night before

A reminder from County Waste: drivers sometimes start the route earlier than usual, and cans that aren't curbside when they pass get missed.

Civic Desk
Notice

Dog daycare proposed for the old Scriven Press site: hearing continues July 20

A dog grooming and daycare business wants to reuse the vacant building at Route 40 and Eastover Road. The Zoning Board took public comment July 2, made no decision, and left the record open. Here's what was said and how to weigh in before the July 20 continued hearing.

Civic Desk
News

Welcome to Speigletown, online at last

Our hamlet finally has one place that pulls together public safety, town government, local services, businesses, and neighbors. Here's what you'll find and how to help build it.

The Speigletown Community Site
News

On the drawing board: a Dollar General on Route 40, solar on Route 67

Two developments have been working their way through the Planning Board: a proposed 10,600-square-foot Dollar General at Route 40 and East Schaghticoke Road, and a pair of solar arrays along the Route 67 corridor. Here's what's proposed and how to weigh in.

Civic Desk
Notice

Reminder: Town Board meets the second Wednesday each month

Speigletown is part of the Town of Schaghticoke. The Town Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals all meet monthly and are open to the public. Here's the schedule.

Civic Desk
Issue

Have your say: traffic and safety along Route 40

Route 40 is Speigletown's main street. Speeding, crossings, and shoulders come up again and again. If we gather specifics, we can bring them to the Town and the state as one voice.

Action Desk
Event

Monthly firehouse breakfast returns

The Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company hosts community breakfasts through the year, a great, low-key way to meet neighbors and support the volunteers who keep us safe.

Community Calendar
News

A dinner remade: Chrissy's Cravings takes care of the rescue squad

When a call pulled the Hoosic Valley Rescue Squad crew away from dinner, their order at Chrissy's Cravings in Schaghticoke went cold on the counter. The restaurant remade the whole thing, no questions asked — and the squad wanted everyone to know.

Civic Desk
News

Forty neighbors turned out to meet the fire company on RecruitNY day

The Speigletown firehouse joined RecruitNY, the statewide volunteer recruitment weekend, on Saturday, April 18 — and the chief made a day of it, billing it as a fire department meet and greet. About 40 people came by to hang out with the volunteers, see the trucks, and ask what joining actually involves.

Civic Desk
News

The Peace Tree at 350: the 1676 story behind our town emblem

That oak tree on the Town of Schaghticoke's seal isn't decoration. It marks a 1676 peace covenant planted right here, said to be the only tree ever planted in North America for the welfare of Native people. In 2026 it turns 350, and the Knickerbocker Historical Society is marking it with a two-day celebration at the Knickerbocker Mansion on August 1 and 2.

History Desk
News

Speigletown Fire honored with a county commendation

Rensselaer County recognized the Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company at its annual installation banquet, and the company marked a leadership change, with Dean Rysedorph taking over as chief.

Community Desk
Notice

Heads up: town water rates and the meter fee are going up

If you're on town water, your rate is rising again. The Town Board raised the billing rate for Water Districts #1, 3 and 3E (which includes Speigletown) from $4.95 to $5.35 per 100 cubic feet, the latest in a series of supplier-driven increases, and the new-meter fee is now $510.

Civic Desk
News

The Reverse Rett Fall Festival: a record year for a cure, at our firehouse

Each fall the Speigletown Fire House hosts the Reverse Rett Upstate NY Fall Festival, a family fundraiser for Rett Syndrome research. The 2025 event set records: more than $325,000 raised and 2,612 people through the gates.

Civic Desk
News

Fire destroys a Speigletown home; all three residents escape safely

An early-morning fire on July 1, 2025 destroyed a home on Tucker Pond Court in Speigletown. Smoke detectors woke the three people inside and all got out safely. With no hydrants in the area, crews trucked in water by tanker.

Civic Desk
News

A passing driver helps a neighbor escape a Speigletown fire

On the evening of October 8, 2024, a driver passing a home on Fogarty Road in Speigletown noticed a window on fire and is credited with helping the person inside get out safely. The fire was held to one room.

Civic Desk
News

A Christmas morning fire displaces two in Speigletown

On Christmas morning 2023, the Speigletown Fire District battled a structure fire on Valley View Avenue that heavily damaged a home's first floor and displaced the two people who lived there. No one was hurt.

Civic Desk

Elsewhere in the news

We're neighbors, not a newsroom — the working press covers this area too. Speigletown hasn't had a paper of its own since the Schaghticoke Sun stopped its presses in 1983; these outlets pick up where it left off.

The Express

Weekly newspaper

A weekly paid-subscription paper covering Schaghticoke, Johnsonville, Mechanicville, Stillwater, Waterford, and neighboring towns — the closest thing to a hometown paper. Their Schaghticoke tag collects our local coverage.

Read their coverage →

The Record

Daily (digital)

Troy’s paper since 1896, now primarily digital — city and Rensselaer County news, sports, and obituaries.

Read their coverage →

Times Union

Regional daily

The Capital Region’s major daily, based in Albany — regional coverage that reaches into Rensselaer County.

Read their coverage →

NEWS10 ABC

TV news

Capital Region television news with a dedicated Rensselaer County section.

Read their coverage →