TROY – Members of a local Weed & Seed committee were recently became the recipients of national awards for their continued dedication to local needs.

Local program director Colleen Goldston and members of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program where recognized during the national Weed & Seed conference attended by the West Side Waterfront Weed & Seed Steering Committee.

Goldston, a community police officer who serves as director of the local program, received the Tenure Award for Site Directors for her nine years of service to the community, while members of the VITA program were give the Coordination Honor Award by the Community Capacity Development Office, a program office of the Department of Justice which hosted the conference.

The conference was also attended by Agnes Zink, of the Roarke Center, Bill Roehr, the city’s grants writer, and steering committee secretary Anthony DeFiglio, who gave a presentation with Goldston on “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.”

More information on the awards and the conference can be found at www.ccdoconferencejournal.org.

UPDATE: Meeting Cancelled

The Parks and Recreation meeting scheduled for July 30 has been cancelled. Read the full story here.

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As Record intern Jake Lustick reported earlier this week, members of the City Council will meet Thursday for a Park and Recreation Committee meeting to discuss wehther proper protocols and procedures are being followed at city facilities, including a Lansingburgh pool where an 11-year-old girl nearly drowned on July 13.

“The people of Troy want to know that when they go to city facilities that they are in compliance with state and federal guidelines and that their children are going to be safe,” said Councilman Peter Ryan, D-District 3. “We just want to make sure everyone is doing their job and doing it to the best of their ability.”

The Democratic majority recognized that there is an ongoing police investigation into the matter but said that they simply want to answer the questions that concerned residents have raised.

“This is not a political issue,” said District 6 Councilman Gary Galuski. “Everyone in the city cares about the safety of our children. We need to give taxpayer reassurance that city parks are clean, safe and properly staffed.”

Councilman Mark McGrath, R-District 2, said that it was despicable for the council to try and place blame in an incident like this.

“This is just reactive. They’re going to grab on to this news while the girl is in the hospital and make political hay out of it. It’s despicable and I’m sickened that they’re even doing this,” said McGrath.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on July 30 in the City Council chambers at City Hall.

Below is a press release containing the schedule Saturday's 2nd-ever Troy Pig Out:

The Second Ever Troy Pig Out is will proceed rain or shine this weekend, with a few tweaks in its musical lineup.

Organizers have added venerable Irish act the McKrell’s to the lineup Saturday evening, and shifted Ernie Williams to earlier in the afternoon due to a scheduling snafu. New York City based rockers Ice Wagon Flu will headline the show. The Pig Out has more than 12 hours of live music planned for this weekend. The complete music schedule is:

Saturday:
11 a.m. to Noon: The Tom Casey Band
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: The Bent Rail Blues Band:
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Ernie Williams and the Wildcats
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Scott Shipley:
5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.: The McKrell’s
7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Ice Wagon Flu

Sunday:
11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Renee Lussier & Branchwater
12:30 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.: Simple Theory
1:30 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.: Julia Ilowiecki
2:30 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.: Prolonged Exposure
3:40 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Foy Brothers

The number of barbecue vendors for the event has tripled, and the number of teams competing for the New York State BBQ championship have increased from 18 to 30.

"We are ready to go, we are ready to entertain, and we are ready to provide some of the finest barbecue north of the Mason-Dixon line,” Troy Downtown Collaborative Executive Director Elizabeth Young said. “It should be an absolutely terrific time, and we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy one of the fastest growing events in the area. Enjoy the Summer of Seattle before it’s over!”

A detailed schedule of events can be found at www.troypigout.com.

REMINDER: There is no City Council meeting tonight at City Hall.

The council moved their July meeting to next Thursday, July 9, by a vote last month in order to provide enough time for public hearings on a proposed local law to establish a downtown Business Improvement District.

At least one of those public hearings will be held prior to the July 9 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers.

John Ray & Sons has introduced a new propane tank exchange program entitled, “Get the Full 18,” with three locations in the Capital Region.
In time for the height of the barbecue season, the propane tanks are filled to the maximum of 18 pounds by the Troy-based energy services company.
John Ray & Sons President Ken Ray said that the idea to start the propane tank exchange began with customer requests for the service.
“Our ‘Get the Full 18’ propane program is a benefit to consumers who recently have been receiving only 15 pounds of propane from national supplier exchange programs,” he said.
Many companies reduced the amount of propane in their tanks from 18 to 15 pounds last year when fuel costs were high to avoid a price increase.
“By filling the tanks to the maximum, the fuel lasts longer and reduces the need to exchange tanks as frequently,” said Ray.

The first three locations for John Ray & Sons’ Propane Tank Exchange Program are:

• Sycaway Sunoco at 558 Hoosick Street, Troy.

• Bob’s Sunoco Mini Market, corner of Wolf and Albany Shaker Roads, Colonie.

• Cohoes A Plus, 245 Ontario Street, Cohoes.

“Because of an increased customer demand for propane tank exchange programs, we’ll be adding more locations over the summer,” said Ray. “Our tanks are clean, safe and convenient.”

“Propane has become increasingly popular for outdoor grilling for a number of reasons, particularly environmental considerations,” said Ray. A recent British study showed that every charcoal cookout has twice the carbon footprint of a propane cookout. Because a propane grill heats more quickly than a charcoal grill and can be shut off, there is less waste.

John Ray & Sons has been in business in the city for more than 100 years and has evolved through the years as times have changed – delivering ice, coal, wood, kerosene, diesel fuel, heating oil, propane, and biofuels to residential and commercial customers throughout the Capital Region.

The following is from a press release from Elizabeth Young, executive director of the Troy Downtown Collaborative:

"Tonight's Rockin' on the River has been moved inside due to the threat of bad weather. The concert will be held at Revolution Hall, located at 425 River Street in Troy, one block from the original outdoor river front location from 5:00pm - 8:30pm.

This is still a completely free show and is open to all ages. Tonight's headliner is 80's tribute band Aquanet, and promises to be a wonderful evening of free music and fun in the City of Troy.

We will, weather permitting, return outside next week!"