For Immediate Release: Contact: Andy Fyfe
June 2, 2008 (518) 584-2000 x 119
Spa Park to Host Historic Springs Walkabout for National Trails Day
Saratoga Spa State Park announces a walking tour to showcase the park’s historic springs and celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 7th, from 1 to 4 pm.
Park staff, in collaboration with The Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park will lead a walking tour of several active springs, and search for other springs that have disappeared through the years. Participants will have the opportunity to sample the springs, learn about their historical use and the legend and lore surrounding them.
As this event is also a celebration of National Trails Day, Park staff will hand out garbage bags to any volunteers willing to help clean our wonderful trails. Please come dressed appropriately.
This event is free and open to the public; however, registration is required. Please call the education office at (518) 584-2000, ext. 119, for registration and directions.
Saratoga Spa State Park, “The Public’s Resort,” is proud to have many miles of trails for walking, running or hiking. Maps are available at the Park Office. For our walk locations and other public hikes and classes, see our events calendar our web site at www.nysparks.com and also www.saratogaspastatepark.org.
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17 comments:
Now is your chance to get your group a positive image. You should be on hand to give out some sort of little gift or trinket to each person going on the walks. It doesn't have to be anything spectacular just a little rememberance on behalf of your society.
How about a volunteer work day. Maybe your group could help the Friends.
We are very different than the Friends who also do wonderful things. We do not ask the public for money or get free office space from the Parks Department in the Administration building.
You do not seem to understand the meaning of grass-roots which defines Save the Victoria Pool Society.
"Grass-Roots:
The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures."
Yes, but the term grass-roots implies that the organization actually DOES something, anything other than complain. Call yourselves whatever you want, but if you aren't actually doing anything to benefit the park, why should anybody listen? And while you don't ask for money, you seem to demand a LOT more than just funds.
OK OK I get the point. Can you at least give an example of a finished product or project you have done? The pool doesn't count because technically all you did was create mass hysteria in the media.
“We are very different than the Friends who also do wonderful things”
--- Good point. Thank you for pointing this out. Perhaps, now we are getting somewhere.
“We do not ask the public for money”
--- Either do the Friends of Spa State Park last I checked. As they are a membership organization, they ask their MEMBERSHIP for money, not the public. Your society actually does ask for money according to your very own numerous postings. That 1.5 million you take credit for; that came from original tax dollars – public money. Now, I am not saying, as a taxpayer, I would rather see my money go elsewhere than fancy pools for 6 Memorial Day visitors, but someone could argue that. Some would probably also argue that the balance is way out of whack when a very vocal minority ASKS the public for millions and yapps their cause into the headlines enough to get it, while meanwhile other local facilities need very basic attention.
“You do not seem to understand the meaning of grass-roots which defines Save the Victoria Pool Society.”
----Whoa! I am worried about your grasp on reality here. Mr. President is that you? You pulled your definition from Wikipedia, which defines the word entirely in a political context. Your society is not a registered political organization, nor a registered 501(c)(4); correct? Therefore, I believe you are using the “gets things done at the gritty local level” (my emphasis), connotation of the word GRASSROOTS. Now let us be honest here. I have volunteered for several Parks Friends groups. They typically use their “free office space” or broom closets to store hand tools, envelopes for sending newsletters, and trash bags for trail clean up. Recently, I saw the local members on top of a pavilion near Geyser Creek laying new shingles on the roof, as they now have completed the renovations on the pavilion near Rte 50. Now, that is grassroots. Volunteers mending roofs and landscaping parks out of love for a place.
Racial justice, affordable housing, clean air, hunger, poverty, environmental degradation; these are the traditional issues giving rise to grassroots campaigns. I will not accept your claim as a legitimate grassroots organization; your cause and framework qualifies you only as an eccentric blogger fringe. An unregistered, apolitical activist organization staging demonstrations on Broadway and meetings in Mrs. London’s is not a grassroots effort; it is a figment of its own imagination.
I was at the park office today, looking for the Friends of the Saratoga Spa State Park's "free office space". I was informed that they in fact, do not have a designated office in the park; however I was directed to the wonderful shelter they built for the Hathorn #3 Spring on Route 50. Has the Save the Victoria Pool Society participated in any such projects? What palpable improvements has your society made?
The Friends of Spa State park do not have an office in the admin building, they hold a short monthly meeting there. They put money and sweat into the park, unlike you who sit by the pool and complain. You seem to love twisting things around to make park employees and the people that really do care about the WHOLE park look like "clowns" and "incompetents" as you call them. You really do need to get a life!!!!
Your silence on this blog speaks volume. You have been asked over and over again to give one example of how you have worked endlessly to improve the pool and the park and you have said nothing. You can spare yourselves the embarassment of having to admit you've done NOTHING because we all know it. The fact that 1.5 million dollars was spent to fix up the pool is true, but all you did was cause a commotion in the media...that is it. Just because tax dollars were put into the renovation doesn't mean you saved it. Under that line of thinking we all saved it. And now that it has been saved you still don't stop...on and on year after year. Has it gotten through to you yet??? Petitions...Protests...Editorials.....Meetings....Letters....nobody thinks you're right and it will be a very long time before anyone does.
You need to go back to the archives in the Press and read about our years of quiet efforts to gain the attention of Park officials and elected and appointed officials about deteriorating Park conditions to no avail before the Press sought us out actually. You are insulting not just us but an entire Community who cares very much for Saratoga Spa State Park.
Louise, you are again missing the point. Your "quiet efforts" have been nothing but complaints and demands. While the Friends of the Park raise money for improvements, you demand that taxpayer money be spent on one small section of the park. Additionally, you insult park employees almost daily on this blog. Furthermore, you STILL haven't come up with a concrete example of ANY improvements your society has participated in. All you want to do is sit by the pool a month early. While I (and many others) agree that the Victoria Pool is a wonderful place to spend a hot summer day, your society and its activities are doing very little to "save" the pool.
The press "sought you out". Sorry, but Michael Korb can hardly be considered an investigative journalist. ( I do believe he wrote the first article quoting your group.) Many of the things in that article were less than accurate and very one sided.
Why is it that you do not publish all comments? I could understand if there was inappropriate language or something totally offensive, but some of my comments as well as those of others are not making the cut. Or is that the reason? We are trying to cut to the heart of the matter and you don't want to listen???
The Board does sometimes publish incorrect, abusive and repetative comments. Anyone can start a blog and publish whatever they wish just as being anonymous is the right of the person(s) who comment.
What difference does it make if you post as "anonymous" or as something like "sinister"? You still don't know who the person is? That doesn't make what they are saying any less true or accurate. Congradulations once again on evading the point and question though...and the above blog is true, when the park staff does something you like you rave about them but two seconds later when something stupid happens like they run out of chairs at the pool you turn on them like that!
Have you ever stopped and realized how lucky you are as far as the pool goes? Those things like chairs and umbrellas don't have to be provided and certainly not for free. Look at the Peerless where you have to bring in your own chair. You could be a lot worse off.
Whoa! Less than accurate? At least use your name if you're going to question my accuracy.
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