Month: July 2024

By Susan Elise Campbell

Cerrone Builders has just broken ground on the model for a new maintenance-free residential development in Queensbury named The Village at Upper Sherman. The custom builders are about a month away from marketing 45 units starting at $550,000, according to Steven Cerrone, one of the company’s three managing partners and who is taking the lead on this project.

“We want to showcase what we do as a premier development company with The Village at Upper Sherman,” said Cerrone. 

The Cerrone family built The Village at Sweet Road in Queensbury several years ago and the new project mirrors that concept, he said.

“We like the concept of a village because we are creating a little community where everything is taken care of for you,” said Cerrone. “It’s a place that people can be proud to live in.”

The Village will have a homeowners’ association and monthly fee to maintain the common grounds and each lot’s lawn and landscaping, including mowing, mulching and trimming. Snow removal and trash pick-up are also provided.

Hudson Headwaters Family Health at Lake Placid, the network’s 24th health center, is now open. 

Family Health at Lake Placid has five exam rooms and will provide primary care to patients of all ages. The network will operate the practice on the first floor of the facility, located at 203 Old Military Road in Lake Placid and owned by Adirondack Health.

“As a non-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), our mission is to expand primary care access,” said Hudson Headwaters CEO Tucker Slingerland, M.D. “The new location in Lake Placid will be a helpful addition to the vital primary care access that has been provided by Adirondack Health, a fellow safety-net provider, and other providers for many years.”

“Adirondack Health appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with Hudson Headwaters Health Network to expand primary care access in Lake Placid and the surrounding communities,” said Aaron Kramer, Adirondack Health president and CEO. “Co-locating our services benefits both the patient experience and the continuum of care. We are pleased to welcome them to the neighborhood.”

The Adirondack Thunder, the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils and Utica Comets, has announced that the club has signed Head Coach Pete MacArthur to a two-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

MacArthur, 39, helped lead the Thunder to the regular-season North Division Championship with the most wins (43) and points (97) in franchise history. Adirondack also advanced to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to Florida in six games. In two seasons behind the bench for the Thunder, MacArthur is 75-47-22 and qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs both years.

“My family and I are so grateful to continue with this amazing opportunity in Adirondack,” said MacArthur. “We look forward to continuing to improve on-and-off the ice and fight for a Kelly Cup Championship with the best fans in the league behind us. Go Thunder!”

On the ice, MacArthur played professionally for 14 years before his coaching career. The Clifton Park native played four seasons with Adirondack and sits third all-time in franchise history in points (175), second in assists (122), is fourth all-time in games played (202) and sixth in goals (53).  

“We are thrilled to be able to extend Pete’s contract” said Team President Jeff Mead. “He has proven in just two years that he is the right leader for our organization. We have seen amazing success on the ice, including 17 sellouts last season. We look forward to continuing our quest for the Kelly Cup under Pete’s leadership.”

On July 15, Peter’s Diner re-opened after a two-month hiatus.  The iconic Glens Falls business has been closed while the lead cook, Nia Miller, took time off to recuperate from a knee replacement.

Peter’s Diner was originally opened in 1961 by Peter Demas and his wife, Helen. It was the culmination of a dream for Peter. He was a Greek immigrant and proud US Navy veteran. The 2024 closure was the longest in the diner’s history. Helen still shows up for work every day as she has done for the past 63 years. 

“This is the longest I have not worked”, said Helen. “While I was able to spend time in my garden, I have to get back to our customers.”

Over the past two years, the diner has upgraded its counters, flooring and mechanicals. Now it was necessary to repair the knee of Nia Miller. Nia is Peter’s daughter in this all-family business.

There were many days when customers would see her grimace as she worked to prepare and serve their meals.

Nia said, “I went as long as I could on that knee. Eventually the pain got to be unbearable. It was time.” 

The surgery was more complicated than expected. Nia was not able to even bend her knee for over five weeks. Then physical therapy started. Now she is ready to return to making breakfast, lunch and full meals for her customers. 

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc., a leading financial institution in New York’s Capital Region, today announced that its Board of Directors appointed Charles Seifert, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Seifert join our board of directors and to draw upon his extensive leadership, management, and banking experience to advance our strategic plan,” said Thomas Amell, President and CEO of Pioneer. “Dr. Seifert’s expertise will help Pioneer execute on our growth objectives and deliver long-term shareholder value.”

Dr. Seifert currently serves as president of Siena College (“Siena”), a private Franciscan liberal arts college located in Loudonville, New York. Prior to serving in that role, he has served as a faculty member at every rank, dean, and interim vice president for academic affairs for Siena. Dr. Seifert is also the founder of Siena’s Institute for Leadership Development and has steered numerous committees and task forces. He taught as an adjunct professor at several other Capital Region colleges prior to joining Siena’s faculty.

“Pioneer has an outstanding reputation in the Capital Region as a local financial institution that cares deeply about making a positive impact in the community,” said Dr. Seifert. “I look forward to working with my board colleagues and Pioneer’s leadership team to fulfill their mission.”

By Helise Stamos

Mario DiSiena has brought his love for antique cars and food together in a new enterprise. Uncle Mario’s Garage, a restaurant and bar, recently opened in Queensbury.  

The building housing the business was formerly Sutton’s Marketplace. Extensive revovations, which took two years, were required before opening. 

“We had repairs that needed to be addressed, but we also reinvented our building into something great,” said DiSiena. “I brought my love of antique cars, motorcycles and trains into my restaurant.” 

Twenty employees work with the DiSiena family to operate the restaurant. Mario’s wife, Diane, keeps the books. His daughter, Emily, greets  customers and manages the multiple floors that display products for sale. His son, Michael, oversees deliveries. Emily’s boyfriend, Steve Lisciani, helps with anything that’s needed. Jeanette Walter, who worked 20 years as a manager at Panzas in Saratoga, is the general manager. 

Empire State University will offer a master of arts in higher education beginning in the fall 2024 term. The online 30-credit degree program is designed to enhance students’ and professionals’ contributions to higher education and prepare them for a broad range of administrative roles and research related to their work.

The program is designed to be flexible and accommodating for full-time and part-time students. Courses focus on contemporary perspectives on careers, policies, administration, history, organization, social justice and educational equality, and data-based decision making and teaching in post-secondary education.

The program provides a graduate-level assessment of prior learning and transfer credits for enrolled students at no additional fee, which can be combined for up to 12 credits toward the degree.

The fully online M.A. in higher education features course offerings such as:

* Economics and Finance of Higher Education

* Administration and Leadership in Higher Education

* Fostering Student Success in Higher Education

* Rethinking Experience and Learning in Adulthood

* History and Philosophy of Higher Education