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

By Christine Graf

For more than three decades, Lynn Sickles has been serving the community as executive director of the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network (SACN). Established in 1992, the non-profit is one of 35 childcare resource centers in New York state. 

Serving Warren, Washington,  and Hamilton counties, SACN’s primary role is to help parents find child care. 

“If a parent is looking for care, they call us and we put their information into a database that includes all of the regulated child care programs in Warren, Washington, and Hamilton counties,” said Sickles, noting that these services are offered free of charge. 

The database generates a list of child care providers, ones that meet the specific criteria of each parent. After receiving the list, the parent must reach out to the providers to see if there are any openings. 

“We also educate parents on what to look for when they go to visit a program,” said Sickles. “We then follow up with them to see if they were successful in their search. Finding child care remains the number one barrier for them—what many of them are telling us is that there were no openings.”

By Jill Nagy

After several years of relying on vending machines, visitors to Moreau Lake State Park can once again enjoy real food served by real people. Big Tony’s at the Lake opened May 25 and the place has been busy every day, according to Anthony (Big Tony) Schunk, owner of the business along with his wife, Amy.

The Schunks got into the business almost by chance. They did a lot of cooking for Northway Church in Stillwater, sometimes serving as many as 700 people. That led to developing Big Tony’s Meal Prep, their meal prep business out of the local Elks Lodge. People asked if they could have the meals brought to them for parties and large gatherings, leading to Big Tony’s Catering.  A fortuitous visit to Moreau State Park led to an offer to take over the concession stand for the summer. They signed a five-year contract with New York state, beginning this summer. Their eatery is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They may squeeze in a few more weekends in October, Schunk said. 

The Schunks and a staff of eight keep both the Stillwater and the park businesses going.