The Fonda Blog

Fonda-Fultonville stops Watervliet for Class B title

Hidde leads Braves to first sectional crown since 1970

By Derek Dunning, The Leader-Herald, Posted: March 8, 2010

Glens Falls – The drought is over.  The Fonda-Fultonville boys basketball team downed Watervliet 62-54 in the Section II Class B final at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Sunday to clinch the program’s first sectional title since the 1969-1970 season.

Seth Hidde scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the top-seeded Braves (22-0 overall) and keep their perfect season alive.  “It feels great,” Hidde said on winning the title. “That was a good team effort for us on both sides of the ball. Both teams played well, but it was a good feeling to get a sectional title after coming up short the past few years.”

FFCS was making its fourth trip to the Glens Falls Civic Center in the last five years. This season was the first time the Braves advanced to the finals, and they made the most of it.  Hidde scored six of the Braves’ first eight points to help FFCS jump out to an 8-2 lead. He also scored six points, while keying a 12-0 run in the third quarter to help the Braves distance themselves from the Cannoneers.

“A lot of guys were finding me with good passes,” Hidde said. “Our chemistry was flowing all game. Everyone had their heads up looking for people, and we were dishing the ball around, making good passes for easy shots.”  Hidde finished with 12 points in the quarter; including two three-point plays to help FFCS outscore Watervliet 27-15 in the period and take a 52-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Seth [Hidde] is a great player and a phenomenal athlete,” Fonda-Fultonville coach Eric Wilson said. “It was nice to see him break out a little bit and get some opportunities where he caught the ball in good spots. He was finishing his shots and had some huge rebounds for us. It’s nice to see him step up for us in a game like this.”

FFCS never allowed Watervliet (18-4 overall) to get into its trademark run-and-gun transition offense, holding Section II’s top scoring team 17 points under its average.  “It was a total team effort,” Wilson said. “The kids came out focused, and I think we had a pretty good game plan going in, and we executed it.”   (…)

FFCS silenced its critics during the run to the Class B crown. The Braves beat three Colonial Council teams, a league in which they’ll be moving to next season, as well as local rival Johnstown.  “Since we are in a lower league, people don’t think we’re that good,” Hall said. “But we’re definitely good, and we proved it tonight.”

Hidde was named the tournament’s most valuable player.  “That caught me off guard,” Hidde said with a laugh. “I didn’t see that coming, but it’s definitely a good feeling.”  He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Brandon Mercado, Watervliet’s Jordan Gleason and Nick Durocher, Johnstown’s Ian Yost, and Schenectady Christian’s Chris McCarty.

FFCS advances to the regional semifinals where it will face Section VII champion Plattsburgh (17-4 overall) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College. The winner moves on to face Section X champion Potsdam (18-2 overall) in regional finals on Saturday at HVCC.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the group of guys in there,” Wilson said of his team. “They deserve this. They have worked so hard this year and have been committed and dedicated. They work hard every day in practice. I’m happy for them.”

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Montgomery Co., Sports, Village of Fonda

Fonda Begins Neighborhood Watch

February 9, 2010 By Amanda Whistle, The Leader-Herald

Fonda, NY – The village is a relatively safe place, according to Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Krug.  Krug and village neighborhood watch coordinator Mark Scott want to keep it that way.  The two organizers hosted the first neighborhood watch meeting in the village Monday night at the village firehouse on Route 5.  Both said the neighborhood watch group is important because it gives citizens the tools to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement, brings the community together and engages youths.

“It’s not a group of vigilantes,” said Krug, the law enforcement liaison for neighborhood watch groups in the county.  Krug said the group will host programs that will teach residents about “target hardening,” or how to make their homes less of a target for crime, CPR classes, and what to look for if one witnesses a crime.  In the summer, the group would like to have barbecues and start opening up the meetings to be social gatherings as well as educational.

Scott said he’s seen the people in the community become less involved and said the village used to be friendlier.  “I’d love to see it go back to a community,” Scott said. “I walk every day and there isn’t a person I don’t know and it should be like that [for everyone.]”  Krug, who recently moved to the area, said the group can be used to welcome new residents.

“It’s networking with your neighbors,” Krug said. “It gives you an opportunity to meet more people.”  “In general, we don’t have a high crime rate,” said village resident David Stone, who was at the meeting.  “When I lived on Long Island, you go out and half the time you don’t know what you’re going to find.”  “It’s the stupid little things that do happen here,” Scott said.

Interim village Volunteer Fire Department Chief Donald Wagoner attended the meeting and said he hopes the group can get more people in the village involved.  Though the first group meeting didn’t garner much of a turnout, Krug and Scott said they understand people are busy and some are working two jobs to make ends meet.  “When it’s something you care about, you can find the time,” said Susan Scott, Mark Scott’s wife.  The volunteer fire department hasn’t been able to keep a lot of volunteers over the past decade, having gone from 45 volunteers in the 1990s to about a dozen today.

“The problem with the community is that people are so busy and they don’t want to [commit,]” Wagoner said.  “This is one of the safest places and we want to keep it that way,” Susan Scott said.  The village will hold monthly neighborhood watch meetings every second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. in the village firehouse.

Amanda Whistle covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com.

written by admin \\ tags: News, Towns, Village of Fonda

Fonda set to create Village Web site

LeaderHerald.com POSTED: December 17, 2009

FONDA – The Village Board unanimously approved a motion Monday to launch the village into cyperspace.

The trustees voted to contract with Digital Towpath, a government entity formed through municipal agreements that specializes in developing Web sites for smaller municipalities across New York state. Officials expect to have the site up and running within a few months, and it will help get residents and businesses more involved and informed.

“It’s better for the village to have a Web site so potential prospects who want to start businesses will have a way to get in touch with us,” Trustee Robert Galusha said.

The annual contract with Digital Towpath is not yet finalized. The village will pay about $600 a year for the service and will need no additional staff to maintain the Web site. The annual fee will include technical support for the system and phone and e-mail support for the software.

“It’s a Web-based application and we provide access to the tools,” Digital Towpath Director Jeanne Brown said Tuesday. “Each municipality is responsible for the content on their site, and they don’t need technical knowedge. They just need to know how to use a word processer and open a browser to keep the site updated.”

Officials plan to use the site to post meeting times and minutes and an event calendar. Trustee Lynn Dumar said she hopes the site will have a feature that encourages taxpayers to ask questions of their elected officials. A newsletter published twice a year is the only village-sponsored information medium currently available.

“This will make people more aware of what’s going on and open more doors,” Mayor Kim Flander said.

Digitial Towpath powers several local municipalities’ Web sites, including the town of Johnstown, village of Canjoharie and town of Mayfield.

Headquartered in Syracuse, Digital Towpath went live with its first 10 municipal Web sites in 2000. In 2005, participating municipalities signed the agreement that formed the Digital Towpath Cooperative.

The village is not required to join the cooperative, but if it does, it will have a say in software changes, cost and the level of training included in the annual fee. Digital Towpath’s day-to-day operations are funded by annual fees.

Amanda Whistle covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com.

written by admin \\ tags: Montgomery Co., Towns, Village of Fonda