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Berne "Music in the Park" 2010

The "Bluestones" will be playing a free concert at the Berne, NY Town Park July 28th, 2010.  The show starts at 7PM.
 
Come join us for some classic rock tunes from the 50's-90's.
 
Refreshment proceeds go to benefit the Berne Town Library.

http://chiselheadbass.com/

Looking for a new Bass guitar?  Check out Chiselhead Bass.

Come Party with Nite Train as we =ROCK= Pinhead Susan's on Broadway in Schenectady!!!

SATURDAY, JULY 17th!!! (9pm to 1am!)

DIRECTIONS (From Albany):
Take Interstate 90 (NYS Thruway) West to exit 25 (Schenectady).
Continue straight through the Tolls and this will put you on I-890
heading west. Follow I-890 until you reach exit 4B (Erie Boulevard).
Travel on Erie Boulevard straight (past Wendy's)
for three lights. At the third light you will hit Union Street. Make a Right onto Union Street, and Make the Very NEXT
right onto North Broadway. Pinhead Susan's is just past Parisi's Steakhouse
on the RIGHT!!!
Ample city parking spots are available immediately across the street.

Pinhead Susan's
38 North Broadway
Schenectady, NY 12305

(518) 346-6431

Time: 9:00pm-1:00am
See ya there!

Welcome to: Pawsitive Initiative!

Check out this listing in our Business Directory-
Pawsitive Initiative

I provide companion pet care services in your home. This includes feeding/watering, medication administration, walking, litter box cleaning - as well as other requests by the client, i.e. bring in mail/newspaper, put out trash/recyclables, etc. I cover Albany, Altamont, Guilderland, from Glenmont to Greenville and points in between including the Hill Towns.

Our new equipment has arrived and we are proud to announce that we have added three heat press machines in addition to our embroidery services.

Custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, mugs and more.  Ever had a photo that you'd like to see on a shirt.....we can do that for you!

We will also be adding sublimation products over the next couple of months that include mugs, key tags, plaques, signs, and more.....the ideas are endless.

Check us out at www.stitchedcreations.webs.com.

Become a fan on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=13048114&id=414337505326

This is a great site and a very good development for our hilltowns farms.

http://www.heldebergmarket.com

Please pass on to your friends, your neighbors, and local farm owners.

Official Flyer: http://www.thehilltowns.com/files/41st%20Show%20Dir%20Ad.pdf

Hudson-MoHawk Chapter Pioneer Gas Engine assn. inc. Schoharie, N.Y.

43rd Annual Gas-up
June 12-13 & 19-20, 2010
Founded 1967
Free Admission
Exhibitors & Spectators Welcome
Free Parking
No Dogs Please
Steam engines & tractors, Gas tractors, shingle making, drag saws, antique cars & trucks, antique marine engines, chicken bar-b-Que, Fast Foods, homemade ice cream, restrooms (showers). camping available (no hook-ups).

Take I-88 to route 30, Central Bridge exit. show located on route 443 off route 30, Schoharie, N.Y. look for signs. Or from Albany, west on route 20 to route 146. Follow route 146 to Gallupville, turn right on route 443 and watch for signs.
Contact: Doug Gallup, (518) 872-0564

$12,000/Year Is What Each Smoking Employee Can Cost
But Companies Can Easily and Lawfully Avoid These Costs
By Adopting a Smoke-Free (like a drug-free) Workforce Policy


Every study and every report agrees that employing a smoker adds huge and totally unnecessary costs -- totaling many thousands of dollars  per smoking employee -- to the costs of doing business.  These are dollars which could instead be used to provide more health care benefits to all employees, higher salaries, or to increase company profits.  This is true even if the employer already prohibits smoking in the workplace, and all of the worker's smoking occurs in off-the-job settings, since off-the-job smoking is capable of causing many different and often expensive health and related problems.

But exactly how much each smoking employee costs the employer (or how much an employer can save by hiring only nonsmokers), and whether or not it is morally as well as legally permissible to give preference in hiring to nonsmokers, or even to insist upon a smoke-free (like a drug free) work force, has been subject to conflicting claims.  The purpose of this document is to try to clarify the first issue, and to provide links to other documents which address the additional issues.

Naturally, the additional average cost of hiring any smoking employee -- or the cost saving to be expected from hiring a nonsmoking employee instead -- will logically depend upon many different factors specific to the company.  These include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
* the predominant type of workforce involved: e.g., blue collar, office staff, high-paid professionals, etc.
* the average age of the work force in each of the categories above
* the relative costs of medical care in the community (which can vary widely with geographical region of the country)
* the type of medical insurance -- and of disability coverage -- which is provided by the employer
* whether smokers are offered -- or in some cases take, even in the absence of a  formal policy -- additional time for smoking breaks during the working day

Also, a great deal of confusion has resulted from the fact that employees who smoke impose many different kinds of costs, and some estimates only include a very limited type (e.g., the direct medical care cost of major diseases known to be caused by smoking).  However, a more complete list must include, at the very least, all of the following:
* increased medical care for all of the many diseases and conditions caused by smoking
* increased medical care for diseases and conditions simply aggravated or exacerbated by smoking (e.g., a smoker's broken leg caused by a skiing accident takes substantially longer to heal, and he is more likely to also suffer from other problems like respiratory complications, infections, etc.);
* additional health care costs for a smoker's immediate family on his health plan (because of the impact of his secondhand tobacco smoke on their health)
* substantially increased costs for disability because many diseases caused by smoking -- e.g., heart attacks, strokes, various cancers, emphysema and other  chronic respiratory problems etc.-- can put people on disability for a very long (and expensive) time
* additional and unnecessary time lost from work (sick leave) because of illnesses and conditions caused and/or exacerbated by smoking
* additional time away from work to take smoke breaks during the working day

In addition, there may be additional costs of having a smoking employee which are difficult if not impossible to quantify.  These could include:
* More and more nonsmokers, especially older ones, are sensitive to the odor of tobacco smoke present on the clothing and person of smokers, even if they only smoke outside.  This could cause a problem for other employees, as well as customers and other visitors to the workplace.  Indeed, it has been found that this so-called "third hand tobacco smoke" can cause medical problems, and create liability under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
* Employees who are smokers off-the-job are obviously much more likely than non-smokers to "sneak a smoke" on company property where smoking is normally prohibited, especially if they are under stress, or just to "spite" the boss, than are nonsmoking employees.  In some situations this can create a fire hazard, especially if the area chosen for clandestine smoking in adjacent for flammable materials.  It can also cause burn damage, increase cleanup costs, etc.
* While most smokers are not alcoholics, many if not most alcoholics are also smokers, so eliminating smokers may also reduce the many (and often costly) problems related to alcohol abuse without having to separately screen for alcoholism.
* Having someone who is known in the community to be a smoker, even if he or she only smokes off-the-job, can undermine the image and message of many corporations whose business is related in any way to health (e.g., hospitals, insurance companies, fitness related, or even fast foods or clothing  etc.), in the same way that employing a person who hunts might logically undermine the image of an animal rights/welfare organization, or employing a women who moonlights as a stripper (or a man who frequents strip clubs) could undermine an organization devoted to women's rights or one whose message involves conventional morality.

The only known situation in which the costs of each smoking employee were thoroughly explored occurred in a judicial proceeding (in which ASH participated) which challenged the legality of a governmental body's decision to hire only smokers.  In this proceeding each side has an opportunity to present testimony on the issue, and to cross examine those presenting evidence on the opposing side.

At the conclusion of the proceeding, the court upheld the challenged smoke-free workplace policy, holding that it was in full compliance with the  existing law (which applies to both public and private entities), and with both the U.S. and the Florida constitutions (which apply only to governmental bodies).


In its decisions the court reported that "Additional evidence submitted by the City indicates that each smoking employee costs the City as much as $ 4,611 per year in 1981 dollars over what it incurs for non-smoking employees."  City of North Miami v Kurtz, 653 So. 2d 1025.  Adjusted for inflation, $ 4,611 in 1981 dollars would be over $12,000 in 2009 dollars.

Indeed, the figure might be much higher today because medical science has identified far more medical conditions and problems cause by primary smoking (i.e., to the smoker himself).  Also, the now-clearly-established tendency of secondhand tobacco smoke to cause both heart attacks and various cancers in nonsmokers (e.g., family members of the smoking employee) was unknown in 1981.

The impact of the cost of smoking on nonsmoking employees can be considerable.  Assume, for the sake of argument, that the total costs of employing each smoker is only $12,000 -- substantially lower than the court finding reported above.  Assume further that the percentage of smoking employees in a given workforce matches that in the general population, where about 20% of all adult smoke.

Under those assumptions, on the average, each group of five employees would contain one smoker and four nonsmokers.  The $10,000 of additional costs resulting from each smoker would impact the entire group, with $10,000 a year not available to provide the group of five with additional health benefits, higher salaries, or other perks. This amounts to a $2,000 a year financial burden each nonsmoking employee is unfairly forced to bear, which is one the many reasons ASh supports firms which seek to have a smoke-free work force.

For a summary of some of  the major arguments in favor of establishing a smoke-free workforce policy, see:
NEWSRx: Smokefree Policy Can Save $12,000/Yr Per Employee

CBS TV News hails Scotts Miracle Gro's new smoke-free workplace policy as "national model" and the "new reality": link

Also some states have so-called "smokers' rights laws," both the AMA and ASH have pointed out that, because they are often poorly written and rarely enforced, and because there are simple ways to achieve a smoke-free workforce despite the statutes, these laws should not be a significant deterrent.  See:
Smoker Discrimination Laws Easily Avoided, Says AMA

SCHOHARIE VALLEY LODGE #491 FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS
Under the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons in the State of New York
Proudly Sponsor:
Uncle Billy's Balladeers
Lincoln & Liberty
Springfield- Springfield

SONGS & POEMS OF THE CIVIL WAR INTERACTIVE THEATER

Saturday April 17th at 8 PM (Doors open 7:30 PM) Hosted by Cpl. James Tanner Camp #134 Son of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Proceeds to benefit Schoharie County Civil War Monument Project

Sunday Matinee at 2 PM (Doors open 1:30 PM)
Hosted by Schoharie Valley Masonic Lodge #491 F & A M Proceeds to benefit
Gallupville Recreation Courts Renewal Fund

$10 per person
ONLY 60 SEATS AVAILABLE PER SHOW
For ticket information contact - Richard Sherman rsherman4@nycap.rr.com Please specify which show include email or phone number for reservation confirmation

For More Info, see Flyer

Calling all Relayers and Survivors.....

This years Relay for Life event will be held at Guilderland High School on Friday 6/18 - Saturday 6/19.

Kick-off for this years event is being held Thursday 2/25 from 6:30-8:30 and Saturday 2/27 from 11:00-1:00 at the Guilderland YMCA.  There will be raffles being held at both Kick off events!

Please contact me for more information or how you can be involved in the planning of this year's event!

vlflower@nycap.rr.com