Altona Community Renewal team plans for greenup, busy summer

ALTONA | Spring renewal and early plans for some big events are on the books. The Altona Community Renewal Taskforce has been prepping to clean up and shore up for a busy summer. This year is the second for the Renewal Taskforce organization, a volunteer group coordinated by Mary Snide, a lifelong resident of Altona. "For our first year, we did pretty well," she reflected on 2024. "Town Clean Up day had 50 people participate and we collected a ton of garbage." CLEAN UP THIS WEEKEND This year's clean-up is rescheduled from initial information on fliers to Sunday, April 27 due to weather. Snide hopes to muster a good group to help remove what was tossed and blown into winter snowbanks. It's also a chance to come out for some food and conversation. "We are doing this again Saturday, our second annual clean up. It's going to take place at Feinberg Park at 10 a.m. We will have the bags and gloves there and vests. We do have a food truck coming, everyone is welcome to come and help or visit," Snide said. "We are also doing a food drive on Sunday for the Altona JCEO, helping to get the food pantry stocked up." Caracciola's Authentic Italian food truck will be at Feinberg Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help feed busy crews. "Clean up last year went five or six hours. We've already picked up nearly all of the old garbage, so we're thinking it won't take as long this year," Snide said. "We had 10 kids participate with their families last year, and we have roads to work on that are kid-friendly. People can just bag it up and leave it on the side of the ride. Our highway superintendent Jason Myatt and Joe (Snide, town supervisor) will pick it up after." MAY RENEWAL In May, the Community Renewal Taskforce is holding a bottle drive. "The second annual bottle drive is on May 17," Snide said. "The drop off is at Feinberg Park from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and proceeds go to the Altona community events this summer," Snide said. "We are going to continue the JCEO food collection effort during the bottle drive, too." Projects this spring will continue with park improvements that started last year. "We will soon be painting at the park, repainting the concession stand and the dugout. It's just a little project. The paint is being supplied by town, but anyone who wants to help with a paintbrush is welcome to join us." The Renewal Taskforce team meets usually once a month, with the next meeting set for May 8 at Feinberg Park in the community building, starting at 6 p.m. "We cleaned and planted flowers around the Altona Spring last summer, and Joe built new stairs to improve access," Snide said. "We're going to get down there this spring, paint the fence and see if we can get a few donations for flowers. Tony Lafave Trucking & Excavation supplied some dirt and helped us get that smoothed out. We're going to get that all nice and fresh for the summer," Snide said. FAMILY FUN This summer, the Renewal Taskforce is volunteering time and staffing for a few family fun events in Altona. "A circus is coming to Altona this summer, in connection with the Rainbow Banquet Hall and Brookside Barn. The Zerbini Family Circus, based out of Florida, is setting up here on June 26," Snide said. "We thought it would be something fun for the community and for the kids. They will set up outside beside the Rainbow Hall. Our group is going to provide volunteers." The taskforce will also help with the second annual Altona Volunteer Fire Department Parade & Field Day, which is set for July 13 this year, building off community support they received last year. The parade makes a loop through the center of town, starting and ending at the Rainbow Banquet Hall. The committee will host another Trunk-or-Treat for Halloween fun, given the turnout last year, again building on solid community interest. "That turned out really well for our first time last year," Snide said. "We planned it with free hot chocolate and cider at the concession stand at Feinberg Park and had cookie decorating, crafts activities and we set up pumpkin patch for people to get their pumpkins. It was really funny to see the kids lugging pumpkins bigger than they are. We had a few food trucks come in, and over 100 kids participated. The plan is to do it again this year." The Renewal Taskforce team has welcomed a few new members, Snide said. And they are always happy for more hands to help. "If you're available, come to a meeting!" she said. "We have such a wide variety of people, some help out when others are on vacation. It doesn't have to be a full-time commitment. It's always good to have an extra pair of hands or two." The Altona Community Renewal Taskforce provides information on upcoming events and projects via their public Facebook Group. "Keep looking to see what we're doing and if it's anything that you're interested in, come join us," she said. Anyone with a few hours available to help out can also contact Mary Snide by phone: 518-569-6346 Donations for the JCEO Food Shelf can always be dropped off at Altona's temporary Town Hall location in the former Holy Angels parish residence, beside the Holy Angels Catholic Church on Devil's Den Road. Plans are in design for the new Town Hall building. The next meeting of the Altona Community Renewal Taskforce is May 8 at 6 p.m. at Feinberg Park in the meeting room, all are welcome.

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Altona Community Renewal team plans for greenup, busy summer

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