Online auction, buggy accident, vault record
It's our one-year anniversary online!
Some notes: We’ll be picking up our print edition today and will get it out as usual. You’ll like it! You can subscribe to that still here.
Also: We’re at the one-year mark with this Substack. Here’s our growth.
Do note, we treat this Substack differently than other Substackers. We regularly go in and cut people who are not engaging with it by at least opening the daily emails. So if you see any dips on the chart above, that’s when we purged. That’s why we have such a high open rate. We cull. We curate.
Like our print paper audience, we want a quality audience vs. a quantity audience. Quality — that’s YOU! We don’t feel the future is in just printing a ton of papers and blanketing a region but instead engaging only with people who opt-in.
Here’s a look at our paid Substack subscriber growth.
That purple blip is when we ran a comp campaign for certain email readers. Some converted to paid after.
In some ways, this newsletter in just a year has already duplicated what it took The Journal & Press to do in 183 years.
You can join the e-crowd here, if you’d like:
No pressure. We know people are spending less of late because of the — you know — economy.
Online Auction Begins Today
The Historic Salem Courthouse will be holding its annual online auction to support its many programs and events begins at 8 am on Friday, May 2 and runs until 8 pm, Thursday,
May 8. The fundraising auction is just in time to win wonderful gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, high school or college graduations, weddings, or to lock in some summer activities for you and friends or family.
The auction offers items from many different categories. You can win experiences such
as concert or theater tickets, outdoor adventures such as fly fishing or kayaking on the Battenkill, or golf excursions. Decorate your home artwork from local artists, wood workers or quilters. There will be gift certificates from local businesses and summer necessities such as a smoker, local meats, and outdoor furniture. The auction also features smaller items such as household items, baked goods, wine and jewelry.
Thanks to last year’s overwhelming community support, the auction helped fund a range of initiatives including the free Lunch, Learn & Play summer program, community concerts, the Battenkill Kitchen, the Community Garden, free art exhibitions, and educational events like defensive driving and fraud prevention classes, Story Court, and engaging lectures and discussions.
A Preview Reception will be held at the Historic Courthouse on Friday, May 2nd from 5–7:30 pm, offering attendees a chance to see items in person while enjoying light refreshments.
Winning bidders may arrange pickup on May 9 or 10, or opt for shipping at their own expense.
To bid on auction items and support a great cause, go online to historicsalemcourthouse.betterworld.org.
Buggy accident was a hit and run
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a vehicle vs. Amish buggy accident with injuries on State Route 22 in the Town of Jackson on Tuesday, April 29, at approximately 4:22pm.
At the time of the crash, the buggy was occupied by five children and two adults. All occupants were transported to Albany Medical Center with apparent non-life-threatening injuries.
A vehicle involved in the crash fled the scene. Sheriff’s Investigators are actively working to identify the vehicle and its driver.
The investigation is in its early stages, and updates will be provided by the Sheriff’s Office as more information becomes available.
Besides the Sheriff’s Office, other agencies assisting at the scene were the New York State Police, Cambridge-Greenwich Police Department, Cambridge and Shushan Fire Departments and Cambridge and Easton-Greenwich EMS.
A section of State Route 22 was temporarily closed while emergency crews responded and the scene was cleared.
Salem Vaulting Record Broken
Congratulations go out to Wyatt Fifield, a Senior at Salem Central School and an outstanding high school track and field pole vaulter.
On April 22, Wyatt broke the SWA Pole Vault record, previously held by Lenny Wescott in the 1970s, with an 11-foot 6-inch vault. But Wyatt didn’t stop there: on a following pole vault he broke his own best record of earlier in the afternoon with a jump of 12 feet. Wyatt finished the day with one final record-breaking vault measuring 12 feet and 3 inches. Three fantastic, consecutive record-breaking pole vaults in one afternoon.
Wyatt has been serious about pole vaulting as a sport all during his high school years. In July of last year, he attended a summer program led by former all-American pole vault champions. He has studied with South Glens Falls’ Coach Myott and taken private lessons at a training facility in Warwick, NY that has had Division One pole vaulters and NYS high school record holders come through their program.
Wyatt visited college campuses this year and has been accepted at seven different colleges or universities including St Lawrence University and SUNY Cortland, both of which boast great track and field programs. Finally, though, Wyatt made the decision to attend SUNY Cortland to study Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and become a member of their track and field team. He will participate in the ROTC Air Force at Cortland to prepare himself to be an Air Force officer after completing his bachelor’s degree. Wyatt’s ultimate goal is of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot, aiming for even higher heights than his pole vaulting skills have seen him achieve. —Jan Baxter
And Now for the Comics — Political Cartoon by Drew Sheneman
More tomorrow!