Notes from around town

 Word has gotten out that the city of Troy plans to demolish a pair of long vacant buildings in Lansingburgh for safety reasons. 

The two properties have been closed since 2011, and now Mayor Carmella Mantello wants to bring the wrecking ball, when that should've been done way sooner? People posting on reddit are speculating this might be a patronage job for a friend of the mayor. We'll soon see.

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For several years, Danny Donohue was the public face of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), appearing in commercials, giving interviews, etc..

File photo courtesy Albany Times-Union.

Donohue, 81, passed away earlier this week, and CSEA, which stopped doing advertising a ways back, has yet to name a successor.

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Troy is soon to welcome back Slidin' Dirty, which will move into the Hedley building on River Street as a restaurant/nightclub. The owners moved out of their 2nd Street location, rechristened Whiskey Pickle, when it closed last October.

Word is that Slidin' Dirty will operate on the 2nd floor of the Hedley building.

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Nearly a week ago, we reported that the South Colonie School District had decided to move two 7th graders with developmental disabilities to Colonie Central High without notifying either student's parents. The two 12 year olds are "cognitively" ranging from 4-6 years old, or, they would have the mindset of a preschooler or a kindergartener.

Luckily, there is a happy ending. On Thursday, the district reversed course, and reassigned the two to a special education class at Sand Creek Middle School. One of the two boys, based on reporting, appears to be suffering from seizures, resulting in wearing a protective helmet. I've seen adults with these helmets dealing with seizures. The boy was supposed to be transferring to a separate school with his own personal therapist, but that's been nixed by the district.

At least the boys will be able to function in a safer environment.