Troy Peace Action Report Spring 2007

                                                               By Anita Stanley

Troy Peace Action has been busy helping to plan and take part in recent Capital District activities for peace and justice.  We have joined forces with some labor activists here in Troy, to hold vigils for peace at a busy intersection on Hoosick St. (Rt. 7), during rush hour. 

An initial confrontation with some young men who took issue with our message, ended peacefully, with our own activists maintaining a calm, but firm stance. 

The vigils following that first event have received lots of positive "thumbs-up" and "honking horns" symbols of approval.  We are happy to have several families with young children, including an infant in her sling, join us - even in a cold, wet snowstorm.  We continue to take part in the Saturday vigils at the Uncle Sam statue in Troy now and then, supporting Gus and Noreen Cadieux.

Several members contributed to the planning of the March 18 Walk for Peace in downtown Albany, where over 1000 people showed up to honor the casualties of the Iraq War, both Iraqi and American. 

Mary Jane Smith, one of our members, transported a number of people with physical challenges to the march, and two more members gathered the hundreds of messages and posters signed by the march participants, not easy in winds that just about knocked their socks off!  Our group also sent a contingent to the Step-it-Up rally in Troy, to mark our commitment to preserving the quality of our environment.

Counter Recruitment
Nancy Mattice continues to head up our efforts at counter-recruitment at Troy High School.  Her daughter Leah has been helpful with pointing us in the right direction there, and we thank her for all her efforts.  After discussing the best way to focus our energies, we decided to try to meet with one or more members of the Board of Education, to talk with them personally concerning the presentation of information about Selective Service alternatives.  Following those talks, we would like to speak at a Board of Education meeting, in the period for public comment.

Working with Other Groups
A number of us represented the group at the Working Families Fund Raiser, as well as the 25th anniversary dinner of Upper Hudson Peace Action.  We also attended the public hearing on the reinstatement of the death penalty, in the Rensselaer County Legislature.  John Husson, Connie LaPorta, Betsy Voss, and John Pattison all spoke against the legislation, and received much positive feedback from the people in attendance. 

One of our members, Ken Zalewski, has recently received both the Democratic and Working Families' Party nominations for a seat on the Troy City Council - we are proud that he is an active participant in our group!  We also co-sponsored the Scott Ritter lecture at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, and send thanks to David Easter for manning our table.

We will be participating in the next gathering of neighborhood peace groups, and is pleased to welcome the new Pine Hills Neighbors for Peace to our larger organization.  We look forward to helping to plan and participate in these group activities, as well as our own individual efforts.

Mission Statement
We are also in the process of drafting a mission statement for the group.  Several members will gather examples from other groups, which we can use as a starting point for our own document.   The group feels that a central statement of goals would help us focus and develop activities which support our objectives.