By Stephen George For The Leader-Herald The Capital Region Pheasants Forever Chapter held its annual fundraiser and banquet at the Hales Mills Golf Course in Johnstown on Sept. 18. The sold-out event was attended by 170 people and over $12,000 was raised for local projects. The great thing about Pheasants Forever chapters is the fact that all money raised by the chapter, with the exception of membership fees, stays with the chapter and is used to finance local projects. With the money raised this year, the Capital District chapter has held two youth pheasant hunts, and a veteran’s-only hunt. In…

As a child I often heard stories told by my maternal Grandmother, Margaret Jacqueline (Burns) Way, about herfamous Uncle George Burns and famous Aunt Sister Leopoldina Burns. The famous uncle she spoke of was George Joseph Burns, who was born in Utica in 1889 and enjoyed a 15 year career in the Major Leagues as on outfielder with the New York Giants (1911-21), Cincinnati Reds (1922-24) and Philadelphia Phillies (1925). In those 15 big league seasons, he compiled 2,077 hits, placing him 247th on the all-time hits list for a career amongst the 20,000 men who have suited up to…