Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the final round of voting to choose a new mascot for the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District has begun. Voters have until 4 p.m. September 20, to choose from the three mascot choices on the ballot: the Eagles, Bluejays, or Riverhawks. The board of education decided in June, on a vote of 6 to 3, to retire the district’s long-time mascot, the Indian, citing cultural insensitivity to Indigenous people. Nominations were submitted by community members, and 14 were presented for a vote conducted in August to whittle the choices down to three. Nearly 2,000 people voted in the first round, Board of Education member Tara Bachner said. Students were encouraged to cast their ballots after school started last week. “The final three were very popular in the community — it wasn’t even close,” she said. Bachner is expected to provide the board of education with an update on the status of the mascot decision at the board of education meeting this week. The board will vote after the community votes are tallied. Ballots can be cast online at cacsd. [dot] org, and ballot boxes have been set up at the district's elementary schools in Athens and in Coxsackie. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.