December 11, 2020

The Schodack SCENE: Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings

The Schodack SCENE: Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings: Winter Holidays Enjoy the holidays and take steps to protect yourself from getting or spreading COVID-19.  Learn more Winter Holidays Coping...

Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings

snowy tree branch

Winter Holidays

Enjoy the holidays and take steps to protect yourself from getting or spreading COVID-19. Learn more

As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase across the United States, the safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to celebrate at home with the people you live with.

Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu.

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December 10, 2020

How this Troy retailer refocused her strategy for the pandemic winter

T&J Handcrafted Soap in downtown Troy
By   – Reporter, Albany Business Review

As a small business owner with lots to do every day, Theresa Van Duyne didn't spend a lot of time trying to sell her products online before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It sort of got put on the back burner because I was so busy making things and helping customers," Van Duyne said during a phone interview at T&J Handcrafted Soap in downtown Troy.

"Covid definitely made us refocus on our website," Van Duyne said as she made balsam-scented candles for the Christmas holiday season.




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November 28, 2020

Small Business Saturday!

Small Business Saturday!!!
Support small local (or online) businesses today! We would love to see you and help pick out some wonderful gifts or treat yourself! Open 9:30am-9pm in the Schodack Plaza!
Image may contain: tree and outdoor

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Crack down on impaired and reckless driving


The New York State Police will participate in a special traffic enforcement initiative to crack down on unsafe driving behaviors during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The special traffic enforcement period runs from Wednesday, November 25, 2020, through Sunday, November 29, 2020.

November 23, 2020

Thruway does away with people and cash

Thruway does away with people and cash

Pictured are Christa MacDonald and Richard Lindmark, the last toll collectors to work at Exit B-2 East Chatham where the Taconic State Parkway ends and meets the Thruway. Photo contributed
EAST CHATHAM—Gone are the days of scrambling for loose change between the car seats and the nanosecond of human contact while handing it over at a Thruway toll booth.

After 66 years, the Thruway has gone cashless. Read more...

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November 20, 2020

The Santa Claus Club has a message for village residents

Valatie Christmas tradition halted due to COVID
By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media
VALATIE — For the first time in 75 years, Santa Claus will not be making an early stop at children’s homes in Valatie, according to a statement from the Valatie Santa Claus Club. Read more...

        
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November 19, 2020

As Covid cases rise, ICC juggles schedules

As Covid cases rise, ICC juggles schedules
November 14, 2020 by EMILIA TEASDALE

KINDERHOOK—The Ichabod Crane Board of Education held an in-person and online meeting November 3. Board members, school staff and members of the public met in the primary school cafeteria while the district also offered the public the option to use Zoom to join the meeting online. One board member, Susan Ramos, attended the meeting through Zoom.

‘I am asking for your help in keeping everyone in our community as safe as possible.’
Supt. Suzanne Guntlow, ICC School District
This was the first board meeting since the district confirmed several positive Covid-19 cases among students in all three school buildings. On Sunday, October 25 the district emailed and called parents to announce the decision to close the primary school and move to online learning for middle and high school students on Monday, October 26 due to a primary school student testing positive for Covid-19. The district assisted the county Department of Health (DOH) with contact tracing, and more testing led to more positive cases. On October 29 the school emailed parents again saying, “We have confirmed there was one positive student in the middle school and two positive students in the high school.”

November 17, 2020

Contact of Student in Attendance at Social Gathering on Halloween Tests Positive for COVID-19

Contact of Student in Attendance at Social Gathering on Halloween Tests Positive for COVID-19

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November 16, 2020

U.S. COVID-19 cases cross 11 million as pandemic intensifies

U.S. COVID-19 cases cross 11 million as pandemic intensifies
By Roshan AbrahamSeerat Gupta
(Reuters) - The number of coronavirus cases in the United States crossed the 11-million mark on Sunday reaching yet another grim milestone, according to a Reuters tally, as the third wave of COVID-19 infections surged across the country.

        As COVID-19 related hospitalizations continue to rise, crossing 69,000 on         Saturday, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s top advisers have stressed the            need to control the pandemic, warning that local healthcare systems are at         a tipping point.

Several states this week [reimpose] restrictions to curb the spread of the virus across the nation. North Dakota became the latest state to require that face coverings be worn in public, as it joins 39 other states this month in reporting record daily jumps in new cases.

'We blew it'

November 13, 2020

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake shakes Nevada, California state line
By Tim FitzsimonsNov. 13, 2020, 7:45 AM EST / Updated Nov. 13, 2020, 7:55 AM EST

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook an area 20 miles southeast of Mina, Nevada. Residents reported shaking in central California and across Nevada.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck western Nevada early Friday, shaking residents of an area stretching hundreds of square miles in two states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Friday morning's magnitude 5.5 quake was followed by many aftershocks, according to the USGS's website.

Read more...

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Staff at 11 Albany County restaurants test positive for COVID-19

Staff at 11 Albany County restaurants test positive for COVID-19
Steve Barnes Nov. 11, 2020 Updated: Nov. 11, 2020 5:52 p.m.

ALBANY — As Albany County continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases, nine city restaurants, including a cluster in the Lark Street corridor, are temporarily closed after staff members tested positive for the virus, according to owners and announcements on social media.

The news came the same day as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he was ordering bars, restaurants and gyms across the state to close at 10 p.m. daily starting Friday, saying the state's increase in COVID-19 cases was largely attributed to such locations and to private parties. Previously allowed to have up to 50 people, such gatherings are now limited to 10, Cuomo said.

November 12, 2020

Stabbing at McDonald's

Man charged with stabbing in East Greenbush McDonald's
by WRGB Staff


EAST GREENBUSH (WRGB) A Rensselaer man is facing charges, after reportedly stabbing a victim at McDonald's in East Greenbush.
At about 12:20 p.m., East Greenbush received multiple calls about a fight at the McDonald's at 310 Troy Road.
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November 9, 2020

Alex Trebek was awesome

LOS ANGELES -- In a politically torn, culturally divided and socially splintered America, there was one thing nearly everyone could agree on: Alex Trebek was awesome.

For 36 years, the “Jeopardy!" host was a figure of consensus in an era that increasingly lacked it, and died at the end of an election week when those divisions were in full force.
At at time when emotions, opinions and personal details feel like they're at the center of every broadcast, post and podcast, the exceedingly Canadian Trebek held them all in check, instead valuing formality and factuality, dignity and decorum.


Trebek gave the role a gravitas, and a virtuosity, that didn't seem possible before him.

“Alex was the Sinatra of our business,” Wink Martindale, a longtime host of several games shows, said in a statement. “The word class defined him. In my view, there will never be another with such multiple talents.”

October 31, 2020

Sean Connery - The Coolest Bond Ever!


Beyond James Bond, Sean Connery was the ultimate movie star
Analysis by Brian Lowry, CNN

(CNN)Sean Connery was a movie star, like few before him and practically no one since. Made famous by the role of Bond, James Bond, the Oscar-winning actor established himself as much more than just 007, although his standard-setting work in that role is surely the most indelible aspect of his screen legacy.

Connery -- who died at the age of 90 -- was surely helped by his striking good looks, which included being anointed in the Mr. Scotland bodybuilding competition before landing the role of Bond, playing the suave British spy in seven movies, beginning with "Dr. No" in 1962.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery was a Scottish actor and producer. He is best known as the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Connery was in smaller theatre and television productions until he got his break with the Bond films. Wikipedia

October 29, 2020

Albany County sees most COVID-19 hospitalizations since June 1

Eight Albany County COIVD-19 patients hospitalized overnight as surge continues
Steve Hughes

ALBANY – The county health department is dealing with a coronavirus outbreak among its staff, as hospitalizations in Albany County hit their highest level since June 1.

The news comes as the University at Albany and other local colleges also prepare to deal with any large Halloween parties in hopes of preventing a late semester outbreak before students head home for Thanksgiving.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy speaks at a briefing on the increase in COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy speaks at a briefing on the increase in COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)Paul Buckowski/Albany Times Union

Four health department employees have tested positive, pushing the county to cancel clinics and sending the remainder of its staff home to work remotely for the next two weeks, County Executive Dan McCoy and County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said Thursday.

        “This is an example of our employees doing the right thing- wearing a mask, social                 distancing, frequently sanitizing their hands and still contracting the virus," McCoy said.

The county did not say what role the staffers played within the department, or if it has been able to trace the transmission source.

The news came as eight more Albany County residents were hospitalized overnight after contracting COVID-19.

More COVID

Three more COVID-19 cases tied to North Colonie elementary school
Rachel Silberstein

COLONIE — The North Colonie Central School District has confirmed three new COVID-19 cases tied to the Boght Hills Elementary School, bringing the total number of infected students, teachers and staff associated with the school building to nine.

The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation and will not return to school until they are cleared by the health department, school officials wrote in a note to families.
Contact tracing is ongoing.

Albany Planning Board rejects proposed Stewarts

The company’s first application was rejected in August.
 Oct. 29, 2020


ALBANY – The city Planning Board rejected a Stewart’s Shops application for a Washington Avenue store, 5-0, for the second time in three months earlier this week.


        “I believe you have a great product; this is just not the right location for that, said board                 Chairman Al De Salvo after the vote.

Neighbors had spoken out against the proposed store at the corner of Colvin and Washington avenues, arguing that it would increase vehicle traffic and didn't fit in with the character of the neighborhood. The proposal would also require demolition of two homes in the area.

October 15, 2020

State Police remind the public not to fall victim to common scams

State Police remind the public not to fall victim to common scams



State Police in Troop G would like to remind the public to be aware as we continue to receive reports of scams involving gift cards used as payments along with other common online scams
.

If you believe you may be the victim of a scam, please contact the New York State Police or local law enforcement immediately.  If you suspect you are a victim it is important to remember that these cases are time sensitive and the sooner you report, the better chance police have of trying to recover funds.
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October 12, 2020

USS Slater reopens for public tours again

The USS Slater will once again open to the public at the Port of Albany.

The Slater returned to the port after undergoing repairs over the summer in dry dock at Staten Island. NewsChannel 13 visited the Slater twice, and was aboard as it made its way up the Hudson River back to Albany.
Admission is $9 for adults and $7 for children.
The Slater is the only remaining World War II Destroyer Escort still afloat in the U.S. This is the Slater’s 23rd season in Albany.

Copyright 2020 - WNYT-TV, LLC A Hubbard Broadcasting Company

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October 4, 2020

Take a hike… soon on Electric Trail

Take a hike… soon on Electric Trail
October 2, 2020 by EMILIA TEASDALE

Columbia Friends of the Electric Trail (CFET) held its first training session September 15 for a dozen volunteers who will mow and maintain the AHET when it opens. Pictured is CFET Board President Ron Rich (l) explaining details to the CFET Trail Crew at Samascott’s Orchards in Kinderhook. Photo contributed

VALATIE—According to the latest update from the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET), “There is no public access to the AHET Trail at this time.”

But that could change very soon. There is a lot of activity on the 36-mile walking and biking trail that runs through Columbia and Rensselaer counties, mostly along the old trolley rail bed now owned by National Grid
Read more..
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Rensselaer County is issuing a coronavirus advisory

Rensselaer UPS Store employee tests postive for coronavirus
WNYT Staff Updated: October 03, 2020 06:40 PM Created: October 03, 2020 05:57 PM

Rensselaer County is issuing a coronavirus advisory.

Rensselaer UPS Store employee tests postive for coronavirusPhoto: AP Images .
An employee that works at the UPS Store on Troy Road has tested positive.Anyone who visited the store on Sept. 28 or 29 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. is asked to monitor for symptoms.

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September 28, 2020

Drive Through History

The changing of seasons brings new reasons to get outside and soak up the scenic beauty of Columbia County. It also brings two new Drive Through History road trips for you to explore! If you haven't taken one yet, these self-guided drives offer a fun and FREE way to experience the area's history and culture at your own pace.

Here's a look at our newest road trips:

Good Apples
The 2020 apple harvest is well underway! Agriculture has long been the lifeblood of Columbia County, and many of our apple orchards have been operating for more than a century. Pick up a few stories along with your Jonathans, Empires and Macouns on this tour of seven historic orchards around the County.
Schoolhouse Stories
From the late 18th through the early 20th century, one-room schoolhouses were the heart of education in Columbia County. Though modest in size and comforts, these district schools provided a tight-knit, family-like environment where students of all ages learned together, and from one another. This road trip visits nine former one-room schoolhouses, including our own c.1850 Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse.

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