Kate Barkley is hosting a Medicare 101 Lunch and Learn event at Queensbury Senior Center (742 Bay Road) on January 24, 2023 at 12:30 PM.  This event – which features a free lunch – is sponsored by CVS Health, and Aetna. Medicare is a federally funded medical insurance program for the elderly and disabled, and also provides coverage for people with end stage renal disease and ALS. 

Medicare is broken down to four different parts, and each part pays for different expenses and has separate enrollment procedures. Individuals can choose what coverages they want, and also who they would like to manage their coverage if they choose an advantage plan. When enrolling in medicare part B, people often make mistakes. Common mistakes while enrolling can result in late enrollment penalties, higher out-of-pocket costs, and gaps in coverage. 

To register for this event, either go to the front desk of the Queensbury Senior Center, or call (518) 761-8224.

The City of Glens Falls has sent out the quarterly water and sewer bill which reflects the last three months of 2022.  These payments are due by February 16, 2023; after that date, a late payment fee will be incurred. These payments can be made by mail, online, on the city’s website (cityofglensfalls.com), or in person at City Hall. To pay in person, either bring the payment to the comptroller’s office, or place the payment in the after-hours drop box located outside of the front door at city hall. 

Failure to receive a bill does not relieve the customer of their responsibility to pay. Customers can find current balance information on the city’s website. There are programs available to assist low income families – The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is a new drinking water and wastewater emergency assistance program funded through New York State. The amount of assistance is based on the amount of unpaid water and sewer bills owed by the applicant, and uses a similar structure to the Home Energy Assistance program.  For more information, visit otda.ny.gov/LIH

There will be a 5% increase in the water bill, which took effect January 1, 2023; this increase on average is $0.10 per day, and approximately $0.74 per week. This is based on an average of 20,000 gallons of water, and will be reflected in the next billing cycle. 

Cole’s Woods, one of this area’s premier trail systems and home of North America’s first lighted Cross-Country ski trails, is fully open once again. The Glens Falls Department of Public Works has made all the necessary repairs; the lights are back on, and all the tree damage has been removed. This damage occurred as the result of heavy winds heading into the Christmas holiday weekend.

As of last summer, Cole’s Woods hired Guth-Deconzo Engineering – a lighting and electrical engineering firm from Troy – to design a new lighting system for the woods. This system will replace the original, current system, which has been in place for the last 50 years.

The new design is expected to incorporate free-standing fiberglass poles, with power lines buried in conduits to minimize storm damage. This system will utilize LED lights, for both energy conservation purposes as well as quality control over the trails’ lighting. More information will be released as the project moves towards completion.

The answer… Probably!

Statistically, the lake freezes over 90% of the time; on average, the lake is considered frozen by January 19th. The term used when the lake is frozen is “ice-in” and when the lake is no longer considered frozen, it’s known as “ice-out”. 

Lake water freezes as the air temperature drops in late summer… The temperature of the top layer of the lake drops, and the cooling surface water becomes heavier and denser, reaching a point where it drops to the bottom of the lake, and forces warmer, less dense water up to the surface. The process of upper layer cooling and sinking continues to occur until all of the water in the lake drops to approximately 39 degrees Fahrenheit, at which point the lake water will have reached its maximum density.

However, lakes tend not to freeze over completely, because the top layer of ice and snow act as an insulator. Due to this insulating layer, fish and aquatic plants can survive under the ice during the winter months… Fish are cold-blooded, meaning that their body temperature matches the environment. The colder temperatures slow down their metabolism, and as a result, many fish can survive through the winter…

… So long as the water is oxygenated.  When the ice forms across the surface of the lake, it seals off the water from atmospheric oxygen and blocks out much needed sunlight. The lack of sunlight reduces the ability of the aquatic plants and phytoplankton to produce oxygen, and when oxygen levels in the lake drop too low, the fish will die.   

The Warren County Department of Public works keeps records of what years Lake George has frozen over. Records show that the lake did not freeze in the following winters: 1919, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002.

According to the Lake George Association, the lake also did not freeze during the winter of 2012 – 2013. During the 2016 – 2017 winter, the lake froze so briefly that it can barely be counted; only freezing from February 13 to February 26, a mere 13-day span.  When the lake freezes over for only brief periods like this, the ice is not safe to walk on in many areas of the lake.

Generally, the lake freezes in January and stays frozen until March, or even April in some years. The earliest date that the lake has frozen is December 20, 1980, and the longest period that Lake George has been frozen for is 121 days; between December 24, 1983 and April 23, 1984. The average result tends to be a freeze of around 76 days.

On Tuesday, December 27, 2022, the City of Glens Falls Common Council approved a resolution (4-0) regarding the appointment of Jacqueline P. White, Esq. to the position of Part-Time City Court Judge by Mayor Bill Collins. The position became vacant when Judge Nikki Moreschi, Esq. resigned to take a position in another state. 

During the Common Council meeting, Mayor Collins said, “Her (White’s) appointment will fulfill the unexpected departure of Nikki Moreschi. In 2021, Judge Moreschi ran for her second term. A six year term. During the first year of her term Moreschi took a position out of the state and had to resign. But it was too late to hold an election. So, what we’re doing here is approving the appointment for the year 2023 and this (coming) year there will be an election of a new Part-Time City (Court) Judge.” 

Ms. White is a graduate of Skidmore College (2004) and Albany Law School (2008). She has been a practicing attorney since 2009 – she joined the law firm Miller, Mannix, Schachner, and Hafner, where she became a Principal in 2016. She practices in the areas of General Litigation, Municipal Law, Real Property Tax Assessment, Business Law and Real Property Law. 

Ms. White is an active member of the Warren County Bar Association, and the Adirondack Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. She served on the Adirondack Women’s Bar Association Board for several years, including serving as Chapter President; currently, she serves on the Board of the Warren County Bar Association and Warren County Bar Foundation. Ms. White will be sworn in on Saturday, December 31, 2022, at 9:30 AM. Ms. White was born and raised in Glens Falls, and currently resides in the City with her husband, Nathanial.

Since March of 2020, The City of Glens Falls had suspended parking regulations, but the City will again begin to enforce parking regulations on Sunday, January 1, 2023. To prepare visitors and residents alike, City Police Officers have been providing warning messages for cars that have been parked in any parking spot for too long – this method of warning people has been in effect since October of 2022. 

“No one likes to pay parking fines, and the City most certainly doesn’t like to issue parking tickets. But with business being back to normal, the City needs to ensure that our downtown businesses have spaces available for their customers to park while they shop, as well as for visitors who come to the City for any events” said Mayor Collins via press release. 

The parking spots in the Downtown District have a two-hour limit between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM, though those same spots are free from this restriction from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM; however, there is currently no parking allowed on any street in the City of Glens Falls between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM.

The Common Council is doing a full assessment regarding parking issues and looking at parking needs throughout the City, addressing such needs as overnight parking, enforcement, parking downtown, parking lots, and parking permits; as the committee’s work progresses, the City will seek public comments on these issues.

Collins continued: “I offer my thanks to all of our residents as we restart our parking enforcement program to keep Glens Falls moving forward.”