The superintendent’s update via the parent-squared email system provided a link for family members and caregivers to opt into the email news system. This system delivers information about district activities and events, which includes Board of Education meetings, the school budget, and school closings and delays. Community members who opt into receiving the emails can choose to provide a cell phone number to get text messages about school closings and delays due to snow or other unplanned events as well; and this source for the information would be available before announcements are made on local television or radio. This school news notifier is being made available to anyone in the greater school community.
The Glens Falls School District is also making an effort to “meet students where they are and accelerate them to where they need to be” by offering extra support to children that need it. This program takes place in each of the elementary schools on Mondays and Wednesdays, and focuses on math and reading. There are approximately 130 students who currently participate in this program.
In January, the Middle School and High School will be launching “evening school” for students who struggle to attend regular school day hours. For more information, please visit GFSD.org.
Today, Gary discusses sixteen neglected dogs rescued from a home in Salem. Also, an update to the possible reuse of the Moriah Shock Incarceration Facility, the DEC’s “First Day Hikes” set for New Year’s Day, a new member to the Johnsburg town board, and Saratoga Arts seeking submissions from local artists.
00:02 – Intro 00:33 – Ad Break 1 01:24 – Story 1: Moriah Shock Update 03:24 – Story 2: Community New Year’s Hikes 04:24 – Ad Break 2 04:47 – Story 3: Dogs Rescued from Salem Home 08:26 – Story 4: New Johnsburg Town Board Member 10:08 – Story 5: Saratoga Arts Seeking Submissions 11:07 – Outro
Today, Gary discusses a Ukrainian refugee family returning to the Glens Falls area. Also, the Village of Greenwich set to receive federal funding for a new wastewater treatment plant, a rise in theft of used cooking oil, Revolution Rail Company’s purchase of the Saratoga and North Creek Railway, and the Open Door Mission’s new Men’s Shelter.
00:02 – Intro 00:36 – Ad Break 1 01:41 – Story 1: Greenwich to Get New Wastewater Treatment Plant 03:06 – Story 2: Theft of Used Cooking Oil on the Rise 06:00 – Ad Break 2 06:26 – Story 3: Ukrainian Family to Return to Glens Falls 08:39 – Story 4: North Creek Railway Purchase 09:56 – Story 5: Open Door Mission Men’s Shelter 11:18 – Outro
Restaurants use gallons of cooking oil a week, and that oil can be used as fuel… The used oil that had previously been a waste for a restaurant has been turned into a revenue stream; Biofuel production has evolved into a multi million dollar industry. Biodiesel – a form of diesel fuel that is derived from vegetable oil, animal fat or organic waste – can run diesel engines and blend with other alternative fuels. As this market emerged, the original waste-haulers shifted from providing the service of picking up the oil to paying customers for the waste oil. The hauler provides covered containers to store the oil until it is picked up… However, there has been an increase in thefts of this oil.
Two companies that recycle used cooking oil are Western Mass Rendering Company and Buffalo Biodiesel. These companies supply restaurants with vats to hold used oil – these vats are kept locked outside in the back of the restaurants, and then picked up by drivers on a planned route. Western Mass Rendering Company has over 10,000 customers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Eastern New York , Southern New Hampshire, and Vermont.
According to Buffalo Biodiesel, a whopping 96% of cooking oil thefts reported to the company are in the Capital Region. The Albany area is the most significantly hit area; from January to early November of this year, Buffalo Biodiesel had 440 reported cooking oil thefts. Break-ins are up 30%, and expected to increase to 50% in the coming year. The thieves are making more than $1,000 a night stealing the cooking oil and selling it on the black market.
Western Mass pays customers $100 for a 300 gallon tank, and a man who was accused of stealing cooking oil admitted to being paid $3 a gallon for the oil. Thieves typically drive box trucks or work vans with pumps or hoses that are used to transfer the oil to an onboard holding tank. If they are caught, they are charged with petit larceny or possession of stolen property, which are both misdemeanors; they are then issued an appearance ticket.
Restaurant owners have had success catching people who are stealing the oil by installing cameras, and Buffalo Biodiesel posts the thefts on their Facebook page. They recently posted that China Wang reported an oil theft: “ Our supplier at China Wang reported an oil theft from the vat where they recycle their used cooking oil. Theft hurts the community and your local restaurants, as we pay for their oil.”
Due to limited legal ramification to the thieves and the large markup for the oil on the black market, this problem is expected to increase in the coming year. This hurts restaurant owners who are paid for the oil, and there is also a concern that someone will get hurt during the commission of these crimes.
The Open Door Mission is moving some of their program participants to the 3rd floor of the mission which is located at 226 Warren Street in Glens Falls NY; this is phase one of the plan to set up a 52-bed men’s shelter. Jamie Munyon is the Executive Director of the Open Door Mission. He explained phase one of the program via a YouTube video: “We’re really excited about this opportunity to serve this community in this way. We want to say thank you to our staff and our volunteers. We want to thank Maureen and Elka and Lee and Bob for all of the hard work that was put in to facilitate this move.”
The program participants are moving from the first floor of the mission to the third floor of the mission. The individuals that are participating in this program will be in the Life Path Program; these individuals will be addressing some of the cycles that keep them stuck in poverty and homelessness, including addiction, mental health, and financial concerns. They will have the opportunity to participate in small groups. With the support of the staff, they will have individual care plans, which ensure that their basic needs will be cared for, and they will be able to pursue growth in areas that they find themselves getting stuck in.
The Open Door Mission would like to thank the frontline staff and shelter volunteers for their amazing work; the Federal Home Loan, which funded the third floor; and Hilltop Construction Company, for their execution of the building plans.
The Adirondack Sports Complex – better known as “The Dome” – is a multi-sport facility located at 326 Sherman Ave in Queensbury. One of the programs that The Dome features is co-ed pick up field hockey; people of all ages and skill levels meet once a week and play field hockey for an hour and a half. This program has varied in participation over the years… Jeff Rocas started out when the program was at its height. “We had so many players that I was in charge of substitutions” he said.
It wasn’t until attendance numbers began to dwindle that he picked up a stick himself. Jeff found a love of field hockey when his daughter Alyssa began playing the sport. As Alyssa’s high school career came to a close, Jeff took over the Gloverville Youth Field Hockey Program.
Jeff makes the trip from Gloversville each week to play: “It’s hard to find places to play, so I make the drive. There are other players that come from the Albany area. We drive so that we can play. We have a good group here, and it’s fun and everyone is friendly.”
Currently, the pick-up field hockey league has about eight to ten players a week. “We are always posting on Facebook to try and get more players. College kids come home and play during their breaks, people who played in high school play because they miss the sport, and boyfriends play with their girlfriends. It’s just fun.”
This week (most likely due to the holidays) there are four sets of parents playing with their children: “That is always fun to see. I play with Alyssa when she’s home, but to have four sets of parents playing with their children is wild.” Co-ed pick up field hockey plays on Thursday nights, from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. For more information, go to adirondacksortscomplex.com, or ADKSC Pick-Up Field Hockey’s Facebook page.
Today, Gary discusses the dismissal of an indictment in a fatal hit-and-run trial. Also, an arrest has been made in connection with this week’s TD Bank robbery, the Lehigh Cement plant in Glens Falls announces the timeline for its closure next year, and a cat was reunited with its owner recently after five months of being missing.
00:02 – Intro 00:32 – Ad Break 1 01:37 – Story 1: Arrest Made in TD Bank Robbery 03:36 – Story 2: Lehigh Announces Closure Timeline 05:02 – Ad Break 2 05:26 – Story 3: Indictment Dismissed in Fatal Hit-and-Run 08:14 – Story 4: Cat Reunited with Owner 11:36 – Outro
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our lives in previously unimaginable ways… From the early days of quarantine to today, different variants and strains of the virus continue to mutate and affect people’s lives in different ways. As a society we continue to live with COVID-19; and as the virus mutates and changes, so does our societal and governmental response to it. Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz recently put forth a bill in the New York State Assembly to include the COVID-19 vaccination in the mandatory vaccinations needed for schools; however, this bill never reported out of the Health Committee! A bill is assigned to a committee for discussion and analysis; if a majority of members on the committee support it, the bill is reported to the floor. If not, the bill is said to have “died in committee”.
This bill, which has been sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Phil Steck and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, has caused opposition, especially on social media – a petition against the bill, which is on Change.org, has been circulating around Facebook for about a year. This petition reads: “New York State Parents Against Bill A8378 Requires Immunization for Kids K-12” and currently has just under 100,000 signatures; the goal of the petition is 150,000 signatures.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Federal Government has declared a public health emergency – a Public Health Emergency (PHE) was initially declared by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in late January of 2020, pursuant to Section 319 of the Public Health Services Act. A PHE lasts for 90 days, and must be renewed to be continued; the PHE for COVID-19 had been renewed as recently as October of 2022, and is scheduled for the next renewal mid-January 2023.
This proposed bill A8378 would add the COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations to attend school. The summary of the bill reads: “Authorizes the commissioner of health to develop and supervise the execution of immunization against COVID-19 for purpose of state aid to schools; requires immunization against COVID-19 for attendance at school”.
Assemblyman Dinowitz represents the 81st assembly district in the Bronx. His district includes Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Norwood, Woodlawn, and Wakefield. Via an email interview, Dinowitz said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has killed nearly 1.1 million people, including more than 77,000 New Yorkers. The vaccine is incredibly effective at reducing the risk of severe effects from a COVID-19 infection, and community immunity has a significant impact on reducing transmission of the virus. Children already have to be vaccinated against viruses like measles, tetanus, polio and many other deadly diseases. My bill would simply add the COVID-19 vaccine to the existing list once it receives full approvals from the CDC and FDA.”
For this bill to go to a full floor vote, it would have to be reported out of the Health Committee and subsequent committees, which has not happened. This is among the many hurdles that this bill faces – the vaccines are currently in use under an emergency use authorization, and need to receive full approval from the CDC and FDA before they would be considered for the bill.
Parents who have signed the petition to stop bill A8378 support the parental right to decide what vaccines are best for their child. The petition says: “The COVID-19 vaccine has not had sufficient study trials for children, nor has it been tested long enough.” Comments in the “Reason for Signing” section of the petition include, “I DO NOT CO PARENT WITH THE GOVERNMENT”, “Our children are not science experiments”, and “My kids my choice…my choice!”
Assemblyman Matt Simpson of Assembly District 114 – which is Essex County, Warren County and parts of Saratoga, Washington and Fulton Counties – is not in favor of the mandate. He said via phone interview: “I am opposed to mandating the vaccine. I believe that is a parental rights decision.” Simpson is hopeful that we are on the other side of the pandemic, and that a vaccine mandate is not in line with the current status of COVID-19 – he pointed out that this legislation may be from the height of COVID-19, when some “Draconian” measures were being looked at to control the spread of the disease.
The petition has been circulating on Facebook for almost a year, and new signatures are constantly being added to it; within the last hour, two more people have signed the petition, showing an active public concern with the state of the issue.
Currently, the COVID-19 vaccine is still being used in an emergency capacity. The bill has not been reported out of committee, and therefore has “died in committee”; although this bill has been drafted, the State Assembly is not in session, and there are no State Assembly committees currently in session. This parental movement against immunization requirements continues to maintain their dissent of this bill as the petition continues to circulate on Facebook, with concerned parents continuing to sign it… As this issue continues to change and evolve, talking to local representatives is important – both Assemblyman Simpson and Assemblyman Dinowitz were very responsive to questions and inquiries about this issue.
Ken McGurk sold the Lakefront Terrace Resort to family members recently for $7.4-million. The property was put on the market after McGurk completed a multi-year $2-million renovation. McGurk bought the 73-room resort for $3.4-million in 2018. He then moved to Lake George, and ran the Lakefront Terrace for four years. The $2-million investment was used for paint, upgrading patios, and replacing beds, linens and floors throughout the resort. McGurk listed the 1.76-acre resort in September – the resort features a 150-foot private beach, and is located half a mile from Lake George Village. There were multiple offers prior to the sale agreement.
The Lakefront Terrace was purchased by a limited liability company called Tahoe LG, that is controlled by McGurk’s cousins Michael Menter, Chris Menter and Patrick Menter. The transaction closed December 14, 2022 according to the deed filed with Warren County clerk’s office. Glens Falls National Bank financed the mortgage.
The three Menter brothers grew up in the hospitality industry. The Menter family has long-standing ties to the community: David and Teresa Menter (Michael, Chirs and Patrick’s parents) have restaurant and hotel holdings throughout the Adirondacks; they have owned Scotty’s Lakeside Resort in Lake George, and Country Inn & Suites hotel, which is near the Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury.
Other Lake George real estate holdings have stayed within families as well – on November 16, 2022, Dennis Quirk sold his Lake George real estate holdings and businesses to his daughter and son-in-law. The real estate in that deal was sold for $3.53-million, according to the Warren County Clerk’s office.
Today, Gary discusses a robbery at the TD Bank on Main Street in Hudson Falls. Also, a fire burns down the home of Queensbury’s former Town Supervisor, Warren County announces recipients of its new ARPA funding, South Glens Falls High School announces their next Marathon Dance, and the Village of Fort Edward issues a boil water notice for residents of certain streets.
00:02 – Intro 00:39 – Ad Break 1 01:47 – Story 1: Queensbury Fire Burns Home of Former Supervisor 03:44 – Story 2: Warren County ARPA Funding Allocations 05:41 – Ad Break 2 06:05 – Story 3: TD Bank Robbery 07:50 – Story 4: 2023 South High Marathon Dance 09:43 – Story 5: Fort Edward Boil Water Notice 10:22 – Outro
