The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

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Dutchaven Golf

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Notes:  Boy it’s supposed to be a beautiful week.  The golf league is underway.  We started 3 weeks ago and finally I am able to get an article out.  You can make time for whatever you want so here goes.  It was a great sight to see all the Little Leaguers walking through town during the traditional opening day parade.  Thanks to all the unpaid volunteers that make it happen.  People don’t realize how much time goes into making sure the kids have a fun experience.  Keep in mind that no one has to do this, so instead of complaining about what is not done, thank those that did something to help out.  Please and thank you go a long way.  I know the board could always use a few good hands, so if you have any good ideas please leave your name and number at the shack and the president will contact you.  With that being said, I want to thank Joe Gerwin for all the work he puts in to make this golf league run.  Thanks buddy.  Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Elaine, and my wife Darcy.  No one really knows how much unselfish time you put into your family.  You are great examples for people to follow.  

 

Current Leaders: Flight A  One team has played all three weeks together and they haven’t lost, Jeff Stevens and Keith Shannon.  After getting into the playoffs as a wild card and riding that momentum to the title match, they have come out this season on fire.  They lead flight A with 37.5 points.  Three other teams haven’t lost this year either, Dave Clark/Gerry Taber, Joe Gerwin/Jack Daigneault and Bret Seiler/Howie Akin.  Both Joe and Dave played with a sub for 2 weeks and Howie needed an extra week to recover from surgery.  Currently in 2nd place, Dave and Gerry have 35.5 points.  Joe and Jack have 33 points and are tied for 3rd place with Mike Marpe and Dan O’Rourke.  Flight B  No teams in flight B are undefeated.  The top two teams have won 2 out of 3 weeks.  Skip Russell and Bob Hunt sit on top with 34.5 points.  Billy Potter and Kyle Woodward are in 2nd place with 33.5 points.  

 

Week One Results: Jeff Stevens came out of the gates on fire, shooting a 36.  He had 6 pars and a birdie.  Jeff parred all 3 par threes.  Jeff also had the low net score of the night with his 32. Marsh Ogert had a nice start with a net score of 33 and 3 pars.  Peter Martin III was the only other golfer to break 40, shooting 39 net 34.  He had 4 pars and a birdie.  Danny O’Rourke had 6 pars.  Joe Gerwin had 5 pars.  Keith Shannon helped his team (Jeff Stevens is his partner) net under par with his net score of 34.  They were the only team to net under par as they shot a team net score of 66, 4 under their handicap. Billy Potter (birdie), Skip Russell (3 pars, birdie), Mike Marpe (4 pars) and Ron Caron all netted scores of 34.  

 

Skins Update (week 1):  Each week, the 18-sided die will be rolled to determine which hole was the skin hole for the previous week.  Players are divided into 2 flights based on handicap.  If you are the lone low score on the hole, you win the skins pot.  Teammates can not cancel each other out.  You need to have a birdie or better to win the skin.   Skins possibilities this week in Group A were: Peter Martin III – hole 5, Jeff Stevens – hole 7, Kevin Weeden – hole 8   Skins possibilities this week in Group B were: Gerry Harrington – hole 5, Darryl Lee – hole 2, Billy Potter – hole 7.  Hole 4 was rolled so there was no winner.

 

Closest to the Pin Winners (week 1):  Hole 1 -> Dave Vogt 25 ft 7 in, Hole 3 -> Skip Russell 28ft 1 in, Hole 9 -> no one 

 

Week Two Results: Howie Akin came off shoulder surgery swinging a hot club.  He had a net score of 30 with 4 pars.  Welcome back Howie.  He helped his team shoot a net score of 68.  His teammate, Brett Seiler, had 4 pars and a birdie.  Only two teammates netted under par, Leon Rosko and Ed Powers both netted 34.  They combined for 9 pars.  Marsh Ogert had another solid week shooting a net 33.  He had 3 pars and a birdie.  Peter Martin III had 4 pars and a birdie.   

 

Skins Update (Week 2):  Skins possibilities this week in Group A were: Peter Martin III – hole 6, Jeff Stevens – hole 7 (again), Kevin Weeden – hole 9, Brett Seiler – hole 5   Skins possibilities this week in Group B were: Gerry Harrington – hole 5, Darryl Lee – hole 2, Marsh Ogert – hole 7.  Hole 6 was rolled by Leon Rosko.  Peter Martin III won the 2-week pot in Group A.  Congrats Peter. Thanks Amy for letting him practice and giving him a few tips. 

 

Closest to the Pin Winners (week 2):  Hole 1 -> Billy Potter 4 ft 4 in, Hole 3 -> Joe Gerwin 8ft 6in, Hole 9 -> Kevin Weeden 7ft 5in (birdie)

 

Week Three Results:   This was the best night so far for the Duffer League golfers.  Eddie Powers led the way shooting 37, net 31.  Eddie had 4 pars and a birdie.  His teammate Leon Rosko shot a 39, net 33.  Leon had 5 pars.  They had a team net score of 64.  Ruppert Smith had the low net of the night with a 30.  He shot a gross score of 39 with 5 pars.  Dean Becker took care of business with a net score of 31, winning 7.5 points out of 9 points.  Maybe it was 8 out of 9.  I’ll have to double check my scorecard:( Nick Pello had a nice net score of 33 picking up a par on the tough hole #1.  Eric Speanburg, Skip Russell (3 pars, birdie), Jeff Hull (3 pars) and Dave Vogt (3 pars) all had a net score of 34.   Bret Seiler was solid with 5 pars and a birdie.  Kevin Weeden, after shooting a 48 the week before, shot 37 net 33 with 7 pars.   

 

Skins Update (Week 3):  Skins possibilities this week in Group A were: Jack Daigneault – hole 7, Ed Powers – hole 5   Skins possibilities this week in Group B were:  Dave Clark – hole 8  The dice are rolled prior to the start of the next week to determine the previous week’s winner.

Closest to the Pin Winners (week 3): no signs put out (It’s no one and everyone’s responsibility.  Usually Henry does it, but he was absent.  Thanks Henry for taking care of this.)

Park Avenue Bridge in Berlin Closed

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The county bridge carrying County Route 36 (Park Avenue) over the Little Hoosic River in the Town of Berlin will be closed effective today, May 12, the Rensselaer County Highway Department announced.

The closure follows an inspection by the New York State Department of Transportation, which determined structural and safety issues necessitate closure.

The Rensselaer County Highway Department has monitored the condition of the CR36 bridge in recent years. County Highway has lowered the weight limit on the bridge in an effort to keep the bridge safely in operation.

Detours will be posted, and the detours for traffic are expected to be short. The county is now reviewing plans to deal with the bridge closure, said county officials.

New Tamarac Elementary Principal Named

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Brunswick Brittonkill Central School District is pleased to announce that Kelly Onorato has been named the new principal of Tamarac Elementary School.
Onorato, a resident of Brunswick, is currently the assistant principal at Tamarac Elementary. She replaces Mr. Richard Pogue, who is retiring after 16 years in the District.

Mrs. Onorato is bringing to the position 17 years experience in education. Kelly provided services to students in grades K-12 as a speech-language pathologist during her first 10 years in education. Kelly worked as a speech-language pathologist in the Brunswick Central School District for 8 years. [Read more…] about New Tamarac Elementary Principal Named

Oak-Mitsui Site Clean Up Announced by DEC

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Oak-Mitsui Technologies LLC (Oak), the owner of the property, will be executing the environmental cleanup work at the 80 First Street Site in the Village of Hoosick Falls. The environmental cleanup action will be performed as an Interim Remedial Measure (IRM) under NY’s State Superfund Program and the provisions of an Order on Consent established between Oak and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). An IRM is a cleanup activity that may be implemented when the source of contamination or exposure pathway can be effectively addressed in the near term. The objective of this IRM is to prevent contact with residual levels of contamination in the soil.

Highlights and Key Components of the IRM: [Read more…] about Oak-Mitsui Site Clean Up Announced by DEC

Delgado Appointed Lt. Governor

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U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado has been appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul as her new Lt. Governor, replacing the resigned Brian Benjamin. Congressman Delgado currently represents New York’s 19 Congressional District which includes most of Rensselaer County.

In the press release from the Governor’s Office, Mr. Delgado is quoted as saying “New York deserve a Lieutenant Governor  who’s working day and night to make lives better for working people and their families. Upstate, downstate, doesn’t matter. We all want the same things, security, family and opportunity. The key is to listen to New Yorkers from all walks of life and then be their voice to get the job done.

The Eastwick Press will have more on the appointment and local reaction in this week’s edition

Congressional Redistricting Thrown Out

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The Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, has thrown out the Congressional Redistricting map drawn up by the state legislature and signed into being by Governor Kathy Hochol, as improperly drawn and gerrymandered to benefit the Democratic party. The mapping, as it stands prior to today’s decision, would have favored Democrats in 22 of the state’s 26 districts.

The lower court ruling, upheld by the Court of Appeals, orders the state legislature to come up with new maps by April 30 or leave it to a so called master to draw up. Today’s decision brings into question the State’s June 28th primary date, possibly pushing back to sometime in August.

County Sponsored Drug Take Back Events

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Rensselaer County is sponsoring a series of prescription drug take-backs at seven locations across the county to help safely remove unwanted drugs from circulation, County Executive Steve McLaughlin, Sheriff Pat Russo and Chairwoman of the Legislature Kelly Hoffman announced.

The drug take-back will be held this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., county officials announced. Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas and Department of Mental Health Commissioner Katherine Alonge-Coons are also supporting the take-back day.

April 30 is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, and supported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“There have been so many tragedies because of drug abuse in our county and across upstate. Having opportunities to safely dispose of unused or unwanted prescription drugs helps provide an important defense in our fight against drug abuse,” said County Executive McLaughlin.

“We are committed to safely removing as many prescription drugs as possible to help prevent the drugs from falling into the wrong hands and causing harm. These events have been effective in recent years and our county is united in this fight,” said Sheriff Pat Russo.

“The past take-back events in Rensselaer County have been busy and successful in removing many prescription drugs from homes and neighborhoods. We appreciate the support of our law enforcement partners in coordinating safe collection and disposal of these drugs,” said Chairwoman of the Legislature Kelly Hoffman.

Collection Sites Include:

East Greenbush Police Department

225 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY 12144

 

Schodack Police Department

At Walgreens, 1645 Columbia Turnpike, Castleton, NY 12033

 

Village of Hoosick Falls Police Department

24 Main Street, Hoosick Falls, NY 12090

 

North Greenbush Police Department

133 Bloomingrove Drive, Troy, NY 12180

 

City of Troy Police Department

55 State Street, Troy, NY 12180

 

Rensselaer County Sheriff

At West Sand Lake Fire Department, 3697 NY 43, West Sand Lake, NY 12196

 

Rensselaer Police Department

At North End Fire House, 2 St. Francis Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144

Hoosick Falls PFOA Settlement Update

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Per Lead Attorney Steve Schwarz

 

The Class Action Settlement with defendants Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Honeywell and 3M has now been approved by the Court and funded. More than 2,500 claims have been filed for one or more of the classes. All Claim Forms filed are being processed and verified by the General Administrator, KCC. This process is expected to take 60-90 days. If there are deficiencies found in any of the Claim Forms that can be corrected with additional information, KCC will contact claimants by email or mail. Claimants will not be contacted unless there is a deficiency in your claim.  If the claim was filed electronically through the website, an email confirmation with a number assigned beginning with the letters SIK should have been received between minutes thereafter.  If someone filed electronically but  did not receive such a confirmation email, they should immediately contact EMMA DUGGAN (212- 558-5677; eduggan@weitzlux.com) OR STEVE SCHWARZ (585-399-6035; sschwarz@faraci.com) as soon as possible. If the claim was filed by regular mail, no automatic confirmation was sent out.  If a claimant that filed by mail wishes to verify that the claim was received and is being processed, they can also contact Emma or Steve for verification.

The Medical Monitoring Program that will be available to members of the Medical Monitoring Class is being set up.  Medical Monitoring Class members will receive communications from the Court Appointed Medical Monitoring Administrator, Edgar Gentle, III with information on how to make an appointment for your initial entry into the program.  We expect this to happen sometime in the next 90 days.

The Property Damage Class Claim verification for these classes requires documentation that each claimant owned the property at the time the contamination was discovered.  In some cases, multiple claims have been filed for the same property address, and these need to be reconciled to assure that the actual property owner at the time the contamination was discovered receives the benefit.  Once all Claim Forms have been processed and the eligibility of all class members verified, KCC will apportion the $20,700,000 allocated to the Public Water and Private Well Property Damage Classes by multiplying this amount by a fraction with the 2015 Full Market Value as determined by the Town of Hoosick Tax Assessor forming the numerator of the fraction and the sum of all Full Market Values of eligible class member properties forming the denominator.  This calculation determining the amount each Class Member will receive cannot be performed until all Claim Forms are processed and verified.

The Nuisance Damage Class Nuisance Class eligibility requires proof that the class member was the owner or renter of a property with a contaminated private well at the time the contamination was discovered.  Because the law and the settlement require an eligible class member to have a legal interest in the property (ownership or a lease) others living in the home at the time the contamination was discovered are not eligible.  Many people did not understand this requirement and filed claims on behalf of other household members who will not be eligible.  Like the Property Damage Classes, the amount each eligible member of this class will receive cannot be determined until all claims have been processed and verified.

The General Administrator and Class Counsel appreciate that eligible class members are anxious to receive their benefits and also anxious to receive information about when checks will be issued.  The General Administrator, with the assistance of Class Counsel, is moving as expeditiously as possible to complete the claims review process and issue payments to eligible members.

Cox Guilty of Second Degree Murder of a Child

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Submitted by the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office

Following a nearly two-week long trial, a Rensselaer County Court Jury on Wednesday, April 27, convicted 42-year old Kevin Cox on two counts of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Assault in the First Degree. The charges stem from the February 11, 2020 death of six-year-old Davonte Paul of Lansingburgh.

District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly confirmed that according to the evidence, Davonte was found after a 911 call by his mother stating that he had drowned in the bath tub, although no water was found in the child’s lungs.

“As proven at trial, Cox punished the child by forcing him to sit outside on a snow covered deck on a blisteringly cold February night. Cox left Davonte outside for hours which directly caused his death. This was a heartbreaking case and I applaud the jurors who sat through the difficult testimony and viewed evidence of the death of this child,” said District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly.

Cox will be sentenced on May 18 before County Court Judge Debra Young and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Fatal Accident in Poestenkill

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On Thursday evening, April 21, around 10:39 pm, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-car personal injury motor vehicle accident on NY 355 ( Main Street) in the town of Poestenkill. Upon arrival, responding units observed a blue 2008 Honda Civic with significant front-end damage, with an occupant (driver) entrapped inside the vehicle. Responding units also observed a white 2018 GMC pickup truck, with heavy front drivers-side damage, and the driver outside of the vehicle.

First aid was rendered to the driver of the Honda Civic by deputies, until ALS arrived on scene. The driver of the Honda Civic was extracted and transported to Samaritan Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the white 2018 GMC, Dylan Densmore, 26, of Poestenkill, was arrested on scene and charged with:

  • PL 125.12 – Vehicular Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree (Class D Felony)
  • VTL 1192.2 – DWI (Unclassified Misdemeanor)
  • VTL 1192.3 – DWI (Unclassified Misdemeanor)
  • VTL 1120 – Failure to keep right (Infraction)

Densmore was arraigned in East Greenbush Town Court by the Honorable Judge Jessica Mocerine and was remanded to the Rensselaer County Jail with no bail, set to re-appear in court on Monday, April 25.

We would like to thank the New York State Police, Poestenkill Fire Department, Mohawk Ambulance, and the West Sand Lake Fire Department for their assistance during this tragic event.