The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

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.

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Hoosick Falls Central School Budget Approved

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by Chris Tergliafera
At the April 21 regular meeting of the Hoosick Falls Central School District Board of Education, the 2022-2023 budget was approved. The new budget will see an overall increase of 5.3%, with a tax levy increase of 1.96%. There will also be a large increase in state aid for special education. Board President Joseph Patire stated how happy he was with the budget, and that the district was able to stay under the 2.65% tax levy increase limit, while still providing a budget that will have the district in good shape moving forward. This sentiment was echoed by fellow Board members, as well as Superintendent Patrick Dailey. 

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PFOA Settlement Payments Delayed

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by Doug La Rocque
More than 2,500 claims have been filed for one or more of the classes in the Hoosick Falls PFOA settlement. All Claim Forms filed are being processed and verified. 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, claimants will be contacted by email or mail. Claimants will not be contacted unless there is a deficiency in their 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 within 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. A full, detailed version of the announcement can be found on our website, eastwickpress.com.

Health Study Open House
Running concurrently but totally separate from the lawsuit is a Multi-site PFAS Health Study, being conducted in part by the State University at Albany. This study, as has been previously reported on by The Eastwick Press, involves both residents of Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh. The clinic set up to gather information from participants is located 140 Main Street in Hoosick Falls and will conduct an Open House on Sunday, May 7 from 1 to 4 pm, rain or shine. Those wishing to be part of the study may sign up at that time.

The clinic is part of the first ever national study of the relationship between PFAS (including PFOA) exposures in drinking water and health. More information on the study can be obtained by calling 833-732-7697 or visiting www.albany.edu/sph/pfas.

Sue E. Beaudoin – Obituary

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Brunswick – Sue E. Beaudoin, 71, a lifelong resident of Brunswick, died peacefully Monday, April 18, 2022, at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany following a short illness.

Born in Troy and raised in Brunswick, Sue was the daughter of the late Floyd and Dorothy (Hall) Rifenburg and the wife for over 28 years of Joseph C. Beaudoin Jr. of Brunswick, who survives. Sue and Joe were married on July 30, 1994.

Sue attended Tamarac District School and was a graduate of Tamarac High School, class of 1969.

She had an engaging smile and fun personality. For many years she was employed as an assistant manager by Stewart’s Shops and worked in several area stores. She then worked for several years as a receptionist at the Brunswick Family Practice office in Cropseyville. Most recently, she returned for five additional years to her assistant manager position at Stewart’s Shops, working at the Pawling Avenue Store. After more than 11 years of service, she retired in 2012. [Read more…] about Sue E. Beaudoin – Obituary

Elaine M. Jones

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Petersburgh – Elaine Marie Jones left this world behind on January 2, 2022. Elaine was born March 3, 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland from two of the most wonderful people ever, Mary and Owen Ringwald. She grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, where she brought her tireless spunk and energy to the home she shared with her three surviving brothers, John, Art and Alan. She is also survived by Woody Gillies and their three children, Bonnie, Ian and Daniel; her children’s spouses/partners John, Christine and Julie; eight grandchildren, David, Michael, Allison, Stephen, Amy, Abigail, Nate and Jace; three great-grandchildren, Madeline, Theodore and Rosie; and her husband Don. [Read more…] about Elaine M. Jones

Helen J. Betner – Obituary

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Hoosick Falls – Helen J. Betner, 85, passed away on Wednesday April 20, at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation surrounded by her loving family.

Helen was born on March 28, 1937 in Hoosick Falls, NY, daughter of the late Michael Betner and Frances Krakowska. She graduated from Hoosick Falls H.S. in 1954 and was a graduate of SUNY Albany in 1958. She completed graduate work at the University of Colorado and Syracuse. She became a high school business teacher and taught at multiple schools, the last being Shenendehowa where she retired in 1984 due to being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Helen was very fond of traveling and made many trips with her friends that she made while teaching. They traveled to Greece, Mexico, Poland and many other beautiful places. Helen was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She was known for her positive attitude, sense of humor, always smiling face and most of all her infectious laugh. [Read more…] about Helen J. Betner – Obituary

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.