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State Ed. guide to schools stresses in-person learning

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

“The overall goals for the 2021-2022 school year are to keep students and staff healthy and safe, be responsive to student needs, and maximize in-person teaching and learning,” says the guide from the State Education Department.

HEAP applications due by end of month

National Grid is urging its Capital Region customers who need help paying their energy bill to apply now for federally funded assistance through The Home Energy Assistance Program and the Emergency HEAP program.

GCSD proposes $21.8M capital plan

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

The board decided to add cooling for Guilderland High School and Lynnwood Elementary School at a cost of $215,166 and also to add top priority projects — totaling $4,105,829 — for the middle school and high school that hadn’t made the cut in the current capital project, including bathroom renovations and ventilation.

Spurred by apartment proposal, New Scotland boards look to clear up zoning language

by Sean Mulkerrin

The New Scotland zoning board is being asked to clarify a provision in the zoning that not only impacts Richard Long’s 2080 New Scotland Road project, but every property in the hamlet district subject to that section of the code. 

McKownville’s Assistant Chief Nolan Renna

Photos: Christening a New McKownville Fire Truck

McKownville’s new light rescue, S-53, was doused with water on Saturday afternoon.

Law allows deer hunting at Alcove Reservoir

A bipartisan bill will control the deer population within the Alcove Reservoir property in Coeymans in an effort to maintain the property’s effectiveness as a carbon sink. 

Board under fire as mask rule draws ire

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

GUILDERLAND — After 50 minutes of listening to heated comments about masks being required in school, which escalated to pro-mask speakers being heckled, the Guilderland Board of Education adjourned its meeting on Tuesday night — only to resume again after the crowd of about 30 had left.

Dan McCoy

Week LXXIV: County suffers high transmission and infection rates as Delta spreads even to children

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Well over a third of the county residents infected with COVID-19 between Aug. 2 and 6 were vaccinated against the virus.

Camp Wildwood receives $25K from state

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

ALTAMONT — Camp Wildwood is receiving $25,000 from the state.

Wildwood School provides special education to over 200 students living with autism and other developmental disabilities in the Greater Capital Region and the half-century-old camp, on Leesome Lane, on the outskirts of Altamont, is its summer extension program.

Masks urged as vaccinated county residents infected with COVID-19

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

The “vast majority” of the vaccinated cases infected with COVID-19 between Aug. 2 and 6 were young adults, said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “Six vaccinated infections were from the 10- to 19-year-old age range,” said McCoy. Vaccine is not authorized for anyone under age 12.

Voorheesville OKs pre-K program; school reopening plan forthcoming

by Sean Mulkerrin

After approving a pre-K program at its Monday meeting, the Voorheesville School Board was presented with a reopening plan that, as of Tuesday, had been put on hold while the district waits for new guidance from the State Education Department. 

Documents show Berne Highway Department has corrected violations

by Noah Zweifel

The Berne Highway Department has corrected the seven safety violations uncovered by the New York State Department of Labor in the wake of a fatal workplace accident at the town highway garage last year, newly obtained investigation documents show.

Schools make plans to reopen without state guidance

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Local school superintendents were taken aback last Thursday when the state’s health commissioner summarily announced his department would be providing no guidance for the opening of schools in the midst of a surge of COVID-19 cases.

Albany County now has ‘high’ rate of transmission

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

The United States is now averaging over 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day, which hasn’t happened since February, the CDC noted on Monday. The seven-day average of new cases has doubled in the last two weeks as has the death rate.

4-H

Back again, the Altamont Fair — where ‘old-time fun’ meets ‘sophisticated entertainment’

by Noah Zweifel

The Altamont Fair opens for the first time since 2019 on Tuesday, Aug. 17, and will operate through Aug. 22. And, in spite of the safety measures necessary to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant and other pandemic-related obstacles, the experience should prove to be just as electrifying as in years’ past, organizers say.

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