Archive » December 2021 » News

Following our annual tradition, for this week’s podcast, Enterprise reporters look back at some of the most important stories for 2021.
 

The health department will not be able to call everyone to quarantine or isolate, said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy at a press conference on Friday morning as he announced 1,003 new COVID-19 cases. “It’s physically impossible to keep up with everything,” he said.

Sheep farmer Emily Vincent, who has previously been harassed by Berne’s code-enforcement officer and highway superintendent, has been ordered to replace a culvert near her property in spite of the fact that it runs underneath a town road.

 “As New York State and Albany County work together to continue distributing at-home test kits to schools and the general public, we’re asking everyone who tests positive to submit their results on the county website through the newly added feature. This will allow us to better understand our infection rate and the level of community spread, because right now our daily case numbers likely are artificially low,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.

Various charity organizations have given away thousands upon thousands of pounds of food to Hilltowners in need this year. 

Kentish Bennett

GUILDERLAND — Kentish Bennett, 41, died just before Christmas.

Jason Seminary, 43, was arrested on Dec. 26 for second-degree manslaughter.

Knox residents Mary Varbero and Frank Muia have succeeded in their quest to free their Berne-Altamont Road property from the restrictions dictated by a covenant that the previous property owner said she was forced to agree to by the town’s planning board in the early 1990s.

“Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others,” says the new guidance.

Governor Kathy Hochul encouraged parents to use the school break this week to vaccinate their children.

GUILDERLAND — Jason Seminary, 43, has been arrested for second-degree manslaughter, a felony, in the death of Kentish Bennett, 41, according to a release from the Guilderland Police who made the arrest on Dec. 26.

BETHLEHEM — A family who lived at 485 Dawson Rd. in Bethlehem was displaced when their home caught fire on Monday Dec. 27.
The fire was reported by a motorist who “flagged down” a Bethlehem Police officer, alerting him to the fire at 6:43 a.m., according to a release from the police department.

Jamie Mazuryk estimates that about 90 percent of offers on homes she sold during the pandemic came in over the asking price.

GUILDERLAND — Guilderland Police are looking for a “person of interest” — Jason Seminary, age 43 — in a suspicious death investigation.

Following evolving guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Governor Kathy Hochul said that she is now issuing new guidance for essential workers who have tested positive for COVID to return to work after five days — instead of the previously required 10 days — if they are “fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic or their symptoms have been resolving and they have no fever for the last 72 hours and they don’t have to be taking medication.”

Joriohenen flows next to Altamont Elementary School, at right.

“The new culvert’s parapet will be designed to complement the nearby historic district,” said Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber.

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