The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Hoosick Falls

PFAS Study in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh

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Village and Town will be Part of Multi-Site PFOA Study

Submitted by the NYS Department of Health

The New York State Department of Health and the University at Albany School of Public Health have announced that residents in the Hoosick Falls area (including Petersburgh) are invited to take part in a national Multi-Site PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) Health Study. This by-invitation-only effort seeks to recruit eligible adults and families who will then be invited for a health clinic visit for blood and urine testing along with a health evaluation to measure exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The study will also collect information about the immune response, lipid metabolism, kidney function, thyroid disease, liver disease, glycemic parameters and diabetes. In return, confidential test results will be provided to participants at no cost to them. Recruitment for participants in the Hoosick Falls/Petersburgh area is expected to begin in February.

“New York State is collaborating with some of the best researchers in the country to collect data from participants with common exposures,” said New York State Department of Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “What we learn by working with these researchers could provide important clues about the complex relationship between PFAS exposures through drinking water and human health outcomes.”

A Community Advisory Panel (CAP), made up of unpaid individuals from Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh as well as other communities, is a critical partner in this study. Members relay community questions and concerns and encourage community outreach and participation. They also help advise researchers on study design, outreach and progress.

Learn more about the Multi-site PFAS Health Study at www.health.ny.gov/chemicalsandhealth

As Long as the Need Exists They Will Come

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by Doug La Rocque

The Hoosick Falls Central School once again played host to a mass food giveaway in their parking lot on Wednesday, December 29, and once again the vehicles filled the lot and were lined up on NYS Route 22 waiting to get in. In all, 435 households representing 1,421 people were fed. The event is co-sponsored by Catholic Charities, the Capital District Area Labor Federation and the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office. In all, 39 volunteers helped hand out 14,729 pounds of food provided by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

In 2021, Catholic Charities CCMove program held 114 of these food drops, serving nearly 71,000 households.

Plans are underway for several more of these giveaways in 2022, the first in Rensselaer County being on Tuesday, January 25 at the Italian Community Center at 1450 Fifth Avenue in Troy, starting at 9:30 am.

[Read more…] about As Long as the Need Exists They Will Come

Hallelujah the Roof Is Finished – Immaculate Conception in Hoosick Falls

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by Bea Peterson

“Well, except for the punch list, it’s finished,” said Immaculate Conception Volunteer Project Manager Greg Laurin. Plagued with one problem after another, it seemed that this first phase of the church repairs would never be completed. The work was supposed to start the fall of 2020. That plan fell apart when the original contractor backed out. Another contractor, able to take on all phases of the roof repair, including repairing and painting the steeple, making and installing all the soffits, gutters and shingling the steep and flat roofs, had to be found. Fortunately CentiMark, a national company, agreed to do the job. By then it was winter, followed by COVID-19, followed by a shortage of materials. Donated shingles for the roof were delayed [Read more…] about Hallelujah the Roof Is Finished – Immaculate Conception in Hoosick Falls

Hoosick Falls Woods Brook Buyout Demolition Begins

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by Doug La Rocque

Efforts to prevent another flood like the one on July 1 of 2017 that caused so much damage in the Village have taken another major step forward, with demolition of structures that are part of the Woods Brook Buyout Program beginning earlier this week. In all, seven properties are marked to come down, part of a multi-phase drainage improvement project.

The first building demolished was at 7 Hall Street. Buildings at 3 and 5 Hall Street, 27 Elm Street and [Read more…] about Hoosick Falls Woods Brook Buyout Demolition Begins

Hoosick Falls Municipal Parking Lot Changes Have Unintended Consequences

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by Doug La Rocque

The Hoosick Falls Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, December 14 opened with a public hearing on Local Law #3, which restricted parking on Elm Street near the Village Pizzeria to 15 minutes. The change involved a 60-foot section of the road. There were no speakers, and the Board later passed the law unanimously. What did spark debate, however, was an October change that limited the number of all night parking spaces in municipal lots, particularly the one off [Read more…] about Hoosick Falls Municipal Parking Lot Changes Have Unintended Consequences

New Water Source Announced for Hoosick Falls

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by Doug La Rocque

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released their decision on how to provide a new permanent source of clean drinking water for the Village of Hoosick Falls. That decision calls for:
• Developing two new groundwater supply wells. Existing test wells south of Hoosick Falls will be converted to production wells;
• Retaining one existing village well. Redundancy is required in the case of an outage of the primary wells;
• Constructing a water transmission line from the new wells to the village water treatment plant along public rights of way;
• Continued operation of the public water supply treatment plant to remove naturally occurring elements, and ensure disinfection and distribution to meet applicable water supply requirements; and
• Retaining the existing GAC treatment system to ensure removal of ambient organic compounds.

The two new well sites are on land off NYS Route 22 south of the Village, owned by Jeff Wysocki and Jerry LaCroix. That is what many had speculated would be the answer for a year now, ever since DEC [Read more…] about New Water Source Announced for Hoosick Falls

Questionable Section of Track Is Under Repair in Hoosick Falls

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Throughout the summer, State, County and local officials have been urging Pan Am Railway to do something about an undersized culvert (disputed by Pan Am) that they contend is undermining the rail bed on a section of track near Railroad Avenue. County Legislator Bruce Patire and Hoosick Councilman Jerry McAuliffe have been leading the charge for the repairs, citing a NYS Department of Transportation safety inspection that said there is movement of the tracks when [Read more…] about Questionable Section of Track Is Under Repair in Hoosick Falls

Ron Jones Enters Capital Region Hall of Fame

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by Steve Bradley

Ron Jones, who coached football at Hoosick Falls Central School for 23 years, was inducted as a member of the Class of 2021 Capital Region Hall of Fame Saturday evening.

Jones coached his teams to six straight sectional titles in the 2009-2014 span, state semi-finals and state championship games. At one time, Jones had more wins on [Read more…] about Ron Jones Enters Capital Region Hall of Fame

Hoosick Falls Help Filling Out PFOA Claims Is on the Way

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Stephen Schwarz, the lead attorney in the Hoosick Falls Class Action PFOA Settlement tells The Eastwick Press that attorneys will be available December 2 through 4 to help anyone who might require assistance filling out the claims forms for that Class Action Settlement announced earlier this year. Legal Counsel will be in the Court Room/Meeting Room of the Hoosick Falls Armory on Thursday, December 2 from 9 am to 5 pm, Friday, December 3 from 11 am to 7 pm and again on Saturday, from 9 am to noon.

[Read more…] about Hoosick Falls Help Filling Out PFOA Claims Is on the Way