The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Storage Facility Destroyed In Two-Alarm Fire

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Flames rip through the roof at the Ace Hardware storage facility in Brunswick Thursday evening.
Photo by Doug La Rocque.

by Doug La Rocque

Shortly after 5:30 pm on Thursday, September 9, a large fire broke out in a storage building on the property of and owned by Ace Hardware on Hoosick Road. The first fire chief on the scene declared a large working fire and asked for second alarm to be sounded. In all, 13 fire companies, including all of those from the Town of Brunswick combined their efforts to battle what firefighters labeled as a “stubborn and hard to fight” fire. That was partially because of the buildings make up, which included two separate roofs, one constructed of metal. It was from fear that a portion of the roof was in imminent danger of collapse, that firefighters were ordered out of the structure and assumed what was considered a defense posture, pouring water on the flames from the outside including the use of two aerials.

According to investigators, the cause of the fire remains under investigation. No serious injuries were reported and the neighboring Ace Hardware Store was sparred damage and indeed was open for business on Friday morning. The Eastwick Press will have more on this story in our next edition.

Moving 9-11 Ceremony At COB

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Those that took part in Friday’s 9-11 ceremony gathered by the wreath memorizing those that perished in the terrorist events of that day. Photo by Doug La Rocque.

by Doug La Rocque

“Never forget” still remains on the lips of those old enough to remember the horrific events on the morning of September 11, 2001. 20-years later, people gathered around the flag pole outside the Rensselaer County Office Building in Troy to commemorate those who lost their lives when planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a field in Shanksville, PA. That plane, brought down by a group of courageous passengers to prevent it from striking its supposed target, believed to have been the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

The Friday morning, September 10 ceremony was lead by County Executive Steve McLaughlin, with innovation and benediction by the Bishop Norman Macklin. Assemblyman Jake Ashby was one of the speakers, who noted he was in his senior year in college the day of the attacks and was so moved by it – he joined the Army. Mr. Ashby eventually rose to the rank of Captain and completed combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a humanitarian mission in Africa.

The most moving comments came from Richard French, who worked in regional operations at Ground Zero in NYC, remembering all that he experienced in the days following the attack.

A more complete report on the area’s 9-11 ceremonies will appear in next week’s edition.

SVMC Breaks Ground For State of Art ER

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Facility Serves Thousands From NY Each Year

It was about seven years ago when a foundation was formed to begin the effort of constructing a new Emergency Room at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) in Bennington. It became known as the VISION 2020 project. 

This new ER is something that is urgently needed according to Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVMC’s operator) CEO Tom Dee. At the ground breaking ceremony on Friday, August 27, he described the current emergency facilities as “behind the times physically” but also emphasized the staff has “never let it compromise the care that we give.”

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Governor Cuomo Announces Resignation

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced his resignation effective 14 days from now. This follows the reports from the NYS Attorney General on a sexual abuse investigation and a proceeding impeachment probe in the NYS Assembly.

Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul will assume the office upon Governor Cuomo’s departure. She will become the first female Governor in New York state history.