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BALLSTON SPA — Deputies Eddie Hernandez and Jeffrey Kaplan were presented the Life Saving Award and Meritorious Service Award by Sheriff Michael Zurlo this week for their decisive action to save the lives of the two residents who were in immediate peril.

On Jan. 28, members of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office responded to an EMS assist call from a resident in the town of the town of Halfmoon.  It was reported that the two residents of a home on Oakleaf Drive had lost consciousness for unknown reasons.  When arriving, the deputies were met with a strong noxious odor from the residence and immediately located the two residents of the home who are both in their 60’s and who were having difficulty maintaining consciousness. The female resident was carried from the second floor of the residence outside by Deputy Jeffrey Kaplan and the male resident was dragged from the first floor to the outside by Deputy Eddie Hernandez. 

Both subjects were treated at the scene by EMS personnel and transported to Samaritan Hospital.  It was later determined that both had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning due to an issue in the residence.  Both are expected to make a full recovery. 

“I have no doubt that the decisive action taken by these two deputies saved the lives of both of these residents,” Sheriff Zurlo said, in a statement. Both deputies will be formally recognized at an awards ceremony to take place later this year. 

WASHINGTON, DC — House leaders announced this week that Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) has been selected to serve on three major climate committees in the House. Anchored by his key leadership role as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, Tonko will also serve on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and House Committee on Natural Resources. 

These appointments position Tonko, one of just a small handful of engineers in Congress, to continue leading Congressional efforts to build national climate action and advance climate-driven legislation through Congress. 

“America is at a crossroads. We can double down on the economic and environmental stagnation of the past or we can seize this moment to build back better and make ourselves a global leader in clean energy innovation, environmental and labor standards, and a new flowering of prosperity in communities all across America,” said Tonko, who represents the 20th Congressional District, including a majority of the city of Saratoga Springs. 

At The DRC: Proposed Phila Street Demolitions Opposed by Preservation Foundation

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A request for demolition of two vacant buildings is getting push-back from the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. 

The matter is under consideration this week by the city’s Design Review Commission, although a late request was filed to adjourn the application until March 3. 

The two properties, which stand at 65 Phila St. and 69 Phila St. were both constructed in the 1850s.

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“Despite their poor condition, the buildings still retain their architectural integrity,” argues the Preservation Foundation – which was established in 1977 and cites as its mission “to preserve and enhance the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.”  The two buildings have been listed on the Foundation’s “Ten to Save” list since the endangered list program was created in 1998.   

Lengthy documentation about the properties and the application for demolition may be found on the city’s website at saratoga-springs.org  under the Design Review Commission banner. The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s response to the proposal of demolition may be found at: saratogapreservation.org. 

• Approximately 300,000 doses per week are anticipated to be received by the state from the federal government for distribution.  Additionally, a new federal government program will supply private pharmacies in New York with an additional 30,000 doses per week. 

• Statewide: Approximately 2 million vaccine doses have been administered and of those nearly 20% of those vaccinated have received both doses. Locally, more than 22,000 Saratoga County residents have received one dose of COVID vaccine, and more than 5,000 Saratoga County residents have received both doses. In all, this accounts for more than 12% of county residents having been administered at least one dose of COVID vaccine. 

• 7.1 million of a total population of 15 million New Yorkers are eligible for vaccines right now. Local governments may now add restaurant workers to vaccine eligibility lists. That call to add is up to local governments, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week. 

• The COVID infection rate in Saratoga County this week dropped to a weekly rolling average of 4%. This is down from a peak high of 11% on Jan. 7 and signifies the lowest infection rate in the county since the days immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday.     

• Hospitalizations: The percentage of hospital beds available, and percentage of ICU beds available in the eight-county Capital Region of which Saratoga is a part, each remain among the worst in the state, as has been the case for the past several weeks.

• The county has a hold agreement with the Saratoga Springs City Center so the building may be used as a mass vaccination center when sufficient amounts of vaccine have been obtained. That determination will be made by county Public Health officials and at this time a date has yet to be targeted for its use. 

• Important to know: After being notified of an unexpected increase in vaccine allocation, Saratoga County has recently focused on vaccinating seniors, both at county public health and directly at people’s homes. Many of those who were vaccinated came from the county’s Special Needs Registry. That registry includes county residents or caregivers of an individual with special needs such as mobility impairment, developmental disability, major respiratory illness, etc. County residents or caregivers of an individual with special needs may fill out the Special Needs Registry Application form accessible via: saratogacountyny.gov.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — This week residents of Prestwick Chase Senior Living Home received doses of the COVID vaccine. 

As of Jan. 25, there were 18,116 Saratoga County residents overall who had received one dose and 3,083 county residents who had received two doses of COVID vaccine, according to Saratoga County Public Health Services. 

According to President Joe Biden’s plan, vaccine distribution will be increased by 16% during the next three weeks. Most recently and before the increase was announced, New York State had received about 250,000 vaccines.   

With a state distribution plan based on population, the eight-county Capital Region – of which Saratoga County is a part – receives 6% of the state dosages, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Using that equation, the Capital Region can expect about 17,250 vaccines per week for each of the next three weeks. 

Through Jan. 27, about 1.4 million total doses – some of which includes second doses -were administered in New York State, about 96,000 of those in the Capital Region.  

MALTA — Developers are targeting the southeast corner of Saratoga Lake for a potential project that would incorporate nearly 100 new condominium units along with a restaurant and other amenities associated with lakefront property in Malta. 

Geoffrey Booth – of New York Development Group in Clifton Park, and Sophia Marruso – of Plan and Site Consulting at Ballston Lake, introduced a preliminary discussion of the potential project to the Malta Town Board on Jan. 25, during a town board meeting held virtually and attended by 70 participants.   

The project site would feature new construction on property currently owned by the DiDonna Family at the Southshore Marina, located at the intersection of Route 9P and Plains Road near the southeast edge of Saratoga Lake and about 8 miles south of Broadway in Saratoga Springs. 

The initial concept includes 96 condominium units anticipated to be approximately 1,500 to 1,800 square feet in size and at a height of two to three stories, Marruso told the board. A per-unit cost has not yet been specified. 

“Although we have not defined a price point, this is certainly going to be an upper-end project, not a lower-end project,” said Geoffrey Booth, of New York Development Group. “I want the Board to know this is not meant to attract transients and to have people coming and going. The intent here is for home ownership and people who live in Saratoga and want to enjoy the lake.” 

A formal application is expected to be presented “within the next month or two,” Marruso said. 

State Police in northern New York have received multiple calls from people scammed out of hundreds of dollars after answering classified ads for purebred puppies for sale. Victims report after answering the ad, the suspects provide a photo of the breed they are looking for and arrange a deposit to be paid. Once the deposit is cleared, the victim is provided an address, which does not exist, to pick up their puppy. Recently, these fake addresses have been in the St. Lawrence County area. 

State Police warn the public of some common themes in this scam:

• The deposit is requested to be made via payment apps, such as Zelle or CashApp.
• All communication with the “breeder” takes place via text. 
• Address for the puppies is not provided until after the deposit is made.
• The “breeder” sends the victim stock photos of whatever breed they are looking for.

The American Kennel Club offers the following tips: a reputable breeder will always communicate with you via phone or video chat (if not in person) before selling you a puppy. Fraudulent sellers are oftentimes outside of the U.S. and may be hiding their phone number by only communicating by email or text message. Beware of seller who asks for wiring of money or payment by gift cards; if you choose a non-secure method of payment, it is highly unlikely that you will get your money back. 

The Better Business Bureau recommends that if you use a credit card or any app to send payment, be sure to contact them if you are scammed. They also ask that you report these scams and false ads to the Better Business Bureau. You can also report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – reportfraud.ftc.gov to file a complaint online or call 877-FTC-Help.