SARATOGA SPRINGS – The founders of FLAG Saratoga (Front Line Appreciation Group) have relaunched a grassroots campaign to help support local frontline workers at a time when hospitals and healthcare workers are being significantly strained again by the pandemic.

FLAG Saratoga was founded in the spring of 2020 by four Saratoga residents Nadine Burke, Becky Kern, Andrea Macy, and Lisa Munter. The group originally raised more than $40,000 – which resulted in more than 4,000 meals and gift cards delivered to over 30 different hospital departments, nursing homes, fire, police, and EMS departments throughout Saratoga. 

“We have been asked to restart our efforts and due to the outpouring of support that we received the last time, we knew we could quickly mobilize to help out,” said co-founder, Lisa Munter, in a statement. “Our community is filled with so many generous and resilient people who are always willing to give back and help each other, we are counting on this support so we can pass it along to our healthcare workers who really need it.” 

Working alongside the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and the Saratoga Hospital Foundation, the group is raising money through the Chamber’s dedicated fundraising page on their website, at www.Saratoga.org. All money will go directly into providing meals, snacks, and other resources needed. 

“We’re proud to team up with FLAG of Saratoga and the Saratoga Hospital Foundation to show our gratitude to our frontline heroes,” “Our board, led by Tara Pleat, voted unanimously to help with seed funding to kickstart FLAG’s efforts. We look forward to working alongside the community to give back to our healthcare workers and first responders who continue to work tirelessly to keep us safe and healthy throughout this pandemic,” Chamber President Todd Shimkus said in a statement.

To learn more, visit FLAG Saratoga at their Facebook Group, or on Instagram at @Flagsaratoga. To donate, visit: www.Saratoga.org. For more information about FLAG Saratoga contact Becky Kern at: beckykernpr@gmail.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – MLK Saratoga’s 7th Annual Dr. King Celebration Weekend offers a range of programming illuminating, amplifying, and reflecting on social, environmental, racial, and economic justice issues. 

The events run from Friday to Monday and feature a variety of workshops, performances, lectures, and panel discussions. 

This year’s theme centers on Dr. King’s quote: “I have decided to stick with love.”

The DKCW opens with the Dr. King Challenge on Friday night featuring performances by regional artists, actors and musicians and continues Saturday through Monday with both virtual and in-person events for both kids and adults, and includes workshops, musical performances, film screenings and a multitude of other gatherings that will be staged at various locations across Saratoga Springs. 

 For a comprehensive list of in-person events, and links to virtual programming, go to: www.MLKsaratoga.org.

Newly elected Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi says she wants to implement all 50 recommendations of the Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force. Sadly, Ms. Sanghvi doesn’t seem to realize that some of those proposals cannot be legally implemented by the city since they conflict with state law.

For instance, the Task Force called for the diversion of “seized assets” to “Community Based Restorative Groups or community service organizations.” Unfortunately, this is not legal according to state law.

Ms. Sanghvi would do well to do some homework before she makes embarrassing statements to the press. Our city used to have a fabulous City Attorney, who would have been extremely beneficial in guiding Ms. Sanghvi, however, our new Mayor fired him.

– Tracey L. LaBelle, Saratoga Springs

SARATOGA COUNTY – Cornell Cooperative Extension is hosting Dining with Diabetes, a virtual program via Zoom on Mondays, January 24 and 31 and February 7 and 28 at 6:30 p.m.

Adults with type 2 diabetes (or those who are at risk of type 2 diabetes) and their family members, caregivers, and support persons are invited to participate in Dining with Diabetes.  This free virtual program will help you learn the skills needed to promote good health while living with diabetes.   Dining with Diabetes is an Extension program taught locally by Karen Roberts Mort, MS of Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County. 

Participants will learn how to read the new food labels, count carbohydrates and plan meals using the Plate Method. There will also be time to discuss ways to stay motivated to eat healthy and stay active during the current health crisis. This class offers opportunities to connect with others who are dealing with diabetes. Healthy recipes, cooking techniques and even ideas for making healthier choices at restaurants and grocery stores will be shared with the group.  A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist has been invited to attend one of the sessions. 

Please register at www.cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErf-ygqD4jH9f5xxKk0V3Il8E0bFtmCbCc in order to get the Zoom link for the series. For help with registering or any questions, contact Karen from CCE Albany at kem18@cornell.edu or leave a message at 518-765-3552. 

SARATOGA COUNTY – Cornell Cooperative of Saratoga County has partnered with Upstate Equine Medical Center to host a “First Responder Large Animal Training.” This training will be held on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m., at Update Equine Medical Center located at 362 Rugg Rd., Schuylerville. 

This training was designed for individuals who would be primary contact in an emergency situation: firefighters, police officers, EMT, animal control, etc. However, anyone who would like to know more about handling large animal livestock in emergency situations is welcome. The training will be conducted by Steve Sedrish DVM, Tracy Bartick-Sedrish DVM of Upstate Equine Medical Center, and Pandora Davis VMD of
H&N Bovine. 

For more information or to sign up for this training, please contact Nicolina Foti at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office of Saratoga County by email at nvf5@cornell.edu or by phone at 518-885-8995.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga Casino Hotel is teaming up with the American Red Cross to host a Blood Drive on Monday, Jan. 17. Members of the local community are urged to join dozens of Saratoga Casino Hotel team members to give blood from noon to 6 p.m. inside the hotel ballroom. 

The need for blood remains crucial for patients relying on lifesaving transfusions. The American Red Cross continues to experience a severe blood shortage and donors of all blood types – especially type O – are urged to make an appointment to give now. 

Schedule an appointment to give blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting www.RedCrossBlood.org and entering sponsor code SARATOACASINO, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767), or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa
Echo device. 

Right now, the Red Cross needs to collect more than 1,000 additional blood donations each day to meet current demand as hospitals respond to an unusually high number of traumas and emergency room visits, organ transplants, and elective surgeries. 

To thank donors who help refuel the blood supply, anyone who donates January 1-31 will be entered to win a trip for 2 to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. 

Saratoga Casino Hotel is located on Crescent Avenue in Saratoga Springs.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Once a Fodero dining car dating back to the 1950s, Dunning Street Station, a restaurant on Route 9 in Malta, is now an established local restaurant with cause for celebration. The restaurant’s uniquely designed stainless steel art deco interior has shined with charm for five consecutive years, and the restaurant is offering a three-course $20.22 menu throughout the month of January as a kick-off to their anniversary year.

Dunning Street owners, Scott Ringwood and Bob Mckenna, have made their mark on the Saratoga area. Scott and Bob have been co-owners of the Lake Ridge Restaurant in historic Round Lake, a business they’ve been running for 20 years. Scott and Bob began the Dunning Street venture in 2016 in search of a casual comfortable restaurant venue that offered a different feel from the fine dining experience that Lake Ridge Restaurant is known for.

After restoring the restaurant building, the owner’s choice of the name “Dunning Street Station” reflected back on the original street name where the restaurant was located, and “Meet you at the station!” became the appropriate tag line that followed.

Scott Ringwood, Co-owner of Dunning Street Station, said, “We are excited to showcase our very talented Chef Bruce Jacobson’s creative menu items at Dunning Street Station, where we offer a choice variety of American food with an Italian flare.”

Bob Mckenna, second Co-owner of Dunning Street Station added, “We continue to hear patrons comment on how surprised they are to find the award-winning restaurant experience they do, within our stainless-steel exterior. Excellent food, customer- focused wait staff, a 14-seat bar, and three cozy dining rooms make Dunning Street Station, a one-of-a-kind place to eat.  We love being the local neighborhood restaurant/bar serving the Saratoga and surrounding communities.”

To commemorate five years of service to the community, Dunning Street is offering a three-course menu throughout the month of January to include choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, all for $20.22. Patrons can choose from garden fresh house salad, warm brie with apricot glaze or one of their award-winning soups for their first course. For the main course, Dunning Street is offering Mahi Mahi with a mango salsa served with wild rice and vegetable, or whisky flamed Flank Steak served with mashed potatoes and vegetable. For pasta-lovers, an option is classical triple layered Lasagna with beef, or classic Chicken Marsala with a marsala and organic mushroom sauce served over pasta. To top off the meal, there are two outstanding choices for dessert, including carrot cake and a daily special. All items are available for take-out as well as dine-in. Details on the January menu are available at dunningstreetstation.com.

Dunning Street Station is complemented by an extensive drink menu. They offer a happy hour from 3-6 p.m. and daily drink specials.

Dunning Street is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. Reservations are accepted at 518-587-2000. For more about the restaurant visit www.dunningstreetstation.com.

If anyone were to guess which municipality in the county was the first to elect a female supervisor, the most popular answer might be Saratoga Springs or maybe Ballston Spa or even Mechanicville – but these would all be incorrect. In fact, it might come as a shock that the first elected female supervisor in Saratoga County represented the Town of Hadley.

Anna Riddell came to Hadley from Boston in 1910 after marrying a local man. She first made the local newspaper in 1915 when The Saratogian reported, “Mrs. Anna Riddell has purchased a Ford runabout which she intends to operate herself after taking a few lessons.” Apparently, the lessons were a success and Anna’s love for automobiles flourished. In 1920, when Riddell’s house was destroyed by fire in the middle of the night, the family barely escaped in time, with nothing but their nightclothes, but “a Dodge touring car belonging to Mrs. Riddell which was in a building connected with the house was saved through great difficulty because of the deep snow.” No longer just a hobby, Anna had become a chauffeur for hire and may have been the first female to obtain a driver’s license in Saratoga County.

In addition to her passion for cars, Anna also showed conviction for civic groups and local government. Anna was active in Woman’s Suffrage and volunteered for the Red Cross during World War I, chairing liberty loan drives and serving as a member of the motor army ambulance corps of Hadley.

In 1923, Anna decided to run for town supervisor. She was up against incumbent Lester Fowler, a fellow Republican, which forced her to run as an Independent. In a closely contested race, Anna won by just nine votes. On November 7th, 1923, the headline in The Saratogian read “Hadley Woman Elected to Board of Supervisors Setting County Precedent.” Anna served on the Child Welfare Committee and the Equalization Committee, also serving as chairwoman of the Board of Canvassers.

Most supervisors in Saratoga County serve two-year terms, which was the case for Anna. In 1925 she was defeated by J.H. Smead, who had formerly served as a supervisor in the town and was held in high regard. She kept herself busy, no doubt helping with the family business, a feed and grain store in Hadley, but also serving as a deputy for the Sherriff’s Department in 1926 and 1929.

In 1931 when it was rumored that Supervisor Smead planned to run for Saratoga County Sheriff, Anna threw her hat in the ring and once again was pitted against Lester Fowler, this time in a primary. Both Lester and Anna wanted the seat vacated by Smead and it was no secret that there was bad blood between them lingering from the former contest. It all boiled over on a summer afternoon when a chance meeting at the local gas station turned ugly.

According to an article that appeared in The Saratogian on August 5, 1931, Riddell and Fowler found themselves at the Rozelle Filling Station in Hadley at the same time and while “visiting”, the conversation became heated. According to Riddell, Fowler “called her a name which could not be printed. ‘You can’t call me a name like that’ Mrs. Riddell says she told Fowler, ‘and then he got up out of his chair and struck me in the face, nearly knocking me over.’ She says she was attended by a physician.”

Fowler’s side of the story was a bit different, he stated, “on the occasion in question the woman involved was guilty of breach of the peace of loud and profane language, and of violent conduct, during the course of which she committed an assault upon him. Fowler denies that he struck the woman and her entire version of the controversy.”

Although both claimed to have been assaulted by the other, Fowler was arrested and charged with assault in the third degree and a hearing was scheduled for August 7, 1931 in front of Justice of the Peace S. L. Holland in Hadley. However, at the 11th hour, a Supreme Court Order referred the case to the Saratoga County Grand Jury. As a result, no further action could be taken on the case until the Grand Jury convened in October, after the primary election was to be held.

The results of the primary were as close as it could possibly be: Lester Fowler led Anna Riddell by one single vote. Despite Anna’s call for an inspection of all the votes, Fowler was declared the winner. Anna did go on to run in the general election as an Independent but was unsuccessful. The following month, the Grand Jury failed to return an indictment for Fowler’s assault charge.

Despite her loss, Anna continued to stay involved in local government. She served as Tax Collector over multiple terms during the 1930s. After the death of her husband, Anna moved to Saratoga Springs and lived with her son Carl. She passed away in 1957 at the age of 82 in the Wilton Nursing Home. At the time of her death, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors passed a Resolution in Memorium recognizing Anna for her service as the first female on the board.

Though her fisticuffs with Fowler at the gas station may have been the best-documented fight in her life, we shouldn’t lose sight of the other major struggles that produced a positive outcome for her community and illuminated her strength of character. Anna entered an arena that few women had ventured into before and the courage it must have taken is admirable. She continued to push the boundaries of acceptable female employment, driving right through those barriers and made history. Thanks for taking the road less traveled Anna, it gives the rest of us something to aspire to.

Lauren Roberts is the Saratoga County Historian. She is co-host of the WAMC podcast A New York Minute in History, along with NYS Historian Devin Lander. Roberts co-produced the recently released documentary Harnessing Nature: Building the Great Sacandaga, which chronicles the creation of the Sacandaga Reservoir. You can reach Lauren at lroberts@saratogacountyny.gov

WASHINGTON, DC – Starting this week, consumers will have new billing protections when getting emergency care, non-emergency care from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers. 

Through new rules aimed to protect consumers, excessive out-of-pocket costs will be restricted, and emergency services must continue to be covered without any prior authorization, regardless of whether or not a provider or facility is in-network.

The No Surprises Act took effect on Jan. 1, after years of advocacy to end surprise medical billing. 

“Patients are breathing a sigh of relief knowing they are now protected from surprise bills arising when inadvertently receiving medical care from out-of-network hospitals, doctors, or other providers they did not choose. Bipartisan support in Congress helped make the No Surprises Act a reality – and now patients nationwide finally have robust legal protections from this predatory practice,” said the American Heart Association, in a statement celebrating the
law’s implementation. 

“The American Heart Association worked during the legislative and administrative rule-making process to elevate the voice of patients demanding safeguards from the harmful practice of surprise billing. With rules implemented by the Biden administration, patients are no longer caught in the middle of payment disputes and protected from being the recipient of financially devastating surprise medical bills.”

In many cases, the out-of-network provider can bill consumers for the difference between the charges the provider bills, and the amount paid by the consumer’s health plan. This is known as balance billing. An unexpected balance bill is called a surprise bill.

To learn more about www.cms.gov/nosurprises/Ending-Surprise-Medical-Bills. CMS is a federal government website managed and paid for by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Currently, if consumers have health coverage and get care from an out-of-network provider, their health plan usually won’t cover the entire out-of-network cost. This could leave them with higher costs than if they’d been seen by an in-network provider. This is especially common in an emergency situation, where consumers might not be able to choose the provider. Even if a consumer goes to an in-network hospital, they might get care from out-of-network providers at that facility.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was enacted on December 27, 2020 and contains many provisions to help protect consumers from surprise bills starting in 2022, including the No Surprises Act under title I and Transparency under title II. Learn more about protections for consumers, understand costs in advance to avoid surprise bills, and what happens when payment disagreements arise after receiving medical care.

American Heart Association comment: Implementation of No Surprises Act brings relief from unexpected medical costs.

BALLSTON SPA – Town of Moreau Supervisor Theodore Kusnierz, Jr. was re-elected as chairman of the 2022 county board at the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors organizational meeting Jan. 5. Clifton Park Supervisor Jonathan Schopf was elected as vice-chair.

“Last year at this time, I stood before you and committed to assuring that we would hone our focus on the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and put forth an action plan that would mobilize all aspects of county government. Not only did we do that, but our employees rose to the occasion and they have done an incredible job,” Kusnierz read from a prepared statement, immediately following the 20-1 vote. Tara Gaston, one of Saratoga Springs’ two supervisors at the county level, cast the lone vote against it. 

Kusnierz added that he had affirmed to then-new Commissioner Saratoga County Public Health Services Commissioner Dr. Daniel Kuhles that he would receive the manpower, financial assistance, and tools to best protect residents and meet public health challenges that would arise in 2021. 

One year ago, on Jan. 4., then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the first confirmed case of the “UK strain” of COVID-19 virus in New York State was detected in Saratoga Springs. 

On Feb. 1, 2021, the SCPHS reported 10,604 confirmed COVID-19 Saratoga County cases in all and 120 total deaths. A little less than 12 months later, on Jan. 6, 2022, that tally according to SCPHS is 33,850 cumulative cases and 275 total deaths. 

“True to form, Saratoga County became a leader in the public health arena in New York State,” Kusnierz said. Over the past year, Saratoga County has held 262 vaccine clinics across the county and has provided over 40,000 vaccines to county residents, he added. “As a result, we’re now in the top three counties in New York State with the highest percentage of individuals that are fully vaccinated and have received a booster vaccine.”

One year ago, the state announced it had received 950,000 dosages of vaccine and was targeting for vaccination high-risk healthcare workers and nursing home residents and staff. By Jan. 12, 2021, approximately 9,600 Saratoga County residents, or 4.5% of the county’s population, had received either the first or both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Today, approximately 168,000 of the county’s 230,000 overall population – nearly three-fourths of all residents  – are counted as having completed the vaccine series (not including boosters), according to the state Department of Health. Approximately half of those fully vaccinated county residents have received a booster shot, reports the Saratoga County Department of Health Services.

On other topics, Kusnierz said Saratoga is the fastest-growing county in upstate New York, with a 53% population increase since 1980, and it has for 2022 adopted a $381 million spending budget. 

At its organizational meeting, the Board adopted its “2022 Rules of The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.” 

The 2022 measure includes rules of decorum and order for both the supervisors and the public. Regarding Public Input: each regular meeting of the board of supervisors will have 15 minutes set aside for public input. Anyone wishing to speak must sign their name and address on a sign-up sheet prior to the start of the meeting. Speakers are limited to 3 minutes. Written public comments can be sent to the Clerk of the Board at any time by mail or electronic mail. Similar rules apply to anyone wishing to speak specifically at a Public Hearing. 

The Chair of each of the county’s twelve standing committees – each committee will have 5 to 7 members – will be appointed by Kusnierz. Those respective chairpersons had not yet been named as of the county board’s organizational meeting.