WLGR/WVNR Local News

The town of Queensbury’s closed landfill appears to be leaking toxins into nearby residents’ wells, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is considering declaring it a Superfund site. The Post Star reports DEC sampled five existing monitoring wells at the landfill and found PFAS and dioxane at concentrations high enough to justify testing the nearby residential wells. DEC tested 20 wells and five were found to be contaminated.

Warren County Health Services held a vaccination clinic Wednesday in Queensbury for those over 60 years old and those with comorbidities, as New York expanded eligibility on Tuesday. 400 appointments were scheduled using Johnson & Johnson/Jansen vaccine. Additional clinics for seniors and essential workers are expected in the coming days, and will be publicized as details are finalized.

Warren County Health Services is awaiting further details on the opening of a new New York State mass vaccination site will open on Gurney Lane in Queensbury. Warren County does not anticipate any role in scheduling appointments here.
More information as to who will be eligible and how scheduling will occur will be shared as it becomes available.
* 17,399 Warren County residents (27.1% of the county’s population, highest percentage among counties in the Capital Region) received their first vaccine doses as of March 8, and 8,167 have gotten a second dose.

Do you need help with heating bills? According to Warren County Department of Social Services, the regular HEAP assistance season has been extended from March 15, 2021 to April 30, 2021.
A second HEAP Emergency Benefit for heat and heat-related emergencies is also available. Applications are accepted online, mybenefits.ny.gov, or by calling 518-761-6338.

DEC announced the annual statewide ban prohibiting residential brush burning will begin March 16, and run through May 14. With spring approaching, DEC is reminding residents that conditions for wildfires are heightened in springtime when most wildfires occur. Even though some areas of the state remain blanketed in snow, warming temperatures can quickly cause wildfire conditions to arise. DEC will post a Fire Danger Map rating for the 2021 fire season on DEC’s website once there is a moderate risk anywhere in the state. Open burning of debris is the largest single cause of spring wildfires in New York State.

A Brooklyn ma faces drug counts after police say he had 176 grams of crack cocaine in his vehicle. State police stopped 36 year old James J. Harris on the Northway in Moreau for a series of traffic violations. The trooper interviewed Harris and he consented to a search of his vehicle. In addition to the crack cocaine, police said Harris had about 14 grams of heroin. Harris was charged with three felony counts of second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Warren County Health Services reported three (3) new Warren County resident COVID-19 cases as of Monday morning, along with 14 additional recoveries.
Two (2) Warren County residents are hospitalized and moderately ill, unchanged from Sunday.
Health Services staff are monitoring 93 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday. 91 of these cases involve mild illness.

Warren County Health Services reported nine (9) new Warren County resident COVID-19 cases as of Sunday morning, along with 17 additional recoveries.
Two (2) Warren County residents are hospitalized and moderately ill, unchanged from Saturday.
Health Services staff are monitoring 104 active COVID-19 cases as of Sunday. 102 of these cases involve mild illness.

Warren County Health Services reported 12 new Warren County resident COVID-19 cases as of Thursday morning, along with six (6) additional recoveries.
One (1) Warren County resident is hospitalized and moderately ill, unchanged from Wednesday.
Health Services staff are monitoring 95 active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday. 94 of these cases involve mild illness.
All of Thursday’s new cases stemmed from community exposures.

A ranger rescue in the Town of Lake George following a snowmobile accident on Lake George with the snowmobiler still in the water. Rangers responded with an airboat and looked for the man bu t could not immediately find him. A diver with the North Queensbury Fire Department then located the 35-year-old man from the Bronx, and the man was removed from the water. Rangers and a Sheriff’s Deputy immediately began life-saving measures. The individual was turned over to the local EMS and transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.