It looks like we’re experiencing typical mid-January weather, with the coldest temperatures of the season and sporadic snowfalls.  Days are getting noticeably longer, at least in the afternoon, with December 18 sunset at 4:23pm and today’s sunset at 4:48pm, a gain of 25 minutes.  Sunrise times have moved by only one minute.  It may not sound like much, but we are heading in the right direction.  A reminder that the Town’s new website has a calendar of all meetings of boards and committees in 2024. More details are below.

Covid-19 Update

The CDC reported this week that hospitalizations nationwide increased over the past week by 3.2% and that the death rate increased by 14.3%.  The CDC’s current map shows that Albany County has a “high” rate.  Albany County DOH is recommending facemasks in indoor public places and that persons with a high risk of getting sick should avoid non-essential indoor activities in public.  Large swaths of the State also have “high” rates including Schenectady, Rensselaer, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties.    

A reminder that the Federal government has expanded its program under which you can receive by mail free at-home COVID-19 tests.  The program now allows for eight home tests per household which means that if you recently placed an order for four tests, you can now order four additional tests at no cost.  

Community Events and Resources

The Guilderland Public Library’s calendar includes seminars on interesting topics and conversations with well-known authors.   The Library offers a wide-variety of seminars by authors and prominent persons, including on Tuesday, January 23 from 6:30pm to 8pm, author Amy Godine will talk about her book The Black Woods, in which she shares the history of Black pioneers and their families in the Adirondacks.  The Library offers free weekly gatherings for the community’s benefit including Let’s Talk: Coffee & Conservation for Seniors on every Wednesday from 11am to 12:30pm, with coffee, tea, snacks, and lunch available at the Café’ con Mel, the Library’s café.   The Library’s events calendar also has LEGO Free Play, Teen Drop-In DIY, and other interesting group activities. 

On Saturday, January 20 from 10am to 11am, the Guilderland YMCA is offering, at no cost, a mental health workshop series. 

Albany County DPW is holding a public open house about scheduled improvements on New Karner Road (State Route 155) on Thursday, February 1 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Celtic Hall, 430 New Karner Rd in Colonie.  The $16 million project includes repaving State Route 155 from Western Avenue in Guilderland to Watervliet-Shaker Road in Colonie, a new roundabout replacing the traffic light at Washington Avenue Extension, and adding 300 feet to the turn lane for Old State Road.  It also includes a new sidewalk from Pine Knob Drive to Corporate Circle.  Construction is expected to take place in Summer 2025, and extend into Fall 2026.   The County and its engineering consultant CHA Consulting will launch an informational website in the near future.   

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s January calendar is full of activities for children and adults, including Squirrel Appreciation Day Movie and Hike on Sunday, January 21 at 11am, with a 53-minute film about the squirrel family and secrets to their success, and a short hike to explore squirrel habitat and investigate the signs that they leave behind.  On Saturday, January 27 at 11am, the Preserve is presenting Feisty Fishers, when you can learn more about the history and biology of fishers, and later walk in the Preserve and search for signs of the fisher. 

The Preserve is also offering opportunities for you to participate in ongoing research including tonight at 6:30pm on how you can help New York’s breeding birds.  The lecture is in-person and virtual with reservations required. Coordinator Julie Hart will talk about the third Breeding Bird Atlas in New York and how you can help this community science project. The Atlas is a statewide survey and you can participate at any time using the free eBird app. There will not be another Bird Atlas until 2040.  

On Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30pm online, the Preserve is offering FrogWatch Volunteer Training for listening and reporting frogs and toads calling in the Preserve from March through August in the Preserve’s study area.  Participants will be trained to become certified FrogWatchers. 

The New York State Library’s calendar has upcoming seminars of interest including an online talk on Friday, January 26 at 12pm by Professor Nicole Eustace of New York University on her book Covered with Night, about a murder of a Seneca hunter in 1722 by settlers, and the resulting debates about the nature of true justice, and a treaty agreement, the oldest continuously recognized Indigenous treaty in Anglo-American law.

On Wednesday, January 31 at 4:30pm, the torch relay for The Empire State Winter Games, the State’s largest sporting event, will stop at Phillips Hardware on its way to Lake Placid.  This stop will honor STRIDE’s Sled Warriors, a local sled hockey team of athletes with disabilities that won a silver medal in last year’s games.  Festivities will start at 4:15 pm, with light refreshments, and brief remarks.

A reminder that, for the month of January, the Town’s Community Gardens is the designated recipient of $1 for each Bloomin’ 4 Good bouquet purchased at the Hannaford Supermarket in Guilderland.   

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.  

Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor