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C M Y K Price $1.50 The Daily Mail Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media All Rights Reserved Volume 229, No. 49 Region A3 Opinion A4 State/Nation A5 Obituaries A5 Sports B1 Classifed B3-5 Comics/Advice B7-8 n INDEX n WEATHER Complete weather, A2 Facebook www.facebook.com/ CatskillDailyMail/ Twitter Follow: @CatskillDailyMail On the web www.HudsonValley360.com TODAY Some sun returning TONIGHT Mostly cloudy and mild FRI Warm with clouds and sun 61 28 HIGH LOW 65 51 THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 Serving Greene County since 1792 Windham Journal SEE PAGE A6 n SPORTS n REGION Class B football pushed back Star-spangled summer event Fans eagerly awaiting the start of football PAGE B1 Plans for Flag Day parade and festival move ahead PAGE A3 n THE SCENE A long way from pepperoni Great filmmaker inspires pizza documentary PAGE A7 By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media HAINES FALLS — An injured hiker from New York City was taken to Albany Medical Center after she fell about 100 feet to an icy surface at Kaaterskill Falls, state Department of Environ- mental Conservation spokes- man Jomo Miller said Wednes- day. The woman, 27, who is from Queens, was not identified by DEC officials. She did not sus- tain life-threatening injuries, Miller said. The woman and an uniden- tified friend were attempting to hike from the top of the popular Kaaterskill Falls stone staircase to the bottom. The staircase was coated with ice at the time, which created a steep, slippery surface, Miller said. The woman was wearing shoes equipped with micro- spikes, but lost her grip on the railing and slid approximately 100 feet to the bottom of the staircase, Miller said. The woman’s friend called Greene County 911, who sent Hiker rescued from icy Kaaterskill Falls Courtesy of Twin Cloves Technical Rescue Team An injured hiker was rescued after falling to the ice at Kaaterskill Falls. See HIKER A8 By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media GHENT — An adult-care health worker accused of en- dangering an elderly patient in her care turned herself in to Columbia County authori- ties Monday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Of- fice. Michelana Howard, 23, of Hudson, was charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, a class E felony, Lt. John Rivero of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Of- fice said Wednesday. The incident occurred last fall at Ghent Assisted Living, 30 Whittier Way, according to a statement from facility ad- ministrator Meghan Kelley on Wednesday. Howard turned herself in at the sheriff’s office Monday af- ter the department uploaded a wanted poster of her on their Facebook page over the week- end, Rivero said. The investigation began in October when the sheriff’s office received a complaint from the facility reporting the improper behavior of an em- ployee, Rivero said. Police offered no details about what Howard is accused of doing. The sheriff’s of- fice Special Victims Unit assisted with the investi- gation. Howard was given several opportuni- ties to turn herself in, which she declined to do, Rivero said. After the wanted poster was uploaded on Facebook, the sheriff’s office received sev- eral calls and tips, Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett said Wednesday. Bartlett said he believes the Facebook posting is directly responsible for Howard even- tually turning herself in. “I am grateful for the com- munity assistance in getting her to come in. The elderly are a vulnerable population in our society and deserve better,” Bartlett said. He also commended the health care worker who re- ported the case and the law enforcement officers who conducted the investigation. “The members of the sheriff’s office that investi- gated this case did a thorough job, I am pleased with their work,” Bartlett said. In October, the facility be- came aware that Howard al- legedly violated facility poli- cies and resident rights by taking an inappropriate video with a resident, Kelley said. “This unfortunate situation was dealt with immediately when informed, and notifica- tion was made to all the ap- propriate agencies, such as the New York Department of Adult-care worker accused of endangering resident Michelana Howard, 23 See ADULT A8 By Natasha Vaughn Columbia-Greene Media HUDSON — The Columbia County Department of Motor Vehicles and County Clerk’s office will remains closed until late next week for most in-person transactions after seven employees have tested positive for CO- VID-19. The outbreak may involve the U.K. variant of the virus and the county has asked the state Health Department to look into the possibility, Columbia County Health Director Jack Mabb said Wednesday. The Columbia County Board of Su- pervisors announced Tuesday the of- fices at 560 Warren St., Hudson, will be closed through March 19. “It’s a tough situation,” Mabb said. “But we’ll get through it, and hopefully we won’t have any more positive staff there as the days progress.” The offices first closed last Friday after one employee tested positive, Co- lumbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell said. “We closed, but we were told the person (with COVID-19) was fairly iso- lated,” Murell said. “The (Columbia County) Health Department had said that they could open back up Monday, but Monday morning we had another positive, so at that time I made a de- cision to close Monday and Tuesday until Wednesday morning so that we could get a handle on the exposure. Obviously we got a handle on the ex- posure. Unfortunately, now we’re up to six cases, one is at another location.” After conferring with the Health Department and legal counsel, Murell said it was determined they needed to close the offices for 10 days, which cor- responds with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, to get a better handle on the exposure to staff and to inform the public. The Columbia County Department of Health is urging anyone who has conducted business with either the county clerk’s office or the Department Natasha Vaughn/Columbia-Greene Media A closed sign posted outside of 560 Warren St. in Hudson. Natasha Vaughn/Columbia-Greene Media The DMV drop box, which can be used for some DMV transactions during the office’s closure. County DMV remains shut down for COVID See DMV A8
