Midday News Update

Yesterday Assemblyman Stephen Hawley and State Senator Ed Rath unveiled a marker commemorating a portion of Route 77 through Pembroke as SP4 C. Jay Hall Memorial Highway.  Specialist Four Clarence Hall, a graduate of Pembroke High School, was mortally wounded in Vietnam on Oct. 7, 1969, while allowing his fellow soldiers to get to cover while under heavy fire.  As a result, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.  Also present at the dedication were Matthew Moscato, advisor to the Pembroke Veterans Outreach Club, and Pembroke school student Megan Stiles who both were instrumental in pushing for the highway to be named for Hall.

Governor Hochul announced a vaccine initiative aimed at getting hunters and anglers to take the COVID shot.  There will be a random drawing for the first 2000 outdoor enthusiasts between December 1st and the end of the year who get a COVID vaccination and enter into the sweepstakes.  Five Grand Prize winners will be randomly selected choice of deluxe fishing, hunting, and birding packages. Each Grand Prize package will include a lifetime license and the highest quality hunting and fishing gear. The deluxe birding package will include a spotting scope, binoculars, and more.  In addition, 25 entrants will be randomly selected to receive their choice of Second Tier fishing and hunting packages.  The first 2,000 people to enter the sweepstakes will all receive a tree seedling from DEC’s Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Tree Nursery in Saratoga, NY, and their choice of either a gift card to a major sporting goods retailer, or a free night of camping at a DEC campground. In addition, all sweepstakes entrants will receive a one-year subscription to DEC’s Conservationist Magazine.