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Windham Journal SEE PAGE A6

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020

Rangers rescue 2 from ice fall

n FORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT

FRI

Sun mixing with clouds

Mainly clear

Times of clouds and sun

HIGH 33

LOW 18

40 26

Complete weather, A2

By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media

n SPORTS

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

The body of an employee who died Tuesday in an industrial accident at ADM Milling Co. in Hudson was recovered Wednesday.

Patroon Conference Fiducia drops 31 as Spartans top Titans PAGE B1

n THE SCENE

Authorities recover mill worker’s body By Bill Williams and Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media

Black History Month Celebration opens with African art exhibit in Troy PAGE A7

n THE SCENE

Drug lord retires; mayhem ensues Guy Ritchie’s “Gentlemen” a stale gangster retread PAGE A7

n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice

A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-5 B7-8

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HUDSON — The body of an employee who died in an industrial accident at a flour mill in Hudson has been recovered, authorities said Wednesday. “With our Columbia-Greene Technical Rescue Team, who are assisted by the New York State Forest Rangers, and with the assistance and cooperation from ADM Milling and staff, the victim was recovered,” Bartlett said in a statement. The victim was from Ghent. The sheriff’s office has not released the victim’s name. Columbia County Coroner Daniel Herrick is also assisting with the investigation. An autopsy is scheduled at Ellis Hospital on Thursday. “At this time in the investigation, foul play is not suspected and appears to be a tragic accident,” Bartlett said. The fatal accident took place Tuesday morning at around 10 a.m. at ADM Milling Co. on Route 23B in Greenport. Rescue workers were unable to recover the body Tuesday but no further details have been released. The body was recovered early Wednesday afternoon, according to police scanner reports. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Greenport Rescue and plant workers were all on the scene throughout the day. The property was cordoned off by deputies. The Sheriff’s Office was dispatched at around 10:20 a.m. Tuesday to respond to a “reported cardiac arrest in an elevator chute,” according to Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett. A short time after law enforcement arrived on the scene, the accident was ruled industrial in nature and led to the death of an employee at the mill, Bartlett said in a

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office cordons off entrances to ADM Milling Co.

statement. Jackie Anderson, a spokeswoman for ADM Milling Co., a global agricultural processor headquartered in Chicago, confirmed Tuesday that an employee had been killed. “This morning, an ADM colleague was involved in a fatal accident while working at ADM’s flour mill in Hudson, New York,” Anderson said. “We are working with local authorities to investigate the situation surrounding the incident at this time.” Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, confirmed Wednesday that a mill employee was killed and said the circumstances surrounding the accident are under investigation. “OSHA was aware of the problem on

Tuesday and we had compliance officers that responded,” Fitzgerald said. “OSHA will be gathering information to determine what happened.” OSHA, a federal agency that oversees workplace safety, responded to the scene Tuesday and Wednesday, and opened an official inspection, Fitzgerald said. “The purpose of an OSHA inspection is to determine whether or not there have been any violations of OSHA safety and health standards,” Fitzgerald said. The agency has up to six months to complete an inspection following an incident. “At this time, it’s too early to estimate a completion date for this inspection,” Fitzgerald said Wednesday. The accident remains under investigation by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Bartlett said in a statement.

HUNTER — State forest rangers rescued two snowmobilers who fell through the ice at NorthSouth Lake on Sunday, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The rescue came to light when the DEC released information on the operation Wednesday. A 61-year-old man from Washingtonville, a village in Orange County, and a 49-year-old man from High Falls, in Ulster County, who have not been identified, were towing fishing gear behind their snowmobile when they broke through the ice, according to DEC. A nearby ice fisherman reported the incident just after 11 a.m. “The men were towing two ice fishing sleds full of fishing gear from the South Lake spillway to a fishing spot on North Lake when the snowmobile fell through the thinner ice,” according to DEC. “Both men went into the water, but were able to self-rescue, crawling approximately 50 feet on the ice to shore.” Several forest rangers, as well as Tannersville Rescue Squad and Hunter Ambulance responded to the scene, assisting the men out of the woods, according to DEC. The fishermen were evaluated by Hunter Ambulance personnel and refused further treatment, according to DEC. Forest rangers were tasked with removing the snowmobile and other equipment from the lake. “A local vehicle recovery service was hired by the fishermen to get the snowmobile out of the water,” according to DEC. “A forest ranger using a flat ice rescue suit assisted the fishermen in retrieving and returning their personal belongings, which were scattered around the broken ice and the snowmobile.” Temperatures have been well above normal for the month of January, meteorologist Joe Villani of the National Weather Service. At the Poughkeepsie weather station, the month’s median temperature, which takes the high and low readings each day and averages them, is 33.7 degrees, or 8.3 degrees above normal, Villani said. “That is definitely significantly above normal,” he said. “We only had five days that were below normal, with the other 23 above.” In Albany, the disparity was even larger, with an average of See ICE A8

Planners approve Greenport detox center By Amanda Purcell Columbia-Greene Media

GREENPORT — The detox center for the corner of Merle Avenue and Route 66 was approved unanimously by the Greenport Planning Board on Wednesday. More than 40 people attended the public hearing on the project Tuesday, with several residents from outside Greenport in attendance. The proposed 10,610-square-foot, 20-bed, medically supervised withdrawal and stabilization facility on 1.5 acres at Merle Avenue and Route 66, would open within 9 to 12 months. The single-story building would serve as a place for

patients to seek help and get referrals and transportation to a recovery center. “It is a stopgap, to help somebody who voluntarily wants to get help, who is suffering from addiction,” attorney Paul Freeman said on behalf of People USA [the nonprofit proposing the project] on Tuesday at the meeting held at 600 Town Hall Drive. “...Columbia and Greene counties are two of the worst per capita opioid trouble spots in the entire state of New York.” Eight people spoke during the public hearing. All of the speakers were in favor of the project. Among those who showed

their support were Cheryl Roberts, a licensed bond agent and co-founder of the Columbia County Bail Fund, Michael Cole, director of Columbia County Community Services and who has served as cochair of the Columbia County Addiction Coalition for the past seven years; and Albert White of the Columbia County Mental Health Center. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson attended and offered his support for the project. “The trend is going down across all of the other counties in New York State, except for Columbia and Greene counties,” Johnson said. “The only See DETOX A8

AMANDA PURCELL/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA

Attorney Paul Freeman speaks on behalf of People USA, a nonprofit based in Poughkeepsie that is proposing a detox center in Greenport, on Tuesday at the Greenport Planning Board meeting held at 600 Town Hall Drive.