Schenectady. Trooper who died on duty honored by officers, Gov. Hochul
Gov. Kathy Hochul joined hundreds of police officers this week to honor a state trooper who drowned while on duty at a lake in the Adirondack Mountains.
Trooper James Monda, 45, died while working a marine detail on the Great Sacandaga Lake on Aug. 22.
Hochul lined up with gray-clad troopers standing in formation outside a Schenectady church before the trooper’s funeral.
``He was a hard worker. We selected him for a number of special details because of that work ethic that he had,’’ Maj. Christopher West, the commander of Troop G, told reporters before the private ceremony.
West mentioned Monda’s special assignments at the state fair and as an ATV operator and short rifle member, in addition to the marine unit, according to the Daily Gazette.
For reasons that remain under investigation, Monda went into the water with diving gear at a boat launch and did not resurface. The 18-year veteran of the force was pulled from the water and pronounced dead at an area hospital.
The Rotterdam native is survived by his fiancee, mother and father.
Fishkill. Bus carrying 27 inmates catches fire; one injured in fight
A bus carrying more than two dozen inmates caught fire Friday on its way to a state prison in southern Dutchess County.
There were no serious injuries, but one inmate suffered head trauma from a fight that broke out at the scene, The Daily Freeman reported Saturday.
The fire happened before 8 p.m. along Route 9D just north of Interstate 84 and appeared to have been caused by a mechanical problem, state police said.
The state bus was carrying 27 inmates to the nearby Downstate Correctional Facility.
Several police agencies responded to the scene and accounted for the inmates.
- The Associated Press