The Mid-Hudson News Network is reporting former state Sen. Stephen Saland is one of five recipients of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Awards this year. Saland represented the 41st Senate District, which includes all of Columbia County, and most of Dutchess County. In 2011, the Poughkeepsie Republican cast the deciding vote for New York's Marriage Equality Act. He lost his 2012 re-election bid in a very tight race, after a Conservative Party challenger made a campaign issue of that vote. Saland will also be honored as a proponent of domestic violence protection law. The award will also be presented to Maria Cuomo Cole, Laurie Marker, Bill Strickland and Yoshiomi Tamai. The annual awards are given to people who have made significant contributions in areas that were the focus of Mrs. Roosevelt’s life, including education, advocacy, social justice, public service and human rights. The award ceremony will be held October 18 at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.