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No more details released in Kinderhook beating

Jul 17, 2020 6:33 am
Diane Valden reports in the Columbia Paper that there still is not much to report in the assault of Harold Handy, a local auto mechanic, who was beat up at a party in Kinderhook in the early morning hours of July 5. Alex and Kelly (Briscoe) Rosenstrach live at the home on County Route 21 where Handy was beaten. She is a Columbia County Deputy Sheriff, and he owns the ClubLife Health and Fitness business in Valatie. Alex Rosenstrach is known for re-opening his gym in defiance of COVID-19 New York State Executive Orders until it was shut down by officials. He has also made many political donations to Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett. WNYT reported that the initial call for the incident was for “a drunken brawl.” Handy’s relatives say he was the victim of a group beating and, “He’s lucky to be alive” and that he was placed on a ventilator before being released from Albany Medical Center’s Trauma ICU, on July 6. Kelly Rosenstrach has been put on leave, but it is unknown if that is paid or unpaid. The sheriff's department is investigating the incident at the house of a sheriff's deputy, with aid from the state police. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office personnel searched the home on July 7. Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka told the newspaper that the Sheriff’s Office and the State Police report to him “on a regular basis” about the ongoing investigation. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.