Dear Colleagues,

A member of the Fish Culture Section, Aaron Day, has suffered a tremendous loss this past week with the passing of his wife, Kamie. This tragedy has deeply affected us all, and hatchery staff and others have reached out with the desire to help out in any way that they can. I apologize if some of you are receiving this twice. I had originally sent this out earlier in the week to Fish and Wildlife staff, but the since that time there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for Aaron, and there have been numerous requests to distribute it more widely.

The following is from Aaron’s supervisor at the Chautauqua Hatchery, Jim Rambuski:

Aaron Day is a Fish Culturist 1 at the Chautauqua Fish Hatchery. On Monday, December 6, his wife (Kamie) was admitted to the hospital. By Friday, December 10, Kamie had passed. One day prior to her passing she gave birth to their first born, a 3lb 7oz baby girl. Thankfully little Hadassah is doing well. Of course, there were many expenses associated with this including a funeral and more to come with the need for future child care.  Aaron does not have any relatives that live in the Chautauqua area to help with that. His mom cares for the needs of an elderly relative and his dad passed away several years ago. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help Aaron through this difficult time. May much good come from this. Thank you all greatly. You can access this page at https://gofund.me/7fd5adfd.

Jim Rambuski
Chautauqua Hatchery Manager
716-789-2705 (office)

In addition, many people have inquired about other ways to help by contributing items such as lightly used baby clothes or other baby related items.  The fisheries team have set up multiple drop off locations as well as a shipping address for contributions. Diapers, clothes, wipes, ointments/first aid, burp cloths, swaddles, hats, teethers, rattle toys etc. etc., the list goes on. Donations of older age items are also welcome.

LOCATIONS INCLUDE:

Bath Office and all shipped items:
Contact: Madeline Wlasniewski ( [email protected] )
Items can be shipped directly to the Bath Office:

NYSDEC
Attn: Light the way for Aaron Day
7291 Coon Road, Bath NY 14810
There will also be a collection box in the back corner of the conference room.

Avon Office:
Contact: Robin Phenes ([email protected]) & Tania King ([email protected])
There will be a donation box inside the wildlife library within the main wildlife office. Tania and Robin are available to help

Buffalo Office:
Contact: Jaquie Walters ( [email protected] )
Donated items will be collected in Room 352. Items can be left on the empty desk next to the black printer. Please email Jacquie first to let her know that you will be bringing something in, so she can watch for it. When Jacquie isn’t in, Stan Radon will help collection items. For those who don’t want to donate to the collective GoFundMe account, cash donations can be left with Julie Foster or Linda Gomez in Room 301

Allegany Office:
Contact: Ken Baginski ( [email protected] ) & Jen Pettit ( [email protected] )
Items can be left in the conference room for collection. Ken and Jen will also be collecting cash donations.

Central Office: Contact Jim Daley (see below).
And of course, all contributions are voluntary.

Thank you all for support.

Jim Daley
Superintendent of Fish Culture, Division of Fish and Wildlife
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
P: (518) 402-8959  |  [email protected]