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Hillsdale supervisor critiques opaque coroner pick process
Aug 20, 2018 1:30 pm
Lorna Cherot Littleway reports in The Columbia Paper on the August 14 meeting of the Hillsdale Town Board. During that meeting, Supervisor Peter Cipkowski, decried the lack of transparency around the recent appointment of Carmen Martino, a Republican and former state trooper, as the interim replacement for Dr. Andrea Coleman as county coroner. Coleman, a Democrat, abruptly resigned in July after serving for less than eight months on the job. There was a lack of transparency on the county Board of Supervisor's part, in naming Coleman's successor, Cipkowski said. He noted another candidate, Democrat Bernadette Powis, has a medical background and 35 years of experience as a registered nurse, family nurse practitioner and psychiatric nurse practitioner. Columbia County voters will have the opportunity to choose a new coroner in November. Powis has announced her intention to run. Cipkowski also announced the county Sheriff’s Office intends to crack down on speeders passing through Hillsdale along Routes 22 and 23. The supervisor said the town should also consider adding radar speed warning signs, although they cannot be posted on the intersecting routes. Board members and Highway Superintendent Richard Briggs identified Mitchell, Hunt, West End and Oxbow roads as additional locations where speeding drivers are a problem. Hillsdale Assessor Pam Cook updated the board on the property revaluation project. New valuations take effect September 2019. The last Hillsdale property revaluation was a decade or more ago. The Hillsdale Town Board will hold its next meeting and budget workshop 7 p.m., Tue., Sep. 11. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.