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Tuesday headlines
Apr 05, 2011 6:48 am
Final village gavel sounds
Melanie Lekocevic of the Daily Mail reports that the Athens Village Court was officially dissolved on Monday, April 4 when Village Justice David Cole’s term of office concluded. "All cases that used to go before the Village Court will, from now on, come before the Town Court instead," she writes. "Village officials, police and court personnel have held a series of meetings to ensure the consolidation went smoothly, and to make sure tickets and violations are all answerable to the Town Court."
Contempt of court charge gets dropped
Andrew Amelinckx writes in the Register-Star that a criminal contempt of court charge was dropped against Columbia County Department of Social Services commissioner Paul Mossman, after he agreed to adopt policy changes for DSS. Mossman was facing criminal contempt charges for the alleged failure of DSS to follow a March 3 court order relating to a social services case involving two young children in foster care. The order had required that DSS provide the two children, age 6 and 7, with 24-hour supervision. Mossman has agreed to instill and oversee better communication within the agency as well as with other involved parties.
Legislation to protect against domestic violence announced
Mid Hudson News Network reports that State Senator Steve Saland, who represents most of Columbia and Dutchess counties, announced the passage of several pieces of legislation that enhance the safety and the amount of protection available to victims of domestic violence, as well as redefining key language that strengthens law enforcements’ ability to intervene "before things escalate." The announcement came at a press conference in Poughkeepsie on April 4 in honor of Domestic Violence Advocacy Day. Leah Feldman, chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence, said there have been four domestic violence related homicides in Dutchess County since July, some of which may have ended differently had the victims been better protected by the system. In three out of these four instances, she said, the victims were making attempts to leave their abusers. Last month, one such instance ended up in a tragic murder/suicide that took three lives in the vicinity of the Poughkeepsie train station.
Bad News from the HCSD Budget Workshop
Carole Osterink of Gossips of Rivertown has the first report out on the April 4 Hudson School District budget workshop - the last before the board votes on a final budget on April 11. $300,000 in leftover capital reserve funds will be used to keep the local tax levy increase "to a mere 12.6 percent," according to Osterink. That's with 28 positions eliminated... and after quite a bit of internal dissension from board members.
2011-12 budget: Classroom cuts and an unprecedented tax levy increase
Lynn Slonecker takes a different look at the same figures, before the meeting, in her Unmuffled blog. She finds that despite board assurances that “everything was fair game, the cost-saving measures recommended focus on the classroom. None of the cuts will result in an average class size greater than 30 students (class size is contractually limited), but the loss of personnel will have an impact, especially at the primary level." She adds that no serious cuts were recommended in the school's administration. A formal board vote on the budget is expected next week. The public's annual budget vote and school board election is May 17.
Pondering Hudson Correctional’s future
Jamie Larson writes in the Register-Star about the checkered future of the Hudson Correctional Facility, and whether it will survive current budget cuts to state prisons. In addition to noting that part of Hudson's recent population drop, according to U.S. Census figures, can be attributed to drops in the prison population over the past decade, he speaks with Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera, a former correctional officer at the prison, who suggests the facility may be on the block. In other news of late, major new construction projects at the state's other big prison in the area, Greene County's Coxsackie Correctional Facility, suggest no changes there.
Melanie Lekocevic of the Daily Mail reports that the Athens Village Court was officially dissolved on Monday, April 4 when Village Justice David Cole’s term of office concluded. "All cases that used to go before the Village Court will, from now on, come before the Town Court instead," she writes. "Village officials, police and court personnel have held a series of meetings to ensure the consolidation went smoothly, and to make sure tickets and violations are all answerable to the Town Court."
Contempt of court charge gets dropped
Andrew Amelinckx writes in the Register-Star that a criminal contempt of court charge was dropped against Columbia County Department of Social Services commissioner Paul Mossman, after he agreed to adopt policy changes for DSS. Mossman was facing criminal contempt charges for the alleged failure of DSS to follow a March 3 court order relating to a social services case involving two young children in foster care. The order had required that DSS provide the two children, age 6 and 7, with 24-hour supervision. Mossman has agreed to instill and oversee better communication within the agency as well as with other involved parties.
Legislation to protect against domestic violence announced
Mid Hudson News Network reports that State Senator Steve Saland, who represents most of Columbia and Dutchess counties, announced the passage of several pieces of legislation that enhance the safety and the amount of protection available to victims of domestic violence, as well as redefining key language that strengthens law enforcements’ ability to intervene "before things escalate." The announcement came at a press conference in Poughkeepsie on April 4 in honor of Domestic Violence Advocacy Day. Leah Feldman, chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence, said there have been four domestic violence related homicides in Dutchess County since July, some of which may have ended differently had the victims been better protected by the system. In three out of these four instances, she said, the victims were making attempts to leave their abusers. Last month, one such instance ended up in a tragic murder/suicide that took three lives in the vicinity of the Poughkeepsie train station.
Bad News from the HCSD Budget Workshop
Carole Osterink of Gossips of Rivertown has the first report out on the April 4 Hudson School District budget workshop - the last before the board votes on a final budget on April 11. $300,000 in leftover capital reserve funds will be used to keep the local tax levy increase "to a mere 12.6 percent," according to Osterink. That's with 28 positions eliminated... and after quite a bit of internal dissension from board members.
2011-12 budget: Classroom cuts and an unprecedented tax levy increase
Lynn Slonecker takes a different look at the same figures, before the meeting, in her Unmuffled blog. She finds that despite board assurances that “everything was fair game, the cost-saving measures recommended focus on the classroom. None of the cuts will result in an average class size greater than 30 students (class size is contractually limited), but the loss of personnel will have an impact, especially at the primary level." She adds that no serious cuts were recommended in the school's administration. A formal board vote on the budget is expected next week. The public's annual budget vote and school board election is May 17.
Pondering Hudson Correctional’s future
Jamie Larson writes in the Register-Star about the checkered future of the Hudson Correctional Facility, and whether it will survive current budget cuts to state prisons. In addition to noting that part of Hudson's recent population drop, according to U.S. Census figures, can be attributed to drops in the prison population over the past decade, he speaks with Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera, a former correctional officer at the prison, who suggests the facility may be on the block. In other news of late, major new construction projects at the state's other big prison in the area, Greene County's Coxsackie Correctional Facility, suggest no changes there.