Kate Seckinger is reporting in the Register-Star the storm that dropped upwards of 6 to 10 inches of snow throughout the region Sun., Feb. 12, was followed by high winds Monday. And hundreds in Columbia and Greene counties were left without power as a result. As of mid-morning Monday, approximately 400 people in South Cairo, Leeds, Athens and Surprise, in Greene County, lost power early Monday. Central Hudson reported the problem was partially fixed by mid-morning. For the few dozen customers in those locations still without power, Central Hudson said full service would be restored by late afternoon. Outages reported in Livingston were resolved by Monday morning. During the storm Sunday, snow fell at a rate of more than one inch per hour. Greenville received 11 inches as of 4:30 a.m. Monday, Catskill got 9 inches and Cairo had 6 inches of snow as of Sunday evening. In Columbia County, Austerlitz received 6.5 inches of snow by Sunday night, and 6 inches fell in Chatham and Ghent. Read the full story in The Register-Star.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Mon., Feb. 13 (8:57). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Closings and delays for Mon., Feb. 13:
[Updated: 8:30 a.m.]

Cairo-Durham Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning pre-K. No morning BOCES Closed.
Catskill Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning pre-K Closed.
Chatham Central School District | Closed. Staff report as assigned.
Chatham Kids Club | Open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Circle of Friends (Ravena) | Delayed. 2.5-hour class, 1-hour delay; 5-hour classes, 2-hour delay Closed.
Coarc Adult Transportation | Delayed two hours. Staff report.
Columbia Christian Academy | Delayed two hours Closed.
Coxsackie-Athens Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES. No breakfast Closed.
Germantown Central School District | Delayed three hours.
Grapeville Christian School | Delayed two hours Closed.
Greene County Transit | Delayed two hours. No 9 a.m. shuttle.
Greene County YMCA | Open. No morning classes.
Greenville Central School District | Delayed two hours Closed.
Hawthorne Valley School | Delayed two hours.
Hudson City School District | Delayed three hours. No morning pre-K. No morning BOCES. No breakfast. No tutoring center.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES Closed.
Ichabod Crane Central School District | Delayed two hours Closed.
Mountain Road School | Delayed two hours. Before care delayed two hours.
Mrs. Puddle Duck's Childcare | Delayed three hours. Open at 10 a.m.
New Lebanon Central School District | Delayed two hours.
O.K. Kids Inc. | Delayed two hours Closed.
Pine Plains Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES.
Quester III Catskill Academy | Delayed two hours.
Questar III Columbia-Greene Education Center | Delayed. No morning BOCES.
Red Hook Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Rhinebeck Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Saugerties Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Taconic Hills CentralSchool District | Delayed two hours.
Ulster-Greene ARC (Catskill) | Open. Two-hour transportation delay.
UMC Daycare Norton Hill | Delayed two hours. No morning pre-K.
Warren Street Academy / The Bridge | Delayed three hours. No breakfast.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Delayed two hours Closed.

Some of the stories that made the news from Fri., Feb. 10, through Sun., Feb. 12:

Robert Downen reported in the Times Union rallies both in support, and against Planned Parenthood were held throughout the Capital Region Sat., Feb. 11. At the Albany Planned Parenthood on Central Avenue, more than 1,000 people, including national, state and local politicians, rallied in support of the organization. Ariél Zangla reported in the Daily Freeman a group of 40 supporters took over a corner of Broadway at Grand Street in Midtown Kingston on Saturday morning. Many in the group held pink, printed signs with messages supportive of Planned Parenthood. Under the Republican-held Congress, Planned Parenthood advocates fear that access to health services will be defunded. Federal money does not pay for abortions, but the organization is reimbursed by Medicaid for other services, including birth control and cancer screening. Anti-abortion activists also staged rallies around the country over the weekend, calling for the federal government to cut financial support to Planned Parenthood. However, in some cities the counter-protests in support of the reproductive health organization dwarfed the demonstrations, the Associated Press reported. A few hours after the Albany rally, an anti-Planned Parenthood march was held in Troy, where dozens of people voiced their opposition to allocating tax dollars to the organization.

Karrie Allen reported in The Chatham Courier that a recent proposal to build horseshoe pits in Chatham's Crellin Park has led to a controversy over alcohol in the park. The Chatham Lions Club proposal included a request that service of alcoholic beverages be allowed during tournament play. The Lions eventually withdrew the proposal. After hearing the idea, more than 70 residents signed a petition against allowing alcohol in the park. Town board member John Wapner proposed a policy with two options: Prohibit alcohol at all times, or give the board the power to allow exceptions if an event organizer secures a town permit with a clearly defined area for sales and hires a licensed vendor to sell and distribute alcohol. The town's existing policy prohibits smoking and alcoholic beverages in the park. The board said they would invite their insurance company to speak at the 6 p.m. March 2 workshop meeting about the issue.

Matthew Hamilton reported at Capitol Confidential state Assembly member, Democrat Felix Ortiz announced Thu., Feb. 9, his plan to reintroduce legislation that would impose a five-cent fee on plastic or paper shopping bags used for purchases at shops, supermarkets, service stations and retail outlets statewide. The idea is that retailers would pass on the cost to customers during checkout, thereby creating an incentive for the use of reusable bags. Oritz called for New York to join California and more than 150 communities nationwide and take the step forward to protect the environment. “Disposable plastic bags are a nuisance. They litter our streets and subways and are clearly harmful to nature. Let’s stop debating taxes over these bags and do the right thing: Eliminate them completely,” Ortiz said in a statement. Ortiz put forward the proposal just as state lawmakers voted on legislation last week that would delay the implementation of a bag fee in New York City.

Diane Walden reported in The Columbia Paper on work underway in Columbia County to respond to what is believed to an opioid abuse crisis. County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murrell, Republican of Stockport, included an effort to confront this problem as one of his 2017 goals, and formed a committee to develop a response plan. However, because information for only one year is available the local numbers are small, and the full scope of the problem is still unknown. The state Department of Health reported that opioid overdoses contributed to 11 deaths and 46 outpatient emergency department visits in Columbia and Greene Counties combined in 2014. Several local officials, including the county Director of Public Health, the county sheriff and the county Stop DWI Coordinator all believe opioid abuse has increased in recent years. Several members of the county committee want to see a program developed in collaboration with Greene County officials. Murrell requested the committee solicit more input, including from Greene County, before anything is released. Meanwhile, the committee will continue to meet and develop the response plan.

Kenneth C. Crowe II reported in the Times Union that Hoosick Falls now has more problems than just the toxic PFOA chemical in its drinking water. The state departments of Environmental Conservation and Health said Thu., Feb. 9, they have directed Honeywell to immediately conduct a study of the volatile organic compounds trichloroethylene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane at the company's former John Street facility. The first chemical is considered carcinogenic; the second can depress the central nervous system. "During the course of the PFOA investigation, where the results are being validated by an independent party, we discovered volatile organic compounds that exceed New York state standards in groundwater and soil that was collected from locations at, and near, the former John Street facility," Honeywell stated in a letter to village residents. The letter has been posted on the village website. The Village Board will discuss the issue at its next meeting on Tue., Feb. 14.

Josefa Velasquez reported at Politico New York only one-half of patients certified for New York's medical marijuana program have purchased the drug more than once, according to the state Department of Health. Of the nearly 13,000 patients certified for the program, 10,250 have been dispensed a medical marijuana product, and of those, only 6,400 have purchased a product more than once. “This data is unfortunately not surprising at all,” said Ari Hoffnung, the CEO of Vireo Health, one of the state's medical marijuana manufacturers. “The lion's share of the patients do not regularly use the product.” There is a difference, he said, between the number of patients certified and the number buying medical marijuana. The state’s medical marijuana program is one of the most restrictive in the nation. The five organizations that grow and dispense medical marijuana in New York have complained that there are fewer patients than expected and sales revenues have been far lower than what the Cuomo administration anticipated.

Chris McKenna reported at The Fray U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney announced last week that he and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey have reintroduced legislation that would reinforce the constitutional right to a legal defense by allowing class action suits against states that fail to adequately provide public defenders for indigent criminal defendants. The two Democrats first introduced the Equal Justice Under Law Act last year. In the House, 16 of Maloney’s fellow Democrats signed on as co-sponsors.

Local weather forecast:

The National Weather Service's Winter Storm Warning for the WGXC listening area remains in effect through Mon., Feb. 13. Additional snow is expected. Winds will increase, becoming strong and gusty late Sunday through Monday, causing considerable blowing and drifting of snow.

TODAY: A chance of snow, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy. High near 33. Northwest wind 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Monday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 18. Wind will decrease overnight.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: Partly sunny. High near 33. Tuesday night, a chance of snow mainly after 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 19.
WEDNESDAY: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy. High near 36. Wednesday night, a chance of snow showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 22.

Sunrise today: 6:52 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:26 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:33 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Monday of the month.

WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

ASHLAND Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, Main Street, Ashland (734-3636).
CANAAN Town Board budget workshop at 6:30 p.m.; full board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1647 Co. Rte. 5, Canaan (781-3144).
COPAKE Environmental Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GREENE County Legislature County Services, Public Works, Economic Development and Tourism, Government Operations, Finance committee meetings; Democrat and Republican caucuses, 6 p.m. at 411 Main Street (Caucus Room), Catskill (719-3270).
GREENVILLE Central Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m., middle school/high school library, 4982 State Route 81, Greenville (966-5070).
HUDSON Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. in high school library, 215 Harry Howard Boulevard (828-4360).
HUDSON Common Council Informal meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Village Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Village Hall, 7955 Main St., Hudson (263-4020).
NEW BALTIMORE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 Rt. 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
PHILMONT Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
PRATTSVILLE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 14517 Main St., Prattsville (299-3125).
TAGHKANIC public hearing on the 2017 preliminary town budget followed by the regular Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Route 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).

PUBLIC PROTESTS and VIGILS

NATIONAL GENERAL Strike, Feb. 17 through Feb. 20, nationwide. No work. No school. No shopping. A peaceful display of resistance and solidarity.

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the WGXC listening area, including Columbia and Greene counties, Hunter, Tannersville, Windham, Prattsville, Catskill, Coxsackie, Athens, Cairo, Jefferson Heights, Hudson and New Lebanon, from Sun., Feb. 12, through Mon., Feb. 13. A heavy snowfall is expected to begin Sunday morning and taper off late Sunday night into Monday morning. Additional periods of snow are expected through Monday. A total accumulation of up to 10 inches or more is possible. Winds will increase, becoming strong and gusty late Sunday through Monday, causing considerable blowing and drifting of snow. North winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph are forecast for Monday. Temperatures will be in the 20s to lower 30s. The National Weather Service is advising that travel could be dangerous and recommends doing so only in the case of emergency.

Closings and delays for Sun., Feb. 12:
[Updated: 3:15 p.m.]
Chatham Central School District | Closed. Sunday sports and musical cancelled.
The Church of St. Joseph Stuyvesant | Open. Faith Formation classes cancelled.
First Reformed Church (Athens) | Closed.
Flat Brook Baptist Church | Open. Normal 11 a.m. service. No afternoon activities.
Greene County YMCA | Closing early at 3 p.m.
Ichabod Crane Central School District | Closed. Campus closed. All activities cancelled.
St. John the Baptist (Valatie) | Open. Faith Formation cancelled.
St. Mary's Church (Coxsackie) | Closed. No afternoon or evening activities.
St. Paul's Lutheran (Oak Hill) | Closed. 11 a.m. service cancelled.

Fivethirtyeight.com reports that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) has sided with Donald Trump positions on 11 out of 12 votes so far in Congress. The lone dissenting vote came on a bill that will eliminate a rule requiring energy companies to reduce waste and emissions. In the Senate, New York's Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have much different voting records this year. Gillibrand has voted against Trump nominees more than any other senator, only approving Nicki Haley for United Nations ambassador. Schumer has approved four Trump nominees, and voted against five.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Friday, February 10 (4:36). (Produced by Neva Wartell.)