DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Feb. 9 (8:12). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Closings and delays for Thu., Feb. 9:
[Updated: 7:50 a.m.]

Cairo-Durham Central School District | Closed.
Catholic Charities of Greene County | Closed. Staff report to Hudson office.
Catskill Central School District | Closed.
Chatham Central School District | Closed. School and district offices closed.
Chatham Kids Club | Closed.
Chatham Library | Closed. Circle of Friends (Ravena) | Closed.
Coarc Adult Transportation | Open. Staff report. No transportation.
Columbia Christian Academy | Closed.
Columbia County Nutrition Program (Philmont) | Closed. Staff report.
Columbia County WIC Program | Closed.
Columbia Opportunities | Closed. All programs and locations.
Columbia-Greene Community College | Closed. All day and evening classes are cancelled.
Coxsackie-Athens Central School District | Closed.
Germantown Central School District | Closed, All offices closed.
Germantown Library | Closed.
Grapeville Christian School | Closed.
Greene County Nutrition Program | Closed. No transportation.
Greene County Transit | Closed.
Greene County WIC Program | Closed.
Greene County YMCA | Open. No morning classes. No morning child watch.
Greenville Central School District | Closed.
Hawthorne Valley School | Closed.
Hudson City School District | Closed.
Hudson Day Care Center | Closed.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Closed.
Ichabod Crane Central School District | Closed.
Kinderhook Memorial Library | Closed.
New Lebanon Central School District | Closed.
Mountain Road School | Closed.
Mrs. Puddle Duck's Childcare | Delayed two hours; opening at 9:00 a.m.
O.K. Kids Inc. | Closed.
Pine Plains Central School District | Closed.
Questar III Catskill Academy | Closed.
Questar III Columbia-Green Education Center | Closed, No adult education.
Red Hook Central School District | Closed.
Rhinebeck Central School District | Closed.
Roeliff Jansen Community Library | Closed.
Saugerties Central School District | Closed.
Saugerties Public Library | Closed.
Taconic Hills Central School District | Closed.
Twin County Recovery Services, Inc. | Closed.
Ulster-Greene ARC (Catskill) | Open. No transportation.
UMC Daycare Norton Hill | Closed. No a.m. pre-K, No afternoon pre-K.
Warren Street Academy / The Bridge | Closed.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Closed. Board of Education meeting postponed.

Karrie Allen is reporting in the Register-Star about the proposed merger of FairPoint Communications and Consolidated Communications in mid-2017. The plan was announced by Consolidated in December, and details were released this week. Consolidated has its headquarters in Illinois, and currently operates in 24 states. FairPoint will be its first acquisition in New York, said Angelynne Beaudry, FairPoint’s director of corporate communications. "This transaction combines two companies with extensive fiber networks and complementary strategies focusing on being the leading business and broadband solutions provider," said Bob Udell, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Communications. FairPoint serves customers at locations throughout Columbia County. The company has offices in Chatham, Kinderhook and Copake. FairPoint has applied for funding in Phase 2 of the state’s Broadband Program. Those awards have not yet been announced. Consolidated has indicated it will continue FairPoint's expansion plans if state funding is secured. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

The Daily Freeman is reporting a 58-year-old Orange County man died Wed., Feb. 8, in a skiing accident at Hunter Mountain, according to a state police report. Edwin Wood, of Warwick, was on the Annapurna Trail, an expert trail, shortly after 10 a.m. when he lost control and slid approximately 200 feet before going off the trail and striking several trees. The Hunter ski patrol reached Wood and he was treated by Greene County paramedics and Hunter ambulance personnel, but he died at the scene. The incident is being treated as an accident, police said. Wood's death was the second at a local ski center this year. In January, Brian Conners of Centerport, Suffolk County, died in a snowboarding accident at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in Shandaken.

Andrew Ujifusa is reporting at Politics K-12 the U.S. House of Representatives voted Tue., Feb. 7, to overturn the accountability regulations and rules for teacher-preparation programs that are part of the Every Student Succeeds Act. If the resolution overturning the accountability rules is successful, it could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. Department of Education, state officials and local school districts, Ujifusa writes. The rules in question address school ratings, the timeline for identifying and intervening in struggling schools, indicators of school quality beyond test scores and other issues. A similar resolution in the Senate is expected in the near future. The Obama administration released a draft the ESSA accountability rules in May, and the regulations were finalized in November. The Trump administration stopped implementation of the final rules last month. If the regulations are overturned, Congress is barred from issuing similar regulations before lawmakers reauthorize both the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Higher Education Act. On the House floor Tuesday, Rep. Jared Polis, Democrat of Colorado, said abandoning the ESSA rules would undo state-level work, "... creating mass chaos and uncertainty in public education, and destroy the civil rights safeguards that Republicans and Democrats worked so diligently to put in the Every Student Succeeds Act." Read the full story at Politics K-12, an Education Week blog.

Reidin O'Flynn, Artistic Director for Catskills Irish Arts Week announced Feb. 6 that "Irish America in the Arts" is this year's theme for the music festival. Dr. Mick Moloney, Seamus Connolly, and Billy McComiskey are a few of the artists that will fill East Durham pubs and spaces with performances, workshops, and skill-sharing July 9 to July 15. O'Flynn is also now writing a column, "Stories from Irish America" in the Irish Music Magazine.

Andrea Macko reports in The Greenville Pioneer that Greenville fire commissioners are discussing another effort to new fire station, two year after voters rejected a $5.4 million proposal. Residents voted 486-84 in 2015 against a new firehouse that would have gone on State Route 81, just east of County Route 41. Commissioner Eric Bear says trucks cannot fit in the current building's garage bays. Town Councilman John Bensen said this proposal should be more modest than the last. "We don't need the Taj Mahal. [The previous proposal] was very nice, but belongs in a community with more people and a bigger tax base," he said. The print edition of The Greenville Pioneer has the full story.

Jeanette Wolfberg reports in The Columbia Paper that starting in September second grade in Hudson moves from the from John L. Edwards Primary School to the Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School. The Jan. 23 vote is the latest effort to consolidate the district from three campuses to two. Eventually the pre-kindergarten through first grade would also move when an addition to the MCS building is constructed. Then, the Junior/Senior High would be for 6th through 12th grades, and MCS for pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. “We hope to get the construction out to bid in August and September,” said John Sharkey of Rhinebeck Architecture at the meeting.

Rick Karlin reports in Capitol Confidential that Schenectady’s Rivers casino and resort opened Feb. 8, the second of four upstate New York casinos recently authorized by the state. Gambling raised $27.7 billion in state revenues in 2015, according to the NCSL’s State Legislature’s magazine. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, speaking at the opening of Rivers, said the new casino is a ”dream come true.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Winter Weather Advisory until 6 p.m., Thursday for Columbia, Duchess, Greene and Ulster counties. Snow will overspread the region through the morning. The snow could be heavy at times. The snow will become heavier and steadier during the morning commute and continue into the early to mid-afternoon before tapering off. High near 24. A total snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible. Thursday night, a slight chance of snow showers, mainly between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Partly cloudy. Low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -3. Blustery, with a northwest wind of 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: A slight chance of snow showers before 1 p.m., then a chance of snow showers after 3 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 25. Wind chill values as low as -4. Friday night, light snow likely, mainly after 7 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 19.
SATURDAY: A chance of snow showers before 1 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy. High near 38. Saturday night, a slight chance of snow showers before 1 a.m., then a chance of snow after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 28.

Sunrise today: 6:57 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:21 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:23 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Thursday of the month.

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

CHATHAM Village meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CLAVERACK Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 91 Church St., Mellenville (672-7911). COPAKE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
HUDSON Planning Board public hearings on the 886 Columbia Street, 6-12 Hudson Avenue and 34 Allen Street applications, followed by regular meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
NEW BALTIMORE Planning board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 County Route 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
STUYVESANT Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).
WINDHAM-ASHLAND-JEWETT Board of Education meeting has been postponed (734-3400).

PUBLIC PROTESTS and VIGILS

PLANNED PARENTHOOD Protests, Sat., Feb. 11. Actions both in support of and against Planned Parenthood at various locations in the Hudson Valley. Details pending.
NATIONAL GENERAL Strike, Feb. 17 through Feb. 20, nationwide. No work. No school. No shopping. A peaceful display of resistance and solidarity.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Feb. 8 (8:44). (Produced by Philip Grant.)