Dan Udell recorded and uploaded this video of the Sept. 20 Hudson Common Council meeting.

Greg Hudson is reporting in The Daily Mail the parishioners of St. Patrick’s church in Catskill are pursuing a mixed plan to save the historic church, despite the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's declaration that the decision of Bishop Edward Scharfenberger is final. The diocese closed the church nearly 10 years ago. The Friends of St. Pat’s met Tue., Sept. 20, to discuss various various ideas for saving the parish. Brody Hale told the group the church was improperly closed when Scharfeberger failed to issue a decree of relegation. That decree was the only way, under canon law, that the closure could have been challenged by the parish. Without it, there is the possibility the bishop's decision could be overturned. The group is organizing a petition to the diocese demanding the church be reopened. In the meantime, the church building remains unused and in need of repair. The friends group asked Scharfenberger in a letter this summer to consider allowing a fundraising campaign to support an effort to repair the historic building. Scharfenberger said an earlier capital campaign did not raise enough money and the best decision was to close the church and move services into the building that once housed St. Patrick’s Parish School. In a conversation with the paper on Wed., Sept. 21, a diocese representative said the bishop's decision was final. Diocese of Albany Director of Communications Mary DeTurris Poust said, "There is nothing else to discuss in terms of the former facility." Instead, she said, the parish must look to the future. "It is time to move forward, and we are grateful to the people of St. Patrick’s who have done just that and have created such a vibrant community there," Poust said. However, the friends group is pushing forward with its plan to organize as a non-profit organization, raise funds and restore the building. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Karrie Allen is reporting in the Register-Star the Chatham teenager missing for more than a week has been located and is safe. Blake Tutrow, 17, called his mother from Indiana on Wed., Sept. 21, to say where he was and that he was okay. The Chatham High School junior was driven by a friend to Indiana, where his father resides. Tutrow was last seen on Tue., Sept. 13, after he left home following a disagreement with his mother, police said. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Bethany Bump is reporting at Capitol Confidential the State Education Department Wed., Sept. 21, announced proposed revisions to the Common Core learning standards used in classrooms across New York. Revisions were proposed specifically to the English language arts and math standards. The standards are written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their eduction. Two committees of more than 130 educators and parents recommended changes to 60 percent of the ELA standards and 55 percent of the math standards. Recommended changes include a reorganization of the writing standards; a refocus on the Pre-K to Grade 2 ELA standards, including a strong emphasis on the whole child and the importance of play as an instructional strategy; and, a streamlining of reading for information and reading for literature standards to ensure a balance of both types of reading across all grades. The committee also recommended a clarification of the math standards, and suggested the focus of major content and skills for each grade level be improved. New York first adopted the higher standards in 2010, and began testing students on those standards in 2013. The State Education Department is accepting public comment on the draft standards through November 4. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential.

Abbott Brant reports in The Poughkeepsie Journal that criminal civil rights and obstruction charges were been brought against the state correction officers involved in a 2013 beating of an inmate at Downstate Correctional Facility Sept. 21. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announced the charges against the correction officers include conspiracy to deprive civil rights, deprivation of civil rights under color of law, conspiracy to falsify records, and falsifying records. Inmate Kevin Moore was transferred from the Coxsackie Correctional Facility to the Fishkill prison for one night Nov. 12, 2013, on his way to a New York City court appearance. But shortly after he arrived, the correction officers brutally beat him, “for an extended period of time with fists, boots and batons, causing many life-threatening injuries, including five fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and facial fractures in multiple places.” Moore was hospitalized for 17 days. According to the indictment, the correction officers met within Downstate to, "fabricate a story to justify the excessive force that they and other correction officers had used against Moore." The story names correction officers Sgt. Kathy Scott, George Santiago, Jr., and Carson Morris as responsible. Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal.

On Sept. 21, the same day Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released his tax records in 2012, local Congressional candidate John Faso and his wife Mary Frances released their local property tax totals. While current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has shown no indication he will ever show his tax records, Republican Faso said he paid $12,598 in local property taxes in 2015, with $8,210 to the Ichabod Crane School District; $3,334 to the Town of Kinderhook and Columbia County; and $1,054 to the Village of Kinderhook. Faso is running against Democrat Zephyr Teachout to replace Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) in Washington D.C.

Patricia Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that on Sept. 20 the Ulster County Legislature voted 18-0 to oppose a proposal to establish anchoring sites on the Hudson River for large vessels. Five legislators were absent for the vote, and the resolution is just a show of opinion. The Coast Guard is proposing ten anchoring sites from Kingston and Rhinebeck to just north of New York City at the request of the Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ Tug and Barge Committee, the Hudson River Port Pilots Association, and the American Waterways Operators. The Coast Guard said the anchorage grounds, “may improve navigation safety along an extended portion of the Hudson River, which currently has no anchorage grounds, allowing for a safer and more efficient flow of vessel traffic.” Opponents don't want to block the viewshed with barges, and worry that the number of vessels carrying Bakken crude oil along the river would increase if the proposal is approved. Ulster County Legislature Chairman Ken Ronk has asked for a public hearing locally, and he said the Coast Guard told Ronk they will “consider” his request. The Coast Guard recently extended the public comment period on the anchorage proposal from Sept. 7 to Dec. 6. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

The Daily Freeman reports that New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wants the Environmental Protection Agency to reverse the decision to stop dredging the Hudson River of polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs. Last year General Electric ended its six-year, $1.5 billion work to remove 2.75 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment under a federal Superfund project. Last month New York officials said around 35 percent of the PCBs discharged from factories north of Albany weren’t removed from the river, as GE stopped dredging efforts. An EPA official says they will respond to Gillibrand's letter directly. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Image above is Arielle Herman at a previous appearance on WGXC, at the station's Acra studio.

Arielle Herman spoke at the Catskill town meeting Sept. 21 about efforts to stop the Pilgrim Pipeline. Herman, the owner/operator of Rivertide Aikikai who lives on Old Kings Road in Catskill updated the board, which is on the record against the pipeling, about local efforts to oppose the pipeline that may cut through Greene County near her home. The dual pipeline, taking natural gas to New Jersey and refined oil to Albany, is proposed to run near I-87, with brief detours slightly farther away in Athens and Catskill. Click here to listen to what she reported at the meeting. PLAY EXCERPT (5:31)

Click here to listen to the entire Catskill town meeting from Sept. 21, 2016.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Sunny. High near 82. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 60.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: A chance of showers, mainly after 1 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 80. Friday night, a chance of showers, mainly before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 51.
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 68. Saturday night, mostly clear. Low around 43.

Sunrise today: 6:44 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:51 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 12:06 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Today is the fourth Thursday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.
ATHENS Town Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at community center, 2 First Street, Athens (945-1052).
CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting, 5 p.m.; at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GHENT Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency meeting (tentative), 1:30 p.m. at 1 North Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Sept. 21 (8:15). (Produced by Philip Grant.)