Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star the proposal to mine sand and gravel on 14 acres of land on county Route 19 in Livingston has been temporarily put on hold. Town Attorney Robert Fitzsimmons said at the town board public hearing September 8, a second hearing is now necessary because the legal language of the moratorium must be amended to include all pending applications in the local law. That hearing will be held on September 22. The proposed moratorium is a response to public concern over the application of Red Wing Sand & Gravel to mine land just north of Elizaville, on county Route 19, between county Route 8 and Hapeman Road. The town says Red Wing's application applies to only 14.3 acres, but according to the company's land use plan, the area to be mined is 114 acres. Joseph Sweeney, president of Twin Lakes Improvement Association and the Livingston Neighbor’s Association, said the mining operation would cause property values to decrease, and negatively impact air quality. Sweeney said neighbors are concerned about increased traffic, noise, air pollution and children’s safety. Red Wing President Frank Doherty was represented at the public hearing by Syracuse attorney Kathleen Bennett. Bennett said the moratorium was a serious measure for the town to take. She said, according to current zoning laws, there are sufficient protections in place for the board to consider Red Wing's application. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley said Mon., Sept. 12, two deputies from his department were disciplined last month after they attended a party where underage people were said to have been served alcohol. The action was taken following a three-week-long investigation of cousins Ray Feml and Joe Feml. Ray Feml was placed on administrative leave for 10 days. He is also an assistant fire chief for the Cairo Fire Department and a part-time Cairo police officer. Joe Feml was docked some vacation time, according to Seeley's office. Lt. Adam Brainard, who has headed the probe, said, "This is a matter of department policy and procedure violation. No evidence of criminal conduct has been found." Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Diane Valden is reporting in The Columbia Paper the body of a woman found over the weekend in a wooded area off Old Post Road in Kinderhook has now been identified as Halle P. Schmidt, 21, of Copake. Schmidt was reported missing by family members Sun., Sept. 4. Sheriff David P. Bartlett said in a press release the positive identification came at the conclusion of an autopsy conducted at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany on Sunday. The cause of Schmidt's death has not been determined. The case is still under active criminal investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Branch at 828-4316 or 828-3344. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Classics on Hudson announced Mon., Sept. 12, the appointment of Eugenia Zukerman [ZOOK-er-man] as its artistic director. Zukerman has been called “one of the finest flutists of our time.” She is also a writer and television arts correspondent, best known for her profiles of artists, musicians and dancers on "CBS Sunday Morning." Zukerman will begin her tenure with Classics on Hudson with the 2016-17 season. The Hudson-based chamber music series also announced the addition of of Louis Clinton, Cyndy Hall, Virginia Martin, Noel Phillips and Ron Tanner to its board of directors. Classics on Hudson was formed in 2014. The series presents concerts at the Hudson Opera House and various workshops at the Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School through the Music Mentors Program.

Bill Mahoney is reporting at Politico New York that because of the presidential race, and the failure to recombine the congressional and state primaries, some voters will be offered a third opportunity to cast primary votes on Tue., Sept. 13. In Columbia County, there is a Conservative Party Primary in the 102nd Assembly District, which includes Stuyvesant and Stockport, for Judicial Delegate and Alternate Judicial Delegate. Four candidates are competing for each seat. The Daily Freeman is reporting Democrats in Ulster County will head to the polls to nominate a candidate for Ulster County Surrogate Court judge, and registered voters affiliated with the Conservative, Green, Reform, Women's Reform and Working Families parties will nominate candidates in other races countywide. In Dutchess County, the Green Party will hold a write-in primary to select a candidate to run in the 41st Senate District race. Polls in all districts will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting in The Columbia Paper the number of public school students in Columbia County who identify as “Asian/Pacific” or “Latino” has increased, according to the New York State Education Department. From 2011 to 2014, in the six districts located in the county, the percentage of enrolled students who identify as Asian/Pacific increased by 8.5 percent. In the Hudson district alone, that portion of the student population increased to nearly 11 percent. The Taconic Hills school district reported a 67 percent increase in the number of enrolled Latino students during that same period. Latino enrollment also increased in the Chatham and Hudson schools. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential on the second joint Assembly and state Senate hearing on statewide water quality issues held in the William H. Rogers Building in Smithtown, Long Island, Mon., Sept. 12. This hearing was the third time state lawmakers conducted a public inquiry into water contamination during the past few weeks. On Monday they heard from various officials, including the county executive for Suffolk County, the Brookhaven Town Supervisor, representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey, Stony Brook University, and the Nature Conservancy in New York, along with Department of Environment Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos and state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Patchy fog before 7 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 81. Tuesday night, mostly clear. Low around 60.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 84. Wednesday night, showers and thunderstorms likely before 11 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 53.
THURSDAY: Sunny. High near 71. Thursday night, clear. Low around 47.

Sunrise today: 6:34 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:07 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 12:32 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Today is the second Tuesday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

CATSKILL Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CATSKILL Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill (943-1343).
CHATHAM Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at high school, 50 Woodbridge Ave., Chatham (392-1501).
CHATHAM Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-3262).
COXSACKIE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
HILLSDALE Town Board public hearing to establish Conservation Advisory Council, 6:45 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Main St., Hillsdale (325-7563).
LEXINGTON Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 3542 Rte. 42, Lexington (989-6476).
STOCKPORT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 2787 Atlantic Ave., Stottville (828-9389).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Monday, September 12 (2:37). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)