Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail a hand-painted wooden statue of literary character Rip Van Winkle has been stolen from Wayside Park in Haines Falls. The Van Winkle image was installed in the park about a month ago. The theft occurred sometime over the weekend. The seven- to eight-foot piece was reported missing Mon., Aug. 15, by DeDe Terns-Thorpe, the town of Hunter's historian. She said the statue was constructed by a local resident and it stood in the center of the park. “He sort of greeted people in town,” she said. “Just bring it back, no questions asked,” Terns-Thorpe said. Van Winkle, the character created by early 19th century writer, essayist and historian, Washington Irving, is an enduring symbol of the Catskill region. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Karrie Allen is reporting in the Chatham Courier the Chatham Town Board continues to search for ways to close its recently discovered budget gap. At a recent public meeting, town board member Bob Balcom present some recommendations on behalf of the Citizens Finance and Planning Committee for the board's consideration. At the top of the list: Conversion of the existing Town Hall Reserve Fund to a new fund dedicated to pension payment support that would save the town $79,000 a year for the next two years, Balcom said. The committee also recommended the town consider reducing the number of members of both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals from seven to five. The committee recommended members of those boards be paid less per meeting, as well. Other recommendations included consolidating the town's assessment services with Columbia County, and privatizing the code enforcement office and town property maintenance. The board last month also discussed the possibility of hiring a deputy sheriff to patrol the Taconic State Parkway and other areas of town to both increase safety and cut down on speeding. According to press accounts at the time, the board also saw the enforcement plan as a way to generate revenue, an idea received poorly by several town residents. Read the full story in the Chatham Courier.

Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia County Public Defender's Office has received the funding needed to keep its investigator on staff. Public defender Robert Linville said the $150,000 grant from the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services will help the office strengthen its investigative arm. The investigator position was created in 2013, and will now continue through 2017. “[The grant] ensures continued rigorous investigation surrounding arrests,” Linville said. Investigator Steven Berry is a licensed private investigator, and a former law enforcement officer. He served as an assistant under former Columbia County District Attorney Beth Cozzolino. As an investigator working on behalf of those facing criminal charges, Berry interviews clients and is responsible for identifying and locating witnesses for trial. He also serves subpoenas and court documents. The Public Defender’s Office has an annual budget of $1.1 million and employs seven assistant public defenders. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Michael Ryan in The Watershed Post reports that Lexington Broadband Initiative co-chairman Bonnie Blader is frustrated that Lexington was left out of the NY Broadband Program recent announcement of $54.2 million in financial assistance to small telephone and internet providers across the state. The mountainous town hosted a “broadband pep rally” last year to put a spotlight on Lexington’s lack of internet connectivity. The organization and town officials have hoped for a $1.5 million grant to help lay 76 miles of fiber optic cable to service 90 percent of the town’s residents. Now Lexington is wondering if it is eligible to apply for the next round. “We don’t have an answer yet. Nobody does,” said Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning director Warren Hart. Greene County has among the worst percentage of broadband coverage in the state. Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

CBS 6 TV in Albany reports that a new audit found "significant deficiency" in the way that $22 million was spent promoting tourism in areas recovering from Hurricane Irene in 2011. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration did not comply with procurement rules and did not ensure money was spent effectively. Cuomo's Office of Storm Recovery disagreed with the audit's findings. Locally, Prattsville was the town hit hardest by the storms surrounding Hurricane Irene. Read the full story at CBS 6 TV in Albany.

Matthew Hamilton in The Albany Times-Union reports that on Aug. 16 Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill requiring courts to consider prior intoxicated and impaired driving convictions when sentencing someone for intoxicated or impaired boating. "Those who repeatedly violate intoxicated operation laws should not be given leniency because they have re-offended in a boat versus a car," the bill's justification memo states. The law goes into effect Nov. 1. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

Scott Waldman at Politico New York reports that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents obtained by the new organization show that a large company that transports crude oil through New York violated federal clean air standards at its oil transportation facility in Albany. The EPA issued a notice to Global Companies LLC last month, and the company could face fines of more than $25,000 a day for intentionally under-reporting air emissions after it was given permission to almost quadruple the amount of crude it could transport through Albany. Global reported an increase in air emissions of 39.5 tons per year of volatile organic compounds, just under a 40-ton limit that would trigger more regulation. "The EPA determined the amount Global reported was far less than what it was actually emitting," the story says, but it does not say just how many tons of pollutants went into the air. Global also wants to add a crude oil heater that would allow it to bring in thick tar sands to Albany, but the state Department of Environmental Conservation is in a legal battle with the company, and no decision on that issue is expected soon. Read the full story in Politico New York.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Isolated showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny. High near 85. Thursday night, scattered showers, mainly before 7 p.m. Patchy fog between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy. Low around 64.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Patchy fog between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 83. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 62.
SATURDAY: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. Sunny. High near 86. Saturday night, partly cloudy. Low around 67.

Sunrise today: 6:07 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:50 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:43 hrs.


PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

AUSTERLITZ Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 812 Route 203, Spencertown (392-3260).
CAIRO-DURHAM Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at high school media center, 1301 Route 145, Durham (622-8543).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
GHENT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
GREENE County Fire Advisor Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Greene County Emergency Control and Training Center, 25 Volunteer Drive, Cairo (622-3548).
HUDSON Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3211 Church St., Kinderhook (784-2233). STUYVESANT Joint Zoning Law workshop, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Dr., Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Planning Board public hearing on site plan review application for Crown Fuels, 7:10 p.m. at Town Hall, Main St., Hensonville (734-4170).

If a group set up "more than a hundred wireless radio facilities" without any licenses, that might be a big deal? Turns out the Canadian Pacific Railway Company is the biggest pirate radio operator in the U.S., with the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announcing a $1,210,000 fine against the railroad company. Canadian Pacific got in trouble for setting up all those pirate studios, and for failing to obtain FCC authorizations for the transfer of control of thirty wireless radio licenses. “Wireless facilities are critical to the safe and efficient operation of our nation’s railways,” said Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that the ownership and operation of all such facilities comply with the FCC’s licensing processes.” Canadian Pacific, which used to be called the Soo Line Corporation, found during an internal audit in 2015 the non-compliance with FCC licensing regulations, and they told the FCC. The railroad industry widely uses radio transmitting devices for voice and data transmissions, and the Soo Line Corporation had been constructing, relocating, modifying, and operating various unlicensed transmitters since 1979.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Wed., Aug. 17 (3:11). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)