According to the National Weather Service, today will be cloudy with snow. High 26F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Snow accumulating 5 to 8 inches. Tonight, snow showers early, with a steadier snow developing late. Low 23F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches, with quite a bit more, and additional winds, throughout tomorrow. All schools and most meetings have been canceled for Tuesday at this point.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 1:55 p.m./Low, 8:30 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:08 a.m./5:09 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 6:01 a.m./3:57 p.m.

School district, teachers agree to 4-year pact
Jim Planck's story in The Daily Mail contains no other details except the Catskill contract covers the years 2008 through 2012.

Senate pass property tax cap
The New York State Senate voted 45-17 to pass the proposal, with both local senators, Steve Saland and James Seward, voting in favor, according to a story in Capitol Confidential.

Mixed bag in 2010 home sales
Sales of existing single-family homes in Columbia County rose last year, while declining in Greene County, according to the Mid-Hudson News. Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester also improved, while in Dutchess, Orange, and Sullivan counties sales also fell.

Plan to end homelessness completed by CARES Inc.
A study of Columbia County homelessness, reported in the Register-Star, recommends the Department of Social Services purchase or obtain a long-term lease on one or more of the motels it’s currently paying thousands monthly to house area homeless. The CARES study suggests contracting with a nonprofit to “manage the property and provide case management to the clients," according to Francesca Olsen's report.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning from 7 a.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Thursday. Up to two feet of snow and sleet is possible in the next 48 hours. According to Hudson Common Council President Don Moore, the City of Hudson has declared a Snow Emergency beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m. and ending Thursday at 8 p.m. Vehicles must be parked on the even side of the street during the 24-hour period beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m., and then on the odd side of the street beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The fine for parking on the wrong side anytime during the 48-hour of the snow emergency is $25. An additional $25 administrative fee will be issued if a vehicle is about to be towed. Towing can happen anytime between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., when the Department of Public Works removes snow.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Rising fuel prices are threatening the region's remaining dairy farms."][/caption]Dairy farmers are trying to find ways to deal with rising fuel prices, according to a story focused on the dairy industry north of here, but applicable to our own farmers, found in The Post Star of Glens Falls. "There are high energy costs, especially in this area, and while UPS and everyone else can add a surcharge for their fuel costs, in the agriculture industry it’s hard to adjust to that," Brian Ziehm, president of the Washington County Farm Bureau, is quoted saying, noting how the dairy industry is especially susceptible to high fuel prices because farmers do not have control over the pricing of milk. Making matters worse, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts regular-grade motor gasoline retail prices will rise 6 percent by 2012, but it cautions there is significant uncertainty surrounding the forecast leading most to believe that the national average retail price for regular gasoline could climb 13 to 27 percent by this summer, breaking $4 per gallon.


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"While fuel surcharges have to be absorbed by dairy farmers because the cost charged for milk is regulated, when the cost of fuel rises, it affects everything from diesel-operated farm machinery to the cost of fertilizer," the story goes on, with stats that show fuel-related costs make up 5 percent of most farm's expenditures. The only way out of the current quandary, it quotes dairy industry spokespeople saying, is to cut the cost controls on milk to let its pricing rise to match that of its rising expenses.

What had first looked like a story with deep narrative elements, the death of a state corrections officer killed Friday afternoon, January 28, in a two-car crash on the Thruway north of Kingston - with a convicted murderer in transport - has turned out to be a much more banal tragedy, the Daily Freeman reports this morning. The accident was caused by a driver taking her eyes off the road to adjust the heat in her car, a final state police press release said, who then drifted from the passing to the driving lane and struck the state prison van about 1:35 p.m. near mile marker 94.3 on the northbound side of the highway, just north of the Kingston exit, causing both vehicles to go off the right side of the road and down an embankment. The prison van overturned, killing the driver, Corrections Officer Casimiro Pomales, 52, of Kerhonkson, and injuring the two passengers — Corrections Officer John Minuck and inmate Ralph Ambert, who was being driven from the Eastern Correctional Facility in Napanoch to an eye doctor’s appointment in Albany. Neither Minuck nor Ambert, 40, who is serving a life sentence for murder, was seriously hurt.


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State police Investigator John Kelly said on Friday that the occupants of the car are from Warwick and that it did not appear the driver would be charged. Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered flags on state office buildings flown at half-staff late Friday in Pomales’ honor. Ambert is serving a life sentence for murder. 42 years ago, a correctional officer's death along the Thruway from a discharged firearm resulted in death sentences for two men, one of whom went on to marry a local newspaper editor while serving his sentence, then was granted clemency by then governor Mario Cuomo, the current governor's father. The case resulted in the rise and fall of several political careers, and was one of the region's top news stories for decades... which accounts for the added attention Friday's accident drew, because of several of its circumstances. The most recent CO's death reportedly resulted in the cancellation of a planned graduation ceremony at Eastern Correctional for participants in the Bard Prison Initiative because of Pomales long 22 year career history at the facility.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Indian Point Nuclear Plant, on the Tappan Zee, is one of a handful of nuclear plants in New York State."][/caption]The stated wish by our region's new congressman, Chris Gibson, to build at least one new nuclear power plant in the Hudson Valley is starting to get serious scrutiny, with The Daily Freeman and other papers doing stories this weekend, and today, on past efforts in this area and the mountains of opposition that ultimately killed them. Two plants were proposed for the greater Capital Region: one directly across from Saratoga National Historical Park, and another in the Mid-Hudson Valley just below Catskill, before the whole nuclear power effort halted following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. New York currently has four nuclear plants — three on Lake Ontario and one on the Hudson River, two of those with double reactors. In the late 1970s, Consolidated Edison proposed another nuclear plant on farmland straddling the Clermont-Red Hook border but that plan was eventually "modified" to a coal-burning plant, before being dropped entirely by the utility in the 1990s.



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The story goes on to note how local officials in Massena, on the St. Lawrence Seaway, have already begun exploring the possibility of a nuclear plant as a source for jobs, but then points out how the proposal for a Smiths Landing nuclear plant ended up facing overwhelming public opposition in the 1970s. In addition to safety and environmental concerns, many people objected to the visual impact the plant’s 400-foot-tall cooling tower would have on the picturesque Hudson Valley, which has since been designated a National Heritage Corridor. Plans for that plant were scrapped following Three Mile Island. Nowadays, nuclear opponents also object to the high volumes of water plants need for cooling purposes, as well as how discharged water is often several degrees warmer and can result in significant fish kills. Gibson counters that technological advancements can overcome such problems and says he is working to create a bipartisan energy advisory panel that will consider ways to promote all types of power in his district. Another of his goals is to introduce legislation that would encourage private investment in nuclear energy and streamline a federal loan program. “Times have changed,” said Gibson spokeswoman Stephanie Valle of the congressman's view of possible opposition in the Hudson Valley these days. “It’s sort of a different game than it was 30 to 40 years ago.”

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Stormwater retrofits, such as this at Windham Mountain, were part of the discussion of changing weather patterns at the Watershed Summit put on by Greene County Soil & Water in Hunter this past Saturday, January 29."][/caption]Water issues in this region may not be sexy, but with floods more frequent and the nature of stormwater runoff changing almost yearly, it has become a key issue for local governance and home maintenance. The 5th annual Watershed Summit, organized by the Greene County SWCD Schoharie Watershed Program, with funding from the NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection and Watershed Agricultural Council, took place at the Hunter Elementary School on Saturday morning, January 29, according to a story in The Daily Mail. The meeting allowed the region's planners, public officials, and landowners to discuss ways of improving understanding of water quality impacts from various sources and facilitating better inter-municipal and inter-agency efforts to support local watershed protection. Training on watershed topics ranged from floodplain management and flood response to stormwater impacts from non-point sources, regulations governing stormwater control, and alternatives to site planning and use of low impact development practices that avoid, reduce, and manage stormwater runoff by using natural features on the landscape and reducing impervious cover.



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A special track in the afternoon focused on a variety of funding resources available to watershed communities and property owners. An Annual Summit and Watershed Tour takes place in June.

According to the National Weather Service or some other source, Today will be mostly sunny, with lots of sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 24F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight a new storm is expected to move in with a chance scattered snow showers overnight. Low -12C. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50 percent. Tomorrow, forecasts are calling for cloudy with snow showers becoming a steady accumulating snow later on in the morning. High 28F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.



Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 1:09 p.m./Low, 7:43 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:11 a.m./5:07 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 5:30 a.m./2:58 p.m.

*Cyberbullying discussed at HCSD Andrew Amelinckx in the Register-Star reports on a parent forum last Wednesday, Jan. 26, organized by the Hudson school district. The story does not mention where the meeting was held.

*Planet Fitness, Amerigas on Feb. planning board agenda John Mason in Register-Star writes about possible changes on Fairview Ave. in Greenport, from the town's planning board meeting last Tue., Jan. 25. A Planet Fitness may move in to the former Ames building in the Fairview Plaza, and the Tractor Supply store is asking to add a 1,000-gallon propane pump station from Amerigas. Both issues will be taken up at Feb. 22 public hearings.

*Ulster County residents Melissa Leo, Steve Buscemi win Screen Actors Guild awards In The Daily Freeman.

*Snow likely Tuesday, then sleet and freezing rain In The Daily Freeman.

*Catskill hitting small screen this March Colin DeVries in The Daily Mail reports the town's ceramic cats will be featured in an episode of the Animal Planet series "Must Love Cats."

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Milk Thistle Farm will move from Ghent to Stuyvesant as part of its growth to include a new organic interstate dairy. "][/caption]The proprietors of Ghent’s Milk Thistle Farm have closed a deal with outside investors to build a brand new interstate-certified organic milk processing plant in Stuyvesant, creating nearly a dozen local jobs and greatly expanding the farm’s distribution scope. A Register-Star story on the development on January 29 noted how the Manhattan-based Blossom Farms LLC is making a $1.65 million equity investment in Milk Thistle Farm, which involves purchasing the former Allen Farm on Allendale Road in Stuyvesant and building a new LEED-certified organic processing plant. Once the plant is completed, Milk Thistle will officially relocate its operations to Stuyvesant.


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Milk Thistle Farm, Lindsay Suchow reports, started operations in 2007 as an organic dairy and initially sold its milk to handlers but eventually began performing its own direct consumer sales. “We worked very hard over the course of nearly two years to get this deal done and done right,” said Dante Hesse, founder of Milk Thistle Farm, along with his wife Kristin. ““We knew we had a great product, a great brand. What we lacked was scale — the ability to more economically turn out our products in sufficient quantities to meet demand.” Charles Zentay, president of Blossom Farms, discovered Milk Thistle’s ultra-premium milk at a Whole Foods market on the Upper West Side and has said Blossom Farms has essentially took ownership of 40 percent of the Milk Thistle Farm brand. Blossom Farms will fund the construction of the new processing plant, and will lease both the plant and the farm to Milk Thistle, who will add about eight to 10 new employees over a two-year period, as well as double its cow herd size. The plant, currently under construction, will be interstate certified. The goal is to be finished up by May and fully operational by June. Zentay said a launch event for the new plant will be held this spring.

Here's some good news from the January 30 Sunday Times Union, sort of. Seems that New York now ranks number seven in the nation for the most jobs created within the past year, according to data released by Business First. But then the real numbers sink in, along with the hard lessons of raw data. Texas is at the top of the list with a whopping 230,800 jobs created last year, followed by California with 87,500 and Pennsylvania with 65,600 jobs, then Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida and New York with 37,000, just ahead of Virginia, Washington and Arizona. The top ten worst states for job growth were New Jersey, which lost 30,700 in 2009, Nevada which lost 16,600, and Missouri, which lost 15,800, followed by Michigan, Georgia, New Mexico and Rhode Island also in negative numbers.
In the meanwhile, WGXC is still looking for volunteers.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The Philmont and Mellenville fire departments are being urged to consolidate, merge, share services or do something to ensure their survival during this time of shrinking state and federal aid to all agencies, emergency or not."][/caption]It seems to be the trend of the times... local town, village and hamlet services, sometimes even school districts, seeking to share services in an attempt to streamline costs and create new efficiencies. The Register-Star reported on January 30 that members of the Mellenville Fire Company discussed sharing services, or possibly combining firehouses, with members of the Philmont Fire Company at a Philmont Village Hall meeting last Wednesday, January 26 where Village Trustee Larry Ostrander brought up age concerns regarding the Philmont Fire Company, along with a drop in new memberships, growing building needs, and increasingly outdated equipment.


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According to reporter Francesca Olsen, Vern Higgins replied by noting the "negativity" on the village's part. “I could see us sharing a building but not combining,” added Mellenville Chief Danny Winter. Ed Jacklyn, chairman of the Mellenville board of fire commissioners, went on to say that he saw a merger where the companies shared equipment and duties. Finally, Claverack councilman Michael Johnston said a new firehouse could be looked at as a “community center for the area” and that resources were available in New York for agencies sharing services. He encouraged the firemen to look for resources in the community — maybe merging or offering to share space with an EMT service, or asking local banks for financing help, after which the fire companies decided to discuss the matter separately — both already have committees assigned to talk about the idea — and return to the village board in March or April.It's something even counties are looking into regarding jails.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="The original wards division for the City of Hudson."][/caption]The Gossips of Rivertown outdid itself with a completist piece on January 30 about the proposal to create a Charter Revision Commission put forth by Hudson Democratic Committee Chair Victor Mendolia (a WGXC recorder and programmer) at last Wednesday's Legal Committee meeting. The goal of the commission, former Common Council member Carole Osterink writes, would be to identify changes to the Charter that would "optimize efficiency, foster fair and equal representation, and seek the best possible model for responsible government." Mendolia's proposal cites seven specific issues to be considered: increasing the mayoral term to four years, redrawing election districts to create districts of equal population, having the City Treasurer appointed by the Common Council rather than elected, requiring mayoral appointments to be confirmed by the Common Council, reducing the number of supervisors representing Hudson in county government, eliminating the positions of commissioners, and adjusting salaries and/or benefits for elected officials. Most critical on this list, in Osterink's opinion, is redrawing the election districts after two hundred years. See The Gossips of Rivertown for more information.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Slater's Great American, as seen on its website."][/caption]Slater's Great American in Cairo, one of the last of the region's privately-owned community supermarkets, announced Thursday that it will be acquired by the Hannaford's chain, who are planning to build a new grocery store on the property. According to a story in the January 28 Daily Mail, a company spokesman and Ellsworth “Unk” Slater, the owner of Great American, declined to discuss details of the transaction, although the announcement did note that Hannaford plans to demolish the current supermarket and build a 35,000-square-foot store, including a pharmacy. “We’re excited to bring a Hannaford supermarket and pharmacy to the Cairo area,” said company spokesman Matt Paul in a news release. “Slater’s has served the residents of this community well and has been an excellent partner throughout this process. We’re looking forward to providing our customary great service and everyday low prices and becoming a part of this community.” A closing date for Great American has not been announced. Hannaford said it will seek certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program, which they've also promised for a new store they're planning to build in the Columbia County town of Livingston at the junction of Routes 9 and 23. They are also stating the new store would employ about 100 workers. The acquisition of Great American comes after Charter Realty & Development Corp. worked for most of last year on a plan to build a supermarket within a mile of the plaza, threatening Slater’s dominance in Cairo, according to Doron Tyler Antrim's story, which added that that project now seems to be in limbo. Meanwhile, Cairo Town Supervisor John Coyne said he and Town Councilman Doug Ostrander met with Hannaford Thursday about their deal with Slater, who had also been a major benefactor of local activities, including WGXC.

While a majority of Greene County village races coming due March 15 are seeing little in terms of competitiveness, something else is astir in Columbia County, at least in Chatham, There's a political uprising underway in the Village there, where The Columbia Paper reports that a new party will be running two candidates in the March 15 elections. And last weekend the same candidates secured those Democratic line on the village ballot with no opposition. Tom Curran will run for mayor on the Democratic line and presumably on an independent Chatham United party line, unless the petitions for that line are successfully challenged. He will be joined by Joanne DelRossi, who will run for one of the two open seats on the Village Board. The incumbent mayor, Paul Boehme, said this week that he would seek another term, setting up the first contest for the leadership of the village in several years. Curran and DelRossi received the unanimous backing of village Democrats at a party caucus Sunday, January 23, where no one challenged the nominees. Boehme said he was aware of the caucus but chose not to attend. The mayor and the seats of two trustees, Patrick Wemitt and Lael Locke, are up for election with Locke collecting signatures to seek another term and Wemitt had not having made a public announcement on whether he intends to run again. The new Chathan candidates are seeking greater shared services among neighboring towns, among other issues.


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Across the river in the Greene County Village of Tannersville, longstanding mayor Lee McGunnigle noted this week that after losing his community's Democratic nomination to a newcomer, he was planning to run on his own party, or as a write-in candidate.

WGXC will go on the air on 90.7-FM Sat. Feb. 26, with a free public event at the Catskill Community Center. Brian Dewan, Kyle Esposito, Deena Rae Turner, Pamela Pentony, Finley & Pagdon, The Olde Tyme Love Machine, Rob Hervey, C.B. Smith & the Lucky Devils, and others will perform at the event, which will be beamed to over 78,000 possible listeners in Columbia, Greene, Albany, and Rensselaer counties. The event will be held from 2-6 p.m. and there is no admission fee. The event will also include:
•a youth open-mic, showcasing our community's young talents;
•a chance to meet the station’s programmers, volunteers, staff, and Radio Council;
•recording and interview booths--hear yourself on the radio!;
•a sound jungle, and other activities for kids;
•a potluck dinner--bring a dish to share.

Here is an audio recording of Brian Dewan performing "Our Ever-Improving Village," one song he might play live on 90.7-FM from the Catskill Community Center Sat. Feb. 26.

Our Ever Improving Village by Brian Dewan, recorded at WGXC "Defrost" benefit March 20, 2010 at Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Eleanor Kagen interviews participants in the WGXC/Prometheus Barnraising in Hudson Sept. 24-26, 2010."][/caption]
Eleanor Kagen came to the WGXC/Prometheus Barnraising in Hudson Sept. 24-26 and recorded lots of interviews with organizers and participants. Then she visited the events' organizers, the Prometheus Radio Project, at their Philadelphia headquarters, and collected more audio stories of community radio. Kagen edited it all together into this piece, "Raising Barns, Raising Voices." Click on the photo of Kagen recording sounds at the barn raising to hear the mp3 recording.

A town in our coverage area has decided to take on Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2 percent property tax cap before it's even seen the formal light of day by passing a formal resolution against it. The Ravena News reports this week that the entire board for the Town of Coeymans, in southern Albany County, unanimously passed a resolution stating the town's opposition against the proposal a few weeks. One of the main objections they stated is that "towns are dependent on real property taxes to fund town services," according to the story from reporter Hilary Hawke. "Unlike counties and cities, towns can't raise revenues through sales taxes, income tax, gross receipt taxes or occupancy taxes." The resolution further points out that while expenses such as health care, pension contributions and transportation, water and wastewater are rising, the town's revenues are not keeping pace and simply capping property taxes will not reduce those expenses or the public's expectation of governmental services. The resolution also states that the town has lowered property taxes through program cuts, staff and salary reductions, and appeals to the governor and state legislature to fund or eliminate state mandates and reform the real property tax system.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="This home in Coxsackie, one of our more historic river towns, is threatened with demolition because its upstairs bedrooms are shorter than current building codes call for."][/caption]The Village of Coxsackie seems to be pushing ahead toward the demolition of a centuries-old home whose owner has remedied previous oil spill problems and pleaded with the Village Board for some understanding. The Greene County News reports that one month after property owner Paula Chandler pleaded with the board to call off the demolition of her property, village officials say plans are moving forward and they're seeking help from the county in taking down the home at 23-25 Church Street, which first came to their attention following a basement oil spill several years ago. The home is currently vacant, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation okayed the cleanup, but village officials say they're still concerned that the ceiling height of the home’s bedrooms on the upper level are not high enough to meet current building codes. Chandler told the board at its recent January meeting that she can’t rent her property if there are no usable bedrooms, and can’t sell it because it has a tear-down order. During the Jan. 10 meeting of the Village Board, Chandler threatened to take them to court via an Article 78 proceeding if they did not relent, noting its expenses to all involved.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Chatham Middle School has just one a statewide School of Character award for the second year running."][/caption]The Chatham Middle School has received the New York State School of Character Award for the second year in a row, the Chatham Courier reports, making it one of three in the state to achieve the accomplishment... and not only the single one to do so in consecutive years, but the only middle school to be so recognized. “Receiving the award for another three years speaks to the belief that [The Academy for Character Education] has in us to continue with our momentum and dedication to students,” said middle school Principal Gordon Fitting. The School of Character award is given through The Academy for Character Education, which believes that character education provides the basis for developing a stronger, caring community and that initiatives to this effect can help better this community. It is because of this that the Academy, combined with the National Character Education Partnership, began to institute the New York State School of Character (NYSSOC) Award for schools demonstrating extraordinary prowess in character education. CMS was recognized this year for its continued dedication to improving what is already a strong list of positive characteristics in character education, including peer mediation and tutoring programs, a mentor club, a plethora of student and staff centered activities and the Character Counts six pillars program. Finalists for the National School of Character Award will be chosen by March 1, with the winner announced at an awards ceremony April 6.