The Columbia County Board of Supervisors halved its number of working committees through consolidation and the doubling up of tasks, according to a story in the Register-Star about its meeting last week. A few supervisors complained that the mash-ups would make for too much work and that the six-member committee structures did not allow for possible voting ties. Francesca Olsen's Register-Star piece on the committees notes the county Board of Supervisors’ number of committees have decreased from 19 to eight, though two members -- Pat Grattan, R-Kinderhook, and Reggie Crowley, R-Copake -- votied “no” on the new structure. At the same meeting, the Board's chairman, Roy Brown, said that it was too early to start making budget cutting decisions, given how everyone's still waiting for word on what the state will be cutting in terms of aid, as well as mandates, although some choices were outlined this week. Register-Star stories in their January 15 issue reported on both issues.



In terms of financial decisions, the county controller and treasurer have developed a list of contingencies in the event cuts from the state translate into new expenses for the county, with no layoffs planned. Instead, a number of small revenue hiking and cutting costs are under consideration, including shrinking the county's basic work week to four days, lagging pay checks by a week, selling off the county's soil and water building in Ghent, and going down to single person snow plows, as is happening in Greene County.

Instead, the county may do the following to gain revenue in the event of any shortfalls:

- Charge for airport parking. There’s currently no charge for parking at the Columbia County Airport on Route 66 in Ghent. It’s estimated that $10,000 can be made in 2011 by charging for parking, officials said.

- Repeal the clothing tax abatement. This has already been done, and according to Brown, no other changes will be made regarding the tax exemption except for those voted on by the BOS in December. From March 1 through April 1, 2011, clothing and shoes, regardless of price, will be taxed; but from April 1, 2011 through April 1, 2012, the sales tax will only apply to clothing and footwear purchases more than $55. After April 1, 2012, it will go back to the way it was, with the sales tax exemption applied to purchases more than $110.

- Close all non-essential services on Fridays. “Non-essential,” in a nutshell, means “not related to public safety/not providing mandated programs.” For example, the county controller, treasurer and attorney’s office would close on Fridays. “Most of the offices in (401 State Street),” would be considered non-essential, Brown explained. Salaried employees’ income would be “adjusted accordingly,” said Controller Ronald Caponera. According to the county’s contingency list, this action would save around $650,000.

- Maintain a zero wage increase in 2011. Expected to save $750,000 over the course of the year.

- Eliminate community home health care service. Brown said the county is working on a “feasibility study to look at the costs of community home health care and what it’s doing for us.” There’s currently no cost savings estimate for this item.

- Lag payroll one week.

- Eliminate all non-essential vehicles. Again, “non-essential” means not related to public safety — no plans are in the works to retire any police vehicles. But, Brown said, gesturing to the employee parking lot outside the 401 State St. County Office Building, “a lot of those vehicles you see out there would be eliminated.” This would include department head vehicles — and Brown’s vehicle. “If we pulled the trigger on that initiative, I’d be willing to give up my own private vehicle (issued to him by the county for use),” he said. That measure would end up saving the county around $100,000, according to the contingencies list.

- Change the health insurance plan for county employees. Expected to save up to $500,000.

- Freeze all non-essential capital purchases. Expected to save $1 million to $2 million in county costs.

- One man snow plowing. According to Public Works Commissioner David Robinson, two county employees are currently in each plow truck; this initiative would leave just one man in each truck. This would cut down on hours, overtime hours included, but “on the flipside, we’d need to implement a training program,” Robinson said, adding that some county roads may not be conducive to that idea. The county may also implement reduced snowplowing on county-maintained roads — “maybe once every two hours (instead of twice), based on what we see in Albany,” Brown said. This could save $400,000.

- Eliminate local share funding. It’s been business as usual to issue checks to the towns and villages of Columbia County from leftover tobacco securitization funds. Hudson gets a share, too; treasurer Ken Wilber said municipalities usually use it to offset EMS costs. They’ve doled out $4 million over the last decade through this program, and it would save the county $400,000 if they didn’t do it this year. “If municipalities are using it towards their EMS costs, it may be passed to the taxpayers on the other end,” he said.

- Sell the soil and water building. It’s not for sale yet, but the county estimates around $1 million in revenue from the sale of the building, located on Route 66 in Ghent.

Hunter Mountain posted this to YouTibe this week, following the January 12 snow storm. Talk about capturing a sense of the opportunities offered by all the winter precipitation this year, given you can keep warm enough to enjoy it all.

The final missing person listed in Columbia County in recent weeks was reported found today in a short piece we've culled from the Mid Hudson News Network. They report that State Police have located Gwendolyn Fuks, from Ghent, who had been reported missing last week. Fuks contacted State Police after seeing herself in news reports as being missing. She had left New York State for personal reasons and was verified to be alive and well by another police agency. Earlier reports of a missing man from Valatie were rescinded when the man returned from several days in Albany, and a lost 16-year-old, also from the Kinderhook area, was found at a local Wal-Mart and then sent to Berkshire Farms for parole violations.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The Village of Valatie "][/caption]The Columbia County Office for the Aging opens its newest 60+ Food and Friendship Center Wednesday at the Valatie Senior Center on Williams Street in the village. The site will be open Mondays and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 19. “Valatie will be a nice complement to established centers in Stuyvesant (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and Chatham (Fridays), which together will make services available five days per week within about a 6-mile radius,” said OFA Administrator Kary Jablonka in a press release.



Providing a balanced, hot meal containing one-third of the recommended daily intake for seniors, recreational activities, presentations on topics of interest including community resources and an opportunity for socialization, the county network of now nine 60+ Food and Friendship Centers is an important part of serving the growing senior population.

Seniors could call OFA Site Coordinator Debbie Gumprecht at 518-751-0267 by 1 p.m. the day before to make a reservation.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="A transformer fire at Athens Generating during the snowstorm on January 12 pulled firefighters from around the area, who put out the blaze and are monitoring it as it was reported to be "still smoldering" as of January 14."][/caption]While the rest of us were battening down the hatches for the January 12 blizzard, a transformer failure at the Athens Generating plant caused a fire late Tuesday night that occupied local firefighters into Wednesday afternoon, although no injuries were reported and the incident was "contained immediately" according to a report in the The Daily Mail on January 15. The problem occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, with officials from Greene County Emergency Services and the West Athens-Lime Street and Catskill Fire Departments rushing to the scene. While the fire was contained immediately, the transformer continued to smolder on Friday afternoon, even though plant officials maintained the situation was "completely contained" and the incident did not cause a hazardous condition for the public.

“The system was engineered for containment and it worked,” Administrative Manager Kristine Overbaugh said on Friday. “Everyone is safe. We have two other units and operations were not impacted on those units.”

Plant officials are now saying they are in constant communication with local fire departments, which they say provided an excellent response to the emergency. The transformer is located outside the main turbine hall on the grounds of Athens Generating. The cause of the problem is not yet known.

Athens Generating produces and sells electricity to the Mid-Hudson Valley, southeastern New York and the New York City regions, according to the company’s website. Planning and construction of the massive plant occurred a decade ago despite opposition from many in the local community.

“We are still looking into the cause,” Overbaugh said.

Because mineral oil is inside each transformer, fire and company officials worked to contain that as well, and there is no danger to the community. The plant has also been in contact with the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Energy and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is a requirement of the plant’s permit compliance in the event something like this should occur.

Employees are on-site at Athens Generating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the regular operating crew was on the job when the transformer blew. There were no injuries.

According to Overbaugh, this was the first time an incident like this has occurred since the plant was constructed several years ago.

President Barack Obama's trip to visit the General Electric plant in Schenectady has been rescheduled for Friday Jan. 21. The trip was originally slated for this last Tuesday Jan. 12, but was postponed due to the aftermath of the shootings in Arizona. The White House says of the trip via Capitol Confidential:

"The site is home to GE’s largest energy division, including steam turbines, generators, wind and solar, and the future home of GE’s advanced battery manufacturing facility. The President will tour the site with GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and he will make remarks on the importance of growing the economy and making America more competitive by investing in jobs, innovation and clean energy. The GE plant in Schenectady is a direct beneficiary of GE’s power turbine deal with India announced during the President’s trip last November."

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Taconic Farm in Germantown. Photo supplied by company."][/caption]Taconic, the local commercial supplier of transgenic, inbred, outbred, and hybrid mice and rats, as well as a host of varied laboratory services throughout the United States and in Europe, has announced that it plans to reduce its global workforce of approximately 1,000 employees by 49 positions, with 30 of those cuts coming from its Germantown facilities. Taconic is reorganizing its management structure for its companies in Germany, New Jersey and Denmark, forcing a company-wide need to consolidate some operations to provide better service to our customers. Corporate officials are saying, however, that they "will continue full operations at its sites in Germantown [Taconic Farms] and the Albany capital district" and maintain headquarters in Hudson, even with the cuts. "This restructuring is being implemented in response to issues created largely by the economic climate of the last three years and the negative impact those issues have had on pharmaceutical drug development," the company noted in a recent press release. "Pharmaceutical companies have closed an unprecedented number of research and development sites and reduced their numbers of employees by tens of thousands in the last 18 to 24 months. “Taconic’s long-term technology-based strategy is sound and we expect pharmaceutical companies to return to increased levels of drug discovery activity now that mergers and downsizing in the pharmaceutical sector have leveled off,” stated Todd F. Little, president and CEO. “Taconic has long-held value that our employees are essential to our success. We are supporting each departing employee in every way possible through their transition to alternate employment.”

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Cedar Grove, home of Thomas Cole, Hudson River School painter, in Catskill."][/caption]Not only is Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill, gearing up for the first of its 2011 lecture series this coming Sunday, January 16, but progress on its new front wall and fence, along with other site improvements, were a key topic of upbeat discussion at this past week's Village of Catskill trustee's meeting, where a report was made by local author Hudson Talbott, a WGXC Radio Council member, and other Cole House board members and employees.

The Sunday afternoon lectures at the home of Thomas Cole, the British painter who helped launch the Hudson River School of painting, America's first great art movement, kick off on January 16 with a presentation by historian and New York City architecture expert Francis Morrone on "Thomas Cole the Architect," including his design of the town's first St. Luke's Episcopal Church, turn down by Greene County in the last decade to make room for its new offices.

Future talks include Jack Larkin, The Chief Historian and Museum Scholar at Old Sturbridge Village, on "The Shape of Everyday Life: Peeking in on Thomas Cole and His Family at Home" on February 6; David Bjelajac on :Thomas Cole, Freemasonry and the American Hercules" on March 6; and Gay Myers and Lance Mayer doing "In the Studio with Thomas Cole," a sneak preview into new research on Thomas Cole's painting techniques, on April 3.

As for the January 10 meeting, the Daily Mail's Jim Planck reports that
Thomas Cole National Historic Site representatives attended to let the board know that all goes well with reconstruction of a stone wall fence that, in earlier days, once ran along the Spring Street face of the property.

For more information on the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, visit www.thomascole.org.

Local author Hudson Talbott, who is on the facility’s Board of Directors and is also in charge of its new Committee on Community Outreach, and Melissa Gavilanes, the site’s new Programs & Education Coordinator, told those present they were on hand to give an update on the project and answer any questions.

Gavilanes noted that the “fence is attracting a lot of attention,” in terms of what the project is, and that she also wanted to address the “rumor mill” regarding the project’s funding and finances.

“It’s to let everybody know what’s going on,” she said.

Gavilanes said the stone wall was part of the site’s original infrastructure, and explained that one of the missions of the organization is to not only preserve the house and grounds, but to restore them to their original conditions, when and as practicable and feasible.

To illustrate her statement, a handout distributed at the meeting contained a printout of an 1848 pencil drawing of Cedar Grove by Frederic Church, which shows the entire length of the fence, plus its two entrance column piers.

Also printed on the flyer was a circa 1905 photograph by early 20th century Catskill photographer Charles Van Loan, which shows the two columns with people next to them, thus providing a height reference for reconstruction.

Gavilanes said the funding for the project comes from stimulus funds through the Department of Interior’s National Park Service, and that the work — which is on hold for the winter months — is being performed by Majestic Restore Corp., the reconstruction company that was the low bidder.

The Queens and Yonkers-based firm has done work on a number of historic facilities in the Hudson Valley, including the 1730 Livingston Mansion, in Germantown, and the John Jay Homestead, in Katonah.

Gavilanes said that all the stones being used in the project are either purchased locally or are recycled ones from on-site.

She said trees that were restored earlier were also purchased locally, and that local people were used to plant them.

Gavilanes said work on the wall will resume in April.

“The stonewall’s a beautiful addition,” she said, “but it’s just one element of the site.”

Talbott agreed, adding that the goal is “to recreate the house and grounds to Cole’s times.”

“That’s our long term plan,” he said. “It’ll take us a while.”

Talbott also noted the local economic benefit from the project.

“It’s all federal dollars that we’re bringing back to our community,” he said.

Gavilanes said attendance at the historic facility is also part of the site’s economic benefit.

“We had 10,000 visitors last year,” she said, noting that number was achieved on only a six months-per-year season, from May to Oct.

She said visitors came from, literally, all over the nation and the globe.

Village President Vincent Seeley asked of other projects that might be coming down the line at some point, and Talbott said they hope eventually to relocate the entrance.

“The long term plan is to reorient our entrance (from the north side) to the Hudson Avenue side (on the south),” he said, “so you would enter with a view of the front of the house.”

Village Trustee James Chewens asked whether the organization is seeking to purchase adjoining properties, and Talbott said there are none being sought.

Talbott explained that a small parcel was, however, previously purchased, but that it is unrelated to the site and is a residential rental property, and not part of the not-for-profit agency.

He said it is on the opposite side of Spring Street, is already rented, and that apple trees have been planted in the front yard to begin a visual screening.

The difficulties of small town politics and governance come up in a piece in the Register Star published January 14 about a town councilman forced to resign his position because he moved a few miles over the town border... rendering him ineligible to serve. Expressing regrets about Republican Joseph Salvatore's departure, the rest of the Stockport town council, made up of three Republicans and one Democrat, said they would start searching for a replacement immediately. Salvatore’s resignation was accepted by Supervisor Leo Pulcher, effective Jan. 31, with the councilman and board expressing regrets about his move to neighboring Greenport. A similar resignation in the Town of Catskill, which occurred late in 2010 after supervisor Peter Markou was elected Greene County Treasurer and assumed his position at the start of December, was purposefully left unfilled by the town board there, which is split two to two, Democrats to Republicans, and felt it was working well as is and didn't want any additional controversy. Former deputy supervisor Pat Walsh was named Interim Supervisor until November, when the vacant position and full-time supervisor's position will be officially filled, effective in 2012. Stockport, by the way, is the only Columbia County town that still has no website, something that Salvatore was working on at the time of his resignation.

Pulcher told the Register-Star that Salvatore was always ready to “go that extra step … He was chairman of our youth committee. He took it seriously and did a great job.” Councilwoman Kathy Hamm echoed the sentiments, saying “it was a pleasure to work with you, Joe.”

Those who would fill his shoes are now encouraged to submit an application by Jan. 28. According to Pulcher, the board will choose his successor and the field is open to anyone eligible to vote in town.

In other town news, a public hearing was set for Feb. 2 at 6:45 p.m. on a proposed 2011 Local Law #1, which would amend the lot size requirements in the Planned Development District approved for the Holmes Estates at Columbia Springs subdivision, a 121-unit development that has been in the works since 2004.

Pulcher said the project “ran into a little snag” when it became evident that the development’s townhouses “don’t go with the sizes in the district” that was approved by the town in the fall of 2009. In that approval, the lot sizes were “based on a certain limit,” Pulcher said, “so we have to amend the PDD to take that into account.”

After the hearing was set, Hamm said she was “opposed.” When Pulcher pointed out that there was no motion on the floor and asked her to clarify, she offered that she’d prefer to “sit in the audience.”

“I don’t like the way they are doing it,” she added. There was no further discussion.

That was somewhat reminiscent of the scene in October 2009, when the Planned Development District was approved. Then-Board Member Jack Mabb voted yes but “with plenty of reservations.”

Foremost among them was a concern that, despite the preservation of offsetting open space, the lot sizes would be too small. According to a press account at the time, he said he felt it could change the look of the hamlet.

Pulcher also reported progress in development of a website for the town, the only municipality in the county without a website listed in official records (www.columbiacountyny.com/town.html).

The matter has been under discussion for months if not years, and Hamm asked whether a package of historical photographs and other materials for the website developed by a resident last year were in the hands of the site’s designated developer.

“The gentleman was in the garage today,” said Pulcher at the January Town Board meeting, referring to a volunteer software developer who visited Pulcher at his place of business.

The Stockport Police Department hosts a website that appears to be frequently updated and provides contact information for every officer, each of whom is assigned to a particular neighborhood under the “Community Policing” program. More information is available at www.stockportpolice.org.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="The Village of Coxsackie is in the midst of building a new $3.5 million water treatment plant, as local line breaks continue. "][/caption]The Daily Mail reports today, January 14, that a series of water breaks in the Village of Coxsackie is continuing, including one on Kings Road, which has experienced several breaks over the past couple of weeks. To address the ongoing problem with the century-old water pipes, the village is planning on making repairs that will at least localize the problems when they do occur. “We have continued to have a fair number of water breaks not related to a specific problem,” Mayor Mark Evans said during the January Village Board meeting. “We are having a couple of valves replaced so when we do have these breaks, we will only have to shut off a couple of streets – we won’t have to shut down the entire village."

With all the water problems of late, the CodeRed notification system has gotten off to a busy start. Implemented in the village late last year, CodeRed sends out alerts to everyone in the system about problems such as water breaks, boil water alerts, road closings, emergencies or other issues facing village residents. Recipients can get alerts via landline, cell phone, email or text message. Alerts are sent out by the mayor, village clerk, department heads or other village employees.

The Village of Catskill has also had problems with their water system in recent years, and have had to disseminate Boil Water alerts on several occasions, with varying results and many complaints.

“Our staff has gotten accustomed to using the system and they have sent out several messages so far. It is working well, and people are continually signing up for it,” Evans said. “People may not be happy with the water being shut off, but they are glad they are getting timely notice when it does happen.”

Deputy Mayor Stephen Hanse said he received a CodeRed alert the night before, and said it makes a big difference in how problems such as water line breaks impact his family.

“Information is key. The system is able to provide residents with notice and it provides a sense of how long the water will be off so you can plan for it,” Hanse said.

Residents who are not in the database can sign up at www.villageofcoxsackie.com. There is no charge to be included in the database or to receive alerts.

It's a half hour to one-hour drive from most places in our coverage area, but still worth it for those with curiosity or fear. Onteora Middle/High School in the Ulster County town of Olive, located along Route 28 and easily accessible from the Route 23A corridor in Greene County, as well as from the Thruway, is hosting one of its popular speakers series events at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, January 18, called “Sex Offenders in Your Community: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Family.” School officials say the community forum will provide the public with accurate and timely information about sex offenders. It also is designed to dispel myths about sex offenders and advise community members about how to better protect their families from people who commit sex offenses. The forum also is designed to educate community members about the state’s Sex Offender Registry. Presenters at the forum will be from Ulster County Victims Assistance Program, the county Probation Department, the town of Ulster Police Department and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Hopefully, attendees will avoid some of the witch hunt-like situations that have arisen in local communities around this issue in recent years.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption=""Kayak Guy" Bill Quick of Gilboa, seen in a family photo from his last trip in Biscayne Bay, Florida over thje holidays, died while snorkeling on January 5. "][/caption]Bill Quick, one of a growing number of avid kayakers within the Catskill region who not only paddled the Hudson and its tributaries but ventured much farther afield for watery adventures, and eventually saw most local creeks and culverts as navigable, died January 5 while snorkeling off Key Largo, Fla. He was 58, based in the Schoharie County community of Gilboa, and author of a blog called "KayakGuy," which was his self-styled moniker, for which Quick meticulously documented dozens of kayak trips he took up and down the East Coast since making his first serious paddle in 2002 at age 50 as a means of quitting a two-pack-a-day smoking habit and finding solace after losing his job. A memorial service for the man was held in Cairo on January 13 and his website has this week become a repository of fellow kayakers thoughts about their departed friend, as well as a memorial to the sort of late life renaissance Quick's example came to represent. Three years ago another legendary local kayaker, the "whitewater outlaw" Dennis Squires, 48 of Margaretville, also drowned while kayaking in New Zealand. His passing, too, draw a heartfelt response from the close-knit local kayaking world.

The Times Union ran a touching piece about Quick this week...

Bill Quick, who took up paddling as a way to kick a 35-year, 2-pack-a-day smoking habit and found a Zen-like quality in the rhythm of long-distance kayak trips, died Jan. 5 while snorkeling off Key Largo, Fla. He was 58.

Author of a blog called "KayakGuy," which was his self-styled moniker, Quick meticulously documented dozens of kayak trips he took up and down the East Coast since making his first serious paddle in 2002 at age 50.

Four years later, after Panasonic shut down its plasma display panel TV manufacturing plant in Schoharie County, the downsized 54-year-old manager turned a midlife crisis into an opportunity for self-discovery.

"Kayaking became his religion," said his wife, Pamela Quick. "He felt like he was one with the universe when he was in his kayak."

The couple first met in first grade while attending a one-room schoolhouse in Sawkill, outside Kingston. They wed while they were still teenagers and were married for 40 years. They have 7 children, 13 grandchildren and another grandchild on the way. Their home is outside Gilboa in Schoharie County. A former nurse, she operates a faux-finishing and mural-painting business.

Quick was a landlocked Upstater, but he made his way to the coast and open water whenever he could.

He owned seven kayaks and made long trips in a 17-foot solo touring kayak. He preferred flat water. A self-contained explorer, he stowed in waterproof compartments a sleeping bag, tent, air mattress, pillow, freeze-dried food, water, small stove, radio, binocular, coffee and tea. He never paddled without a camera.

He posted to his "KayakGuy" website hundreds of images of waterfowl, wildlife, bald eagles, stunning vistas and scenes of the natural beauty he encountered. He documented each trip with a map, mileage and musings on his blog. An example of KayakGuy philosophy: "It is what it is, and I shall find joy in it."

He enjoyed exploring out-of-the-way places, such as Florida's mangrove swamps or uncharted coastal coves and inlets.

"Every time I set out in one of my kayaks, I have an adventure!" he wrote. "That's why I paddle, and paddle, and paddle."

He described the mesmerizing rhythm of kayaking as a kind of addiction. "I get lost in the rhythm of the paddle," he said.

He was rarely in a hurry. He paddled the length of the Hudson River and along the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany, averaging about 20 miles a day. He sometimes joined up with other kayak enthusiasts, but loved the solitude of solo paddling.

"When he was in his kayak or talking about kayaking, you'd see his face light up," his wife said. She tried paddling with him at first but didn't share his passion. She occasionally paddled out to greet him as he neared the end long journeys.

Quick looked forward to an annual December kayak trip in Florida with his younger brother, Jim "YakMan" Quick. They had completed 10 days of paddling and KayakGuy logged his Everglades and Largo Sound mileage on his blog. The end came on a snorkeling trip he and his brother took aboard an excursion boat.

While snorkeling five miles offshore, Quick had trouble breathing, was brought back aboard the boat, but lost consciousness and could not be revived by CPR, his wife said. A cause of death has not been determined. Autopsy results will not be available for a few more weeks, she said.

Quick's long-term goal had been to reach 10,000 miles of paddling. It seemed like an insurmountable distance at first, but year after year he persevered.

He posted his last blog update on Dec. 29, 2010. He had logged 9,216.43 miles. He had not yet added the mileage from his last few paddles in Florida.

"He got very close to 10,000 miles," his wife said.

A memorial service for Quick was from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, January 13 at Richards Funeral Home in Cairo.

For more information, visit his website at http://kayakguy.org.

The last remaining state legislaive post still awaiting a final decision following last November's election tallies seems to be a battleground of spin and press releases, for the time being. This week, Mid Hudson News Network ran a story about former holder of the seat Thomas Kirwin, a Republican, being ahead of incumbent Democrat Frank Skartados be between 12 and 14 votes, with local Republican party officials saying there were only three outstanding ballots to be ruled on by a State Supreme Court justice. Local Democrats, meanwhile, are pointing out that there But, Skartados told MidHudsonNews.com that he will not concede and that there are between 46 and 70 unopened absentee ballots that they want opened and counted in the 100th District Assembly race. Orange County Republican Chairman William DeProspo is calling on the judge to certify the election and allow a representative for the district. Ulster County GOP Chairwoman Robin Yess had the same sentiments – resolve the race once and for all and get a duly elected representative in Albany. Kirwan, who held that seat before Skartados beat him two years ago, is meanwhile saying he feels frustrated. “It looks like the fat lady has left the building and I think the orchestra has too,” he said. “I think the only people still left are my opponent, our lawyers and me.” Skartados, meanwhile, is simply saying all votes should be counted.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Warren Street in Hudson hosts several intersections that are reportedly problems for pedestrians, along with much of the city's downtown area."][/caption]The subject of pedestrian safety on the city streets of Hudson came up this week in what the Register Star termed a "startling announcement" by the Rev. Ed Cross, a Democratic city council member from the second ward, at the Common Council's January 10 meeting that he had been struck by a car in a hit-and-run accident, which then prompted several other officials to begin sharing their own stories, prompting ever further discussion as to what should be done about an allegedly escalating number of pedestrian-versus-car incidents in the city.

Cross said he was walking down State Street near the intersection with North Fourth Street around 8 a.m. Dec. 22 when a man exiting the John L. Edwards Primary School driveway proceeded to turn right onto State Street. As the driver attempted to make a right onto State Street, he was looking left, Cross said, and proceeded to strike Cross with his vehicle. “He was in the crosswalk, I stepped around the car, and that’s when he turned right,” said Cross. “I put my hands out, I stumbled, and he kept going.” Cross said he saw the man again the next day, in the same spot, and confronted him. “When I stopped him, he said, ‘Oh, you’re the guy who ran into my car,’” said Cross. “I told him we see things differently.” Cross said he did not file a police report about the incident, but did alert the crossing guard manning the intersection right after it happened. The crossing guard was “doing her job” and did not witness Cross being hit, he said.

Ensuring discussion centered on specific intersections that pose problems for pedestrians, including that of Fourth and Warren streets and Third and Columbia streets, as well as a general call for greater police surveillance... and more study as to ways of promoting driver awareness that Hudson is a walking town. The Register Star earlier alluded to another surprise announcement regarding Mayor Rick Scalera at the same meeting.

“Maybe I’m unlucky,” Cross said, “but I don’t think so.”

Cross’ rehashing of his experience prompted several other elected officials to share stories of almost getting hit by cars in Hudson, or knowing people who have been hit by cars: Common Council President Don Moore said his wife was hit by a car at the intersection of Fifth and Warren streets, while Alderman Chris Wagoner, D-Hudson3, said a guest at his inn, the Union Street Guest House, was also hit by a car on Warren Street and sustained a head injury as a result.

Alderwoman Ellen Thurston, D-Hudson3, said the city “needs some police action on this.”

“People are not used to the crosswalks,” said Thurston. “I make a point of getting into the crosswalk to force the car to stop.”

She added, “The corner of Fourth and State is particularly bad.”

Alderwoman Sheila Ramsey echoed Cross’ assertion that the problem mostly stems from drivers turning right, especially at red lights, without surveying crosswalks and looking carefully in both directions.

Mayor Rick Scalera agreed with Ramsey.

“Aldeman Ramsey hit it on the head,” he said. “The bigger issue is going right on red.”

Hudson Police Chief Ellis C. Richardson said several conversations have taken place throughout many city administrations about the intersection of Fourth and State streets. In August 2008, the city replaced the blinking red light which had graced the intersection for several years with a full-fledged traffic signal.

“They’ve always tried to change the way the traffic lights operate for better functionality with respect to the traffic flow,” Richardson told the Register-Star about the intersection. “There have been so many different dialogues in regard to that particular area — I can’t confirm nor deny whether or not (pedestrians getting hit by cars) was the reason for the change ... There have been a lot of issues up there, and in some respects, it has always been somewhat problematic to one degree or another.”

Richardson said he wasn’t aware of a particularly high volume of car-versus-pedestrian accidents in Hudson, or whether the number of incidents had fluctuated in recent years.

“We could come up with some statistics, but what do you compare those statistics to?” Richardson asked. He said he would gather information as to the frequency of pedestrian-versus-car incidents in the city.

Moore and other members of the Common Council said the topic should be brought up at the city’s next police committee meeting.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Cus D'Amato and his leading protoge, the former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson."][/caption]It's one of the WGXC coverage area's leading landmarks, and yet few have actually visited it. And for those who have, it's a perfect metaphor for many things, given its mash-up of intents and purposes over the years, as well as the complex repercussions of so much of its history. We're talking about the place where champions Mike Tyson, Floyd Paterson and Vinnie Pazienza learned their boxing skills. A place once located three floors over Main Street in a commercial building but later moved to the former village courtroom in the building that now houses village offices, with entries from 422 Main Street as well as, more regularly used, in the back... the Cus D'Amato Gym, named for the legendary trainer who made Catskill his home base for years. The Daily Mail has a fine Jim Planck story in its January 14 issue that takes the occasion of the The Village of Catskill Board of Trustees being given a status report on the gym this week with an update on all that's still going on the place that's part shrine. part museum and all active boxing mecca.

Planck reports that the gym's Board of Directors president Sandra Lewis Smith, along with board secretary and trainer Ernest Westbrooke, gave an overview on a variety of ongoing and upcoming programs and activities, as well as individual fighters and their forthcoming bouts. She said the 2011 Rumble in the Catskills will be held July 16 at Catskill High School, and asked Village President Vincent Seeley if he would again be the event’s official emcee, to which Seeley agreed. Lewis Smith said local NYS Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R-Schoharie), who uses the gym on afternoons, has also asked to take part in the emceeing, so that between the two, “our cup would indeed runneth over,” she said.

Regarding staff personnel, Lewis Smith said they have “identified a fighter to work with the young men, two days a week,” and that he will be paid by the hour, coming in at 4:30 for one hour. “He will assist Ernest,” she said, “who will set up their curriculum for training.”

Lewis Smith said there are currently seven youths under the age of 15 who come to the gym with their parents to begin training.

Lewis Smith spoke about current plans to put a museum in the gym, as well.

“Their parents have all signed waivers,” she said, “and because we do not charge for anyone under 18 years of age, we have suggested to the parents that we will accept a donation to the gym.”

She said that, per procedure, the board has also set up Directors’ Insurance.

Lewis Smith also said the gym is “as running smoothly as possible,” with the Board of Directors continuing its interaction with trainers and oversight of the facility.

She said that, excepting Kevin Rooney, all trainers “collect a monthly fee for the gym from the people they are training that are over 18 years of age,” noting that Rooney prefers to have his fighters not pay anything.

“He says, ‘Cus doesn’t like it, (in that) he wouldn’t approve,” she said.

Of the gym’s fighters, Lewis Smith said bouts are in the offing.

“The gym will send four fighters to Lyons in February, to the preliminary boxing event for the Golden Gloves” said Lewis Smith, “which take place in April.”

“These fighters train five days a week with Ernest Westbrooke,” she said.

“They are Jason Profit, Victor Kiokonsis, Dave Tomaso, and our young fly weight, Islam Jenkins, for the Junior Golden Gloves,” she said.

Lewis Smith also said that Profit will fight at the end of the week in Saratoga, on Friday, Jan. 14, in the NYS Amateur Championships.

“Jason won that event last year,” she said.

Lewis Smith also discussed two possible projects for the gym that both center around the visual arts.

“A NYC film school project has requested using the gym for two days in April,” she said, noting that the school has overcome a funding shortfall for the project, as previously identified at a meeting with the group last fall.

“This has been finalized as a project for them,” she said, adding that project sponsors have secured appropriate production insurance.

Lewis Smith said she will “meet with them in the next few weeks, to establish a schedule and logistics.”

She indicated that if the project takes place, it will do so “on a weekend, so they would not interfere with business in the building.”

“Should we go forward,” Lewis Smith added, “I will request an additional (insurance) rider for the gym.”

“It is a boxing film,” she said, “and they have requested two of our fighters and a trainer -- which would be Ernest Westbrooke -- to work with them.”

“I will set up a meeting with you, prior to giving them permission to go ahead with the project,” she said.

The second project is related to television.

“We are in discussion with a producer from a multimedia organization,” Lewis Smith said. “He has proposed a reality show on the gym.”

“It is too early,” she said, “to know how this will move along.”

“However, it looks like it may work,” she added, “(and) I will set up a meeting between you, the producer, and myself.”

“He thinks it has real potential as a continuing show,” she said.

Lewis Smith also provided trustees with a sketch of a 2011 season Main Street art cat that is being proposed by 11-year-old Sky Rich, son of local artist Kenn Rich.

The cat is to be named “Mike Tigerson,” and appropriately wears a Cus D’Amato’s Boxing Gym robe, Everlast boxing trunks, boxing gloves, and a championship belt.

In general discussion, Trustee Brian Kehoe asked of any financial relationship between the gym and the village, and Village President Vincent Seeley said there is none.

Seeley said the village allows the gym the space in that it is “a service to the community.”

Catskill Town Councilman Michael Smith, husband of Gym President Sandra Lewis Smith and also on the Board of Directors, was also at the meeting and expressed support for the facility, calling it “a powerful component in the community.”

“Not just for the people who use it,” he said, “but also (because of) who has trained there.”

“Consider the great fighters, “ he said, and Westbrooke tallied some of those names for those present -- Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, Jose Torres, Wilfred Benitez, Edwin Rossario, and Vinny Pazienza.

Given the gym’s stature, Smith suggested marketing for it should be enhanced.

Smith said he feels a level of effort should be put into promoting the facility’s cultural presence in a strength similar to that which promotes facilities such as the Thomas Cole House.

Lewis Smith said it is a goal to “put a museum in the gym.”

“It would be a big first step in promoting it,” she said, adding it is her hope to “do that in the spring.”

She also noted that the gym is, itself, a living museum.

For more information on Cus D’Amato’s Boxing Gym, visit www.catskillboxinggym.com.

Town meetings tonight
HISTORIC PRESERVATION Hudson Historic Preservation Commission meeting at 10 a.m. at City Hall.


Weather
COLD We are now in our annual late-January severe cold spell. Get used to it.


Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 9:53 a.m./Low, 5:14 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:24 a.m./4:47 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 12:04 p.m./2:22 a.m.


Birthdays
JANUARY 14 Benedict Arnold, Albert Schweitzer, and Nina Totenberg.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="319" caption="From Rasputina website."][/caption]Hudson can now definitely claim cello-driven trio Rasputina as its own. A press release announcing a tour for their new album "Sister Kinderhook" says [Rasputina leader] "Melora [Creager] produced and engineered the thing at her homestead in the country. Hudson, NY is home to many fabulous female artists that gained notoriety in the 1990s, including Melora, Melissa Auf Der Maur, and M'Shell N'Degeocello." The band will kick off the latest leg of its tour Feb. 17 at Helsinki Hudson. Creager grew up in Kansas moved to New York City at 18 to study photography at Parsons School of Design. She began playing cello with the 4AD band, Ultra Vivid Scene, and eventually forming Rasputina, touring with Nirvana, and releasing six albums on Columbia, Instinct, and their own Filthy Bonnet Recording Co. label. The New York Times and others have recently touted Hudson as home to diverse internationally-recognized stars such as the ones mentioned above and Alexander Turnquist and Bunnybrains; and emerging talents such as Lady Moon, Liv Carrow, and Evan Randall. The meme has Hudson becoming a miniature-Austin, Texas, in terms of its music scene.


For more information visit www.rasputina.com

RASPUTINA WINTER TOUR DATES

2/17 Hudson, NY – Club Helsinki

2/18 Buffalo, NY – Club Diablo

2/19 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Place

2/20 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick

2/22 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom

2/23 Cincinnati, OH – 20th Century Theater

2/24 Morganton, WV – 123 Pleasant Street

2/25 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

2/26 New York, NY – Highline Ballroom

From The 12534 via Frantik magazine:

Rasputina has announced the June release of their seventh full length album, Sister Kinderhook, recorded in Hudson, NY

….produced by band founder Melora Creager and mixed by Creager and Brian Kehew. The album was recorded at Filthy Bonnet studios in Hudson NY by Melora (lead vocals, cello), Daniel deJesus (cello) and Catie D’Amica (percussion). The band will be touring North America this July.

[caption id="attachment_7303" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Kwanzaa traditions at Hudson Association Library - one of the variety of programs funded through the Decentralization Grants program administered by the Greene County and Columbia County councils for the arts, who supplied this photo."][/caption]The Greene County Council on the Arts and the Columbia County Council on the Arts announced the recipients of regrant awards through the Twin Counties Cultural Fund Decentralization Program for Columbia and Greene Counties on January 13. A total of 32 not-for-profit organizations between the two counties have been awarded $43,976 in funding in support of cultural programming and activities for 2011. Greene County received 16 requests for funding totaling $50,250 – more than twice the amount of available regrant funds. Sixteen organizations received $20,229 in DEC Program Project Support which includes those that act as a conduit (fiscal managers) for local artist initiated projects. Columbia County received 17 applications for requests totaling $56,060 –more than twice the amount of available regrant funds. Sixteen organizations received $23,747 in DEC Project Support.

Greene County's grants are:

Athens Cultural Arts Center was awarded $1400 for a costume exhibit and youth acting workshop.
Athens Cultural Arts Center and Ann Carter-Cox were awarded $300 for performance of songs & stories of the British Isles & Appalachia.
Catskill Community Center, Matt Bua and Laura Anderson were awarded $2000 for a teen history and art project at the Catamount People’s Museum in Catskill.
Catskill Mountain Wolf Center and Joseph Capone were awarded $1600 for performance of an original play at Catskill Point based on the life of Sybil Ludington.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County was awarded $800 for Little Theater in the Woods children’s theater program at Acra Forestry Education site.
D.R. Evarts Library was awarded $750 for storytelling, didjeridoo, world music and other cultural programs.
Dragonfly Performing Arts Center was awarded $1200 for 2011 main stage productions.
Heart of Catskill and David Woodin/Catskill Chamber Orchestra were awarded $1879 for classical music concerts by professional and local amateur musicians.
Love ‘N Care Pet Sanctuary and Margo Muller/Soup-2-Nuts Theater were awarded $1500 for Keepers of the Light, children’s theater project based on the Hudson-Athens lighthouse.
Oak Hill Preservation Association was awarded $900 for presentations by clay and mixed-media artist Dina Bursztyn and the David Spring Trio at Oak Hill Day.
Pleshakov Music Center was awarded $1900 for Greene County Days mini-concerts.
Rivertown Housing, Jeanne Heiberg and Ann Cooper were awarded $1000 for
writing and collage workshops, public reading, and exhibit
Schoharie Creek Players was awarded $1000 for presentation of Crimes of the Heart or a comparable classic comedy
Town of Hunter and Kevin VanHentenryck were awarded $2000 for an outdoor stone carving class and demonstration on 23A in Hunter.
Ulster-Greene ARC was awarded $1000 for visual arts programs for developmentally disabled adults and public exhibit
Windham Public Library was awarded $1000 for mask-making, origami, paper mache, and other visual arts programs.

Columbia County grants include:

Clarion Concerts was awarded $1131 for their 2011 Leaf Peeper Series
Ghent Playhouse was awarded $1221 for production of “The Fantasticks” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”
Hudson Area Library and Diata Diata International Folkloric Theatre were awarded $3000 for original music and dance production “The Rooster and the Crocodile.”
Hudson Chamber Opera was awarded $1263 for “the Art of Song.”
Hudson Jazzworks was awarded $646 for a master class, pre-concert symposium, and improvisational jazz concert.
Hudson River Classics/Showcase Theater was awarded $1227 in support for a series of staged readings.
Hudson Valley Choral Society was awarded $2277 for musicians for spring and winter concerts
North Chatham Library was awarded $1600 for Literature and the Arts programming.
North Chatham Library and (WGXC programmer) Sheri Bauer-Mayorga were awarded $2500 for Cross River Youth Corale
Philmont Library was awarded $1500 for four outdoor concerts.
Philmont Library and Victoria Brill were awarded $321 for lecture/demos on art and art history at Philmont Library.
Roeliff Jansen Library and Robin Becker were awarded $1021 for Columbia Chamber Orchestra’s Indian, fusion & classical piano concerts
Roving Actors Ensemble was awarded $1521 for production of “Cabaret” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
Spencertown Academy and Bend the Knotted Oak were awarded for $1221 for chamber music concerts with art and dialogue.
Taconic Stage Company and Sharon Powers were awarded $1021 for four music ensemble concerts at Church of St John in Copake Falls.
Valatie Community Theatre was awarded $2277 for technical and professional support for young actors production

All funding awards were competitive and determined by a panel of artists, arts professionals, and community members for their respective county.
The Decentralization Program (DEC) is administered by local arts councils and provides vital funding to community-based not-for-profit organizations and artists through a New York State Council on the Arts regrant program. These funds are intended to support artistic programs and services that directly and generously benefit the public.

In what some are already seeing as a possible environmental victory, the city of Hudson has reached a settlement with Cargill Inc. to end the transportation and storage of salt at the city’s waterfront along the Hudson River. A Register Star story on January 13 notes that the settlement dictates that Cargill will permanently cease the transportation of salt to the port for storage, as well as completely remove all salt currently being stored at the property.

City Attorney Cheryl Roberts said that under the settlement Cargill will be required to remove all salt stored outside by May of this year, and the company will be given until May 2012 to remove the salt being housed inside the 25,000-square-foot building which sits at the deep water port owned by Holcim cement company. The reasoning for this, explained Roberts and Moore, was to lessen the impact of the amount of truck traffic that will be required to remove all the salt from the property.

Separately, Moore and other council members passed a resolution January 10 pushing Hudson to purchase Holcim's waterfront property, which took Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera by surprise, according to Gossips of Rivertown and other sources.

“I’m delighted to know that one of the principal objectives for the waterfront will be achieved within a year and a half,” said Common Council President Don Moore. “I think that, where sometimes it appears that progress is less than likely, this is one clear example that progress can be achieved — and is.”

“This does not mean there will be no salt trucks tomorrow,” added Moore. “There’s a lot to take out, and it seemed to us that the tradeoff of giving them a little longer was that there weren’t as many trucks running through the streets — if we said you have to get it all out in three months, there would be an endless line of trucks. There’s a lot of salt in that shed.”

Under a special/conditional use permit issued by the Hudson Planning Commission in 1996 to Azko Nobel Salt Inc. (Cargill’s predecessor), Azko received clearance to unload salt from ships on the Hudson River for storage in the building on the property. Salt is also stored in outside areas of the parcel. The understanding was that the salt would be trucked approximately 50 yards from the salt ships to the storage facility along a one-acre concrete area paved on an existing bulkhead on the river.

Cargill has a lease through 2013 to store salt at the port, according to the settlement agreement.

Just a few months ago, in September 2010, City Code Enforcement Officer Peter Wurster found Cargill to be in violation of the conditional use permit upon receiving numerous complaints from residents that the company was trucking salt through city streets rather than solely receiving deliveries from ships on the river (a practice the company stopped about two years ago, by Mayor Richard Scalera’s estimate). Scalera, Wurster and Moore all witnessed firsthand the salt being transported to and from the facility over land via trucks rather than just receiving salt from barges.

Moore also reported receiving testimony from residents that the salt trucks were driving through the city as early as 4 or 5 a.m., while Scalera said the city allows trucks to pass through no earlier than 7 a.m.

Scalera said Cargill has been amicable throughout the process, and that the company “took the city’s concerns seriously, agreeing to the terms of the settlement without delay.”

“They’ve been extremely cooperative from the time that we indicated that they were in violation down there,” Scalera told the Register-Star. “They did their due diligence ... instead of fighting it legally, they took the high road and agreed with us and offered this conclusion, which means ending all the salt being piled down there and removing the rest.”

Moore said in a prepared statement that the city is expected to pass its long-awaited Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) in the next few months, and that Cargill’s removal of the salt at the Holcim dock will create a breadth of opportunities for the waterfront.

“The LWRP has been amended to reflect the fact that the city no longer supports use of prime waterfront land for the storage of salt,” said Moore. “Through the LWRP, the city is working ... to obtain access to and ownership of some of Holcim’s riverfront property, including some of the land currently utilized for salt storage. Passage of the LWRP and removal of the salt storage operation will open up many possibilities for public use and enjoyment of the waterfront.”

Scalera commended Roberts and Wurster for their efforts to enforce city code and quickly resolve the issue.

“Now we can turn our attention to passing the LWRP, rerouting the remaining truck traffic going to the port and continuing development of our waterfront with a vibrant mix of compatible commercial, recreational and shipping uses,” Scalera said.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Air Force One, on which former Hudson resident and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand accompanied the president to an Arizona service in the wake of the January 8 shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and others in Tuscon, AZ."][/caption]With all the news about President Obama's healing speech in Tuscon yesterday, which even conservative pundits appear to be praising -- at least for now -- it turns out that our region's own former Congressman and current U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand made the trip to Arizona with the first couple, on Air Force One. She and other congressional members, a press release noted, traveled to the University of Arizona Medical Center to visit with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ husband, staff, and other victims and their loved ones before attending the mass service on the University of Arizona campus. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that only in moments of darkness, can we see the stars. I hope in this time of sadness and loss, we can find new strength to come together as a nation and foster greater respect for one another," Gillibrand said in a press release. "We may never make any sense of this heinous crime, but I remember how Gabby so often urged people to stand up to the violent language that divides us, and focus on solutions. That is exactly what we need to do right now. I want to thank President Obama for his compassionate leadership at this time of great national tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of this horrible tragedy, their loved ones, and with all Americans as we struggle to move forward together.” Gillibrand later told CNN's Anderson Cooper this, via WIVB:

"Sen. Gillibrand said, 'We were talking about all the things we wanted to do as soon as she got better, and all the things we hoped to do with her, and we knew she was responding and was holding our hands, and caressing our hands and squeezing them, and moving her arms, moving her legs, and the most amazing thing about it, she started opening her eyes. And when her husband saw her making this effort, he urged her and said, "Gabby, open your eyes, open your eyes." And sure enough, she did.'"