Tune in today
TUNE IN WGXC will air the following live shows on WGXC Online Radio Monday:
•WGXC Morning Show 6-8 a.m. live with Casson Kennedy and Mark Lacoy; repeated at 4-6 p.m.
Click here to listen.

Town meetings tonight
TOWN OF CANAAN Canaan Town Board will hold the Organizational Meeting. The regular monthly meeting will follow the Organizational Meeting. 6:30 p.m. at Canaan Town Hall, 1647 County Route 5 Canaan.

Weather
COLD But partly cloudy.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 7:11 p.m./Low, 1:14 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:24 a.m./4:42 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 10:11 a.m./11:16 p.m.

AP via The Wall Street Journal reports President Barack Obama has postponed his planned trip Tuesday to a General Electric factory in Schenectady, and The White House says it will be rescheduled. Obama called on people in the United States to observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m. EST Monday to honor victims of the Arizona shooting. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot at a public event Saturday morning, with six people killed, and 12 others injured... Earlier Sunday, the shooting also precluded the national coming-out of local Congressman Chris Gibson, who was scheduled to be featured in ABC's "This Week" program, but was bumped due to the events in Arizona.

Martin Roby recorded audio mp3s of the December 30 Stuyvesant town board meeting. Click here to select of the many short mp3s of different topics of the meeting that Roby recorded.

Building lot size changes: Ron Knott talks then Martin Roby ask a question (15M)
Questions on attorney invoices? Who does the Town Attorney work for? Why are the bank records blurred so we can read the checks? First: Martin Roby then Tal Rappleyea, then Will Pflaum, then Valerie Bertram, and last Ronald Knott (25M)
Damage to mail boxes/car from snow plows (3.3M)
Greenway money for garage update; apparently the new agency head wants more information on boat launch turned salt shed. (12M)
december_meeting_room_decoration.mp3 (1.3M)
Assessor report (1.5M)
Town Clerk report (1.6M)
Setting date for budget workshop (4.9M)
Ed Scott no longer on trails (2.8M)
Historian about the book on Stuyvesant (4.4M)
Questions on county resolutions (3.7M)
Rail Road: Ron Knott
Martin Roby: Questions about the Falls Bridge to get painted and Valerie Bertram responds (18M)


recreation_Lee_Jamison_no_trails.mp3 (6.1M)
Two resign position open on zba and maintainance for the cemetery (9.6M)
zoning_none planning: Charlene Leach and Will Pflaum (3.3M)

Congressman Chris Gibson, who represents Greene and Columbia counties, released this statement after the shooting this morning of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords: "My wife Mary Jo and I were deeply saddened to learn of the details of this horrific attack. We send along our thoughts and prayers to Congresswoman Giffords and her family, friends, and staff. We pray for all those affected by this tragedy." Gibson was to be featured Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour on WTEN, but the show bumped the segment because of the shooting.

Consolidation is coming our way, with neighboring Northern Dutchess towns now joining a wave that's also included Greene County's southern neighbor, Ulster County, and resulted in a well-attended conference on the subject last month. A story by Jim Gordon in HV Biz this week addressed a Dec. 15 public forum hosted by the Northern Dutchess Alliance titled, “Shared Services Across Northern Dutchess Towns," and how it worked with the alliance’s stated goal to “create a broad-based and inclusive institutional structure for regional cooperation and economic development," using a public process to build support for ideas.

The forum included a discussion on case studies of successful consolidations of services, particularly in Ulster County. A follow-up report on possible areas for consolidation is expected early next year. Saugerties town Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel spoke about the consolidation of the town and village police forces – a laborious but successful effort that won approval from both town and village voters and members of both departments, which saw no layoffs.

“One element is not to rush things,” said Lucy Hayden, president of the alliance. “That consolidation of jobs was done over such a long time no one actually lost their position. That was a useful bit of insight.”

“In New York state, the cost of government is coming home to roost and it will be painful,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern for Progress.

“I think what we are trying to convey is the effort to restructure government service delivery is going to happen whether with government leading the way or having it fostered upon it,” said Drapkin. “It will either be done after intelligent planning or because local taxpayers will not continue to pay increased costs for government when that cost is rising without increased services.”

He said that once a successful consolidation is completed, other employees and officials become less reluctant to try it in other departments. “Once a major objection to the whole process was a loss of jobs,” said Drapkin, referring to the police merger in Saugerties. “Once that did not in fact happen, people have opened their minds to the whole process.”

While efforts in Ulster County continue, Pattern is teaming with the Northern Dutchess Alliance to seek opportunities for consolidations there and are interviewing town supervisors and mayors for input. Their report “will point the way in Dutchess,” said Hayden.

Talk about local indications of the growing national trend of union-bashing that's been building in recent years. John Mason reports in the Register Star today that a labor relationships specialist for Taconic Hills Central School District teachers and staff has been barred from entering school grounds without the permission of Superintendent Mark Sposato.

In a Jan. 3 letter, Sposato told Pamela Melville, an attorney with the New York State United Teachers, “Your behavior at the meeting of the Taconic Hills Central School District Board of Education meeting held on Dec. 22, 2010 was disruptive, belligerent, condescending and disrespectful. As a Labor Relations Specialist for NYSUT, a prominent statewide organization, your actions were inexcusable, unprofessional and will not be tolerated.” Melville works with both the faculty association and the support staff association. A former Canaan town judge, she has been a labor advocate for 20 years, a labor and employment lawyer for more than 11 years and a field rep for 10. “When I do my job, anybody who knows me can tell you I am an utmost professional,” she said. “One of my guidelines in what I do is to maintain civility.” Melville said she will be filing a notice of claim and an improper practice charge because “the superintendent and district don’t have the authority to keep me off the grounds, or to interfere in my role as the representative for the Faculty and Support Staff associations.”

In his Jan. 3 letter, Sposato goes on to say that, due to her actions, Melville will not be allowed on school property “for any reason, including meetings, school functions or activities, without prior permission from the Superintendent of Schools. If you fail to confirm prior approval, the police will be called, you will be removed from the premise, and a complaint for trespass will be sworn out. Regards, Mark A. Sposato, Superintendent of Schools.”

Robert Freeman of the New York State Committee on Open Government said “the only people that have a right to attend executive sessions are members of the board.” He added that “there’s nothing in the law that requires officials to respond to any question.”

However, he said, Melville “should have the same privilege of the floor as any other member of the public. I don’t think the superintendent or the board have the ability to preclude any member of the public from attending an open meeting.”

On Dec. 22, Melville spoke to the board during the public forum, the second item on the agenda. She said she had three items to address.

The first, she said, was a planned executive session to hear grievances of the Taconic Hills Support Staff Association. She noted that the THSSA had not been invited. As she was speaking, Board President Ron Morales interrupted her, saying, “We’re done.”

“Did the board vote to exclude ...” Melville began.

“What are you not understanding?” Morales asked.

“We made an information request ...” Melville began.

“We are done,” Morales said. “We read this,” he said, indicating paperwork Melville had distributed to the board members. “This is not required.”

“I believe this is the public opportunity,” Melville said. “The last item is on page 6, Financials — Contracts ...” At this point, Morales asked to have her removed and Sposato said he would call the police and left the room.

Melville said, “Please exclude the association when you do act on it. Thank you,” and sat down.

Later on in the meeting, a state trooper appeared and stood at the back of the room.

According to draft minutes of the meeting obtained by the Register-Star, “Ms. Melville, NYSUT Representative, referred to three items listed on the agenda for approval and asked the board to table them at this time.”

Sposato said it was due to her actions on that day that she must obtain his permission to enter school property. Asked what she did that was “disruptive, belligerent, condescending or disrespectful,” he said it was “an expression of what took place,” but that he missed some of it because he was out of the room.

Subsequent to the Jan. 3 letter, Faculty Association President Kevin Reis requested permission from Sposato for Melville to attend a meeting of teachers that had been scheduled weeks earlier. The superintendent refused, saying she had to ask him herself.

Melville’s first item at the Dec. 22 meeting was about the decision not to include the Support Staff Association in the Executive Session, as had been the past practice.

The questions she intended to ask the board, according to information sheets she gave the board, were:

“When did the board decide it would review grievance #4 and #5 without the THHSA present?” and

“Is the board aware that the THHSA made a request for documents and information related to grievance #4 2010-11?”

And she intended to ask that those documents be shared with the association, and that the board reschedule the review of the grievances to a future time.

She noted that, according to contract, the decision of whether to meet with the grievant and his/her representative is up to the board’s discretion. But she wondered whether the board had sufficient information to make this decision. Usually, she told the Register-Star, the union prepares a packet, with supporting documents, copies of the contract, “everything needed for an informed decision.”

In this case, she said, the heads of the Support Staff Association, Donald Simmons and Joseph Argus, had just received an email the day before the meeting saying the grievance would be heard and the union presence was not required, so there had not been time to prepare a packet.

“I asked [the board] to table it because they didn’t have the information to make the decision whether the grievance should be voted on or not,” Melville said.

Sposato said he sends every grievance, at every level, to the board, and “the board lets us know how they’ll proceed. The board lets us know if they need the support staff there.”

In this case, he said, Morales informed him the support staff would not be required.

The second item concerned a grievance over hiring procedure. The board was accepting a bid from an individual.

“None of us could find where they had done an RFP,” Melville said. “How did this person end up being the sole bidder? We think it should be a union position, not from an outside source.”

Sposato said the person in question has never had anything to do with the Support Staff Association.

“It was a middle management association job,” he said. “It’s always been there — she’s been here more than 20 years.” He added that the position was advertised.

Her third item had to do with a change in vacation accruals.

Support staff discovered they had earned and unused vacation days that hadn’t been showing up on their paystubs, Sposato said. The total vacation days accumulated expire at a certain date, so employees were in danger of losing those days.

The administration came up with the idea of extending the sick leave another full year. The annual vacation time allotment would be changed from date of hire to July 1.

“I spoke to Joe Argus and Donald Simmons,” Sposato said. “They were in support. I said we’d take it to the board. If Donny and Joey still want to sign it ... their people won’t lose [the accrued days] at the end of June.”

Melville told the board she thought it was bad faith to approve a memorandum of agreement to which the THSSA has not agreed, and “a violation of the district’s obligation to bargain in good faith for the superintendent to present an agreement to you that has not been negotiated with or agreed to by the THSSA.”

“Please table this resolution,” reads her Dec. 22 statement to the board. “We wish to avoid having to litigate the board participating in the superintendent’s bad faith acts by approving this document.”

Speaking to the Register-Star, she said, “The union has the responsibility to investigate whether that will hurt anybody and whether it’s the right decision for the bargaining unit. Wouldn’t this be raised at bargaining? We don’t want items to be raised piecemeal.”

Sposato said he deals with Argus, Simmons and Reis, not with Melville. NYSUT, he said, is just an advisory body.

Reis agreed that, when push comes to shove, the local has the final decision, but he said he relies on Melville’s experience.

“She represents 13 different districts,” he said. “She has years of experience handling this. I’ve been president for six months.”

Regarding her expulsion from the meeting and the resulting letter, Melville said, “My thought was, ‘Why would the superintendent be doing this?’ Because there were at least 50 witnesses — 32 faculty — with standing room only, who witnessed what took place. I don’t know but if what this letter has done has opened the door for the community to question who is running Taconic Hills Central School District.”

Melville said the Faculty Association would be creating an action plan regarding the numerous violations of contract that have been occurring at Taconic Hills resulting in grievances and improper practice charges.

“We’ll put a plan on paper to show the board what we’re dealing with in terms of the contract,” she said, “how the union’s efforts to resolve its issues with the district, through the superintendent, were rebuffed or left unaddressed. I think the gloves are off.”

She said limiting her access to the school is changing past practices and would be addressed by the Public Employees Relations Board.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="An image of "Hooch," one of several abused dogs whose case studies were utlized to help legislate "Buster's Law" 16 years ago."][/caption]Eleven years after its implementation, the success, or lack of it, of the anti-animal cruelty "Buster's Law" gets questioned in a story in this morning's Times Union, where reporter Robert Gavin finds that scores of abusers are escaping felony convictions or jail time, at least according to state data.

Of the 373 arrests under Buster's Law between Jan. 1, 2005, and Nov, 22, 2010, more than half of the defendants escaped without any conviction or infractions with penalties comparable to traffic tickets. Only 17 percent were found guilty of a felony. And in more than half of the Buster's Law cases, defendants served not a day behind bars.

Gavin goes on to point out that statistics from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services come three years after the Times Union reported that more than 60 percent of those convicted under the law since its 1999 inception had not served any time.

"Even those people who are prosecuted, the penalties are very limited," said Brad Shear, executive director of the Hudson & Mohawk River Humane Society in Menands. Shear was pessimistic about the numbers improving. With municipal budgets tightened, he did not expect local prosecutors to have the necessary staff to devote to the number of cases.

He acknowledged plea deals are part of the system. But with Buster's Law, he noted, there is no lower-level felony that can be secured for a plea deal.

The law, passed in 1999, was inspired by the 1997 torture killing of a 18-month-old tabby cat that was set on fire in Schenectady. The cat's killer, then-16-year-old Chester Williamson, now a three-time felon, was later convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old mentally disabled girl in Vale Park in Schenectady. He is now at Attica Correctional Facility.

To be charged under Buster's Law, the statute reads that animal abusers must have planned to cause "extreme physical pain" or acted in an "especially depraved or sadistic manner."

Shear questioned why Buster's Law is not applied in cases where it seems more than appropriate.

In February, the former Hoosick town animal officer, Matthew Beck, admitted he shot or killed stray loose dogs and buried them in a pile of manure on his property. But he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty, official misconduct and petit larceny. His punishment was two weekends in jail.

Under the statute, acts of torture would have had to occur before the dogs died.

The same issue arose the previous October when a Berne man, Robert Bushnell, told police he shot two dogs because they were killing his chickens, chasing his livestock and acting aggressive toward his children. The man never contacted the dogs' owner before he brought the canines -- a 7-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever and a 5-year-old Alaskan malamute -- to state land and shot them. At the time, Albany County Sheriff James Campbell said Buster's Law could not be applied because the man did not sadistically torture the animals before he shot them.

In May, horse trainer Ernie Paragallo was convicted of 33 misdemeanors for starving thoroughbreds at his farm in Greene County. The county's district attorney, Terry Wilhelm, said Paragallo caused "horrific suffering" and asked a judge to sentence him to 33 years in prison for each act of animal cruelty.

Instead, Paragallo received the maximum of two years in the county jail. At the time, Columbia-Greene County Humane Society President Ron Perez said he wished Buster's Law, tailored for "companion animals" such as dogs and cats, could include horses.

"This would have been nice if it was a felony so he would have faced a higher sentence," Perez said.

Shear said even those who receive probation can still adopt a pet after five years. Michael Vick, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who served time in federal prison for his role in a Virginia dogfighting ring, recently made headlines when he said he would like to adopt a dog.

Shear said he would favor legislation making past abusers, such as Vick, undergo evaluations before owning another pet.

Such a bill has been proposed by Assemblyman James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, who spearheaded the original Buster's Law. Tedisco's proposal would create a registry of convicted animal abusers for pet stores, animal shelters and breeders. Anyone convicted of animal abuse would be prohibited from owning a pet unless they were deemed mentally capable to care for the animal.

The lawmaker has noticed a link between animal abuse and more violent crimes in notorious killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz and Albert DeSalvo, known as the Boston Strangler.

At a glance

Here are key statistics under Buster's Law from 2005 to Nov. 22, 2010.

Arrests: 373

Felony convictions: 63 (17 percent)

Misdemeanor convictions: 112 (30 percent)

Pleaded to non-criminal offenses: 39 (11 percent)

Total convictions statewide: 214

Defendants serving time statewide: 94

Source: State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

A staff report in The Columbia Paper says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, and Rensselaer counties in the state as natural disaster areas due to losses caused by a drought that began June 13, 2010 and continues. Columbia is also among 19 counties around the state designated by the USDA last week as natural disaster areas due to losses caused by frost, freezing, high winds, hail, excessive snow, excessive rain and cold temperatures that occurred from February 15 to May 12, 2010. “President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to a wide variety of crops including fruit and vegetable crops, and we want to help,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a December 20 press release announcing the drought declaration, as reported in The Columbia Paper. “This action will provide help to farmers who suffered significant production losses,” said the secretary. He visited the region earlier this year during the campaign season at the request of Congressman Scott Murphy. All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas December 17, 2010, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Local farmers have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. The Department of Enviromental Conservation says current drought conditions are normal.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Milk Thistle Farm in Ghent, as seen in a recent photo from its website."][/caption]So... just as we were done cleaning up from the big holiday snow, another blast lands. Front page news... more school closings and front page stories featuring local accidents and school closings. Are the heavens working to get us all in shape shoveling, or just trying to spread the wealth to everyone who's got a snowplow or kids old enough to shovel for money?

So how has it stacked up? The Daily Mail reports that most Greene County schools were either closed or dismissed students early as a result of Friday’s winter storm, which brought moderate snowfall amounts to the region and created slushy but dangerous driving conditions. Plus, the storm prompted a snow emergency declaration in Cairo and caused the village of Catskill to enforce alternate side parking rules with parking on the even side of the street from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. and the odd side of the street from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m., odnd even sides of the street designated by house numbers, and everthing in effect until further notice.

In Columbia County, which fared worse two weeks ago, the Register Star reports no schools canceled classes but did send students home early, and a number of accidents were reported. Meteorologist Kevin Lipton from the National Weather Service in Albany estimated that about 2 to 4 inches of snow had been dumped on Columbia County throughout Friday, with the largest burst of snowfall occurring between 4 and 5 p.m., and expected an additional 1 to 3 inches to fall throughout Friday evening. Locally, snowfall amounts could be higher, he noted.

No one would say whether this would be it for the season. As if...

What had been the brouhaha of the moment for the final weeks of 2010, when Hillsdale Supervisor Art Baer questioned party leaders' decision to oust him as the county's Chief Budget Officer, quietly receded into history with a unanimous vote at the county's reorganization meeting this week. What happened and why did things go quiet after a loud series of letters in the local papers between the county's Republican, Conservative and Independence Party chairmen and Baer, who said governance decisions should be in the hands of the people and their reopresentatives, rather than party political leaders. Francesca Olsen of the Register Star has a piece in this morning's paper that describes what happened and starts to hint at some of the forces that rule Columbia County these days, as well as the manner of governance, and quieter politics, we can expect over the year to come.

When Ken Wilber - a former Ghent supervisor before becoming County Treasurer 16 years ago - suggested, in an interview with Olsen, that Baer could spend more time campaigning without the added $11,000 job as the county budget officer, the Hillsdale supervisor replied that he hasn’t decided if he’s running yet. “Ken has been the budget officer before and I’m sure he’ll do a good job,” he said, adding that he’s proud of the work he’s done during his budget officer tenure, especially the 0 percent tax levy increase in the 2011 budget.

“This is the lowest increase in county taxes in living memory and it wasn’t easy to get there,” Baer added. “It’s rather significant for the county to have no increase in a time like this... This was Roy (Brown)’s decision. I did it last year at Roy’s request. Now he’s requested Ken to do it. I don’t have a problem with it.” Why he did in 2010, then, seems to be the question. Which may be wrapped up with many political decisions of the year now past. For the full Register-Star story click here.

Two media accounts of the report from scientists from the Harvard University School of Health Thursday night at Ravena High School about heavy metal exposure to members of the Ravena community differ enough to make one wonder what really happened there.

From The Albany Times-Union story Friday headlined "Town sees mercury spike":

"Nearly one person in 10 tested for toxic mercury had elevated blood levels enough to warrant a visit to their doctor, according to a study of people who live around the Lafarge cement plant by the Harvard University School of Public Health." -- Brain Nearing

From The Daily Mail story Saturday headlined "Harvard’s Lafarge test results inconclusive":

"Results from a study by the Harvard School of Public Health eagerly awaited by local environmental groups about the presence of heavy metals in human blood and hair in people from the Ravena area have proved inconclusive." -- Hilary Hawke

So what was said at the meeting? Let's go to the audiotape, or, digital file.

WGXC's Sam Sebren recorded the meeting, so you can hear for yourself what happened Thursday night at Ravena High. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording or paste the following url into your computer's media player:
http://www.wgxc.org/media/uploaded_files/2011/01/Harvardhealthprelimstudy_RavenaHigh_010611.mp3

UPDATE: Sunday, The Register-Star and The Daily Mail, ran the following correction to the story both papers ran on Saturday:

Editor's note: The percentages reported for higher than normal mercury levels in the "Harvard metals test results aren't definitive" story that ran Saturday was erroneously cited as 7.3 percent of the 172 participants.The correct number is 9 percent for adult blood samples and 10 percent for all participants' hair samples. The following is the corrected version of the story.

Sebren reports on the evening:

"A hundred or more people filled the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School auditorium Thursday night, Jan 6, 2011 for a presentation by Dr. John Spengler and Dr. Michael Bank from the Harvard University School of Health to report on the initial test results from the HSPH "Ravena Area Human Biomonitoring Project." During May 2010, 185 people living within a 10 mile radius of the LaFarge factory volunteered for blood and hair testing and completed a questionnaire to determine their fish consumption, smoking habits, and known or potential sources of heavy metal exposure. The project measured mercury levels in hair samples, and, lead, mercury, arsenic, selenium, aluminum, and cadmium in blood. The testing process is complex because contaminants enter bodies through a variety of pathways, both dietary and environmental. The Harvard doctors said further study was necessary, as much of the research was very preliminary. They did say one thing was conclusive: For total mercury in blood, "Ravena is higher than the national average," Dr. Bank said. Lead and cadmium levels tested lower than the national average. Though Dr. Spengler said none of the mercury in blood level results are determined to be toxic, further study will be required to determine if there are environmental sources of contaminants in Ravena that should be specifically addressed to safeguard the health of those in the community. Dr. Bank said, "This is a scratch in the surface, but a real solid scratch that confirms doing further research." The Harvard test is complicated by a New York State law restricting scientists to only using New York State laboratories to certify test results. The research team will be drafting a final report to be submitted for publication later in 2011. Dr. Bank states, "Low-level chronic exposure to heavy metal mixtures is something that needs attention. We are glad our investigation is helping to identify the people in the population who may be most at risk from the different heavy metals that we measured."

In The Daily Mail, Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, R-108th District, was quoted reflecting that paper's version of events. “I believe Lafarge is on the right track with the modernization project and I’d like to see it go up as quickly as possible," McLaughlin told Hawke. "It’s a big job provider and the company is trying to improve and take care of issues. Let’s face it, the plant is not going away. We should do everything we can to make sure Lafarge builds a new one ASAP.”

The study had been initiated by a grassroots advocacy group, Community Advocates for Safe Emissions (CASE), which advocates for tougher controls on mercury pollution from the Lafarge plant across Route 9W from the high school. "This study is significant, and raises a lot of questions," said CASE co-founder Elyse Kunz told Nearing in the Times-Union. "It begs what the state Health Department has been telling us, that there was no problem if people were not eating the fish."

Times-Union story

The Daily Mail story

Fox23: "High mercury levels found in Ravena residents"

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="325" caption="Photo from Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration and Sailing Society website."][/caption]WGXC's Mark Lacoy recorded the meeting at Wunderbar Thursday night about the historic Hudson River Sloop Eleanor and the new not-for-profit being organized to restore the ship. The Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration and Sailing Society, hopes to restores the 108-year-old Sloop Eleanor, which has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Putting the boat back in the Hudson River for locals and tourists might be one outcome of these just-beginning efforts. Casson Kennedy, a ship restorer from Martha's Vineyard and WGXC volunteer, and Louise Bliss, whose father, the late Philip Egan, acquired Eleanor in 1951, are behind the efforts. Listen to an mp3 audio recording of the meeting here, or copy and paste the following url and open a url with your computer's media player:
http://www.wgxc.org/media/uploaded_files/2011/01/SloopEleanorMeeting_Wunderbar_WGXC_010611.mp3

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="134" caption="Marc Molinaro, from his website."][/caption]Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,I,C-Red Hook) today was named by Governor Cuomo to the newly-formed Mandate Relief Redesign Team, according to a press release from Molinaro. The Dutchess/Columbia County representing Assemblyman joins other officials from across the state to examine unfunded and under-funded mandates imposed by the state onto school, local government, and other local taxing districts. “I am thankful to join Governor Cuomo’s ‘Team’ and begin our work to address the enormous burden placed on local schools and governments due to many of Albany’s excessive and archaic requirements,” said Molinaro. “As a former mayor and County Legislator, and now as a state representative, I have witnessed the significant impact of these mandates. They impede local governments’ ability to operate and saddle taxpayers."

The legislators from the majority and minority conferences of the Senate and Assembly are, Betty Little, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Denny Farrell, and Molinaro.

[caption id="attachment_2699" align="alignright" width="175" caption="Craig Remaley, owner of Mountain T-Shirts in Catskill, speaks with then-Congressional candidate Chris Gibson Aug. 24, 2010. Photo by Tom Roe."][/caption]Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-20), newly elected to represent Greene and Columbia counties in Congress, makes his first national television appearance as a Congressman Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour. “This Week” profiles three freshman Members of the 112th Congress Sunday (in addition to Congressman Gibson, “This Week” also profiles Congressman Bobby Schilling [R-IL] and Sen. Mike Lee [R-UT].) Gibson spoke with Amanpour about his military background, why he ran for Congress, and his priorities in Congress. "This Week" airs at 9 a.m. Sunday on WTEN.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="216" caption="New facade plans for the Coxsackie-Athens Middle School are but one of a host of new ideas flooding local school districts, along with doom and gloom budget talks."][/caption]Not all educational talk is about budget cuts and consolidation these days. Thank heaven. The Daily Mail reports today that "to keep up with the demand of employers and the mores of higher education, the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District last week opened a new discussion about how the district can keep up with the changing times."

Board of Education member Beth Tailleur was one of several district officials who recently attended a workshop with Dr. John King, a deputy commissioner with the State Education Department, who explored how education should evolve and change over the next three to five years. At the December meeting of the Board of Ed, Tailleur shared some of those insights with the board and the community. “I was very taken with Dr. King at the meeting,” Tailleur said. “I have read a lot about educational policy – I like it when people research things and think about how to do things differently.”

Changing educational philosophy and state mandates are one way reporter Melanie Lekocevic says the State Education Department,is looking to increase the competitiveness of American students compared to their peers around the globe.

District officials Leslie Copleston, chief financial officer, and Kerry Houlihan, chief of curriculum, instruction and assessment, have also been involved in discussions over improving the future of education.

“We are not producing students who are college- or career-ready, and this is a nationwide issue,” Tailleur said. “That should be our goal. Every kid who leaves our building should have the skills they need to get through their first year of college or get a job with health care.”

Statewide, only 71% of students graduate high school.

“We at C-A are doing a better job than the statewide average, but the state is saying we need to make some changes,” Tailleur said.

SED worked with employers to identify some of the skills they will need in future employees, and ways the educational system can meet those needs.

Some ideas include improving teacher preparation, putting teachers in the classroom more during their own education; replacing failing schools, which is not an issue locally but is in other areas of the state; raising graduation rates for at-risk students; transforming the New York State Education Department; curriculum and professional development to give students a world-class curriculum; and expanding and improving access to early childhood education to give our youngest students a leg up.

Some ideas could include offering more programs that enable kids to graduate who are not looking to attend college afterward, but rather want to focus on vocational training so they are ready for the workplace.

For students who are looking at college, requirements may be upped to include a four year curriculum in both math and science to ensure they are prepared for secondary education.

For some, there may be flexibility in taking courses in middle school – such as the possibility of earning high school credits early. And there may be innovative ways to earn some credits, as well.

“Distance learning could provide more flexibility, where kids who take the time can learn the work without taking an entire class,” Houlihan said.

For all students, longer school days and an extended school year may also be in the future.

Students who can demonstrate they have mastered specific classes may be able to take competency tests to earn the credit and then use that time to take another class instead.

With a sluggish economy, addressing some of these issues could be more challenging than usual because districts will be forced to do more with less, and improve efficiencies to cut down on costs, Tailleur added. (See accompanying article.)

The workshop was only the start of the discussions – State Education officials are expected to attend the Greene County School Board meeting in January to discuss issues more in-depth.

“This is the time for change,” Tailleur said. “It is happening on the national level, and it is happening on the state level. We have to look at ways we can do things better.”

A new hot water rebate program announced by the state will allow potential buyers to purchase a solar hot water system worth $9,000 for just under $3,000 — making it one of the best rebate programs in the entire country. In a story running in this week's Chatham Courier by Paul Crossman, Sundog Solar Vice President Betsy Wyman says that within half an hour of sending out a press release about this rebate, she had already received six or seven excited calls inquiring about it. She also said that this new rebate program is even better than some of the previous tax credits given, since the customer doesn’t even have to pay the rebate money — it’s given right from the state to the installer. “It really gives [the customer] a great deal,” she said. “The cost of the total project is somewhat offset by this rebate … and it can be a big portion. The big obstacle for going solar is the upfront cost. Anything that does something to lower that cost can help the industry quite a bit.” The only big caveat? Since the program is still relatively new, very few installers have the required New York state Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) certification required to get the rebate. Sundog Solar does not yet have certification, but Wyman said they have applied and should receive it very soon and in all probability, it will make them one of the first providers in New York state to have it.

“This is a true win-win situation,” said Sundog Solar President Jody Rael. “The solar thermal rebate, along with the federal and state tax credits, will reduce the cost of a typical system to under $3,000, putting solar in reach for most New Yorkers. System owners should see a quick return on their investment many times over, all while reducing the release of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.”

According to Sundog Solar, the average American spends about 17 percent of their utility bill to pay to heat their hot water. This new program will help fund roof-mounted solar collectors which will transfer heat from the sun to a fluid that is pumped to a solar storage tank connected to the existing hot water tank. When the sun is out, the system turns on, providing free heated water from the sun.

At night, or when the sun is down, the existing hot water system is still usable, which means the house will always have a source of hot water. Using the sun to preheat the water not only saves money, but is a great way of going green. According to Wyman, the system can offset between 65 and 75 percent of the 17 percent of the utility bill used to heat water.

One of the highlights of the rebate — $1.50 per watt for every kilowatt hour saved up to $4,000 — is that most solar hot water systems will pay for themselves in only three to four years.

According to Wyman, the rebate level will decrease as funding milestones are met, so the best bet is to get involved while the rebate program is relatively new. She also said that the funding is mostly geared toward off-setting electric hot water usage, but there is also some funding available for those heating hot water with oil and gas.

Once they receive their NYSERDA certification, Wyman estimates that it will take around three months from the initial consultation until the final installation of the solar panels, although she admitted that because the program is new, it is tough to be sure. While the installation only takes about three days, she said the rest of the time is spent on getting the state to accept the rebate and then the paperwork, all of which is done by the installer, not the homeowner.

Wyman and Rael both agreed that the new rebate program will not only be good for solar providers, customers and the environment, but for the solar industry as a whole. The two are also pleased that Sundog Solar was part of the solar thermal energy consortium that came together to brainstorm ideas about how to keep solar thermal growth up, one of which was this rebate.

“Because of this rebate, we are really anticipating solar thermal to grow as a whole in New York,” said Wyman. “We couldn’t be more excited.”

To learn more about the program or solar energy in general, visit Sundog Solar’s website at www.sundogsolar.net or for a free solar evaluation, call (518) 392-4000, ext. 207.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="The Greenport Rescue Squad's main facility is located just off Route 23B near the Cedar Park Cemetery. Photo from GRS website."][/caption]The Register Star reports this morning that around half a dozen members of the Greenport Rescue Squad turned out for their town's Wednesday night reorganization meeting to protest cuts in EMS funding for the coming year. Part of the problem, Francesca Olsen writes, is that in 2010, neighboring Claverack paid out $50,000 in total funding to the rescue squads serving the town — half to Greenport Rescue, and half to the now-defunct Philmont Rescue Squad, which ceased operation last November due to financial difficulties. In 2011, the amount going to Greenport Rescue Squad will rise to $35,000 goes to Greenport Rescue Squad... but the squad is saying it had been expecting the whole amount to cover facility and equipment upgrades. Councilman Robert Preusser responded that the board never heard from GRS in writing, expressing their need for the entire $50,000 allocation. What seems to be happening here, when grouped with a growing litany of similar complaints about cuts from public servants and volunteers, is a correction to the anti-government sentiments, and actions, of last year.

“You did make a big commitment stepping up and we appreciate that,” he said.

GRS Deputy Chief Tony Merante said the squad has already opened a Philmont substation to the tune of $22,000.

“We didn’t have to do this at all,” he continued. “We came out here, trying to do the right thing. Now it looks like the town’s not doing the right thing.”

“We met with you — we met face to face,” Merante said. “We didn’t put it in writing. I guess talking face to face meant nothing.”

“We should have communicated better with you guys and vice versa,” Preusser said. “We will work together to make it correct.”

“There’s no sense in you guys coming here to chew us out,” said Councilman Clifford Weigelt. “We don’t have to sit here and get mad at each other.”

Councilman Michael Johnston said that the Philmont Rescue Squad came to the board with their funding issues on three different occasions. “We said, ‘put a plan together,’” he said. “Never once did they come to us...we are open to sit down and discuss this as gentlemen without any problems.”

“We were surprised by this,” Merante said. “I supported coming out here to Philmont ... my surprise is (these cuts) happened without us knowing about it.”

Johnston pointed out that the village of Philmont does not contribute to funding the rescue squad and didn’t contribute to the budget of the Philmont Rescue Squad. “You need to be in front of the village board as well,” he said. “We want the same thing that you want: for the public to be safe.”

The board decided they’d dedicate an evening, probably in March, to address the conflict head-on. “We’re sorry it had to come to this,” Preusser said. The discussion ended amicably.

Also during the meeting (and the reorganization meeting that preceded it), town board workshop meetings were moved to the fourth Monday of every month. Supervisor Robin Andrews announced that Jay Brosseau, chair of the town Planning Board, is retiring — a new chair will be chosen, and the town has received four applications for new planning board members who will be interviewed shortly.

Peter Reiss, chair of the town’s agricultural committee, reported on the ongoing work the committee is doing towards a farmland protection plan. Reiss said they’re looking at different ways to engage farmers and get their input, probably via a survey.

“The emphasis in our message is that agriculture is an economic issue within our town and one of the drivers in our economic plan,” he said. “It’s hard. We want to get something started while farmers are in a quiet time. When spring comes, they’re not going to have time for us.”

Public hearings regarding the Philmont fire district contract and property tax exemptions for senior citizens and the disabled were set for the next town board meeting, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.

As if following up on a piece we did yesterday about the effects of the new DEC Commissioner's past experience on the ski industry in the region, Mid Hudson News Network and several other regional news outlets have pieces up this morning about a press release from the Catskill Watershed Corporation yesterday. "The Catskill Watershed Corporation will study possible alternatives to state ownership of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center," reads the piece. "The state Department of Environmental Conservation operates the facility and with deep budget cuts, there are concerns services at the resort will suffer, negatively impacting the Catskills tourism industry. The Catskill Watershed Corporation, meanwhile, will look at other possible ways to operate Belleayre and present them to state lawmakers, said its Executive Director, Alan Rosa.

“We have to look at that and what that means to Belleayre and what our options are,” Rosa is quoted saying. “We may not have many options other than leaving it with DEC or perhaps looking at an authority type entity or maybe there can be a way it can be permitted and it can be permitted and it can be a revenue generating stream for the state.”

Rosa said it is not likely that Belleayre could be privatized. The Watershed Corporation’s board approved the investigation.

Rosa said Belleayre and privately owned ski centers in the region are key to maintaining a tourism and recreation-based economy in the Catskills. “The uncertainty we’re seeing at Belleayre is not conducive to building a tourist economy,” he said. “We need more stability there.”

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="New York's small town bankers shook off the holiday mantle of It's A Wonderful Life's Mr. Potter this week with a reminder of their difference from Wall Street behemoths, and the state's need to remember that when considering new oversight agency mergers."][/caption]The Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog has a short piece this morning about how the new merger of the state's banking and insurance industry oversight agencies may not be in the best interest of small town banks, the sorts of institutions that still play a large role in communities such as ours here in Columbia and Greene counties.

Herein the press release itself...

"The Independent Bankers Association of New York State is comprised of community banks located throughout New York State. Governor Cuomo in his first State of the State address recommended the creation of a Department of Financial Regulation which would merge the Banking Department, the Insurance Department, and the Consumer Protection Board. Chairman, Paul P. Mello of Solvay Bank, stated that, “we share the Governor’s objective of better regulation of modern financial services organizations”. In his speech, The Governor cited Wall Street corruption as a motivation for this change. Frank J. Capaldo, President and CEO of IBANYS commented, “The members of the Independent Bankers Association of NYS are confident that the Governor and the New York State Banking Department appreciate that community banks are located on Main Street, not on Wall Street, and are not complex financial services organizations that need additional regulatory oversight.” Capaldo stated, “IBANYS and its Legislative Counsel, William Y. Crowell III, are anxious to review the details of the Governor’s proposal, and to work cooperatively to achieve a positive result.”

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="A classic Washington Post file photo from the days of the Three Mile Island nuclear power disaster, which ended the construction of new nuclear plants, including one pegged for Greene County, back in the late 1970s."][/caption]Carol Osterink of The Gossips of Rivertown wrote a great piece of contextualizing journalism yesterday tracing freshman Congressman Chris Gibson's recently stated intention to site nuclear power plants in his district back to a 1974 plan to build a nuclear power plant in the Greene County town of Catskill, in the community once known as Cementon and since renamed Smiths Landing. "The project, called the Greene County Nuclear Power Plant, was canceled in 1979, not long after the partial core meltdown at Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania," Osterink writes. Further research unveils that, at the time 36 years ago, possible sites for a nuclear power plant, to be constructed by the New York State Power Authority, were reduced to two, both in Greene County. "The possible power plant sites are at the site of the Lehigh Cement Co. property in Cementon and a location near Athens, between the New York Central Rail Lines and Flats Road Extension." For Gossips full story click here.