(Cairo Town Clerk Tara A. Rumph, and board members Alice Tunison and Janet Schwarzenegger at the Aug. 19, 2009 town board meeting. Photo by Tom Roe.)

Cairo has another strained town meeting
Click here to download or listen to the Aug. 19, 2009 Cairo Town Board meeting.
CAIRO - At town board meetings in Cairo, the board's women are separated from the men by Town Clerk Tara Rumph. Last night there was a real back and forth, as board members Rich Lorenz and Ray Suttmeier made comments after Janet Schwarzenegger's attempt to pass a resolution to redact the names of folks who make complaints in Cairo from Freedom of Information Law requests. Alice Tunison asked Schwarzenegger several questions about her resolution. Lorenz (at 1:05:10 in the recording linked above) interrupted their discussion, and Tunison said, "I wish you wouldn't do that Rich." Tunison grilled Schwarzenegger, and then the entire group failed to second her motion, killing the resolution. Then (at 1:09:00) Lorenz waved a flyer and said "Tomorrow night the attorney general is going to have an open government transparency initiative, come to that and he'll tell us what to do." Tunison was livid. "Rich, I'm usually able to refrain from, but I just want to react a little bit here. I don't know if that was just," Tunison said. Lorenz interrupted, "Well that was just what this is," Lorenz said, holding the flyer. Tunison shot back, "I can appreciate Janet's effort, her work, she copied this, we had a very benefical discussion in my opinion. We gave time to look at it from every angle, and and I think it is a little flip and it seems somewhat disrespectful to her and her efforts. And I would personally just ask you not to do that." "Shame on you Rich," Suttmeier then sarcastically repeated three times. "And shame on him is very juvenile," Tunison then said. Suttmeier said something else, which I cannot make out. Can you? (Listen at 1:09:50, put guesses in the comments.) "That's ridiculous," Tunison responded. Fortunately for decorum, someone wandered into the room at that point and Supervisor John Coyne was able to change the subject. But at the meeting's conclusion (1:32:09) Tunison brought the kerfuffle back. Coyne then noted that the women were also talking during the meeting. Tunison responded, "it is two separate things," comparing talking while others talk to board members making snide comments. "It was a put down, it's unprofessional," Tunison said of Lorenz's comment with the flyer.

Club Helsinki in Great Barrington heads to Hudson
From Club Helsinki
"Berkshire County will see the end of an era," their web site says, announcing that 15-year-old Club Helsinki closes its door there August 31. Club Helsinki will move the equipment over to the much-delayed, about-to-open second location in Hudson. "The Hudson venue will be everything the Great Barrington club was and more; a larger capacity without losing the intimate feel, a full service event space, recording studios, and an infrastructure custom designed for music production," said owners Deborah McDowell and Marc Schafler in an e-mail statement. "It will be a Mecca for artists, agents, music fans and technicians alike."

AG’s Office comes to Valatie, Cairo for fraud talks
From The Columbia Paper

A representative from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s Office will speak to seniors and veterans about consumer fraud issues as a part of the AG’s statewide Smart Seniors Program. The events take place at the Valatie Senior Center at 212 State Farm Road, Thursday, August 27 at 11 a.m., and at 7 p.m. for the Disabled Veterans, Chapter 186, at Cairo Town Hall, 512 Main St. in Cairo. The seminar concerns how to best avoid consumer scams that frequently target seniors, such as sweepstakes, mail orders, and identity theft. Both events are free. For more information visit the Attorney General's website at http://www.oag.state.ny.us.

Soccer players, council dribble over park usage
From Jamie Larson in The Register-Star

HUDSON - "A dozen young men, primarily from the city’s Bangladeshi community, voiced their displeasure with the city’s position not to allow them to play at the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park," Larson's story said. Hudson's Michael Chameides said the city’s signs at the park forbidding soccer are unjustified. Chameides said he doesn’t understand the argument voiced by Mayor Richard Scalera and others, that their activity damages the grass, since most of the time they play without shoes, and don’t play when the ground is wet. Mayor Scalera said the complaints he hears most often from residents about the park are about dogs running around off leash and soccer player disrupting their peace. His solution was to have the footballers play at the Charles Williams Park on the north end of Second St., which is in disrepair.

Ancram Dems choose Bassin for supervisor
From Diane Valden in The Columbia Paper

ANCRAM—Town Democrats picked Art Bassin for Town Supervisor over Rick DuBray 74 to 25, with 3 Democrats voting No, meaning they did not support either candidate at the Democrats’ August 8 caucus. Bassin, the chairman of the town’s Comprehensive Plan Committee, narrowly lost his bid for a seat on the Town Board in 2007.