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Weekend in review
Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Oct. 21 through Sun., Oct. 23:
518 Sports reported the Hudson High School varsity football team is headed to the Class B Semi-Final against Schuylerville [SKY-ler-ville], Fri., Oct. 28. On Friday, Hudson trounced Johnstown, 52 to 0, while Schuylerville earned its spot after besting Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, 25 to 6. In other contests Friday, Taconic Hills beat Salem (10 to 6); Coxsackie-Athens was victorious over Helderberg Valley (46 to 13); and Chatham defeated Rensselaer (48 to 22). Also this weekend, the Hudson High junior varsity footballers finished the year with seven wins to one loss after Glens Falls beat the Bluehawks in the Section 2 Class B JV championship, 19 to 12. In other sports news, the Windham High School Lady Warriors finished second in the Delaware League soccer championships held Sat., Oct. 22 in Oneonta. They lost to now four-time Delaware League champions, the South Kortright Lady Rams.
Greg Hudson reported in The Daily Mail the Greenville school district's computer policies and procedures need to be updated, according to a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Web sites about weapons, fantasy sports and online shopping are accessible on school computers, for instance. "Although the District has established an acceptable use policies and procedures, they have not been updated since 2001," according to the report. "Further, personal use of IT assets is not clearly defined." Students can borrow school-owned computers, tablets, and other network devices, but there is no written policy about what students can use the computers for while away from campus. In a Sept. 12 letter Greenville Superintendent Tammy J. Sutherland wrote, "We would like to thank the Office of the State Comptroller field staff for both their comprehensive and meaningful report and for their professionalism throughout the audit process. . .The District has already begun to address the recommendations given in the report."
Mid-Hudson News Network reported police in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, are investigating three cases of vandalism of Jewish-owned stores in Woodbourne, Woodridge and South Fallsburg. All three establishments sustained broken or damaged windows, believed to have been caused by a BB gun or some other weapon. It is unknown of the incidents were timed to coincide with the beginning of the holiday of Sukkot [soo-KOT]. The vandalism comes two weeks after the stone entrance to Temple Beth Shalom Cemetery in Warwick, Orange County, was spray painted with Nazi graffiti. Both incidents are under investigation.
W.T. Eckert reported for Columbia-Greene Media attorney, former Dutchess County legislator and Republican state Assembly candidate Michael N. Kelsey, was sentenced to seven years in prison, Fri., Oct. 21. Kelsey, 38, of Salt Point, was found guilty of sexually abusing two teenaged boys in the summer of 2014. The abuse occurred when Kelsey was leading a Boy Scout group on a weeklong excursion in the Adirondacks. Arguing in favor of a longer sentence, St. Lawrence County Chief Assistant District Attorney Frank R. Cositore Jr., said while he knew, as a prosecutor it was his job to pursue justice, he couldn’t help but be touched by a tinge of the desire to seek revenge for the boys. Cositore said Kelsey "...used his education and skills to gain power, authority and influence. He infiltrated one of this country’s most honored institutions, specifically for the purpose of preying [on young men]." When given the opportunity to speak, Kelsey thanked his friends and family for their support. "To my accusers, I wish them well in life. I hope they will pursue and achieve Eagle Scout," Kelsey said. "And lastly I pray that God will rain down his goodness and mercy on all of us here as well as those inmates that I came in contact with in jail…." Presiding Judge Felix J. Catena said he considered Kelsey’s "total betrayal of trust, lack of any remorse or acknowledgement of wrongdoing, and the harm done to the two boys" in his sentencing. In addition to seven years in prison, Kelsey also received 10 years of post-release supervision and will have to register as a sex offender. He will also have to pay more than $14,000 in court fines, fees and surcharges. Kelsey has filed an appeal of the sentence.
Matthew Hamilton reported at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law Fri., Oct. 21, a bill that penalizes users of services like Airbnb for advertising short-term apartment rentals in New York City. Those services are already are illegal under state law. San Francisco-based Airbnb immediately said it would take legal action to block the legislation. “This is an issue that was given careful, deliberate consideration, but ultimately these activities are already expressly prohibited by law,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement. Azzopardi said the activities "compromise efforts to maintain and promote affordable housing by allowing those units to be used as unregulated hotels, and deny communities significant revenue from uncollected taxes, the cost of which is ultimately borne by local taxpayers.” The new law is a blow to the international home-sharing website. “In typical fashion, Albany back-room dealing rewarded a special interest — the price-gouging hotel industry — and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” Airbnb spokesman Peter Schottenfels said in a statement. The company believes the law violates the Federal Communications Decency Act, the First and Fourth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the home rule clause of the state Constitution.
Greg Toppo reported in USA Today if America's schoolchildren were making the decision, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would be the next president, beating Republican Donald Trump in a landslide. The New York City-based education publisher, Scholastic, has sponsored a mock election for students every four years since 1940. Historically, the outcome of the Scholastic election has predicted the outcome of nearly every presidential race. This year polling took place in elementary through high school classrooms, both in print and online, from early August through Oct. 12, with more than 150,000 students casting ballots. Clinton beat Trump, 52 percent to 35 percent, carrying enough states to win 436 electoral votes to Trump's 99. This year, write-in candidates, and third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein garnered 13 percent of the vote, an unusually high percentage. Alternate candidates this year edged out both Clinton and Trump in the District of Columbia to earn three electoral votes. Scholastic says children have called 16 of the last 18 presidential contests, including every single one since 1964. According to one expert, fewer than half of all children embrace the political beliefs and candidate preferences truly aligned with those of their parents. Children, he said, “tend to see what’s going on, on TV or on the Internet, and make conclusions for themselves.”