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Weekend in review
Jul 21, 2014 6:59 am
Some of the stories that made the news Fri., July 18 through Mon., July 21:
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The burning TCI facility in West Ghent, Aug. 2012.
(Courtesy Times Union)[/caption]
Matt Bathrick reported in the Columbia Paper Ghent Town Attorney Ted Guterman announced Thurs., July 17, the lawsuit initiated last year by the electrical transformer recycler TCI of NY LLC has been settled. The settlement requires TCI to withdraw its application to rebuild at the West Ghent site, and to have all transformers currently stored there removed by the end of this year. It also requires TCI to drop all claims made against the town of Ghent. Guterman said the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the transformers currently at the site were constructed after 1990, which means they do not contain PCB oil. A massive fire destroyed the company's facility on Falls Industrial Road on Aug. 1, 2012. In July 2013, TCI took legal action against the town, claiming officials were exceeding their authority and blocking the company from rebuilding. TCI currently operates at a leased site in Coeymans, Albany County. The company is building a new permanent facility at that location.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160"]
Claude Haton
(Courtesy Facebook)[/caption]
hotographer and journalist Claude Haton has died at the age of 57. Haton succumbed to an apparent heart attack at his home in Round Top Sat., July 19, his sister Claudette said. Haton covered a variety of stories during a career that spanned more than three decades, from fire and floods to profiles of war veterans and 100th birthday parties, school events and parades. Haton received an Associated Press award for his photographs of the Feb. 1989 tire fire in Catskill. Haton was also a musician and served as a volunteer firefighter with the Round Top Fire Department. A wake will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fri., July 25 at Richards Funeral Home in Cairo.
Joe Gentile reported in the Register Star the search for a new social services commissioner in Columbia County is under way. The committee charged with identifying and hiring the new department head has approximately 50 resumes from candidates within the Hudson Valley and beyond to sort through three weeks following the retirement of Paul Mossman. The search committee is looking to identify and hire Mossman's replacement sometime in early to mid-September. Deputy commissioner Kary Jablonka is currently serving as the department's interim commissioner.
Kyle Adams is reporting in The Daily Mail women farmers from all over New York came to Greene County, Sun., July 20, to attend a forum hosted by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEER-sten Jill-ah-brand), state Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk (KAT-chik), and the New York State Beginning Women Farmers Program. Approximately 40 people attended the discussion, which focused on the unique challenges and obstacles faced by female farmers and how the state and federal governments can help. Among the issues discussed: Access to and protections for farmland, access to capital for new or expanding farms, migrant labor and excessive regulation. Nationwide, the number of farms run by women increased from 5 percent to 14 percent from 1978 to 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is estimated that 25 percent of all farmers in the northeast are women, the highest concentration anywhere in the country. The event was held at the Crossroads Brewing Company in Athens.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="293"]
The burning TCI facility in West Ghent, Aug. 2012.(Courtesy Times Union)[/caption]
Matt Bathrick reported in the Columbia Paper Ghent Town Attorney Ted Guterman announced Thurs., July 17, the lawsuit initiated last year by the electrical transformer recycler TCI of NY LLC has been settled. The settlement requires TCI to withdraw its application to rebuild at the West Ghent site, and to have all transformers currently stored there removed by the end of this year. It also requires TCI to drop all claims made against the town of Ghent. Guterman said the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the transformers currently at the site were constructed after 1990, which means they do not contain PCB oil. A massive fire destroyed the company's facility on Falls Industrial Road on Aug. 1, 2012. In July 2013, TCI took legal action against the town, claiming officials were exceeding their authority and blocking the company from rebuilding. TCI currently operates at a leased site in Coeymans, Albany County. The company is building a new permanent facility at that location.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160"]
Claude Haton(Courtesy Facebook)[/caption]
hotographer and journalist Claude Haton has died at the age of 57. Haton succumbed to an apparent heart attack at his home in Round Top Sat., July 19, his sister Claudette said. Haton covered a variety of stories during a career that spanned more than three decades, from fire and floods to profiles of war veterans and 100th birthday parties, school events and parades. Haton received an Associated Press award for his photographs of the Feb. 1989 tire fire in Catskill. Haton was also a musician and served as a volunteer firefighter with the Round Top Fire Department. A wake will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fri., July 25 at Richards Funeral Home in Cairo.
Joe Gentile reported in the Register Star the search for a new social services commissioner in Columbia County is under way. The committee charged with identifying and hiring the new department head has approximately 50 resumes from candidates within the Hudson Valley and beyond to sort through three weeks following the retirement of Paul Mossman. The search committee is looking to identify and hire Mossman's replacement sometime in early to mid-September. Deputy commissioner Kary Jablonka is currently serving as the department's interim commissioner.
Kyle Adams is reporting in The Daily Mail women farmers from all over New York came to Greene County, Sun., July 20, to attend a forum hosted by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEER-sten Jill-ah-brand), state Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk (KAT-chik), and the New York State Beginning Women Farmers Program. Approximately 40 people attended the discussion, which focused on the unique challenges and obstacles faced by female farmers and how the state and federal governments can help. Among the issues discussed: Access to and protections for farmland, access to capital for new or expanding farms, migrant labor and excessive regulation. Nationwide, the number of farms run by women increased from 5 percent to 14 percent from 1978 to 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is estimated that 25 percent of all farmers in the northeast are women, the highest concentration anywhere in the country. The event was held at the Crossroads Brewing Company in Athens.