Greene County’s new news

The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer debuted this week, and the Greene County Local Courier morphed into the Greene County News, after its recent purchase by Hudson-Catskill Newspaper Corp, and it is great to read more local newsprint. Both papers are fighting for territory best covered by The Greenville Press which closed early this year, and neither has a website. With the Pioneer focusing on Greenville and the News citing Greenville, Coxsackie, and Athens as target markets, the debut and remake make for a side-by-side comparison. The Pioneer wins the first count, as this week’s issue includes results of Tuesday’s school board elections, while the News does not (both papers have Thursday street dates). Both have little news — the Pioneer reveals a new Greenville bakery, while the News covers NY State Senator James Seward‘s appearance at the opening of Coxsackie beverage distributor Empire Merchants North. The Pioneer has a much cleaner layout, though the News improves from its Courier days, and now looks more like its HCNC sister papers The Daily Mail and Register-Star. Both publications include lots of unnecessary filler with the News even printing a verbatim press release from WGXC about a radio station event with the Agroforestry Center twice, on pages 20 and 23 (extra thanks!). But the Pioneer has much larger problems. Thirteen by-lines include the name “Macko” (the publisher and former Daily Mail writer Andrea Macko authors most), while only six others contribute articles. Of those six, the owner of the new Greenville bakery writes about his own store, and another is a campaign donation in the form of an article by Greenville County Legislator Kevin Lewis. While the News makes a similar donation to the campaign of Seward with his “column,” the Pioneer gives away advertorial disguised as editorial more often. Publisher Macko also gives a free campaign ad/column to Greenville Town Supervisor Paul Macko (she is his niece). The first issue ever also has two letters to the editor about how Peter Margoulius would make a swell County Court Judge, and on the next page there is a larger press release about how one local group endorsed his campaign. Virtually no local Democrats are mentioned anywhere in the Pioneer. Both papers print an awful lot of verbatim press releases, and the Pioneer seems one-sided so far. And the Pioneer’s debut editorial makes odd boasts, saying that seeing names and pictures in a publication and an accompanying feeling of being a, “part of something bigger” is something “that you won’t find on any website.” That’s pretty funny!

School election results

Cairo-Durham school election results: School Budget Passed 551-527; Library Appropriation Failed 477-581; Biomass heating system Failed 433-625. Board Member results: Greg Koerner-Fox – 584; Thomas Plank – 564; Beatrice Clappin – 537; Pat Ublacker – 512; Nicole Maggio – 472; Dean Pectal – 456; Sam Mozzillo – 338. The Daily Mail reports Catskill results:

Catskill Central School District’s $36.6 million budget package for 2010-11 was approved by district voters Tuesday night in a 2-1 margin of 712-375. The Catskill Public Library budget was also passed with an approximate 2-1 margin, 701-368. Elected to the Board of Education for three-year terms were incumbent Michael Bulich, who was returned to the board for his second term with 579 votes, and first-timers Christopher Van Loan and Tracy Powell, who drew 439 and 408 votes, respectively. Elected to a two-year term — the unserved balance of an existing seat from a former BOE member — was first-timer Matthew Leipman, who received 402 votes.

The Daily Mail also has Coxsackie-Athens results:

The 2010-2011 budget for the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District was adopted by voters by a margin of 738 votes to 521. Three Board of Education seats were also up for grabs in the vote held yesterday – incumbents Mark Gerrain, Russell Nadler and Beth Tailleur were all up for re-election. Gerrain and Tailleur had easy victories, but Nadler was unseated by opponent Stephen Oliveira, who won 575 votes to Nadler’s 404.

In Hudson, Register-Star reports:

The Hudson City School District budget for 2010-2011 squeaked by Tuesday by a margin of a little more than 100 votes. District voters also reelected Mary Daly (663 votes) to the School Board and brought aboard Peter Merante Sr. (717), Justin Cukerstein, 593 votes. He may still may get a board seat. Patricia Abitabile, currently in the second year of her second five-year term, is resigning from the board as of June 30. There has yet to be a resolution on how Abitabile will be replaced, but a discussion at a recent BOE meeting seemed to indicate the candidate with the third highest number of votes could garner her seat. Carrie Haddad received 422 votes and Peter Rice Jr., garnered 263.

In Taconic Hills, Register-Star reports:

The 2010-2011 budget for the Taconic Hills Central School District passed Tuesday after polls closed, with 604 yes and 377 no votes….Joseph Costa (552), a Claverack automotive business owner who said he would encourage attendance at board meetings, and Kevin Maisenbacher (511), a branch manager at Key Corp/N.A. Licensed Investment, who hopes to involve the community more deeply in board decisions, won the district’s two open school board seats, replacing incumbent board members Scott Decker and Tom Bailey.

The story does not report the other vote totals. Also: Chatham Central School District voters passed the 2010-11 budget of $26,614,687 Tuesday by a margin of 441 for and 260 against. Incumbent candidate Melony Spock, 473 votes, Gail Day, 463, elected. A $13.6 million Germantown Central School District Budget passed easily Tuesday with 274 votes for the budget and 171 against. Eric Mortenson, 327; Theresa Repko, 320; Cynthia Smith, 304.

Vote Tuesday in school board races

Voting for school board members and issues takes place Tuesday in both counties. From The Daily Freeman:

Greene County

Cairo-Durham
(Polls are open noon to 9 p.m.)
Cairo-Durham Middle School cafeteria.

Catskill
(Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
Catskill High School gymnasium.

Coxsackie-Athens
(Polls are open 1 to 9 p.m.)
District elementary schools.

Hunter-Tannersville
(Polls are open 1 to 9 p.m.)
Hunter Elementary School.

Columbia County

Germantown
(Polls are open noon to 9 p.m.)
Germantown Central School office lobby on Main Street.

Nearly all local school districts planning job cuts

Kyle Wind in The Daily Freeman:

More than 250 jobs will be eliminated in the region if voters approve school district budgets as proposed Tuesday. All the districts in the area with except Hunter-Tannersville, in Greene County, plan to cut faculty and staff members in response to projected reductions in state aid, and, in some districts, declining enrollment.

GREENE COUNTY

Cairo-Durham school officials are planning to cut 7.2 teaching positions — half at the elementary level and half at middle and high schools — along with a psychologist and a teaching assistant. Catskill school officials are planning to cut three teachers — an art teacher, a librarian and a foreign language teacher — as well as a secondary school administrator, an assistant principal at the elementary school and 1.4 support staff positions. The district plans to reduce the assistant director of special education from a 12-month to 10-month position. In Coxsackie-Athens, planned cuts include a kindergarten class, a teacher’s aide, a high school teacher’s aide, a part-time high school Spanish teacher, an elementary special education teacher, high school academic intervention teaching assistants in science, English and the computer lab, a middle school enrichment teacher, an elementary school librarian, a middle school reading teacher, a high school special education teacher, a part-time high school math teacher, a fifth-grade section and a sixth-grade section. Hunter-Tannersville is the only district in the region not planning to cut any positions.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

In Germantown, the district is planning to cut 1.5 high school teachers, an elementary teacher, a teaching assistant, a custodian and a part-time Spanish teacher. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

Seward in Coxsackie Friday

New York State Senator James Seward will join the Greene Business Alliance, members of the business community, and local elected officials at an Empire Merchants North open house at 11 a.m. Friday, May 14 at Empire Merchants North, 16 Houghtaling Rd., West Coxsackie, NY.

Scott Murphy speaks to constituents in Palenville

Scott Murphy photo from April 1 at Coxsackie's Senior Center.

Congressman Scott Murphy held a town meeting in Palenville Monday, April 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the Palenville Fire Department, 717 Rte. 32A, Palenville. Murphy is running for re-election against Republican Chris Gibson. Listen to an audio mp3 recording of Murphy answering questions from constituents (recorded by WGXC’s Debra Kamecke) by clicking here or by pasting the following link into your computer’s media player:

http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/04/

ScottMurphy_Palenville_WGXC_041910.mp3

Greene County Arts Council funds cultural institutions

Greene County Council on the Arts awarded 11 County Initiative Program awards: Bronck Museum of the Greene County Historical Society was awarded $2,200 to continue, expand and promote cultural, educational, and arts programming, including Music of History series, Heritage Craft Fair and Chilly Willy Tours; Catskill Mountain Foundation, Inc. was awarded $2,650 toward artist fees and related costs for year-round performing arts series, which includes dance, theater, classical music, pop music and family performances; free103point9 was awarded $1,200 for support of the online portion of WGXC (at the time of the application known as Greene/Columbia community radio station project); Greene Room Players was awarded $1,800 in support for 2010 community theater productions plus the Reel Teens film program; Horton by the Stream in Elka Park was awarded $1,000 toward artist fees for production of the 2010 season of free summer professional staged readings of plays, primarily by Horton Foote; Irish American Heritage Museum was awarded $500 for year two of the exhibit “The Irish in Battle” at the museum in East Durham; Music & Art Centre of Greene County was awarded $2,500 toward the 2010 season of summer concerts, Classical music series and Ukrainian folk arts workshops at the Grazhda in Jewett Center; Planet Arts was awarded $1,500 toward support for the 2010 Jazzone2one Series to be held at the Athens Cultural Center in Athens; Thomas Cole National Historic Site – Cedar Grove in Catskill was awarded $2,650 in support for the 2010 exhibition: “Remember the Ladies;” Windham Chamber Music Festival was awarded $2,500 in support of its 2010 concert series in Windham; Zadock Pratt Museum was awarded $2,000 in support for its 2010 season of programs and projects.

Board of Education candidates file petitions

From The Daily Freeman:

Candidates for Board of Education seats in Ulster, Columbia, Dutchess and Greene counties filed petitions [by] Monday to secure a spot on the May 18 school district election ballots…. The candidates, listed by school district, are as follows:

Columbia County
In Germantown, incumbent Teresa Repko, of Germantown, and Eric Mortension, of Gallatin, were the only candidates to file petitions early Monday. The names of the two will appear on the ballot for election to a four-year term and a one year unexpired term left by the resignation of Suzanne Pelletier.

Greene County
In the Cairo-Durham school district, eight candidates are running for four seats on the board, with three seats carrying a three-year term and the fourth seat with a one-year unexpired term. The three-year seats are currently held by board Vice President Thomas Plank and trustees Greg Koerner-Fox and Fred Zimmerman. Debra Armstrong resigned from the fourth seat. Besides incumbents Plank of Mountain Avenue, Purling, and Koerner-Fox of Indian Ridge Road, Earlton, incumbent Trustee Beatrice Clappin of Enchanted Valley Drive, Cornwallville, also filed a petition. Clappin was appointed to fill Armstrong’s seat until the May 18 election. Also running are Nicole Maggio of Halfmoon Drive, Cairo; Samuel Mozzillo of county Route 31, Purling; Dean Pectal of Gibson Road, Greenville; Patricia Ublacker of Orchard Drive, Leeds; and Jennifer Sabine of state Route 20, Durham.

In Catskill, 10 individuals will vie for three seats, each carrying a three-year term, as well as a fourth seat to fill a vacancy, which carries a two-year term. The three seats are currently held by board President Randall Griffin of Mahican Way, Catskill, and trustees Michael Bulich of Greenpoint Road, Catskill, and Lisa Warner of Bogardus Avenue, Catskill. The vacancy was created by the resignation of former Trustee Beverly Cotten. Besides the three incumbents, candidates are former board member Carol Schilansky of Elting Road, Catskill; Carthette Burnett of Main Street, Catskill; Francesca Daisernia of Leeds; Ronald Frascello of Gary Lane, Palenville; Matthew Leitman of Pleasant Drive, Catskill; Tracy Powell of Bogart Road, Palenville; and Christopher VanLoan of Rams Horn Drive, Catskill.

In the Coxsackie-Athens school district, three seats, each carrying a three-year term, are up for election, though only two incumbents are being challenged. Incumbents Mark Gerrain, of Hamilton Street, Coxsackie; Russell Nadler, of Flats Road Extension, Athens; and Beth Tailleur, of state Route 81, Climax, each filed petitions for re-election. Tailleur is being challenged for her seat by Kim VanAusdle, of Sunset Boulevard, Coxsackie, while Nadler is being challenged for his seat by Stephen Oliveira, of Schoharie Turnpike, Athens. Gerrain, the current board vice-president, is unopposed for re-election.

In the Hunter-Tannersville school district, incumbent Trustee Marc Czermerys of June Lodge Drive, Tannersville, is being challenged by Penelope Fromer, address unavailable, for a five-year term. Read the entire article here.

Greene County factory will not close, sparing 200 jobs

From Chris Churchill in the Times-Union:

GlaxoSmithKline announced this evening that it would shift its toothpaste manufacturing from New Jersey to Greene County preventing the shutdown of its plant in Oak Hill. The British pharmaceutical giant had planned to shutter the Oak Hill plant by 2012, following its $3.6 billion acquisition last year of Stiefel Laboratories, which made skin products there. Glaxo will still shift skin-product manufacturing to a plant in Canada, as originally planned. But it will invest $56 million to remake the Oak Hill factory to manufacture Aquafresh, the company and Greene County officials said. The move will not save every Glaxo job in Greene County. After the transition, the Oak Hill plant will employ about 200 workers, down from the more than 260 who work there now. And some of the jobs will be taken by workers transferring from the plant in Clifton, N.J., which will close in 2012. “It’s going to be a mix and match of current employees and new employees,” said Alexander “Sandy” Mathes, the executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, which worked to save the plant. Glaxo’s decision to close the plant stunned Greene County officials, who have depended on the factory as a stable source of employment in the mostly rural area. Officials described Thursdays announcement as a victory resulting from a long effort by several local and state agencies including Empire State Development, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal and others to keep the factory open. In part, they did that by targeting the factory for nearly $7 million in grants designed to boost energy efficiency and modernize the plant. Also, the Greene County IDA will freeze property taxes at the site and exempt Glaxo from some sales taxes. The Oak Hill plant consists of 250,000 square feet of manufacturing and laboratory space along Route 145.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

Murphy holds town meeting in Coxsackie

Democrat Congressman Scott Murphy (NY-20) held a town hall meeting at 2 p.m. today in Coxsackie at the Senior Center (formerly Knights of Columbus building) at 127 Mansion St., with several constituents asking him about his recent “yes” vote on the health care reform bill. WGXC recorded the Town Hall, and you can listen to an mp3 recording here. Afterwards, Murphy answered a few questions from the local media, including a WGXC question about his appropriation request for the Cairo Library. Listen to the Greene County media ask Rep. Murphy questions here, another mp3 recording. Yesterday, Republicans made it official that Kinderhook’s Chris Gibson will run against Murphy in November.
Audio links:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/04/
ScottMurphy_CoxsackieTownHall_WGXC_040110.mp3
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/04/
ScottMurphy_Coxsackiemediaquestions_WGXC_040110.mp3

Coxsackie’s drive-in opens tonight

Nippertown! reports that The Hi-Way Drive-In on Route 9W in Coxsackie is opening its summer season tonight. The drive-in will be showing “Cop Out” with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan with “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock. The Hi-Way Drive-In will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the screenings are scheduled to begin at about 7:30 p.m.

Election results

The Register-Star reports that Carol Weaver will become the Mayor of the Village of Kinderhook, with 77 votes to trustee Richard Phillips, an incumbent, with 69 votes, and newcomer Brian Murphy with 75 votes. In Coxsackie, The Daily Mail reports that Republican Village Trustee John Oliver received 368 votes, Republican Trustee Dianne Ringwald received 356 votes, Democrat Darryl Proper received 289 votes, and Democrat Tony D’Arcangelis got 269 votes. The Daily Mail story implies but does not implicitly say that Oliver and Ringwald will take the two seats available. The Daily Mail also reports that in an uncontested Athens vote, incumbent Democrat Trustee Herman Reinhold received 92 votes and Democrat Gail Lasher received 103 votes. The Daily Mail reports that in Tannersville, incumbent Democratic Trustee Linda Kline got 31 votes, two of which were absentees, out of the total possible of 44 for another two year term and Democrat Leigh J.V. McGunnigle, who drew 25 votes, including two absentees. There were also 16 write-in votes in the uncontested election, with outgoing Trustee Mary Sue Timpson drawing six of them, and Tannersville resident Scott Myers getting five. In Hunter, incumbent Trustee Alan Higgins, who ran on the Hunter Pride Party, took all 33 votes, The Daily Mail reported.

Judging the race

Seeing Greene’s Dick May handicaps the race to fill the seat of Greene County Court Judge Daniel K. Lalor, who retires on December 31. In November, voters will choose a replacement, and it will not be District Attorney Terry Wilhelm who says he is not running. May reports Republicans Ted Hilscher of New Baltimore, a historian and part-time teacher at Columbia-Greene Community College and a former Assistant District Attorney and a Catskill-based attorney; Peter Margolius, Catskill Town Justice and attorney; and Charles (“Chip”) Tailleur of Coxsackie, the Assistant District Attorney will all be running. No Democrats have announced yet, but May speculates that Greg Lubow of Tannersville, an attorney and former Chief Public Defender of Greene County; Edward Kaplan, a Hunter-based attorney; Lee Allen Palmateer, attorney and Athens Town Supervisor; and Alex Betke, a partner in an Albany law firm, Coxsackie Town Supervisor, and Catskill Village attorney may all run.

Maggio moves on from Cairo to Coxsackie, but Cairo has other plans

Cairo’s old development suitor, Charles Maggio, has moved his plans up the road from Cairo to Coxsackie, The Daily Mail reports. But Cairo may now have a second supermarket on the site where Maggio’s Alden Terrace project would have been, according to The Greenville Press (no web site). Susan Campriello’s Daily Mail story outlines the timeline: In 2007, Maggio proposed a mixed use development, called Alden Terrace, to be built in Cairo but the town’s sewer system could not accommodate the project. An Article 78 lawsuit was filed by taxpayer and community groups in Cairo against Maggio and the town alleging failure to properly conduct state Environmental Quality Review and public hearing procedures, and other residents in Cairo opposed it for other reasons, and the project was widely reported as “controversial.” Greene County Judge George J. Pulver Jr. dismissed much of the lawsuit in March 2009, but recently allowed part of the suit, a position the town is currently challenging. In May 2009, Maggio withdrew his site plan from the Cairo Planning Board. Now Maggio proposes a $50-million mixed commercial use and residential development for Route 9W in Coxsackie called Woods Farm. “Senior units will be reserved for individuals older than 55, he said, and market between $750 to $850 per month for a one-bedroom home and $950 to $1,050 per month for a two-bedroom unit,” The Daily Mail reports. Meanwhile, back on the Alden Terrace site in Cairo, behind the two banks that can be seen as you enter Cairo from the east on Route 23, a new Hannaford or Price Chopper supermarket might soon stand, The Greenville Press is reporting. “Charter Realty and Development Corp… and Creighton Manning Engineering LLP have prepared a two-phase plan that is set to start with a 36,000-square-foot market,” The Greenville Press reports. The second phase would be a strip mall with chain restaurants and retail. Workforce housing and subsidized housing were part of Alden Terrace but are absent from both the Woods Farm and new Cairo development proposals. Maggio made the announcement at the Coxsackie Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Quarry Steak House, and the plan was immediately championed by the likes of Sandy Mathes, executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency.

Greene County election results

Greene County election results

STATE WIDE RACES
52 of 52 (100%) machines reporting (52 total districts)
PROPOSAL #1
Vote for 1
PROPOSAL #1 YES
3540
PROPOSAL #1 NO
1848
PROPOSAL #2
Vote for 1
PROPOSAL #2 YES
3766
PROPOSAL #2 NO
1546
COUNTY WIDE RACES
52 of 52 (100%) machines reporting (52 total districts)
STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE 3RD JD
Vote for 1
Jill Dunn 5336
James P Gilpatric 4237
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 009 RACES
2 of 2 (100%) machines reporting (2 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 9
Vote for 1
Sean P Frey
385
Elsie S Allan
353
Leslie C Armstrong
176
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 008 RACES
7 of 7 (100%) machines reporting (7 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 8
Vote for 2
William B Lawrence
916
Harry A Lennon
830
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 007 RACES
7 of 7 (100%) machines reporting (7 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 7
Vote for 1
Larry F Gardner
549
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 006 RACES
5 of 5 (100%) machines reporting (5 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 6
Vote for 1
James W Hitchcock
801
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 005 RACES
4 of 4 (100%) machines reporting (4 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 5
Vote for 1
James E VanSlyke
690
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 004 RACES
3 of 3 (100%) machines reporting (3 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 4
Vote for 1
Kevin R Lewis 835
James P Mulligan 496
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 003 RACES
4 of 4 (100%) machines reporting (4 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 3
Vote for 1
Chris H Pfister
674
Ray C Brooks
617
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 002 RACES
6 of 6 (100%) machines reporting (6 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 2
Vote for 2
Charles A Martinez
1,203
Wayne C Speenburgh
1,146
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE 001 RACES
14 of 14 (100%) machines reporting (14 total districts)
COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 1
Vote for 4
Keith W Valentine
1,367
Joseph F Izzo
1,328
Karen A Deyo
1,307
Forest Cotten
1,038
Linda H Overbaugh
1,003
C Robin DePuy
592
ASHLAND RACES
1 of 1 (100%) machines reporting (1 total districts)
ASHLAND TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Richard E Tompkins
132
ASHLAND TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Leslie C Holdridge
134
ASHLAND TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Dennis E Mattice
131
Thomas H Soule
130
ASHLAND TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Justine L Koehler
130
ASHLAND SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Larry R Tompkins
129
ASHLAND TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Virginia C Arturi
129
ATHENS RACES
4 of 4 (100%) machines reporting (4 total districts)
ATHENS TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Lee Allen Palmateer
628
John F Lubera
609
ATHENS TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Constance J Pazin
753
ATHENS TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
April Paluch
617
Phyllis Dinkelacker
556
Charles J Dagostino
550
Paul Hasbrouck
445
CAIRO RACES
7 of 7 (100%) machines reporting (7 total districts)
CAIRO TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
John M Coyne
845
CAIRO TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Leland E Miller
772
CAIRO TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Douglas L Ostrander Jr 929
Raymond J Suttmeier 709
Alice Tunison (write-in) 192
CAIRO TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Emily A Feeney
920
CATSKILL RACES
14 of 14 (100%) machines reporting (14 total districts)
CATSKILL TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Robert G Carl
1,407
CATSKILL TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Kevin C Lennon
1,354
Robert C Antonelli
1,043
Joseph M Leggio
1,000
COXSACKIE RACES
6 of 6 (100%) machines reporting (6 total districts)
COXSACKIE TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Alexander L Betke II
934
COXSACKIE TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Richard H Roberg
1,150
COXSACKIE TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Jeffery R Lewis
926
Patrick B Kennedy
735
COXSACKIE TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Bambi L Hotaling
1,137
COXSACKIE SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Michael J Tighe
889
John B Garland
822
COXSACKIE TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Linda J Wilkinson
1,128
DURHAM RACES
2 of 2 (100%) machines reporting (2 total districts)
DURHAM TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Gary J Hulbert
564
DURHAM TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Karen J Tirpak
602
DURHAM TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Jodi L Wood
585
William A Carr Jr
554
DURHAM TOWN CLERK/COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Chris Kohrs
622
DURHAM SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Wesley I Moore
620
GREENVILLE RACES
3 of 3 (100%) machines reporting (3 total districts)
GREENVILLE TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Paul J Macko 851
Peter L OHara 464
GREENVILLE TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Richard P Schreiber 955
GREENVILLE TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Richard Y Bear 864
Kenneth M Stern 771
Kathleen A Whitley Harm 482
Wayne A Nelsen 466
GREENVILLE TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Ronnie J Campbell 979
GREENVILLE SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Richard B Hempstead 839
Terry L Williams 503
GREENVILLE TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Mary Yeomans 1042
HALCOTT RACES
1 of 1 (100%) machines reporting (1 total districts)
HALCOTT TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
A Innes Kasanof
46
HALCOTT TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Chris DiBenedetto
48
Alan S White
46
HALCOTT TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Stacey L Johnson
49
HALCOTT SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Russell C Bouton
50
HALCOTT TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Ruth A Kelder
53
HUNTER RACES
4 of 4 (100%) machines reporting (4 total districts)
HUNTER TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Dennis M Lucas Sr
247
HUNTER TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
James A Volker
331
HUNTER TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Dolph J Semenza
327
Daryl E Legg
317
HUNTER SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
John G Farrell
331
JEWETT RACES
1 of 1 (100%) machines reporting (1 total districts)
JEWETT TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Carol A Muth
185
Georgette E Krauss
155
JEWETT TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
William C Trach
209
Steven C Jacobs
199
Marianne Romito
131
Frank P Steinherr
93
LEXINGTON RACES
2 of 2 (100%) machines reporting (2 total districts)
LEXINGTON TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Greg T Cross
193
Dixie L Baldrey
161
LEXINGTON TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Robert A Basil
332
LEXINGTON TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
John W Berger Jr
208
Glenn E Howard
165
Mary T Cline
156
Maurice Nelson
111
Susan Jo Falke
29
LEXINGTON TOWN CLERK/COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Rose M Williams
337
LEXINGTON SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Frank G Hermance
172
Larry M Cross
147
Larry G Falke
27
NEW BALTIMORE RACES
4 of 4 (100%) machines reporting (4 total districts)
NEW BALTIMORE TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Susan K ORorke
587
Arthur A Byas
573
NEW BALTIMORE TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Joseph F Cosenza
675
NEW BALTIMORE TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Barbara M Finke
623
Michael T Meredith
577
James E Coe
531
Lee A Davis
531
NEW BALTIMORE TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Janet A Brooks
764
Paula A Rebusmen
404
NEW BALTIMORE TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Lynn Taylor
681
PRATTSVILLE RACES
1 of 1 (100%) machines reporting (1 total districts)
PRATTSVILLE TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
Kory P O’Hara
151
Richard E Morse
130
PRATTSVILLE TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Robert J Blain
176
PRATTSVILLE TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
James M Thorington
184
Steven H Oliver
138
Lisa L Hamilton
118
CJ Rion
87
PRATTSVILLE TOWN COUNCILMAN UNEXPIRED
Vote for 1
Patrick T Mattice
234
PRATTSVILLE TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Kathleen D Sherman
168
Switlana Breigle
80
PRATTSVILLE SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
William C Sutton
211
Stanley R Vanhoesen
60
PRATTSVILLE TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Jody M Briggs
142
Anita Creazzo
129
WINDHAM RACES
2 of 2 (100%) machines reporting (2 total districts)
WINDHAM TOWN SUPERVISOR
Vote for 1
T Patrick Meehan
297
WINDHAM TOWN JUSTICE
Vote for 1
Christopher Mattiace
276
WINDHAM TOWN COUNCILMAN
Vote for 2
Robert J Pelham
297
Wayne E VanValin
226
WINDHAM TOWN CLERK
Vote for 1
Carolyn J Garvey
299
WINDHAM SUPERINTENDENT OF HIGHWAYS
Vote for 1
Thomas F Hoyt
283
WINDHAM TAX COLLECTOR
Vote for 1
Dawn L Hitchcock
314

Today’s local headlines

Signs of the times

McBride’s Resale Shop at 465 Main St. in Cairo was shut down this week. Read all about it in these two images. A sign on the building still calls it Main St. Cafe, though that business has been closed awhile.

Over two thousand without power in Columbia County
National Grid reports over 2300 homes without power in Columbia at 10:30 p.m., with power not expected to be restored until 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Sam Pratt’s Facebook status reports that 23B, 9H & Rt. 23 into Hudson are closed, and power lines are down on 29. He also says it seemed dark in Taghkanic, Claverack and Greenport.

Attorney General’s new web site not very up-to-date
The attorney general’s office showed off its new Sunlightny.com open-government web site Thursday with workshops in Valatie and Cairo. Perhaps Mr. Cuomo will update the site before his gubernatorial campaign starts — right now the site’s Greene County listings do not include any Cairo officials, and report John Bull is still mayor of Coxsackie.

Town trapped in shallower hole
From Jamie Larson in The Register-Star

COPAKE – Through a combination of adjusted revenue statements and reduced spending, the Copake Town Board cut the town’s newly-discovered deficit down from an estimated $180,000 to $80,000. On party lines, the board then voted to borrow $100,000 from The Salisbury Bank and Trust Company to cover the revenue shortfall and tax the town based on assessed value in a one-time tax. The loan will be paid back in 2010. Republican supervisor Reggie Crowley, and board members Daniel Tompkins and Walt Kiernan voted to take out the loan, while Democrats Bob Sacks and Linda Gabaccia voted no.

Someone’s watching
From Linda L. Fenoff in The Greenville Press (no web site)

CATSKILL – Democrat Robin DePuy of Palenville may have joined the never-dull election for the four Catskill seats on the Greene County Legislature, by forming the “Common Sense” party. Earlier, Linda Overbaugh was ruled not eligible to run on the Republican line because of petition errors, and started the “Have a Voice” party to get on the ballot. Now Overbaugh may be knocked off that line too, as witnesses witnessed two of the “Have a Voice” candidates collecting signatures without witnesses. Can I get a witness?

Team Dudley deflates political football
From Pat Bone Cominos in The Greenville Press (no web site)

Retiring Greene County Legislator Ken Dudley (R-Greenville) withdrew his $80,000 Quantum Fund loan application for his business Tip Top Furniture in Greenville. Minority leader Sean Frey (D-Durham) said he thought the loan was, “not illegal, but unethical for the county to make a Quantum loan to a business owner who is also on the Greene County Legislature.”

Cairo board appointments
From Susan Campriello’s blog for The Daily Mail

CAIRO – Cairo Town Supervisor John Coyne says individuals involved in lawsuits against the town can be appointed to positions on Cairo boards. Several Cairo officials wanted to institute such a ban during a discussion about the ethics board. In a May 5 letter to Supervisor John Coyne, Cairo Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea, and the Town Board, Melanie Trimble, of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the board should not reject a party interested in serving on a board based upon their involvement in such litigation. “Such blanket exclusion must be viewed as retaliation against people for exercising their rights,” the letter said.

September auditions for radio theater
From The Mountain Eagle

COBLESKILL – The Theater Project of Schoharie County will hold auditions for an evening of radio theater. Two plays: “His Honor, the Mayor” and “The War of the Worlds” plus commercials and musical interludes. Auditions: Sept. 10 6 – 9 p.m. and Sept. 13 2 – 5 p.m. at Teen Town, 45 North Grand St, Cobleskill.

Today’s local headlines

Mistaken identity muddles Catskill candidacy
The Greenville Press (no web site)

CATSKILL – Linda Fenoff scoops everyone with the story of Linda Overbaugh’s now potentially failed candidacy for Greene County Legislator. It seems there are two Linda Overbaughs in Catskill, and local Republicans claim a Board of Elections official put the wrong Overbaugh on the petitions to add her to the ballot. Overbaugh, who most political observers deemed a favorite in the race, now may not be on the ballot at all, since all the signatures she received were for someone else, and incumbent Democrat Forest Cotten, who challenged the petition, has a much better chance. (Overbaugh is executive director of Heart of Catskill Association, and full disclosure, was on the WGXC Radio Council for a few months before she said she was too busy and withdrew.) In the story, local GOP officials hilariously seem to say they wouldn’t have challenged a Democrat if they would have made a similar mistake. No one believes that. But if a Board of Elections official made the error, perhaps a State Supreme Court judge will rule in her favor on the petitions, as the GOP is petitioning to get her on the ballot. Otherwise, if enough voters write in her name exactly on Sept. 15′s primary, she can get back on the ballot.

Greene County OKs new tax on mortgages
From The Daily Freeman

CATSKILL – The Greene County Legislature voted to raise taxes Thursday on new home buyers in Greene County. Voting to raise taxes were Catskill’s Karen Deyo (R), Dorothy Prest (R), Keith Valentine (R); Coxsackie’s Charles A. Martinez (R) and Wayne Speenburgh (R); Greenville’s Kenneth E. Dudley (R); Prattsville, Ashland, Windham, and Jewett’s James Hitchcock (R), and Halcott, Lexington, and Hunter’s Larry Gardner (D). Legislators Forest Cotten, D-Catskill, and Sean Frey, D-Durham, voted against the tax, while William Lawrence, R-Cairo; Harry Lennon, D-Cairo; James Van Slyke, D-New Baltimore; and Ray Brooks, R-Athens, were absent. Beginning Oct. 1, home buyers in Greene County will be required to pay an additional 50 cents per $100 on new mortgages. This new tax will be on top of the current 75-cents-per-$100 surcharge assessed on all new mortgages, of which 25 cents is paid to the state by the mortgage lender and 50 cents is paid by the borrower to the municipality where the property is located. The total mortgage recording tax will increase to $1.25 per $100, with 50 cents per $100 being paid to the county.

New accountant faces old budget deficit
From The Register-Star

COPAKE – The Town Board fired accountant Brian Fitzgerald Wednesday night after he told them last month they are facing a $175,000 budget deficit at the end of the year. The Town Board did not believe his numbers and fired him for mishandling funds, acting disrespectfully at public meetings to Board members and residents, and sending internal town business e-mails to the Register-Star. They hired accountant Michael Torchia, who told them the deficit was about the same, just slighty more.

Columbia and Greene pork
From The Albany Times-Union
The Times-Union is tracking the pork projects approved by New York legislators for Columbia and Greene counties:
Columbia County:
STUYVESANT FIRE DISTRICT ONE $10,000 GORDON-T STUYVESANT
VALATIE FIRE DEPARTMENT $6,000 GORDON-T VALATIE
NORTH CHATHAM FREE LIBRARY $5,000 GORDON-T NORTH CHATHAM
KINDERHOOK MEMORIAL LIBRARY $4,000 GORDON-T KINDERHOOK
TOWN OF NEW LEBANON $3,000 GORDON-T NEW LEBANON
AIDS COUNCIL OF NORTHEASTERN NEW YORK, INC. FAIRVIEW PLAZA – $2,500 GORDON-T HUDSON
LEBANON VALLEY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION $2,500 GORDON-T NEW LEBANON
COLUMBIA GREENE COMMUNITY COLLEGE $10,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
WEST GHENT FIRE COMPANY $7,500 MOLINARO GHENT
PHILMONT FIRE COMPANY $5,500 MOLINARO PHILMONT
GREENPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT $4,800 MOLINARO HUDSON
HUDSON VALLEY AGRI-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. $4,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
GREENPORT PUMPER COMPANY NO. 1 $3,600 MOLINARO HUDSON
CITY OF HUDSON $3,500 MOLINARO HUDSON
CITY OF HUDSON YOUTH DEPARTMENT $3,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
COLUMBIA COUNTY RIDE PROGRAM $3,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
HUDSON VALLEY AGRI-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. $3,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
HUDSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT $2,500 MOLINARO HUDSON
VFW POST 1314-HUDSON $2,500 MOLINARO HUDSON
HUDSON POLICE DEPARTMENT $2,000 MOLINARO HUDSON
THE OLANA PARTNERSHIP $1,300 MOLINARO HUDSON
CHATHAM HIGH SCHOOL NEWSPAPER $500 MOLINARO CHATHAM
Columbia-Greene Community College $50,000 Saland Hudson
R.I.D.E. Program $9,000 Saland Hudson
West Ghent Volunteer Fire Company $7,500 Saland Ghent
North Chatham Free Library $5,000 Saland North Chatham
Greenport Pumper Co. No. 1, Inc. $3,600 Saland Hudson
Greene County:
TOWN OF NEW BALTIMORE TOWN HALL – $7,500 GORDON-T HANNACROIX
VEDDER RESEARCH LIBRARY $5,000 GORDON-T COXSACKIE
HEERMANCE MEMORIAL LIBRARY $2,500 GORDON-T COXSACKIE
Greene County Industrial Development Agency $18,500 Seward Coxsackie
Greene County Pop Warner Football Association, Inc. $5,000 Seward South Cairo

Today’s local headlines

Columbia County Board of Supervisors holds its regular meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 401 State St. in Hudson. Protesters will be back voicing opposition to the Board’s proposed moved of the Department of Social Services from Hudson to Ockawamic. “As a direct result of the public outcry and resistance, a key member of the Board of Supervisors has now reversed his position on the project,” writes Linda Mussmann, of the Bottom Line party and TSL in Hudson. “Longtime Claverack supervisor James Keegan announced his “change of heart” in the July 7 edition of the Register-Star…. The Coxsackie Village Board has joined Cairo as the second local jurisdiction with a troubling audit from the State Comptroller. Coxsackie lacked sufficient oversight between 2004 and 2008, leading to a number of “unplanned operating deficits” in its general, water and sewer funds, according to an audit, as reported in The Daily Mail…. David Deutsch’s Parks Arts Recreation Culture group will not be constructing outdoor spaces, housing, a grocery store, a year-round indoor pool, an ice-skating rink, a inter-generational center, bike paths and other improvements in Hudson, as they cannot raise money for the ambitious plan, according to The Register-Star….Twenty seven homes were sold in Columbia County in May 2009 compared to 13 sold in April 2009; this is a 107.7 percent increase. In Greene County, the number of existing single family homes sold decreased 32.1 percent, with 28 homes sold in April and 19 sold in May, The Register-Star reports. From May 2007 to May 2009, the number of homes sold in Columbia County decreased 37.2 percent, and decreased 40.6 percent in Greene County…. Common Cause is organizing a campaign to get the New York State Senate back to work instead of their continued efforts to play “pretend” Senate….Vice-President Joe Biden will speak at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the The Daily Gazette…. Elvis Costello mentions the Hudson Valley on “Sulphur to Sugarcane” from his new album, “Secret, Profane and Sugarcane” (via Nippertown!):
“The women in Poughkeepsie
Take their clothes off when they’re tipsy
But in Albany, New York,
They love the filthy way I talk
Until they gargle with the finest champagne
They can´t get the grape and the grain
It´s not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane”

Today’s local headlines

Register-Star reporter Jamie Larson claims Columbia County Board of Supervisor Chairman Art Baer, “asked the Register-Star to get [Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera] to sit down with him today to reopen the discussion about [using the] Charles Williams [School] or other sites as possibilities.” The story begins with the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce holding an emergency economic forum Thursday at Hudson’s Stageworks Theater. Larson gets Baer on the phone to comment on all the outrage from the Hudson business community about his plan to move the homeless into the city’s St. Charles Hotel. “Baer said St. Charles wouldn’t be on the table if Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera hadn’t ‘stiff-armed’ talks two years ago to use the old Charles Williams School as a homeless shelter,” the story says. Scalera, reached by the reporter, agrees to meet Baer anytime. Scalera says talks to use the Charles Williams School for the homeless broke down when Baer began pushing for the Department of Social Services to move out of Hudson to the Ockawamick school in Claverack. Baer then calls this typical political dealing “blackmail,” clearly raising an even bigger fight instead of trying to solve an issue. Linda Mussmann from TSL and the Bottom Line Party says Baer’s actions are, “the dismantling of Hudson as the county seat.”… Baer also visited Washington D.C., according to the Register-Star, to lobby New York representatives for federal stimulus funding for $4 million in improvements to the museum and visitor center at the Olana State Historic Site; $3 million for an emergency communications system; $9 million for the Greenport water and sewer system; $200,000 to study a countywide broadband initiative; and $1 million to extend wastewater and sewer systems to Hudson Park on Route 23 in Livingston…. U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy put in a $15 million federal funding request on behalf of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency for “transportation infrastructure improvements to State Route 9W” and an “expansion of Exit 21B/New York State Thruway, a flyover Bridge connecting 9W, and an internal public road system connecting the flyover bridge and Kalkberg Commerce Park,” according to the Daily Mail…. The Kinderhook Republicans endorsed Patrick Grattan as town supervisor, Patsy Leader and Glenn Smith for seats on the Town Board, and Lisa Mills for town justice and cross-endorsed Democrat incumbent Highway Superintendent John Ruchel Jr. for a second term in office, according to the Register-Star….While the New York State Senate Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on anything else to start working, they can agree to keep taking your money. From the Albany Times-Union’s Capitol Confidential blog, Marissa Shorenstein, spokeswoman to Gov. David Paterson is quoted:

“The Governor’s office earlier today looked into the question of whether or not members of the Senate are eligible to receive their salaries with no presiding officer agreed upon to authorize payment. It turns out that both conferences have come together and signed appropriate documentation to continue receiving their salaries. So there is a power sharing agreement — but it only includes getting paid. If the leadership of the Senate can agree on a way to keep getting paid, they can reach an agreement to get back to work for the people of New York.”

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