(News Briefs December 6, 2007)

Permanent Shed
As plans are forged for an expanded Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, the folks behind the Belleayre Music Festival have some growth ideas of their own. Last week it was announced that the festival, held each summer in and around a temporary tent, is set to establish a 1500 seat performing arts shed with state of the art sound and lighting.
“Associated with the projected plans for expanded Belleayre Mountain, we are anticipating building a new permanent home,” said Joe Kelly, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Belleayre Conservatory.
The new space will also include raised comfortable seating with unobstructed views.
The Conservatory, which puts on the festival, was founded in 1992 by a group of community and business leaders who represented both full-time residents and second homeowners who had worked to keep Belleayre Mountain Ski Center open after the threat to close it was made by the State of New York in 1990. At that time the Conservatory organizers felt that Belleayre needed to remain an economic catalyst for the Route 28 communities.
What The Belleayre Conservatory intended to accomplish was to establish a summer music festival at Belleayre Mountain utilizing that facility which lay dormant during the off skiing months of each year. Especially important was and continues to be the unique partnership created between the NYS DEC and The Belleayre Conservatory.
The festival, according to Kelly, continues to act as a major stimulus, during the summer months, to the economic growth of the region and has demonstrated ability to sustain and advance long-term partnerships.
Financial support to make the Belleayre Music Festival successful has been raised through grants, individual and corporate contributions and fundraisers from both upstate and downstate individuals and businesses. Grants from small and large foundations have helped to sustain and expand the number of performances and the ‘recognition level’ of the musicians.
The Festival began with a $50,000 budget for the first concert by the Brooklyn Philharmonic; by 2004 the budget reached to almost $600,000 with 15 musical events scheduled during July into September. Ticket sales, Kelly said, have increased by 20% annually and more and more of the concerts are sold out.
Asked this past week where a permanent performance shed would go, Kelly said this past week that by law, it is unlikely it could go onto actual state-owned ski center lands, which are pegged for outdoor recreation uses, although the Conservatory would like to take advantage of the ski center’s large parking capability. He said discussions were nearing completion for the donation of a nearby property that Kelly said he “didn’t think” was tied to the nearby Crossroads Ventures holdings being proposed for the controversial Belleayre Resort which plans to swallow much of the rest of the area, if approved.
Asked whether a property that had been earlier proposed as a site for a Watershed Museum was in the offing, owned by Conservatory board member and former Resort spokesperson Gary Gailes, Kelly said only that the site would be a good one. That property was also brought up in a Shandaken board meeting recently when Gailes’ attorney Tony Bucca, a former state DEC attorney who also does legal work for Crossroads’ principal Dean Gitter, when a resolution was asked for and passed formally reneging any claims the town may have had on it from its previous status as a potential gift.
Soon after Kelly answered questions about siting for the shed, Crossroads’ VP Paul Rakov started calling members of the press asking why things were being “stirred up” regarding the Conservatory.
In addition to its concerts, the Conservatory also puts on the “Snowball,” a popular annual social event held each January as a fundraiser. This year the Snowball is set for Saturday, January 26th. The Guest of Honor and Spirit of the Catskills’ recipient will be Governor Eliot Spitzer.

County Budget…
The Ulster County Legislature was scheduled on Wednesday, December 5 – after our deadlines — to vote on a proposed $324.83 million budget carrying a 2.91 percent increase of $9.18 million. Under the plan there would be a $72.23 million property tax levy representing a 3.39 percent increase of $2.39 million. The vote was scheduled after the legislature’s Ways and Means Committee suggested $1.41 million in reductions that would cut $183,008 from the proposed tax levy. Among the steepest cuts were a $200,000 loss of funding for new computer equipment for central data processing, and a reduction of $4,008 from the county personnel expenses for exam fees and conferences.
New additions included another $15,000 for Community Action; $75,000 to the Ulster County Libraries program; $5,000 to the Resource Center for Accessible Living; and $20,000 for the Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

Open DEP Lands
New York City has finally decided to open 11,000 acres of watershed land in the Catskills for hiking and other recreational purposes.
The city owns more than 100,000 acres around its reservoirs in the Catskills, but generally requires permits for access to city-owned land. Under an agreement between DEC and New York City, the city will open lands adjacent to state Forest Preserve lands for hiking, hunting, fishing and trapping. The policy change is scheduled to take effect with the opening of the 2008 hunting season. DEC hunting, fishing and trapping licenses will be the only permits required to use the lands. No permit will be needed for hiking. DEC also agreed to patrol watershed lands to enforce regulations and protect the environment.
The plan will open up about 4,650 acres in Ulster County, 2,900 acres in Delaware County, 2,500 acres in Greene County, 400 acres in Sullivan County and 250 acres in Schoharie County.
The recent moves resulted, according to participants that included the Catskill Center for Conservation & Development, were aided by meetings of the Watershed Partnership and Protection Council, as well as the Coalition of Watershed Towns.
“As a long-time angler on streams in the city watershed, I know how important it is to the local tourism economies and the sporting community to have consistent access policies when it comes to city and state lands within the Catskill Park,” DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said. “This agreement is a tremendous step towards eliminating barriers to recreation on city-owned lands, and easing the way for people to enjoy the region.”
NYCDEP Commissioner Lloyd said: “The City of New York is committed to working with its partners in the watershed to improve recreational and economic development opportunities. We are particularly pleased to join with DEC in introducing a recreational access program while vigilantly protecting the high quality of New York City’s water supply.”
For more information about the Catskill Forest Preserve, go to the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov. For more information about NYCDEP’s Watershed Recreation Access Permit, go to www.nyc.gov/dep .

Olive Reaction?
Even though the Olive Town Board meeting was occuring as we were going to press this issue, SUpervisor Bert Leifeld let us know beforehand that among other matters scheduled for discussion, he was hoping to raise the subject of the ONteora School District’s current plan to shift to a 5 to 8 middle school, which will not only end up costing local taxpayers some $70 million in bonding, but seems likely at this juncture to force the closure of the town’s only elementary school, with Olive’s kids getting bussed to Phoenicia or Woodstock/West Hurley. Sure, it’s all early in the process... but people are starting to wonder why no one’s raised any questions, or objections, locally as they have in both Phoenicia and Woodstock when possible threats of school closures arose there, albeit apocryphally.
Stay tuned...

Weatherization?
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County is hosting a free Weatherization and Energy Savings Workshop designed to help people save energy and save dollars. Learn easy to do weatherization techniques, how to reduce your energy bill using low-cost and no-cost energy conservation methods. All attendees ages 18 and up will receive a FREE Energy Saving Kit. The workshop will be Wednesday, December 12 from 9:00am to 10:30am at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County Phoenicia Office, located in the Phoenicia Plaza at 5575 Route 28. The session is free and open to the public.
Participants will learn about actual energy usage of items in their homes, learn to identify measures that can reduce energy usage, become aware of energy programs and resources available and to identify a specific action plan to reduce the cost of their heating and electric bills.
Pre-registration is required. Please call Barbara Grumberg, 845-340-3990 to reserve a seat or email: bag23@cornell.edu. For more information about Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County’s events and programs please visit our website at: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/ulster
Also at Cornell Extension in Phoenicia will be a “Making Ends Meet, Free Budget and Credit Card Management Seminar” on Tuesday, December 11 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Participants will learn how to develop a spending plan, budgeting and saving skills, identify opportunities to reduce expenses, how to manage credit card debt and how to establish and reach their financial goals.

Staying On…
Ulster County District Attorney Donald A. Williams, who leaves office on Dec. 31 after choosing not to seek a third four-year term in the recent election, is expected to be named a special prosecutor in the second-degree murder case against Kendall Wade and the vehicular manslaughter case against Zephyr Dresser-Peck because incoming District Attorney Holley Carnright, elected three weeks ago, has worked in a defense capacity in both cases.
Wade, of New York City, is awaiting trial in the January shooting death of 16-year-old Kingston resident Jarius “J.R.” Lightfoot on a Midtown street. Dresser-Peck, 19, of Woodstock faces trial in connection with a May car accident on Glasco Turnpike in Woodstock that killed Woodstock resident Andrew “Drew” Dean Lipson, 19. Dresser-Peck allegedly was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time. He next appears in court on Monday, December 17, in a second preliminary hearing leadiung towards an eventual jury trial.
“I promised the families that I would pursue these cases,” Williams said.
Carnright said he will recommend Williams to Ulster County Judge J. Michael Bruhn, who has the authority to appoint special prosecutors. Williams said he will be paid the standard rate of $100 per hour if Bruhn appoints him.

Library Funds…
$97,500 in additional state funding will be shared by libraries in the 42nd State Senate District overseen by Senator John Bonacic, it was announced recently. The aid can be used by the libraries to make capital improvements or purchase equipment. Each library will receive $2,500. The following libraries will receive funding: Ulster County: Hurley, Ulster, Elting (New Paltz), Phoenicia, Morton Memorial (Pine Hill), Rosendale, Saugerties, Stone Ridge, West Hurley, Olive, Woodstock, Cragsmoor, Ellenville, Gardiner, and Wallkill Public Library in Shawangunk. Orange County: Middletown Thrall, Port Jervis. Sullivan County: Bloomingburg, Sunshine Hall (Eldred), Daniel Pierce (Grahamsville), Liberty, Livingston Manor, Ethelbert Crawford (Monticello), Roscoe, and Fallsburg, as well as the Delaware, Tusten-Cochecton, and Jeffersonville Branches of the Western Sullivan Public Library ($2,500 each branch).

Catskill Visions...
Complimentary healing practitioners, senior citizens, young families and others from the greater Shandaken area will gather with others from Delaware County at the Roxbury Arts Group (RAG) on Vega Mountain Road in the coming week to discuss the concept of a healing and wellness center in the community. The meeting, which will be facilitated by Joan Lawrence-Bauer of the M-ARK Project, is sponsored by the Catskills Connection for Health and Wellness, a group of professionals who specialize in a wide range of healing methods and modalities. Everyone in the community is invited to the visioning session that gets underway on Thursday, December 13 at 7:00 pm in the RAG building on Vega Mountain Road. The goal of the evening is to understand the needs of the community in every arena from health and wellness to a child care center, from a senior citizens center to an adult day care facility.
The Catskills Connection for Health and Wellness was formed nearly two years ago to create a network for the exchange of information and experiences about holistic healing methods and practices. One of its goals at formation was to explore a “bricks and mortar” option – finding or building a healing space to share rents with like-minded practitioners. As the group began its visioning, other needs in the community surfaced. So a joint visioning session with the M-ARK Project was planned.
Those who participate on the 13th are asked to come with a vision and some ideas of what it would take to fully imagine and create it. Among the questions that will be asked are: If you were to imagine a center for complimentary healing practices, what would it look like? What color would it be? How would the offices be decorated? Would it have a fountain? Would it have a community room, a kitchen, a place to relax after getting treatments? Participants will also be asked about combining different types of uses in a large center and asked where they might put it how it would it integrate with the greater community and whether or not it could have a child care center, an adult care center, a meal site or other amenities.
Anyone who is unable to attend the meeting but is interested in the concept is invited to submit ideas or comments in writing to joan@markproject.org. More information on the Catskills Connection for Health and Wellness is available on line at www.catskillsconnectionhealth.

Coalition Support
The Greene County Legislature recently voted to support the Coalition of Watershed Towns’ lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by providing $25,000 to the economically-strapped entity to help fund the suit over the federal agency’s decision to grant a 10-year filtration waiver to New York City. The waiver, formally known as a Filtration Avoidance Determination, was granted to the city in August. The Coalition’s suit argues that the federal agency did not have the authority to issue the latest filtration avoidance determination and was supposed to give up its ability to issue the filtration waiver as of May 15, 2007, turning the authority over to the state Department of Health. County legislators also noted a continuing concern with the city’s plan to spend $300 million to purchase land within its upstate watershed.

SWN Parties!
The Shandaken Women’s Network is holding its annual December 18th Holiday Pot Luck Party and Gift Sale from 6 to 9 p.m. at the home of Judith Boggess in Shokan, NY. The party is open to network members and guests, and will feature a holiday gift sale of items hand made or offered by members. Pauline Oliveros will be the guest speaker as part of the “Wise Women of the Catskills” series. She will conduct a “Worldwide Tuning Meditation” and tell about her fascinating life.
Pauline Oliveros, composer, performer and humanitarian, is an important pioneer in American Music. She has been honored with awards, grants and concerts internationally.
The Shandaken Women’s Network is an association of business women in the Catskill and Mid-Hudson region dedicated to networking and improving their business acumen.
To learn more about the event, the organization or how to join, go to www.shandakenwomen.net or call network President, Melody Newcombe at 845-688-5472 or melodyn@ulster.net for directions and to R.S.V.P.

Solar Consortium
Congressman Maurice Hinchey went to New Paltz Tuesday, December 4 to announce a new academic coalition between The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC) and five research universities in New York. The agreement creates a research partnership between various academic hubs across the state and solar energy companies that will be based at the consortium in order to dramatically advance the solar industry in New York.
Based on the agreement, the universities — Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Clarkson University, Binghamton University, and The State University of New York at New Paltz — will work with TSEC to solve technical problems from within the solar industry preventing more efficient and cheaper solar technology from going to market. The university coalition, which is expected to grow in size, will also be available to assist TSEC in consulting public and private organizations who wish to incorporate solar technology into their facilities. Currently, the arrangement calls for research to be conducted at existing facilities located within the universities’ campuses. Eventually, research facilities could be constructed as part of TSEC’s campus.
Hinchey helped organize and create TSEC, which is a new industry-driven, non-profit organization that provides leadership, organization, resources, and support for the establishment of a major solar energy industry cluster in New York. TSEC will be the first organization of its kind for the photovoltaic (PV) industry, encompassing research and development, manufacturing facilities, industry promotion and market development. He has already secured final approval of $3.2 million for C9 Corporation to conduct solar research and development in conjunction with TSEC. The congressman has also secured full House approval of $1.5 million for TSEC to get off the ground. Additionally, Hinchey helped convince Empire State Development to contribute a $1.5 million grant to attract solar energy companies to TSEC. The congressman is continuing to work to secure additional state and federal funds for the consortium.
“Solar energy is the solution to the country’s and the world’s energy problems. There is no need to drill for oil when we can get our energy directly from the sun,” Hinchey said. “This academic research partnership helps us take another big leap forward in our effort to solve the energy crisis, combat global warming, and establish New York as a national and international leader on solar research and development. New York has some of the best schools in the country and now they are going to collectively be working to solve one of the greatest problems facing our generation.”
TSEC is expected to provide 300-500 jobs in its initial phase and create upwards of thousands of jobs in the region within the next several years. Statewide, TSEC has the potential to create tens of thousands of new jobs over the next decade while establishing New York as a global leader in the development of solar technology.
The Solar Conmsortium has been talking about setting up at the former Tech City/IBM complex outside Kingston, although more recent word has it that Saugerties is also vying to make its Kings Road corridor, home to Markertek and other businesses, a new high tech corridor for the region.

Not Innovative
Directors of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation have voted to disband the organization now that the Ulster County Legislature denies its funding request for at least $125,000 in 2008. Managing Director Les Neumann said that the board, which met in a telephone conference call on Tuesday, ordered a committee to review procedures for closing its business incubator if county lawmakers adopt a budget Dec. 5 that does not include money for the group.. which seemed all but certain as of presstime..
Asked if the organization would have to leave its 10,000-square-foot facility at 703 Grant Ave., Neumann said yes. Companies currently using the facility are Rosenbaum Media, Calleveryone.com, and Saile Ackerman, PC.
The Hudson Valley Center for Innovation was founded in 2005 with grants of $150,000 from the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency and $300,000 from the Ulster County Development Corp. In a Nov. 19 letter to lawmakers, the center said it has created 15 jobs since 2005, helping six companies obtain licenses and supporting three small companies.
The possible loss of the agency stems from a new policy whereby Ulster County has started instituting performance standards for its economic development activities, after its Development Corporation seemed to become an advocate for a certain segment of the population, including large support for Dean Gitter’s projects in the Route 28 corridor.
It has been suggested that in order to survive, the Center for Innovation find funding from other Hudson Valley counties.
Starting in 2006, Ulster County’s direction shifted from over a quarter century of Republican control to a new Democrat-majority legislature.
In other development news, it was recently announced that “Ulster Tomorrow,” the much awaited strategy/action plan for revitalizing the county’s economy that was due in mid-November, won’t see the light of day until January. Lance Matteson, president of the Ulster County Economic Development Corp., which commissioned the citizen study last March, said the 14 study committees were on target for a Nov. 15 “roll out” but didn’t have reports that were “comprehensive and concise” for the general public to understand.
He added that the report would be rolled out and presented at a county Chamber of Commerce breakfast on January 15.

Autism Gaps
Fever can temporarily unlock autism’s grip on children, a finding that could shed light on the roots of the condition and perhaps provide clues for treatment. It appears that fever restores nerve cell communications in regions of the autistic brain, restoring a child’s ability to interact and socialize during the fever, the study said.
“The results of this study are important because they show us that the autistic brain is plastic, or capable of altering current connections and forming new ones in response to different experiences or conditions,” said Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, a pediatric neurologist at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute, who was one of the study authors.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, was based on 30 children with autism aged 2 to 18 who were observed during and after a fever of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 80 percent of those with fever showed some improvements in behavior during it and 30 percent had dramatic improvements, the researchers said. The change involved things like longer concentration spans, more talking, improved eye contact and better overall relations with adults and other children.
People with autism spectrum disorders suffer in varying degrees from limited social interactions, lack of verbal and non-verbal communication and other abilities. As many as 1.5 million Americans have some form of autism, according to ASA. It is not known what causes the condition.

Storage Sheds…
Talk about coincidence… a group of town residents in Dutchess County have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn their town’s Zoning Board of Appeals ruling that validated a building permit issued for a 12,000-square-foot storage building. They have based their appeal on numerous points that allege a variety of flaws in both the town’s permitting and Zoning Board of Appeals processes.
The appeal, which was submitted to state Supreme Court Oct. 26 by Pine Plains Attorney Warren Replansky, alleges that the Zoning Board of Appeals should have scheduled a public hearing and referred the case to the town Planning Board as a matter of course. The group also says that the Zoning Board of Appeals violated the state Open Meetings Law because the board heard testimony during a closed-door session.
The applicant’s attorney said that the suit is an example of the group’s “continued harassment.”
Anyone thinking of any recent decisions along Route 28 that might appear similar?

County Leaders?
Glenn Noonan has been re-elected minority leader of the Ulster County Legislature by members of the body’s Republican caucus. The Gardiner native has served as minority leader since January 2006 and was elected over challenger Joseph Roberti of Saugerties in secret balloting. Susan Cummings of Ellenville was elected minority whip, the No. 2 position in the caucus.
Democrats, who retained their majority in the Nov. 6 election, are to meet at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 9 to nominate a Legislature chairman and elect a majority leader. Incumbent Chairman David Donaldson of Kingston is being challenged by fellow Kingston Democrat Jeanette Provenzano, who currently serves as majority leader and has said she will not seek another term as majority leader. Vying to succeed her are Democratic Legislators Brian Cahill of Ulster and Hector Rodriguez of New Paltz. Legislator Richard Parete of Accord is the current majority whip.

Education Grants!
Watershed Education Grant applications are now available from the Catskill Watershed Corp. for projects slated to start in the fall of the 2008. Schools and non-profit organizations in the New York City Catskill-Delaware Watershed, and in New York City, are invited to apply.
Pre-school through 12th grade students are the target audience for Round 11 of the Grant Program, designed to increase awareness and understanding of the City’s water system and the West-of-Hudson Watershed which supplies 90 percent of the water supply for nine million people. Guidelines and applications are available on the Public Education page of the corporation’s web site, www.cwconline.org. Applicants may also call Education Coordinator Diane Galusha at 845-586-1400, ext. 29 (toll-free 877-WAT-SHED) to obtain hard copies of the forms and guidelines. The deadline for submitting applications is February 1, 2008. Awards will be announced in the spring.

Medicare Aid
The New York State Office for the Aging is in the midst of a two month outreach campaign to older and disabled New Yorkers to help them make informed decisions about their Medicare coverage. Beginning on November 15, Medicare beneficiaries can change the plans that provide them with prescription and health coverage under the program. The county Office of the Aging in Kingston will have trained counselors on hand to provide information and assistance through the Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program, known as HIICAP. Calls to the state wide HIICAP Hotline 1-800-701-0501 have increased four-fold in the past month since the federal government mailed information about this year’s plan selections to Medicare beneficiaries.
This year there are over 55 Medicare prescription plans along with thousands of Medicare Advantage, Cost and Demonstration Plans available in New York State. Couple this with the need to coordinate drug coverage, and many Medicare beneficiaries are faced with a complex maze of choices. If the wrong choice is made, they may be left with inadequate health coverage or huge out of pocket expenses.
For more information about where to get help, contact the HIICAP Hotline at 1-800-701-0501 or check the website Medicare.gov. Ulster County seniors can also call 845-340-3456 for help in this area and to make an appointment with a HIICAP counselor.

Global Extension
Global warming is more and more a hot topic, so Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County found someone who could share his expertise with the public on the issue at its Annual Meeting on November 29 in Kingston.
In his discussion titled “Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture, and Controversies in Key Public Policies for Reducing Emissions,” Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D. of applied physics in association with the Museum of Earth Cornell University, took guests through a brief history of global warming and looked at its continuing impact on the world. The evening’s agenda began with an election of new CCEUC board and program committee members, a treasurer’s report, a review of CCEUC’s programs of 2007 and CCEUC staff and current board and program committee member recognition.

Great Alternative!
On Tuesday Nov. 20, 11:30 a group of local teens, many from Onteora, were on hand at the Ulster County Sheriff’s office along with all of the county’s judges and the region’s top politicians for a presentation on a new Alternative Sentencing Program for offenders that receive underage drinking tickets. The event, and program, was put together with the aid of our own Marie Shultis of Hurley, who explained how the new program is being offered as an alternative for judges to use as part of a sentence currently listed in the ABC Law for underage drinking offenders. The new program involves dealing with the roots of underage drinking and at risj behavior and was created with the help of a group of teens who came together as a result of a fatal accident that occurred last May on prom night.
More on all that’s entailed in an upcoming issue of this publication... and our hats off to all involved. Call 417-1483 for further information.!