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It
All Passes, Quietly
The town of Olive has historically voted against the school
budget but this year - with very little voter turnout compared
to years past - managed to approve it by a slim margin. All
towns approved the three propositions except Olive, the only
town to defeat the proposition for the purchase of school buses.
Of the few people present at the Middle/High School anticipating
final results, the night finished early shortly after the polls
closed. Unlike past years, this election had no long lines for
voters, or write-in candidates that kept people waiting until
the late hour.
Numbers show a substantially lower voter turnout of a little
over 1800 all told, compared to the 2008 election that brought
out over 3500. Reports were coming in from all towns that it
was a very quiet election season.
Laughter and lighthearted chatter could be heard coming from
the office where Superintendent Leslie Ford and others waited
for the results to be phoned in. Once the budget results proved
favorable for the district, Ford thanked and congratulated the
newly elected board members.
Incumbent and current board vice president Laurie Osmond was
the highest vote getter at 1151. She thanked the voters for
their support.
“So much has happened in this first year,” she said.
“I am so excited about continuing our work and I am happy
that the voters supported the budget and supported me.”
The second highest vote getter was newly elected Tony Fletcher,
who came in with 1131 votes.
“I was thrilled to be voted in and I look forward to serving
the community,” he said. The two will serve three-year
terms beginning in July.
Dan Spencer came in with the lowest votes at 1004 and will continue
to serve Ralph Legnini’s un-expired term for an additional
two years.
“I am excited to be serving on the board again, “
Spencer said.
The board appointed him in March, following Legnini’s
resignation.
Minutes after the results were posted, School Board President
Maxanne Resnick whisked everyone into the principals’
office where all the results were unanimously approved and Spencer
sworn in.
At the board’s last May 5 meeting, where much of the evening
was taken up with Executive Session discussions of contracts
and other employee matters, despite it also being a public hearing
on the budget, High School principal Lance Edelman and Middle
School principal Andrew Davenport proposed a change in class
scheduling for 2009/2010 school year. Instead of having eight-days
with eight periods that allow 56 minutes for classes, they will
change to a five-days, nine periods with 42-minute classes.
Edelman explained that the more traditional nine-period day
offers more electives, with a consistent daily schedule. Edelman
said a committee of administrators and teachers found that an
eight-day schedule was no longer needed. He said declining enrollment
is a major player in the change because, “as population
declines, the number of student who are enrolled in electives
decline.” Everything is not ironed out, such as lunch
scheduling. “Hopefully I can come back in June and give
my final recommendation,” said Edelman.
Post
Modern Business...
Look at
how the Wren’s Nest, focused on all things avian, from
bird feed to paintings, moved to its present location near where
the Mystery Spot was on the Boardwalk (about to be occupied
by a high end city-originated tattoo parlor) from Shokan, where
it’s owner had moved up from Westchester to in the early
1990s.
Or nestled-in Threads of Time is a dream-come-true for both
its seamstress and wordworking owners, married and also based
in Olive for years.
Over in Olive, Sands Salvage has taken up what was once Singer-Denman’s
domain, specializing in salvage home items from Macy’s,
Bloomingdales and other fine sources, as if to fill out everything
that came in the various items people have been buying at the
Door Jamb, down the road a spell, for years. Next door in Olive
is Kasey’s Café, cooking up homestyle breakfasts
and lunches. The old service station has shifted to Russian-owned
Lukoil, but filled out its shelves for late-night local shoppers.
And across the street, the old Mountain Creek Inn is now Shakti
Yoga, catering to the area’s many newer, fitter new residents,
and Jeanette’s Nails, for all those broken items that
occur when stretching too far.
Hey, even the Boiceville Market, once Al’s, is getting
a facelift to match its new take-out menus inside. And up the
road in Mt. Tremper, Al’s Hanover Farms enterprise seems
to have found a way of packing new items in, like a roadside
Wal Mart, almost daily.
Unconfirmed rumors have it that the Emerson is now under financier
Emily Fischer’s management so its developer can focus
on other matters. Its Phoenix Restaurant has a sub-continental
feel about it. The state’s former senator, and her husband
the former president, appear to have become regulars.
Back in Phoenicia, the video store has moved into the Nest Egg
and the Hardware Store into Morne’s Imports. Up the road
one way, Miss Kitty’s holding down the eclectic offerings
at the Phoenicia Plaza with the beauty business, while all things
streamwise can be got at the Esopus Streamwatch storefront.
In Mt. Tremper, Catskill Rose is offering lodgings as well as
fine dining.
Way out near where Watson Hollow Road heads up into the Peekamoose
past the Olive town building, the West Shokan Express is holding
its own, keeping folks fed, in and at home. Olivebridge is still
awaiting a reopening of its own, although over in Shokan (non-West),
Scandinavia Grace has become an Upstate (and more Upscale and
better taste-oriented) version of Ikea. A very nice addition…
Shokan Center Massage is a draw. As is the 28 Exchange auction
house, where Pet Fare used to be (next to the newest storage
units… albeit that’s another story, eh?)
The new Cabane Studios & Gallery in Phoenicia’s a
true treat, a well-curated collection of fine regional work
in a wide-range of media. Not as splashy as Arts Upstairs, but
steady. Selling…
My god, we almost forgot 60 Main, Alan and Lynn Fliegel’s
new cornucopia of local ware, downstairs from Arts Upstairs
in the middle of Phoenicia, where most everything new has been
made around town, from clothes to art work, from books written
to music played. I guess you could even add in the classic underground
and adult comic collections, brought together by Fliegel and
friends.
Talk about a great complement to nearby Tender Land Home…
There’s others we’ve seen or heard about around
town. But we can’t be definitive.
More important is to apply a bit of exegesis. What does it all
add up to, these new businesses in our towns?
Things are going green, ahead of the national curve. Our main
customer base is ourselves. We care about health, aesthetics,
and fun. And our sense of good will is apparently infectious,
allowing new storeowners to get by on we locals, but thrive
with all those our lifestyles are attracting.
Not a bad spot to be in, all told. And not really a mystery,
this newness, after all.
On Friday, May 15, attorneys for four female Officers in the
Ulster County Sheriff’s Department held a press conference
in which they announced their filing of a Federal Lawsuit alleging
a long standing pattern of discrimination and sexual harassment
by two Ulster County Sheriffs and their senior staff.
The lawsuit, as is required under Federal statute, was first
approved by the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) last November after the Commission made a finding of
“probable cause” that there has been an ongoing
pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the
Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers Patricia Meadors of Shandaken, Ann Marie Legg of Catskill,
Nancy Reyes of Kingston, and Patricia Watson of Saugerties are
being represented in their case by attorney Joseph Ranni of
the Hudson Valley law firm of Bonacic, Krahulik, Cuddeback,
McMahon and Brady LLP. Ranni has litigated numerous harassment
and discrimination cases over the years. His firm was started
by current state Senator John Bonacic, a leading Upstate Republican.
The suit was filed against current Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum,
a Democrat who previously served as a Shandaken town board member,
former Sheriff Richard Bockelman, a Republican, Jail Superintendent
Brad Ebel, and other jail officials contending the female plaintiffs
were forced to work in an unfit environment.
The lawsuit alleges the women worked in a department that allowed
pornography on office computers; lewd comments relating to gender
and sexuality by senior officers against subordinates; failure
to provide pregnant female corrections officers with adequate
protect despite a demand for it; hostile words such as “bitch”
and “dyke” directed to subordinate female officers
by their supervisors; and other violations of law.
A fifth woman, Amy Negron of Saugerties, filed a lawsuit last
June, also via Ranni, alleging similar treatment while in the
employ of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and charging
that she was sexually assaulted by a corrections officer on
December 25, 2005.
“I can tell you that we adamantly and feverishly deny
all of the allegations and can’t wait for our day in court,”
Van Blarcum said at the press conference about the charges,
which he added that he could not comment on further other than
to deny the women’s accusations. “The sooner the
better.”
In the same press conference, Meadors said that she and her
fellow plaintiffs were simply trying “to ensure that the
officers coming behind us, male and female, will be treated
to a fair environment and treated right.”
“Sexual harassment exists in many workplaces. It is demoralizing
always, particularly where it is ratified by senior management
who then retaliate. There is nowhere to turn. It is illegal
always. In the case of a jail facility, it is potentially life
threatening. It puts people at risk not just of their jobs but
possible personal danger,” Ranni said. “The Ulster
County Sheriff, his predecessor, and their subordinates have
created and tolerated an atmosphere in the County Jail where
pornography and sexually offensive comments and conduct is rampant,
and female Officers have to “play along.” The belief
is that they should be able to tolerate this atmosphere. That
for some reason where a woman works gives people the right to
treat her in demeaning way none of us would tolerate towards
our sisters, mothers or daughters.”
Individual charges included lurid details involving male jail
workers use of their female coworkers cell phones to take photos
of their own genitalia to send to the women’s call lists;
a lesbian employee’s sexuality frequently used as a subject
of obscene jokes, a pregnant Officer being told that nobody
forced her to get “knocked up,” and blatant job
discrimination regarding promotions and work duties.
Ranni indicated that the use of pornography and sexually offensive
comments and conduct at the County Jail by County employees
is severe and pervasive. He charged that complaints were met
with retaliation, being placed “on the burn”, shift
changes, heightened scrutiny, denied days off and false discipline,
including termination against these and other discriminatory
practices.”
Later, the attorney equaled the situation addressed by the current
lawsuit as being akin to the problems that led to the massive
cost overruns that plagued the current jail as it was being
built, and led to County Democrats’ rise to their current
majority status.
On Tuesday, May 19, this sense of politicization of the case
took a step forward when three minority members of the county
legislature’s Criminal Justice and Safety Committee held
a press conference noting the non-political nature of the sexual
harassment charges, on the one hand, then blaming county Democrats
in general and new County Executive Michael Hein, in particular,
for not having shared information about the federal involvement
in the case last fall.
The only Democrat legislator in attendance cried foul, saying
information had been shared.
And yet no one has come forth, yet, with any call for investigation.
RR
Progress Questioned
And in the withdrawal of that resolution that would have established
a new County Railroad Advisory Committee for the CMRR/Ulster
County joint efforts, essentially leaving the county’s
rail efforts legally rudderless for the moment, further troubles
have arisen regarding the legislature’s sense of commitment
to the all-volunteer but for-profit CMRR.
The Catskill Mountain Railroad was chartered in 1983 to operate
a tourist passenger operation as well as freight service along
the old Ulster & Delaware lines first laid out in the 1870s,
after Ulster County purchased the 38-mile right-of-way from
Penn Central in 1979. The group, set up for potential financial
profit, has operated a scenic trainride from Phoenicia to Cold
Brook and, since last winter, a holiday trip in Kingston. They
have long said their current activities are “just one
part of a long-term plan to re-open the length of the railroad
from Kingston to Phoenicia and beyond.”
Another 1.5-mile section of the old track is currently used
by the Trolley Museum in Kingston, while other sections have
been made available, according to CMRR, on a fee basis for “railroad
enthusiasts.”
The current difficulties surfaced when the Railroad Committee
Reauthorizing Resolution was withdrawn from consideration following
legislative protests that it was vague and unclear about allowing
any assurances that communities along the actual railroad line
will be adequately represented. It was further noted that no
funding was mentioned for the committee and no provisions included
for bringing the committee into compliance with the county’s
new Charter, which calls for more County Executive oversight
of such matters.
Several legislators at the May 13 county meeting noted that
the resolution should have been discussed in political caucuses
before being proposed for a vote by the full county Legislature.
Members of the last railroad committee, which expired at the
end of 2008, included former county Legislator Charles Busick,
R-Highland; former county Legislator Michael Berardi, D-Ulster;
county tourism department Director Rick Remsnyder, a Kingston
resident; county planning Director Dennis Doyle, a Kingston
resident; Kingston city economic development Director Stephen
Finkle, a Kingston resident; Joseph Munster, a Phoenicia resident;
Ulster County Chamber of Commerce president Ward Todd, a Shandaken
resident and a Republican former county Legislature chairman;
and community representative Dietrich Werner, a Rosendale resident.
The tabled reauthorization resolution proposed appointments
by the county executive of a county Department of Public Works
representative, county Planning Department representative, and
a community representative. two Legislature majority members,
one Legislature minority member, two appointments from the current
railroad committee, an historian, a representative from the
Ulster County Industrial Development Agency, and a representative
from the city of Kingston, all put forth by the county legislature
chairman, and non-voting representatives from the state Department
of Transportation, state Department of Environmental Conservation,
and New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
Among concerns voiced at the recent meeting was the absence
of any representation from the communities of Shandaken, Olive,
Hurley and Ulster that the railroad passes through.
The committee has been chartered for the past 24 years to make
advisory recommendations for management of the track by the
Catskill Mountain Railroad, which is operating under a lease
through 2016.
That lease, said legislator Brian Shapiro following the recent
meeting, is currently behind some of the questions and discomfort
regarding the committee reauthorization. He talked about growing
conversations about the CMRR’s lack of progress over the
26 years it has had its rights to the county’s railroad
assets, as well as any “real feasibility” regarding
plans to revive train travel into the Catskills.
Shapiro also noted that there has been growing pressure from
throughout the county to open up the right-of-way for use by
a pedestrian and bicycle-oriented rail trail. Although originally
planned to cooperate and run along a working railroad, he noted
that such plans might have to be sidelined if funding is available
for more public uses sooner.
Recent meetings about that trail idea on the part of the Central
Catskills Collaborative, managed by the Catskill Center, have
yielded further questions about the length of CMRR’s leases
with the county, as well as the ways in which the railroad’s
for-profit status has hurt its chances at getting grant funding
and public investment monies, as has occurred with the Delaware
County-based Catskill Revitalization Corporation, which controls
the of U&D right-of-way from Highmount to Oneonta, with
a portion of it operating as a rail ride and all now supporting
a well-used rail trail component.
CMRR Chairman Harry Jameson, who was unavialbale for comment
for this article, has said that about $12.6 million, including
$3.5 million for bridge renovation work on the Upper Esopus
Creek in Boiceville and $750,000 over the Lower Esopus Creek
between Kingston and the town of Ulster, is needed to complete
work for the entire 38-mile system to establish passenger service
that “would pay for itself in three years.”
Jameson did say, in a previous interview, that the current committee
has had a difficult time assembling a quorum to conduct meetings,
with December and February sessions canceled because members
were unable to attend, and blamed the county for not having
acted on its reauthorization and retasking efforts earlier.
County legislator Richard Parete, representing Olive, has meanwhile
questioned the levels of public good at stake noting that he’s
been hearing more and more about putting a new emphasis into
that legislation that stresses development of more free public
use of the county-owned railroad corridor.
“We’re not opposed to (railroad development), but
feel the public needs a rail trail much more,” he said
after the recent May 13 hearing where all of this came up. “You
go for a train ride and pay for it maybe once or twice and that’s
it. But to go on a bike, to walk with your children, your family,
your dog, people do that every day. Look at the Hurley rail
trail where that whole stretch of (U.S. Route) 209 ... is so
well utilized.”
Stay tuned…
A Jar Of Olives...
Renewal
Spring,
the time of rebirth, is here, so they tell me as I reload up
the woodstove with yet-another armload of wood. It is a time
of renewal. What a joy to see those perennials given to me by
Rose Carlson and friends at the Tongore Garden Club poke through
my rocky soil to remind me that Mother Nature is stubbornly
refreshing the earth with her gifts. I would be remiss if I
didn’t remind you to go to the Annual Plant Sale held
on Saturday, May 23 at Dolly Denman’s house on Route 28.
The Big Yard Sale at the Reservoir Methodist Church is also
this weekend. The hours on Friday are 8 to 6 p.m. and on Saturday
from 9 to 3 p.m. Here’s where both the donator and buyer
benefit. People donate already-loved items to recycle and relocate
them. Buyers look to resurrect treasures and restore bargains
to redecorate rooms and wardrobes.
The parade on Memorial Day is a time to remember. The parade
steps off at 9:30 in front of the West Shokan Post Office and
marches to the Town Office Building at the Veteran’s Memorial.
Carl Swenson III is the speaker, and Ed Baldyga will sing the
Star Spangled Banner. The American Legion will be remembering
the following World War II Veterans who have passed on this
year: Robert Donovan, Claude S. Coomes, Jr., Sidney Coon, and
Ralph Mattson.
This may one of the shortest Memorial Day parades, but it is
the one that means the most to me as the Onteora High School
Band plays, as Kate McGloughlin drives her Aunt Shirley, a World
War II Wave, in the red Miata, as the Four H’ers pull
bunnies in a wagon, and as the Fire Department, Police Department,
and Scouts proudly march by. After a rifle volley and “Taps,”
there will be refreshments at the Pavilion at Davis Park. The
parade’s beauty is in its repetition of former parades;
its constancy reminds me of the foundation of the essence of
democracy, a word made up of two other word cells—demo
meaning “people” and -cracy meaning “rule
or government.” In Olive there is a grass roots democracy
as we recognize those who are marching and those who are there,
with their dogs, to review the parade.
Have you noticed that the American Legion Hall had its roof
refurbished? There are plans to build a kiosk by the flagpole
by Veterans Day. The Veterans will be retiring unserviceable
flags at their next meeting on June 2. Flags are burned in a
ceremony that honors and reveres them.
The Olive Free Library is having an open house on Sunday, May
31, on Route 28, in West Shokan to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
The program will run from 3 to 5 p.m. with an oral history of
the library by Rosie Burgher, live music, a silent auction,
children’s activities and refreshments. Remember to mark
your calendar.
The Ashokan Rural Cemetery marks its one hundredth anniversary
on June 15. Joe Kosarek, president of the small bucolic resting
place, has a ledger dating from the time Leland Whiting, president,
Clarence Elmendorf, vice president, and John A. Lennox, secretary
created this graveyard that is nested among the houses on Mountain
Road in Shokan. Joe and Rudy Hellenschmidt are not only caretakers
but are neighbors of the peaceful site where civil war veterans
repose next to those who were exhumed and reburied when the
reservoir flooded Olive City. Family names of Davis, Montrose,
Coomes, and Avery abound in this well-maintained cemetery.
Lastly, it is the recovery of the economy that is on my mind.
My stimulus package was a $250.00 addition to my last social
security check. That amount seemed just right to me. It was
more than a week’s groceries and too little to bother
investing. It was spend-able, so that’s what I did. I
bought a little Bistro set from Sears, and with the remaining
forty dollars, I intend to buy some wine, cheese and chips from
our local merchants. As I sit on my deck and look out at the
reservoir and mountains, I will restore my faith in a Democracy
that depends on people resolving to rebuild, and renew itself.
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