5/6/2010

Real Estate?!? Sales of existing single-family homes rose dramatically in the Hudson Valley in the first quarter of the year over the same period in 2009, according to data compiled by the New York State Association of Realtors. Sales of existing single-family homes rose by 54.3 percent in Greene County, by 43.7 percent in Ulster County, by 42.9 percent in Columbia County, but by only 8.8 percent in Dutchess County. Orange County was the only Hudson Valley county where home sales slipped, dropping 1.6 percent. In related news, a recent public auction of foreclosed delinquent tax properties held by Ulster County saw the county receive $864,928 on 42 properties owing a total of $336,291. The 2010 auction, it was later announced, received $251,828 more than what was bid in 2009. The annual property tax sale is a public auction of properties that are at least three years delinquent in general municipal taxes. A total of 63 parcels made it to the 2010 auction, of which 42 sold... most of those being vacant lands. Meanwhile, average retail gasoline prices in New York have risen nearly 10 cents per gallon in the past weeks, averaging $3.08 per gallon at press time, according to gasoline price website NewYorkStateGasPrices.com. This compares with the national average, which has stayed flat, moving just 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.85 per gallon. Including the change in gas prices in New York during the past week, prices today are 89.1 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 12.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 7.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 83.5 cents per gallon higher than this day a year ago.
Shared Services? A charter-mandated meeting Intermunicipal Collaboration Council, bringing together County Executive Mike Hein and local and legislative leaders in late April ended up being dominated by the county's new push to share services between municipalities, and in particular Hein's proposal to contract with towns to provide snow removal and some summer maintenance to county highways. Deputy Legislature Chairman Frank Felicello, R-Marlboro, said he's heard from town highway superintendents and county employees who are concerned that the proposal would cost towns money and cost employees jobs. He and others questioned whether the county's flat per-mile rate was equitable to all the county's municipalities, a subject first raised this past winter by Town of Olive board members. The county offer is $6,800 per mile of county highway for winter plowing and sanding and "light" summer maintenance, which would include mowing and some pothole repair. Hein said the executive's office is working with a number of communities to craft agreements he hopes will be finalized by the end of May.
Budget Down The county received much less than it budgeted, although not quite as much as it ended up spending over the last year, according to a new report by Ulster County Budget Director Arthur Smith. The biggest revenue shortfall was in sales tax, which the 2009 budget anticipated at $85.5 million versus the $77.8 million it actually received. Overall, the 2009 budget anticipated raising $274 million in revenues, but brought in only $258.4 million, Smith said. That the county was able to significantly reduce spending - the budget called for general fund spending of $275.7 million, but the county only spent $258.4 million - helped buffer the county against the loss of sales tax revenues. To close the gap, the county was forced to tap its surplus fund balance, but not to the extent initially anticipated. Ulster County lawmakers appropriated about $1.8 million from the county's unreserved general fund balance to offset spending in 2009, but needed to draw down just under $1 million. According to the county's financial report, released Monday, the county closed 2009 with a $25.5 million fund balance, down from the 25.7 million balance at the end of 2008. But the 2009 balance drops to $18.2 million once more than $7 million in anticipated draw-downs for 2010 are applied. That puts the county's unappropriated fund balance at 6.5 percent of its budget. The state comptroller recommends a fund balance of between 5 and 10 percent. Ulster County Executive Michael Hein said the hit to the county's fund balance could have been significantly worse if not for a revenue boost through the federal stimulus program and money-saving steps taken by the county during the year.
More Housing...
"Give Housing a Voice" a program developed by the Ulster County Housing Consortium (UCHC) to be launched at The Birches at Esopus on May 6 from 5 - 7 pm, is premiering a new advocacy website underwritten by Ulster Savings Bank to help fulfill its mission "to inform Ulster County residents and leaders on a wide range of housing facts and needs and motivate communities and their residents to become proactive about housing choice."
Anchored by a website that gathers local and national research information along with real life stories and situations that offer accurate up-to-date information on Ulster County's housing infrastructure, the campaign will offer on-line petitions, posters, billboards and other media messages. Michael Berg, the Family of Woodstock founder serving as Chairman of the UCHC, said that "The purpose is to raise awareness about affordable workforce housing, sufficient housing supply at all income levels and the need for implementation of balanced land use and smart growth planning techniques."
Individuals, local business, civic and government organizations can sign on to messages at no cost and sponsor public service messages at low cost to help increase awareness and motivate action. For further information call 331-2140 or visit www.rupco.org. Green Concierge
This spring, lodging establishments in the Catskills Region will have the opportunity to help keep thousands of pounds of soft goods out of local landfills by participating in a new, 5-county Green Concierge project being pioneered by the Catskill Watershed Corporation. The project will kick off this month with a free door-to-door soft goods collection run to lodging facilities in the area, where staff will introduce the Green Concierge project to participating facilities while collecting materials for donation.
Gently used soft goods such as towels, sheets, blankets, bedspreads, curtains, shams, bed shawls, table linens, clothing, uniforms and shoes in non-soiled condition will be collected from lodging facilities and donated to local charities through a door-to-door collection drive throughout the five Catskill counties.
Facilities eligible to participate in this project include hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and rental condominiums located in the Catskill watershed of Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
The Green Concierge project is an economic development initiative sponsored by and funded through grants from the Empire State Development Corporation (EDSC) and the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC). Over the next three years, approximately 150 tourism and lodging facilities in the watershed region will receive free one-on-one technical assistance to improve their economic and environmental sustainability practices through pollution prevention, resource conservation, recycling and toxic chemical reduction. In addition to technical assistance, some facilities involved in the Green Concierge project will participate in a green certification program that will document and verify their sustainable improvements.
HospitalityGreen LLC, a Sullivan County environmental consulting firm, developed and is spearheading the Green Concierge project.
Delaware, Greene and Schoharie counties are scheduled for a door-to-door pick-up on May 11-14. Sullivan and Ulster counties are scheduled for a door-to-door pick-up on May 20-24. HospitalityGreen will contact eligible facil in early May to set up a collection schedule.
For more information regarding participating in the project or for questions and/or schedule conflicts, contact HospitalityGreen at (845) 436-6173.
OCS Registration
Kindergarten pre-registration and screening for the 2010-2011 school year will be held in the Onteora Central School District during the month of May. This event will be held at all three elementary schools as follows: For Bennett School, registration will be May 25 and 26; for Phoenicia, the dates are May 17 and 19; and for Woodstock Elementary, registration dates are May 24 and May 27. If you have not already scheduled an appointment, call your local school: For Bennett, call Gina Tucker at 657-2354; for Phoenicia, call Sheila Jansen at 688-5580; and for Woodstock call Eva Park at 679-2316.
A child must be 5 years old by December 1, 2010 to be eligible for kindergarten in September 2010.
The Onteora Central School District Board of Ed also recently announced the creation of a dedicated Public Comment Phone Line, 845- 657-2677 x490, designed to serve as an extension of "Public Be Heard" and aimed, in particular, at those community members who are unable to attend school board meetings. At first you will hear "Onteora Faculty Mailbox" and at that prompt you should dial extension 490. Recorded comments will be accessed by board members. Community members are asked to state their name and their topic of discussion.
Trustees may also be contacted via e-mail through one master account at OnteoraBOE@onteora.k12.ny.us
College Level?
The State University of New York, the nation's largest public university system, recently unveiled a new roadmap for the future that aims to encourage entrepreneurship that officials say will create jobs and stem an exodus of young New Yorkers. The strategic plan, 10 months in the making, will enable SUNY to help drive New York's economy and create jobs through innovation by stressing a "entrepreneur mindset" and establishing "cradle to career" programs that would connect the 64 campuses to bring new ideas to market. The plan also calls for revamping teacher education and making it easier for community college students to transfer to SUNY schools.
Among the strategic plan's proposals:
SUNY StartUP will invite local entrepreneurs to campuses to advise and mentor students and professors. Entrepreneurship courses will be added to "create a cadre of idea generators and job creators."
SUNY-INC, which stands for Incent New Companies, will create a link to fast-track ideas to market, starting with a local research team that would funnel discoveries to successive experts with "the end result: new companies, new jobs, and the growth of a new economy."
Revamping teacher education plans will include a SUNY Urban-Rural Teacher Corps to provide "real-world experience" to prospective teachers, the same way medical students get clinical experience.
Agreements are being established to allow SUNY community college students to more easily transfer credits to four-year colleges.
The creation of OPEN SUNY, a program to make the system the most extensive distance-learning university in the nation.
A new focus on remaking New York as a leading location for health care research and training.

Just Kingston...
The emergency room at Benedictine Hospital ceased operation on April 28 as part of a deal that allowed state health department officials to grant final approval for a second phase of Kingston Hospital's emergency room expansion. HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, the parent company of Kingston and Benedictine hospitals, also runs an emergency room at Margaretville Hospital. Company officials have said they are uncertain what will become of the emergency room space at Benedictine Hospital. Ambulances will be standing by at Benedictine Hospital for a while to take patients who mistakenly drive themselves there to Kingston Hospital.
Bad Medicine!
The federal Food & Drug Administration sent out a recall alert last week for children's Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl, all McNeil Consumer Healthcare brands of liquid medicine. The recall was based on an accumulation of consumer complaints that revealed manufacturing problems affecting quality, purity and potency. More than 40 varieties, with differing sizes and flavors, of the popular over-the-counter drugs have been recalled, and parents are being warned not to administer any to their children.
The mistakes ranged from providing a higher dose of the active ingredient to purity questions about inactive ingredients to the presence of solid particles in the liquid. The company didn't say how much extra medicine was involved, but did call the risk of serious medical events "remote." The particles included solidified product ingredients and "manufacturing residue," which the company identified as "tiny metal specks."
Consumers are advised to visit McNeil's product recall web site before tossing the recalled bottles to input the product codes to get a coupon good for a future purchase. McNeil couldn't give a timeline for when the drugs will back on store shelves. Once the investigation into what happened is over, the company will need to implement corrective action, they said.
Meanwhile, the FDA is warning consumers not to give their children adult-strength versions of Tylenol or Motrin. The FDA is advising parents that generic versions of the recalled products are not affected and the agency does not expect there to be a shortage of children's medicine as a result.
Tea Party Fears?
One of the latest viral editorials making the circuit of certain web circles is a piece labeled, "Army Preps for Tea Party 'Terrorists' by PatriotPost blogger Mark Alexander, who is charging that "the Obama administration and their Leftmedia sycophants" have been preparing for a talked-about Tea Party protest at Fort Knox in Kentucky. "Local detention centers are being made ready for mass arrests," Alexander quotes what he says are interrupted Intel calls which chart possible connections between right wing militias and the ad hoc national group which is trying to set up a local branch in the area, and held its first meeting at the Phoenicia Fish & Game Club last month.
Meanwhile, according to that effort's lead organizer, Chris Johansen of West Shokan, he has recently posted $300 to the Town of Olive for use of the town's Shokan Park for an evening meeting, starting at 7:00 PM, on Saturday, May 22.
"I have confirmed George Phillips the Republican and as of right now I've heard nothing From Maurice Hinchey," Johansen said of a planned Meet The Candidates event for those running for the U.S. Congressional seat held by Hinchey for nearly two decades. "This town hall meeting will be hosted and organized by the Mtn. Tea Party with participation of the other two major parties."
More details in our next issue...
Stewardship!
The Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program has a new Volunteer Steam Stewards program, set up to involve interested full or part time residents of the Ashokan watershed in stream-based projects as a way to visibly model positive stream stewardship practices and assist the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program in carrying out a wide range of community activities. Some of the opportunities available include stream clean-ups, education, streamside plantings, stream monitoring, outreach to local communities, invasive species control, and organizing local events. Volunteers will participate in a one day training on various monitoring methods, invasive plant id and control, and learn about ways to protect this environment. More information will be announced as it becomes available.
To become a Stream Steward, contact Dona Crawford at dm282@cornell.edu or 688-3047.
For more information about CCEUC community programs and events call 340-3990 or visit www.cceulster.org.
Cops Commended
Several of the annual Ulster County Police Chiefs Association awards handed out at a recent ceremony went to both local police officers, and the solving of a longstanding local crime.
In the category of Meritorious Police Service, Detective Fred Holland of the Shandaken Police Department and Deputies Chad Storey and Hadeer Omar of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office were commended for their work last May 21 when Holland noticed a vehicle parked for a long time on state Route 28 in Allaben, questioned its driver, later identified as Stephen J. Shepherd, and an eventual arrest of the man for having allegedly killed his wife out in western New York. Stephen Shepherd later was charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a felony, last October.
Also touted were the state police investigators out of Ellenville who helped solve the more than 10-year-old case of missing Samsonville teenager Joseph Martin. Investigator Peter Cirigliano was commended for having opened up a fresh perspective that led to the reinterviewing of two individuals believed to be the last to see Martin alive, one now in prison serving a 20-year sentence for a murder he committed in 1997, the other on federal probation for a drug conviction. Eventually, Alexander Barsky, 29, admitted that he and Daniel Malak had killed Martin by hitting him in the head with a steel pipe. Barsky said the two buried Martin's body in a cave in the woods, where they had gone the night of Martin's disappearance.
Barsky was charged with second-degree murder, a felony, but was allowed to plead guilty in August 2008 to a reduced charge of felony manslaughter. Because he was only 15 when Martin was killed, Barsky was sentenced to 3-1/3 to 10 years in state prison. Following Barsky's confession, investigators interviewed Malak, 29, who already was in prison. Malak reportedly was not so easily moved, but leads gained through Barsky's arrest, new evidence and further interviews ultimately led to Malak being indicted for second-degree murder in Martin's death. Malak pleaded not guilty last September, and the case is pending in Ulster County Court.
Killian's Quest...
A new initiative from the Killian Mansfield Foundation, the local not-for-profit set up in the memory of the Olive teen who passed away from cancer last year, is currently in the running for $50,000 in funding from the Pepsi Refresh Project... should it get enough e-mail support.
The goal of the grant proposal? To get an aromatherapy kit to every child diagnosed with cancer in 2011. Why? Because each year, about 10,000 children are told they have cancer, and the first line treatment, chemo/radiation, causes terrible side effects-predominantly nausea and anxiety for the first treatments. Aromatherapy, Mansfield's family found, is very effective at relieving nausea and bringing a sense of calm to the anxious pediatric cancer patient. Though aromatherapy alleviates this discomfort during the early stages of treatment, very few patients receive it and its not covered by health insurance.
"KMF is dedicated to helping those 10,000+ children diagnosed with cancer in the coming year," noted Killian's mother, Barbara, in a press release on the new fundraising challenge (see her Mother of the Year picture inside on page 33). "Vote to provide them ALL with a simple and highly effective aromatherapy kit that includes therapeutic grade essential oils: Peppermint (for nausea) and Lavender (to restore calm), a diffuser, and instruction guide on complementary therapies viewed as safe and effective by the medical community to relieve discomfort during cancer treatment. Search 'Pepsi Refresh Project,' click on the 'Vote Here' button. You will have to register with your email address and choose a password that you will use to log in every time you vote. In order to win, KMF will need as many people as possible to vote daily."
Fallen Hiker...
An Albany County man fell about 100 feet to his death on May 1 after he lost his footing while hiking in the Devil's Kitchen area off of Platte Clove Road in this Greene County town, according to state police. Troopers at the Catskill barracks said William J. Costello, 53, of Delmar, slipped on steep mountainous terrain and fell around 11:15 a.m.
Police said Costello was an inexperienced hiker, was not familiar with the terrain and apparently was hiking alone when the accident occurred. Retrieving Costello's body required the efforts of state police, state environmental conservation police, state forest rangers and rope rescue teams from the Tannersville, Haines Falls, Palenville, Centerville-Cedar Grove and Woodstock fire departments.
Police said Costello's body was examined at the scene by Greene County Coroner Hassan Basagic and was taken to St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.
Major Food Drive
On Saturday, May 8, in conjunction with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service, the United Way of Ulster County and the Kingston Post Office are coordinating a countywide food drive to collect food for local food pantries.
"Food pantries are still seeing record numbers of clients, says Su Marcy, United Way Vice President. "All are reporting between 30-50% increases in requests compared to last year. One pantry started a year ago serving 35 people once/week and served 127 people in one day just two weeks ago!"
The idea of the new drive is to help local food pantries by leaving non-perishable food items such as pasta, dry milk, cereal, and canned goods (please NO glass), for your letter carrier on Saturday, May 9th or by bringing donations to your local post office beginning this week.
For More Information on the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, the largest one-day food drive nationwide, - visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.
Obama Rumors
For about as long as anyone can remember since Barack Obama launched his run for the White House, there have been all manner of crazy, conspiratorial rumors about the man who is now our president. And early on, Obama's campaign team sought to address the swamp of fiction by going pro-active, launching a website called "Fight The Smears" that was exclusively dedicated to battling back against the background whispers that asserted that Obama was a socialist Muslim sleeper agent with a foreign birth certificate. Those efforts drew the concern of some who worried that debunking a rumor only gave it more currency.
According to Internet rumor-debunkers David and Barbara Mikkelson, who have long plied their trade at Snopes.com, a comparative analysis of the rumor-mongering of the still-young Obama presidency and the two terms of his predecessor now show that after eight years in the White House, George W. Bush was the subject of 47 internet rumors. After less than two years in office, Barack Obama has been the subject of 87.
Even more telling is the relative accuracy of those stories. For Bush, 20 rumors, or 43%, are true. Only 17, or 36%, are false. The remainder are of mixed veracity (4), undetermined (4), or unclassifiable (2).
In contrast, for Obama only 8 of the 87 rumors, or 9%, are true, and a whopping 59, or 68%, are whoppers. There are 17 of mixed veracity and 3 undetermined.
Need Some Art?
Talk about an interesting new enterprise that could help raise the cultural climate of the area, expand the pool of those collecting art, and find new homes for all the great work being created in the area...
The Kingston Library has set up a new program for loaning original artwork to patrons. To fill it, they've put out a call to artists for framed, original, ready to hang artwork.
For now, all donated artwork will become the property of the Kingston Library.
For further information contact pellphd@yahoo.com.
Pure Catskills
The Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC), with funding from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, has awarded $50,000 to 15 farm and food Pure Catskills member businesses through the Sustainable Agriculture Development Program. Part of the Pure Catskills Buy Local Campaign, this program works to support the economic viability of regional agriculture. The 15 grant awards, ranging between $945 and $5,000, were awarded for product development, marketing and educational activities. The highly competitive grant offering received 60 project proposals requesting $307,000 in funding. By category, this year's funding allocated $34,885 to product development, $3,170 to marketing and $11,945 outreach and education.
Recipients of the 2010 program include farmstand improvements, restaurant product development, "Food for Thought" farm-to-school events, new soup recipes, maple syrup brand and aged oat cheese products, local food festivals, the return of elderberry wine, marketing drives, and livestock processing iniatives.
Only one project was awarded in Ulster County... due to scarce applications.
For more information, visit www.nycwatershed.org.
Gay & Surviving!
A grant from the national organization SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) will allow the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center to significantly
increase its programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender senior citizens in the Hudson Valley.
As America ages, its senior population faces numerous challenges such as improper medical care, workplace discrimination and emotional distress stemming from isolation. Such problems are even more extreme for LGBT seniors. The Center's expanded agenda of SAGE programs will include Public Policy/Advocacy Training, Educational programs for gay seniors, and training for long-term care providers, home health care workers, rehabilitation services and senior housing providers.
The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, Inc., was established in 2005. Its membership numbers more than 1,500 individuals and families. The Center opened its doors in February, 2007, in Kingston. The Center provides social services, cultural outreach and advocacy on issues important to the entire Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community.
Visit www.lgbtqcenter.org or call 331-5300 for more information.
Camp Season?
It may seem like a long stretch ahead until school lets out, especially for thye kids among (and with) us, but for anyone looking to have a camp experience over the fast-approaching summer months, the time to pick and choose, apply and registeris now.
Fortuanetly, going away to camp, at least in this neck of the woods, doesn't necessarily mean going away from the region. There's plenty of local day camps around the area, some YMCA-sponsored and others religious, Boy Scouts-oriented, or private in nature. There are even a handful of great overnight camps, including the queen of them all up in Frost Valley.
Kicking things off very locally will be an upcoming Open House and Community Garden Planting Day at Catskill Woodland Camp, Cara Cruickshank's Phoenicia-based mixture of folklore and fun, set for 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Sunday, May 16 at 109 Main Street in Phoenicia (the Parish Hall and Field.)
A number of the camp's teachers and counselors will be on hand for drum and storytelling workshops, weed walks, nutrition talks and more.
Set up for all ages, preschool through high school, the camp will run in weekly sessions from July 5 through August 27. For further information on Catskill Woodland Camp call 688-2068 or visit www.catskillwoodlandcamp.com.
For more about YMCA camps Seewackamano, in Olive, and Wiltmeet in High Falls, call 338-3810 or visit www.ymcaulster.org. For more on Camp Ulster at SUNY Ulster, call 339-2025 or visit www.sunyulster.edu. For more on Frost Valley, cal 985-2291 or visit www.frostvalley.org.
Also of interest, Catskill Outback Adventures and the Pine Hill Community Center are teaming up to offer a summer youth program called Youth in the Outback to run on Mondays and Fridays from July 12 until August 20. The Center is located at 287 Main Street, Pine Hill, and Catskill Outback Adventures is located at 8243 Rt 28, Big Indian. Call 254-9888 or e-mail catskilloutback@juno.com for more information and to pre-register your child.
Encon Graduates!
A graduation ceremony was held at UPAC in Kingston last month for 25 new Environmental Police Officers from DEP's Kingston-based Environmental Police Academy. The academy, launched in 2002, is the first-of-its-kind in the nation to provide training, experience and concentrated course work in advanced environmental laws. This class brings the police force to 189 sworn members.
The 25 graduates included several with experience in the military, law enforcement, and emergency response. Locally, they included Christopher Carr, Scott Kanvin, Matthew Kruger, of Ulster, Richard Mugge, and Jesse Murphy, all of Ulster County. Kruger was named class leader.
Graduates successfully completed a total of 30 weeks of instruction in which they underwent intense training in counter-terrorism, the environment, police science, and the use of firearms and defensive tactics.
Project Stalled
Developers of a proposed luxury resort on the former Williams Lake Hotel property outside Rosendale have been told their proposed environmental study is inadequate after years of review and revision. State environmental officials said the DEIS is insufficient for underground water flow and wildlife use of the Binnewater lakes, on which the resort would sit.
The draft environmental impact statement was submitted earlier this month by Hudson River Valley Resorts, which wants to build a 94-room hotel, 22 lakefront suites, 14 cabins, 101 attached single-family residential units and 59 detached single-family residential units on about 52 acres of a nearly 500 acre lot.
State officials wrote that major deficiencies in the environmental impact statement included the absence of approved wildlife survey protocols to accurately assess the impact of the project. They also said the developers have not followed previous recommendations that water levels in the Binnewater lakes get close attention.
Racing Bonacic
Sullivan County Legislator David Sager and Glenn Dannaham, a teaching assistant from Kerhonkson, have announced they will seek the State Senate seat held by John Bonacic since 1998.
In a statement slamming Sager, a Bonacic aide hinted at a re-election bid by the Mount Hope Republican but declined to say whether the six-term senator will, indeed, run this fall in New York's 42nd Senate District.
A registered Republican, Sager filed on Wednesday to switch his party enrollment and will seek the Democratic line in the November election. But his enrollment change won't take effect until Jan. 1, 2011, so he needs the approval of the Democratic chairpeople in the 42nd District's four counties in order to run on the party's line.
In a press release announcing his candidacy, Sager said he differs from Bonacic on many issues -particularly proposals to drill for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale regions of New York City's watershed in the Catskills.
Characterizing Bonacic as a "fierce proponent of unfettered gas drilling," Sager said he would demand that any such drilling be "safe, legal, economically beneficial to all and subject to local control."
Bonacic spokeswoman Joeann Drake called Sager's candidacy a desperate attempt to find a Democrat to run against the incumbent. She said Sager is "grossly misinformed" about the drilling issue and is playing "into the hands" of New York City "elites."
"Sen. Bonacic will continue to stand up to the New York City Democrats who will be funding Mr. Sager's campaign," Drake said. "These are the same people who have voted to deny New Yorkers property tax relief, imposed the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) tax ... and are now forcing local contractors to lay off employees because they won't fund road and bridge projects."
Dannaham, a teaching assistant in the Rondout Valley Central School District, calls himself "an independent libertarian who believes in limited government, true personal and economic freedom, and fiscal responsibility."
In announcing his candidacy, Dannaham said he is running for office to stop government from interfering the private lives and to bring an end to state spending on special interests.
He said he is not enrolled in a political party and will run on an independent line on the November ballot.
Bonacic was unchallenged in 2008.
The 42nd Senate District comprises all of Sullivan County and parts of Ulster, Delaware and Orange counties.