6/3/2010

Safe Water...
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has announced that it has concluded a study that indicates that the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in New York City's source waters pose no public health risks. The one-year pilot program tested for the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in New York City's three upstate watersheds, finding only extremely minute quantities of these compounds.
"The findings of this study confirm that pharmaceuticals and personal care products do not pose a health risk in New York City's drinking water," said DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway in a press release. "Our top priority is to ensure the quality of the drinking water that nine million New Yorkers need every day, and we perform more than 500,000 tests each year to monitor water quality. Though there was never any indication that pharmaceuticals and personal care products presented a health or quality risk to our water supply, we undertook this study as part of our ongoing efforts to rigorously analyze all aspects of water quality. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are part of our daily lives, and the fact is traces of these products are present in the environment. We want to be sure that the presence of these products in our water supply did not rise to a level that impacts the quality of drinking water, and that is what this study shows. DEP will continue our rigorous and comprehensive monitoring every day, to ensure that we continue to deliver the healthy, great tasting water that New Yorkers expect."
Throughout 2009, DEP conducted quarterly tests at three source water locations in the Croton, Delaware, and Catskill watersheds to determine whether a target group of pharmaceutical and personal care products could be detected at any level in New York City's water supply. After collection, the samples were tested at two different laboratories in each of the four rounds of sampling during the year. The samples were tested for the presence of 78 compounds - including antibiotics, hormones, prescription medications and endocrine disrupting compounds. Of the 78 compounds tested, 16 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) were detected at least once, and eight compounds were detected in three or more quarters of sampling. None of the 16 detected PPCP compounds were found at a concentration that would present a potential public health concern.
Pharmaceuticals have probably been present in water and the environment for as long as humans have been using them. Drugs that are consumed are not entirely absorbed and are excreted and passed into wastewater and surface water. Some pharmaceuticals are easily broken down and processed by the human body or degrade quickly in the environment, but others are not easily broken down and processed, so they enter sewers or septic systems.
Up until recently, hospitals and other health care facilities have often flushed out-of-date or excess drugs down toilets. DEP is currently working with the state and its watershed partners to develop alternatives to disposing of unneeded medications that do not pose a threat to the water supply. Wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove solids, chemicals and microorganisms but not at miniscule concentrations.
The one-year pilot testing program, initiated in January 2009, focused on pharmaceuticals that have been detected in surface waters, groundwater and treated water discharged from wastewater treatment plants in national and regional studies conducted by the United States Geographical Survey and New York State Department of Health.
The results of this pilot study will be used to help assess the need for a continued program on emerging contaminants and to develop a more targeted program for subsequent years, if necessary. A summary of DEP's study can be found at www.nyc.gov/dep.
Uncertain, now, is what happens to a recent investigation of local hospitals and nursing homes by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that led to settlement actions and fines and talk of a new state policy on such matters, which surfaced in a number of meetings and news stories this past January.
Upcoming, on Friday, June 11, there will be a special summit on all such matters to be held at CWC headquarters in Margaretville, starting at 10:00 AM.
Stay tuned...
Celebrating Cindy
Most knew or were touched by Cindy VanBuren of Olivewhose battle with cancer ended on March 11. A Celebration of Life for the woman will be held at Davis Park, West Shokan, on Sunday, June 13, beginning at 12 noon (earlier if one can volunteer to help set up). Many are bringing side dishes to compliment the chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers that will be grilled all day. Live music will be provided by Ben Rounds Bank, X Files, The Pontiacs, Doraine Scofield & Chris Walsh, and Murali Coryell and a co-ed softball tournament is being set up (teams should sign up through June 9). Plus darts...
Prizes are being donated from local businesses and residents, which will be used for some of the events as well as separate raffles for some larger prizes that have been donated for the event (a painting by Kate McLoughlin, a truck load of firewood). T-shirts and other handmade souvenirs will be for sale during the day and there will also be a 50/50 raffle.
All proceeds for the day will go to the VanBuren Family Fund, which will fund an annual scholarship (to be given to local students in Cindy's name), and a donation will be made to the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, which offers cancer patients and their families a free, temporary place to stay when their best hope for effective treatment may be in another city. If you cannot be at the event but would like to make an early donation, you can send your contribution to the VanBuren Family Fund at Wilbur National Bank in Boiceville. Early funds will help to purchase anything needed for the celebration that isn't being donated.
Born March 8, 1962 in Hicksville, Van Buren was the daughter of the late Albert and Jean Shultis Klippel and had resided in the area for over 30 years. She was a graduate of Onteora Central School, class of 1980, and was on the girls varsity softball team. She was also a booster for the Onteora wrestling team in recent years. She was active in the operation of her parents' restaurant, Al and Jean's Landmark in Boiceville, for 22 years and was a teacher's aide at the Onteora High School the. She was active in local sports, including coaching volleyball and softball, and she played for Olive Women's League Softball and Budweiser Dart League in the town of Olive.
For further information and donations contact Amanda at 657 8106 or e-mail her at avanburen_616@yahoo.com. Visit cindyscelebration.webstarts.com/index.html for further details.
At Onteora...
At the June 1 Onteora Board of Education meeting past school board trustee Rita Vanacore criticized the current board for not budgeting a Superintendent search and accused the board of backroom deals. "I see nothing on the agenda to date indicating that our Superintendent contract is under renegotiation," said Vanacore, noting that current super Dr. Leslie Ford's contract is due for renewal June 2011. "Is it true that the board has already picked its successor internally, thus alleviating an external search? I take personal affront to a board who puts their personal agenda ahead of the welfare of our entire student population." Vanacore asked a series of questions, requested answers, "in a timely manner," and said she will publish them alongside her letter.
According to the Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs, Ford applied for a superintendent position at South Glens Falls School District. She is one of two candidates vying for the seat of 19-year veteran Superintendent James P. McCarthy. The position begins July, 2010. His contract was not renewed by the district's Board of Education with no reason given. Both candidates were scheduled for an interview May 25.
Ulster Dems...
Ulster County Party chairman Julian Schreibman was confident as he addressed his party's recent nominating convention at the Kingston Holiday Inn, where endorsements were made without opposition for Democratic incumbents Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, Assemblyman Frank Skartados, Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum, and Comptroller Elliot Auerbach, as well as for Andrew Cuomo for governor, Thomas DiNapoli for state comptroller, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand for U.S. Senate.
Harley Doles was given the nod to run for the 39th Senatorial seat, currently held by Republican William Larkin; and David Sager to pursue the 42nd Senatorial seat currently held by Republican John Bonacic.
In separate news, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein's name briefly surfaced as one of several in the running as a possible Lt. Governor running mate for Cuomo, although the would-be governor named Rochester Mayor Robert J. Duffy as his choice for the position at the state Democratic Convention in Westchester County just before Memorial Day, when the biggest news seemed to be the fact that incumbent governor David Paterson did not show. A final okay for Cuomo's pick will take place in September, when a formal primary vote takes place.
Ulster County Republicans are set to hold their own non-official nominating convention on Tuesday June 8, site to be announced...
Arts For Ulster!
UlsterCorps and the Woodstock Artist Association and Museum are joining together for a first-ever project, Arts for Ulster, that brings together 50 works by 50 artists set to benefit 50 separate causes... a unique series of events designed to foster volunteerism, build community, and raise money to support services for Ulster County residents. All events will be at WAAM, 28 Tinker Street in Woodstock, with a Gala Preview Reception on Friday, June 11th from 7:00 - 9:00 PM, and continuing with a five week gallery exhibit in the artist association and museum's Towbin Wing featuring works by A-list artists Judy Pfaff, Gillian Jagger and Richard Segalman.
More than 50 artists in all are donating work to benefit organizations providing a wide range of important services throughout our region. A complete list of the artists and the organizations participating can be found on the UlsterCorps website, www.ulstercorps.org.
The Gala Preview Reception will also include a special chamber music performance of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Esopus Musicalia. Saturday, June 12, will be a public opening reception for the show. On Friday, June 18th, 7pm, there will be a Special Performance by Rebecca Martin, the critically acclaimed singer songwriter, at WAAM.
The breadth of artists involved, and the causes being helped by their sales, is as valid a cross-section of the region's cultural scene as can be seen these days. Organizations benefiting range from cultural institutions to food kitchens, a variety of social service agencies, and community projects.
Arts for Ulster will culminate with a Live Auction fundraiser on Saturday, July, 17th from 6-10pm with auctioneer James Cox and a classical guitar performance by Liam Wood. Auctioned will be the more than fifty works of art each by a different artist, each benefiting a different not-for-profit.
Tickets for these events can be purchased at WAAM or online at www.woodstockart.org or www.ulstercorps.org or by calling 845-679-2940 extension 300.
FCC Muck Up...
A total of 248 congressional members are raising concerns about the Federal Communications Commission's plan to reshape the regulatory framework for broadband services in order to adopt net neutrality rules. Republicans say doing so will reduce investment in broadband networks and kill jobs. Some Democrats say the FCC should wait for further direction from Congress.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski does not need Congressional approval to adopt net neutrality, a set of rules that would require Internet service providers to treat all Web traffic equally. Genachowski, who has the support of President Barack Obama in pursuing net neutrality, has received political cover to move forward despite increasing lobbying efforts from the cable and telephone industries, including biggies AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, who are sending the message that the FCC's actions likely will be challenged in court. They and congressional supporters are also trying to say that net neutraility or any sort of regulation of Internet business plans would be a distraction from "the more important priority of expanding broadband services to rural areas."
The Senate and House Commerce Committees, meanwhile, have announced plans to consider rewriting the Communications Act to clarify the regulatory status of broadband.
The net neutrality fight has all but consumed the FCC over the past two years. In 2008, the agency under the Bush administration ordered Comcast to stop slowing traffic to file-sharing sites. Earlier this year, a federal court reversed that order, deciding that the FCC did not have the authority to regulate Internet services. To regain that authority, Genachowski proposed reclassifying broadband services so a decades-old framework will govern them designed for copper phone lines. Hoping to ease Internet companies' fears, Genachowski said he would not impose the most burdensome aspects of the traditional rule. But the telecom providers say a future FCC could easily reverse that promise.
Consumer advocates and Silicon Valley technology companies who support net neutrality rules, including the likes of Google, Amazon, eBay, Consumers Union and public interest groups, argue the FCC has the authority to protect consumers' interests on telecommunications networks. An updated communications bill could take years to pass, they say, stalling other FCC priorities.
Meanwhile, in terms of opening up radio waves to low power community stations, which has been blocked by the major radio industry and National Public Radio in recent years, the Local Community Radio Act is being readied for passage over the summer months.
The Local Community Radio Act was approved by the House last year. When passed, it will relax restrictions on licensing for the low-power, community radio stations, allowing numerous new opportunities for local news and music via hundreds of new low-power stations across the country.
Better Economy?
Unemployment eased locally and statewide in April, the New York Department of Labor reported recently. The statewide jobless rate in April was 8.4, down from 8.6 percent in March, and the state gained 31,5000 private-sector jobs during that period, labor officials said.
Locally, unemployment rates in April were as follows.
ï Ulster: 7.2 percent, down from 7.9 percent in March.
ï Dutchess: 7.4 percent, down from 7.9 percent.
ï Greene: 8.1 percent, down from 8.6.
ï Columbia: 6.9 percent, down from 7.8.
ï Delaware: 8.2 percent, down from 9.3.
ï Sullivan: 8.8 percent, down from 9.9.
New York City's jobless rate dropped from 10 percent to 9.8 percent.
Meanwhile, housing sales were up yet again for the same period, both in terms of volume and prices, although it should be noted that April was the last month for special tax credits.
Let's see where things stand for May...
Creek Cleanup...
The Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP) Stream Stewards program will be hosting a cleanup of the Esopus Creek on Saturday, June 12 followed by a Potluck Barbeque and entertainment for volunteer clean-up crews at the AWSMP Main Office located at 6375 Route 28, in Phoenicia (across from the former Margo's Restaurant). Volunteers will meet at the AWSMP Office that morning at 9:30am and carpool to cleanup stream access sites. Gloves & trash bags will be provided for the cleanup. Participants are asked to wear sturdy shoes & dress appropriately for sun/rain. Prizes will be awarded to everyone and also for the most interesting trash items found!
Immediately following the clean up at 12:00pm, volunteer clean-up crews will return to the AWSMP office for the Potluck Barbeque which will feature music by singer, Peggy Atwood. Burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs & buns will be provided - Volunteers are asked to bring a side dish to share.
Stream Stewards are full and part time residents of the Ashokan Watershed who participate in a myriad of important and beneficial activities. The purpose of the program is for volunteers to get involved in stream-based projects in the community as a way to visibly model positive stream stewardship practices and assist AWSMP in carrying out a wide range of community activities.
Please RSVP no later than Thursday, June 10 by calling Colleen Griffith at 845-688-3047 or cas55@cornell.edu.
AWSMP is funded by NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
Water Releases
The Rondout-West Branch Tunnel portion of the Delaware Aqueduct of the New York City reservoir system will undergo a planned shutdown this fall to perform the next phase of work related to the long-term repair of the tunnel. In October, DEP will install a backup support - a giant plug - behind an existing hatch that ensures that water in the tunnel does not go into the shaft, which workers need to access to install pumping equipment that will be used during the long-term repair. Ahead of the three-week shutdown, DEP has agreed with the states of Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on a program, starting this week, to manage the incremental release of water from reservoirs during the summer months that otherwise would be diverted during the planned shutdown.
In February, DEP announced that work had begun on the Operations Support Tool, a cutting-edge, $5.2 million computer system that will enable DEP's water supply operators to more accurately predict water storage levels in the City's reservoirs so that DEP can better manage the movement of water throughout the reservoir system. The initiative, the first of its kind in the world, will improve the City's water management systems by predicting events that could affect water quality much earlier than is now possible, and incorporating more data in the computer models used to determine water flows. It is being implemented on a rolling basis and is expected to be complete by 2013.
The 85-mile Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest continuous tunnel and conveys drinking water from the Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, and Rondout reservoirs to the City's distribution system, and provides approximately 50 percent of the City's daily water needs.
Since 2002, Mayor Bloomberg has invested approximately $493 million in preparation work for the eventual repair of the Delaware Aqueduct. The City has committed another $100 million for additional work over the next four years.
The shutdown will allow workers to perform work on a shaft necessary to ultimately repair the Aqueduct. Earlier this year, divers investigated the area around an existing hatch in the shaft that leads to the Aqueduct. In the fall, this area will be reinforced, which will lay the groundwork for the next phase of work, the installation of a pumping station in the shaft.
Over the next 12 months, DEP will temporarily increase the amount of water available for release from its Delaware Basin Reservoirs as part of the Flexible Flow Management Plan, an agreement between the four basin states of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the City of New York to manage the water storage levels and releases of the Cannonsville, Pepacton, and Neversink reservoirs.
Parks Stay Open
New York Gov. David Paterson reached an agreement last week to have all 178 state parks open on Memorial Day weekend and beyond. His administration had targeted 41 parks and 14 of the state's 35 historic sites for closing, along with service cuts at others, to help reduce the state's budget gap. Locally, Mills Norrie State Park in Dutchess County and Taconic State Park in Columbia County were to have their hours and/or services reduced.
Paterson said negotiations would provide $11 million for full operations this year, effectively offset by money from the Environmental Protection Fund, which would be cut by about $74 million. The measure also is expected to keep the targeted historic sites - including Olana in Columbia County - open this year, as well as Department of Environmental Conservation campgrounds targeted for closing. Among those campgrounds was Devil's Tombstone in nearby Lansesville.
According to administration officials, lawmakers still need to find another $2 billion to $2.5 billion in spending cuts to close the deficit and adopt a balanced budget of roughly $130 billion for this year. The state budget for 2010-11 was to be completed by April 1 and is now nearly two months late.
Crossbows?
Assembly Bill 924 and Senate Bill 6793, bills authorizing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to promulgate rules for the use of crossbows for hunting in New York, are pending consideration in the Assembly and Senate Environmental Conservation Committees, respectively. Proponents are saying an "aggressive expansion of hunter choice and opportunity" is needed at a time when hunter retention and recruitment rates are declining, putting "our proud hunting heritage in serious jeopardy."
Opposition is coming from vertical bow hunters and those concerned with the deadliness of crossbows, especially in increasingly suburban-like settings.
Talk about another strange set of battle lines...
History Buff?
This summer's meeting of the Historical Society of the Town of Olive will be held Saturday, June 12 from 2:30 to 5 PM at the Old School Baptist Church/Meeting House at Winchell's corner, Rt. 28, Shokan. An open house begins at 2:30. At 3:00 cultural anthropologist Doris Soldner will speak on the social and cultural history of the 19th century, interweaving the story using members of the church as representatives of the area's population. Ms Soldner is a retired museum curator and director of education for the Wilton Historical Society in Connecticut, as well as a long-time antiques appraiser. At 4:00 a concert will be held by lamplight featuring Celtic Crossing, internationally-known Celtic music performers and Shokan residents featuring Abby Newton and David Hornung with Lynn Hardy and Barbara Lubell. Refreshments will be served, Parking is available on the grass by the church and across the street behind Winchell's Pizza and the music store.
Tower Vols?!?
The "Friends of the Catskill Fire Towers," supported by the Catskill Center in Arkville, acting under volunteer agreements with the Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for volunteers to be part of this unique group interested in helping maintain and interpret the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower in Greene County and Mount Tremper Fire Tower in Ulster County. Fire tower volunteers will be part of a larger effort to improve connections with local communities and the greater Catskill Park.
Those interested in more information on Hunter Mountain, please contact Gordon Hoekstra at 201-497-8910 or at ghoekstra@optonline.net. For Mount Tremper, please contact Matt at 917-204-2032 or tremperfiretower@gmail.com. For all fire tower information, please contact George Profous, Forester, NYSDEC at 845-256-3082 or The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development at 845-586-2611. For a brochure, call DEC to request "Fire Towers of the Catskills: A Guide for Hikers and History Buffs." The towers are also featured in "The Catskill Adventure" brochure.
Frost Valley!
The National Inclusion Project recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Frost Valley YMCA to implement "Let's ALL Play" Inclusion in Recreational Programs. The grant will allow children with developmental disabilities to enjoy a successful summerexperience in an inclusive setting at the camp, which has served children with special needs for over thirty years.
The National Inclusion Project has been actively developing its Let's ALL Play Program since the program's inception in 2004. Today, the Project supports over 35 recreational programs across the US.
Let's ALL Play helps bring an inclusive recreational experience to children with disabilities. It gives children with developmental disabilities the same experience as those without. Children with disabilities and their peers who are typically developing come together to participate in recreational activities such as swimming, arts and crafts, community service, physical fitness and more.
The National Inclusion Project provides services and financial assistance to promote the full integration of children with disabilities into the life environment of those without. The Project strives to create awareness about the diversity of individuals with disabilities and the possibilities that inclusion can bring.
Financial assistance is available for campers. For pricing and registration information, call 845 985-2291, or visit: www.frostvalley.org/day-camp-local-events/.
Also at Frost Valley, the entity, in partnership with The Childrenπs Hospital at Montefiore, is introducing Hearts in the Valley camp, a summer camp experience for children who have chronic heart disease or heart transplants, to be held August 8 - 20. This first year will be a pilot camp for 6-8 children from the tri-state area. The Childrenπs Hospital at Montefiore will be providing a team of doctors and nurses, including a Cardiologist, who will oversee all medical aspects of the camp. Frost Valley YMCA will be providing the camp experience and programming.
Frost Valley YMCA is seeking additional funding sources to be able to provide families with full scholarships for the children to attend camp and build the program to serve more children in the years to come. For information please call (845) 985-2291 or e-mail info@frostvalley.org.
Arrested...
Deputies from the Ulster County Sheriff's Office report the arrests of Rodney Cooper, 48 of Latham, and James Lambert, 45 of Latham, for Attempted Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree. The two turned themselves in on May 20, after learning that they had warrants for their arrests. Rodney T. Cooper, a third defendant, had previously turned himself in. All were charged with Attempted Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree, a class E Felony, for being involved in a driveway sealing scam where they preyed upon an elderly homeowner offering to seal her driveway for a reduced price due to the homeowner's age. They advised the homeowner that the job would only cost her a few hundred dollars. When they were finished, the cost had jumped into the thousands of dollars. The homeowner did not have the money they were asking for and they offered to drive the homeowner to the bank to remove the funds for payment. An alert bank employee stopped the transaction before it could be completed and alerted authorities.
Rodney Cooper and James Lambert were arraigned at the Kingston City Court and were remanded to the Ulster County Jail with no bail. Rodney T. Cooper was arraigned on May 11 and remanded to the Ulster County Jail on $5,000 bail. They were set for arraignment in Marbletown court.
Iraq Silence
he British official inquiry team examining the origins and conduct of the Iraq War met with some relatively senior former officials of the George W. Bush administration on a weeklong visit to the U.S. earlier in May. But neither Bush, Dick Cheney, nor any other very senior Bush-era policymaker, military, or intelligence official appears to have been willing to speak to the inquiry team, which is led by Sir John Chilcot, a former senior civil servant.
Only a written statement submitted by Paul Bremer, the former ambassador (and de facto viceroy) in Iraq, has so far been published on the inquiry's Web site. In it, Bremer takes some pains to defend two of his, and the Bush administration's, most controversial and consequential post-invasion decisions regarding postwar Iraq: the decision to disband the Iraqi Army, which had been one of the foundations of Saddam Hussein's regime, and the decision to ban Saddam's Baath Party and begin a process of "de-Baathification" that is still roiling Iraqi politics today.
A British official familiar with the inquiry's activities, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information, indicated that the list of Americans published by the committee was almost certainly a complete list of U.S. people who had spoken to the inquiry team, and that it was unlikely, though not completely impossible, that other American witnesses had cooperated with the inquiry in secret.
Many other high-level Bush administration officials, from the president and vice president themselves to key Iraq policy officials like Condoleezza Rice and Pentagon officials Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas Feith, to key intelligence officials like former CIA director and deputy director George Tenet and John McLaughlin, either would not respond to questions as to whether they would meet with the inquiry or indicated rather forcefully that they were not interested in cooperating with it.
Teacher Help?
A Democratic plan to send $23 billion to the states to save the jobs of 100,000 to 300,000 public school teachers, librarians, counselors and other employees slated for layoffs looks dead for the time being.
The layoffs already have begun. Advocates for teachers are calling them catastrophic. Critics of the emergency aid say states need to clean up their fiscal acts and make changes. In the meantime, large, populous states such as California and Texas, for example, are each expected to absorb the loss of more than 30,000 teachers and other personnel, according to White House estimates.
Schools are cutting staff and programs because the recession has depleted state tax revenues, which pay for public education.
Democrats in the House of Representatives had hoped to pass the $23 billion emergency bailout as part of a spending bill for the war in Afghanistan that was slated for passage, but fiscally conservative members from tough districts weren't happy about having to defend another vote that would increase the deficit. And so the school aid measure never came to a vote. Nor did it have any more luck in the Senate, where some Democrats were equally jumpy about spending, and the majority couldn't secure the necessary 60 votes for passage.
DEC Projects...
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Willie Janeway has released a list of potential land stewardship projects planned for the upcoming year, based on Governor David A. Paterson's proposed budget (and ready for anything better).
"By supporting funding for stewardship projects, we ensure that state lands can continue to be used to their fullest, expanding tourism opportunities and enabling greater access to New York's natural resources," said Janeway.
Pending projects in DEC's Hudson River Catskill Region include trail maintenance on 330 miles of trails on DEC managed State Lands in the NYC Watershed to help protect water quality by addressing erosion and to better accommodate public recreation; work to repair and maintain waterway access sites throughout the region and basic maintenance at DEC owned campgrounds.
Specific additional project needs include:
Fishing Access Sites, Boat Launch Sites and Waterway Access Sites across the region, $34,000 for repairing, installing seasonal docks, opening facilities, repairing emergency lighting, grading and maintaining parking lots at sites...
Woodland Valley Campground in Phoenicia and Kenneth Wilson Campground in Mt. Tremper, (Ulster County), $26,000 to replace aging infrastructure and achieve compliance with environmental and health regulations, including construction of replacement shower buildings to replace aging toilet buildings, reconstruction of water, sewer and electric systems, construction of accessible parking and repair of eroded roads, construction of recycling stations and rehabilitation of eroded shoreline areas.
Kenneth Wilson Campground in Mt. Tremper (Ulster County), where there is currently no ADA access to the shower building from the parking lot, $35,000 to complete priority campground improvements and build shower building access to come into compliance with ADA guidelines.
Great Vly Wildlife Management Area (Ulster County), $10,000 to repair, regrade and reopen the parking lot and access road while resolving enforcement issues by moving the lot closer to the county road.
The projects detailed above are pending projects which require funding through the EPF Stewardship category, which was cut to keep state parks open. The actual projects DEC will be able to complete are dependent upon the availability of funding.
Keep your fingers crossed...
Voting Machines?
Ulster County elections commissioners are expecting to move entirely to optical-scanning voting machines for the Sept. 14 primary because of consolidation of polling sites throughout the county. The same election districts will operate, with 89 polling sites and a total of 130 to 140 new digital scanning machines throughout the county. Officials currently have 108 machines and have ordered another 40 to be sent to the state for certification.
The commissioners said they expect some confusion during the first year of use, but have found demonstrations easily resolve questions from voters about use of the machines.
The new machines are considered an improvement over lever machines because a hard copy of each ballot will be available to count instead of relying solely on electronically recorded vote totals.
Republican Commissioner Thomas Turco said voters will recognize the system from standardized tests taken during school and noted their safety... with voters marking paper ballots then read by the scanners and all items then sealed for review.
The commissioners said the county is basing the number of machines needed on about one per 1,500 voters instead of the one per 3,500 voters recommended by the state.
Ballots will be filled out prior to using the machines, possibly shortening the overall voting time.
"Where you used to wait in line to use the machine, pulled the lever and, then, you left, now you are going to get a ballot, go to a privacy area, fill out the ballot at your own convenience and just walk up and feed it into a machine," Turco said.
We'll see how it all shakes out... guess we know why this is being tried out in a year without much on the local election front... or a presidential race, for that matter...