(News Briefs January 31, 2008)

Primary Day!
New York State’s presidential primary, which occurs every four years, has been moved up this year to what is being touted as Super Tuesday, taking place next Tuesday, February 5. This gives everyone in the state the chance to have a say alongside other large states, instead of having to wait and ratify what in recent years have been already decided races.
The system, though, can be arcane. In addition to voting for the presidential candidate of your choice, be sure and check to see whether you must also vote for specific delegates for that candidate... including alternates. Althopugh Republicans will only have the name of the well-known candidates on their ballots, Democrats will have a dual system of primary voting, with a choice of presidential candidate and choices for that candidate’s delegates.
Any Democratic candidate winning at least 15 percent of the total vote qualifies for individual delegates beyond any winner-take-all break-down... hence the delegate voting and altyernates options. To date, only Clinton and Obama have delegatres on the ballot in all state districts.
For further information, visit http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/elections/ or call the Ulster County Board of Elections at 845-334-5470.

Hospital Merger
The alliance plan for the coupling of the Kingston Hospital and Benedictine Hospital in Kingston was approved last week by the Public Health Council of the state Health Department. The merger of the hospitals was part of the Berger Commission report approved last year.
The approval is contingent on additional paperwork, but it will go forward. The Public Health Council also gave contingency approval to the Foxhall Ambulatory Surgery Center proposal that was advanced by the joint hospital venture. That facility would be for outpatient purposes, said Hutton.
In order for the alliance to be worked out, the hospitals had some serious negotiations since Benedictine is a Catholic hospital and does not permit abortions, distribution of contraceptives and related counseling. At The Kingston Hospital, under the agreement, non-emergency abortions, vasectomies and “interval” tubal ligations will be discontinued. Those services becoming prohibited at The Kingston Hospital (“elective” abortions, vasectomies and interval tubal ligations) will become available at the Foxhall Ambulatory Surgery Center, which is to be separately incorporated and constructed in the parking lot of The Kingston Hospital, with assistance from a $4 million state HEAL grant. No services will be discontinued at The Kingston Hospital until the Foxhall Center is operational and able to offer those services.
The state approval of applications for establishment of Health Alliance Planning and the Foxhall Ambulatory Surgery Center represent the culmination of more than 10 years of efforts by Kingston and Benedictine Hospitals to merge. The first attempt, back in 1997, was dropped after significant community outcry against the hospitals’ proposal that care at Kingston Hospital would become limited by acceptance of the Ethical and Religious Directive for Catholic Healthcare Services.

Ski Wars...
Neighboring Greene County recently passed a resolution protesting the controversial Agreement in Principal wedding Dean Gitter’s long pending proposal to build a pair of mega-resorts in the Route 28 corridor with long-awaited plans for the state-owned ski center’s expansion… right to the door of the new high-end resort. They’re repeating what they’ve been told by their own two top-end ski mountains, at Hunter and Windham, which amounts to the fact that Belleayre’s growth of recent years has been spurred by the state’s ability to offer low cost lift tickets and thus steal skiers from the region’s private slopes.
They pointed, in fact, to the recent Martin Luther King weekend’s being touted as a record-breaker for Belleayre, according to both its Superintendent, Tony Lanza, and anyone who took a look at the crowds in attendance that weekend.
“Typically, this weekend is one of the biggest all year for us, and conditions are ideal. But I can tell you right now, the numbers are down from what they should be,” said Russ Coloton, president of Hunter Mountain. His dour statement was seconded by Tim Woods, general manager and president of Windham Mountain.
Over the last 12 years, the two said, Belleayre has gone from 70,000 ski visits a season to 175,000, while Hunter and Windham have declined by about the same total number. That’s because Belleayre, as a state-owned and operated facility that pays no taxes or insurance and taps into the state’s general fund for all its capital improvements, can and does operate at a loss without any penalty. Over the recent MLK weekend, for example, Belleayre was able to match the standard $52 per day lift ticket cost at Hunter, and $48 amount at Windham, with a base cost of $38 per day… and special $15 cost on Friday.
With the millions in upgrades included in the governor’s AIP, Coloton and Wood say, Belleayre will grow to be bigger than either Hunter or Windham, making it impossible for the privately-owned ski centers to compete. Especially when one factors in the rising costs of making snow necessitated by climate change. Given that the two ski areas represent Greene County’s biggest employers, Greene County recently augmented protest letters from Coloton and Wood to the Governor and state Department of Environmental Conservation with resolutions of their own. Combined with petitions to get the state Senate and Assembly alerted to the private/public battles brewing, as well as Hunter and Windham’s actions to get various private ski industry associations to censure the state’s plans, the picture gets even more complicated. “All we want is fair competition,” Coloton insists. “We pay our bills. What they’re complaining about is not our fault, but their own,” said Lanza recently. “And even if built out to plan, we won’t be bigger than them. Remember, what they’re about isn’t just skiing but real estate.” Stay tuned…

Sewer Talk?
The Town of Hamden recently assumed control of the new DeLancey Septic Maintenance District in which 59 residential septic systems in that hamlet will be regularly pumped and maintained. The project is the second to be completed under the Catskill Watershed Corporation’s (CWC) Community Wastewater Management Program (CWMP). The first was a community septic system in Bovina, completed in December 2006.
Hamden town officials on January 11, 2008 received a check for $1,589,558 from the CWC to invest and utilize for DeLancey district operations and management. The funds represent the balance of a $2.2 million block grant that had been allocated for the DeLancey project. $630,441 was spent setting up the district, pumping and inspecting all on-site septic systems, and replacing 16 of them which were determined to be substandard. An Operation and Maintenance Manual outlining district management procedures was also prepared by Lamont Engineers, coordinators of the CWMP program for the Catskill Watershed Corp.
The Town, through the District they established, will now be responsible for scheduling regular inspections of DeLancey systems, and contracting for their repair when necessary. The hamlet of Hamden is also slated for a CWMP project, but it will differ from Delancey in that it will consist of a community septic system enhanced with a sand filtration unit. Bids are expected to be let for that project this spring, with construction anticipated later this year.
Other CWMP projects are in the planning stages for Bloomville in Delaware County, where construction is also slated to begin this spring; Boiceville in Ulster County and Ashland in Greene County.
Phoenicia, which had been slated for a full sewer system, has to date been the only town in the Catskills to reject a wastewater project funded by New York City. At present, it remains the largest local community still operating with individual septic systems.
For more information about this and other CWC environmental protection, economic development and education programs, go to www.cwconline.org, or call 845-586-1400.

Trans Fats
The movement to ban artery-clogging trans fats from food has a new venue: cooking schools. The places that train the people who will someday be feeding the rest of us are cutting back or eliminating artificial trans fats from their classrooms, saying they have a responsibility to teach students how to cook healthy foods. And they’re taking their lead from our region’s own CIA – the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, which banned trans fats from nearly all its classes and restaurants in 2005.
Artificial trans fats are often found in oils used to deep-fry foods such as french fries and in baked goods. Bakers like to use shortenings with trans fats because cakes stay fresher longer, frosting is easier to use, and they cost less than butter. Trans fats are created when hydrogen is added to liquid cooking oils to harden them. Along with saturated fats, they raise levels of so-called bad cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease.
New York City banned cooking oils with trans fat from all restaurants last year, and several states and cities have debated similar measures. A number of fast-food restaurants chains are making the switch to trans fat-free cooking oils.
Trans fats are banned at the CIA, except in advanced cake decorating classes where students work with trans fat-based shortening. But no one eats the cakes once they’re decorated; they’re thrown away.

Chamber Support
For the second time, the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce has thrown its support behind the planned Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park, calling the deal brokered last fall by Gov. Eliot Spitzer an “excellent compromise.” At a recent meeting, the chamber’s board of directors asked its more than 1,300 members to “join an online effort to support this opportunity to build a strong economy, create jobs and enjoy the benefits of an increase in tax revenue that will go towards our local governments and school districts.”
Chamber of Commerce board Chairman John Eickman, of Saugerties-based Horse Shows in The Sun, said: “It appears to us this is still a beautiful project, one that results from an excellent compromise between government officials, environmentalists and others.”
Five years ago, the chamber endorsed the proposed resort when it was to be substantially larger. In December 2003, Ward Todd, as chairman of the Ulster County Legislature, sponsored a resolution that voiced support for Belleayre project, then resigned from the Legislature in mid-2004 to become president of the chamber.
Total signatures for the pro-resort Partners for Progress petition have to date totaled just under 1,000 names; those signing anti-resort petitions have topped 2,200.
Word, now, is that there is a move among some Chamber members to resign membership in the county organization due to its stance in what many still consider a controversial political issue facing the region.

Biathlon Winners
The annual Shandaken Primitive Biathlon, which took place at the Upper Esopus Fish & Game Club in Oliverea on Sunday, January 20, has just announced its winners. In the Youth Category of competitors age 12to 16, winners were Katlyn Johnsmeyer. Matthew Wikham and Blake Searle. In the Age 17 to 40 category, winners were Doug Brayman, Jacob Lefferts and Tim Byron. For the 41 to 59 year old category, winners were Robert Reed, Philip Byron and Tom Devens. Finally, in the 60 pluscategory, winners were Nicholas T. Bruck, Kevin Roosa and James G. Maines. Overall winner for women was Johanna Byron, and for men, Nicholas Bruck.
The approximately one mile course used by the Biathlon is wooded, mountainous terrain containing four shooting stations spaced along the course. Each shooting station has two targets at varying distances which are shot with a patched round ball. Firearms must be carried unloaded between shooting stations. Primitive dress is desired but not required, but one minute will be deducted from over all time for full primitive dress. The tomahawk competition involves five throws at a standard playing card.
Talk about living history!

Film Commission!
The Hudson Valley Film Commission has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency. The funds are to be used to generate film development in the county. The work of a local film commission is of vital importance to attract the industry to Ulster County, comments accompanying the award noted. Film studios need experienced professionals on the ground doing the location scouting, lining up extras, working with the local municipalities for permits and so much more.
The Commission has attracted film productions to the region, including “War of the Worlds” by Paramount Pictures, “The Human Footprint” for National Geographic, Robin Williams “The Night Listener” in the Route 28 corridor, as well as other top notch productions.
The award givers noted that they anticipate the film industry to be “part of the economic turn-around in Ulster County.”

Passport Fair
As a convenience to postal customers, the Postal Service will host a Passport Fair and accept passport applications Saturday, February 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shokan Post Office, 3110 State Route 28, Shokan. As of January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada must have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States by air and sea as well as for land border crossings. The fee for first time applicants for adults (16 years of age) is $100.00 (photo not included). Two payment transactions are required: $75.00 to the Department of State and $25.00 to the United States Postal Service. The fee for a passport renewal is $75.00. Passports will be mailed to the customer in four to six weeks after application.
Call 845 657-7326 for information or to schedule an appointment. Additional information on passport applications, procedures and fees can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.usps.com. click on the “Gov’t Services” link at the bottom of the home page, and then click on “Passport Application Information.

Conservation Kids
Outflanked by iPods and Xboxes, state environmental officials are introducing a new youth magazine aimed at reconnecting kids with nature and the outdoors. "Conservationist for Kids" features information and activities to encourage young readers to explore the outdoors.
The 8-page magazine targets 9- and 10-year-olds and will be distributed free to New York's 8,500 fourth-grade classrooms in March.
A limited run of the magazine is being evaluated in about 500 classrooms statewide. Copies of the pilot issue also were sent out in December to the 92,000-plus subscribers of "The Conservationist," the state's 62-year-old outdoors magazine.
The inaugural issue encourages readers to "Become A Winter Wildlife Detective." There's a page on how to properly keep a field journal; a two-page spread on recognizing common winter tracks; a section on identifying animal droppings; and another with tips on finding places where animals feed.
"Conservationist for Kids" will be published three times a year to coincide with schools' fall, winter and spring semesters.
Climate change will be the subject of the spring issue.
On the Net: Conservationist for Kids: http://www.cforkids.org

On The Roof
A 69-year-old Accord man, Norman G. Depuy, was recently arrested after climbing onto a neighbor’s roof to steal his phone line in the neighboring town of Rochester, resulting in charges of misdemeanor criminal tampering and trespassing, a violation. Police received a call from the caretaker of a private residence stating that there was a man on the roof and that he had cut the phone line. Responding deputies arrested Depuy after discovering that he had spliced into the victim’s phone line and ran his own phone line from the residence to his makeshift camp in the woods behind the residence. Depuy has deeded access to the victim’s property via right of way, which means that he is allowed to cross it to reach his own property. Depuy was arraigned in the Rochester Town Court and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to reappear in court at a later date.

Babe Ruth Time
The Onteora Babe Ruth Baseball League will be holding pre-season clinics on Saturday February 9 and Saturday February 16 from 12:00-1:30 pm at the Onteora Middle School gym. There is no cost for these clinics. There will also be two more clinics on Saturday, February 23 and Saturday, March 1 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm at the Parisi Gym on Route 9W in Kingston. These clinics will be $8.00 per child. All clinics are open to children whose birthdays fall after May 1, 1992 and before May 1, 1995. Registration forms will also be available. For more information, please call 657-8027.

Thruway Fees…
Governor Eliot Spitzer said this week that he rejects any proposal to raise tolls on the Thruway. He said while he has had questions about the plan all along, his concerns were proven out by a recent audit by the state comptroller, which said no hike was necessary.
“We support the Comptroller’s recommendations that the Authority undertake an in-depth review of spending, prioritize its capital budget, and review and justify its borrowing practices,” said the Governor. “Especially in this time of economic uncertainty, the Authority must prove it is responsibly spending funds before it asks New Yorkers to pay more. We thank the Comptroller for shining light on many of these persistent questions. The Authority should now turn its attention to resolving these issues.”

Protest Rights
New York City must disclose its arguments about why documents on police surveillance of protesters before the 2004 Republican National Convention should be kept confidential, U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV recently ruled.
“Permitting the submission of secret argument is antithetical to our adversary system of justice,” Francis wrote, ruling that a revised statement by a police intelligence officer must be submitted publicly.
The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing on behalf of some of more than 1,800 people arrested at the convention.
City Police said in the declaration dated Dec. 7 that some information ordered disclosed by Francis in August could reveal the identities of undercover officers and confidential informants. It could also disclose methods of operation that would undermine law enforcement, the City argued.
Francis said in his ruling that the City could refer to secret documents without revealing sensitive information, since the magistrate judge has viewed the documents himself.
NYCLU lawyers have noted that, “If the NYPD wants to rely on its political-surveillance operation to defend its tactics, the department must disclose the details of that operation.”
The NYCLU is seeking police records for the lawsuits stemming from the four-day convention at Madison Square Garden, where President Bush accepted his party’s nomination for a second term in office. The NYCLU said the arrests violated the protesters’ civil rights.

Heating Help
Congressman Maurice Hinchey recently announced the release of $82,315,613 in increased federal funding that will assist low-income New Yorkers pay for heating costs. The assistance was included by Congress as emergency contingency funding included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY2008.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps pay the winter heating bills or summer cooling bills of low-income and elderly people on fixed incomes. Since two-thirds of the families receiving LIHEAP assistance have incomes of less than $8,000 a year, the program clearly helps the people who need help the most. The Consolidated Appropriations bill for FY2008 contained $2.57 billion in funding for LIHEAP, including $590 million in contingency funds to be released at the president’s discretion. The administration agreed to release about $450 million in LIHEAP emergency contingency funds after much pleading.
Home heating prices are projected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to reach almost $1,000 this year for the typical family, a figure almost 80 percent higher than the average cost of home heating during the winter of 2001-02. As a result of these skyrocketing energy prices, thousands of families with children and seniors on fixed incomes could be left freezing this winter, especially in cold weather states used to seeing the temperatures go down below zero for extended periods of time.

Quadricentennial!
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced more than $1.7 million in Hudson River Estuary grants for 41 projects in the watershed and the appointment of two people to lead the Hudson-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission activities as the state begins building up to the 2009 commemoration.
“These grants will help protect natural areas, support river education and provide access for boating, fishing and hiking. We are creating new opportunities to connect New Yorkers to the natural wonders of the Hudson in time for the Quadricentennial,” said DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis, who will be addressing the New York State Asociation of Towns convention in New York City in the coming weeks.
The grants are for the first of dozens of projects expected to be announced during the next two years as part of the Legacy Projects portion of the Quadricentennial. Two leaders have been appointed to the Quadricentennial Commission to date: Robert E. Bullock, from Saratoga County, has been named commission director; and Tara Sullivan, from Dutchess County but originally from Woodstock, where as Tara Roberts she served as a town councilwoman and a county legislator, has been named executive director of the commission. Sullivan, who has a long career in community relations and public policy, previously served as Governor Eliot Spitzer’s Hudson Valley regional representative and as director of community relations and internal affairs at Bard College.
The Quadricentennial Commission is responsible for planning the commemoration of landmark passages in New York State’s history—the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the Hudson River aboard the Dutch ship, Half Moon; Samuel de Champlain’s expedition to Lake Champlain, also 400 years ago, and Robert Fulton’s maiden steamship journey up the Hudson in 1807—all to be celebrated in 2009.
Two hundred $1,000 grants will be awarded to schools and communities in both the greater Hudson Valley and the Champlain Valley areas to prepare for the commemoration. The grants can be used for projects, events and programs that embody the theme, “Explore 400 years of Progress in the Environment, Energy, Innovation and Education.”
Visit the Hudson River Estuary Grants Program web page on DEC’s site for more information about these grants and how to apply for them.

Paul’s Request…
The Ulster County Sheriff’s Department is asking the legislature for seven new vehicles for their fleet this year to replace older cruisers and two Department of Corrections vans, which, according to Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum, have already been appropriated in this year’s budget. Six marked cars and one unmarked car currently in fleet all have over 120,000 miles on them; at least one has more than 140,000 miles, both far more than the typical odometer readings on municipal police vehicles. It would cost too much to repair those vehicles, the sheriff said.
A replacement SUV and transportation van for Corrections are also requested. Both of those current vehicles also have been in commission past normal operating mileages, sheriff’s officials said.
The total cost of the seven cruisers amounts to roughly $185,000; equipment from the old cars will be installed on the new ones to save the county taxpayer’s money. Cost of the two Corrections vans equals roughly $35,000.
Van Blarcum said all decommissioned vehicles are given back to the county and sold at auctions.

False Statements
A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks. The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”
The study, posted recently on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism, counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.
“It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida,” according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. “In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003.”
Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq’s links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell’s 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

Rather Savvy…
A judge said recently that he was leaning toward allowing Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit over his being fired by CBS to proceed. The judge did not issue a final ruling on CBS’ motion, but he suggested the parties try to agree on the scope of pretrial discovery - just in case - and told them to return to court for a conference. Rather, whose last months at CBS were clouded by a disputed story on President Bush’s Vietnam-era military service, says his employers made him a “scapegoat” to placate the White House after questions arose about the story. The lawsuit names CBS Corp., former CBS parent Viacom Inc., CBS President Leslie Moonves, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward. It seeks $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
“Allowing the case to go forward with discovery will put us on the road to finding out what really happened involving big corporations and powerful interests in Washington and their intrusions into newsrooms, which is the reason I’m here,” the 75-year old news legend said. “That is the red, beating heart of this case.”
The network’s attorney said CBS bosses had “a right to use Mr. Rather as they saw fit as long as they paid him. The (contract) language is crystal clear.”
Rather was removed from his “CBS Evening News” post in March 2005, six months after he narrated a report that said Bush disobeyed orders and shirked some of his duties during his National Guard service. The report also said a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush’s record.

TU’s Review…
Trout Unlimited has completed an extensive review of the interim Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP) for the Upper Delaware River and three Catskill reservoirs that provide drinking water to New York City. As a result, Trout Unlimited and its New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania councils have determined that while the concept behind the FFMP is indeed the best way to manage the river’s flows, the actual water release schedules in the plan will continue to damage the ecosystem of the Delaware River.
The interim flow plan was voted on in September by the Delaware River Basin Commission and would govern water releases from three New York City reservoirs in the Catskills—the Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink. These reservoirs provide drinking water to over five million New York City residents. New York City, New York state, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware all are parties to the legal agreement that governs the river’s flows.
“The water release schedules in the interim FFMP will continue to adversely affect the trout fisheries in the Upper Delaware’s main stem due to lethal rises in water temperatures and loss of habitat,” said Ken Undercoffer, Chair of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited.
Over the past 10 years, actual New York City water diversions from its three Catskills reservoirs were only two-thirds of the amount that was used to model the water release schedules in the interim FFMP. This means that more water is available for environmental benefit downstream of the reservoirs.
“It is well documented that more than enough water exists within the Upper Delaware River watershed for healthy aquatic habitat and New York City’s drinking water,” said Ron Urban, Chair of the New York Council of Trout Unlimited.
Trout Unlimited recognizes the extraordinary efforts that are necessary for the equitable apportionment and management of the Upper Delaware watershed. The organization also recognizes that management needs for these rivers will remain dynamic and require constant assessment.
“We support the concept of the FFMP and believe it is the right way to manage the Delaware River’s flows,” said Elizabeth Maclin, Trout Unlimited’s Vice President for Eastern Conservation. “But we need to secure more water within the release schedules to adequately sustain the Delaware’s trout fisheries.”
One of the results of the recently announced Belleayre Resort Agreement in Principal, from New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer, is to divert all runoff from the project, and increased snowmaking at the state-owned Belleayre Ski Center, into the Delaware Basin.

Snoring…
People who snore are more likely to develop chronic bronchitis, the hacking cough most often associated with cigarette smoking or breathing polluted air, Korean researchers have reported. The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, covered 4,270 men and women between 2001 and 2006. Of the group, 314 came down with chronic bronchitis.
After taking into account whether those in the study smoked or were otherwise at risk for bronchitis, the investigators concluded that people who snored five nights a week or less were 25 percent more likely to develop bronchitis than those who never snored. The risk was 68 percent higher for those who snored six to seven times a week.
It could be that snoring vibrates the upper airways, stressing them and leading to inflammation, the researchers said.



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