Due to a larger than
expected turnout, an additional Public Hearing on the proposed
Belleayre Resort has been scheduled for Tuesday February 3rd
from 4pm to midnight at the Onteora School. Come early to sign
up and reserve your chance to speak.
Written comments should be addressed to Alexander Ciesluk, Jr.
NYS DEC, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561-1620
Before February 24th.
Email: afcieslu@gw.dec.state.NY.us
Town Reorganized
All's Well That Ends Well As Little Changes For Olive's Coming
Year
By Tree McElhinney
Unlike the feisty reorganization meetings held recently in
the neighboring towns of Shandaken and Woodstock, the Olive
organizational meeting held on Jan. 5 went off with nary a
whisper as town board members unanimously approved all
appointments and designations. There were no surprises, no
controversies and only a handful of townsfolk to bear witness
to the decisions made by our municipal leaders.
First up were salaries and pay rates which were established
as follows: councilpersons (4) $6708; supervisor $30,135;
town justices (2) $9514; town clerk/tax collector $43,563;
superintendent of highways $43,697; justice court clerk $17.30
per hour; justice court clerk/deputy town clerk (part-time)
$13.53 per hour; clerk to supervisor/welfare officer $17.30
per hour; bookkeeper $18.08 per hour; assessor clerk (part-time)
$11.44 per hour; deputy town clerk/tax collector $34,278;
zoning and building clerk $17.30 per hour; planning board
clerk $17.30 per hour; zoning board clerk $17.30 per hour;
secretary to highway superintendent $17.30 per hour; assessor
(part-time) $22,889; building inspector $6027; assistant building
inspector $11.66 per hour; recreation director $5607; zoning
enforcement officer $7866; transfer station gatekeeper (part-time,
2) $9.18 per hour and (part-time, 1) $10.20 per hour; transfer
station gatekeeper (full-time) $28,117; police officer $33,702;
police officer (part-time probationary) $13.22 per hour; police
officers (part-time, 9) $15.67 per hour; dog-control officer,
$1836; and kennel keeper $1010.
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Reminiscence Of Ice
The Latter Local Traditions of Harvesting, Storage and Use In
The Town Of Olive
By Raecine Shurter
Up to the mid to late 1930's,
as electric poles with glass insulators holding wires in the
sky became a part of local roadways, people kept food cold with
blocks of ice cut from ponds, large pools in creeks and the
Ashokan Reservoir. General stores, inns, taverns, boarding houses
and homes had icehouses and iceboxes. The following is a collection
of information from John Adsit, Bob Burgher, Betty Cady, Frank
and Muffy Carle, Alberta Corwin, Don and Betsy Dubois, Mimi
McGloughin and Larry Shurter; people who remember the last years
of cutting and using ice.
Icehouses were built in many designs and sizes to accommodate
the needs of the owners, but they did have a few things in common.
The walls were framed eight to ten inches thick and insulated
with sawdust. Frank Carle remembers at least one icehouse being
insulated with a combination of sawdust and horse manure. The
reason for this seems to be lost.
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WINTER LIGHT... Yes, it's cold. But given
the right moment, and the promise of warmth, it's also surprisingly
beautiful!
Taking On The County
Onteora's Had Enough Of Van Dale Riff As Budget Numbers Start
To Slide In...
By Violet Snow
The Onteora school board voted to formally request that the
Ulster County legislature reopen the State Environmental Quality
Review (SEQR) process regarding the Van Dale Road bridge refabrication
facility, where the impact of toxic welding fumes on students
at the West Hurley Elementary School is in question. The board
meanwhile plans to consult with an environmental lawyer regarding
the cost and procedure involved in seeking a stop work order
through the courts.
On December 23, the board sent Richard Gerentine, the chair
of the county legislature, a copy of environmental consultant
Jim McIver's report alleging that the county had not adequately
studied the potential impact of the facility. Although the board's
cover letter urged Gerentine to circulate the report to all
legislators, his reply said only that it would be forwarded
to the planning board and the county's attorney. Trustee Meg
Carey attended last month's meeting of the legislature and said
the board's letter and report were not included in the correspondence
section of the meeting.
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Artist's Eye
Michelle Spark Brings Fresh Sight To It All
By Paul Smart
When Michelle Spark was five it was discovered that she had
an inflammation in her eyes that would worsen and possibly blind
her. So she was given a form of medication that ended up blurring
her vision for years on end.
"In addition to getting quite anxious about all of this,
I also started to grow more attuned to what I could see or could
not see," Spark remembers of her childhood from then on.
"For me, sight became something that was extremely precious.
And I also think that's precisely why I became an artist."
And what a productive artist. Living in Phoenicia, but spending
time in New York City on a regular basis, as well as a wide
range of artist colonies around the world, Spark has moved from
social-realist cityscapes with people to tranquil landscapes.
She's currently working on a series of fragment paintings that
seek to capture the random kaleidoscopic fashion in which events
build to narratives, and eventually understanding. And in addition
to her fine art work, she provides a regular drawing to the
biweekly Olive Press and Phoenicia Times, to whom she's been
contributing for over two years.
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