Wittle Honored
A misty-eyed town supervisor presented a plaque with the badge of the late
Peter K. Wittl mounted on it to an assembly of Olive’s finest at this month’s
town board meeting.
Supervisor Leifeld, who has a background in law enforcement on the county level and is retired from 25 years of service as a correction officer, said
he had never seen a similiar ceremony and would have to work his way through
the presentation.
Wittl, who died suddenly of a heart ailment earlier this year, started his service to the Olive Police Force in 1989, studying at the police academy through the first half of that year. Highlights of his career were recited by Leifeld, including the life of a heart attack victim he saved through his swift application of a fibulator last year and a house he saved from
destruction by a stove fire while on routine patrol in 2003.
One officer receiving the permanently retired badge 1830, said that Pete was never able to retire but that his presence would remain evermore in the office where the plaque would be hung.
”There’ll never be a shift without him,” the officer said. The plaque was already in place by the end of the meeting.
Councilwoman Helen Chase remarked on the wide range of Olive residents that had attended Wittl’s memorial service, a testimony to the many types of
people his life touched. Leifeld added that Wittl “personified what a police officer should be in a small town, dealing with people with respect on a daily basis. He did a good job.”

Assessor Hired
Two of the applicants for Olive’s vacant assessor’s position impressed the town board sufficently for appointment this month despite some regulatory
barriers to the full-time position.
Robert Breglio, who had been an assessor for a town in Scoharie County for 14 years but, as a retired schoolteacher, faced income limitations because
of his pension guidelines, was appointed as a consultant to oversee the reval process from the town’s perspective and will be paid on an hourly basis for his service. William Cook’s knowledgement and qualifications also impressed and he has been hired as interim assessor as he completes the state requirement process.

At Onteora...
Where six months ago board members were complaining of too many people begging to be heard at Onteora School District board meetings, much of the discussion at OCS’s October 5 meeting at the West Hurley School, closed for the past year, was about how to get more people out to board proceedings now that things have setytled down with the controversial Large Parcel issue.
Trustee Herb Rosenfeld requested a motion to change school board meeting schedules in order to add two to Phoenicia Elementary and another two to Woodstock. He noted how even though half of the district lives live on its east end (Woodstock/Hurley), most meetings are being held at the High School in Boiceville, excluding even Phoenicia. At a past school board meeting Rosenfeld made a similar request and was able to change two meetings to West Hurley School, one in the autumn and the other in late spring.
“I think it is a good thing to bring this school business to as many places as we can, it is not an impossible task for us and I believe that it will get more people involved,” the board’s sole Woodstocker said.
Trustee Cindy O’Connor disagreed, “I am all for communication but take tonight, we had our architects here, this was a pretty important meeting and we are here in West Hurley, a school that is closed, I do not see many people out there…” She added that such lack of attendance should be taken into consideration when deciding where to have meetings.
Trustee Marino D’Orazio, the board’s former president, explained how meetings at the High School were also sparsely attended unless the topic was Large Parcel.
All meetings March to May are set for the High School because, O’Connor said, it is “centrally located.” D’Orazio answered, “Centrally located, but not for everybody.”
The School Board voted against the change of schedule, five to two with Rosenfeld and D’Orazio voting in favor
In main business, architects from KSQ Architects gave a presentation on their plan of business for a year-long facilities study commencing in the coming weeks. They are currently conducting a walk through of all district buildings and so far have toured Bennett and Phoenicia, with the remainder structures, including West Hurley, scheduled for the next few weeks. The request for the study was made by the Future of The District Committee based on shifts in population, new educational standards, aging buildings and technologies. Through a bidding process, KSQ was hired by the school board and is okayed for up to $50,000 in spending.
The eventual goal is to use the report for long-term planning, with substantial public input.
Trustee Mary Jane Bernholtz introduced members of the mandated new audit committee she is chairing and former trustee Kathy Hochmann gave a report on progress for the district-wide Communications Committee, which recently won an award for its first year of district-wide newsletters.

Watery Memories
The Office of the Ulster County Clerk ha invited area residents to research Supreme Court records pertaining to the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir during the week ending October 14 in the Ulster County Records Center located at 300 Foxhall Avenue, Kingston New York. In memory of the fact that the current year represents the 100 year anniversary of the passing of Chapter 724 of the Laws of 1905, which allowed for reservoir construction in Ulster County, researchers will be able to look through information contained in the Ashokan Reservoir Transcripts which are Supreme Court records of the court proceedings that document the various legal procedures undertaken a century ago. Additionally, there will be several exhibits on display that document the timeline of events including a “Notice of Application for the Appointment of Commissioners of Appraisal” and the “Affidavit of Posting” as well as maps for the areas of West Shokan, Shokan, and Brodhead. These visual displays will help provide firsthand knowledge regarding how the lands were taken to provide New York City with pure drinking water. Those who are interested in attending should call (845) 340-3415 to make an appointment between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. An aid to the transcripts is also available online at www.co.ulster.ny.us/archives/AshokanFindAid.pdf

No Tornado
A freak of nature that demolished part of the October fest at Belleayre was not enough to dampen the spirits of those affected. Event organizers are calling the event a success.
When Belleayre Superintendent Tony Lanza arrived at the ski center Saturday morning he was astonished to see that a large portion of the vendor tents and all their inventory had been destroyed.
The tents were ripped apart and some had flown down the slopes. One inch thick steel spikes used to anchor them had snapped like iceycles. Ski Boots, snowboards, and all sorts of festival wares were strewn about everywhere like toys.
“The devastation was absolutely phenomenal,” Lanza said.
Art Snyder, Director of the Ulster County Emergency Management Department, said that the cause of the wreckage was a short burst of what are called straight-line winds that rushed the location at about three AM Saturday morning.
“There was no evidence of tornado activity, but that doesn’t mean this was any less destructive. “
A tornado is a rotating column of air that extends from the base of the thunderstorm. They are usually a funnel shape with the narrow part near the ground. Straight-line winds are very strong winds that can exceed 100 miles per hour. They produce damage that shows a lack of a rotational damage pattern. Straight-line winds are common with the gust front of a thunderstorm or originate with a downburst from a thunderstorm.
The area affected was very specific, a 200 foot square in the Ski Centers parking lot. Outside of the square nothing happened. For example, plywood signs standing on end remained erect just outside the strike zone, Lanza said.
Lanza said that the Vendors worked with Belleayre staff to set everything up the best they could. The opening of the festival was delayed until noon Saturday, but before it closed Sunday afternoon 8000 people showed up.
On Saturday Morning, there was talk of canceling the event, but Lanza was glad the vendors agreed to make the best of it.
“There was such a spirit of working together,” he said,” It ended up being a great weekend.”

Homecoming!
Onteora Junior Senior High School will hold its annual Homecoming Weekend October 14th and October 15th. The Onteora Spirit Weekend will commence with a barbecue on Friday October 14th starting at 5:00pm in the foyer outside the cafeteria. There will be hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, coffee and dessert for a small fee. Immediately following is the annual Bonfire Bonanza at 7:00pm. At 8:30, the Homecoming Dance festivities will begin for grades 9 through 12, where the Homecoming King and Queen will be introduced for the first time. On Saturday morning October 15th, several associations will host food tables or booths to promote their organizations. At 12:00pm, don’t miss the Homecoming Float Parade!! The annual “Parade Of Athletics” will take place on the football field at 1:00pm. All 19 fall teams will be represented. Modified, Junior Varsity and Varsity athletes will participate with their respective coaches in sport attire. On the field following the parade, is The “Recognition of the Senior Athletes” with their parents. At 3:00pm, Onteora Central School Varsity Football versus Sullivan West football team, for the Homecoming Game.

County Housing
The Ulster County Housing Consortium has completed a Housing Strategies Report that explores the extent of the housing challenges facing individuals and families and the priority strategies that are needed at all levels of government to ensure access to housing within the communities of Ulster County. The Report is a plan of action that provides a means to “a healthy housing mix,” establishing the context of housing needs, presenting an overview of regulatory and programmatic opportunities and barriers, exploring the roles of housing providers and regulators, assessing community acceptance issues, and providing a “toolbox” approach for all stakeholders to respond to the challenges.
Findings in the report include the facts that housing prices have doubled in the last 6 years whereas household income has increased less than 25%; that median housing prices now require an income of approximately $65,000 to be affordable; that rental costs for a 2 bedroom unit requires an hourly wage of nearly $15.00 to be affordable; that public education and outreach on the importance of housing in community and economic development efforts is Job 1 to improve community acceptance of housing at all price ranges; and that County-wide housing friendly policies are needed - linked to comprehensive plans, regulatory tools, and incentives from all sources.
Furthermore, the new report has determined that the current problems are not “self-correcting,” that the market alone will not be sufficient to deal with the problem, and that coordinated action will have to be taken to create affordability, especially where such rentals have been lost.
The Ulster County Housing Consortium coordinated the preparation of the Report. Project management was the responsibility of the Ulster County Planning Board. Funding was provided by a grant from the Governor’s Office of Small Cities (GOSC) and the Ulster County Planning Board.
At the same time, the Kingston Housing Authority recently closed its waiting list and is not taking any more applications for subsidized housing for the first time in its 57-year history, while the city’s Office for Community Development, which saw applications pour in when it reopened its list this month to would-be participants in an affordable housing program, is also expected to close its waiting list by the end of the week.
Any questions should contact the Ulster County Planning Board at (845) 340-3339.

Ride The Bus!
Ulster County’s public transit Director Cynthia Ruiz and a growing number of transit experts are saying that public transportation throughout Ulster County is underused, mostly because people don’t know much about the service and how it interfaces with their schedules and travels. As a means of building ridership in these times of rising fuel costs, Ulster County Area Transit has been hosting phone-a-thons to encourage county residents to utilize existing programs, including CitiBus, Rural Transport, Adirondack Trailways, and Mulligan Bus.
People who call in to register, who must be at least 16 years old, will be asked for their home and work addresses, work schedule, other regular trips for which they’d like to take public transportation, such as shopping, and any special needs they may have, such as using a wheelchair. In return, they’ll receive one free round-trip bus pass on Ulster County Area Transit, a letter outlining where the nearest routes and schedules are in relation to their individual requests, and bus schedules for those routes. They’ll also be entered into drawings for free dinners, CDs and other prizes.
Ulster County Area Transit will use a geographic information system (GIS) mapper to match requests with existing services. In addition, the agency will look at areas where many people are interested in riding the bus, but where service may not currently reach, in order to plan for future route and schedule adjustments.
The Ulster County Area Transit phone-a-thon will be Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Local callers can call (845) 340-3333, while those for whom Kingston is not in their local calling area can reach the agency toll-free at (888) 827-8228. Phone-a-thon surveys can also be filled out online at www.co.ulster.ny.us/ucat.

Weather News More than 8 inches of rain fell on much of the Hudson Valley on Saturday, October, flooding numerous basements and closing some local roads.The rain total was more than twice the amount that came down April 2 and 3, but weather experts said the softer and drier ground at this time of year is able to absorb more precipitation than in the weeks just after winter’s end. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. said it was dealing with about 3,600 power outages scattered across its eight-county coverage area and numerous fiure departments, including Olive, were called out for basement pumping and road closures. The National Weather Service posted a flood warning Saturday afternoon for the Esopus Creek below the Ashokan Reservoir, even thought the reservoir was only 88 percent full and not in danger of overflowing. The greatest amount of rainfall in the Hudson Valley on Saturday was 11 inches in the city of Hudson. Kingston had 9.9 inches, Boiceville was at 8.5 inches; the Greene County village of Tannersville and the Dutchess County village of Tivoli each had 8 inches, Ellenville had 7.9 inches; High Falls had 7.7 inches and Poughkeepsie had just under 6 inches. According to Daniel Smiley Research Center natural resource specialist John Thompson, this past summer yielded the hottest June in its 106-year record and the second hottest July on record. June, which averages 65.9 degrees F, heated up to 72.7 F, 6.8 degrees higher than the 106-year average. July, which typically hovers around 70 degrees, hit the 74.6 average mark. Logging in as the second hottest August on record, temperatures averaged 74.6 F — 5.9 degrees hotter than the 68.7 historical mean.

DMV Scandal…
The deputy clerk of the Ulster County Department of Motor Vehicles recently resigned as part of the latest developments in an ongoing investigation into a “money-for-licenses” scandal that some have pegged for the change in leadership at the county Clerk’s office. The deputy had been named in a state and federal probe that allegedly started with post 9/11 looks into the county’s Muslim population, much of them Pakistani-born, and ended with seven people, including two Ulster County DMV clerks, being convicted. The convicted clerk had been appointed in 1996 by then-County Clerk Albert Spada, who retired last month and has been unavailable for comment ever since.
Several clerks and “license brokers” dealing with the county DMV were sentenced in federal court in recent months for various lengths of probation and prison terms, plus varying fines and amounts of community service, for their involvement in he case.

Jail News?
The last day in November is still the date pegged for finishing the new Ulster County jail even though construction officials on the project have started calling the date a “moving target.”
County legislators were told in September that the expected completion date of the project, the county’s largest and costliest to date, would be at least two months later than the contractors’ most recent estimate, which was for the time of the announcement. The project originally was to be completed in the spring of 2004.
The building will house the county jail, Sheriff’s Office and other criminal justice-related county departments when completed. Parts of it are allegedly complete, but still need full inspections before being made available for use.
Most of the meeting at which the latest announcements of tardiness were made was held behind closed doors in executive session, with Committee Chairman Michael Stock noting that the presence of lawyers necessitated the move. He also pointed out his continuing optimism that the project will be finished anon.
Legislator Richard Parete, D-Accord, said the project, which is about 20 months behind schedule and more than $12 million over budget, is in worse shape now than ever before, and there still are major aspects, including the construction of a communications tower essential to the building’s operations, that remain unresolved.

Judge Battles!
For the first time in years, three state Supreme Court seats in the Third Judicial District will actually be up for grabs via the popular vote November 8, with the major parties failing to cross-nominate all but one of six candidates in recent judicial nominating conventions. Party chairmen from the seven counties in the Third District - Columbia, Greene, Ulster, Sullivan, Albany, Rensselaer and Schoharie - met in Albany in late September to select who will run on their party’s line with Democrats peggingthree of their own: incumbent Edward O. Spain, Albany City Court Judge John C. Egan Jr. and Albany County Attorney Michael C. Lynch; while Republicans gave the nod to Ulster County Public Defender Paul Gruner and Albany lawyer Tom Marcelle, who also is counsel to the Albany County Legislature’s minority and Spain. Rensselaer County Surrogate Judge Chris Hummel failed to gain GOP support but will continue running on Conservative and Independence Party lines.
Gruner, of Stone Ridge, was unseated as Ulster County Surrogate’s Court judge last fall by Wallkill Democrat Mary Work, who had been an Ulster County Family Court judge.
State Supreme Court justices serve 14-year terms. They are paid $136,700 a year.
Democratic political pundits say the change in endorsement policies and actualities reflect a growing acceptance that the governor’s office will likely go back to Democrats next year, along with an overall pendulum swing across the nation leftwards.
Republicans, meanwhile, are saying it’s all just a fluke.

Thruway Moose!
An 800-pound young bull moose was killed on the Thruway near the Kingston exit when it was struck by a tractor-trailer on September 29. State police said Pierre Legault, 55, of Quebec struck the moose about 10:35 p.m. Legault was not hurt, but his 2006 Volvo big rig had to be towed from the scene. The moose apparently suffered head trauma, said Wendy Rosenbach, a spokeswoman for Region 3 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The animal was removed the next day, and Rosenbach said it was to be examined by the department’s wildlife pathology office.
Although moose at one time were indigenous to the region, over-hunting and disease have all but eradicated the animal in New York. There’s a small population of moose in the northern Adirondack Mountains, she said, and the species can be found in abundance in Vermont, Massachusetts and Canada.
A moose was killed in an accident in Dutchess County in April and about two weeks ago, a moose was spotted by Greene County sheriff’s deputies patrolling along state Route 23A between Catskill and Kiskatom.
Rosenbach said it is possible the 3-year old moose killed Thursday is the same one that’s been spotted elsewhere in the region. She said it’s not uncommon for young bull moose to set out for new territory in search of a mate.

Quarantines?
President Bush, increasingly concerned about scientist’s predictions about a probable avian flu pandemic, revealed Tuesday that any part of the country where the virus breaks out could likely be quarantined and that he is considering using the military to enforce it.
After the bungled initial federal response to Katrina, Bush suggested putting the Pentagon in charge of search-and-rescue efforts in times of a major terrorist attack or similarly catastrophic natural disaster. He has argued that the armed forces have the ability to quickly mobilize the equipment, manpower and communications capabilities needed in times of crisis. But such a shift could require a change in law put in place after the Civil War to hold down the threat of the nation slipping into military dictatorship, and some in Congress and the states worry it would increase the power of the federal government at the expense of local control.
As a standby precaution, Bush in April signed an executive order that added pandemic influenza to the government’s list of communicable diseases for which a quarantine is authorized. It gives the government legal authority to detain or isolate a passenger arriving in the United States to prevent an infection from spreading.
Experts agree there will certainly be another flu pandemic — a new human flu strain that goes global. However, it is unknown when or how bad that global epidemic will be — or whether the H5N1 bird flu strain now circulating in Asian poultry will be its origin.
The United States is currently unprepared for a possible outbreak of pandemic flu which could kill up to 1.9 million Americans, according to a draft official plan recently drawn up by the government. The 381-page plan calls for quarantine and travel restrictions but concedes that such measures “are unlikely to delay introduction of pandemic disease into the US by more than a month or two,” while making vaccines and medicine available only to those who could afford it, causing possible civil strife across the nation.
Almost simultaneous to his calls for the right to use the military on a domestic basis at his will, the president recently redefined his War on Terror in terms of what he is calling, “the central undertaking of this century: defeating the forces of Islamic radicalism.” In a speech that outlined his administration’s step-by-step plan for confronting the 21st century’s “ideology of hatred” he called for further preventing of attacks before they occur via increased military presence on a global basis, improvement of homeland defenses against terrorists (including his use of the Army within states), the actual killing and capturing of terrorist organization leaders, here and elsewhere, the flat-out denying weapons of mass destruction to “outlaw regimes” and others who would share and use them, and a doctrine that clearly aims to destroy all nations he finds in opposition to US viewpoints and “outlaw.” He insisted on calling Iraq, “the central front in our war against terrorism.”
To many analysts, the president’s speech was an effort to shore up waning public support not just for Iraq but for the war on terrorism in general. A mid-September Gallup Poll showed 53 percent of Americans saying Iraq is not worth going to war over, compared with 45 percent who said it is.
Also, Bush recently told Palestinian ministers that God had told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, and create a Palestinian State.
In a new BBC series on the current War on Terror, Palestine’s Nabil Shaath says: “President Bush said to all of us: ‘I’m driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, “George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.” And I did, and then God would tell me, “George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …” And I did. And now, again, I feel God’s words coming to me, “Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East.” And by God I’m gonna do it.’”
Meanwhile, new laws getting readied for passage through Congress would grant the Pentagon new powers to conduct undercover intelligence gathering inside the United States—and then withhold any information about it from the public, even granting
new exemptions from disclosing any “operational files” under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA. “Information operations,” as the new powers are called, is a military term used to describe activities including electronic warfare, psychological operations and counterpropaganda initiatives.

Expanded PO?
Hundreds of post offices nationwide, including several in our area, the Westchester District, which includes Columbia, Dutchess, Greene and Ulster counties, have started staying open until 7 p.m. on weekdays starting Oct. 1 and be open until 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Among those effected in the area are the main post offices in Kingston, New Paltz, Poughkeepsie, Saugerties, and * Woodstock.

At the Wiltwyck Country Club in Kingston last Thursday night, local Developer Dean Gitter got a pleasant surprise.
The event was nothing out of the ordinary. A Business appreciation dinner sponsored by the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce and the Ulster County Development Corporation.
What was out of the ordinary, however, was the announcement of a new accolade.
A delighted Paul Rakov, Gitter’s publicist, explains.
“Dean and Emerson Place received the first-ever Heart of Ulster County award….. The award was given to Dean for “outstanding devotion to employees and citizens of Ulster County.” The award was new and not announced prior to the event. Dean was completely surprised and quite moved by the long, warm ovation he received from the crowd,” Rakov said Friday.
Ward Todd, the President of the Chamber and long time Gitter supporter, said that Gitter was a great choice for this first-time honor because of how he and Emerson Place saved more than 50 jobs after the Emerson Inn was consumed by fire last April.
According to Rakov, Gitter continued to pay the employees for four months until the new Emerson at Woodstock opened last August.
To keep what he described as an excellent staff, Gitter immediately announced his plan to open a temporary eatery in order to keep them. He signed a two-year lease for the Mill Hill Road building that formerly housed Woodstock’s famous establishment called Deanie’s. Gitter said he needs about 2 years to sort out insurance issues relating to the Emerson (which cost $7 million to build), then design and build a replacement.
Some of the employees displaced by the fire have been moved to Gitter's Catamount Café and The Lodge, creekside businesses on state Route 28 in Shandaken that are a part of Emerson Place. And Gitter said more might work at the Lodge if additional guest rooms are added. Project architects are currently working with the Shandaken planning Board to determine how to expand the lodge.
But the new Emerson, which Gitter has vowed to rebuild, is not expected to be built on the site of the old.
"We will be opening the Emerson Inn and Spa for sure," Gitter said in May. "We are looking for those places that want us ... whether or not Shandaken is that community remains to be seen."
The Emerson Inn and Spa was named "Most Outstanding Inn in North America" by Conde Nast Johansens this year. And just days before the fire, Gitter learned the Emerson had been selected by Mobil Travel as one of three four-star spas in New York state.
Gitter is best known for his most current and controversial project, a massive golf resort slated to surround Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. That project, calling for two golf courses, two hotels and hundreds of residential units on 1900 acres, is now under review.

Tax Reform…
State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, not the most popular guy in town just now, will be holding a public session on current school finance legislation proposals on Friday, October 21 in Rosendale, including the possible elimination of real property taxes for the support of education; and the requiring of school districts to submit annual budgets to the state department of education. Local costs of public education would be covered by a statewide income tax. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. (and include a question and answer period) at the Rosendale Community Center just outside the town center on Route 32 South. The event is sponsored by the Property Tax Reform Task Force, a coalition of the Towns of Marbletown, Rochester, Rosendale and Wawarsing, established in April 2004. The Task Force supports equitable tax reform at the local, county and state levels, and is developing a network of communities and citizen groups throughout the state to coordinate efforts on property tax relief. The group is supported by the Association of Towns of the State of New York, representing more than 900 towns throughout the state, and the Ulster County Supervisors Association, representing 20 towns in Ulster County. Information about the Property Tax Reform Task Force can be found at its website at www.hvpropertytaxreform.org.

Katrina Cleanup
Millions of dollars in federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts that were handed out with little or no competition will be rebid to prevent any waste or abuse, new FEMA chief R. David Paulison said recently, adding that although he did not have a total figure for what was being rebid, included are at least four agreements for $100 million each for housing and construction services awarded immediately after the storm hit.
The government has been accused of overpaying for some contracts that were awarded with unusual haste in an effort to speed assistance to Katrina’s victims, as well as of giving those contracts to friends of the current administration.
Meanwhile, a “Katrina Reconstruction Summit,” hosted by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and sponsored by Halliburton, the company Vice President Dick Cheney used to head, recently brought some 200 lobbyists, corporate representatives and government staffers to a room overlooking the Capitol for a five-hour conference that included time for a “networking break” and advice on “opportunities for private sector involvement.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) sent his budget director, Bill Hoagland, who cautioned that federal Katrina spending might not exceed $100 billion. But John Clerici, from a law firm that helped sponsor the event, told the group that spending would “probably be larger” than $200 billion. “It’s going to be spent in a fast and furious way,” Clerici told gathered lobbysits.
But even with all that money, and the facts tied to the ways in which the recent hurricanes exposed the weakness of the levee system around New Orleans, federal officials are now saying they won’t rebuild the barriers higher and better - at least not right away. Col. Lewis Setliff, the engineer overseeing the levee repairs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the Corps only has the authority to rebuild levees to the strength they were prior to the storms that damaged them. Without approval from Congress, which has been reluctant to spend on such matters, the Army engineers cannot build the levees higher and stronger. And even if Congress were to give that approval soon, it would come too late to allow them to be finished by the time the 2006 hurricane season begins in June.
Only about 1.5 percent of the $1.5 billion awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency has gone to minority businesses, less than a third of the 5 percent normally required.
FEMA has been publicly estimating that just over 68,200 refugees still remain in shelters, down from a high of 300,000 after Katrina hit Aug. 29 and Hurricane Rita’s Sept. 17 arrival. Last month, FEMA launched a $2 billion program to pay three months of upfront rental costs for homeowners or renters whose residences were destroyed by Katrina. Eligible victims can receive $2,358 per family to rent anywhere in the country, and could continue to get assistance for up to 18 months as FEMA works with state and local authorities to rebuild the devastated communities. So far, FEMA has spent $1.3 billion to help Katrina victims find homes, and 600,000 have registered for the rental program.
But victims still in shelters face an Oct. 15 deadline, set by President Bush, to find more stable housing - including apartments, trailers and in some cases, hotels. Meanwhile, FEMA is weighing whether to extend a program that reimburses the American Red Cross for the cost of hotel rooms for victims. FEMA Chief Paulison said that when Bush set the deadline before Hurricane Rita hit, “that set us back a little bit.”
FEMA has been trying to set up transitional housing for evacuees but has run into problems. After the agency signed a $236 million contract with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships to provide housing, most evacuees rejected the offer. Those ships now are being used to house city employees from New Orleans and other emergency workers involved in the cleanup effort. The agency’s plan to set up 30,000 temporary homes every two weeks also has fallen flat. FEMA hasn’t been able to secure enough public land for evacuees. And when land is made available, Paulison said, the agency has to put in water and sewer lines, electrical power and other basic services before it can allow people to move in.
Asked if it was a mistake for FEMA to have ordered 120,000 trailers and mobile homes after Katrina, including from our own Camper’s Barn in Kingston, Paulison said, “Those were ordered before I got here.”
Those trailers and mobile homes are expected to be delivered to Louisiana for evacuees in the coming weeks. The optimum size of each park will be about 200 housing units, but they also may be placed on the property of residents with destroyed homes.

Hunting Shifts…
A push, starting in the Midwest, towards state-sponsored “youth hunts” is one of many state and private initiatives emerging this fall that aim to ensure that hunters don’t become an endangered species. Stating that the urbanization of landscapes such as ours, along with increased competition for kids’ time - from cellphones, television, and other modern diversions - has diminished the ranks of young hunters, state and private efforts to bring back hunting are now ranging from trying to repeal laws that limit youth hunting to psychology-based campaigns aimed at getting young people familiar with gun use.
But such moves are setting off alarm bells with hunting watchdog groups. Long-established safeguards governing the sport are being undercut, they say, and state agencies are aligning with the hunting industry as never before.
Anxious to reverse the decline in the sport - and the resulting drop in state revenues from hunting licenses - hunting and gun groups and state wildlife and conservation departments are pursuing several initiatives. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade association representing the firearms industry, is funding new hunting programs in 25 states, part of its Hunting Heritage Partnership with state wildlife agencies. The National Rifle Association is developing a campaign to begin early next year to open more public land in all 50 states to hunting. The National Wild Turkey Federation’s new Families Afield program is targeting 33 states that currently make it illegal for youths to go deer hunting before age 12. It also is deploying new youth programs like Xtreme Jakes, which combines elements like rock climbing and mountainbiking with target shooting in triathlon-style events.
Between the mid-1990s and 2001, the number of hunters dropped 7 percent to about 13 million, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. By 2025, that number is projected to drop 24 percent to about 9.9 million, according to a recent study conducted for pro-hunting organizations.

GOP Splits?
Critical elements in President Bush’s political coalition have grown less enthusiastic about the job he is doing, recent polls and Congressional developments are showing. A recent poll has shown that evangelical voters, Republican men, Southerners and Protestants have lost considerable intensity in their support for the president since the beginning of this year. The split is being blamed, according to pundits, on the president’s apparent “cronyism” in nominating his attorney Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, the no-bid nature of so many hurricane-recovery spending projects, immigration and other issues.
Bush’s overall job approval is at 39 percent - with 21 percent strongly approving. The number of people who strongly approve of Bush’s job performance has eroded over the last year, most notably among key groups like evangelical voters, down from 49 percent who strongly approved in January to 33 percent now; Republican men, down from 57 percent to 42 percent; Protestants, down from 36 percent to 25 percent; and Southerners, down from 32 percent to 22 percent. While four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush’s job performance, enthusiasm in that support has dipped over the last year. In December 2004, soon after his re-election, nearly two-thirds of Republicans strongly approved of his job performance. An AP-Ipsos survey found that just half in his own party feel that way now.
Only 28 percent say the country is headed in the right direction, while two-thirds, 66 percent, say it is on the wrong track, the poll found.
Meanwhile, the administration’s push to pay for hurricane recovery by slashing out social benefit programs for the nations neediest seems to be further alienating Congressional and other of the nation’s remaining moderate Republicans. Among the current probables are new legislation to impose curbs on the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, student loan subsidies for banks, farm subsidies and food stamps.
Despite the polls and recent grumbling about his performance from some Republicans, Bush insisted Tuesday during a White House Rose Garden news conference that he still had “plenty” of political capital that he would spend getting lawmakers to go along with his proposed budget cuts, plus his Iraq strategy and other issues.
“We need to have presidential leadership and it can’t be the usual suspects,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H. “They can’t just send up another list of the requests that they made at the beginning of the budget process and claim that they’ve done their job.”
Other signs of growing problems include the recent Senate battle over the setting of policy against the use of torture in the U.S. military, which the White House has threatened to veto; the legal troubles of Senate leader Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom Delay; the continuing fallout from last Spring’s Republican intervention in the Terri Schiavo case; skyrocketing federal budget deficits; rising gas prices and a growing discussion about oil industry “price gouging;” and growing worries about the actual and political costs of the war in Iraq.
Delivering a rare wartime slap at Pentagon authority and President Bush, the GOP-controlled Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to back the amendment that would prohibit the use of “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” against anyone in U.S. government custody, regardless of where they are held. Sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the proposal also would require all service members to follow procedures in the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.
Bush administration officials say the legislation would limit the president’s authority and flexibility in war. However, Bush has never vetoed a bill, despite threats, and scrapping a measure that provides money for pay raises, benefits, equipment and weapons for troops while the country is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would open the president to a flood of criticism.

Plame Endgame?
As the CIA leak investigation heads toward its expected conclusion this month, it has become increasingly clear that two of the most powerful men in the Bush administration were more involved in the unmasking of operative Valerie Plame than the White House originally indicated. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, has come into focus, despite initial denials, as one of the people who leaked information about Plame to the media; as did Karl Rove, President Bush’s top political adviser.
In October 2003, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that he personally asked Libby and Rove whether they were involved, “so I could come back to you and say they were not involved.” Asked if that was a categorical denial of their involvement, he said, “That is correct.”
What now remains a central mystery in the case is whether special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has accumulated evidence during his two-year investigation that any crime was committed. His investigation has White House aides and congressional Republicans on edge as they await an announcement of an indictment or the conclusion of the probe with no charges. The grand jury is scheduled to expire Oct. 28.
Fitzgerald is investigating whether anyone illegally disclosed Plame’s name or undercover CIA job in retaliation against her husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV. In the summer of 2003, Wilson, a former diplomat, accused the White House of using “twisted” intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq based on firsthand evidence: At the behest of the CIA, he had flown to Niger in February 2002 to investigate the administration’s assertion that Iraq was trying to purchase uranium in the African nation for use in its nuclear weapons program. Wilson returned unconvinced the assertion was true. However, Bush himself made the charge in his 2003 State of the Union address, prompting Wilson to spread word throughout the government and eventually make public his rebuttal.
Many lawyers in the case are surmising that Fitzgerald is considering whether he can bring charges of a criminal conspiracy perpetrated by a group of senior Bush administration officials. Under this legal tactic, Fitzgerald would attempt to establish that at least two or more officials agreed to take affirmative steps to discredit and retaliate against Wilson and leak sensitive government information about his wife. To prove a criminal conspiracy, the actions need not have been criminal, but conspirators must have had a criminal purpose.
The big question on everyone’s minds in D.C. is whether the special prosecutor will determine involvement by the President and Vice President.

Veggie Scared?
A new study suggests the price of fresh fruits and vegetables has a stronger connection to weight gain among children than whether they live near fast-food outlets. The study examined the weight gain of 6,918 children of varying socio-economic backgrounds from 59 U.S. metropolitan areas as they advanced from kindergarten to third grade. Researchers compared the weight gain figures with the price of different types of foods and the number of food outlets in the areas. They did not examine what the children ate, however. The results showed that young children who live in communities where fruits and vegetables are expensive are more likely to gain excessive amounts of weight than kids who live in areas where produce costs less. That connection was stronger than the proximity to fast-food restaurants.
On average, children in the study gained 29 pounds. But for the region with the highest relative price for produce - Mobile, Ala. - children gained about 50 percent more excess weight as measured by body-mass index (a ratio of height to weight) than children nationally.
Health advocates reacting to the Rand Co. study have suggested providing fruits and vegetables free to schoolchildren to improve their diets.

nts and teachers, but it’s not clear whether it’s affecting children’s weight.
Meanwhile, another new study that followed Americans for three decades suggests that over the long haul, 9 out of 10 men and 7 out of 10 women will become overweight. Half of the men and women in the study who had made it well into adulthood without a weight problem ultimately became overweight. A third of those women and a quarter of the men became obese.
The findings, published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, show obesity may be a greater problem than indicated by studies that look at a cross-section of the population at one point in time. Those so-called “snapshots” of obesity have found about 6 in 10 are overweight and about 1 in 3 are obese.
The findings re-emphasize that people must continually watch their weight. The study shows Americans live in an “environment in which it’s hard not to become overweight or obese. Unless people actively work against that, that’s what’s most likely to happen to them.”
Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and arthritis, and being overweight raises blood pressure and cholesterol, which in turn can raise the risk of heart disease.

State Politics!
A recent Marist College poll found that New York State’s registered voters divide over whether they would like to see Rudy Giuliani run for president in 2008, with 49% wanting to see him make the run, and 46% of the state’s voters preferring he not. 40% of New York State’s registered voters want Senator Hillary Clinton to run for president, although a majority would prefer she not seek higher office. Only 17% of registered voters want Governor Pataki to run for the presidency in 2008.
52% of New York State’s registered voters say they would definitely vote to re-elect Hillary Clinton to the U.S. Senate in 2006. 32% would definitely vote against her. 8% would like to wait and see who runs against her, and 8% are unsure. 54% of New York State’s registered voters rate the job Hillary Clinton is doing as senator as either excellent or good. Senator Charles Schumer’s approval rating is currently 55% among New York State’s registered voters.
In match-ups for the 2006 election for New York State governor, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer outdistances his potential opponents by substantial margins including Rochester businessman Thomas Golisano, former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, former Assemblyman John Faso, Assemblyman Patrick Manning, and New York’s Secretary of State Randy Daniels. 61% of registered voters rate the job Eliot Spitzer is doing as attorney general as either excellent or good, the highest rating received by these statewide elected officials. Meanwhile, 38% of New York State’s registered voters rate the job Governor Pataki is doing in office as excellent or good. He received his lowest score of 34% in a similar poll conducted in April.
50% of registered voters think New York State is headed in the wrong direction. This is down from a high during the Pataki administration of 65% in April. A majority of voters in New York City and its surrounding suburbs now believe the state is moving in the right direction. But, only 31% of registered voters upstate feel the state is headed in the right direction. 49% of registered voters think New York State is currently in a recession, a decline from 55% in a similar poll conducted in April and a full 13 point drop from last fall. However, 61% of upstate voters still think the state remains in a recession.


MOA Benefits…
The Catskill Watershed Corporation’s Board of Directors on September 27 approved rules for a new program to provide grants for community planning efforts intended to improve water quality and enhance the quality of life in the Catskill-Delaware New York City Watershed. County, town and village governments will be eligible to apply for funds under the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) to develop comprehensive land-use and open space plans, zoning laws, environmental protection statutes, highway and infrastructure maintenance plans, strategic capital investment plans and other initiatives.
The aim of the program is to reduce non-point source pollution, protect sensitive natural resources, improve community and economic viability and enhance municipal and community partnerships towards those ends.
Application materials are being developed. The deadline for the first round of grants will be announced.
The new program is funded by a $1.25 million allocation from New York City in conjunction with the 2002 Filtration Avoidance Determination exempting the City from filtering its Catskill-Delaware water supply while environmental protection, economic development and education programs are conducted. The CWC runs many of those programs. For details, go to www.cwconline.org, or call 845-586-1400, or (toll-free) 877-928-7433.