The Phoenicia Times - Follow Up on the News

Follow Up on the News

Princeton Plan

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, D'Orazio said, "Closing a school is a very divisive decision for a community. I've been through the Indian decision [when the board attempted to remove the high school's Indian mascot several years ago], I was involved in that decision. It was extremely divisive and caused people to be elected to the board on the back of that issue who had other agendas. And the more I hear from various departments, the more I feel even financially, closing the school doesn't make sense. There are hidden expenses. Although we'll be saving of logistical and financial problems with transportation. We're not sure we have a tenant for the building; BOCES might not want it.

The superintendent tells me that the other three schools would be at capacity, and what if we need more space? Mr. Rosato said it might cost a lot to reopen the building later."D'Orazio feels the Princeton Plan would actually be beneficial to the district. "It's a sound educational plan as presented to me by the superintendent, and Meg Carey believes it's
good. It will unify the young people at an earlier age than they are now. Students and parents [from West Hurley and Woodstock] will be forced to interact with each other sooner rather than later," he commented, referring to problems reported at the middle school, where children from different elementary schools are stereotyped and treated with hostility by other students.

Teachers, too, would be mixed together as some Woodstock teachers would go to West Hurley and vice versa."Closing a school is serious business," D'Orazio continued. "It's a psychological blow that sends a message of pessimism. I don't want to do that to the community. Now the board enjoys a quiet feeling of doing business. Once the community is mad at us, people start making accusations of trustees having ulterior motives—it creates a bad environment."

To accommodate the reduced savings of the Princeton Plan proposal, administrators have been scouring the budget for more areas to cut, said Rowe, including custodial staff and equipment, deeper cuts in cafeteria services, supplies, textbooks, BOCES, and possible reductions in programs rather than elimination of entire programs. When student requests for next year's high school classes are made, he said, "We will review everything with a low enrollment."

If the voters reject the board's budget, the board has a chance to bring another budget proposal to a vote. A second rejection will result in a contingency budget, limited to a three percent increase over this year's budget. D'Orazio said the board would have to discuss how to handle an initial rejection. "We can decide to reduce it more [before the second vote] or we can put it out again, ask the voters to think about it." If the district is forced to go to a contingency budget, said D'Orazio, "Even then I would still not favor closing a school to deal with it. We
could probably find other areas to reduce."

Casino gambling

The contract was originally approved by county legislators on April 11, 2002 and signed by county legislature chairman Ward Todd and county attorney Frank Murray on April 15, 2002. It was set to run for nine months, but legislators last week approved an extension for an additional three years by a 20-10 vote. The contract calls for the tribe to pay the county $15 million per year for seven years, if the casino is ever built, in exchange for which the county must support the Modoc's application, and actively help it to get situated.

But the signed contract resulted from a series of apparentlyunannounced, unrecorded meetings that included Todd, Murray and county legislative majority leader Richard Gerentine with tribal respresentives. How long the meetings have been occurring is unclear, but they began no later than the winter of 2002. The April 11, 2002 vote to approve the contract initially was 25-8 in a body where Republicans hold a 24-9 majority. But legislators learned of the contract for the first time the night of the vote, and were not given a chance to examine it before voting. At least some of the meetings that led to the contract were under auspices of a five-member special committee appointed by Todd, and chaired by Gerentine. The meetings were apparently attended by Murray. At least some of the meetings took place in Todd's office, but those involved say no records are available on who attended or when they took place.

"First of all, I didn't know it had to be in the public eye," said Gerentine regarding the Special Committee to Study Casino Gambling. Gerentine was responding to a Freedom of Information act request for minutes and other records of meetings that the special committee or any other county officials had in relation to the Modoc Tribe and its casino applications. "We had various meetings, there were no official minutes taken at those meetings," said Gerentine. "There's no minutes. And I was not aware that any minutes had to be taken."But the lack of meetings is an apparent violation of existing statutes.

"It's been part of the state law since 1977," said Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government. He said public officials are obligated to keep written records recording what transpires, even motions that fail. The outcome of any votes, who voted and what their vote was are the minimum acceptable records required in minutes. "That is the function of minutes. The minute constitute the official record, so we can look back and say, this is what we did," Freeman said.The meetings of the special committee have never been announced to the media or the public, either before they occurred or even afterwards, which violates the open meetings law.

"Every meeting of a public body must be subject to public notice, given to the news media and the public," said Freeman. Special legislative committees must comply with open meetings statutes. "The law applies in the exact same way to the committee as to the governing body," he said.

Even the appointment of the special committee was done quietly. On March 7, 2002, one month before the county legislature approved the deal with the Modoc, Todd sent a letter to the county clerk appointing its members. But rather than notifiy the entire legislature of such key appointments, as is customary, Todd's letter reads only "cc: All appointees" County legislator Joan Feldman, the lone Democratic appointee to the committee, was the only Democrat on the legislature to vote in favor of the contract. She said the special committee has had "about four" meetings, but is not certain if she attended all of them. "When there was a meeting, they would call and tell me, Joan there is a meeting at such and such a time. I was personally informed," she said. But when asked what had precipitated the three-year extension of the contract, she said, "I didn't sit in on that. There wasn't any meeting, I
just got a phone call."

The committee was not given any charge but was officially titled Special Committee to Study Casino Gambling. Despite a resolution passed by the county legislature requiring use of county departments and personnel, including the planning department, sheriff's and mental
health, no studies were ever done. Who was in charge of ensuring follow up? "Ward Todd and Gerentine, they were running this thing," Feldman said.

Todd said that it is not his responsibility to ensure that minutes are taken at meetings of the county legislature, even if he is attending those meetings. "I didn't call the meetings, I didn't schedule the meetings and I didn't do any of the work that went along with those meetings. So it was not my responsibility," he said. At least some of the meetings took place in Todd's office at the county office building in Kingston, but Todd said, "I'm not sure if I attended all of them or not." Feldman said that David Lenefsky, an attorney working for the Modoc Tribe, had turned in at least one study to the special committee. She said she believes it isa transportation study, but has not seen it, saying Lenefsky said he had only one copy and would leave it with Todd.

Gerentine said he did not know what had become of the study Lenefsky provided. "I have no idea," he said. "I don't have a copy. I don't know who has a copy." Asked what the committee had done to study gambling in Ulster, he said he was researching consulting firms. "That's part of my job as committee chairman," Gerentine said. "I
wrote to two or three different firms, I specifically outlined things I would like them to look at and that's what I asked them to look at."

Those documents should be available, since all Gerentine's official correspondence to private vendors is a public document, but the letters were not in the file for public viewing available at the county office building. The new contract brought forth by Todd and signed on April 15, 2002 and extended last week between Ulster County and the Modoc Indian Tribe contains some potentially unsettling and costly clauses for the county environment and taxpayers. The contract acknowledges that state environmental laws will not be the standard used in determining the environmental mitigation measures associated with the casino, "by reason of variances, grandfather provisions or other similar laws or provisions." As a sovereign nation, Indian tribes are not held accountable to state laws. Todd and county attorney Frank Murray say the environmental review for any Modoc casino will be the responsibility of the federal bureau of Indian Affairs. They saidsafeguards in that law are comparable to state law.

The $15 million annually paid to the county "are in full and complete satisfaction of all local government" claims against the Modoc for impacts from the casino, "whether or not [the impacts are] identified in this Agreement," reads a clause on page two. School taxes may be jolted even higher by a casino project. The contract, on page four, says the Modoc may be responsible for providing funds beyond those agreed to in the contract, for public school enrollment increases attributable "to persons residing on tribal lands."Asked abut the provision, Todd said, " I'm not sure whether the contract would provide
additional money to impacted school districts, but claimed it will protect local towns and villages."

However, the Modoc cannot be asked to pay any additional money beyond the $15 million annually to the county. And Ulster County has "sole discretion" over how that money is spent, and will compensate what the contract calls Locally Impacted Entities "according to their impacts as determined by the county," reads a clause on page five.
But to receive any payment, the clause requires the community must" Support and not oppose the 'Project.'" Additionally, the contract requires the county "Assist the Tribe in responding to negative
comments about the Project."

The county must also go to court in support of the tribe. Todd and Murray defended the contract as an insurance policy to Ulster County taxpayers they would at least receive some financial considerations if a casino is sited and built in the county.

Sewage

The portion of Gitter's project that could benefit from using the hamlet's treatment plant would produce 100,000 gallons of waste a day, according to project consultant Gary Gailes, about 30 percent more than the amount produced by the hamlet and Belleyare Ski Center combined, which Gailes estimates to be 60,000 to 70,000 gallons daily.At this week's town board meeting the issue of a sewer extension for Pine Hill was once again raised by Al Frisenda, a resident and employee of Gitter, who has been pushing town supervisor Pete Di Modica to pursue an agreement with New York City for such an extension.The hitch with the extension is, according to Di Modica, that the town would have to sign on to a sewer use ordinance that could cost the town untold amounts of money in the case of litigation arising from enforcement issues.

"Most of the heavy lifting for the enforcement of the sewer use ordinance would be done by New York City," said Di Modica in a prepared statement, "Nonetheless, the town would have to bear the cost of prosecuting enforcement actions against those who are not incompliance with the sewer use ordinance."Di Modica explained that the possible costs to those currently using the system could not be borne out by the benefits to be gained by those who would be hooked into it.He turned directly to Frisenda and asked, "Al, don't you ownthree of those properties?" Frisenda owns the building housing Railroad Pizza and two residences in the area proposed for the extension.

At a later point in the meeting Nagy asked whether the town would have to adopt a comprehensive plan to getfunding from the city for such an extension, with the rationale being that the town should guide its future development with a vision, not with its sewer lines. Frisenda denied that that was the case. In fact the 1997 Memorandum of Understanding between New York City and the west of Hudson communities states that before funds to build extensions to the city-built and operated wastewater treatment plants are disbursed, "the relevant local government (Town or Village) must take the following actions, to the extent not already taken: (C) Adopt and maintain a comprehensive plan, subdivision regulations and appropriate land use laws and ordinances
assuring that future growth within such area(s) can be adequately serviced by, and will not exceed the capacity of, the sewerage collection system and the WWTP to which it is connected." "Perhaps [Frisenda's] misstatement was an attempt to prevent the public from finding out what could very well be behind the loud cry for the so-called "Shuster Plan" by some Crossroads Ventures' employees and supporters," said Nagy the day after the meeting. He was referring to a previous version of the comprehensive plan, which is seen by opponents of the Belleayre project as being toothless and making way
for the resort. "It's no secret the developer would love to hook his project to the Pine Hill Sewage Treatment Plant," Nagy said. "With that hope, it seems the developer needs to get a comprehensive plan in place, no matter how bad it is, to get the city to pay for a sewer extension leading towards the Belleayre Ridge portion of the development."

Gailes denies Nagy's contentions, saying that the current plan calls for building two treatment plants on site, one to accommodate the Belleayre Ridge side, the other to accommodate the Wild Acres side.
"What Mr. Gailes is saying and what seems to be Crossroads'intention through reading the New York State Draft Environmental Impact Statement are two different things," responded Nagy. And even if the project wanted to hook into Pine Hill's treatment plant, Gailes maintains
that no extension would be necessary. "The sewer runs right past the entrance to the resort, and could be connected just west of the plant," said Gailes. "It looks like some of that sewage might have to go uphill to get to that point, then," responded Nagy.

Eucharist

All are here on the day before the fifth Sunday in Lent to take part in an
Episcopal service, a service that is as quirky, intelligent, caring and inclusive as are its congregants, a shifting collection of people who have been meeting twice a month since July 2001. This spiritual group was formed as a mission of St. Gregory's, a parish in the Diocese of New York, and alternates its meeting between the Pine Hill firehouse and the lovely old Victorian home of the Smiths. Most of those here today are technically located in the Diocese of Albany, but have chosen to affiliate themselves with that of New York because it is more inclusive and accepting all around, and particularly of those who are openly gay. At each meeting, a biblical passage is read, those gathered silently meditate on it for a few minutes, the passage is read again, and then discussed for 45 minutes or so. While The Reverend T. Gerald Brooks is present, he is largely just another voice in the discussion, not in anyway putting forth his opinions as the correct interpretation of what has been read.

And a heady discussion it is, too. Call it Egghead Episcopalianism, ranging over early Christian history, scriptural interpretation, and comparative religions. "Jesus came to take away your sins, not your mind," says Eve later, explaining one of the slogans used by an Episcopal group that she became involved in while a student at Bard College many years ago, a slogan that applies equally well to this group.

Today, the discussion centers on a passage from the Gospel of John: "He who loves his life loses it. And he who hates it will keep it for eternity." "If your whole life is wrapped up in everything you do, then you're spiritually dead. If you take a rest from it, then you can connect with the spirit," puts forth Adam Cohen.

"But everything I do—whether it's work, writing, or putting seeds in a pot—everything is religious," says Eve, who's having difficulty making sense of the passage. "It's like that saying, 'Do you live to work or work to live?'" says Tiger Buchanan.

Eventually, the discussion comes around to mortality. "When you're older, you become invisible to people," says Joyce Granger. "With every year, I'm saying goodbye to something. The day I can't drive a car, or the day I can't read a book…Oh God!"
"But you know, everything can be enlarged now," says Eve, who continually brings the discussion back to the pragmatic. "It was like a revelation, the day I discovered that I could go to Kinko's and get everything enlarged." Laughter.

On a more serious note, one man present says that he started getting involved in the church just before he was given an HIV positive diagnosis. "It's because of the diagnosis that I even looked for something spiritual," he says. The conversation also heads into the war in Iraq, and whether such a crusade would be conceivable if the tenets of Christianity were being followed.

"The idea of owning land or owning oil is so crazy," says Eve. "You only rent anyway," adds Buchanan. After communion is taken, a huge potluck dinner is served: white lasagna, a generous salad with walnuts and pieces of orange, creamed spinach, home-made noodles and a curried cauliflower dish.

"I love coming here," says Brooks, who formerly worked for GE, and now has his own consulting business. Brooks was ordained in 1965, but has not practiced as a priest for more than 30 years. "It's been years and years since I've had a job to do, and what a job it is! Everybody's enthusiastic and encouraging. It's fun."

It is. All are welcome. The group meets the first and third Saturday of each month. For directions, call: 676-3395; 254-5304 or 518-899-5798.


	Follow Up on the News Princeton Plan In a telephone interview on Tuesday, D'Orazio said, "Closing a school is a very divisive decision for a community. I've been through the Indian decision [when the board attempted to remove the high school's Indian mascot several years ago], I was involved in that decision. It was extremely divisive and caused people to be elected to the board on the back of that issue who had other agendas. And the more I hear from various departments, the more I feel even financially, closing the school doesn't make sense. There are hidden expenses. Although we'll be saving of logistical and financial problems with transportation. We're not sure we have a tenant for the building; BOCES might not want it. The superintendent tells me that the other three schools would be at capacity, and what if we need more space? Mr. Rosato said it might cost a lot to reopen the building later."D'Orazio feels the Princeton Plan would actually be beneficial to the district. "It's a sound educational plan as presented to me by the superintendent, and Meg Carey believes it's good. It will unify the young people at an earlier age than they are now. Students and parents [from West Hurley and Woodstock] will be forced to interact with each other sooner rather than later," he commented, referring to problems reported at the middle school, where children from different elementary schools are stereotyped and treated with hostility by other students. Teachers, too, would be mixed together as some Woodstock teachers would go to West Hurley and vice versa."Closing a school is serious business," D'Orazio continued. "It's a psychological blow that sends a message of pessimism. I don't want to do that to the community. Now the board enjoys a quiet feeling of doing business. Once the community is mad at us, people start making accusations of trustees having ulterior motives—it creates a bad environment." To accommodate the reduced savings of the Princeton Plan proposal, administrators have been scouring the budget for more areas to cut, said Rowe, including custodial staff and equipment, deeper cuts in cafeteria services, supplies, textbooks, BOCES, and possible reductions in programs rather than elimination of entire programs. When student requests for next year's high school classes are made, he said, "We will review everything with a low enrollment." If the voters reject the board's budget, the board has a chance to bring another budget proposal to a vote. A second rejection will result in a contingency budget, limited to a three percent increase over this year's budget. D'Orazio said the board would have to discuss how to handle an initial rejection. "We can decide to reduce it more [before the second vote] or we can put it out again, ask the voters to think about it." If the district is forced to go to a contingency budget, said D'Orazio, "Even then I would still not favor closing a school to deal with it. We could probably find other areas to reduce." Casino gambling The contract was originally approved by county legislators on April 11, 2002 and signed by county legislature chairman Ward Todd and county attorney Frank Murray on April 15, 2002. It was set to run for nine months, but legislators last week approved an extension for an additional three years by a 20-10 vote. The contract calls for the tribe to pay the county $15 million per year for seven years, if the casino is ever built, in exchange for which the county must support the Modoc's application, and actively help it to get situated. But the signed contract resulted from a series of apparentlyunannounced, unrecorded meetings that included Todd, Murray and county legislative majority leader Richard Gerentine with tribal respresentives. How long the meetings have been occurring is unclear, but they began no later than the winter of 2002. The April 11, 2002 vote to approve the contract initially was 25-8 in a body where Republicans hold a 24-9 majority. But legislators learned of the contract for the first time the night of the vote, and were not given a chance to examine it before voting. At least some of the meetings that led to the contract were under auspices of a five-member special committee appointed by Todd, and chaired by Gerentine. The meetings were apparently attended by Murray. At least some of the meetings took place in Todd's office, but those involved say no records are available on who attended or when they took place. "First of all, I didn't know it had to be in the public eye," said Gerentine regarding the Special Committee to Study Casino Gambling. Gerentine was responding to a Freedom of Information act request for minutes and other records of meetings that the special committee or any other county officials had in relation to the Modoc Tribe and its casino applications. "We had various meetings, there were no official minutes taken at those meetings," said Gerentine. "There's no minutes. And I was not aware that any minutes had to be taken."But the lack of meetings is an apparent violation of existing statutes. "It's been part of the state law since 1977," said Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government. He said public officials are obligated to keep written records recording what transpires, even motions that fail. The outcome of any votes, who voted and what their vote was are the minimum acceptable records required in minutes. "That is the function of minutes. The minute constitute the official record, so we can look back and say, this is what we did," Freeman said.The meetings of the special committee have never been announced to the media or the public, either before they occurred or even afterwards, which violates the open meetings law. "Every meeting of a public body must be subject to public notice, given to the news media and the public," said Freeman. Special legislative committees must comply with open meetings statutes. "The law applies in the exact same way to the committee as to the governing body," he said. Even the appointment of the special committee was done quietly. On March 7, 2002, one month before the county legislature approved the deal with the Modoc, Todd sent a letter to the county clerk appointing its members. But rather than notifiy the entire legislature of such key appointments, as is customary, Todd's letter reads only "cc: All appointees" County legislator Joan Feldman, the lone Democratic appointee to the committee, was the only Democrat on the legislature to vote in favor of the contract. She said the special committee has had "about four" meetings, but is not certain if she attended all of them. "When there was a meeting, they would call and tell me, Joan there is a meeting at such and such a time. I was personally informed," she said. But when asked what had precipitated the three-year extension of the contract, she said, "I didn't sit in on that. There wasn't any meeting, I just got a phone call." The committee was not given any charge but was officially titled Special Committee to Study Casino Gambling. Despite a resolution passed by the county legislature requiring use of county departments and personnel, including the planning department, sheriff's and mental health, no studies were ever done. Who was in charge of ensuring follow up? "Ward Todd and Gerentine, they were running this thing," Feldman said. Todd said that it is not his responsibility to ensure that minutes are taken at meetings of the county legislature, even if he is attending those meetings. "I didn't call the meetings, I didn't schedule the meetings and I didn't do any of the work that went along with those meetings. So it was not my responsibility," he said. At least some of the meetings took place in Todd's office at the county office building in Kingston, but Todd said, "I'm not sure if I attended all of them or not." Feldman said that David Lenefsky, an attorney working for the Modoc Tribe, had turned in at least one study to the special committee. She said she believes it isa transportation study, but has not seen it, saying Lenefsky said he had only one copy and would leave it with Todd. Gerentine said he did not know what had become of the study Lenefsky provided. "I have no idea," he said. "I don't have a copy. I don't know who has a copy." Asked what the committee had done to study gambling in Ulster, he said he was researching consulting firms. "That's part of my job as committee chairman," Gerentine said. "I wrote to two or three different firms, I specifically outlined things I would like them to look at and that's what I asked them to look at." Those documents should be available, since all Gerentine's official correspondence to private vendors is a public document, but the letters were not in the file for public viewing available at the county office building. The new contract brought forth by Todd and signed on April 15, 2002 and extended last week between Ulster County and the Modoc Indian Tribe contains some potentially unsettling and costly clauses for the county environment and taxpayers. The contract acknowledges that state environmental laws will not be the standard used in determining the environmental mitigation measures associated with the casino, "by reason of variances, grandfather provisions or other similar laws or provisions." As a sovereign nation, Indian tribes are not held accountable to state laws. Todd and county attorney Frank Murray say the environmental review for any Modoc casino will be the responsibility of the federal bureau of Indian Affairs. They saidsafeguards in that law are comparable to state law. The $15 million annually paid to the county "are in full and complete satisfaction of all local government" claims against the Modoc for impacts from the casino, "whether or not [the impacts are] identified in this Agreement," reads a clause on page two. School taxes may be jolted even higher by a casino project. The contract, on page four, says the Modoc may be responsible for providing funds beyond those agreed to in the contract, for public school enrollment increases attributable "to persons residing on tribal lands."Asked abut the provision, Todd said, " I'm not sure whether the contract would provide additional money to impacted school districts, but claimed it will protect local towns and villages." However, the Modoc cannot be asked to pay any additional money beyond the $15 million annually to the county. And Ulster County has "sole discretion" over how that money is spent, and will compensate what the contract calls Locally Impacted Entities "according to their impacts as determined by the county," reads a clause on page five. But to receive any payment, the clause requires the community must" Support and not oppose the 'Project.'" Additionally, the contract requires the county "Assist the Tribe in responding to negative comments about the Project." The county must also go to court in support of the tribe. Todd and Murray defended the contract as an insurance policy to Ulster County taxpayers they would at least receive some financial considerations if a casino is sited and built in the county. Sewage The portion of Gitter's project that could benefit from using the hamlet's treatment plant would produce 100,000 gallons of waste a day, according to project consultant Gary Gailes, about 30 percent more than the amount produced by the hamlet and Belleyare Ski Center combined, which Gailes estimates to be 60,000 to 70,000 gallons daily.At this week's town board meeting the issue of a sewer extension for Pine Hill was once again raised by Al Frisenda, a resident and employee of Gitter, who has been pushing town supervisor Pete Di Modica to pursue an agreement with New York City for such an extension.The hitch with the extension is, according to Di Modica, that the town would have to sign on to a sewer use ordinance that could cost the town untold amounts of money in the case of litigation arising from enforcement issues. "Most of the heavy lifting for the enforcement of the sewer use ordinance would be done by New York City," said Di Modica in a prepared statement, "Nonetheless, the town would have to bear the cost of prosecuting enforcement actions against those who are not incompliance with the sewer use ordinance."Di Modica explained that the possible costs to those currently using the system could not be borne out by the benefits to be gained by those who would be hooked into it.He turned directly to Frisenda and asked, "Al, don't you ownthree of those properties?" Frisenda owns the building housing Railroad Pizza and two residences in the area proposed for the extension. At a later point in the meeting Nagy asked whether the town would have to adopt a comprehensive plan to getfunding from the city for such an extension, with the rationale being that the town should guide its future development with a vision, not with its sewer lines. Frisenda denied that that was the case. In fact the 1997 Memorandum of Understanding between New York City and the west of Hudson communities states that before funds to build extensions to the city-built and operated wastewater treatment plants are disbursed, "the relevant local government (Town or Village) must take the following actions, to the extent not already taken: (C) Adopt and maintain a comprehensive plan, subdivision regulations and appropriate land use laws and ordinances assuring that future growth within such area(s) can be adequately serviced by, and will not exceed the capacity of, the sewerage collection system and the WWTP to which it is connected." "Perhaps [Frisenda's] misstatement was an attempt to prevent the public from finding out what could very well be behind the loud cry for the so-called "Shuster Plan" by some Crossroads Ventures' employees and supporters," said Nagy the day after the meeting. He was referring to a previous version of the comprehensive plan, which is seen by opponents of the Belleayre project as being toothless and making way for the resort. "It's no secret the developer would love to hook his project to the Pine Hill Sewage Treatment Plant," Nagy said. "With that hope, it seems the developer needs to get a comprehensive plan in place, no matter how bad it is, to get the city to pay for a sewer extension leading towards the Belleayre Ridge portion of the development." Gailes denies Nagy's contentions, saying that the current plan calls for building two treatment plants on site, one to accommodate the Belleayre Ridge side, the other to accommodate the Wild Acres side. "What Mr. Gailes is saying and what seems to be Crossroads'intention through reading the New York State Draft Environmental Impact Statement are two different things," responded Nagy. And even if the project wanted to hook into Pine Hill's treatment plant, Gailes maintains that no extension would be necessary. "The sewer runs right past the entrance to the resort, and could be connected just west of the plant," said Gailes. "It looks like some of that sewage might have to go uphill to get to that point, then," responded Nagy. Eucharist All are here on the day before the fifth Sunday in Lent to take part in an Episcopal service, a service that is as quirky, intelligent, caring and inclusive as are its congregants, a shifting collection of people who have been meeting twice a month since July 2001. This spiritual group was formed as a mission of St. Gregory's, a parish in the Diocese of New York, and alternates its meeting between the Pine Hill firehouse and the lovely old Victorian home of the Smiths. Most of those here today are technically located in the Diocese of Albany, but have chosen to affiliate themselves with that of New York because it is more inclusive and accepting all around, and particularly of those who are openly gay. At each meeting, a biblical passage is read, those gathered silently meditate on it for a few minutes, the passage is read again, and then discussed for 45 minutes or so. While The Reverend T. Gerald Brooks is present, he is largely just another voice in the discussion, not in anyway putting forth his opinions as the correct interpretation of what has been read. And a heady discussion it is, too. Call it Egghead Episcopalianism, ranging over early Christian history, scriptural interpretation, and comparative religions. "Jesus came to take away your sins, not your mind," says Eve later, explaining one of the slogans used by an Episcopal group that she became involved in while a student at Bard College many years ago, a slogan that applies equally well to this group. Today, the discussion centers on a passage from the Gospel of John: "He who loves his life loses it. And he who hates it will keep it for eternity." "If your whole life is wrapped up in everything you do, then you're spiritually dead. If you take a rest from it, then you can connect with the spirit," puts forth Adam Cohen. "But everything I do—whether it's work, writing, or putting seeds in a pot—everything is religious," says Eve, who's having difficulty making sense of the passage. "It's like that saying, 'Do you live to work or work to live?'" says Tiger Buchanan. Eventually, the discussion comes around to mortality. "When you're older, you become invisible to people," says Joyce Granger. "With every year, I'm saying goodbye to something. The day I can't drive a car, or the day I can't read a book…Oh God!" "But you know, everything can be enlarged now," says Eve, who continually brings the discussion back to the pragmatic. "It was like a revelation, the day I discovered that I could go to Kinko's and get everything enlarged." Laughter. On a more serious note, one man present says that he started getting involved in the church just before he was given an HIV positive diagnosis. "It's because of the diagnosis that I even looked for something spiritual," he says. The conversation also heads into the war in Iraq, and whether such a crusade would be conceivable if the tenets of Christianity were being followed. "The idea of owning land or owning oil is so crazy," says Eve. "You only rent anyway," adds Buchanan. After communion is taken, a huge potluck dinner is served: white lasagna, a generous salad with walnuts and pieces of orange, creamed spinach, home-made noodles and a curried cauliflower dish. "I love coming here," says Brooks, who formerly worked for GE, and now has his own consulting business. Brooks was ordained in 1965, but has not practiced as a priest for more than 30 years. "It's been years and years since I've had a job to do, and what a job it is! Everybody's enthusiastic and encouraging. It's fun." It is. All are welcome. The group meets the first and third Saturday of each month. For directions, call: 676-3395; 254-5304 or 518-899-5798.	HOME In this issue Editorial POV Contact us