9/10/2009
Dear Editor,
Rainstorms and lightning, summer trips and fond memories...
I hope this summer has been a time of travel, sharing and
exploration for your family. We are ready to welcome you back
at Bennett, Phoenicia and Woodstock Elementary schools, the
Middle and High school on September 8th! Thanks to the hard
work of our custodial and maintenance staff, the deep cleaning,
floor polishing, replacement and moving will all be done in
time for another year of learning.
We are starting the year with several new staff members. We
are in the process of interviewing for a new Middle School
principal. While we are in that process, Mr. Jack Jordan will
return to Onteora as interim principal.
Mr. Jared Mance is the Director of Facilities and Operations,
following in the footsteps of Mr. Jim O’Neill and Mr.
Pete Giambrone, who both retired last school year. His management
experience with Kingston Mechanical Contractors, Inc. has
already been very valuable to our current projects.
High school and Middle school students are conditioning and
practicing for all of the fall sports. Please mark October
3rd for Homecoming this year. I invite you to introduce yourself
to Mr. Nicholas Millas, our new Director of Physical Education
and Athletic Director, and learn more about our sports teams.
During this school year we will roll out the second phase
of our student information system, Infinite Campus. This will
include training for teachers to provide a parent portal,
and training for staff to launch an auto dialing system for
all-district announcements.
The Board of Education invites you to select from the list
of committee and task force choices, and become actively involved
in supporting our district work. Space on each committee is
limited, and some committees require specific experience and
training. Please contact Fern Amster in the Superintendent’s
Office to sign up.
I would like to share with you some inspiring words about
parenting to reflect on as your children return to school.
In Parenting from the Inside Out, Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, and
Mary Hartzell so eloquently stated the need to be mindful
in our nurturing relationships. Mindfulness is at the heart
of nurturing relationships. When we are mindful, we live in
the present moment and are aware of our own thoughts and feelings
and also are open to those of our children. The ability to
stay present with clarity within ourselves allows us to be
fully present with others and to respect each person’s
individual experience. No two people see things in exactly
the same way. Mindfulness gives respect to the sovereignty
of each person’s unique mind.
When we are being fully present as parents, when we are mindful,
it enables our children to fully experience themselves in
the moment. Children learn about themselves by the way we
communicate with them. When we are preoccupied with the past
or worried about the future, we are physically present with
our children but are mentally absent. Children don’t
need us to be fully available all the time, but they do need
our presence during connecting interactions. Being mindful
as a parent means having intention in your actions. With intention,
you purposefully choose your behavior with your child’s
emotional
well-being in mind. Children can readily detect intention
and thrive when there is purposeful interaction with their
parents. It is within our children’s emotional connections
with us that they develop a deeper sense of themselves and
a capacity or relating.
On another note, as we return to school we think about health
and wellness. We are taking steps to reduce the spread of
flu in Onteora. As you may know, flu can be easily spread
from person to person. We want to keep the schools open to
students and functioning in a normal manner
during flu season, but, we need your help to do this. Here's
what you can do to help:
* Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap
and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good
example by doing this yourself.
* Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks,
food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes
with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the
elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is
unavailable.
* Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the
flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius
or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body
aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also
vomit or have diarrhea.
* Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they
no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without
using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever
at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.
* Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children
who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent
home.
Lastly, please remember that if your child had free or reduced
lunch last year, you must reapply this year. The deadline
for applications (new or reapplying) is October 1st. The application
is available on our website- under Administration, Director
of Food Services. Please contact Christine Downs (657-2373
x241 or cdowns@onteora.k12.ny.us ) with any questions.
We are always happy to hear your comments, questions and feedback.
Please feel free to call my office or send an email. (lford@onteora.k12.ny.us
or 657-6383 x264)
Dr. Leslie Ford, Superintendent
Onteora Central School District
Boiceville, NY
Dear Editor,
Soon we will have a vote concerning the proposed Seasonal
Produce Stand
law. Before the Town Board votes, I want the public to be
aware of the issue.
When I took office last year, Gina Reilly, hired as the new
Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) who was the prior ZEO Glen
Miller's secretary, went after outstanding violations issued
from Glen Miller. One of those in violation was a Roadside
Farm Stand business, in a residential zone, which has been
non-compliant with the law for the past two administrations.
When reviewing the problem, the thinking was that the law
might be too restrictive. It allowed for just a ten by ten
space, selling just produce from a farm owned by the farm
stand operator. There was never a discussion to “shut
anyone down”. Rather the Town Board created a
committee to draft a new “Seasonal Produce Stand”
law that would be less restrictive. The committee was comprised
of Vin Bernstein, Town Board, Rolf Reiss, Zoning Board of
Appeals, Joan Munster, John Horn, both Planning Board, and
Gina Reilly, ZEO. They drafted a law that expanded the size
from 100 square feet to 2000 square feet. In addition to produce,
the new law specified that prepared foods and plants could
also be sold.
Considering our zoning code prohibits “retail sales”
in residential zones and that most of Route 28 is zoned residential
to keep it scenic, this new draft law is super business friendly,
especially considering an applicant can apply for variances
on hours of operation, season of operation, and size of operation.
Please be aware this law is for residential zones, not for
just Route 28 but for all roads throughout town. This could
be next to your home.
The proposed law has seen extensive public and legal review
and has been
approved by the County and Town Planning Boards. Go to our
web site www.shandaken.us and navigate to the notices page
to see the draft law for yourself. Whether this law passes
or not is based on the input from residents to the Town Board
as that is how we arrive at decisions. If the new law does
not pass, the original Roadside Farm Stand law will
remain the law of our town.
Peter DiSclafani, Supervisor
Town of Shandaken
Dear Editor,
The Phoenicia School Board has just solved the problem of
the declining enrollment in their school. Just bus children
from other "community" home schools and put them
into Phoenicia Community School and the problem is solved.
And to further protect their personal agenda, let's write
a policy that will keep class sizes very small. We all know
we can afford to hire more staff.
This new Phoenicia School Board campaigned on "No consolidation",
"No long bus rides for their children", and "No
5-8 Middle School". I guess it is okay for other children
to be on long bus rides from other community schools to balance
the Phoenicia classes.
Master Plan for the future, as their children move to the
Junior/Senior High School and they wonder what happened to
all the great electives. That's right we never addressed the
declining enrollment or maybe we can just bus children from
Saugerties and Rondout districts because I'm sure they have
lots of extra children they can "bus" to us.
Let's look at being fiscally responsible and make a real middle
school. Let's talk about our children's educational future
not the personal agendas of the Phoenicia School Board.
Rick Wolff
Shokan, NY
Dear Editor,
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending three different
local events (out of the dozens on offer), each of which exemplified
the depth of talent in this community, as well as the spirit
of volunteerism, that makes this such a special place to call
home.
Friday saw the opening night of the Shandaken Theatrical Society’s
new Play Fair festival. Featuring six short plays by six local
playwrights, drawing on the considerable acting skills of
local residents, directors and producers, Play Fair had my
teenage son and myself laughing hysterically throughout. It
seems a little unfair to single any play out, as they were
all marvelous, but Tom Cherwin’s “Psychotherapy”
was above and beyond, easily good enough for the national
stage. Play Fair runs until August 30; tickets are $12 and
lower for two hours, a bargain compared to the average movie
(especially allowing for the Theater’s $1 home-made
snacks). Attending an event at the STS, on Church Street in
Phoenicia, is not only good value, but it’s interactive
and supports the arts in the community.
On Saturday, the Phoenicia Park saw a possibly unprecedented
event: a gather of world-class (but locally based) singers
and instrumentalists performing, under a tent, to a crowd
of around 300 people, as what many of us hope will prove only
to be the first Opera In The Park. This fund-raiser, for the
purpose of replacing the antiquated playground equipment in
the Park itself, was a success on so many levels, including
the fact that it brought opera to the (relative) masses; that
it was humorous as well as being classy; that it sought to
incorporate show tunes and piano pieces; that local restaurants
supplied freshly-made food at family-friendly prices…
and that the thunderstorms stayed away until the concert was
over. Credit is due to the community members who not only
envisioned this idea but then had the sheer audacity (and
wherewithal) to see it through. Hopefully, we will soon see
the results in the playground itself.
We were not quite as lucky with the rain on Sunday at Kidstock
on Belleayre Mountain (an event that also served as a fund-raiser
for local animal charity Friends of Snuffy): a massive storm
in mid-afternoon curtailed some of the outdoor activities.
But the rain couldn’t dampen the crowd’s spirits.
The hundreds of kids (and their parents, of course), merely
focused their attentions from the Musical Woodland Journey,
and the Rock'n'roll Fashion Show, and other outdoor events
and stalls, and headed indoors to hear local musicians like
Uncle Rock, and the School of Rock All-Stars, and participate
in the Kids’ Pet Poetry Reading and Air-Guitar contest,
with one fortunate kid winning a genuine electric guitar.
A spirit of child-like wonder rained – sorry, reigned
– throughout the day.
These were only some of the weekend’s myriad activities.
There was modern opera at Mount Tremper Arts, a live show
by Uncle Monk on Main Street in Phoenicia, the ongoing exhibitions
at Arts Upstairs and Cabane Studios, not to mention the dozens
of others shows, concerts, movies, gallery openings, and various
performances taking place all the way up and down what we
sometime call “the Route 28 corridor” but which
we can also consider, more poetically, the Heart of the Catskills.
We are, truly, blessed to live in such a thriving area.
Tony Fletcher
Mount Tremper, NY
Dear Editor,
A remarkable thing happened recently in Phoenicia. We had
the pleasure of having an evening of opera, performed by three
world-class stars, who happen to live here, all within arms
length of the audience. To these performers, Kerry Henderson,
Maria Todaro and Louis Otey, we cannot express enough our
thanks for their gift to us. They generously shared the beauty
of their voices, while helping us further realize our vision
of raising monies for much-needed playground equipment in
our little park. And, not only did we get closer to our goal
– along the way we discovered some other lessons of
great import. By doing these fundraisers, we’ve uncovered
a group of dedicated people, who with little fanfare have
worked tirelessly together towards a greater goal. And, we’ve
really enjoyed this camaraderie – and want our circle
to continue to expand. And, while we hoped to obtain playground
equipment – our two fundraisers – the outdoor
movie night – and the opera – have further served
to make us realize how varied programming for our little town
park will draw a wider audience, and have real value for our
community. There is so much potential. At the opera performance,
excited attendees were talking about how great it would be
to have an outdoor band shell. Suffice it to say, there was
lots of positive energy inspired by the opera, and its seeds
will go far.
Some of the many people and businesses who came together to
make this event possible are:
Performers: Kerry Henderson, Maria Todaro, Louis Otey;
Pianists: Justin Kolb, Jennifer Peterson;
The Community Choral Group of the Catskills directed by Richard
Tucker and Maria Todaro;
Electrician – John Hansen;
Sound: Jon and Amanda Simaretta and Syntonic Design Group;
Cindy Jewett- coordinator;
Stage Construction - Glen Leisching, Vinny Wallace, JD Louis,
John Hansen, Cindy Jewett,
Stage Materials: Scot Griffin;
Concession: Mary Garraffa, Rebecca Ffrench, Bethany Saltman,
Eugenia Krause, Maxanne Resnick, Heather Roberts, Grace Louis,
Michele Garner;
Ticket Sales: Susan Robertson, Doris Bartlett, Barbara Redfield,
Dave Pillard/Tenderland Home, Pine Hill Community Center,
Lori’s Creative Cafe;
Parking: Mike, Vinny Wallace, JD Louis, Dylan Jewett, Town
Tinker, EBGormley Funeral Home, Bruce Winchell;
Program : Vinny and Amy Wallace and the Shandaken Theatrical
Society; Graphics: Kurt Boyer;
Piano: Vincitore’s;
Food Donations: Bread Alone, Peekamoose, Full Moon Resort,
Jabelli’s Bakery, La Duchesse Anne, The Catskill Rose,
Hanover Farms, Hong Kong of Boiceville, Flora Fernandez, Mary
Garraffa, Rebecca Ffrench, Eugenia Krause, Barbara Redfield,
The Phoenicia Market;
Marketing: The Phoenicia Times, WAMC, WDST, Michele Garner
and Kerry Henderson coordinating;
Restroom Facilities: Harmony Builders;
Choir Practice: The Phoenicia Methodist Church;
Chair rental loans: St Francis De Sales;
Paper Lanterns: made by the children of Windy Ridge Preschool
and Woodland Playhouse;
Video: Reaching Roots Studios, Ian Laughlin ;
Parish Field Fundraising coordinated by Shandaken Parks and
Recreation Committee;
Other Noteworthy Supporting Community Members: Amanda Rubin,
Ricarda O’Connor, The Wilsey Family, The entire Gormley
FamilyJ, Kadesha, and Stella, the singing dog.
Heather Roberts
Phoenicia, NY
Dear Editor,
Friends of Snuffy would like to thank Mel Litoff and the Belleayre
Music Festival for producing Kidstock, Michael Lang, The School
of Rock, Our Host, Uncle Rock and all the musical talent that
made the Rock and Roll Fashion Show and the Woodland Musical
Journey so magical. We could not have done this without our
board, all of our wonderful volunteers, vendors and sponsors
and Kurt Boyer's design for helping us get the word out.
Also thanks to the Phoenicia Times for their support and everyone
else who supported us during this event. But most of all the
kids and their families who donated pet food and money to
the Pet Food Pantry. We could not have done it without all
of you.
THANK YOU
Friends of Snuffy
DeaDear Editor,
You often hear about what the youth are doing - all negative;
but let me tell you about what two young boys did today.
The Seniors were having their twice a month meeting and when
the meeting ended at 2 o'clock, they exited the United Methodist
Church hall to go their ways. One of the members of "the
club" dropped her pocket book on the lawn of the church.
Around 2:30 PM, two young boys, Ian Jameson from Shokan and
Ethan Carr from Hurley came into the hall to ask if anyone
lost their pocketbook. Upon looking through the bag, some
members who always remain and play Canasta, found the name
of the owner. She was called and notified about the recovery.
A huge THANK YOU to two young people who thoughtfully brought
the pocket book to the church. Many times you read in the
paper about the not so good antics of our youth, but here
is proof of the positive integrity of some of our local youth.
I was one of the six witnesses of this act and we were all
moved by this action.
Lois Higgins
Lanesville, NY
Dear Editor,
We need a program that preserves Medicare and Medicaid; offers
Affordable Health Care Coverage for Everyone; a public option
must be included for anyone without insurance; it must include
priority coverage for basic preventative health care and wellness
care; equity in outcomes; it must be portable from job to
job to unemployment to students who age out of family coverage;
it must offer choice with cost controls; employers must contribute;
and everyone must be covered.
Congress and the Federal Government should wake up and check
out the State of Oregon Health Care program or DMAP. Visit
the following link and read about a program that has been
in place since 1994: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/aboutdhs/structure/dmap.shtml
The most important statements are: Prioritized list of Health
Services, emphasis on
Preventative Care and no one can lose their health coverage.
No one in Oregon can be denied Health Coverage - one program
or another will pick the resident up - Medicare, Medicaid,
Employer based, individuals, unemployed, students, high risk
patients, those with pre-existing conditions. All you need
to do is become a resident of Oregon and you will have health
care coverage. If you cannot contribute to the cost; the State
will pay from some other source in their budget.
All the scare tactics being used by the opponents to Health
Care Reform are answered by the State of Oregon Health Care
Program. It would certainly be a good starting point for our
Congress to consider and adopt.
Vic Work
Wallkill, NY
Dear Editor,
I, Erik Karwatowski, am asking for your help with a great
fundraiser I am participating in this September. Seven Connecticut
College students and I will bike 300 miles from New York City
to Washington, D.C as part of the Brita Climate Ride 2009.
The ride consists of hundreds of cyclists pedaling in a 5-day,
300 mile ride to raise money for three important organizations,
increase awareness of climate change, and support renewable
energy legislation.
In order for me to participate however, I must raise at least
$2,500 in pledges. Your dollars will help support the growing
network of urban pathways rhough Rails-to Trails Conservancy,
civic engagement through Focus the Nation, and implementing
carbon-emissions reducing solutions to climate change through
Clean Air-Cool Planet. Not only will your donations be going
to leaders in the fight for a greener world but it will also
be uniting a wide array of experts and student leaders for
a beautiful trip. Not to mention helping 8 college students
get in shape.
In addition to the students participating in the ride, another
Connecticut College student will be joining us to make a documentary
of the trip, which will be distributed to tv stations, entered
in independent film festivals, and posted on the web. She
is also working with news stations to provide footage for
new stories, and different organizations who want to use footage
for their various programs.
Your donation, no matter the size, will be greatly appreciated.
Please send it to me at 111 High Mountain Road, W. Shokan,
NY 12494
Erik Karwatowski
West Shokan, NY
Dear Editor,
The big question for me now is, will they succeed in turning
We the People against each other. It clearly is their goal,
since they now know that they have nothing to lose because
their ideology has failed them. This became clear when they
used the term Nazi for our President. This has nothing to
do with philosophy, or for that matter anything remotely connected
to thought. Thought is now in the past. Those of us who have
not been taken over by the "brain snatchers" can
argue amongst ourselves whether to bail out banks versus people,
whether to finance protection of the earth versus whether
to finance murderous contractors. All of that is small stuff.
No child left behind worked. All of our youth's brain functioning
was taken away from science, healing, arts and philosophy,
and put into Wall Street. The American Dream was theirs if
they would just put a small down payment of a piece of their
souls, and commit to a lifetime of numbers. To make the commitment
even easier for them, they were told that they could hold
on to their souls, by contributing some of their money to
the needy, and get a tax deduction. What they didn't account
for, is that once the erosion of the souls begin, they would
eventually reach a no turning back point, just like in all
the vampire stories.
To turn this letter into some more practical information,
I'd like to move on to Medicare. I have a number of baby boomer
friends, who actually believe that they should hold on to
the private insurance that they had gotten from the office.
Now, I know that my friends can't possibly be stupid, so let's
use the term "un-informed", (although I'd prefer
mis-informed). If Medicare is not your primary health care
choice, and is instead your secondary, you have been had.
FYI: There are two basic parts, (leaving out the add-ons)
to your Medicare insurance. Your primary and your secondary.
The primary makes the decisions and the secondary just pays
20% of whatever the primary decides to pay. So, if you have
an HMO as your primary, you are limited to their choice of
doctors, their choice of care, their choice of everything
relating to your health care. Medicare, then adds an extra
20% of whatever they rule on. Count them out on any appeals,
etc. It's not their job, when they are secondary.
On the other hand, if Medicare is your primary, they make
all of the decisions. At the present time, Medicare covers
80% of just about everything you want.
For me, it covers any doctor I wish to see, for as many visits
as I wish to have, in many other States, as well as New York
State. So, if you want to go to a specialist in a particular
disease out of State, you can travel there, and pay only for
your own travel expenses. Medicare pays for all doctors that
accept Medicare, which is just about all doctors that are
in medicine in order to heal. (Some alternative practitioners
are not included). It also pays for any tests that the doctor
requires, and probably overpays for that, (but that's another
story). Of course, when you chose Medicare as your primary,
they pay 80% of all that I've listed, including hospital stays,
re-hab, long term care, etc. Then, you get to choose your
secondary. That company, (whoever is available in your area)
pays the additional 20% of what's left after Medicare pays
the 20%. Secondaries do not make the decisions, when Medicare
is your primary.
I don't know if I've made this clear enough. I know that there
are people that charge fees for trying to explain this. I'm
doing the best I can, in the limited space I have in a letter.
You can go to your nearest Medicare office, and get further
information. The bottom line is: Let's not absorb any of the
lies that are coming out about health care. Let's get to the
truth and then decide. And let's block dangerous people from
Town Hall meetings, and remove any that speak out of turn
and regain our right to listen and to speak to our representatives.
Why are we allowing this to happen?
Jill Paperno
Glenford, NY
Dear Editor,
Since 2003, the Phriends of Phoenicia has been a small group
of volunteers dedicated to Main Street Beautification in Phoenicia.
We plant and tend the public gardens in town and we help maintain
Simpson Park. Many people enjoy our gardens under the Phoenicia
sign at the Bridge Street entrance to the hamlet and along
the “Boardwalk” in town.
We are hoping that people who enjoy these gardens could make
a donation for the flowers. We are totally funded through
donations. We raise the money for the flowers we plant. A
donation of just ten dollars, even five dollars, would be
a great gift to these gardens. You can send a donation to
Phriends of Phoenicia, PO Box 278, Phoenicia 12464.
Also, sometimes we need extra people for a specific, occasional
project. It could be a job like raking leaves, cutting vines,
planting flowers, planting bulbs, watering the gardens, or
filling in for a member who is on vacation. If you would like
to be a "special projects" volunteer, call 688-7314
to sign up . We will contact you only when we have a project,
to ask if you are available.
We know there are many people who would like to help make
Phoenicia more beautiful, and we look forward to your support.
And remember – you don't need to hesitate to bend down
and pick up the litter you see on the sidewalks – together
we can help Phoenicia's beauty shine!
Thanks,
Elizabeth Holland Kern for the
Phriends of Phoenicia
Dear Editor,
I am writing to urge people to (enjoy and) support a new local
business: the Alchemy Cafe, located in the same complex as
the Bear Cafe, the Bearsville Theater and WDST on Rt. 212
in Bearsville. Alchemy is a wonderful place to hear music
and enjoy good food and friends. There are open mics every
Wednesday (music) and Thursday (poetry), as well as regular
music shows over the weekends.
As many local musicians have discovered, Alchemy provides
a superb context for the performer, which in turn means good
things for the audience. The founders, Stephanie Izarek and
Nick Martin, are to be congratulated for bringing this most
welcome addition to our community. Go to Alchemy! You'll be
glad you did!
For more information, see their web page at: alchemyofwoodstock.com
Luke Hunsberger
Shady, NY
Dear Editor,
Jennifer Holz writes often moving pieces about life on the
farm and kids growing up. By all accounts, she also does great
work in the community. She is not blind to the suffering of
animals but, in the way she described her cat's nasty habits,
she may have shown a lack of sensitivity. This does not make
her a bad person. We have all said and done things that we
later wish we could take back. Our attitudes change over time
as a result of our experiences. Living on a farm, Ms Holz
may have a less sentimental attitude toward animal life than
an animal rescuer such as Ms Shalaew. By the way, I assume
Ms Shalaew is a vegetarian because you can't get much more
inhumane than the way cows, pigs and chickens are treated
on factory farms. In any case, a bell collar for Kitty and
a simple apology for the unintended offence would probably
have done the trick.
Matt Frisch
Arkville, NY
Dear Editor,
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified e-waste
as the fastest growing component of the solid waste stream.
E-waste typically contains toxic and potentially hazardous
constituents. Manufacturers do not pay for the cost to safely
manage electronic products at the end of their useful life.
Instead, the responsibility and costs for proper recycling
for e-waste have been borne by local recycling programs, and
by extension, taxpayers.
It is time for manufacturers to take responsibility for the
disposal of electronic products at the end of their useful
life. In June, the New York State Assembly passed an e-waste
recycling bill (A.9049) that promotes better product stewardship.
The State Senate needs to follow suit and adopt an identical
bill, S.6047, when it returns for a special legislative session
this fall. Similar legislation has been passed in 18 states,
as well as New York City, and it would be a big step in the
right direction for all New Yorkers that care about recycling
and the environment.
Shifting primary responsibility for e-waste management from
local recycling programs to manufacturers is a critical first
step to advancing true product stewardship in New York State.
As a result, manufacturers would have incentives to design
more sustainable products that are less toxic and easier to
recycle, while creating green jobs as part of e-waste take
back programs -- all at no costs to local taxpayers.
Dianne Woske, President
New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling,
Inc.
Dear Editor,
This is to share our experience dealing with Japanese Knotweed,
that invasive non-native plant that is expanding rapidly throughout
Ulster, Greene and Delaware Counties, among other parts of
our state.
Although government funds to address the problem have been
allocated to local agencies and nonprofit organizations, the
destructive plant is spreading so rapidly--along Route 28,
for example, as well as on Interstate 87 and down to the Pallisades
Parkway--that citizens should consider dealing with the issue
directly, at least where knotweed is found on their own property.
As most people know, knotweed "poses a significant threat
to riparian [stream or river-bank] areas, where it can survive
severe floods and is able to rapidly colonize scoured shores
and islands,” according to the Plant Conservation Alliance.
The more it spreads, the more it suffocates native plant life.
Last weekend, we discovered several bushes of the invader
growing on a small watery hillside on our property at Broadstreet
Hollow, Allaben. Gearing up for what we thought would be a
Herculean task, akin to uprooting a thick, dead tree trunk,
we were surprised to find that the plant is easily cut, and
in some cases, easily removed by the roots. We simply got
down on our hands and knees and broke off the stems as close
to the roots as possible. The stems, being hollow, often snap.
Where they didn't break off, we cut them with a small, hand
held grass cutter. A sharp camping knife would have done just
as well. It took us about an hour to complete the cutting
and uprooting.
Then, we made sure to stuff all the debris--stems, leaves,
white flowers--into plastic garbage bags, which are now on
the way to be buried under tons of landfill. It's important
to check that every leaf, stem section and flower is removed
from the site, because knotweed expands precisely through
such castoffs.
An alternative to bagging the debris is to burn them, which
obviously needs to be done with great care.
We know that the tiny stem remains that we could not uproot
will, next season, sprout up again, and that we will probably
have to perform the operation again year after year, until
the roots are thoroughly exhausted. We also know that tackling
a few bushes is much easier than dealing with a virtual forest
of knotweed, as is developing in so many parts of our community.
But it's worth it. We can all make a contribution to controlling,
if not eradicating, this toxic pest.
Nathan Weber, Wendy Most
Broadstreet Hollow, NY
Dear Editor,
Shandaken Day at Big Indian was a wonderful event! In spite
of the the threatening weather the rain held off and the people
came. I am grateful we have an annual celebration like this
where we can connect as a community and enjoy each other’s
fellowship.
I especially want to thank the Phoenicia Rotary Club for sharing
their tent that day with the Walkway Flag Workshop project.
Our town’s Rotarians are truly special people and donate
so much of their time and resources to make Phoenicia, (and
the rest of the world) a better place. Phoenicia Rotary has
been very supportive of the upcoming procession over the highest
pedestrian bridge in the world. It will be exciting for Shandaken
to be one of 50 Ulster and Dutchess County towns parading
our community-made flags on the Walkway Over the Hudson on
Oct 3! All Shandakenites and friends are invited to march
with our town that day (go to walkway.org for more information).
Please remember to get all flags to me by September 20th (
I will come pick up!) and if you are interested in making
a flag for Shandaken, please contact me for materials ASAP
at jwdragon@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Jen Dragon
Chichester, NY