9/24/2009
CWC Takeover?
The Shandaken Town Board is looking to take themselves,
and therefore politics, out of the mix that has been the
Phoenicia sewer dilemma. The board agreed to hear details
about the possibility of handing over the $17 million
fund provided by New York City for the hamlet’s
long-promised wastewater project to the Catskill Watershed
Corporation, which is handling the sewer installation
in Boiceville, in hopes that CWC can find a way to get
a system designed that is acceptable to the majority of
Phoenicia residents.
Despite some concernsvoiced at the recent town board meeting
where this came up, the neighboring town of Olive’s
system is nearing completion with hardly a complaint...
and came to pass via a smooth referendum process.
To date Shandaken, and Phoenicia, has been the only community
that has rejected the city’s sewer financing offer,
by a relatively close vote three winters ago.
Stay tuned...
Local Energy!
Comments are being filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission in opposition to the City of New York’s
plan to use what is known as the “Traditional Licensing
Process” to try and obtain a license for the City’s
use of their reservoirs for hydropower, implying that
such a strong green effort should not be treated in typical
bureaucratic fashion.
The Delaware County Electric Cooperative is seeking to
develop hydro based energy from the City reservoirs, which
the City is now saying it wants to undertake at four of
its reservoirs – Schoharie, Neversink, Cannonsville,
and Pepacton – on its own.
Talk about turf battles.
“The hydro power capable of being generated by the
City’s reservoirs could have tremendous benefit
to our region,” said state senator John Bonacic
in a statement. “A slower, less public process is
clearly not in the best interest of the people of the
watershed and surrounding communities… Our local
officials are rightly concerned that a hydro power project
could be developed in their back yard , without a real
opportunity for them to participate and in a way which
does not guarantee the best local benefits.”
In addition to Senator Bonacic, United States Senator
Charles Schumer and Congressman Maurice Hinchey have also
weighed in urging the City to move faster.
At least the discussion’s finally moving…
Whispered...
There has been a rising amount of campaign whispering
of late about an alleged investigation by the NYS Attorney
General into the Shandaken Town Board, and in particular
Supervisor Peter Di-Sclafani. That talk spilled over into
the town board meeting on September 15 when Big Indian
resident Al Frisenda urged the board to hold of on passing
a produce stand law becausehe said he believed that the
town board’s handling of that matter is a prime
focus of the investigation. Asked how he knew there was
an investigation, Frisenda said he had been in contact
with two people that had been contacted by the Attorney
General’s office for questioning. While one of those
people went unnamed, the other was Al Higley, the operator
of the farm stand in Mount Tremper that created the need
for a produce stand law in the first place, and someone
that has been battling the town board over the proposed
law.
Lee Park, a spokesman for the Attorney General, said Monday
that the office does not comment on its activities, real
or imagined, in any way and neither confirmed or denied
that an investigation is underway.
When polled, no one on the town board had been contacted
by the Attorney General. And word was that the other peson
“contacted” had in fact been another local
resident who had originally contacted the state with complaints,
none of them apparently criminal in nature.
Flu Shots!
The Ulster County Health Department will hold its annual
seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccination clinics
beginning on Monday, September 28 in Kingston, and including
a stop in Olive next month. No appointments are necessary,
and county residents may attend any site which is convenient.
All Ulster County adult residents aged 18 and over, who
want to reduce their risk of becoming ill with influenza
or of transmitting influenza to others are encouraged
to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. The high-risk group
is particularly encouraged which, includes people 50 and
over, as well as adults aged 18 and over who have heart
disease, chronic broncho-pulmonary disease, renal disease,
diabetes mellitus, other chronic metabolic disorders,
severe anemia and/or compromised immune function, and
others who are at risk of influenza-related conditions
such as pregnant women. Influenza vaccine is also recommended
for home care providers and others (including household
members) who may be in close contact with high-risk individuals.
Senior citizens who have Medicare Part B benefits will
be able to obtain their vaccinations through Medicare.
The recipient must be entitled to Part B coverage on the
date of service, Medicare Part B must be the primary insurance
coverage, and the Medicare Card must be presented on the
date of service. For those not eligible for Medicare Part
B coverage, there will be a $20 charge for influenza vaccination
and a $35 charge for pneumococcal vaccination, payable
at the clinic.
Individuals who were immunized last year are NOT protected
against this year’s type, and should receive the
new vaccine.
The first flu shot session takes place on Monday, September
28 from 9:00 AM to 12 noon at St. John’s Episcopal
Church, 207 Albany Avenue in Kingston; followed by similar
morning hours on Friday, October 2 in the Trudy Resnick
Farber Building at 50 Center Street in Ellenville; on
Monday, October 5 at VFW Post 8645, 101 Rte. 208 in New
Paltz, on Wednesday, October 7 at Ulster Town Hall in
Lake Katrine; on Friday October 9 at Town Hall, 284 Broadway,
Port Ewen; on Thursday, October 15 at the Saugerties Senior
Center, 207 Market Street, Saugerties; on Monday, October
19 at the Hurley Reformed Church, 11 Main Street, Hurley;
On Wednesday, October 21 in the Woodstock Rescue Squad
Building, 226 Tinker Street, Rte. 212 in Woodstock, and
on Tuesday, October 27 in the Ashokan Legion Hall, 26-28
Mountain Road in Shokan.
For recorded information about dates and times, please
call the Ulster County Health Department Flu Hotline at
340-3093. Information can also be obtained at www.UlsterCountyNY.gov/health.
Unemployment?
New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate climbed from 8.6 percent in July to 9.0 percent in
August, its highest level since April, 1983, the State
Labor Department reported recently. New York City’s
rate also increased, jumping from 9.5 percent in July
to 10.3 percent in August, its highest level since May,
1993.
“Our latest labor market report indicates that employers
in New York State cut jobs at a more modest pace than
employers nationwide and our statewide unemployment rate
remained below the nation’s rate. However, the number
of unemployed New Yorkers in August reached its highest
recorded level,” said Peter A. Neenan, Ph.D., Director
of the Division of Research and Statistics.
In regional trends, the new stats show that in the Kingston
area, the number of nonfarm jobs has decreased by 400
since August 2008, or 0.6 percent, and the number of private
sector jobs has decreased by 1,400, or 2.9 percent. The
area’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August
2009, compared with 8.1 in July and 5.7 in August 2008.
In the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area, meanwhile,
the number of nonfarm jobs has decreased by 6,400, or
2.5 percent, for the same year-to-year period, and the
number of private sector jobs has decreased by 6,400,
or 3.1 percent. The area’s unemployment rate was
8.1 percent in August 2009, compared with 8.2 in July
and 5.4 in August 2008. In more affluent Putnam-Rockland-Westchester,
the number of nonfarm jobs has decreased by 11,200, or
1.9 percent, and the number of private sector jobs has
decreased by 10,500, or 2.2 percent. The area’s
unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in August 2009, compared
with 7.3 in July and 5.0 in August 2008.
Watershed Talks
Four hundred years after Henry Hudson, can we paint a
clear picture of the ecological health of the Hudson River
and its tributaries, including the entire Catskills part
of the river’s vast watershed?
Such matters will be discussed next week, on September
29 and 30, at a State of the Hudson River Watershed Conference:
Ecological Status of the Waters of the Hudson River and
its Tributaries to be held at the FDR Museum’s Hyde
Park Vistor’s Center.
This conference will summarize what we know about current
conditions and trends in the ecological integrity of the
region’s running waters, and examine key policy
and management issues related to those trends. It will
also explore the question of which environmental indicators
best communicate ecosystem health for environmental policy
makers, managers, and the general public.
The conference program is intended to promote a regional
discussion on development of a periodic “vital signs
report” on the waters of the Hudson River watershed.
The conference is the seventh annual meeting of the Hudson
River Watershed Alliance (HRWA), and is being coordinated
by HRWA and the Hudson River Environmental Society (HRES).
Co-sponsoring organizations and agencies include Estuary
Training Program of the NYSDEC Hudson River National Estuarine
Research Reserve, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies,
U.S. Geological Survey, Clearwater, The Nature Conservancy,
Hudson River Estuary Program of the NYS Dept. of Environmental
Conservation, Scenic Hudson, Hudson Basin River Watch,
National Park Service, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential
Library and Museum.
For more details please visit www.hudsonwatershed.org
or www.hres.org.
Cauliflower!
The Seventh Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival,
to be held in the Margaretville Village Park Saturday,
Sept. 26, will feature two new attractions: Catskill Forest
and Wood Products exhibits and demonstrations; and a tent
full of farm-related fun for youngsters. The festival,
sponsored by the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce,
is free and will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. Entertainment, art, cooking demonstrations, history
exhibits and much more will also be featured.
Celebrating the agricultural heritage of the region, the
event this year will highlight the connection between
farm and forest with displays and exhibitions coordinated
by the Catskill Forest Association and supported by the
Watershed Agricultural Council’s Forestry Program.
Festival goers will also enjoy demonstrations of horse
logging, timber milling, firewood processing, apple cider
making and chainsaw carving.
The free Festival (cauliflowerfestival.com), which runs
rain or shine from 10 to 4, pays tribute to an era when
cauliflower production played an important role in the
region’s social and economic life.
And what about the festival’s key subject and its
use as a food?
Instructors and students from the SUNY Delhi Hospitality
Dept. will prepare cauliflower and rice pudding, butternut
squash soup and other delectables. Jenny and Dick Liddle,
who raise grass fed beef on their Halcottsville farm,
will prepare a beef dish using cauliflower. Cauliflower
soup, quiche and wraps, and more traditional fare like
hot dogs, barbecue and fried dough, will be available
from local restaurants and food vendors. Maple syrup and
cider making demos will be conducted by Catskill Forestry
Association (CFA staff), while maple memorabilia loaned
by the VanBenschoten family will be on view.
Meanwhile, in the History Tent, the Historical Society
of the Town of Middletown will host “When Cauliflower
Was King,” an exhibit that explains the cauliflower
growing industry which flourished from the 1890s through
the 1950s, and lasted into the 1990s. Cool nights, mild
days, and mineral-rich soils produced premium grade cauliflower
and Brussels sprouts which were sold to markets throughout
the Northeast, providing supplemental income to small
dairy farmers in the Catskills.
The Cauliflower Festival is supported by the A. Lindsay
and Olive B. O’Conner Foundation, Pure Catskills
program of the Watershed Agricultural Council, the New
York City Department of Environmental Protection, and
many Chamber business members and individuals.
For more information on these and other festival highlights,
go to www.cauliflowerfestival.com.
Beware The Knees
. During their lifetimes, an estimated 45 percent of Americans
will develop knee osteoarthritis, a common kind of arthritis
that wears away cartilage cushioning the knee joint, according
to a study in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and University
of North Carolina researchers based the findings on data
from 3,068 people age 45 and older in North Carolina.
Obese people had a higher risk, with the extra weight
putting additional stress on the knee joint. While 35
percent of normal-weight people got osteoarthritis of
the knee, 65 percent of obese people developed it, along
with 44 percent of overweight people, the researchers
said.
Many factors can cause arthritis — namely genetics,
sedentary lifestyles and joint injuries. There were no
significant differences in risk associated with sex, race
or education level, the researchers said.
In addition, a report by an agency of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services showed that hospitalizations
due to osteoarthritis rose to 735,000 in 2006 from 322,000
in 1993, mostly due to an increase in knee replacement
operations. From 2000 to 2006, knee replacement surgery
rates rose 65 percent, while hip replacement surgery rates
rose 21 percent, according to the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality.
Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease,
is the most common type of arthritis. It can affect any
joint but most often affects the hands, hips, knees and
spine. It worsens over time and there is no cure. The
pain can be disabling and doctors may recommend joint
replacement surgery.
Ah! Kindness…
Up in the Big Indian/Oliverea valley, local moms and entrepreneurs
Calandra Cruickshank and Dana Valdez of have created a
grassroots economic plan designed to benefit families,
local merchants and over one million US non-profits, aiming
to alleviate some of today’s most pressing economic
concerns. Www.CommonKindness.com is their new, free website
that leverages online coupons to create an innovative
and socially responsible “economic stimulus plan”
to help people save money while stimulating business sales
and generating sustainable funds for non-profit organizations.
The idea is simple: Historically, a stimulus done as a
cash payment or tax rebate will only result in about 17
percent being spent on consumer goods or services. But
when incentives are offered in the form of redeemable
coupons or discounts, about 57 percent of consumers are
likely to make a purchase.
CommonKindness offers consumers thousands of national
and local coupons and brand discounts. Each time a person
prints a coupon with www.CommonKindness.com, funds are
generated from advertising fees paid by the companies
posting their coupons. CommonKindness shares 60 percent
of its profits with the charities and causes coupon clippers
select from a list of over 1 million non-profits included
on the site.
“People can save an average of $1,300 a year on
their groceries and other purchases by clipping coupons
with CommonKindness,” said Cruickshank, who has
also authored a piece on the new effort for Huffington
Post. “Our ‘coupons with a conscience’
allow people to ‘give back’ to non-profits
they are passionate about, from their child’s soccer
team to a national non-profit, even when they may not
have extra money to donate or time to volunteer.”
Www.CommonKindness.com was founded in 2009 by a board
of ‘kindness-oriented’ executives and philanthropists
seeking a socially responsible company to support, including
founding chairman Andrew McGovern Martin, who was also
founding chairman of several successful businesses and
non-profit organizations, including SmartFood, inc. and
Annie’s Homegrown.
For further information visit the website or call 254-4535.
Also, coming up in a future issue… The two Olive
schoolgirls, Correy Mcglyn and Natalie Rubin, who were
selling their jewelry at Olive Day so proceeds could go
to the Make A Wish Foundation and have since started their
own foundation, visible at charms4children.webs.com.
Doesn’t altruism feel good?
Housing Help
NYHousingSearch.gov, a free, online housing listing &
locator service, has been launched by the state’s
division of housing & community renewal to help landlords
& renters fill and find vacancies for locally affordable
housing. The website offers property owners & managers
a free place to advertise available housing, and tenants
seeking rentals a place to find it. Landlords or tenants
can also use the service by calling its toll-free call
center at 1-877-428-8844.
Also, middle-class New Yorkers may soon be able to hire
contractors to do $13,000 worth of home improvements like
adding insulation and buying new furnaces, storm windows
and water heaters — and never cut a check to the
contractor. The new bill awaiting action by Gov. David
Paterson would create a revolving loan fund that allows
consumers to pay off the project costs over time through
their residential and business utility bills, benefiting
at the same time from savings from the energy efficiencies.
Contractors would be paid from the loan fund, which the
Legislature wants to prime with $112 million of state
proceeds from selling carbon emission permits to businesses
that pollute. Passed recently by the Senate 50-8, the
bill gives the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority six months to start the program
Program specifics, including contractors, financing mechanisms
and loan rates, have yet to be determined.
Gas Drilling?
Finally, the regional outcry against natural gas drilling
in the Catskills and surrounding areas seems to be having
an effect on the businesses actually seeking permits to
hunt for fast-fading energy sources.
One of the leading players in the brouhaha, Chesapeake
Appalachia, LLC, is asking for more time on its application
to withdraw a large amount of water from the West Branch
of the Upper Delaware River to facilitate Marcellus Shale
natural gas prospecting on the Pennsylvania side of the
river across the river from Delaware County NY. A public
hearing previously scheduled on their permit request by
the Delaware River Basin Commission for Wednesday, September
23, in Pike County PA, will now be rescheduled to a later
date at the request of the applicant.
The public comment period on the revised draft will remain
open beyond September 30; and the Commission will no longer
be considering the Chesapeake docket at its October 22
business meeting.
Now, for the state of New York’s process of deciding
parameters on how far it will go to protect the region’s
vast watershed concerns…
That Murder...
Daniel L. Malak entered a “not guilty” plea
to the 1996 Samsonville-area bludgeoning death of 15-year-old
Joseph Martin through his attorney before Ulster County
Judge Deborah Schneer on September 10. The other person
accused in Martin’s death, Alexander Barsky, pleaded
guilty to manslaughter last year. Martin, Barsky and Malak
all attended Rondout Valley High School at the time of
the killing.
Malak, 29, was indicted on Sept. 1 by an Ulster County
grand jury for second degree murder for allegedly bludgeoning
Martin to death in March 1996. The former Kerhonkson resident
is currently serving 20 years to life in state prison
for the 1997 shooting death of New York City resident
George Allison, 62, at Allison’s weekend home, also
in Samsonville.
Martin slipped out of his Samsonville home, near the Rochester-Olive
town line, after dark on March 25, 1996, to meet Malak
and Barsky, ostensibly for a night of comet watching,
and he never was seen again. Investigators questioned
both Malak and Barsky at the time but didn’t charge
either of them. Both told police that Martin never showed
up at the intended rendezvous spot. Martin was classified
as a missing person for the next 12 years but under renewed
police questioning in May 2008, Barsky, a 27-year-old
Brooklyn resident at the time, admitted his role in Martin’s
death and was charged with second-degree murder.
Barksy pleaded guilty in August 2008 to a reduced charge
of manslaughter, and because he was 15 when Martin was
killed, he was sentenced to only 3-1/3 to 10 years in
state prison.
Barsky said in court that he and Malak intended to “hurt”
Martin because Martin had stolen money from Barsky a few
days earlier. Barsky said Malak devised a plan to lure
Martin to a makeshift cabin in the woods, and he said
Malak struck the first two blows to Martin’s head
with a 2-foot-long metal pipe. Barsky said he then struck
the unconscious Martin in the head twice more. Barsky
told police he and Malak hid Martin’s body in a
cave-like indentation among some rocks near the intersection
of Schwabie Turnpike and Samsonville Road in Kerhonkson.
Barsky then said during a court appearance last year that
he came back to the spot several years later, retrieved
Martin’s bones, took them to New York City and dumped
them in several trash cans.
If convicted of murder, Malak, who also was a juvenile
at the time of Martin’s death, could be sentenced
to a minimum prison term of 7-1/2 years to life and a
maximum of 15 years to life.
Gun Buyback
A first-time gun buy-back program held by the City of
Kingston recently was deemed a success by event organizers
after the city’s police department collected a total
of 27 handguns, shotguns and rifles in a five-hour span,
with all but three of the guns turned in illegal and four
or five actually loaded.
“That is that many less for our officers to face,”
Keller said. “The concealed weapons, the handguns
and smaller shotguns - those are the ones that we want
the most. It’s better for the neighborhood and for
our officers to have those weapons off the streets.”
The handguns will be turned over to the state Police and
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms before
being destroyed. The rifles were to be destroyed immediately.
Moses Edwards, a chaplain and representative of the Chaplain
Crisis Response Ministries of Kingston and Newburgh, brought
the buy-back idea to Keller and was overjoyed with the
response.
Those who have objected to the program, including the
Federated Sportsmen’s Club of Ulster County, have
suggested it would reward criminals who should not have
had the weapons to begin with and called it “a showy,
political, feel good event.”
A spokesperson for the organization said funds would be
better spent educating people in the proper use of guns.
Doctors Opinion…
Most U.S. doctors favor having both public and private
options in a reformed healthcare system, a survey published
this month says. When given a three-way choice among private
plans that use tax credits or subsidies to help the poor
buy private insurance; a new public health insurance plan
such as Medicare; or a mix of the two; 63 percent of doctors
supported a mix, 27 percent said they only wanted private
options, and just 10 percent said they exclusively wanted
public options.
Sustainability
The Hudson Valley Educational Consortium (HVEC) is offering
four sustainability-related, continuing education business
courses this fall. These new courses, which will cover
how green practices impact a range of industries including
transportation, purchasing and food service, will be available
to Hudson Valley residents regardless of their geographic
location. Sullivan County Community College will video
teleconference the classes to the other HVEC member-colleges
– SUNY Orange, Rockland and Ulster – where
participants will be able to interact in real-time with
the instructors and students at all of the locations.
The first course, Sustainable Transportation: An Introduction
to Electric Cars, will run on Thursdays, October 15 –
November 19, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. and is designed
to provide participants with an understanding of modern
electric cars. This class will be of most interest to
consumers who want to learn how transportation can fit
into a more sustainable lifestyle, fleet owners looking
to better understand the economic benefits of electric
vehicles and automobile technicians interested in servicing
and repairing these types of cars.
Other courses scheduled to be offered as part of the fall
series include: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing,
set for Mondays, October 19 – November 16; An Introduction
for Leading Sustainability Initiatives (Green Change Management),
scheduled for Tuesdays, October 20 – November 17;
and Greening Food Services, set for Mondays, November
23 – December 21.
In addition, SUNY Ulster is now offering a National Sustainable
Building Advisor Certificate Program, in nine two-day
sessions over the course of nine months, ispecifically
for design and construction professionals, architects,
tenant and developer representatives. The class meets
Fridays and Saturdays, one weekend per month from October
16, 2009 to June 12, 2010. This training prepares professionals
to take the CSBA exam, which provides the nationally recognized
Certified Sustainable Building Advisor designation. NaSBAP,
the national provider of the SBA Course, works with SUNY
Ulster to offer the course at the Business Resource Center
in Kingston, NY.
For a complete list of sustainability courses, or for
more information, contact SUNY Ulster’s Continuing
and Professional Education Office at 339-2025 or visit
www.sunyulster.edu/sustainability.
Re-Training!
SUNY Ulster has been awarded five SUNY Workforce Development
Grants totaling more than $200,000 to conduct training
that will help local businesses increase their competitiveness.
These awards, through the college’s Continuing and
Professional Education Department, will benefit a consortium
of 16 companies as well as member companies of a manufacturing
association, Elna Magnetics, Viking Industries and Boice’s
Dairy. The participating businesses submitted applications
in partnership with the college and committed to pay a
percentage of the cost of training.
Community colleges across six counties partnered with
the Council of Industry of Southeastern New York to obtain
funding for a Hudson Valley Manufacturer Training Consortium
grant. The partnership, led by SUNY Ulster, includes Sullivan,
Orange, Rockland, Dutchess and Westchester community colleges,
and will work to coordinate regional training for members
of the non-profit association of manufacturers doing business
in the Hudson Valley. The training is expected to benefit
215 employees in 22 companies and will include facility
manager implementation, lean manufacturing, project management,
strategic planning, accounting and finance, technical
sales training, and global business and leadership strategies.
A second grant totaling more than $50,000 was awarded
for training a consortium of Ulster County businesses
made up of: Cerebral Palsy of Ulster County, Charles River,
Emergency One, Fala Technologies, Gateway Industries,
Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley, Hunter Panels, PartSearch
Technologies, Precision Flow Technologies, RUPCO, SunWize
Technologies, Stavo Industries, Toucan Hats, Ulster Savings
Bank, Wolf-tec and Woodstock Percussion of Olive.
Training will vary by company and include a management
and supervisory program, technical training in analytical
and electrical engineering, and computer classes. Some
380 employees at the firms are projected to participate
in the training programs that are expected to lead to
business expansion, job creation and economic development.
Local Filmmaking
So what’s truly local in the upcoming 10th Annual
Woodstock Film Festival, unspooling around the area from
Sept. 30 to Oct. 4?
Sure, there’s Against the Current, the one about
a man, haunted by a tragic loss in his past, who swims
the length of the Hudson River from Troy to New York City,
as well as Woodstock-based producer Joe White’s
latest, The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll with
Lukas Haas, Peter Fonda and Ruby Dee. October Country,
a documentary, is based in the (sorta) nearby Mohawk Valley.
The funny geo-caching comedy Splinterheads, with some
great new star turns by young comic actors, was partly
shot in New Paltz and High Falls. And 2B writer/director
Richard Kroehling, now based in Cold Spring, spent several
summers in Phoenicia and maintains a mountain geaway outside
Asndes, from whence he says he still draws his greatest
inspiration.
The true power of the local, though, may currently be
in the realm of the festival’s many shorts, screening
throughout its schedule.
Miranda Rhyne’s The 4th of July Parade is a touching
mother and daughter story shot all around the Hudson Valley
in Woodstock, Saugerties, Kingston, and Catskill. A Horse
is Not a Metaphor is by longtime Woodstock resident Barbara
Hammer. The Bell, based on an Emerson poem, stars local
children and was filmed on location at the Woodstock Day
School. Knife Point, directed by Delaware County native
Carlo Mirabella-Davis, was filmed farther up the Route
28 corridor near Delhi. Music We Are, a documentary by
Woodstock resident Mirav Ozeri, provides a rare look into
the creative process of legendary jazz drummer Jack Dejohnette
of Silver Hollow. And finally there’s Stooge, directed
by Woodstock native Mickey Breitenstein with cinematography
by Will Lytle, a fellow Onteora Graduate and a former
student in the Indie Program.
And did we not mention Michael Lang, producer of the latest
on his franchise, Woodstock Then and Now? You get the
idea…
Check out the fest’s website for further information
and a full catalogueat www.woodstockfilmfestival.com.
Interlocks…
A dozen Ulster County Magistrates are currently sending
teens ticketed for alcohol- and drug- influenced driving
offenses to the locally-based AWARENESS Alcohol Program,
which was created by teens as a result of a fatal Onteora
district car crash on prom night in May 2007. The group
is pushing for use of the interlock ignition system among
teens sent to them, which requires convicted drunk drivers
to breathe into a device before their cars can start.
The New York State Senate recently adopted a bill requiring
such interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers across
the state. Assembly and Executive Branch action is currently
pending.
When approached by the teens who coordinate the AWARENESS
Alcohol program, National Interlock Service saw the need
for such a program and provided systems at no cost.
“We are looking for funding from the insurance and
beverage industries to expand this program,” said
Shultis. “Our goal is to be able to place an Ignition
Interlock in any teen’s vehicle that agrees to an
ignition interlock voluntarily to prevent underage DWI
from occurring.”
For more info visit www.hvinet.com/awareness2 or call
845-417-1483.
Solar Talk…
The Ulster County Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast
program on solar energy from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept.
29 at the Holiday Inn on Washington Avenue. The guest
speaker will be Rick Lewandowski, chief executive officer
of Prism Solar Technologies.
Prism, a partner in The Solar Energy Consortium, is a
privately held company that manufactures solar modules,
which use advanced holographic optics to increase output,
while lowering the cost by reducing the number of solar
cells in its modules. The company was formed in 2005 and
recently moved into a 93,000-square-foot building at the
former Plasmaco property in Highland and is at the vanguard
of the fledgling solar energy industry in Ulster County,
which has received considerable federal funding in recent
years, as well as new partnerships aimed at boosting solar
module efficiency, including the regional Solar Energy
Consortium.
Call 338-5100 to register.
