| Continuing
Hostility
DiModica Presents Series Of Resolutions As Gitter & Ward Todd
Make Appearances
By Paul Smart
Monday night's post-election Shandaken town board meeting contained
elements of both the future and the past, lending it an element
of both premonition and déjà vu. The crowd was SRO,
vocally split between the town's fiercely battling Democrats and
Republicans, even if the two parties still managed to sit next
to each other in the narrow wooden seats of town hall.
Discussion, and shouting, focused on a series of four ceremonial
resolutions presented by outgoing supervisor Pete DiModica and
his lame-duck Democratic majority, two of which were tabled. But
the evening's key moments came in the form of two return performances:
one from former County Legislature Chairman Ward Todd, defending
past actions regarding his still-controversial shepherding of
gambling deals through the county; the other from local developer
Dean Gitter - of Catskill Corners, The Emerson, and the proposed
Belleayre Resort - who seemed to thrive on newfound support from
the incoming Republican majority, as well as backers who applauded
his every statement.
Continue>>>
Winter Comes Early!
Belleayre Gets Off To A Gung-Ho Start , Beating Out Killington With
Its Opening
By Brian Powers
"We were the first mountain open in the Northeast" said
Belleayre's Superintendent Tony Lanza. And though he said it almost
casually, the pride was too strong to miss. To Lanza, and to lots
of people who work on the mountain, that industry distinction
was no small accomplishment. Open, at this time of year doesn‚t
mean continuously open, as our mostly warm weather in recent weeks
continues to hamper snowmaking at the Catskill's Big Three ski
areas. For Lanza though, it's another first worth noting.
Continue>>>
So What Happened?
A Cold Analysis Of The Recent Election, On A Local, County &
Epochal Basis
By Paul Smart
The recent election in Shandaken, which saw Republicans regain
control of the town board after a two year stint of Democratic
control, surprised quite a few, but by no means all.
A check-in with the main strategists behind the race -- which
saw political newcomer Bob Cross, Jr. defeat incumbent Democrat
Pete Di Modica and GOP board candidates Jane Todd, an incumbent,
and Joe Munster, a former county Tourism director, defeat the
Democrats two candidates, logger Randy Ostrander and planner
Howie McGowan -- unanimously noted that the November ballots
reflected events from last winter.
Gerry Setchko, the retired businessman who was instrumental
at reviving a Shandaken Republican Club to augment the town's
8-member Republican Committee, feels it all basically came down
to organization. He said that the idea came up from former Committee
chairman Ward Todd in January, when Todd was still chairman
of the county legislature.
"There had been a club but it had died out for a number
of years," he said. "We invited a number of people
and elected officials and from a start of about 30 people built
up to a current membership of just over 100."
Continue>>>
|
GOBBLE, GOBBLE... This great
bird, who would have made Ben Franklin proud, was captured recently
taking a stroll, savoring the sense of freedom... for now.
Party Boss
A Powerbase In Quiet Boiceville
By Paul Smart
John Parete, the Chairman of the Ulster County Democratic Party
responsible for bringing his party to within one vote of a legislative
majority, has long seen himself as a force along both the Route
28 and 209 corridors.
Parete, who has owned and operated the popular Boiceville Inn
for over thirty years now, lives in Stone Ridge next to the parental
home he grew up in since moving Upstate as a boy. But he's long
seen himself as an Olivite, having proved instrumental in that
town's current political makeup. Furthermore, he is also heavily
involved in Shandaken life, albeit at more of an arm's length
than his other vocations.
Parete sees himself as a local, even though his roots were elsewhere.
There are archetypal qualities to his life story, as well as numerous
well-learned lessons in his political ideology, no matter how
partisan (and often non-partisan) it can seem from the outside.
The eldest of eight, Parete was born in Brooklyn, from which he
moved to White Plains at age four. His father was a manufacturing
engineer who eventually realized his dream of moving to the country
when John was school age∑ and the local school in Stone
Ridge was still a single room.
Parete went on to Marbeltown Central School and then Kingston
High. Taking advantage of what he now calls a "half-assed
athletic ability," he spent a year at the University of Miami
on a baseball scholarship. But he realized he missed Ulster County
and his family. So he moved back home.
Continue>>>
|
Play View From Space and win a free web ad
