Welcome to Accord-Kerhonkson On-Line

This unofficial guide to Accord and Kerhonkson -- the two principal hamlets in the Town of Rochester in Ulster County, New York -- provides news and opinion, listings of businesses and organizations, calendar events and other information on Rochester and the surrounding community.

Last Updated: May 02, 2012

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	Rochester Residents Association Scholarships (5/2/12)
	Acorn School to Hold Open House (5/2/12)
	USEFUL ADVICE FOR RENOVATING YOUR HOUSE - May 18th (5/2/12)
	Town of Rochester Property Tax Grievance Day (5/2/12)
	Rondout School District Budget Proposed (5/2/12)
	Town Government News (5/2/12)
	Patroon Grange to Close (5/2/12)
	Apply for pre-K in Rondout (5/2/12)
	Falling tree injures Accord motorist (5/2/12)

 

	Rochester Residents Association Scholarships (4/22/12)
	Acorn School to Hold Open House (4/22/12)
	Transfer Station Open Mondays (4/22/12)
	Town Board Notes (4/22/12)
	No contest in Upcoming School Board Election (4/22/12)
	Supervisors in towns of Rochester, Ulster breaking state law by omitting welfare costs, Ulster County says (4/22/12)
	Resounding Opposition To Use of Hydrofracking Fluids (4/22/12)
	Accord man explores Amelia Earhart aviation mystery (4/22/12)
	Kerhonkson school wins award for mixing it up (4/22/12)
	'Working together saves lives': Kerhonkson-Accord rescue squad, Accord fire companies hone extrication skills (4/22/12)
	Kerhonkson woman, 49, dies after crash on Samsonville Road (4/22/12)
	Special Prosecutor Appointed in School's Hate Crime Case (4/22/12)
	New Paltz man suffers minor injuries in Kerhonkson plane crash (4/22/12)
	Driver flees town of Rochester crash; 1 hospitalized (4/22/12)
	Police Blotter (4/22/12)
	Letters (4/22/12)

 

	Town Summer Program Registration (3/28/12)
	DEC Burning Ban   (3/28/12)
	Low Cost Dog and Cat Vaccinations   (3/28/12)
	Appeals Court Rules in Town’s favor on Mombaccus suit   (3/28/12)
	Cell Phone Tower Controversy   (3/28/12)
	Town Board News   (3/28/12)
	Smileys win $583K judgment from state, Palisades Interstate Park Commission   (3/28/12)
	Police Blotter   (3/28/12)
	New Business in Kerhonkson   (3/28/12)

In this issue

 

The Rochester Residents Association is again offering scholarships for Rondout Valley High School graduating seniors. 

 

Multiple $1,000 Rochester Residents Association CommunityScholarship will be awarded to graduating high school seniors from the Town ofRochester who demonstrate leadership and academic promise. 

 

The scholarships will be awarded under the auspices of aScholarship Committee appointed by the RRA and is funded by the RRA's members.

 

For further information, including an application visit: 

 

www.accord-kerhonkson.com/scholarships.htm

The Acorn School (… for little oaks aged 3 to 7) is holding an open house on Saturday, May 12^th at its new location at 2911 Lucas Avenue in Accord from 10am to 12 noon.  For more information contact Motria@AcornSchoolHouse.com

The Town of Rochester Transfer Station is now operating under Spring/Summer hours

Will be open Mondays for the period of April 2, 2012 until September 30, 2012

Excerpted from the Blue Stone Press

 

At its workshop meeting on March 29^th, the Town Board:

Discussed community concern regarding the addition of additional cellular antennas onto the existing cell tower off City Hall Road.  Residents have raised concerns about possible adverse affects on health and property values.  Planning Board chair Mike Baden gave an overview on the Town’s limited ability to regulate cellular communications due to overriding federal law.

Discussed the possibility of establishing a town constabulary to provide local peace officers for the town.  Supervisor Chipman said he first wanted to determine if there was an actual need in the town for the force , which was raised by a resident.  The former constabulary was discontinued in 2003 due to potential liability issues and training requirements.

 

The Ulster County Comptroller recently issued a letter to the town asserting that the town did not properly budget for safety net costs.  Supervisor Chipman said that Rochester budgeted for the potential expense in the same manner as other Ulster County towns.  The funds are for temporary assistance provided to needy individuals and is administered by the County with a portion being billed to the municipality of the recipient.  Ulster County is the only county that does not pay this expense at the County level.

In the Rondout Valley school district, five seats are up for election, three of which carry three-year terms and two of which carry one-year terms. The three-year term seats are currently held by Breanna Costello, Gail Hutchins and Matthew Finck. The one-year terms are the result of resignations by former Trustees Lennart Berg and William Oliva.

Petitions for election have been filed by: Costello of 29 Laurel Hollow Estates, Kerhonkson; Wayne Beckerman of 116 Leggett Road, Stone Ridge; David O’Halloran of 230 Boice Mill Road, Kerhonkson; Rebecca Versace of 14 Church Hill Road, High Falls; and Michael Redmond of 4974 U.S. Route 209, Accord.

Redmond had been appointed to fill part of the term for Oliva’s seat and O’Halloran had been appointed to fill a portion of the term for Berg’s seat.

By PATRICIA DOXSEY, Freeman staff
 

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Ulster County Comptroller’s Office says supervisors in two Ulster County towns have broken the law and misled their constituents by crafting town budgets that don’t include costs of the Safety Net welfare program.

In letters to Ulster Supervisor James Quigley and Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Eriole said state law requires towns to fund the social services program.

“We feel that you have misled your constituents in presenting a budget without accounting for a known, non-discretionary expense and recommend you take action to correct the budget immediately,” Eriole stated in the letter, dated Tuesday.

Eriole said that because the towns are mandated under to fund the program, the state Comptroller’s Office could force the town’s to redo their budgets to include the expense, a move, he said, that would “place a burden” on town residents.

Mark Johnson, deputy press secretary for state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, declined to comment on  the towns’ actions.

Quigley and Chipman disputed Eriole’s claim and said they are being singled out for what other municipalities have done in the past and what the city of Kingston does routinely.

“How is the town not responsible when the county is getting paid for the exact amount of Safety Net in the subsequent period?” Quigley said. “The section doesn’t say we have to budget for it. It says we shall be responsible for it.

“We are not forsaking our responsibility,” he added. “The county is being reimbursed the money it is expending; it’s just not being reimbursed the way they want it.”

“I believe they’re incorrect,” Chipman said of the county comptroller’s interpretation of the law.

Not including the cost of the Safety Net program in their town budgets forces the county to “relevy” those costs on next year’s tax bill.

Ulster County Budget Director J.J. Hanson said doing that would force the county to consider those costs as county expenses, limiting the amount of money the county could raise through property taxes to support its own programs while still remaining under the state-imposed property tax cap.

Quigley said requiring towns to continue budgeting the program’s costs is an attempt by the county “to suppress the taxpayers’ right to know what the costs are that are being mandated by whatever level of government.”

He said the city of Kingston has long included Safety Net costs as a separate line on its property tax bills rather than as a line item in its operating budget.

He said that in 2011, the county relevied the Safety Net costs of seven towns and the city of Kingston, totalling $1.4 million, or 53.4 percent of the overall local share of the program’s costs.

What level of government should pay the local share of Safety Net costs has long been a point of contention in Ulster County, which is the only county in the state that requires municipalities to pay the costs associated with the program expenses in their communities. The city of Kingston and towns with high Safety Net costs want the county to take over the cost of the welfare program, while communities that have little or no Safety Net expenses fear their county taxes will go up with a county takeover of the program.Freeman 3/29/12

 

Ulster County Dispatch

By Paula Sirc

STONE RIDGE – Moving the venue for Tuesday night's legislative session to the Ulster County Community College's auditorium was a prescient decision for Terry Bernardo, Chair of the Ulster County Legislature; more than 300 people filed into the auditorium to express their support for a resolution that would ban the use of hydraulic fracturing fluids, or wastewater brine extracted during the hydrofracking process, to de-ice county roads.

Hydraulic fracturing, or hydro-fracking, is a controversial process that drills horizontal fractures in rock formations using highly pressurized, chemical-laden fluids to increase the rate and recovery of natural gas.

Ken Wishnick, D-New Paltz, who sponsored the law, told the cheering crowd that "we want to be the first county in the state of New York to enact a law of this type."

In essence, the hearing was of little consequence in terms of using the by-product as County Executive Mike Hein last week upstaged the hearing, and legislature, by issuing an executive order that prevents the spreading of brine from hydraulic fracturing on any county-maintained roads.

While his order bans "the purchase of any liquid waste product from hydraulic fracturing operations or the use of any such fracking brine by any part of Ulster County," it does not apply to town or state roads in the county.

Wishnick, a first-term legislator, is pushing to broaden the scope of the initial bill to include gas wastewater brine from conventional vertical NY gas wells, which the NYS Department of Conservation claims is safe despite the fact that their own tests indicate the contrary.

Noting that though the county has never used brining solution to de-ice its roads, Wishnick said he believes, "you're most effective when you act preemptively."

More than 50 people signed up to speak against the practice during Tuesday's forum, many of them urging the legislature to tighten the resolution to avoid loopholes. They also encouraged individual towns to pass legislation banning its use on town roads.

The crowd contends that the gas industry's problem is disposing of its massive byproduct, which anti-frackers say is radioactive and toxic. New York's DEC has issued permits for application of gas waste water brine on roadways for de-icing NY highways.

Citing his work evaluating the groundwater movement and water quality aspects of hydraulic fracturing, hydrogeologist Paul Rubin told lawmakers that "the concept of knowingly and intentionally advocating planned dispersal of fracking brines onto our roadways defies all logic and common sense."

Andi Weiss Bartczak of Gardiner, an environmental toxicologist, cited scientific studies conducted in Colorado that link the chemicals in fracking brine to respiratory and organ problems.

Elly Wininger of Lake Hill urged legislators to strengthen the law so it would withstand the test of time. She noted that the United Nations defines water as a "human right." Eleven-year-old Violet Hansen, from Rosendale, begged the legislature to not spread cancer-causing chemicals on our roadways, saying, "Earth is the only planet that can sustain life because of water. We are about to throw it all away because of money. Many people think kids don't pay attention to what's going on, but we do. Washington Irving wrote about the beauty of the Catskills; that beauty will be gone forever because of fracking."

Last year, the county legislature unanimously adopted a resolution, sponsored by former legislator Susan Zimet, prohibiting the leasing of any county-owned land for high-volume and chemical slick water hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas.

Zimet, who has continued her fight against the drilling industry as the town of New Paltz's supervisor, urged the audience to send letters to Governor Cuomo asking him "to slow down, do the health impacts that need to be done, and don't pass this fracking anywhere in NYS."

In February, Cuomo said it would take the state DEC about a month to review the 61,000 comments submitted on draft regulations and an environmental report about hydrofracking. DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens said it would be months before the regulations and reports are due. But, Martens also said it was entirely possible that an "extremely limited number" of hydrofracking permits could be issued this year.  (Shawangunk Journal 4/19/2012)

1937 crash inspires cyberflight

By Jeremiah Horrigan

Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 04/03/12

KERHONKSON — The fate of Amelia Earhart is the last great mystery of aviation history.

Millions of dollars have been spent trying to find what remains of the plane in which she had hoped to circumnavigate the world — the plane that crashed somewhere near Howland Island in the Central Pacific Ocean 75 years ago.

And now, an Accord man has developed a tool that might enable intrepid armchair aviators to find an answer to that mystery themselves.

Jonathan Blair is a former National Geographic photographer who was aboard one of those million-dollar "search for Amelia" missions about 10 years ago.

Blair caught the Amelia bug. He read all the books written about the search — what he now laughingly calls his collection of "we didn't find her" books.

His reading and research led him to conclude there was "something goofy" about all the efforts to locate the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra L10E "Special," the plane in which she and navigator Fred Noonan crashed in July 1937.

"Everybody was looking in the same place, and no one had found her," Blair said.

What if, Blair wondered, instead of booking passage on one of those search efforts (typical fare: $50,000), he could instead book passage on a virtual duplicate of Earhart's plane?

Why couldn't he duplicate her flight path and make his own investigation?

Blair calls the answer to those questions The Electra Project. With a thoroughness that Earhart herself would have benefitted from, he and a crew of investors and researchers have meticulously re-created the Lockheed Electra L10E "Special," the bimotor monoplane that was supposed to carry Earhart across the Pacific but instead became her tomb.

Blair is putting the final touches on the program, which runs on a popular flight simulator program called X-Plane.

After two years of intensive research and costs of $50,000, it's scheduled for public release in June — just before the 75th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance.

Flying a cybertool

Blair is 71, though he bounds about his living room with the energy and enthusiasm of a man half his age.

He's seen the world from some rarified perspectives: from the bottom of the ocean while shooting for National Geographic, for example.

He calls the Electra Project a "video game with teeth." It's a description that doesn't appear to do the project justice.

The project is a sort of virtual time capsule. Blair has researched every bit of historical data available about Earhart's "Special," relying on primary sources such as the U.S. Naval Archives.

Coupled with the flight simulator package, the plane can record flight information such as altitude, speed, latitude, longitude and engine performance. It also can reproduce the weather conditions that presumably played a part in Earhart's crash.

Blair cautions that flying a cyber-Electra won't pinpoint the plane's exact location. It is, as he notes, a tool. People who fly it will generate their own insights and theories, just as Blair has.

Blair has logged six 19-hour cyberflights at the controls of his cyberplane. He's convinced that all the major on-site investigations have been way off course.

"After four deep-water searches, all of them west of Howland Island, I'd say to (the searchers), 'Guys, I think you're missing a bet here — why not look east?'"

No one has answered his question.

Yet.

jhorrigan@th-record.com

 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

By ARIEL ZANGLA, Freeman staff
 

KERHONKSON, N.Y. — Kerhonkson Elementary School Principal Laura Ayasse says she’s proud of her students and staff for helping the school be named as “Mix It Up Model School” by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance program.

Kerhonkson Elementary was one of 77 schools from across the country that received the honor.

“This was one of my goals for the building,” Ayasse said. She said the entire school population was involved in “National Mix It Up at Lunch Day,” held Oct. 18.

At an assembly that day, students watched a video of author Todd Parr reading from his “The Peace Book.” Copies of the book were distributed to each classroom as well as the school library, Ayasse said.

At lunch, students were given random numbers so they would sit at different tables and meet new people they might not otherwise interact with, Ayasse said. She said teachers also shared activities with their students.

For more than a decade, Mix It Up Day has provided students across the country with an opportunity to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch, according to  the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center. The center describes it as a simple act “with profound implications, as studies have shown that interactions across group lines can help reduce prejudice.”

Last year, 5,500 schools took part in the event, according to the center.

Mix It Up Model Schools met five criteria: hosting a Mix It Up at Lunch Day in 2011; including different members of the school community in organizing the event; following up with at least two additional related programs or events; publicizing the event; and seeing the event viewed by students and school officials as a success.

Ayasse said her goal as principal is to bring the community into the school and create an environment of tolerance for students. She said as part of that goal the school holds a monthly assembly, like the one on National Mix It Up at Lunch Day, that focus on topics like how to be respectful or how to be a friend. There are also related activities, she said.

“For my students to walk in every day and be respected and know they are safe is very important to me,” Ayasse said.

Ayasse said she plans to have the school participate in this year’s Mix It Up at Lunch Day, scheduled for Oct. 30. (Freeman 4/19/2012)

 

 

Monday, April 2, 2012

By ANN GIBBONS
Freeman staff
agibbons@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/AnnAtFreeman

KERHONKSON, N.Y. — Cooperation is a fine human virtue, but the benign noun rises to the level of the urgent verb cooperate! when lives are at stake.

Fully aware of the need to work together, members of Accord Fire Companies 1, 2 and 3, along with the Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid Squad, recently staged a cooperative extrication drill involving the rescue and treatment of “patients” from a mock motor vehicle accident.

“Teamwork saves lives,” said RosaLou Novi, training officer for the first aid squad. “We and the firefighters are often in crises together, and we must work well together.”

Novi, who sometimes runs several drills per month, said the firefighters set up the recent drill, in which severely injured mannequin “patients” needed to be rescued with various extrication devices from a badly damaged rollover vehicle.

“More than 30 members of the three fire companies worked to free the trapped ‘patients’ as a dozen EMS members treated and prepared the ‘injured’ for transport,” Novi said of the training exercise.

The drill, organized by firefighters Will Farrell Jr. and Dave Avery, involved the rescue of three mock patients — an unbelted front-seat passenger who broke through the windshield, an injured infant whose child seat had not been correctly installed and another person  trapped in the back of the vehicle.

“The entire vehicle had to be dismantled at the scene to free the patients,” Novi said. “Participants had to handle everything from unsafe scene conditions to dealing with the unexpected arrival of an hysterical ‘family member.’”

Now retired as a teacher from the Marbletown Elementary School, Novi has the time to devote to her other career: emergency services. Feeling somewhat guilty because she did not set up the drill, Novi said she took the photos.



“The drill,” Novi said, “are an excellent opportunity to work together on our skills in a situation where lives are not at stake.”

To the casual observer, Novi said, an accident scene looks like total chaos, but, in fact, it is organized chaos. “The firefighters have some jobs. We EMS have other jobs. Sometimes,they overlap and we decide at the scene who will take over what responsibility,” she said.

At the scene, the chief or lieutenant takes charge of firefighters, and EMS has its own in-charge person. “During a major incident, we may share command,” Novi said.

“But,” she said, “if I’m on my way home and come upon an accident, as first responder I’m in charge of the scene.” She said she parks her vehicle in such a way as to shield the scene as safely as she can but leaves the keys in it.

“When the firefighters arrive, they move my vehicle out of the way and set up the scene properly,” Novi said.

Novi said her vehicle has a green light that she uses when responding to a scene. “It doesn’t give me any particular rights, but it does let people know I’m working,” she said.

Novi NOTED that all the firefighters and EMS staff are volunteers. “No one gets paid,” she said.

But, she said, the fire companies are fortunate to have in command at the scene former military personnel who know how to be in charge.

She said Mark Smith, of the Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid Squad, had 10 years of active duty with the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq and with the Secret Service; and Farrell is an ex-Marine who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.

“I think it’s such generosity of spirit for these young men to return home and put their time and effort into serving their communities,” Novi said.

As for the cooperative efforts of the various emergency responders, Novi said: “We do a lot of training together, and firefighters have been trained to assist us at the scene.” For example, she said, firefighters have been trained to hold an injured person’s head in a stabilized position.

And even though it was only a mannequin’s head that encountered the windshield during the recent extrication drill, “we do get those (in real accidents),” Novi said. “And that’s where the equipment and skills matter most.”

In the drill, the glass first needed to be cut away from the patient’s head. Then the entire windshield needed to be removed. In the meantime, the injured person’s head and body needed to be supported.

“When I say, ‘Get me a bird,’ firefighters will set up a landing zone for us or find the nearest designated landing zone,” Novi said of the need for removing patients by helicopter from accident scenes. “If I need lifting assistance, I ask for ‘manpower, please,’ and several strong guys come over to help out.”

Novi said EMS workers will not enter a vehicle that’s been in an accident until firefighters have it stabilized.

“Sometimes, I’ve climbed into a car and I’ll feel a thump as a firefighter drops a helmet on my head,” she said. “Then he will reach a hand around me to fasten it.

“We watch out for each other,” Novi said. “We keep an eye on the firefighters. When they come out of a burning building, we check their blood pressure and oxygen levels to make sure they’re safe at the scene.”

Novi said firefighters and EMS personnel have tremendous respect for each other’s abilities. “Working together saves lives,” she said. “If we don’t work smoothly with each other, everything takes more time.”

Novi said an upcoming cooperative drill will occur just before high school prom season and will be held at Rondout Valley High School, with the student body as observers.

“The drill will be a drunken driving disaster in which there will be at least one fatality,” Novi said. She said the scene will be like a still-life — until the siren goes off.

“Then, we all start responding to the scene.”

 

 

Monday, April 2, 2012

By Freeman staff

KERHONKSON — A 49-year-old Kerhonkson woman died after her car went off Samsonville Road and struck a fence and small trees, police said on Sunday.

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said Lisa VanOrden of Cedar Drive was westbound on Samsonville Road in a 2007 Toyota Camry about 3:40 p.m. Saturday when the accident occurred.

VanOrden was found unconscious at the scene and was taken to Ellenville Hospital, where she died, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The cause of the accident and VanOrden’s death remained under investigation on Sunday. (Freeman 4/2/2012)

 

Freeman 4/2/12

Policing The RV Busses

By Terence P. Ward

RONDOUT VALLEY – The case against Jason Gambino, a Rondout Valley high school student accused of harassing a younger student on a school bus because of the other boy's sexual orientation, will be tried by a special prosecutor, according to the Ulster County District Attorney's office.

Kingston attorney Eric Schneider was appointed as special prosecutor in the case because an attorney who recently joined the DA's office had lately worked for the firm which is representing Gambino. Schneider said that this is fairly standard practice to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

"These are serious allegations, and I plan on performing a thorough investigation into the facts of this case," Schneider said. "In my prosecutorial role, I'm here to serve the public."

Gambino was charged on January 6 with harassment and stalking in connection with the allegations. While felonies, such as stalking, are usually moved to the state's Supreme Court, Schneider said that this case is still before Justice Shaheen in the Rochester Town Court.

The district attorney's office did not return repeated calls about another bus-related incident in which a male student was arrested this winter for exposing himself at least three times over a period of time. The accused in that case is a minor, unlike Gambino, and his name has not been released.

School officials have been concerned about behavior on the buses before these two incidents occurred, as the district's reconfiguration plans call for children in grades four through twelve to start sharing bus rides to the main campus. Patricia Robbins, who will head up the new upper elementary school for grades 4-6, has made rooting out bullying a priority.

The district is also rolling out a program called "Peaceful School Buses," which is "a whole-school program that's designed to decrease inappropriate behavior on buses while creating a climate of respect and cooperation," according to the program's web site. This is accomplished through pairing younger and older students, team-building exercises which include the bus driver, and open communication about bullying.

On a related note, a second forum in the series "Assisting Our At-Risk Students" was held last week in the Rondout Valley high school library. The two dozen attendees included parents, school personnel, the Rosendale police chief, and counselors specializing in youth drug use and risky behavior. Participants discussed the reasons why children engage in risky behaviors, including access to drugs and the tacit or explicit permission of parents, and talked about specific strategies which could be used to reduce those risks.  (Shawangunk Journal 4/5/2012)

 

New Paltz man suffers minor injuries in Kerhonkson plane crash

by JEREMY SCHIFFRES
City Editor
jschiffres@freemanonline.com

KERHONKSON, N.Y. — A 50-year-old New Paltz man suffered only minor injuries when the experimental single-engine plane he was flying struck a tree and crashed about 5:40 p.m. Thursday in this town of Rochester hamlet, according to state police.

Mark Thomas already was out of the plane when emergency responders arrived at the scene and was conscious and alert, said Senior Investigator Stan O’Dell.

Thomas, the plane’s pilot and sole occupant, was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie with non-life-threatening injuries, O’Dell said.

O’Dell said the plane took off from a small airport in Plattekill and was flying at a low altitude over Old Queens Highway near U.S. Route 209 in Kerhonkson when it struck the tree and crashed in a field. O’Dell estimated the fall was less than 50 feet.

The aircraft was resting on its nose when emergency responders arrived, according to a police press release.

O’Dell did not know where the aircraft, which he described as a two-seat biplane, was headed when the accident occurred.

He said the cause of the accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

 

Freeman 4/6/2012

 

Driver flees town of Rochester crash; 1 hospitalized

Sunday, April 8, 2012

TOWN OF ROCHESTER, N.Y.  — Two men were arrested Saturday morning after sheriff’s deputies responded to an automobile accident on Lucas Ave. in the town of Rochester.

Deputies from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said that Patrick J. Rion, 21, of U.S. Route 209, Kerhonkson, was struck from behind when the 2008 Dodge truck he was operating turned in front of a 2000 Honda Civic, driven by Peter A. Wenzel, 31, of New Salem Rd., Kingston.

Rion was turning off of county Route 6 onto Lucas Ave. and was hit by Wenzel, who had just passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone, police said. (Freeman 4/8/12)

Police said Rion fled the scene and was later located by deputies and state police.

Wenzel was transported to Kingston Hospital with a back injury by Kerhonkson-Accord Rescue. He was charged with misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and the traffic infractions of driving without a license and passing in a no passing zone. He was released on tickets to appear in Town of Rochester Court at 6 p.m. on April 18.

Rion was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving, misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content greater than .08 percent and misdemeanor leaving the scene of a personal injury automobile accident.

He also was charged with failing to yield from a stop sign and was released on tickets for Town of Rochester Court at 6 p.m. on April 18.

Police Blotter

Endangering: Glen Peck, 27, of Accord, was arrested at 8:10 a.m. Tuesday by state police at Ellenville on charges of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and violation harassment. He was arraigned in Rochester Town Court and released on his own recognizance. (4/19/2012)

Grand larceny: Catherine M. Fox, 46, of Kerhonkson, was charged Thursday with felony grand larceny, identify theft, and misdemeanor unlawful possession of personal indentification information, according to state police at Wawarsing. A state [police investigation revealed that Fox had stolen a debit card along with the associated pin number from a family member, police said. She used it to steal more than $3,000.00 from the victim’s bank account from December to January, police said. Fox stole the money by utilizing area ATMs with the card and pin number to withdraw cash from the victim’s account, police said. Fox was arraigned before Town Justice Albert Babcock in the Town of Rochester Court where she was released without bail. She is to appear in the Town of Rochester Court on May 2 at 6 p.m. (Freeman 4/6/12)

 

Aggravated unlicensed operation: Antonio Santiago, 29, of 439 Granit Road, Kerhonkson was arrested Sunday at 6:29 a.m. by Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with two misdemeanors: operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device and aggravated unlicensed operation, as well as two traffic infractions: speeding and unlicensed operator. Deputies said they observed a vehicle speeding on Minnewaska Trail in Kerhonkson. They said investigation revealed that following a previous drunken driving conviction, Santiago was restricted to driving vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock device. They said there was no device on the vehicle Santiago was driving and he was charged, processed and issued tickets to appear in Kerhonkson Town Court. (4/16/12)

Rochester Residents Association Raises $12,800 for Rochester Food Pantry 110 donors responded to the Rochester Residents Association's year end fundraising drive for the Rochester Food Pantry, raising a total of $12,800. Marge Bonner, the Pantry's corresponding secretary, said "We are fortunate that our Town residents and organizations have been concerned, responsive and generous. Through their donations, both in cash and kind, we have been able to meet the ongoing demand and supplement the food requirements of needy families and individuals in our community." The Pantry provided over 30,000 meals to more than 2,500 individuals in 2011, including a 300% increase in assistance to seniors. This is the seventh year that the RRA has assisted the Pantry in its fundraising efforts.

Thank you to all who contributed. If you'd like to make a donation, you can mail a check payable to "Rochester Food Pantry" to PO Box 12, Accord, NY 12404.

The Town Board made the following appointments at its January 5, 2012 organizational meeting: Carl Chipman named Youth Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals liaison Lynn Archer named Environmental Conservation Commission and Historic Preservation Commission liaison Brian Drabkin named Transfer Station liaison Tony Spano named Assessor's office liaison Mombaccus Excavating filed a petition to appeal the dismissal by the Appellate Division of the company's case against the Town's zoning code.

The Little Ones Learning Center in Accord would like to thank everyone in the Rondout Valley and other neighboring communities for their support in 2011. "We had our share of success with our annual events like the annual Towpath Run and the Truck Day celebration in September," said Bond Brundgard, president of Friends of Little Ones.

A lot of hard work, built upon years of planning, was almost undone by Hurricane Irene in August. Little Ones managed to jump ahead of the coming storm and move most of the books and learning materials to the second floor of the Rochester Reformed Church in Accord, where the non-profit early literacy organization offers its free story time sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10am to 12 noon.

"We lost some furniture and bookshelves and had to move our learning space to smaller confines as the flood damage was repaired through the end of 2011," said Brungard. "We expect to move back soon downstairs to the church basement, which has been our home for many years, and we're seeking the community's help again to help us fund a matching grant in 2012 - financial support needed to replace items lost in the flood and to bolster our programming." (BSP 1/6/2012)

To help, go to www.littleoneslearningcenter.org, or send a tax deductible check to: Little Ones Learning Center, 5142 Route 209, Accord, NY 12404.

The Town of Rochester's representation in the NYS senate and assembly would change if district lines proposed by the are NYS Legislature's Task Force on Redistricting are approved. For the assembly, Rochester would once again fall into a revised district represented by Kevin Cahill. For the senate, Rochester would fall out of the proposed district represented by John Bonacic. Districts are being redrawn as a result of the 2010 census. http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/ To see the proposed district lines, see: http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/prop2012s/ps51.pdf http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/prop2012a/pa103.pdf

By Paula Sirc

KINGSTON - Despite last minute attempts by former county GOP chair Robin Yess to discredit her candidacy, Town of Rochester Republican, Terry Bernardo, who began her second term as county legislator on Tuesday night, was also elected as the first female legislative chair to the new 23-member legislature. After being sworn in for her first term as county legislator, Saugerties Republican Mary Wawro nominated Bernardo, saying that she "has the ability to lead, the impetus to know what to say and when to say it and a passion for true public service."

The nomination was seconded by former minority leader Jeannette Provanzano, who said she was honored to do so for the "first woman in the history of the Ulster county government to be nominated chair."

The Legislature voted 20-2 in favor of Bernardo's nomination; Kingston Democrats Peter Loughran and former legislative chair David Donaldson voted against her nomination. Hector Rodriguez was absent from the vote.

In her 30-minute inaugural speech, Bernardo highlighted some of the goals that she would work toward as legislative chair, including working with the county executive to "hold the city of New York accountable for their openly creating an environmental and life-threatening hazard in Ulster County."

The new chair also urged the legislative body to make policies of economic development that "welcome job creation, streamline the permit process and actively support an overhaul of job-killing regulations, such as the SEQRA process that she says has been used and abused as a tool of the NYC DEP and others to stop economic development."

Bernardo noted that the Charter form of government "set up a balance of power between this body, the executive and the comptroller," and issued a warning to the Charter revision commission that "the vast overhaul proposed by some to make this legislature less effective is not welcomed from this chair today."

Many members of the legislature have complained that the Charter, which took effect in 2008, abrogates their power to make policy. Bernardo reiterated the legislature's responsibility as the policy-making body of the government.

"We are here to provide excellent service to the public - that is our job," Bernardo said.

Bernardo's appointment to the Legislature's top post stirred some unrest among those who believe her ties to the Independence Party will create unwarranted influence on the Legislature. Her husband, Len Bernardo, chairs the Ulster County Independence Party.

Perhaps most vocal in her opposition to Bernardo's election to legislative chair was Robin Yess, who actively lobbied legislators to oppose her candidacy.

During the Republican caucus before the vote, several legislators expressed concerns, initiated by Yess, about Bernardo's choice of legislative counsel from Orange County. Langdon Chapman, who already serves in a full-time capacity as Chief of Staff to Senator John Bonacic and as an associate attorney at Bonacic, Krahulik, Cuddeback, McMahon and Brady in Middletown, is Bernardo's appointee for full-time legislative counsel to the Ulster County Legislature.

Richard Gerentine, R-Marlboro, commented on the "hard feelings" that were outlined in a letter from the Ulster County Bar Association over the hiring of Chapman, an Orange County resident.

Chapman, who was brought in to the caucus to discuss the letter, noted that the county Charter doesn't specify residency requirements. He did add that with the legislative counsel, "all their efforts, all their time - it says so in your charter - are supposed to be dedicated to this job."

The Charter clearly states that the legislative chair has the authority to appoint counsel and that counsel must be duly licensed and entitled to practice law in NYS. The charter also specifies that the counsel shall be appointed on the basis of his or her legal experience and other qualifications for the responsibilities of the office.

Yess raised the issue of "hiring local" and said she was appalled that Bernardo would "fire the son of one of our most beloved judges," Michael Kavanaugh, who worked for the past two years as part-time counsel to the Republican Majority and volunteered his time to help rewrite the County Committee bylaws.

Bernardo said she offered Kavanaugh the same part-time position, with a $10,000 raise, but that he refused. The new chair appointed Saugerties attorney Erica Guerin to the part-time post.

Saugerties Republican Robert Aiello echoed Gerentine's concerns, but, in the end, said, "I'm not going to lose any sleep over it." (Freeman 1/5/2012)

KYLE WIND Freeman staff

KYSERIKE - The Rondout Valley school district will look quite a bit different in 2012-13.

With Rosendale Elementary School set to close at the end of this school year, the Board of Education on Tuesday agreed to reorganize the district's elementary and middle schools.

The district's fourth-grade classes will be consolidated within an intermediate school of grades 4-6 that officials say will be separate from a grade 7-8 junior high school under the same roof in the current middle school building.

The vote was 8-1. Trustee Kent Anderson, a member of the Reconfiguration Committee, voted against the grade shift.

"It's not fun to shrink," said Christopher Kelder, president of the school board. "These are some of the most challenging things facing schools, facing businesses, facing communities, when you have to do with less. The governor has put that on our back, and made us do with less. And, hopefully, we can do more with less. Hopefully, this will be a positive thing. I support the superintendent's vision educationally."

Superintendent Rosario Agostaro has advocated the grade shift, along with specialized K-3 primary schools, intermediate exploratory programs, and junior high theme "houses" where students can base their studies.

School board member David O'Halloran, the co-chairman of the Reconfiguration Committee, said he supported the grade shift because it provided efficiencies, the chance to pursue the superintendent's vision, and an elementary school schedule that focuses more on core subjects for fifth- and sixth-graders.

Trustee Breanna Costello, the committee's other co-chairman, said she was concerned about keeping the current configuration without Rosendale Elementary School because she feared overcrowding leading to "art on a cart" and no music classrooms.

Trustee Michael Redmond feared the status quo forcing some students to transition to a new school next year, then the fiscal climate forcing yet another reconfiguration, which would lead to a second transition.

Anderson said the financial imperative might force a second reconfiguration within the next few years, leading to a second upheaval. Meanwhile, he said, all of the change will make the district less efficient and, even though the intermediate school model is in vogue in education circles now, it was not that long ago that the strong middle school model was considered preferable. Continued...

Anderson also cited the prospect of putting fourth-graders on the same bus as secondary students, which has been controversial.

Agostaro said officials will continue to investigate ways to separate the 4-6 students from the 7-12 students, but solutions must be economical and not cost students classroom time, issues that scuttled a proposal to take K-3 pupils to their schools and shuttle grade 4-6 students to the main campus in the morning - and vice versa in the afternoon.

Going forward, Costello said, it is important to settle where students will go next year to give families "peace" on that front and she suggested creating a "transition zone" where parents of displaced students could decide whether to send pupils to closer schools or in some cases to follow their friends. (Freeman 1/25/12)

Casino veterans hoping to cash in on Wawarsing's former jewel

By Jane Anderson

ELLENVILLE - It looks like the Nevele Grande Resort is being sold after all - as long as gambling is part of the package. Court-appointed receiver Mitchell Wolff has acknowledged that he is appealing Ulster County Court to allow Claremont Investments LLC to purchase the 433-room hotel on 500 acres for "up to $6.7 million," according to a letter dated January 10. An earlier missive of exclusivity was signed by Claremont in December, although Wolff says he himself did not sign it.

A hearing is set on the matter for 2 p.m. on January 23 before Judge Mary Work at the Ulster County Courthouse.

"As court receiver, if I am trying to sell it, I have to get the court's permission," Wolff said. "I can't go any further without Judge Work's permission."

"I feel like I'm leading the charge here," Wolff continued, noting that Claremont is a strong buyer. "There's a reason I'm submitting these papers. I've checked these guys out."

The news of the sale is bringing hope to the Town of Wawarsing, which suffered from a tremendous loss of jobs when the Nevele closed in 2009.

"It's very exciting news," Supervisor Scott Carlsen said. "I'm excited that the Nevele is going back on the tax rolls, and that they will be paying their water bill."

The closing date is set for January 26. About $100,000 is earmarked for the state Department of Labor to compensate employees who are due back pay, and $1,525,237 will go toward delinquent taxes. The bulk of the purchase, $5 million, won't be made until 60 days from "the date on which casino gaming at the Property is open and operating to the public," according to a letter dated Jan. 10, 2012, from Claremont to Wolff.

Claremont adds in the letter that if gaming is not allowed within five years of closing, "Purchaser shall have no further obligations under this agreement."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed allowing casino gambling on non-Indian land throughout the state, and the Catskills is poised for such development. But first, such a move would require passage by two simultaneous sessions of the state legislature, plus a statewide voters' referendum.

Carlsen said he would welcome gambling at the resort as long as it gains approval from people who live in the town. "We need to look at this in an open-minded way," he said. "The governor has indicated an interest in casinos, especially in the Catskills, but it would take action from the Legislature to do that. I do think we need to listen to the residents of the town and see how they feel about it."

In its letter, Claremont outlines the specifics of the deal, including a laundry list of creditors that are due compensation.

"We believe that the offer presented in this letter is beneficial to all stakeholders in the Property - immediately satisfying the tax obligations of the Property, restoring the Property as a current taxpayer which it has not been for several years, compensating past employees of the Property that are still owed back pay, improving the position of the other creditors by deferring or discharging the most senior debt (tax liens) and providing a reasonable prospect that the Judgment Creditors will be repaid most, if not all, of their debts within a reasonable time period," the letter from Claremont reads.

Attached to the paperwork are biographies of the principals of Claremont LLC: Larry J. Woolf, Michael R. Treanor, Jeffrey E. Levine and Steven Charno. Woolf, according to his biography, has been in the gaming business for more than 40 years and has "extensive experience in leisure resort development, including hotels." Treanor's duties have included managing investments in early-stage gaming opportunities. Levine's expertise is in acquisition, financing, construction, marketing and management. Charno is the president of Douglaston Development, a real-estate development company based in New York City. (Shawangunk Journal 1/19/2012)

By Terence P. Ward

ACCORD - The Rondout Valley School District has been rocked by news of a hate crime taking place on its buses, and it couldn't come at a worse time. According to Ulster County Undersheriff Frank Faluotico, 18 year old Jason Gambino, a junior at the high school, was arrested on January 6 for harassing a 16-year-old male classmate. Because the harassment was focused on the victim's sexual orientation, the Ulster County Sheriff's Department treated it as a hate crime and charged Gambino with felony stalking as well as harassment, a misdemeanor.

Faluotico confirmed that district personnel notified his office, following the procedures mandated for such cases.

Rondout Valley Superintendent Rosario Agostaro declined to comment on the case, even in the most general of terms, stating that he was under such advisement by the district's attorney.

RV district officials are currently working on plans to house five grades in the present middle school, and although they will be in two separate areas within the building itself, there is much talk that children of varying ages will start sharing single bus runs.

The idea of grades 4 to 8 being on a bus together is of concern to district parents, as noted at a series of recent meetings tied to the district's ongoing reconfiguration plans.

Lance Ringel, president of the Hudson Valley LGBQT Center in Kingston, would not comment on the specifics of the Gambino case, but spoke generally about hate crimes driven by sexual orientation.

"We have set up safe school roundtables in both Ulster and Dutchess Counties because there is a particular concern that homophobia still does exist in the schools," he said. "Attitudes can change slowly sometimes, but they do change. The message has to come through loud and clear that attacking people because of their perceived sexual orientation is simply wrong. We're seeing more of that attitude now, but would-be perpetrators need to see the social consequences."

At a January 17 meeting of the RVSD reconfiguration committee, which is determining how to best educate the student body about the district's decision to close Rosendale Elementary, Agostaro did discuss the matter of bus safety.

"I will not tolerate mistreatment of students," he told the audience of teachers and parents. "What we hear about what goes on is unacceptable. We are going to solve this problem, starting now."

To that end, Agostaro called for regular meetings between administrators and bus drivers, and noted that he and Transportation Supervisor Gloria Frenza had met with representatives from Arthur Mulligan Bus Company already. He also said that he was investigating a program that the New Paltz and Kingston districts have been using to reduce bullying and harassment on school buses.

Because he is 18, Gambino is eligible for youthful offender status at the discretion of the district attorney's office. Ulster County D.A. Holley Carnright did not return several calls for comment on how he makes such a determination, but his staff did confirm that because the file has not been forwarded by Rochester Town Court yet, he could not comment on the specifics of the case.

Carl Chipman, Rochester Town Supervisor, has been the only elected official to comment for this story to date.

"It bothers me that there are such hate crimes, and discrimination, in this community," he said. "I was hoping that as a community we'd gotten past that. It's not the 1950s anymore. No one should get picked on that way."

Chipman praised the district's action, saying, "They called the police, which shows that there's zero tolerance for this."

The last time that a hate crime in Ulster County made the news was in 2005, when a racially motivated attack in the Kingston schools led to white supremacist Hal Turner coming to the county seat to organize a protest, where he was met by local opposition to his views. (Shawangunk Journal 1/19/2012)

ACCORD - Dave Waruch shakes his head as he views the burnt-out remains of the Cherrytown School, an historic one-room schoolhouse which was gutted by three neighborhood boys playing with a lighter in the building on December 28. The children have been charged with fourth-degree arson, a felony, but Waruch and his siblings, who own the schoolhouse, don't feel better that they were caught. "It's not the value of the building," Waruch says, "it wasn't worth much. It was the history." Four generations of the Waruch family attended Cherrytown School until the one-building school district was dissolved around 1953. When the building and its contents were auctioned off in 1960 or '61, Waruch's parents bought the building, the school bell, and several of the desks which had been bolted to the floor.

"One of the desks my dad carved his initials in when he went here," recalls Waruch with a smile. "Mom made sure they got that one."

Cherrytown School was never registered as an historic landmark - the family had heard that the designation makes land ownership unnecessarily complicated - but Waruch has school board minutes from the 1930s onward, as his father was one of the trustees on the last board.

"They voted 7-4 to close the school in favor of going to Kerhonkson and just having a bus stop here," Waruch has learned in his research, "and then they voted on whether or not to heat the building for the kids waiting for the bus. It was unanimously against." Waruch's father had been responsible for starting the fire each morning while the K-12 school was still in operation, because his farm was on adjacent property.

The school itself was likely built before 1875, and was one of the few unconverted schools of that time left in Rochester. Waruch, who owns a lumber mill, points to the tell-tale marks that show that the timbers were hand-hewn. A circular-saw mill was built nearby in the 1890s, so had the school been erected afterwards it was have used milled lumber. Additionally, the Beers Ulster County Atlas shows a school on that portion of Upper Cherrytown Road, confirming that some such building was there when the atlas was published in 1875.

In recent years Waruch had sometimes stored hay in the building, although there weren't any bales inside on the day of the fire. He'd like to rebuild it, he said, "but for what purpose, I don't know."

The three youngsters will appear in court at a later date. (Shawangunk Journal 1/5/2012)

Endangering: Tammy Lynn Terbush, 39, of 175 Upper Cherrytown Road, Kerhonkson, was arrested Saturday at 12:15 p.m. by Ulster County sheriff's deputies who responded to a 911 call from that address reporting a drug overdose. Police said following an investigation they determined that Terbush had overdosed on cocaine, heroin and possibly pain medication while caring for four children, ages 13, 12, 8 and 2. They said Terbush was transported by ambulance to Ellenville Regional Hospital and was subsequently charged with four counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Police said the investigation is continuting. Terbush was issued tickets to appear in Rochester Town Court. (Freeman 1/19/2012)

DWI: David Stubblefield, 40, of 10 Eastwood Apartments, Ellenville, was arrested at 3:15 a.m. Monday on a charge of misdemeanor drunken driving. Ulster County sheriff's deputies said Stubblefield was arrested following a traffic stop on Lucas Avenue after he was seen speeding. He was released on tickets to appear in Rochester Town Court. (Freeman 1/17/2012)

u Accident: An Accord man was taken to Kingston Hospital with a complaint of back pain following an accident at 7:48 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. Route 209 and Airport Road, Ulster County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies said Daniel P. Wemp, 21, of 3140 U.S. Route 209, Stone Ridge was southbound on Route 209 and was making a right turn onto Airport Road when he lost control of his vehicle. Wemp's vehicle struck a second vehicle that was stopped at the stop sign on Airport Road, waiting to turn onto Route 209, deputies said. Deputies said the second vehicle was driven by Paul K. VanLeuven, 21, of 16 Sand Hill Road, Accord. VanLeuven was taken to Kingston Hospital by members of the Kerhonkson-Accord Rescue Squad, deputies said. Deputies said Wemp was issued two tickets for bald tires (Freeman 1/17/2012)

Criminal mischief: Ulster County sheriff's deputies arrested Robert W. Zurawel Jr., 45, of Accord, on Monday at 6:56 a.m. and charged him with two felonies: criminal contempt and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor assault. Police said they responded to Zurawel's address following a 911 call from the location placed by his girlfriend reporting a domestic dispute in progress. Deputies determined Zurawel was intoxicated and struck the victim in the face several times and threw a drinking glass at her, which struck her in the face, causing injury. They said Zurawel smashed the victim's belongings inside the house and destroyed her television and coffeemaker outside by setting them on fire. Police learned during the investigation that a local court had issued an order of protection against him on the victim's behalf. Zurawel was arraigned and sent to Ulster County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. (Freeman 1/11/2012)

Shoplifting: Justin G. Irwin, 19, of 181 Elmendorf St., Kingston; and Michael R. Tacti, 19, of 150 Ridgeview Road, Kerhonkson, were arrested by Ulster town police Friday at 2 p.m. at the Wal-Mart superstore on Frank Sottile Boulevard and each charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor. Police said loss-prevention personnel reported seeing Irwin selecting an item valued at $100 from the store display, removing it from its packaging and hiding it in his pocket. Tacti was also seen selecting an item worth $32.97 from a display, removing it from its packaging and likewise hiding it in his pocket, according to police. Both men then left the store without paying or attempting to pay for the items, they said. The men were released on appearance ticket. (Freeman 1/10/2012)

Drugs: Erik J. Berg, 46, of Kerhonkson, was arrested by state police at Wawarsing at 7:09 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Route 209 on seven counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful possession of a personal identification, and one count of possession of a hypodermic instrument, all misdemeanors; seven counts of having a controlled substance in a non-original container and one count of possession of marijuana, violations. He was arraigned and sent to the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. (Freeman 1/7/2012)

DWAI: Joseph J. Celuch, 50, of Kingston, was arrested by state police at Wawarsing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Route 209 on a misdemeanor charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs. Further information was unavailable. (Freeman 1/7/2012)

Shoplifting: Merisa Lake, 19, Kerhonkson, was arrested by state police at Ulster Saturday at 3:25 p.m. on state Route 209 and charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor. She was issued an appearance ticket. (Freeman 1/2/2012)

Forgery: Ryan P. O'Donnell, 18, Kerhonkson, was arrested by state police at Ellenville Wednesday at 11 a.m. and charged with forgery, a felony; and two counts of petit larceny, a misdemeanor. He was being held. (Freeman 12/30/2011)

Resisting arrest: Theron R. Cole, 53, of Kerhonkson, was charged by state police at Wawarsing with the misdemeanors of resisting arrest and criminal trespass at 8:10 a.m. on U.S. Route 209 in the town of Rochester. (Freeman 12/24/2011)

Dear Rochester Residents Association Members:

On behalf of the Rochester Food Pantry, I would like to thank you and the members of the Rochester Residents Association for your continuing support. Your 2011 end of the year fund drive showed the degree to which neighbors are willing to help neighbors. We received 110 donations attributable to the fund drive. The $1000 matching grant from the association was met many times over resulting in a grand total of $12,800. This amount covers over seven months of costs from the Regional Food Bank, our main source of food. We sincerely appreciate your sustained efforts. Knowing we have a resource we can count on allows us to expand and improve our services.

In addition to the Food Bank, last year we were able to purchase fresh produce year-round. By relying on seasonal varieties, we were able to provide improved nutrition, while keeping our costs in check. We were also able to supplement food with some basic personal care items such as soap and tooth paste.

We had a nearly 8% increase in meals provided in 2011 compared with 2010. We provided over 30,000 meals to more than 2,500 individuals. We saw a tripling in the number of seniors we serve. It is hard to know whether the need is greater or whether they are hearing about us and making use of our services, hopefully the latter. While the demand varies, it is the highest in the winter months as people struggle with loss of seasonal work and heating costs.

We are fortunate that our Town residents and organizations have been concerned, responsive and generous. Through their donations, both in cash and kind, we have been able to meet the ongoing demand and supplement the food requirements of needy families and individuals in our community.

Thank you again, and we look forward to your continued support in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Margaret Bonner Corresponding Secretary

We invite you to submit the following for publication:

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