Overnight Parking Restricted During Winter in Cobleskill

The Cobleskill Police Department would like to remind residents that there is no overnight parking along Village streets from November 1st to April 15th from 2-6 am.

Cuomo: NYS Prepared for Ebola

The Governor made a statement in New York City yesterday and said that the state is ready for any possibility.

  

Source: Casino Missing Necessary Approval Document

According to a recently released Freedom of Information request, a source has told the Schoharie News that the Howe Caverns project's claims of having a completed State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA), a necessary step towards project completion, is not true.

The news conflicts with Howe Caverns Resort and Casino LLC documentation to the NYS Gaming Commission. According to the Corporation, the SEQRA has been fully completed.

 Another document sent to the Gaming Commission by the Howe Caverns Project has the approval slated for next month.

In a FOIL response sent to us by local resident Bob Neid from the Town of Cobleskill, the SEQR is not complete. Mr. Neid requested a copy of SEQRA completion, as a representative from Howe Caverns claimed was complete to the Times Union recently. The Town of Cobleskill wrote back:

the Town of Cobleskill does not have documentation that mets the criteria in your FOIL request of October 14,2014

Neid wrote to the Schoharie News, "Please note that a SEQRA completed for the 2011 caverns expansion proposal is NOT the same as the assessment required for the casino. To suggest otherwise is deliberately misleading. Our organization is concerned that the residents of our county are not being given the complete story on the casino proposal and deserve to know the actual status of the proposal."

A completed SEQRA is required for the project to move forward.

Constitution Pipeline Faces Delay over Army Corps of Engineers Inquest

The US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) has requested that Constitution Pipeline address a series of concerns related to the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, alternative routes, compressor stations, mitigation plans and how Constitution can justify the use of “remote sensing” for a large number of parcels they have been prevented from surveying due to landowner resistance, before USACE will consider approving the proposed pipeline.

USACE also called on Constitution to examine and explain the potential cumulative impacts of pipeline infrastructure build outs including the proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) Project, something Constitution and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have resisted to date.

USACE ‘s concerns echo those raised by pipeline opposition groups including Stop the Pipeline and the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities and will likely result in lengthy delays for a project which is already more than a year and half behind schedule and still without approvals from the FERC, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and USACE. Because of seasonal constraints imposed by DEC and other agencies to protect wildlife habitat, this latest roadblock could mean an additional delay of a year or more for Constitution.

Bob Nied, from the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities, said: “when citizen groups raise these types of substantive issues they are often ignored by the pipeline companies and FERC but when the USACE raises them they can’t be ignored. Without USACE approval, the pipeline project is dead.” Nied added that “Constitution will have a difficult time answering USACE’s concerns in any meaningful way because, short of withdrawing their application, they simply can’t fix the many things that are wrong with the pipeline proposal.”

The following is a link to the letter issued by USACE:

http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20141015-5134

Opinion: Seward, Lopez, and Gibson a Winning Team

While there has been significant concern about some local officials over the last several years, it is clear that Schoharie County is well served by its representatives to the state and federal governments.

Congressman Chris Gibson has repeatedly assisted communities hit by flooding. He helped resolve a three-year old FEMA funding issue for the Town of Schoharie and was personally thanked by Supervisor Gene Milone. His work on behalf of farmers and against Lyme disease show his local concern for the area. His bipartisan work has assisted officials of both parties.

Assemblyman Peter Lopez has served the residents of the area for over thirty years now. His swift action in 2012 prevented flooding during Hurricane Sandy. He has fought for and won funding and recognition for Upstate communities even as Assemblymen from Downstate dominate the chamber. His actions following Hurricane Irene are still talked about and remains a responsive advocate for local residents.

Senator Jim Seward has fought consistently for the towns and villages he serves. Just recently he successfully gained hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding for the streambank mitigation project. He has also played a major role in assisting communities with grant funds and flood recovery efforts.

This November remember the actions of these representatives and how they've helped shape the recovery over the last three years.

Schoharie Fresh Ranked In Top 100 Most Celebrated In the Country

—After more than three months, American Farmland Trust’s 2014 I Love My Farmers Market Celebration came to a close and Schoharie Fresh ranked number 26 in the Top 100 Most Celebrated in the Country – with 86 pledges collected. This is the second year that Schoharie Fresh participated in this celebration and a significant jump in the national placement from the 64 spot in 2013.

 Schoharie Fresh is an online Farmer’s Market in Schoharie County that was funded initially through the Creating Healthy Places grant through NYS Department of Health to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables to residents in Schoharie County. It was started in 2011 with a pick up location at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Building in Cobleskill. It was moved to the SUNY Cobleskill campus in 2012 and the season was expanded. In 2014 two additional customer pick up locations were added to make it more convenient for those living in Schoharie and Central Bridge to purchase local foods through Schoharie Fresh. Also in 2014 Schoharie Fresh was approved to accept SNAP benefits, enabling more people to utilize this service. Schoharie Fresh is now open from February through December each year.

 Each week the I Love My Farmers Market Celebration encouraged shoppers to champion local family farmers by pledging to shop at their farmers markets each week. Nationally, shoppers pledged to spend $443,608.62at farmers’ markets this season, putting funds directly into the pockets of family farmers.

 “Farmers and ranchers are the cornerstone of our country. Yet their lands are under constant threat from development and unchecked urbanization,” said Susan Sink, Vice President of Development and External Relations. “This is why we created the I Love My Farmers Market Celebration — to showcase the importance of farmers markets in keeping family farmers on their land. Pledging to shop at your local farmers market shows your support for the farmers and ranchers who support you.”

I Love My Farmers Market Celebration is part of American Farmland Trust’sNo Farms No Food® Campaign – an effort to highlight the abundance of fresh, healthy, and local food produced by America’s farms and ranches and to recognize that we must do more to save America’s rapidly disappearing family farms. 

For more information on Schoharie Fresh, please go to the website at www.schohariefresh.com or contact us at schohariefresh@gmail.com. Schoharie Fresh is funded in part by Creating Healthy Places, a NYS Dept of Health grant initiative and United Against Hunger from the United Way of the Greater Capital Region

Slow Traffic On Routes 10 and 30, County Route 2 Until 22nd for Transformer Transfer

Bay Crane will be moving 2 separate transformer loads via special trailers from Richmondville to Gilboa Power Authority via NYS Rt 10, Cnty Rt 2 (North Road) and NYS Rt 30 into the lower reservoir access road on October 15th-22nd depending on weather and equipment breakdowns. Traffic will be very slow during this move.

Letter to the Editor: Casinos and Quickie-Marts

Casinos and Quickie-Marts: Economic Development in Schoharie County

Whether you think a casino in Schoharie County is a good or bad idea you probably agree that something has to be done to address the depressed local economy, high unemployment rate and dwindling tax base.

While fears of moral decay, dramatic increases in drug and alcohol abuse and other social ills associated with casinos are likely overblown, a casino proposal for Schoharie County does bring with it something harmful – a distraction from the root causes and cures for the county’s lack of a viable economic development strategy. The casino, just like Lowes and other one shot wonders is not the answer to reverse years of decline. Single large employers do not shift the course of the county toward a sustainable economic model. Rural areas, with high levels of poverty and an unskilled work force do not present the kind of demographic that attracts and retains large business, nor should they necessarily try.

Casinos represent a troubled industry with its own problems, including a competitive and declining marketplace. Even if a casino comes to Schoharie County it could fall victim to competition and declining disposable/entertainment income, the same conditions that have resulted in failed casinos in Nevada and New Jersey, leaving little long-term economic benefit for the County. So what should we in Schoharie County to do if we really want it to be “our time”?

We should focus on economic engines that sustain growth and job creation based on our strengths not our desperation. We need to encourage and support the creation of small business, particularly home and farm-based entrepreneurial businesses. We do that by expanding high-speed internet access and by supporting practical assistance for small start-ups. We need to help small businesses explore and leverage non-traditional markets and marketing approaches. We also need to cultivate a better educated, more diverse and agile work force.  To start, we must address the 5% of our high school students who drop out, the 20% who fail to graduate for one reason or another and the nearly 40% who don’t go on to college. We need to look closer at successful models for encouraging tourism. We can’t continue to wonder why more people don’t come to our beautiful valleys while we rejoice in yet another convenience store or ignore the vacant store fronts and dilapidated housing in our downtowns.   Finally, we need to go out and look for compatible community partners by participating in industry and professional groups and trade shows, networking and advocating on behalf of our county’s strengths.

Economic development is a science and a profession not just one of many lines on an elected or appointed official’s job description. Economic development requires a comprehensive and pro-active strategy, executed by experienced professionals. Hoping that a casino license is issued or a big box store comes to town is not a strategy. Schoharie County will only have “it’s time” when our officials stop waiting for the knock on the door and instead support a real effort to create the conditions that allow our residents to develop, improve and expand small local businesses which provide an attractive identity for our county that includes a beautiful natural environment, sustainable business models, an educated workforce and commitment to a community in which people want to live, work and invest.   

We can gamble on a casino, trade quickie-marts for boarded up stores and allow our kids to shoot no higher than minimum wage employment or we can get busy and create a local economy that is diverse, vibrant and based on providing real products and services, delivered by smart and hard-working people in creative ways, to new and inventive markets.

Bob Nied

Center for Sustainable Rural Communities

Writer's Group in Cobleskill Invites for National Novel Writing Month

Three of us at the Writers' Group in Cobleskill have signed up for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) which starts Nov. 1 We are sure that other Schoharie County writers have signed up for this writing challenge. We are looking for these writers with the expectation of forming a local support group for November, or possibly longer. NaNoWriMo is a free program, open to anyone over 13. The reward if you finish the challenge is a novel that you wrote, which may or may not be publishable.

Proposed Budget Bombshell: Terry Axed, Planning Overhauled

The proposed Schoharie County Budget for 2015 had many ups and downs, but one firm note of savings. After years of chronic issues stemming out of the County Planning and Development Office headed by Alicia Terry, County Treasurer Bill Cherry is proposing a major restructuring of the entire department.

According to the proposed document, the County Planning and Development Office will be split into two pieces, neither of which would be department levels. Senior staffing of the current department will fill the vacuum. The position of Director, currently filled by Alicia Terry, will be eliminated, saving taxpayers $73,393. The Office Manager position, currently unfilled, will be eliminated at a savings of over $40,000.

A Planner position will be placed back into the budget after it was eliminated by Cassandra Ethington, which will offset the savings of the Office Manager's salary. The Marketing Specialist position will also be removed and replaced with two Economic Development Specialist I positions-- one full time and one part time at approximately the current cost. The proposed budget states that this change will "enable us to expand our scope of activity in reaching out to businesses in order to encourage them to relocate to Schoharie County and bring much-needed jobs to the area."

 All told, the salary savings at the Planning Department this year alone will total almost $70,000 even counting for other employees' raises.

Terry has been seen as the last remaining former Ethington ally remaining in the County Departments.

2015 Proposed County Taxes by Town

Read below for your town's effective County tax rate. Most towns are increasing-- three are decreasing.

Town	2014 Tax Rate	2015 Tax Rate	Percent Change
Blenheim	$10.64	$11.15	4.79%
Broome	$8.56	8.97	4.79
Carlisle	$10.58	11.03	4.25
Cobleskill	$10.28	11.39	10.8
Conesville	$8.51	$8.90	4.58
Esperance	$10.79	8.98	-16.77
Fulton	$12.16	12.77	5.02
Gilboa	$489.06	489.88	0.17
Jefferson	$14.22	14.92	4.92
Middleburgh	$12.26	12.85	4.81
Richmondville	$8.46	8.98	6.15
Schoharie	$10.85	9.03	-16.77
Seward	$10.57	11.02	4.26
Sharon	$10.54	10.99	4.27
Summit	$13.82	14.04	1.59
Wright	$10.29	10.18	-1.07

2015 County Budget: Stream Spending Hikes Taxes, Largely Offset by Tax Rebate

On the surface of things, the newly released Schoharie County 2015 tentative budget has a significant tax increase.

However, looking closer shows that most homeowners will not be paying much more, if anything, next year.

Due to stagnating property values and sales tax, coupled with necessary projects, County taxes will be increasing by 4.86% from .0843% to .0884% for most taxpayers. However, under the new tax credit system implemented by the state, late next year all STAR-eligible property owners will receive a check offsetting the increase in taxes.

Temporary and permanent spending drove up the budget this year. Total expenditures will increase 19.1%, or $13.7 million to $85.7 million. Much of the increase in spending-- and in taxes are due to the streambank stabilization project. Due to increased costs and other issues, the County will likely have to bond the cost over ten years. $10 million of the $13.7 million in increased spending is directly due to this project.

Other major spending projects include improving the Emergency Communications Center and E-911 dispatch, moving it from a flood damaged property in Schoharie to the former MOSA site. The budget also includes portions to help make the County Building flood resistant and rebuild the Schoharie Jail. They are being paid for through Bond Anticipation Notes, of which after state and federal reimbursement, the County will only pay interest on.

The budget also made significant cutbacks to soften the blow of tax increases, including positions at the Treasurer's Office, Planning and Development, and IT.

The proposed budget also allows saving by having Consolidated Highway projects be done by the County instead of by third-party contractors.

Vote in Our Poll: Do You Approve of the County Board?

Vote in our poll on the right sidebar over whether or not you approve of the job performance of the County Board. Make sure to comment on our Facebook page about how you think they're doing.

Letter to the Editor: Administrator Would Solve Issues

Dear Editor,

When a County Administrator was proposed in January I was not in favor of hiring an additional person to run the business of the county full time.  My first opinion was that a County Administrator would be an unnecessary additional expense for the county. 

However, as I observed and participated in the debates on the issues facing our county I realized we needed to examine the options.  

Fortunately, Chairman Van Glad appointed me to be on the Board of Supervisors Special County Administrator Exploratory Committee.   Being on the Special Committee gave my fellow committee members and I the opportunity to meet with elected and appointed officials in other counties and see firsthand what works for them.  What we found was the chief operating officer was an indispensable asset to their respective legislative bodies, department heads and other elected officials.   

It is the recommendation of the Special Committee that Schoharie County like 54 of the 56 other counties in the state hire a full time chief operating officer.  We feel this position is best placed with a County Administrator without any political affiliation.    Such an individual should possess appropriate education and work experience in the field of public administration.     

As we all are well aware, Schoharie County has faced many challenges in recent years resulting in higher costs to taxpayers and widespread employee relation issues.  There is no guarantee a County Administrator would have stopped all of the problems that have come up from happening.   However, a proactive and professional Administrator would surely have identified many of those problems early in their development and given Schoharie County an opportunity to abate them before they worsened.   

On Friday, October 17th the citizens of Schoharie County will have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the question of whether the County should hire a County Administrator at a Public Hearing on the subject at 10:00 at the Board of Supervisors Chamber at the Schoharie County Office Building.  I encourage all who wish to share their thoughts on the subject and to hear other fellow Schoharie County citizens share their thoughts to attend this important meeting which is crucial to the future of our county.   

Amber Bleu, Supervisor

Town of Wright

Successful Pumpkin Festival in Schoharie

The weather was right for the Pumpkin Festival in Schoharie. The event, which attracted wellwishers from across the County, showed off the agricultural plenty of the area.

Photos credit the Schoharie Promotional Association's Facebook Page.

Poll: Yes to Administrator

By a nearly three-to-one margin, Schoharie News readers back the proposed Administrator's position recommended by the committee that looked into the topic. The committee recommended a strong Administrator able to coordinate between the different County Departments.

Yes 67% - 91 
No 23% - 31 
Too early/don't know 10% - 13 
135 total

Berne Man Arrested for DWI After Crash

On October 8, 2014, State Troopers in Guilderland arrested 47 year old Keith A. Pepicelli of Berne, New York for DWI. Late in the evening, troopers responded to a singe personal injury motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Thatcher’s Park Road and Filkins Lane, in the Town of Knox. During interview at the scene, troopers observed an odor of beverage alcohol emanating from Pepicelli. He was transported to Albany Medical Center by ambulance for non-life threatening injures. He submitted to a blood test and was processed the following day at the SP New Scotland barracks. His BAC is pending results. He is due to appear in the Town of Knox Court on October 22, 2014.

Schoharie Pumpkin Festival Tomorrow

All are invited to Schoharie tomorrow for a pumpkin festival from 10am to 2pm. The event, put on by the Schoharie Promotional Association, will be full of activities. The event will be followed by the Schoharie Sloughter Auction.

This Weekend: Old Stone Fort 125th Anniversary History Fair

The Schoharie County Historical Society’s 125^thAnniversary History Fair celebrates history enthusiasts of all time periods and interest areas.  On October 11th and 12, at the Old Stone Fort Museum visitors can interact with historians from Roman times to the 1960s.  Not just living history military re-enactors, but also musicians, textile artists, restorers, authors and collectors covering more than three centuries.  Kids – admitted free – will also enjoy trying out colonial toys and games. 

The highlight of the History Fair weekend is a spectacular outdoor concert, “From Big Bang to Big Band: 125 Years of Music.”  Beginning at 5pm Friday Skip Parsons’ Riverboat Jazz Band will play popular tunes from the early 20^th century.  Then the Schoharie Valley Concert Band will play Tchaikovsky’s “1812" Overture in quite possibly the world’s first performance to feature cannons from three centuries (Revolutionary War, Civil War WWII and Korean War), plus historic bells ringing at the finale.  As if that isn’t enough, the concert continues with big band music for dancing by the Burnt Hills Melody Makers.  This free four-hour concert event is made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York Council on the Arts, administered through the Community Arts Grants Program by the Greene County Council on the Arts.

Concert-goers are encouraged to arrive early to catch shuttle buses from parking lots and bring lawn seating.  All parking on Saturday is off site in nearby village lots, with continuous shuttle buses running to the Fort.

All weekend long, craftsmen and living historians will talk with visitors demonstrate skills from the past.  J.R. Winslow will demonstrate Roman horseback riding.  The military timeline includes the colonial 3^rd Tryon County Militia, Civil War soldiers, sailors and Zouaves, Irish Fenian Raiders, World War I doughboys, World War II G.I.s, and restored military vehicles and tanks from World War II to Viet Nam. Other presentations include an Iroquois warrior and a colonial doctor.  

The Golden Fleece Spinners and Weavers will demonstrate textile arts and natural dying.  Pioneer engines from the “Gas Up” event will be chugging and puffing as they pump water and press cider.  Barry Keegan will demonstrate the art of knapping flint to make stone tools, and Tinker Cross will discuss “1778, Inside and Out.”  Displays by local historical societies, museums and authors will round out the weekend’s offerings.

On Saturday, Cliff Oliver will speak as Solomon Northup, the nineteenth century author of Twelve Years a Slave(recently made into a movie), and there will be two performances of  “Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier, 1776-1976” a wartime music tribute by the 77^th NY Regimental Balladeers.

Sunday features traditional brass band music by the Chatham Cornet Band performing on antique instruments, and 18^th century popular music by Rural Felicity.

Major underwriters of the Stone Fort History Fair are the New York Council for the Humanities, the Schoharie County Occupancy Tax Board; the Donna M. Lavigne Agency and Fenimore Asset Management.  Other sponsors include the Bank of Richmondville, Ralph and Irmgard Buess, Kintz Plastics, Lavelle & Finn, LLP; Little Italy and Schoharie Valley Wine & Liquor, MDRM Industries, NBT Bank, Price Chopper, Sterling Insurance, and Stewart’s Shops.

See our website or our Facebook page for more details.

Middleburgh Board to Pass Fracking Ban

The Middleburgh Town Hall was packed for today's regular meeting of the Town Board. Many members of the community turned out to hear about whether the proposed fracking ban would pass. The proposed Slottje provisions, written by two attorneys have been passed by several surrounding towns.

The public hearing featured nineteen consecutive speakers, all against hydrofracking. The members of the audience asked the Town Board to support the ban. The law would require three of the five members to vote yes. Councilman Frank Herodes was absent for a family emergency. At stake was whether or not another member would become the pivotal yes or no vote.

Village Trustee William Morton said that natural gas development could hurt local tourism initiatives.

Supervisor Jim Buzon said that the ban should be passed and his experience seeing fracking firsthand in Pennsylvania and the threat of contaminated water. Councilwoman Sue Makely echoed his comments and thanked people for coming to the meeting. Councilman David Lloyd, who has resisted a fracking ban, was silent.

It appeared that the proposed law was about to pass as Councilman Brian DeFeo stated he would vote for them. However, Town Attorney Mike West counseled the Board to wait seven days to inform the surrounding towns, as required by law. The Slottje anti-fracking provisions should pass with a majority vote at the next meeting.