Flood Grant Meeting Tonight

A meeting on the plans for $12 million in funding through New York State is being held tonight in Schoharie. The meeting regarding the Community Reconstruction Zones will be from 7pm-9pm in the Schoharie Town Hall. $3 million was awarded to each the Town of Esperance, Village of Esperance, Village of Middleburgh, and Village of Schoharie.

We get the following from the Schoharie Promotional Association Facebook page. (Their FB page is worth a like, by the way)

Up to $3 million is available for the Village of Schoharie to help rebuild our community, revitalize our local economy and protect us from future flooding. Come bring your ideas and concerns to add to the draft plan or just plan to attend to learn about progress so far.

SALT to Hold Green Shirts Celebration

Come and join in a commemoration of all of the good works done by the Green Shirt volunteers since Irene. SALT is coordinating an event to mark the departure of these volunteers and to thank them for helping to put Schoharie County back together.

SALT Hosting Surf and Turf Dinner

SALT's first Surf and Turf Dinner was so successful, they have decided to hold another one. This one will be held at the Schoharie Presbyterian Church on Friday, November 1 from 4-7pm.. The meal sounds delicious:

The dinners will feature delicious fresh lobster, steak, shrimp, clams and seasonal sweet corn. Pre-sale tickets are $25, and regular tickets are $30. The dinners may be eaten on site or taken to go.

More info on the event page.

SALT Hosting Artisan Fair October 13th

SALT is hosting the Autumn Artisan's Market this Sunday. The event, which aims to bring in the whole family, will raise money for flood victims. It will take place at the Schoharie County Annex parking low between 10am and 3pm. More from the event's facebook page here.

Middleburgh Hosts Volunteer Day

Middleburgh had some help over the weekend as over a dozen volunteers from a SUNY Oneonta fraternity helped in several projects around town. According to the Middleburgh Community News website, this is the "third volunteer day since last year."

Volunteers at work. Credit: Middleburgh community site.

SALT Hiring New VISTAs

The Schoharie Area Long Term Recovery group has made another step forward, planning its second round of the VISTA program. Run in conjunction with the Americorps the VISTAs will be sent across the County to assist with flood recovery projects. The first round, which sent volunteers to every Irene-affected municipality, aided in the acquisition of volunteers and grants for each. SALT announced on their website that they are hiring for the next round.

DeBartolo Retiring from SALT

The principle figure behind Schoharie Recovery and the co-founder of SALT Josh DeBartolo is leaving this area to help others in need. The resident of Middleburgh had moved back into the County by chance two years ago and has been the largest single driver of recovery for hundreds of families.

He was profiled by YNN last week, which highlighted his impressive record.

"We've coordinated over 35,000 volunteers, we've had volunteers in over 500 homes and moved 300 of them back home," said DeBartolo. And now a bittersweet time for DeBartolo as he winds down his last week on the job. Reflecting back on all those he's helped here and also given his time to help in other areas facing disaster, like Fort Plain. 

And one of his favorite moments raising more than $16,000 to say goodbye to his grizzly look.

Mr. DeBartolo is getting married next month and moving on to help malnourished children. It is a legacy that will not be easily replaced or forgotten.

SALT Raises $16,000 at Bounty of the County

Schoharie County Long Term Recovery held a well-attended event to raise awareness and money for flood victims. The Bounty of the County event was a success, raising $16,000 to aid further recovery efforts.

The fundraiser, organized by Albany-based Wine & Dine for the Arts to help restore homes and businesses damaged two years ago by Tropical Storm Irene, was held one day after much of the village of Fort Plain in neighboring Montgomery County was wiped out by flooding.

Photo Credit: Jerrine Corallo