Undead Movie Night in Cobleskill on October 19th

From Village Trustee Linda Holmes:

Would like your readers to know that the Cobleskill Recreation Commission is hosting a Movie Night with the UNDEAD on October 19 at Teen Town in Cobleskill starting at 5:30pm. FREE admission. Snacks and raffles will help raise funds for the A.E.D. Project. The A.E.D. Project has been taken on by the Cobleskill Recreation Commission to purchase A.E.D.s for rec programs in Schoharie County. We are working with not just your Recreation Commissions, but with Little League, Little Dawgs and the like. This event is for the entire family. Come and have some frightful fun!!!!

Will Dissolution Sink Galasso's Re-election?

With the Village of Middleburgh dissolution vote still in mind, which went down in flames 71-344 last February, it begs the question: will the defeat of former Mayor Gary Hayes' unpopular dissolution petition in Middleburgh have any effect on Cobleskill Mayor Mark Galasso's bid for reelection in his municipality?

Mr. Galasso's defining position during his time in elected office, as both Village Trustee and Mayor, has been to push for the dissolution or consolidation of his municipality into either the town's government apparatus or the [unlikely] creation of a City of Cobleskill, which in New York is as likely as a Republican winning a single electoral vote: not going to happen.

Which brings us to this fall's Mayoral election between Mr. Galasso and Mrs. Linda Holmes, who serves as a Village Trustee and has been an outspoken opponent of Mr. Galasso's efforts, in light of both Middleburgh's overwhelming vote against Mr. Hayes petition and acknowledgment that dissolution or consolidation would lead to few savings or reduction in Cobleskill's public workforce (Cobleskill Times Journal: May 7th, 2013 edition).

It goes without saying Mr. Galasso's signature issue has taken a significant blow because (a.) his own findings are that dissolution will have little to no savings for Cobleskill taxpayers, (b.) the creation of a city government is impossible and (c.) a smaller municipality just 10 miles away saw over 80% of their citizenry vote against the exact same proposal, due to pesky facts that costs would just be shifted to town government and instead of two moderate tax bills they would receive one giant collection in the mail.

What effect will this have on November's election? Only time and the respective campaigns will tell... What say you?

Gibson Calls Shutdown "Unacceptable"

Schoharie County's Congressman Chris Gibson slammed the government shutdown, calling it 'unnecessary.' Here he is in an interview with WNYT.

 On his Facebook page he also said that the process was 'unacceptable.'

Where we are now is absolutely unacceptable, and all parties need to come together to get things done.

Rock the Valley T-Shirts Still Available

Following the success of the Rock the Valley event last week, the Schoharie Promotional Association and Schoharie Fire Department have additional shirts available. All proceeds go to the Schoharie FD and are available at Magical Printing or Nobel's Ace Hardware in Schoharie. Shirts are just $10 each.

Ethington Ad Invokes Irene

In a new ad at the back of the Cobleskill paper, Sheriff candidate Todd Ethington directly invoked the flood following Hurricane Irene. Ethington's previous election material highlighted what he believed was a slow process of the Sheriff's Department moving back into the Harvey Stoddard complex.

The Deputy ran a third page ad in today's paper calling for a swift recovery for the buildings-- which he says looks like had been flooded just a month prior.

None of the candidates have made such a strong appeal on the back of the flood. Ethington has hinted to a similar line before and Sheriff Desmond's campaign does mention the hardship of dealing with the deluge but this is a significant departure-- and perhaps an escalation of the already heated race.

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.

Schoharie News Poll Closing October 15th

There's just two weeks left to vote in the Schoharie News poll on the Sheriff's race. It's exceedingly tight-- with Tony Desmond and Todd Ethington each tied 40% each. Yesterday Ethington led Desmond by three percent. This is the only poll of the election season in any media outlet in the County. Make sure that you vote and make your voice heard before the poll ends!

SUNY Cobleskill's Student Veterans Association Comes Out in Full Force for FAM 5K

The FAM 5K "Fund" Run/Walk brought 650 participants to Cobleskill on Saturday morning to tackle the 3.1 mile long course that stretches from South Grand to MacArthur Avenue to around SUNY Cobleskill's campus and then back again, with all of the proceeds going to one of five local charities on a rotating basis. 

SUNY Cobleskill's Student Veterans Association was out in full force for the event Saturday morning, with the group donning their Team RWB (Red, White and Blue) t-shirt in this photo outside of the Sunshine Fairground's Progressland, with several members participating in the run. Including SVA President Christina Ilowiecki, who finished with a respectable 26:19 overall time and a mile pace of 8:28.

SVA President Christina Ilowiecki

 near the finish line Saturday.

The Student Veterans Association is by far one of the more community active SUNY clubs on campus, with them planning to participate in the Pumpkin Patch's "mud run" this weekend and a campus car wash on Thursday to raise proceeds for community veterans in need as well as other events through out the semester.

Joshua Edmonds (15:03) and Megan Hogan (16:03) were the top finishers in Saturday's FAM 5K, which was first held in 1994 and has continued to grow every year with more funds being raised for various charities in the community.

Milone's Idea Leads to Creek Remediation Plan

June's flash flood that washed down the Main Street of Schoharie and Middleburgh sent shockwaves to the communities that are still getting back on their feet after Hurricane Irene. The flash flood may have only caused minor damage, but it did spring leaders into action. Middleburgh distributed sandbags to businesses. Schoharie reviewed its strengths and weakenesses.

And Mr. Milone had an idea.

Mr. Milone spoke with Assemblyman Peter Lopez, who had once held the seat of Supervisor. Milone made the suggestion that retaining ponds could be placed along the routes of many of the creeks of the County. This initial project was considered hyrologically unsound upon further review but provided the opening needed for more attention on the subject.

Mr. Milone's suggestion spurred Assemblyman Lopez into action. Lopez organized a meeting in June with local officials to discuss stream remediation. This grew later in the month and again in July. Mr. Lopez' working group now has support from his office, Senator Seward, and Congressman Gibson. The communities along the Valley have voiced their support.

He expanded on the idea in an August letter to the editor. "All parties involved in this effort realize that if we are to protect our residents we must address the problems that exist in our waterways by curing the problems and using methods that will lessen impacts."

The working group has expanded its set of plans to the point where a potential solution is on the table. The County Soil and Water Department has been instrumental in reviewing existing plans as well as applying for and receiving funds from the State for future remediation. Much of the work is a long way from completion but it started with an idea of Mr. Milone's.

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For more information, email Editor Timothy Knight at aaaabraves@yahoo.com.

Ethington, Desmond Neck and Neck in SN Poll

The only poll of the 2013 Schoharie County Sheriff's race has been right here on the Schoharie News. The unscientific poll is not traditional, but it is at least a glimpse into the close race.

The most energy appears to be coming from the Deputy Ethington and Sheriff Desmond camps, and appears in the poll. Both candidates are near each other while Cobleskill Police Chief Travis camp is lagging behind. As of 3:40 today there have been 300 votes. The current percentages have Ethington in the lead.

Ethington (C) -- 42%
Desmond* (R) -- 37%
Travis (D) -- 21%

* Denotes incumbent

The poll also has 57 comments as our readers have been sparring over the right choice for the job. Again, most comments revolve around the current Sheriff or the Deputy.

Charlotteville FD Truck Approved

In a vote last week the Charlotteville Fire Department will be receiving a new truck. The FD placed an update on their facebook page. By a vote of 65-33 the Department is getting a brush/ water supply truck.

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.

DWI Enforcement Drops Over Last Three Years

New York State has seen an increase in DWI arrests since the Great Recession began in 2008. The problem has been significant in Upstate New York, especially. Despite tremendous efforts to try and stem the tide of drunken driving, including public service campaigns, the trend is increasing.

New York north of the City has seen a total of 17,229 DWI arrests between 2010 and 2012 as compared to 16,893 in the previous three years. This 1.95% increase in cumulative arrests also came as the total number of people in the region declined. With this significant per-capita increase, New York State is struggling under the new caseload.

This problem appears particularly acute in poorer rural communities. As one of the poorest counties in Upstate New York, it would appear that the trend would especially high. Drunk driving cases have splashed the pages of local newspapers and television newscasts.

Instead, drunk driving arrests have plummeted. During the same 2010-2012 period, directly overlapping the term of Sheriff Tony Desmond, the numbers have fallen off. There were 56 felony DWI arrests in this period, compared to 79 the previous three under Sheriff John Bates. This represents a 29% drop. Furthermore, there were 406 misdemeanor DWI arrests as compared to 496 the previous three, an 18% fall.

Complaints about drunk driving appear to have increased across the County, but the Sheriff's Department has not arrested on the subject with the same ferocity as in the past. Much of the intoxicated driving enforcement has fallen on the lap of the State Police.

Part of this could be a way of decluttering the already packed local justice system by charging individuals with lesser offenses. However, direct evidence seems to point to a decline in road patrol since 2010. In the words of one worker at the Sheriff's office (NOT a candidate for political office), many of the back roads of Schoharie County are now considered largely unenforceable due to the stretching of finite resources. The reduction in road patrol hours instituted by Sheriff Desmond has also led to a rash of complaints about speeding.

Opinion: Tax Credit a Winner in Schoharie

The Cobleskill paper appears to be on track for another editorial that misses the mark. There has been a bit of obvious axe-grinding occurring slamming County Treasurer Bill Cherry and Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone over the last months. Their supposed misdeeds included Mr. Cherry aiding the taxpayers of the County by assisting in the caucus defeat of Dan Singletary... and Mr. Milone?

Well, Mr. Poole doesn't seem to like much of anything Gene Milone has been doing as of late. Let's take the latest example. The Schoharie Town Board, led by Mr. Milone has just passed a law giving tax breaks for new home construction or on expansions for homes or businesses.

The Cobleskill paper implies that the Town Board has put the residents of Schoharie-- many of whom are victims of Irene-- on the hook. "It’s the longstanding homeowners and businesses who’ve stuck by Schoharie for years. . .and also hung in there after Irene" This may be a decent point except it misses (seemingly intentionally) the biggest point altogether. Nothing in the Town Board's proposal actually reduces the tax burden of existing homes or increases it on flood victims. The new house construction would instead add to the tax levels. Even several new homes paying half of a tax bill makes a nice dent considering communities like the Village of Schoharie lost over 60% of its assessed value. For homes with additions the cost will also not fall on the taxpayer. If the tax credit is the driving force between adding an addition or not then any revenue that is brought in is found money.

The paper also questions the timing of the law. Of course, the law was not even discussed in the Spring, which totally demolishes the argument that it is an election day ploy. And for a municipality that operates on a calendar year budget the timing of the law makes total sense. A fiscal-year budget running June to June would need a spring passage-- not the Town of Schoharie. If Mr. Milone or one of the council members got the idea in August or September should they put off a money-saving idea until after the election-- and too late to get it ready for the next round of tax collection?

We are as confused as the Cobleskill paper paints itself as. As with any law there are imperfections but Mr. Milone and the Town Board of Schoharie have hit a winning idea. Maybe it's not time for any editorials to squash a community's effort to rebuilt itself.

Seward Lauds Child Advocacy Walk

In an mass email, State Senator Jim Seward has lauded the work of a group working to reduce violence against children. In his email he wrote:

The New York State Children’s Alliance, Inc. (NYSCA), is hosting the first annual statewide Step Up for Kids run/walk. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) across New York State are taking part with two walks right here in my senate district in Schoharie on Saturday and Cooperstown on Sunday.

Interview: Chief Larry Travis

Cobleskill Police Chief Larry Travis never actively sought out the Democratic county committee's backing for Sheriff, only being approached after Sheriff Desmond took the Republican nomination, and even then decided to delay his campaign's launch until after Labor Day weekend - becoming the last of the three candidates to hit the trail.

 

In our conversation Chief Travis admitted his political novice: at that time he had just received his yard signs, had only visited a few town caucuses and told me he wasn't willing to put his campaign before his job as Cobleskill's top law enforcement officer, although he did collect enough signatures to form the "Shield of Integrity Party," his independent line over the summer.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Travis for Sheriff website

The Issues

 

Travis stressed early in our conversation that Schoharie County faces a "bigger issue with pharmaceutical drugs [such as] heroin, etc."  than marijuana and that it is not just this area but "neighboring counties" that are also dealing with these typically urban, harder drugs as well. During the past year and a half Chief Travis' police force has arrested ten individuals for both possession of and intent to sell heroin.
 

He also informed me of his past support for Bill Slater's candidacy in the 2009 Sheriff's race because of the high level of cooperation between the two departments during the previous administration that "is now lacking" under Sheriff Desmond's watch.
 

SAFE Act

 

Acknowledging that his answer would be based on his perspective as a law enforcement officer, Travis cited the magazine capacity limit and broad definition of assault weapon for why he personally was opposed to the SAFE Act, but that he "would enforce it because the Sheriff's role is not to legislate."

 

In Conclusion

 

When asked what issues defined his election bid, Travis listed: "leadership, community and structure," as both the core tenets of his campaign and the weaknesses of the Sheriff's Department under the incumbent's administration, which he would seek to rebuild. And what of his opponent's decision to seek the Republican nomination that eventually fueled his campaign bid? Simply put: he's "an opportunist." 

SUNY Cobleskill Commuters Club Holds BBQ

The Tigers Den commuters club will spend any given day engaging in conversation, playing Zelda and enjoying their free time from class just hanging around in Bouck Hall's commuter lounge that sports semi-comfortable furniture and easy access to Twisted Whiskers, the physical fitness center and the auditorium.

 

But not this afternoon...

 

One hungry student is served a fresh burger off the grill

Members of the commuters club held an old fashion barbeque just outside of Bouck Hall's eastern entrance opposite of Wheeler Hall, SUNY Cobleskill's primary science building, and after some initial issues with the charcoal, cooked a fine assortment of hamburgers, hot dogs and even some veggie burgers for commuter assumption.

 



Kris, who serves as President of the Commuters Club, cooked a delicious BBQ today


Middleburgh Fall Festival Parade October 12th

Middleburgh will celebrate its annual fall festival next month. The parade will be accompanied by vendors on the school lawn and down Main Street. The event will be attended by the Middleburgh and Schoharie Fire Departments, among others. Get down to Middleburgh by 11am for a great time.

Interview: Deputy Sheriff Todd Ethington

Deputy Todd Ethington, who has served in the County Sheriff's Department for 23 years in a variety of positions, including road patrol and corrections, is currently undertaking his most challenging task yet: running against his boss, Sheriff Tony Desmond, in this fall's election.

Launching his campaign earlier this Spring, Ethington has secured both the Conservative and Independent lines, after contesting for the Republican endorsement and during a recent conversation with myself was positive and confident heading into the final seven weeks of the campaign, telling me that if you "give it your all, it will come back to you."

Ethington. Picture provided by the campaign website

The Issues

Deputy Ethington initiated our issues portion of the conversation by handing me a piece of his campaign literature showing the county's public safety building over halfway flooded during the devastation of Hurricane Irene, using what he called a "powerful image," to support his position that we need to rebuild and relocate such offices out of the flood plain.

He also spoke strongly in support of the concept of innovation, stating he "believes in community policing," and spoke of one particular instance where one citizen's tip led to a major marijuana bust in Charlotteville. This brought us to present-day drug enforcement and his stance that "heroin and prescription use has gone over the top," and that Sheriff Desmond's belief that marijuana is "the biggest.... illegal substance" in the county is inaccurate.

SAFE Act

When the conversation inevitably turned towards the unpopular SAFE Act that was passed earlier this year and championed by Governor Cuomo, Deputy Ethington agreed with certain aspects of the bill - namely the provisions that direct money towards mental health and school resource officers - but that he's "not in favor of a majority of the law."

Although he reminded me that when the Sheriff stands before Judge Bartlett at the Schoharie County Courthouse and takes the oath of office, he "swears to uphold New York state law," and as a law enforcement officer is bound by that.

In conclusion

If any one moment could capture the confidence of Deputy Ethington heading towards election day, it would be when I asked him how he felt about running a third-party campaign and he responded by saying that he loved it and that "when I win I'm gonna take that as a compliment."