Milone Proposes Creation of County Administrator

Town of Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone, who told the Schoharie News after the Fitzmaurice Report's first section was released that such a change was needed, introduced Local Law No. 2 - providing for the establishment of the position of County Administrator for the County of Schoharie - for consideration of his fellow Supervisors last night.

 

The law, which if enacted would create a weaker administrative position than other counties have implemented, would require the Board of Supervisors to either appoint a full-time Administrator or assign the position's duties to an existing county official, although members of the County Board are prohibited from dually serving.

 

To be even considered for the position, you must possess either a  Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Business or Public Administration and have six to four years of experience in the field. In addition to the appointee being required to become a resident of Schoharie County within 90 days, the Board may set other qualifications as they see fit.

 

Mr. Milone didn't go into specifics of what powers and duties said administrator would have, but according to a hard copy of the proposed law, "the County Administrator shall be the Budget Officer and shall be responsible for the overall administration of County Government," including the ability to make recommendations for appointments of department heads, supervise and evaluate all county departments, to serve as advisor to the Board of Supervisors, Director of Labor Relations and to have such other powers as conferred upon by the County Board.

 

No action was taken, as the Schoharie Supervisor wanted members to fully digest its contents before the January meeting on the 24th, which Town of Cobleskill Supervisor Leo McAllister expressed concern over by asking Mr. Milone if he expected them to a reach a decision by then. Mr. Milone did admit that his personal recommendation for the position would be for Schoharie County Treasurer Bill Cherry to be appointed in addition to his already elected duties.

 

County Attorney Mike West, who informed Supervisors that the creation of an executive or administrator had been looked at several times in the past, said that it, "doesn't hurt to look at change." A sentiment concurred by Town of Seward Supervisor Carl Barbic, who stated he was in favor of such a implementation and Mr. Milone who concluded his remarks by telling freshman legislators that "something more is needed than what is in place right now."

Van Glad Elected Chair of Board of Supervisors, Skowfoe Vice-Chair

Town of Gilboa Supervisor Tony Van Glad was elected by fellow members of the County Board to serve as Chairman for the 2014 legislative session in a split party-line vote early Friday evening. He received 1693 weighted votes to previous Board Chairman and Town of Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe's 1281.

 

Mr. Skowfoe would then be elected Vice-Chairman near unanimously, receiving fifteen of sixteen supervisors support, with only Town of Seward Supervisor Harold Vroman casting a vote for Town of Richmondville Supervisor Richard Lape, resulting in Skowfoe being elected the County's number two by a lopsided 2862-112 margin.

Newly elected Board Chairman Tony Van Glad,
photo courtesy of the Daily Gazette

The vote, which was conducted by call of the roll, mostly followed party-lines with Town of Broome Supervisor Bill Smith, a Republican, being the exception by supporting Democrat Phil Skowfoe, who was elected in 2013 as the head of a bipartisan coalition aligned against the Conservative faction.

 

After a brief intermission to allow Chairman Van Glad and Vice-Chairman Skowfoe to recite the oaths of their newly elected offices, Van Glad thanked a majority of the Board for supporting his candidacy and said that he would, "like to think we could have a bipartisan year," signaling the coalition of Mr. Skowfoe's administration is alive and intact.

 

Board of Supervisors Chairman Election Roll Call

 

Barbic of Seward - Phil Skowfoe

Bleau of Wright - Tony Van Glad

Bradt of Carlisle - Tony VanGlad

Buzon of Middleburgh - Phil Skowfoe

Federice of Conesville - Tony Van Glad

Jordan of Jefferson - Tony Van Glad

Lape of Richmondville - Tony Van Glad

Manko of Sharon - Phil Skowfoe

McAllister of Cobleskill - Tony Van Glad

Milone of Schoharie - Phil Skowfoe

Skowfoe of Fulton - Phil Skowfoe

Smith of Blenheim - Phil Skowfoe

Smith of Broome - Phil Skowfoe

Van Glad of Gilboa - Tony Van Glad

Van Wormer of Esperance - Tony Van Glad

Vroman of Seward - Tony Van Glad

 

 

 

New Supervisors to be Seated in County Board Organizational Meeting

Five new Supervisors* will take their place around the County Board's u shaped table tonight, setting in place a politically diverse and interesting mix of freshman and incumbent legislators for the 2014 session that will begin with the election of a Board Chairman and Vice-Chairman.  

Some freshman lawmakers, including Supervisor Federice of Conesville and Supervisor McAllister of Cobleskill, have already held or were scheduled to hold organizational meetings in their respective Town before tonight's countywide initiation of affairs, while for others this will be their first acts in elected office.

It also ushers in a trio of younger, more politically independent lawmakers that the County Board of Supervisors has not seen in quite some time, they include Supervisor Bleau of Wright (who took her seat in December), Supervisor Jordan of Jefferson and Supervisor Smith of Blenheim, all three of whom have extensive knowledge of local government from previous elected office or public employment.

Knowledge that all sixteen Supervisors will have to use in breaking down their personal political barriers and to form a governing coalition behind one of three leading candidates in this evening's vote.

For many in the room, this will be their twentieth plus time they elect a Chairman of the Board, but with the six newly elected members comprising a third of the overall weighted vote total, 2014's freshman class holds a lot of political power for incoming legislators, and as such, should act with great responsibility.  

* Broome Supervisor Bill Smith included

2014 Simple Personal Health Tips by Karen Maher

Editors note: Ms. Maher submitted the following article, offering a variety of simple personal health tips for the New Year, and the Schoharie News is pleased to publish her commonsensical approach to medical wellbeing.  

 

2014 is marking healthcare as the year that, your personal healthcare is your business now more than ever. Personal health means engaging and increasing the interactivity in your personal health condition, medical condition, immunizations, pharmaceutical history, especially if you travel away from home any distance. Here are a few tips for an adult (21ys +), that you may need this year:

• Do your 2014 insurance benefits meet your personal healthcare needs? Make a short list of your needs to address with your primary care for possible solutions.

• Invest time in your health maintenance and keep documentation in a date and time format of your process. This information can be shared with your primary care and insurance if you need new prescriptions, labs or images.

• Know your personal health history like you know how much money you have in the bank. Personal history includes acute and chronic illness. Clinics and Hospitals do not have to keep records longer than 6 years according to the NYSDOH (New York State Department of Health), depending on the medical facility and the state you live. Know where your records are and how long they will be kept, in hard copy and/ or maintained electronically.

• Don’t assume standard of insurance coverage remains the same in 2014. Become proactive, question your physician diagnosis, question the drugs prescribed, as well as your deductibles and what insurance will pay, document your history carefully and review any documents healthcare facilities and insurance company will send to you. If you are in the Exchange, learn what this means in detail, take charge of your healthcare!

• If you commute or travel ask about immunizations and safety, this information can change annually. For example, in case of an emergency will telemedicine be covered by your insurance?

• In an emergency, know your personal health history, prescription and vitamin intake; and allergies, have your facts in order to receive the care you expect during any emergency or scheduled routine care.

• Carry a contact name and phone number and your insurance card in case of an emergency. Have a living will in place with a medical facility and with your contact (preferably a loved one or family member).

Governor Cuomo Declares State of Emergency

Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared the entire State of New York in emergency, via WNYT:

NEW YORK (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo says some major commuter highways around New York City will be shut down overnight as a coastal storm brings snow and blizzard conditions to the region.

Cuomo says Interstate 84 in the Hudson Valley will be closed to commercial traffic starting at 5 p.m. Thursday and to all traffic at midnight. He says the Long Island Expressway will also be closed at midnight in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Thruway will be closed from Albany south.

Cuomo says plans are for the highways to reopen at 5 a.m. Friday, but a decision will be made by 4 a.m.

The governor also declared a statewide state of emergency Thursday and urged people to "seriously consider staying in their homes."

He says mass transit isn't expected to be hampered.

Stay safe Schoharie County

Brandow Appointed Conesville Highway Superintendent

After months of interesting details have emerged concerning the Town of Conesville's bizarre tied Highway Superintendent election between incumbent Republican Larry Brandow and Democrat challenger Stephen Young, who each received 154 votes, the Conesville Town Board appointed a temporary office holder yesterday morning to serve until another election can be held next fall.

 

From the exclusion of one absentee ballot due to its owners unfortunate passing to the revelation that a town employee received eighteen write-in votes, the Town of Conesville's contentious race to fill the small community's most important position has sparked the curiosity of people across Schoharie County.  

 

Curiosity that the Conesville Town Board put to bed in their 2014 organizational meeting yesterday by appointing incumbent Highway Superintendent Larry Brandow to continue serving until voters have the opportunity to have their voices heard, again, this upcoming fall in a special election that interestingly enough will be followed next year by the regularly scheduled election.

 

There is no word on whether Mr. Young will seek the position again this fall.

 

 

Schoharie News to Expand Coverage of Town & Village Meetings

The Schoharie News was created as a project to provide better news coverage to residents of Schoharie County, originally focused on highlighting political news that no other media format bothered to report. However, as our stories have evolved, so has our perspective of whether county residents are receiving across the board coverage.

Which, we believe, they are not.

Between the Cobleskill and Stamford weeklies, maybe six town and three village board meetings are covered in any given month, leaving residents of the other thirteen municipalities without adequate information concerning their local government and what is occurring within its purview. As such, something needs to be done, and we're going to do it. 

Thus, every month the Schoharie News will attend two board meetings from across the county on a rotating basis to provide every town and village resident with coverage of at least one public gathering over the course of the new year and every year subsequent we are in existence. 

Now, we cannot do this by ourselves. We need you, the humble reader, to assist our endeavor to expand news coverage in Schoharie County by (1.) letting us know which board meetings we should attend (note: the Schoharie News traveled to Conesville to cover their organizational meeting yesterday, but got lost and turned around after two dogs started chasing my car) and (2.) making this financially feasible for myself.

Here is a look at December's stats: the Schoharie News published seventy-six articles, four of which were the result of two separate county board meetings, three covered local high school sports, two dealt with Schoharie County acquiring new vehicles, another two covered community Christmastime events in addition to approximately ten hours of interviews and sit-downs with local officials to gain knowledge on a variety of issues.

Add in all the other crime-related articles, opinion pieces and general politics, and the Schoharie News has covered a newspaper's worth of stories in the past month alone while finishing my fall semester at SUNY Cobleskill and working around 26 hours per week at a local deli, all without any extra pay.

Thanks to our generous readers the past three months, the Schoharie News has enough funds to keep our office open and accessible until April in the Village of Middleburgh, however, that doesn't take into account the work aspect of running this project that consumes fifteen-twenty hours per week on an already thinly stretched schedule.

Which is where you guys can make a difference.

If every week one hundred readers of the Schoharie News donated one dollar via pay pal or mail, such as thousands of residents do when they pick up a copy of the Cobleskill or Stamford paper, that would be enough to cover monthly overhead costs of maintaining an office and gas, while earning a bit of profit for myself.

This project isn't about creating a full-time career for myself, which I wouldn't be opposed to if that was possible, but to provide better news coverage of not only the stories everyone else is publishing, but of those no one else is willing to publish, which is why we're all in this together and any amount of support you can offer is greatly appreciated.

If you have any tips, concerns or questions about advertising or donating, the Schoharie News can be reached by email at aaaabraves@yahoo.com, or snail mail at Timothy Knight, P.O. Box 891, Middleburgh New York, 12122.

Again, thank you all for your continued support and please let me know which town or village board meetings we should cover to bring our readers better coverage of the county they live in.
 

Middleburgh Man Imprisons Ex-Girlfriend, Stabs Self in Desmond Hotel Incident

According to details released by Colonie Police, Middleburgh resident Brent Speedling imprisoned his ex-girlfriend for approximately six hours early yesterday morning at the Desmond Hotel, and after she was able to successfully escape due to the efforts of hotel staff, Mr. Speedling stabbed himself numerous times in the head and chest area with broken glass.

 

Brent Speedling, 35, has been charged with Criminal Contempt in the 1st
Degree, Unlawful Imprisonment in the 1st Degree, Harassment in the 2nd
Degree and Violating an Order of Protection.

WTEN published the following report yesterday afternoon:

Lt. Robert Winn said the man broke glass in the hotel room and started stabbing himself in the head and chest area. Surveillance cameras showed he left the scene in his truck before officers arrived.

"During the dispute in the room he broke some glassware and used that glassware to cut himself so there was a large amount of blood in the room," Lt. Winn continued. "We were certainly concerned for his safety as well anybody else he may come in contact with."

He says Speedling said he wanted to commit suicide by forcing officers to shoot him. Colonie Police immediately sent out alerts, and State Police later found the man near his home in Middleburgh where he was taken into custody and rushed to the hospital.

Lt. Winn would go on to say that "We're very grateful that none of that happened that he was taken into custody without incident." Mr. Speedling's ex-girlfriend, who is a resident of Cobleskill but has not been identified, was unharmed and owed her safe exit from the escalating situation to the quick thinking of hotel guests and staff management.

 

Mr. Speedling, who is recovering from his self-inflicted wounds, has been remanded to Albany County Jail. No bail has been set at this time.

Winter Storm Hercules to Dump 10+ Inches in Schoharie County

Apparently the New Year will offer no respite to Schoharie County's winter weather woes as another storm front (which the Weather Channel has named Hercules) moves into the region, threatening to dump almost a foot of snow between this evening and Friday morning, on top of three to four inches frozen on the ground from Sunday's weather event.

WNYT is also warning of gusty winds Friday afternoon and evening,
the result of which will be blowing snow and perhaps even twenty to
forty degree sub-zero wind chills in the Adirondacks.

Temperatures are expected to remain brutally cold the next two days - with Thursday's high not likely to top 11 degrees and sub-zero lows in the forecast tonight and tomorrow - which means snowfall will be of the light and fluffy variety, allowing homeowners shovels and commuters automobiles to avoid those unkindly heavy wet snow packs.  

Stay tuned to the Schoharie News weather page as we follow the storm's impact on Schoharie County the next 48 hours.

Schoharie County Legal Directory

The Schoharie News would like to introduce a special promotional page for local attorneys and law offices to advertise their services to residents of Schoharie County in the only internet based legal directory.

 

For $40 per year - local attorneys can submit their photo, a 50-75 word introduction and web address or phone number to be published in this free directory to our readership that visited the Schoharie News 45,000 times in the typically slow news month of December.  Please contact editor Timothy Knight at aaaabraves@yahoo.com, or 518-231-1465 for more information.

EXAMPLE AD:

                                                 
                                                      Shawn Smith, Esq. 518-827-8024

The Law Office of Shawn Smith is located on 1847 Route 30 N. Blenheim, N.Y.

and primarily provides services to people in Schoharie, Delaware, Otsego,

Schenectady and Albany Counties. Mr. Smith practices Criminal Defense Law,

Family Law, Real Estate Law, and Wills and Estates. Mr. Smith also serves as

Town Attorney for the Towns of Fulton and Schoharie, Village Attorney for the
Village of  Cobleskill and Town Supervisor of Blenheim.

 

Top 5 Schoharie County News Stories of 2013

In a little less then twelve hours 2013 will be over and a new year will commence, which from my perspective, will hopefully be as news filled as the previous twelve (four for the Schoharie News) months have been. As such, a run-down of the top five Schoharie County news stories in no particular order.

 

Drugs & Crime

 

From numerous heroin busts in the Village of Cobleskill to marijuana eradication efforts by the Sheriff's Department, clamping down on the sale and production of illegal drugs has been a priority of local law enforcement. In addition to drug enforcement, local police have dealt with the Oorah burglary in Jefferson, the child abuse case in Gallupville and the arrest of a Middleburgh man on weapons charges.

 

Maranatha

 

The Village of Richmondville's cut off of the $5.3 million partially publicly funded facility's electric in early September has led to one report after another detailing the once promising project's failure to meet its debt obligations from day one, which resulted in a notice of foreclosure just two weeks ago. A notable side-story has been a New York City investor Da-Lai Wu's fluid interest in obtaining the facility.

 

"The Report"

 

In a process that originates back to early 2012, the long-awaited Fitzmaurice Report was released into two sections this past fall, which detailed the rise of the now-suspended Personnel Director Cassandra Ethington's control over the Public Health Department. The fallout has resulted in several members of the County Board losing re-election, former Public Health Director Asante Shipp-Hilts resignation and adjustments to personnel in the Public Works Department.

 

Sharon Growth

 

Mayor Doug Plummer said it best when he told the Schoharie News that "the possibilities for Sharon Springs are endless." From hosting festivals that have brought thousands from around the country into the community to watching small businesses spring up and down Main Street, and soon the construction of a Dollar General on Route 20, the growth and success of Sharon Springs has been nothing short of inspiring to the rest of Schoharie County.

 

SAFE Act

 

From countywide condemnations to rallies in opposition, no issue has resulted in a more united Schoharie County politically than Governor Andrew Cuomo's infamous gun control measure, the SAFE Act. Democrat and Republican Supervisors alike on the County Board have supported two separate motions spelling out the county's opposition to both its enactment and use of Schoharie County's seal, name or offices in efforts to enforce the unpopular law.

Shrederis to Run for Schoharie Mayor?

The Schoharie News has learned, through multiple sources with knowledge of the situation that former Town of Schoharie Supervisor and current President of the Schoharie Fire Department Martin Shrederis is considering a run for Mayor in the Village's municipal elections in March 2015.

 

Mr. Shrederis, who served as town supervisor for fourteen years, lost his position atop the town in 2011 to then Councilman Gene Milone and in a heated rematch just two months ago failed to reach even forty percent of the vote despite an higher overall turnout amongst the electorate. A loss that has been attributed to the Fiztmaurice Report's untimely release and his involvement in a political advertisement by the Conservative faction.

 

Recently, Mr. Shrederis made local news for comments concerning the Schoharie Fire Department's construction of a new station and the town's lack of participation in ongoing negotiations with FEMA, telling the Cobleskill paper that "Mr. Milone has no business sticking his nose in fire department business,"  even though current plans call for a local residence to be knocked down, which Mr. Milone finds objectionable.

 

One variable in next March's election is whether incumbent Mayor John Borst decides to run for re-election. Mr. Borst is a well respected and beloved member of the Schoharie community, and would prove himself a difficult task for the former Town Supervisor to overcome in a non-partisan village race, where personality and government success tend to mean more than party affiliation.

Although still fifteen months out, it is definitely an interesting political situation to keep a close eye on.

Notice of Foreclosure Filed Against Maranatha Owner, Facility's Future in Flux

Only two years after opening the $5.3 million Maranatha Family Center in the Town of Richmondville, owner Stella McKenna was served with notice of foreclosure on December 16th by the New York State Business Development Corporation, according to documents published on the Schoharie County Clerk's Office. 

The notice reads "that an action has been commenced and is now pending in the Supreme Court upon the Verified Foreclosure Complaint of the above named Plaintiff against the above named Defendants for the foreclosure of a mortgage in the original principal amount of $1,850,000.00..." 

Maranatha's struggles were first publicized when the Village of Richmondville shut off their electric in early September following months of unpaid bills and thousands in late fees. It has since been discovered that the project had been in trouble from day one, owing everyone from state agencies to local banks and even the federal government. 

At stake for Ms. McKenna is not only the recently built physical fitness complex located on Route 7 in the Town of Richmondville, but Maranatha's original site on Elm Street in the Village of Cobleskill and two personal residences, all of which will be lost as the final grains of sand escape her already depleted hourglass.

New York City investor Da-Lai Wu had signaled renewed interest in obtaining the property after the Town of Richmondville approved a waiver request to Empire State Development to allow different ownership, but to date no deal has been reached between Mr. Wu and Ms. McKenna, leaving the partially publicly funded facility's future in flux.

Schoharie County Acquires Six Volts, Three Highway Trucks Through Federal Grant

In what started as a simple motion at the September 20th, 2013 county board meeting by Gilboa Town Supervisor Tony Van Glad to purchase several low-emission vehicles through the federally funded CMAQ grant, has turned into the talk of Schoharie over the county's recent acquisition of three diesel highway trucks and six Chevy Volts.  

 

 

Two of the Volts parked outside the Department of
Public Works building in the Village of Schoharie

CMAQ, which stands for Congestion Management and Air Quality, is a federally funded program through the Federal Highway Administration that seeks to decrease harmful pollutants and encourage the use of environmentally friendly transportation methods and low-emission vehicles by state and local governments through the use of grants.

 

The Chevy Volt can operate on either gasoline or electric
 

According to county officials, the overall cost for the six vehicles was roughly $900,000 with the CMAQ grant covering 80% of the bill. The Daily Gazette reported on Friday that the Department of Public Works plans on using two of the Volts and both highway trucks, while the other four are available to other agencies in county government.

Follow the Schoharie News on Twitter

 

The Schoharie News has launched an official twitter feed where followers will be able to see the lighter side of the county's only web-based news service and more of the "behind the scenes" work, such as what events we are covering, what stories we're writing up and other daily musings.

 

You can view our twitter feed here. 

County Braces for Artic Cold Front

Winter apparently cannot let 2013 end without one last blast of snowy and brutally cold weather for Schoharie County, which according to WNYT will experience a myriad of conditions over the next 24 hours as a storm moves in from the coast - including rain, sleet and snow - that will be followed by a frigid blast of Artic cold air.

 

Tonight's storm is predicted to bring maybe two to four inches of snow to Schoharie County, with only a dusting expected in the surrounding areas. Hardly worth mentioning after mid-December's foot of snow that created a winter wonderland just a few days too early to enjoy during Christmas.

 

However, what snow we do receive will be rendered insignificant weather wise by an Artic cold front that is forecast to bring single digit to sub-zero low temperatures across the area, stretching from tomorrow night until Saturday. High's aren't expected to be much better with thermometers not likely to reach twenty at all this week.

 

Stay safe and stay warm.



Oorah Hosts Girls for Weekend Retreat, With Most of Stolen Goods Returned

Just weeks after three burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of ATV's, gaming consoles and television screens from Oorah's TheZone Jefferson campsite, over five hundred Jewish girls arrived Thursday evening to enjoy a weekend retreat with most of the stolen goods returned and all of the suspects apprehended.



The T.V. screens were recovered in time for this
weekend's retreat. Photo credit: Oorah facebook

Oorah, a Jewish organization based out of New Jersey, holds weekend retreats through out the winter and summer months for both young boys and girls with two campsites in Schoharie County, one in Jefferson at the old Deer Run Ski Lodge and the other in Gilboa, that together employ dozens of local residents.

Schoharie County Conservative Party Sees 26% Growth Since 2011 Election

The Schoharie County Conservative Party, which has long served as a valuable third-party addition to local and statewide candidates competing in New York's fusion voting system, has not only played a pivotal role in several campaigns the past three off-year election cycles, but has witnessed a dramatic increase in voters within their ranks.

 

Although historically relying on cross-over votes to fuel their third-party line, Schoharie County's branch of the Conservative Party of New York has seen their membership increase 26% in just two years from a little over four hundred party faithful in November 2011 to five hundred and twenty strong just last month.

 

Local Conservatives are primarily clustered in the Towns of Cobleskill (91), Schoharie (55) and Sharon Springs (37), with supporters stretching from sparsely populated Blenheim to politically feisty Gallupville and all the way to sleepy Seward on the opposite end of the county. Their ranks include Town of Wright Supervisor Amber Bleau, suspended county Personnel Director Cassandra Ethington and Cobleskill Stone owner Emil Galasso.

 

According to the New York State Board of Elections, the party remained stagnant in voter registration for years within Schoharie County until November 2011 between April 2012 when over half of their growth occurred. Coincidentally, that was the same period when the party's allies in county government reached their high-water mark.

 

However, Conservatives suffered severe political losses this past November, losing four allies on the Board of Supervisors in addition to watching Todd Ethington's Sheriff campaign self-implode as his wife's role in county corruption was unveiled by the Fitzmaurice Report that also led to their Chairman Bill Hanson's removal from the Public Works Department.

 

Regardless of where they stand now, with only two identifiable allies on the Board of Supervisors, the Schoharie County Conservative Party is a political force to be reckoned with, which is proven by their 26% growth in voter registration since the conclusion of 2011's off-year election and influencing public policy within local government.

Opinion: Embrace the Purity of Winter

  The air was frigid, no, it was crystallized. One of those mornings where the temperature dipped so low it felt as if your breath froze on exhalation, the two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen within your body solidified and even simple motion pained your joints.

 

  Of course, the description above could be one of several mornings we have endured thus far this winter - for there have been many cold sunrises - but it relates specifically to the Monday after Schoharie County and the entire region was buried in a foot of snow. Which was immediately followed by a daunting cold front.

 

  For the Editor of this publication, it was bittersweet, as I traded my regular Monday morning routine of attending Professor Pidgeon's Chemistry lecture at SUNY Cobleskill for shoveling a foot of leftover snow in inhumanely cold conditions. Moments that make me reminisce for the perpetual warmth of Fort Benning, Georgia, or even the last streaks of orange in a late August sunset.

 

  But in the midst of those harsh sub-zero, icy temperatures, there was a feeling that is absent from the three other seasons: a sense of purity, or perhaps, a fresh start. For in springtime we witness the birth of the season, while in summer the environment continues to grow and finally in fall, nature retreats to hibernation, and for some, death.

 

  However, winter is different. From its initiation to its conclusion, the season that stretches sometimes from November to April is the very definition of will breaking. It throws snow, frigid temperatures, ice, sub-zero wind chills and everything that results from the wrath of the aforementioned conditions in your daily existence.

 

   It makes or breaks the person and can set the tone for the remaining cycles of life that calendar year. It allows the opportunity to start anew, in conjunction with the New Year falling soon after its annual start, with a clean slate that affords every person the chance to change and prosper... If they can survive its cruelty first.

 

   Cecil B. DeMille's famous narration in The Ten Commandments described Moses' journey across the harsh, dry desert as a tool for the Creator to shape the disgraced Egyptian Prince into his ultimate purpose, the deliverer of his people enslaved in bondage. The harshness of winter can parallel the cruelty of a desert journey, and like Moses, we can all be shaped by its conditions and come out of the fire as not only stronger on the outside, but as a more driven individual from within.

 

 

New Poll Up: Who do you Support for Board Chairman Among the Leading Candidates?

In this new poll, we are asking readers to weigh in on who they support for Schoharie County Board of Supervisors Chairman among the leading candidates: incumbent Phil Skowfoe, former Chairman Earl Van Wormer and Town of Gilboa Supervisor Tony Van Glad.

 

We held a similar poll last month that showed Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone as the readership's favorite for the position, but this one is narrowed to reflect the political realities of next week's election.

 

The poll will be open until Wednesday and is located on the right-hand sidebar on the Schoharie News website.