Police Bike Patrols Returning to Cobleskill

Members of the Cobleskill Police Department are about to become more interactive and visible in the county's largest municipality this summer, where officers will trade squad cars for bicycles in a patrol not seen in almost twenty years.

Photo courtesy of the Cobleskill PD facebook page

Instituted for only a few years in the mid-nineties before going into a two decade hiatus, Cobleskill Police Chief Rich Bialkowski stated in a recent sit-down interview that he believed it was time to bring the bike patrol back. 

"I always thought it was a good thing because they [police officers] are more interactive," stated Chief Bialkowski. The police head further commented that utilizing bicycles, "Allows us to patrol in ways you can't in a car."

Set to be put in service when the weather breaks, the department will be using two bikes to perform patrols in the community of over four thousand over the summer months. The bikes will be sporting logos designed by John Stiles.

The only department slated to use bike patrols in the county, Cobleskill Police are in good company with campus police at nearby SUNY Cobleskill, who maintain the only mounted patrol in the 64-campus state university system.

In addition to being an asset to allow officers to reach places that squad cars are not able to, Chief Bialkowski expects the new patrols to be used in patrolling parades and reaching out to youth through bike safety programs.

Summarizing his thoughts on the initiative, the chief stated that he believes it will be a "very positive thing for us."

NYC Announces Schoharie Reservoir Release to Offset Winter Snowpack

New York City Department of Environmental Protection officials laid out a new path for handling and preventing excessive reservoir levels at the Gilboa Dam before the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors on Friday morning.

A path that was praised by local officials.

Announcing the city's intention to reduce reservoir levels annually down to 90% of available capacity from October 15 to March 15, DEP officials explained that the release would serve as a flood mitigation measure against accumulated snowpack in the winter.

Assemblyman Peter Lopez, thanking the city's representatives, commented that his office "found the City of New York listening to us," in what he described as intelligent and thoughtful exchanges between Upstate and New York City representatives.

The plan, not set to take place until construction of the permanent release chamber at the reservoir is complete in 2020, also calls for a daily minimum conservation release of 10-15 million gallons to improve habitat conditions in the Schoharie Creek.

"This is wonderful news," stated Howard Bartholomew of Dam Concerned Citizens, a not-for-profit advocacy group for the Gilboa Dam and Schoharie Reservoir. He would later say that the DEP was "killing two birds with one stone" in their initiative

The Schoharie Reservoir is the northernmost reservoir in the city's water supply system and has been a source of controversy and discontent between Schoharie County and the city with respects to the potential for flooding caused by the Gilboa Dam.

Blenheim Supervisor Shawn Smith praised the agreement by stating, "This is a great step toward a cooperative agreement which will protect the people of Blenheim from future flooding events, which is of the utmost importance to our town." 

American Pickers Eyeing Schoharie County?

History in Schoharie County has a chance to have the blanket pulled back to reveal some hidden treasures. 

The show American Pickers from The History Channel is scouring the state for leads to film their show in the coming months and they have shown initial interest in Schoharie County, said Bobbi Ryan, Director of the Dr. Best House & Medical Exhibit after speaking with a representative from the show.  

“Our County is so rich in history and to be as close as Watkins Glen or Utica would be an utter shame if they didn't drop in for a spell,” Mrs. Ryan explained. “I have been emailing groups like this for over a year trying to entice them to see how absolutely stunning Schoharie County is.  Now we have a shot at proving it!” 

 American Pickers' dynamic hosts are particularly interested in "untouched collections" and search for a wide variety of items.  Those items include vintage radios, motorcycles and bicycles, movie memorabilia, advertising including signage, military artifacts, folk art, vintage musical equipment, vintage automotive items, turn of the century toys, and vintage clothing among other things.

The idea will be to visit several properties on their trek through the area.  The show has asked that more properties be identified in the area so they can make an entire trip of it.  The properties need to have a large collection or if someone would like to refer an individual email the property owner's name, phone number, physical address and description of the property with some photos.  

Although this is in the early stages of planning and there is no confirmation of stops or sites in New York State, this could be a great source of visibility for the area. 

Serious leads should be directed to the show's email at pickerinfo2015@gmail.com.

Mburgh Library's Cook-Off a Hit

Family, friends, and neighbors piled into the Middleburgh Library on Saturday afternoon to take part in the Sixth Annual Middleburgh Library Crock Pot Cook-Off in a delicious sampling that left many customers satisfied and hungry for more.

Photo by Sheila Donegan

Setting the scene as being a, "Whole room full of people talking, eating, and enjoying themselves," Middleburgh resident Sheila Donegan was one of many pleased with the day's appetizing menu of events. 

In addition to being able to sample a wide variety of chili's, dessert's, and other foods, cook-off attendees took part in different raffles, one of which totaled $42.50 and was won by Pauline Caruso, as well just enjoyed the company of others present. 

Tabulated by the votes of samplers, three cook-off winners were announced: Bonnie Morton for her Ides of March Chili; Cora Forsland for her Chicken Bacon Roll-Ups; and Jude Kwiatkowski for her dessert topping Fudge Cake.

Letter to the Editor: No Crying in Baseball

Dear Editor:

In his recent letter to the editor, Glenn Sanders expressed his anger over my criticism of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors and their decision to appoint a county administrator. Mr. Sanders made two principal points – a county administrator is better than nothing and citizens (like me) should not criticize out of loyalty to elected officials who have done some good things.

Mr. Sanders is off base on both counts. A county administrator is not even close to a County Executive. A county administrator is employed by, and beholden, to the very Board of Supervisors who have been so ineffective in managing contracts, addressing poor performance and questionable conduct by department heads and mired in childish and unproductive political wrangling. To suggest that appointing an administrator with little power and no real autonomy will somehow magically restore good governance to a dysfunctional board is an expression of naive wishful thinking. 

Mr. Sanders says we should be grateful that the Board passed something. Something is not the same as something meaningful. Mr. Sanders seems upset that I would be critical of the Boards actions because they have taken positive action on some issues in the past. Mr. Sanders mistakes political loyalty for good citizenship. It is not a citizen’s responsibility to remain silent when public officials make poor judgments out of loyalty to those officials; rather it is the officials’ responsibility to be loyal to needs and concerns of the citizens they represent. In the case of Schoharie County, the citizens want the Board of Supervisors to take decisive action to fix the mess they have created. They have not done that and having done some good things in the past (something I have publically acknowledged, despite Mr. Sanders insistence to the contrary) is not like getting your “sandwich club” card punched at the deli. There are no free sandwiches.

Mr. Sanders insists my criticism was an “insult” and accuses me of stabbing my “supposed ally” in the back. I can only assume that Mr. Sanders is speaking as a surrogate from one politician or another who was offended by my comments but unwilling to speak for themselves.  I remind Mr. Sanders that public service is not a little league game in which the young players need to be comforted when they strike out. Those serving on the Board of Supervisors are grown men and women receiving a salary from the taxpayers of Schoharie County. They are responsible for a multi-million dollar budget and the well-being of thousands of county residents. When those supervisors swing and miss like they so clearly did by appointing a puppet administrator, they need to step back up to the plate and take a better swing.  To quote Tom Hanks in the movie A League of Their Own “there is no crying in baseball.” There is also no crying in public service. The Board of Supervisors needs to do a better job and have a thicker skin in the process. Mr. Sanders should encourage more scrutiny of the Board of Supervisors not less. He should also care less about how the Board feels and more about how they perform.

Bob Nied

Supervisors Remember Marie Campbell

Supervisors paid homage to one of their own Friday morning by remembering the life and public service of former Broome Supervisor Marie Campbell, who recently passed away. 

Commenting that he will "miss Marie Campbell very much," Esperance Supervisor Earl VanWormer recalled his former colleague as being a gentle and professional person.

Serving on the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors from 2004 to 2011, Ms. Campbell was fondly remembered by members of both parties in a resolution that expressed their sorrow. 

County Attorney Michael West read aloud the heartfelt resolution - that was offered by current Broome Supervisor Bill Smith - and it was carried unanimously by legislators. 

The county board adjourned Friday's meeting in respect to Ms. Campbell.

--------------------------------------------------------

The adopted resolution as follows:

"One of the better souls of Schoharie is gone, deep is the loss, and profound is the sorrow that we now feel due to the recent death of Marie Campbell, who served as a member of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors from the Town of Broome from 2004 to 2011. While pausing in quiet reflection, these few words are meant to show the respect, the esteem, and the love felt by each of us for this truly wonderful woman.

Now that her shadow has passed these doors, the distinctive mark of her great soul, and the trait that will long endure in our memory, was her love of family and her affection for friends. One of the most upright, courageous, charitable and self-sacrificing women we have ever known, her quiet and gentle demeanor were her trademark. Centered and steady, her intellect was her force, no temper ever arose, always prepared, practical and efficient, strong willed when necessary, her voice inviting, and her smile always made the whole room shine. Although small in figure, she enjoyed full command of all around here, when she spoke you listened.

While Marie Campbell now sleeps at peace in the soil of our County that she so deeply loved, she will ever be counted among the most honorable members that ever served this Board of Supervisors, a true friend; now, therefore, be it hereby

RESOLVED, that this Board of Supervisors expresses profound regret for the death of Marie Campbell, and that when this Board adjourns today, it will do so out of respect for this former Supervisor, and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors is hereby directed to furnish a copy of this Resolution to the family of Marie Campbell, expressing this Board's deepest sympathy. "

Lopez Urges Series of Assembly Reforms

Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R,C,I – Schoharie) recently joined a number of his colleagues to speak on resolutions to reform the rules of the New York State Assembly, and asked the Assembly leadership to join his efforts to bring more openness and transparency to Albany and hold lawmakers more accountable. The 17 rules reform proposals were aimed at curbing corruption and bringing more openness to the Assembly. Proposals included enacting eight-year term limits for the Speaker of the Assembly, Legislative Leaders and committee chairpersons.

 These changes were brought forward to test the newly configured Assembly leadership in the wake of Sheldon Silver’s resignation as Speaker of the Assembly. The new Assembly leadership blocked each of the proposed reforms on the grounds that the changes would impede their ability to run the Assembly Chamber. Assemblyman Lopez challenged this assertion, noting his observation that the conduct of the “new” administration has not been much different from the “old” under Speaker Silver.

“We heard one of our colleagues effectively assert that the series of resolutions seeking changes to the rules of this house would infringe on the right of the majority to govern. This gross declaration runs counter to the spirit of this democracy, which encourages diversity and independent thought, and it diminishes the significance and the usefulness of the changes being offered. I respectfully urged my colleagues to give this resolution the thoughtful consideration it deserved and vote independently, free of undue influence. Unfortunately, the new leadership pressured the majority of members to vote in lock step with the status quo. We need people across the state to join us in keeping up the pressure. Public confidence must be restored,” concluded Assemblyman Pete Lopez. 

2nd Life in Schoharie Photo Contest Winner: "Beauty in the Hills"

With more than four hundred votes cast since Monday afternoon, Schoharie News readers have selected the Jefferson summer camp Oorah's "Beauty in the Hills" submission as our Second Annual Life in Schoharie Photo Contest victor. There were nineteen photographs submitted overall.

The winning photograph received 22% of votes

No submission received over one hundred votes as readers were split between a wide variety of beautiful photos to choose from. Oorah will receive a $20 gift certificate to Cobleskill Wal-Mart, with second place Shelly Bishop getting a $10 gift certificate to The Olde Corner Store.

Although there had to be a winner, the amazing photographs submitted just reinforce the beauty that encompasses all of Schoharie County, and of which we should all be proud of to call our home. 

Wolfe's Den Laundromat Receives $25,000 National Grid Grant

Albany, N.Y. – For many in the Schoharie Valley region, the severe weather of 2011 is a distant memory.  In other areas, the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee is still evident in empty storefronts and forever changed landscapes. 

            The Schoharie Laundromat was in operation for many years at 299 Main Street in the village of Schoharie.  As conditions from the storm worsened, the laundromat closed early and never reopened.  For nearly two years, area residents had to go to Middleburgh, Cobleskill or even further afield to find a laundromat to do a basic every day chore.

Nancy and John Wolfe purchased the property to re-establish the business and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars. The building was gutted and new electric, plumbing, HVAC and hot water tanks were installed. The ceiling and walls were replaced and the bathroom made larger and handicap-accessible. New washers and dryers were purchased and installed.

“To live through the storms was bad enough, but to see these businesses that never reopened, that was a shame,” said Nancy Wolfe, owner of the Wolfe’s Den Laundromat.    “We knew that we couldn’t do it all ourselves, but my husband John and I were determined to bring the laundromat back to Schoharie. We’re so thankful that the grant from National Grid helped us get up and running.” 

National Grid’s $25,000 grant from the Main Street Revitalization Program helped to mitigate the risk of the major investment made to start the business. To meet the qualifications of the grant program, projects have to be located in a central business district/commercial area and the building itself had to be temporarily vacant due to the impact of the storms. Funds could be used for site preparation and construction, and renovation and rehabilitation of commercial, industrial or mixed-use buildings smaller than 100,000 square feet.

“By helping to bring another business back to Schoharie’s Main Street, other businesses in the immediate area have benefited from the additional foot traffic, the return of services and the psychological lift of getting rid of a visible reminder of those harrowing storms,” said Bill Flaherty, National Grid Director of Community and Customer Management for Eastern New York.  “This type of assistance from National Grid helps get these communities back on their feet by providing a little extra support to small businesses.”

            In addition to the restoration of power to hundreds of thousands of area residents and countless volunteer hours, National Grid, with special permission from the Public Service Commission, extended millions of dollars in grants to help businesses and communities rebuild.

Those interested in learning more about National Grid’s economic development programs should visit: http://www.shovelready.com/programs.asp#anchor21

Borst, Neary Win Re-Election Unopposed

Residents of the Villages of Richmondville and Schoharie headed to the polls on Wednesday to send their communities respective Mayors back to office for another term. 

Richmondville

With 28 total ballots cast, nine-term incumbent Mayor Kevin Neary was able to receive twenty-seven of them and secure a tenth term in office. Also running unopposed, Village Trustee Natasha Foote was reelected with 26 votes, and newcomer David Hotzler won with 25.

Schoharie 

Long-time Mayor John Borst received all eighty-nine votes cast to earn himself another term as the shepherd of the county's seat in the valley. Trustee Larry Caza was re-elected with 80 votes, while Trustee John Balliett gained another term on the back of 42 write in votes.

Village Justice Fred Kennedy was also re-elected with sixty-seven votes, and all candidates ran unopposed.

Letter to the Editor: Supers Deserve Credit for Admin Passage

Dear Editor:

Bob Nied recently criticized the County Board for its handling of county executive and county administrator initiatives (Letter, March 12). While I agree that much more could be done, I want to emphasize two big positives which were overlooked.

First, the creation and passage of an Administrator position is a big deal. I’ve seen enough and talked to enough Supervisors to know that many of the recent and current County misadventures would be mitigated or eliminated under the watchful eye of a professional administrator.

Second, the Supervisors represent a wide range of competence, commitment, and achievement. To tar them all with one brush, as Bob has done so regrettably, is counterproductive in the extreme. The best of the bunch have moved this County way ahead of others in the State on a large number of fracking, pipeline, personnel, development, and fiscal responsibility issues.

When a progressive like Bob Nied mocks these determined and caring people, it feels like a stab in the back from a supposed ally, as one Supervisor told me. I hope the rest of your readers will make up for this insult by reaching out with support and thanks to those several Supervisors who are fighting the good fight.

Glenn Sanders

Central Bridge Fire Dept Hosting Benefit to Aid Ill Members

The Central Bridge Fire Department will be hosting its regular monthly pancake breakfast on Sunday, March 22nd, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., but this time it is doubling as a benefit to support two of the fire department's members who are ill. 

Benefiting Fire Police Captain Betty Williams and Senior EMT Oliver Alqoutob, the event will feature the famous firehouse breakfast specials of the Central Bridge Fire Department and a Chinese auction to raise funds.

For more information please visit the event's official page on facebook.

Lopez Calls for Common Core Opt-Out

Assemblyman Peter Lopez (R,C,I – Schoharie) joined fellow assemblymembers, senators, and educators for a press conference at the state Capitol recently to announce legislation that would ensure parents are aware of their ability to decide whether their children will partake in Common Core standardized testing.

"We are fortunate to have such a passionate group of people who care about their children and their futures. It is our duty and obligation as people and a legislature to engage in this bill. Parents need to know they don’t need to force more undue stress on their children,” said Assemblyman Pete Lopez, who is a member of the Committee on Education.  

            The Common Core Parental Refusal Act (A6025) is currently being considered in the Committee on Education, and has bipartisan support in the Assembly and the Senate. The bill would require schools to notify parents of students in New York of their ability to opt out of taking Common Core standardized tests. Students opting out of these exams would not negatively impact the students, teacher or schools.

“We want teachers and parents to do what they were meant to do, which is inspire young people to reach their full potential. They cannot do that if they are forced to teach to a one-size-fits-all test or send their children into unnecessary, stressful situations,” concluded Assemblyman Pete Lopez.

Schoharie Scouts Test Popsicle Bridges

Members of the Schoharie Webelos Den 1, Pack 4 might be fourth graders, but in order to secure their Engineer Activity Badge and Cub Scout Mathematics Belt Loop and Pin, they utilized principles from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

David S. Danner, Webelos Den Leader, Pack 4,
explains to his scouts that the test is not a
competition, but rather an individual exercise.

Conducting a demonstration Monday evening at the Schoharie Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, the Scouts to be tested the compression and tension of several Popsicle Bridges on a device designed to test the dynamic load bearing weight of the bridges. 

The device, which Troop 4's Scout Master Curt Van Steele described as a "contraption," was designed by Van Steele's father, Ronald, a Material Engineer and former instructor at RPI. The test measured how much weight each bridge could sustain.

Scout Master Curt Van Steel explains the
science behind the demonstration, with a
bridge ready to be tested.

Just the next step in securing their Engineer Activity Badges, Webelos pack members Jakob Danner, Joshua Mitchell, and Keenan Repicky constructed their bridges in different sizes and ways, with each design rendering its own strengths and weaknesses. 

Keenan's sister, Molly, a Girl Scout also joined in the fun with her own bridge as well. 

The results were impressive, as it took 40 lbs and 15.3 oz for Jakob's bridge to fail, 17 lbs and 11oz for Joshua's, 09 lbs and 11 oz for Keenan's, and besting all the boys, Molly's took 47 lbs and 5.8 oz of tension before her bridge splintered in pieces. 

Jakob Danner's bridge required several weights
in addition to the machine's tension to fail.

Webelos Den 1, Pack 4 was started last fall in Schoharie and its participants have had a perfect attendance record, with meetings held weekly during the school year and bimonthly over the summer. The boys will also be attending the Camp Henderson Boy Scout camp for a week this summer.

Letter to the Editor: DeFeo Frustrated with Middleburgh Government

Dear Editor,

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to your recent coverage of the March meeting of the Middleburgh Town Board. First, I would like to thank you for your attendance at this and our regular monthly meetings. We are very fortunate to have the Press in attendance. Many other Towns within the County do not benefit from this same oversite. It is critical that the Public be kept abreast of the activities of their public officials. I would also add that our Town Board minutes can be found on the Schoharie County Website, although locating them will take some effort.

Rather than attempt to support or refute the many items found in your lengthy article, allow me to make one simple point; 

I have met many people over the years in the numerous civic organizations I have served on. I believe most people would describe me as a pretty soft spoken, level headed person, perhaps a bit of an over-analyzer. However, at the most recent Board meeting I was neither soft spoken, nor apparently very level headed, given the reaction of some people in the room. 

If one can subtract oneself from the drama which was that meeting, perhaps you might ask yourself why would Brian DeFeo act so out of character? This is so unlike him.  In a word frustration. Frustration in what I believe have been a series of irregularities occurring in Middleburgh Town Government.

Jim Buzon has been my friend for almost thirty years, and the Lord willing I hope thirty more. He is very intelligent man. I don't think anybody can question his work drive. Yet, despite these attributes I believe there is a growing dis-connect. I don't necessarily see this as Mr. Buzon's fault. It appears to be the occupational hazard of politicians in general these days. 

I am not a trained social scientist, yet it seems to me the farther a politician comes from the People, the greater the dis-connect becomes. Ultimately, many reach a mind set whereby the 'ends justify the means' and they some how become free from the bounds of good government. This is apparent in both Albany and Washington. 

When this happens reasonable people must come forward to ensure that our Constitutional system of checks and balances within government remains intact. Sometimes there is price to pay for those willing to speak up. Halfway into my first term as a Councilman my late Father (who only gave me advice twice in my life) said to me, "If everybody likes you, you are probably not doing your job". There is great irony in his remark, in that to get a job as an elected public official you must first win a popularity contest. However, to do a good job as an elected public official, you must on occasion do something unpopular. 

In closing, the Citizens of Middleburgh have voted five individuals to their Town Council. I appreciate that wisdom and value their trust.

Brian DeFeo, Councilman

Town of Middleburgh

Sheriff's Arrest Esperance Man for Rape

On March 11, 2015 the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office arrested Kevin J. Madelone Jr., age 23, Esperance, New York for Rape in the Third Degree and 2 Counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child following a brief investigation.

He was arraigned in the Town of Esperance Court with his attorney present and was released on his own recognizance to reappear on April 1st at 6:00 p.m.

On March 16, 2015 the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office arrested Michael C. Diamond, age 21, Schoharie, NY for Stalking in the 4th Degree and Coercion in the 4th Degree, which occurred the weekend of March 14-15, 2015.

Diamond was arraigned in Middleburgh Town Court and released on $5,000.00 bail to re-appear in court on March 18th. 

On March 17, 2015 the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office arrested a 21 year old Schoharie woman for Falsely Reporting an Incident.

Dyann Corey of Schoharie was arrested yesterday for Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree after an investigation into an incident from November of 2014. It is believe that Mrs. Carey gave the police false information that may have hindered an investigation.

Carey was issued an Appearance Ticket to appear in the Town of Schoharie Court on March 23, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.

Schoharie News Subscriptions Now Available

To find out more about our special reduced rate of $25.00 for a one year digital subscription, please email theschoharienews@gmail.com for more information. 

With the launch of The Schoharie News print edition in May, we are offering two subscription options to begin with for readers in Schoharie County. The first, being a digital option, is $32.00 per year and will be delivered by email on Monday evenings. 

The second option is an at-home delivery of the paper on Tuesday afternoon's exclusive only (at first) to village residents of Middleburgh and Schoharie at a cost of $35.00 annually. 

For those interested in either subscription option, we would ask that you send the requested information below to theschoharienews@gmail.com with the subject "Schoharie News Subscription."

The billing process will proceed once we receive your name, address, subscription method and payment information. 

Name: __________________________________
Address:_________________________________
Digital or Print:___________________________
Payment - check/digital:_____________________

The Schoharie News will also be available for sale in stores countywide; a full-list of locations will be posted as we approach the introductory issue's first publication on May 19th.

County Moves Forward on Final Stream Bank Site

The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors voted to move forward on the AECOM stream bank project Monday night, but not until after meeting for over two hours in executive session to discuss the troubled stream restoration efforts.

Inviting only representatives of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Schoharie County Treasurer Bill Cherry, and Department of Public Works head Dan Crandall, the session was initiated by Middleburgh Supervisor Jim Buzon.

Supervisors left executive session at approximately 7:30 p.m., with Mr. Buzon immediately making a motion to move forward with the clearing of trees on the Dave Brown Mountain creek site, which passed by a seven-four margin. 

The Dave Brown Mountain site has been delayed for months after the original contractor backed out of the project, but a replacement firm was identified and approved in February. Dave Brown is the shortest of the four creek sites. 

Schoharie County is currently facing a budget shortfall of over two million dollars because of the project, costs that are being passed along to the county taxpayers.

Letter to the Editor: No Representation on Pipelines

Dear Editor,

HERE WE GO AGAIN! Another big gas company is starting the process that will eventually lead to eminent domain. They plan to bury another gas pipeline on our properties, using a separate easement. Any landowner who doesn't want this intrusion and injustice will have no say and not one elected official (PETE LOPEZ) will speak up or try to help. I think what constitution pipeline has already done to the families and landowners that have refused to just hand over their land is nothing short of a criminal act. Now we get to go through the same nightmare and it will end no differently. This second larceny will start next month as the land thieves will hold public meetings. Their spokesman who is sometimes called a communications specialist will spread the usual line of bull, sounding much like a politician. Some of the talking points will be job creation and the large amount of taxes they will be paying. All of this touted as a great benefit to the surrounding areas. The truth is not one permanent job will be created and our taxes will continue to rise regardless of what these companies pay. On top of that we don't even get the benefit of using the gas that is being transported through our county. Next step for the land thieves will be to start throwing money around via grants. They have to show the public how community friendly they are and how much they care. It reminds me of a mobster walking into a room and handing out 50 dollar bills to everybody from the bartender to the bathroom attendant. He doesn't care about anyone he's just buying them off all for his benefit. It won't take long to spend that dirty 50 dollars. Another step for the land thieves, while all of this is going on they will be using the U.S. Postal Service to continually bombard the landowners with mailings. Pretty color pictures will arrive. Some showing one of their communication specialists handing a check to some organization of course everyone is  smiling and why not we all like free money. Other pretty pictures will show how everything looks with the pipe buried in the ground. Beautiful green grass always well manicured, looks like a fairway on your favorite golf course  I would like to see the picture of what was there before they cut, bulldozed, dynamited and dug. Show me the picture of what was there before they destroyed and killed every living thing in their path. They will come right in to first steal our land then destroy it and it will be easy. They'll get no resistance from elected officials (James Seward) . So as the landowners start to get up and dust themselves off from the beaten they just took. Here comes the second bully who will use the same tactics to rough us up once again. I expect most will take the beaten and not say or do much. Finally when the dust settles after the second larceny and Schoharie County becomes an interstate for pipelines. I have to ask are we better off with these pipes running through our county?  The county is already littered with real estate signs. People trying to sell their homes and flee this area and most leaving the state. Who is going to want to buy a house with pipelines on the property? I know I wouldn't.

Regards,

Jerry Fiore

Opinion: Keep Administrator As Is

It took the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors fourteen months to establish an administrator to oversee the daily operation of county government. Fourteen months of debate, hearings, research, and soul crushing rehashes of the same arguments for and against. 

And in just one month since the law was enacted, supporters are pushing to amend the administrator to eliminate redundancies of responsibilities between the new position and existing offices, while opponents are pushing to abolish the whole law altogether. 

Worse yet, when voting to set a public hearing on the new administrator proposals, supervisors only set a time and place to discuss the amended version and not the measure to abolish, squashing equal opportunity to continue the ongoing debate in the process. 

By God, only in Schoharie County. 

Let us be frank for a moment: The Schoharie News has stood behind the administrator proposal since day one, because we felt a change in county government is beyond necessary. We didn't stand behind turning this attempt at a solution into yet another problem. 

The original law as written served the needs of county government. The administrator, whomever the poor soul wound up being, would have the authority to oversee the operation of government through all of its faucets, including auditing, budgetary, and financial. 

Guess what? The amended version removes all three of those aspects from an administrator's list of responsibilities because they overlap with existing offices, which apparently justifies their removal and the weakening of an individual not even hired yet.

Again, only in Schoharie County.

Perhaps we are not remembering this accurately, but wasn't the entire purpose of establishing an additional layer of government to serve as a check and balance to the status quo while instituting much needed oversight over all functions of daily operation?

Actually, we just answered our own question, because the answer is definitely yes. Furthermore, if we can't trust an administrator to oversee and work with our exemplary officials and staff in county auditing and treasury, who can we trust him or her to oversee?

With the aforementioned stated, we stand behind the original text of an administrator, and we are opposed to all efforts to either amend or abolish the measure, because if we can't keep this position to help Schoharie County stay on the upright, then we're doomed.