Josh Riley’s Bill Demanding Answers For Vietnam Veterans Diagnosed with Rare Cancer Passes House

“50 years after the end of the war is too long for our veterans to wait for answers from the country they risked their lives to defend.”

WASHINGTON -  the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act (H.R. 586), which is the first bill co-sponsored by Representative Josh Riley to pass the House.  The bipartisan legislation would commission a study to investigate the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer, in veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations.

“Our nation’s Vietnam Veterans answered the call to serve in a conflict far from home, under extremely challenging conditions, and they’ve waited far too long to get the answers and care they deserve,” said Riley. “I proudly co-sponsored this bipartisan legislation to make sure they finally get it.”

Vietnam Veterans are battling cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and deadly bile duct cancer that has been linked to liver fluke exposure. By directing the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the prevalence of this disease, Congress is taking a critical step toward better understanding the risks our service members faced and ensuring they are provided the treatment and support they need.

The study is the first in a series of steps necessary for the Department of Veterans Affairs to consider policy changes that would prioritize care for veterans with potential liver fluke exposure.

Background on the “Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act” (H.R. 586):

• The legislation directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to study the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma among veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations during the Vietnam era.

• Using the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry and the National Program of Cancer Registries, the study will identify the incidence rate of cholangiocarcinoma and provide demographic information, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, and geographic location at diagnosis.

• The bill requires regular reporting to Congress and ongoing tracking of new cases, ensuring that lawmakers and veterans remain informed about the scope of this illness.

Representative Riley has also supported the following legislation to serve veterans:

The Protect Veterans Jobs Act (H.R. 1637), a bill to reinstate veteran Federal employees, to require reports from executive branch agencies of the Federal Government on the number of veteran employees fired from such agencies.

 

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Registration Open April 14 - May 23 for Bassett Cancer Institute’s Annual Survivors Day Luncheon

COOPERSTOWN – The Bassett Cancer Institute is inviting all cancer survivors to its annual Survivors Day Luncheon, which will be held this year at Fenimore Farm & Country Village (5775 NY-80, Cooperstown, NY) from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 1.

The event will be catered by Brooks’ House of BBQ and is free to anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis, plus one guest.

Registration will be open from April 14 to May 23 and is required. Spots are limited. Those wishing to attend should call 1-800-BASSETT.

For additional information and visit https://www.bassett.org/cancer-care to learn more about the Bassett Cancer Institute.

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Riley Introduces Bill To Make Federal Government Honor Promises To Upstate Farmers - Bill Will Unfreeze USDA Funding and Pay For Already Completed Work

WASHINGTON - Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) introduced the Honor Farmer Contracts Act. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to uphold its promise to America’s farmers and rural communities by unfreezing funding for previously signed agreements and contracts. 

“Our farms are already struggling to make ends meet under crippling tariff threats, a labor shortage, and an economy that props up Big Ag while small producers get screwed,” said Riley. “And now, to add insult to injury, this Administration is breaking its promises to them. Enough is enough. It's time for the USDA to unfreeze these funds and pay what they owe our farmers."

For the past two months, farmers, small businesses, and organizations providing critical support and service to our nation’s farm and food system have been left in limbo, waiting for the USDA to fulfill its obligations.

"The federal government must honor its commitments and immediately reinstate funding for climate-smart projects,” said 7th-generation Upstate farmer Scott Glezen of Glezen Farms in Lisle. “This support is essential for protecting clean water, preventing soil erosion, and reducing nutrient runoff. Due to this shortfall, we've been forced to delay critical projects and divert funds to cover already-signed contracts—all at great cost to our farm. I am grateful for Rep. Riley's continued support.”

Across New York State, at least 150 farms and agricultural support organizations are waiting for answers on approximately$168 million in funding. For Upstate New York, continued bureaucratic delays and broken contracts will drive up costs, threaten rural communities, and have catastrophic short-term and long-term effects on family farms and the local economy. 

Specifically, the Honor Farmer Contracts Act will:

• Unfreeze funding for all USDA contracts with farmers and farm service providers 

• Force the USDA to pay all overdue amounts immediately

• Protect farmers from broken promises by prohibiting contract cancellations unless the farmer violates the terms

• Keep local farm service offices open so farmers can access the resources they need.

The Honor Farmer Contracts Act is supported by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Black Farmers United—NYS Inc., and hundreds of the leading agricultural associations across the country. 

 

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Upcoming Events at the Roxbury Library

Friday, April 11 10:00am.  Roxbury Library's Cancer Survivors Support Group will meet at the Watershed Cafe, State Rte 30 in Roxbury.  Please call Ellen Stewart with any questions at 607-326-4340.

Thursday, April 17 10:00am.  Roxbury resident Christopher Durham will be presenting his hand-decorated Ostrich Egg Music Boxes at the Roxbury Library. 

 

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Writers in the Mountains Presents Risking Excellence Intensive

ONLINE — Writers in the Mountains (WIM) presents Risking Excellence: No Fear of Writing with Melissa Holbrook Pierson, a two-day intensive held online Sunday, April 27 and May 4, 2025, from 2 to 4 pm. Once you register and pay, you will be given instructions on how to join the class.

There is no time like now to take on fears large and small—about what “can” and “can’t” be done—that keep your writing from soaring into excellence. In this workshop we will confront the forces, both external and internal, that stifle creativity. Bring your tentative or “weird” ideas, your doubts, your questions about what is possible within your genre. Since cautious work is rarely great work, we will advocate for taking literary risks by reading some boundary-breaking short work before discussing the value of  banishing self-limiting notions of propriety. We will workshop your work-in-progress at any stage it may be, and encourage fearlessness at the level of the sentence all the way up to the conceptual structure of book-length work.

Melissa Holbrook Pierson is the author of five books, including The Place You Love Is Gone and The Perfect Vehicle. A freelance book critic, essayist, and editor, she has taught writing at the Cape Cod Writers Conference and Gotham Writers’ Workshop. She has an MA in English Literature from Columbia University and is a submissions reader for the literary magazine The Common. Her website is melissaholbrookpierson.com.

To register, e-mail writersinthemountains@gmail.com. To register online, visit writersinthemountains.org. Class fee is $45. Registration deadline is April 20.

Writers in the Mountains is a 501 ( c ) (3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing. 

Learn more at writersinthemountains.org.

 

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Shandaken Takes Lead on Mountain Jam - Discusses Concerns About Potential Phoenicia School Lease

Staff Report

SHANDAKEN — The Town of Shandaken Town Board held a special meeting on March 27 to review a request to be the lead agency for the Mountain Jam Festival, scheduled to take place at Belleayre Mountain and adjoining lands. on June 20 to 22. The board declared their intent to be the lead agency, which would involve a 30-day period for other agencies to object, and then a public hearing would be held.

The board also discussed the mass gathering permit process, which involves separate permits from the county and state, the need for emergency services to be contacted, including local police and fire, and access to water and food.

A resolution was proposed to designate the project as an unlisted action under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and to declare the town's intent to serve as lead agency.

Regarding the Phoenicia School, the town needs to get professional estimates for repairs based on a commercial appraisal report, and consider hiring a commercial roofer or construction management firm to provide a more accurate estimate of the costs.The goal is to determine the potential costs of repairs over the next five to ten years, and to decide whether leasing or purchasing a building is the more cost-effective option, as concern about affordability was expressed by board members, particularly if the town would be responsible for maintenance costs. The town will reach out to several companies to get estimates and find a construction management firm that can provide a professional estimate of the overall costs.

 

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Life Has a Funny Way of Happening, w/ Brian Cirmo

By Robert Brune

ANDES — This weekend begins the ‘Funny Feeling’ exhibition at Hawk + Hive Gallery in Andes as Brian Cirmo of Albany shares his insights into everyday life. The art scene heats up while the outdoor climate struggles to cooperate with the concept of spring weather. This indoor entertainment of art and humor is a perfect opportunity to visit a gallery that consistently fascinates art lovers in Andes. Jayne Parker has wrangled another brilliant artist with great depth and uncanny gift of humor and situational perspectives. 

Cirmo’s pallet of experiences and emotions captivates the viewer in a way that lulls the mind, particularly character studies with closed eyes. In a recent interview, I asked about the recurring meditative state of Cirmo’s subjects. His response, “You know, a lot of people ask that question, and I ask myself this, too. For me there is something introspective about it, but it also could just be that the subjects are blinking, and we catch them in that moment.” Cirmo went on to suggest that his character’s could be, for him, a bit guarded, protecting themselves in a private moment of intimacy or reacting to turmoil. Though Cirmo reminds us of the very humble perspective offered up by the great New York Times art critic Roberta Smith, “Art should be considered an open space for interpretation, where viewers can engage with the work and form their own understandings, rather than being confined to the artist's intended meaning.” Moving through the figures of averted sight, the painting ‘Egg Moon’ depicts a very dark setting with a character with one eye closed and one eye catching the viewer. Not taking anything away from the rest of the collection, as each tells a story unto itself. It’s almost as if every other piece is window dressing for the moment of the surprise of ‘Egg Moon’. 

The thoughtful subjects of ‘Funny Feeling’ are a culmination of a lifetime of contemplation. Cirmo shared his love of Sunday Comics (Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbs) as his foundational inspiration to start creating art in his childhood. Folk music played a significant role as Cirmo explains, “I remember I heard Dylan when I was in high school. I went to see the movie ‘Hurricane’ (About Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter) which featured the song about a prize fighter accused of murder. I went out and bought the album the very next day.” Cirmo said he connected with the civil rights movement and the poetic stream of consciousness of Dylan’s lyrics. Straight out of grad school, Cirmo traveled the country while reading books by Jack Kerouac and Sinclair Lewis which contributed to his artistic sensibilities.

The influences of Cirmo’s artwork, as he explained, are intuitive but sometimes come about unknowingly. Cirmo recalls, “I had painting I had in my studio hanging on the wall and spent some time looking at it. I realized that the figure was very much pulled from one of my favorite paintings from history Grunewald’s ‘Crucifixion’. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, the brain is a sponge. It takes everything in and somehow it comes out in that mysterious kind of process. Sometimes I know if I just keep working, I will find out what I want to know.” This is the magic of Cirmo’s art. He goes to extraordinary lengths of composition and narratives that welcome the viewer into a descriptive world of both oneself and the surrounding world. 

‘Funny Feeling’ opens this Friday April 11th at Hawk + Hive Gallery in Andes 

Opening reception Saturday April 12th 2pm – 6pm 

Also See on Instagram @hawkandhive and @ b_cirmo for more information

 

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ArtUp Hosting LOOK, LOOK AGAIN Through May 5

Barbara at ArtUp

MARGARETVILLE — The ArtUp Gallery in Margaretville is excited to be hosting LOOK, LOOK AGAIN, a collection of lenticular photographs by Barbara Taff. The show will run from April 11 through May 5, 2025.The opening will be on Friday, April 11 from 4-7pm.

Barbara Taff is a multi-disciplinary conceptual artist, graphic designer, and art educator who brings a sense of insight, playfulness, as well as surprise to her sculptures, drawings, photography, cartoons, and visual designs. Currently, Taff is among the first artists to experiment with human scale 3-D lenticular photographs. She has developed an innovative, immersive format that pushes the boundaries between observation and creative imagination. ‍

During the 60s and 70s, Taff was inspired by the strong geometric forms of the Bauhaus in addition to the visual possibilities of op-art and kinetic art movements where she was influenced by the perceptual works of Victor Vasarely, Yaacov Agam and M.C. Escher. This led to Taff’s experiments with holograms, stereograms and visual illusions.‍
Taff has an extensive creative career, spanning several decades as an award-winning art and design director. Her experience includes working at New York magazine, YM magazine, Daily News, UJA-Federation of New York, Studio 8 Design, and the Institute of International Education. She taught in New York City at Pratt Institute and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Taff is the author and illustrator of the children’s book, “The Best Colors”. Additionally, she is a member of the Mamaroneck Artist Guild and an art reviewer for Lilith magazine. Her work has been exhibited in contemporary galleries, art fairs nationally, and is represented in private collections across the US and Canada. A longtime resident of Fleischmanns, NY and New York City, Taff graduated with a BS in Art from State University College of Buffalo, NY, and an MS from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. More recently, Taff has studied figurative sculpture at the Art Students League of NY, with Dionisio Cimarelli and with Tricia Klein at the Woodstock School of Art, NY.

At the heart of LOOK, LOOK AGAIN, is the idea of taking time to rediscover with fresh eyes new ways of looking at the world. Barbara says it is her delight to share with you some of her favorite artworks inspired by cracked sidewalks, stains, puddles, trees, and rocks that became a wolf, a bear, a dress, a portrait, a deity, lovers, a dog, and a tortoise among many others, when you look, look again.

ArtUp Gallery 

746 Main Street, Binnekill Square

Margaretville, NY 12455

Show runs from April 11 through May 5, 2025

Opening on Friday, April 11 from 4-6pm

Hours: Friday-Sunday, 12-4pm

 

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Margaretville Art Scene Thrives

Photo courtesy Aldo Gonzalez

MARGARETVILLE — Drew Jarrett reflects on the opening reception at the Annex Art and Supply, “We had a really good turnout. A load of cool amazing creative people turned up very happy, considering also it was a rainy day.”

Paul Weil, Annex Art & Supply said, “it was a fantastic response to an artist whose breadth of work is pretty astonishing. 

The five large black and white prints shot in the early 90s on the Bowery in all their cinematic glory are some of Drew’s personal work which the crowd slowly realize are stars of the film and fashion worlds. It both elevates the imagery and makes it relatable. Then the conversation would shift to the twelve foot montage of small prints, test shots, and Polaroids Drew had taped to the wall like a mood board for the greatest film never made. Really an immersive experience.”

Weil says there will be more showing in their space on Main Street in Margaretville

 

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A Conversation about ...Mimicry

Horn worm

Poop worm

By Jean Thomas

I was going through a bunch of photos the other day and found an assortment of pictures of caterpillars and butterflies and moths. One of the commonalities among them was the practice of mimicry. I decided to write about how these small creatures “practice to deceive.” The whole quote refers to a “tangled web,” but in insects, mimicry is a survival mechanism. There is a whole huge group of moths named for their markings that imitate owl eyes, and indeed, many butterflies have markings that look like eyes, whether owl or snake eyes. These have developed as defensive maneuvers to at least buy time to escape if they can fool a predator, even briefly. This is called “mimicry” by the scientists. Like scientists everywhere, they have created several categories of mimicry. I discovered this to my dismay when I began researching details about what I thought I already knew something about.

I did not know that there are several kinds of mimicry, either three, four or five depending on the scientists sorting them. Simplified, they are Batesian... to avoid and escape predators; Mullerian... toxic or distasteful types having similar appearance; and Aggressive... to hunt prey. Looked at individually, it goes like this: Batesian  includes insects like the Swallowtail clan. Most have caterpillar stages that have fake eyes, although my favorite is the notorious “bird poop caterpillar.” It looks exactly like you'd expect, and it pupates into the Giant Swallowtail butterfly. This is that big (4-6”) mostly black butterfly with yellow and blue markings we see every summer fluttering around our flowers.

The Mullerian type of mimicry is what happens when insects that taste bad or are toxic begin to resemble each other, like the Monarch and the Viceroy. So any bird that has tasted either will avoid both for the rest of its days.

Other categories invented by the scientists are “aggressive,” which mimic their prey;                        “ant,” or practicers of “myrmecomorphy” which include many types of insects that try to look like ants for a multitude of reasons; and “sexual,” which I'm not going into because it rarely involves insects or amphibians or reptiles, which I'd rather talk about.

There are other small creatures that, in my mind, are mimics. The scientist types scorn the label for them, but I'm naming them anyway and you can decide for yourself. Luna moths have some eye-type markings, but they use their tails to confuse bats sonic systems with some kind of echo. The Hummingbird Moth is often mistaken for its namesake and sometimes even sounds like it. Other cousins of this moth are Sphinx Moth and Hawk Moth. All are pretty large, a deterrent in itself. And it gets better: the larva of these insects are the familiar Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms. These are scorned as mimics by some scientists, too, because they mimic their host plants for their disguise. They have stripes on their sides that resemble the veins of the leaves they eat, and many have scary eye markings and a fierce looking horn at one end. Unfortunately they are voracious eaters and hated by tomato growers. 

I could go on for days about the various systems insects and other small creatures have devised for survival, including camouflage and fake ferocity, but I won't. I'm going outside to explore and make new friends. And while I do that, I'm going to be listening to the podcast episode about Monarch butterflies at:  https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-57-monarch-butterflies

 

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THE CATSKILL GEOLOGISTS BY PROFESSORS ROBERT AND JOHANNA TITUS - “My Name is OZYMANDIAS”

Near the western end of the Massachusetts Turnpike (Rte. I-90) is a sign that tells you that you are, at 1724 feet, located at the highest elevation on the Pike. In fact, it’s the highest I-90 elevation east of South Dakota. We have driven this way many times, but recently we finally pulled over and got out. We didn’t look west, nor east; we looked up – almost five miles into the sky. What on earth were we doing? Well, this location is in the heart of the Berkshires. Curiously that puts it into the heart of another, much older, range of mountains. Geologists call them the Acadians. We have written about them a number of times. Their formation began about 400 million years ago when Africa collided with North America. 

                                                                                                      

The collision of two continents squeezes a lot of rock and forces it into a massive uplift. We call that an orogeny or mountain building event. This one is the Acadian Orogeny and that is a term you should know. Geologists debate just how tall those mountains rose. Some compare them with the Andes and say 15,000 feet. Others compare them with the Himalayas and say 30,000 feet. We like the latter. That gets us back to looking five miles into the sky. That was once all mountain range up there. The boots of some ancient Edmund Hillary would have been five miles high in today’s sky! 

But all these mountains have been eroding away for more than 350 million years, and they are now almost gone. Only those 1724 feet are left! Think about all this the next time you are in the Berkshires.

It’s pretty heady stuff, isn’t it? But we geologists are accustomed to thinking such thoughts. For us nothing is forever, great lengths of time corrupt once mighty landscapes. It is, indeed, heady stuff and a wide range of thoughtful people have been pondering similar things for centuries. That includes English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who wrote one of our favorite poems in 1818 – about just this sort of thought. It’s entitled “Ozymandias;” It’s about an ancient king, but it might have been written for the Acadian Mountains just as well. We thought you might enjoy reading it:

 I met a traveler from an antique land,

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those Passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

“My name is OZYMANDIAS, King of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!”

No thing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away. 

Contact the authors at randjtitus@prodigy.net. Join their facebook page at “The Catskill geologist.” Read their blogs at “thecatskillgeologist.”

 

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Local History by Dede Terns-Thorpe - TANNERSVILLE LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL

 

August 5, 1918, Kingston Daily Freeman

This story is about one of the older families in Tannersville, specifically the Warm brothers. Sam Warm operated Warm’s  Hotel on South Main Street while Julius and Nathan ran Warm’s Restaurant, 6033 Main Street.  (Warms was a community place, with a busy counter in the front. Warms supplied work for many local kids, with Julius and Nathan knowing the families and which kid needed a job.)

Although they were busy businessmen, they still found time to be active volunteers, with the emergency phone number for the Tannersville Rescue Squad and Fire Department in the restaurant.

(Steve and Holly Yager later operated Warm’s for many years before it became the property of the Hunter Foundation.)

New Yorker Who Questions Validity of High License For Other Then Local Autos, is Fined For Speeding.

A summary of the story:

On the 3rd of May, 1918, the Village of Tannersville passed an ordinance regulating license fees for automobiles, etc. The fee was set at $2.00 yearly (about $35.00) for town & village taxpayers. “Outsiders” paid $35.00 (approximately $600.00 today).

Nathan Warm came up from the city and paid the $35 for his car. He later wanted to use a larger car for carrying passengers (Taxi style), and he was charged another $35.00.

He consulted attorney William D. Brinner, who viewed the ordinance and found it to be unconstitutional and discriminating.

Nathan was later ticketed for speeding and charged with violating the speed ordinance, the penalty not to exceed $100 (about $1600.00 today). A jury trial was held and found him guilty of exceeding the speed limit and fined him $20.00. (About $325.00 today).

Mr. Warm made plans to take legal action to recover the $35.00 that he paid on the illegal ordinance he had originally paid. (No results of the trial were  found.)

 

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