margaretville

Upcoming Events in Margaretville

Catskill Forest Festival

July 28, 2012 - 10:00am - 4:00pm

New federal money for rural jobs

By Lissa Harris
2/21/12 - 2:13 pm

Photo of barn, fence and field in Kiamesha Lake by Catskills Photography. Shared in the Watershed Post Flickr group.

The Obama administration announced three new initiatives to benefit the rural economy, including a $15 million "Rural Jobs Accelerator" competition to fund job-creating projects in rural regions.

The White House also announced a new effort to boost "biobased" manufacturing, under which the federal government would seek to buy products like soap, paint and detergent from manufacturers that make them from farm-based sources instead of petroleum products.

Another initiative seeks to train more rural workers in health information technology, through parternships with community colleges.

From a press release describing all three new initiatives: Read more

Belleayre workers cause slowdown on the slopes

By Julia Reischel
2/19/12 - 11:44 pm

Above: A Belleayre Mountain ski lift on February 19, the day after five workers caused delays on the slopes by calling in sick. Photo via the Belleayre Mountain Facebook page.

Three lift mechanics and two electricians called in sick from their jobs at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center on the morning of Saturday, February 18, delaying the kickoff of the last big holiday weekend of the ski season.

The sick workers made no public comments and did not return a call from the Watershed Post, but their absences were widely interpreted as an act of protest.

Many Belleayre employees fear that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to transfer the management of Belleayre to the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) will cost them their jobs.

Belleayre Superintendent Tony Lanza hesitated to call the absences a protest. Read more

Deal struck on statewide teacher evaluations

By Lissa Harris
2/17/12 - 12:36 am

With the clock ticking on a deadline set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state officials and teachers' unions have brokered a deal that will create a new system for evaluating teachers.

The New York Times reports that Cuomo threatened to use his gubernatorial budget powers to pressure teachers' unions and education officials to come to an agreement:

A month ago, the governor warned the sides to reach a deal by midnight on Thursday — the last day he could submit his amendments to the budget — or he would impose his own evaluation system. And on Thursday, Mr. Cuomo emerged as the clear winner. For the first time, all school districts will have to abide by the same tight guidelines to assess teachers and principals, using a scoring system intended to take into account their performance and student achievement.

A press release issued on Thursday, Feb. 17, describes the new system: Read more

Letter to the Editor: Wondering about Freshtown

By WP Newsroom
2/16/12 - 11:52 am

Editor's note: The Freshtown supermarket in Margaretville, owned by the Katz family, was flooded during last August's Tropical Storm Irene. Six months later, it is still closed. -- Julia Reischel

Dear Editor,

I took a ride today, to Prattsville. I haven't been that way in over two years. I had no reason to go there. Due to what I like to refer to as the Freshtown Fiasco, I decided to check out the Great American Supermarket there. I've gone to Stamford (Grand Union) and Delhi (Price Choppers), as well as the mega stores in Kingston and Oneonta, so I figured, why not the Great American. Surely they can use my business.

I was so impressed with what the owner there has done. I don't know what the store looked like before the floods, but it sure was attractive today. The staff was friendly, the customers all had smiles on their faces, and the prices were extremely fair and the selection very very good.

I know from reading the WP and the other local media that this store, indeed the whole town, was affected by Irene and Lee. Driving through Prattsville was heart-wrenching. Margaretville has rebounded so much more quickly. Read more

Route 28 scenic byway plan critics demand a makeover

By Rusty Mae Moore
2/14/12 - 4:21 pm

Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway CMP Draft

Above: The current draft of a plan to apply for state and federal scenic byway designation for a section of Route 28. Members of the Central Catskills Collaborative, a seven-municipality task force that drafted the plan, have agreed to revise it in the wake of criticism from town officials who fear that a scenic byway will impose new regulations on towns and local property owners.

As the process of applying for scenic byway status for a 50-mile stretch of Route 28 gets closer to the finish line, officials from a few of the seven towns and villages involved are getting cold feet. Read more

Spring is busting out all over

By Lissa Harris
2/14/12 - 9:03 am

Spring already? Reader Laurie McIntosh sent us this photo of snowdrops in bloom, taken in Woodstock on Feb. 10.

Snowdrops are usually the first bloomers in the garden, beating out even the early crocuses for the title. But this is a bit early, even for the hardy Galanthus nivalis: In our climate, the snowdrop usually blooms in late February or early March.

Central New York gardener Donna, who blogs at Gardens Eye View and gardens near Oneida Lake, writes that she had snowdrops at the end of January:

I have never seen a snowdrop in bloom this early here in my now zone 5b garden. We have been moved from a zone 5a to a 5b. And with the snowdrops are crocus, hyacinth and dwarf Dutch iris getting ready to burst forth and bloom.

In New York City, whose spring is weeks ahead of ours, they're well past snowdrops and into hellebore season, writes blogging gardener Karen Orlando. Read more

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