Now Borghi has applied to become part of an agricultural district, which would largely exempt her from town rules. Ulster County lawmakers will vote on her application in July. The Town Board voted unanimously to oppose the move and wrote a letter asking the county Legislature to vote it down.
But the real issue is that no one in the hLinda Borghi and partner Barry Adelmanamlet of Walker Valley, which is located in Shawangunk, wants to live near a farm. According to the article, Borghi's neighbors moved to Walker Valley to get away from industry, small-scale farms included:
Nick Hoffman grew up on farms in Montgomery before he moved to Saxton Lane for its quiet setting. "I'm all for farming, but it's the wrong place," Hoffman said. "If she wants to be a hero, she should go down into the valley and save some farm and down there — I'd even give her a donation and buy from her." Read more
The problem of too few slaughterhouses is being addressed, at a glacial pace, in Liberty. According to the Times Herald-Record, a much-delayed slaughterhouse is finally nearing a ground-breaking. That is, as long as the feds pony up almost a million dollars:
But now county officials again say the $1.6 million plant is close to reality. Engineers are finalizing a site plan that will address drainage issues, and the county awaits a decision on an $800,000 grant submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Since their tiny Roxbury BBQ joint was destroyed by fire last month, Cha Cha Hut owners Cherie and Frank Davis have been scouting nearby hills and valleys for a new location. (They're parting ways with their former landlords, Bridge Street Roxbury LLC -- a recent post on the Cha Cha Hut's blog indicates there's no love lost there.)
Their new location: Hogan's General Store in Andes, whose owner, Don Hogan, is welcoming them with open arms. Hogan says he heard of the Cha Cha Hut's search for a new home via a bit of gossip at the golf course, and immediately thought his place would be a good fit. Read more
Noah Katz, a Vice President of Foodtown/Freshtown, stands in front of the Margaretville Freshtown, which will hold a grand opening ribbon-cutting at 7pm tonight. Photo by Lissa Harris.
Almost 40,000 pounds of ground beef and beef patties from New York and California were recalled yesterday due to E. coli contamination, Consumerist reports.
Both recalls have are considered Class I hazards by FSIS, meaning "there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
The New York beef was destined for food service institutions:
Each package bears establishment number "EST. 20889" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well the Julian dates of "10164" and "10166." These ground beef products were produced on June 11, 2010, and June 15, 2010, and were shipped to food service institutions in Connecticut., N.J., and N.Y.
Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26 we’ll be sampling our products at FreshTown in Margaretville: stop by for the Grand Opening. Saturday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm we’ll be at the Pakatakan Farmer’s Market on Rt.30 in Halcottsville: stop by our stand in the Pavilion.
In today's New York Times: A profile of an emerging vegetable venture that links Schoharie County with the South Bronx, a neighborhood the article described as "the poorest congressional district east of the Mississippi."
The project is Corbin Hill Road Farm, a 92-acre vegetable farm in Carlisle that Harlem mathematician Dennis Derryck has pressed into the service of community-supported agriculture in Hunts Point. The concept of CSA farms is nothing new in the five boroughs these days. What's different about Corbin Hill Road Farm's CSA is that it's designed to work in low-income neighborhoods: Read more
Peg Ellsworth, center, the executive director of the Margaretville-based MARK Project, asked U.S. Representative Scott Murphy a question after his speech in Margaretville on Saturday. Elsworth asked Murphy for funding for the National Housing Trust Fund and the Preserve America grant program. Photo by Simona David.
Margaretville, NY – 06/19/10, 3:30 pm, Village Pavilion
On Saturday, June 19, Congressman Scott Murphy (NY-20) spoke at the Village Pavilion on Main Street about his plan to revitalize the upstate economy, dubbed Renew Upstate New York.
“We’ve got to do economic development, but you’ve got to do it thoughtfully, with an eye toward what the impact on the environment is going to be,” he said, when asked about how to reconcile economic development with environmental conservation in the Catskills.
“I don’t think they have to be opposed to each other,” he said.
When Murphy won a special election last March to serve as the U.S. Representative for the the 20th Congressional District, he promised to hold public town hall meetings in each of the 137 towns in his large, rural district, which spans ten counties and runs from Dutchess County all the way up to Lake Placid. On Saturday, he said that he has been to 65 towns so far this year. Read more
It's anybody's guess how many gay ex-Manhattanite goat farmers are scattered around the hills and valleys of Schoharie County. But it's certain there's at least two of them -- and they're well on their way to fame, or at least notoriety. Last night was the first episode of "The Fabulous Beekman Boys," the latest reality show on Planet Green, in which former drag queen Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his city-bred partner Brent Ridge have a whack at running a small farm in Sharon Springs.
