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Forecast: Not the end of the world, and some snow

Parallel contrails through winter trees in Monticello on December 14, by Catskills Photography via the Watershed Post Flickr pool.

The forecast for this afternoon calls for the world to continue (by most accounts), and also some snow in Delaware and Sullivan counties. Let's get a dusting on those bare Monticello branches for the holidays.

Alex at Hudson Valley Weather on Facebook agrees that a snowy Catskills/Hudson Valley Christmas is looking more likely:

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Wind Advisory for Sullivan, Delaware counties

The National Weather Service in Binghamton has issued a wind advisory for the western Catskills including Sullivan and Delaware counties, effective from 7 pm tonight until 7 am tomorrow morning.

Gusts could reach 40-50 miles per hour overnight, so batten down those hatches. This is part of what our good buddy at Hudson Valley Weather says is part of a storm that will also bring us drenching rains.

(SPOILER ALERT: HVW also forecasts that the world will not end tomorrow.)

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Gilboa Dam: One siphon down, one to go

Above: Video of the Gilboa Dam's newly installed siphon in operation. Video by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced on Wednesday that they had just finished installing one of two massive siphons at the Gilboa Dam, allowing the agency to lower the level of the Schoharie Reservoir by releasing water directly into the Schoharie Creek. The siphons are an important flood control mechanism for communities downstream of the dam, and local advocates have been clamoring for them to be finished since four smaller siphons were removed from the dam this summer.

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NYC Department of Environmental Protection

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Tonight in Cooperstown: Anti-fracking attorney to host workshop on DEC's new gas regulations

New York State is currently accepting public comments on its latest draft of gas drilling regulations. Helen Slottje, a lawyer who has been prominent in the movement to pass town bans on gas drilling, is hosting a series of public forums this week on the revised regulations in an effort to gather more public comments from fracking opponents. The third and last of these forums will be held in Cooperstown tonight.

On November 30, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a revised draft of regulations that, if passed into law, will govern hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The public comment period on the regulations runs from December 12, 2012 through January 11, 2013.

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NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Helen Slottje

Community Environmental Defense Council

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Tomorrow: Holiday pop-up market in Stamford

The Greater Stamford Chamber of Commerce is hosting a pre-Christmas pop-up market at the Frank W. Cyr Center tomorrow, Thursday, December 20 from 2:30-6:30 pm. 50 vendors are scheduled to be there, along with, according to the Chamber's Facebook page "11 authors, 1 illustrator, an art gallery, Santa, face painting and Don Dales on piano." For more information about the market, see the Chamber's Facebook page; for a sense of the kind of products you'll find there, check out the event's Pinterest page.

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Stamford Pop-Up Farmers Market

Phoenicia to host Christmas celebration

This Saturday, December 22, Phoenicia will host an all-over-town Christmas celebration. Beginning at STS Playhouse at 4 PM, the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice will host a family friendly concert, followed by an appearance by Santa Claus at Mama's Boy, caroling, a wreath walk, bonfire and more.

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christmas celebration

festival of the voice

A Catskills 'Twelve Days of Christmas'

In the Catskills, we do have partridges -- not to mention pear trees.

But here at the WP, we thought we'd put a more local spin on a favorite carol. While we're at it, we'd like to wish a very Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to our readers across the Catskills and beyond, and a big thank-you to all the local small businesses that have supported the Watershed Post's news efforts this year by advertising with us. Twelve of them are featured below.

As the last days of the holiday season wrap up, we hope you'll shop local, and support the small businesses that are the heart and soul of all our Main Streets.

On the first day of Christmas, the Catskills gave to me: An expert on forestry

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Late Morning in Cochecton

Catskills Photography added this gem to the Watershed Post Flickr pool: a photo of a sun-dappled hillside in Cochecton.

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This Weekend: The Sandy Cause

This weekend, the Bearsville Theater will host a benefit for Sandy relief, with music for the whole family. The event, which takes place on Saturday, December 22nd from noon to three p.m. in the Theater Lounge, features Uncle Rock, Story Laurie & Ira McIntosh, Grenadilla and Ratboy Jr. There will be Yuletide singalongs, facepainting and arts and crafts. All proceeds will go to Superstorm Sandy relief. For more information, see our listing, or the event website.

12/19/12 update: Hamden videographer Jessica Vecchione has a great video about the Neighbor to Neighbor PRojevct, which took a trip down to Rockaway Beach after Hurricane Sandy on Nov. 12. Check it out below. -- Julia Reischel

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DEP and Delaware County set aside differences during Sandy

Above: A group of DEP and Delaware County employees who worked together on storm recovery in Queens were honored in a ceremony in Downsville on Friday. Commissioner Strickland is fifth from left. Also in the photo are Jim Eisel, chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors, New York State Assemblyman Peter Lopez, DEP Deputy Commissioner Paul Rush, and town of Middletown supervisor Marge Miller. In total, 58 people were honored at the ceremony, including DEP workers who helped pump out tunnels in Manhattan after the storm. Photo provided by the DEP.

The Catskills have a long history of battling the New York City Department of Environmental Protection over water and the reservoirs the city operates on upstate land. A popular bumper sticker around Delaware County reads "DEP Get Off Our Backs," and earlier this year the county demanded $81.3 billion dollars from the agency in reparations for lost natural gas revenue on watershed lands.

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delaware county board of supervisors

New York City Department of Environmental Protection

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