| Watershed Post

Delaware County official: "To be blunt, we're a drug-infected county"

Rising drug abuse is putting a tremendous strain on Delaware County's foster care system, according to a county official.

Delaware County DSS Commissioner William Moon minced no words in describing the county's drug problems at last week's regular board of supervisors' meeting.

The Walton Reporter (subscription required for full story) reports:

"To be blunt, we're a drug-infected county," he said. He said employees in the department's child protective unit have investigated many complaints involving drug use, mostly heroin, and that the number of children in foster care has been as high as 100, though it is currently about 85. He said that, in years past, most foster children were teenagers, but it is now common to take newborn babies from drug-addicted mothers.

"The symptoms of the illness are not abating," Moon said. "It's not going to change. I don't see it changing."

Tags:

foster care

Topics:

Government

Mountains of fun this weekend at local ski slopes

Above: Oktoberfest at Hunter Mountain. Photo from Hunter's website.

Even if your idea of a winter good time is sneering about snow from a beach lounge in the Caribbean, this is one great weekend to hit the slopes. Windham, Plattekill, Hunter, and Belleayre are all celebrating autumn, each vying for your visit with its own special blend of fall fun.

For skiers, of course, there are early-bird deals on gear and lift tickets. For everyone, there is the sublime visual experience of a skyride the Catskills in mid-autumn. And as if that weren't enough, the hospitable mountain-minders have gone all-out to plan your entertainment.

Upstater: Buying the Farm(House)

Lots of folks dream of an old fashioned farm house in upstate New York...and they don't necessarily fancy tending to the farm with it. So here is a selection of properties we've looked at that might satisfy an old house craving.

1070 Creek Locks Road, Rosendale

The Johannes Van Wegenen House (known as "Wagendaal" on the blue sign) in Rosendale, built in 1669, might be the oldest property we've encountered (apparently Sojourner Truth hid there during Underground Railroad days). It's been lovingly renovated, with some original detail left intact. The price is steep -- $925,000 -- but this is a luxury farmhouse, with a hot tub, pool and barn, along with three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It sits on 3.91 acres, and the house size is modest, at 1,594 square feet. Taxes are around $10,000.

Tags:

real estate

upstater

Topics:

People

Family mourns 11-year-old who died trying to save siblings

On Monday afternoon, in the Saratoga County town of Ballston, 11-year-old Lane Rowe died while trying to stop the family minivan -- in which his young siblings were sitting -- from rolling into a busy street. Rowe is being lionized as a hero in media accounts across the state.

Family members told reporters that one of Rowe's siblings accidentally put the van in neutral, and it began to slide backward. The Albany Times-Union has a thorough -- and utterly heartbreaking -- account of what happened next:

Monday was supposed to be just like any other day. The mother spent the afternoon shopping with three of the kids, but Lane had his annual physical scheduled for 3:30 p.m. When she stopped home to pick him up, she ran inside, just for a minute. When she came out, the Dodge Caravan that she had parked at the top of her gravel driveway was 50 feet away, poking out of a steep embankment. Luca, 12, was in hysterics. Lark, 4, and Felix, 2, were in their back seats, unable to grasp what had just happened.

Tags:

Place:

Topics:

O+ Festival: Kingston celebrates art, music and healthcare this weekend

It all started with a Kingston dentist who just really wanted an indie band to play in his hometown. Three years later, the O+ Festival is becoming a juggernaut.

This year, the annual O+ Festival -- a citywide celebration of art, music and healthcare for everybody -- is bigger than ever. The festivities kick off at 6pm on Friday with a grand parade, from the Kirkland Hotel through the streets to the BSP Lounge, led by the Hungry March Band. (Expect skeleton puppets.) After the parade winds down, revelers will fan out to half a dozen venues, and the party will roll on. There's a concert at the Old Dutch Church featuring Richard Buckner and the Felice Brothers, up-and-coming local bands at BSP Lounge, and rocking into the wee hours with Mercury Rev's Grasshopper at the Stockade Tavern.

That, in itself, would be a banner night out in Kingston. But it's just the start of a weekend-long creative typhoon that will take Olde Uptown by storm.

Topics:

Place:

Tags:

Bears all over the mountains

Above: A photo of a bear taken by a trail cam in Margaretville. Courtesy of Adam Varsano.

Last week, we urged you to send us your bear photos -- and did you ever. Thanks to Adam Varsano, whose furry subject appears to have noticed that his cover has been blown by a nearby trail cam.

Below is a set of astonishing bear photos from Peter Possenti, who has a weekend house near Perch Lake in Andes. Peter writes:

I took them from right behind my sliding glass door. The closeups are with a telephoto, a 300mm I think. My wife was encouraging me to step out the door and get closer...I declined.

A wise move. (Please don't try to get close to bears -- or feed them! -- in an effort to get photos like these. It often ends badly for everybody, particularly the bears.)

Topics:

Place:

Tags:

Probable West Nile case found in Ulster County

Photo of Aedes aegypti mosquito in action by James Gathany. Published under Creative Commons license.

First measles, now West Nile? Ulster County seems to be a hotbed of rare diseases lately.

The Ulster County Health Department announced today that a probable case of West Nile virus has been identified in the county. The Freeman reports:

The case, which is under investigation by the state Department of Health and the Ulster County Department of Health, involves an individual who had recently traveled out of state, so it’s uncertain exactly where the infection may have been acquired, authorities said.

Topics:

Tags:

Auerbach freezes URGENT funds

Ulster County drama, thy name is URGENT: A public dustup between county comptroller Elliott Auerbach and Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum is unfolding over the fate of about $200,000 in cash seized in drug busts by the multi-agency Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team.

Auerbach has ordered the funds frozen until the law enforcement agencies involved in URGENT can agree on how it should be spent, the Times Herald-Record reports:

Tags:

Topics:

Look out, Bambi: Bowhunting season begins today

Photo of Muzzy arrows by Flickr user Justin D. Miller. Published under Creative Commons license.

Early October is usually prime time for leaf-peeping in the Catskills. This year, it's time for deer-hunting too, thanks to a rule change by the state Department of Environmental Conservation that puts the start of the season about two weeks earlier than in previous years.

Bowhunting season for New York's Southern zone, which includes all of the Catskills region along with a huge swath of the rest of the state, began today and runs through November 16. Firearm deer hunting season begins on November 17.

Hunters are excited about getting an earlier start this year, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports:

“It’s always great having more opportunity to be in the woods earlier in the season,” [hunter Nick] Faruch said. “This time of year, there’s no noise and usually not that many hunters.’’

Tags:

Place:

Here's the hail, it never fails

The Ulster County town of Olive got a freak hailstorm on Sunday. Reader Jo Ostrander got video evidence. (Thanks for the video, Jo!) She writes, "I'm so glad I didn't start painting the cottage."

Tags:

Place:

Topics:

You are here

Pages