The Margaretville Fire Department was founded way back in 1887, 125 years ago. To celebrate, firefighters old and very young (see above) marched in a parade through Margaretville on Saturday, July 7. Reader Sharon Goldstein sent us these photos from the parade.
The conversation over the Catskill Scenic Byway Project continues. For background, click here and here. -- Julia Reischel
To the Editor,
The Scenic By-way Plan for Route 28 has been misunderstood, misrepresented, misinterpreted and mistakenly attacked for far too long. The plan, which was created by and approved via a coordinated, grass-roots, local/regional effort, is entirely non-regulatory in nature as regulations regarding building and zoning rest with, and always will in a Home Rule State like New York, the elected Town Boards along with the appointed Planning Boards of the municipalities involved.
On Tuesday, at their regular town meeting, the Highland town council voted 5-0 to ban natural gas drilling and exploration within town limits.
Highland is now the fourth Sullivan County town to pass a local bans on gas drilling, joining Bethel, Tusten and Lumberland. Another Sullivan County town, Delaware, recently weighed in on the opposite side of the issue and passed a local law affirming the rights of landowners to lease their mineral rights.
Highland supervisor Andrew Boyar told the Watershed Post today that the town has been working on the law for several years.
"We were one of the first to be inspired to consider doing a ban on fracking or industrial use," Boyar said. "We're not the first to get to the finish line because we had to do our comprehensive plan, which was linked to the 2010 census."
In March of this year, Boyar said, Highland passed its updated comprehensive plan, paving the way for a local land use law that dealt with gas drilling.
Above: A cleanup team at work at the site of a diesel fuel spill in the Pepacton reservoir. Photo by DEP regional manager Mark Danvetz.
No sooner had the New York City Department of Environmental Protection finished cleaning up 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel from the Pepacton Reservoir than another source of contamination was found at the bottom of the reservoir.
The cleanup of the Pepacton has been going on for over two months. Evidence of an oil spill near the East Delaware Tunnel intake was first found on Sunday, April 29, according to an article in the Walton Reporter. On Friday, May 18, the DEP announced that the source of the leak had been found: a pipe protruding from a large object buried in sediment at the bottom of the reservoir.
Normally, the loudest thing in downtown Andes on a given weekend is a passing motorcycle. But this Saturday, teenagers from across the Catskills will converge on the fire pavilion on Tremperskill Road to play rock, alternative rock, thrash metal, and rockabilly in a contest for cash prizes.
It's the Andes Battle of the Bands, and the idea is to show the world that the town isn't just for the comfortably middle-aged. From the event's press release:
Andes Fire Chief Joe Berghammer felt there wasn't enough for young people to do around here. He specifically wanted to have a venue for young musicians to perform and receive the attention they deserve. Joe's idea motivated other members of the fire department, of Andes Works! and of WIOX radio to create the Andes 'Battle of the Bands'! On July 14th seven bands will compete for cash prizes. The bands are coming from six different towns; their music is rock, alternative rock, thrash metal, and rockabilly; their ages range from 12 to 20! WIOX radio will broadcast the whole event - from 2pm to 5pm live. Free Admission."
Above: Ulster County executive Mike Hein signing five new property tax exemptions into law. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Ulster County Executive.
On Monday, July 9, Ulster County executive Mike Hein signed five new property tax exemptions into law. The new exemptions will mean tax breaks for first-time homebuyers, veterans, seniors, and disabled people in Ulster County.
Under the new exemptions, first-time homebuyers will receive a 50 percent county property tax exemption in the first year after their home purchase, and decreasing exemptions for the first five years. Greater numbers of senior citizens, and the disabled will now qualify for exemptions, because the county has raised the maximum income limit for the tax exemptions for these groups. Also, the exemptions available to veterans have been increased to 15 percent, the maximum allowed under state law.
A press release from the Office of the Ulster County Executive:
Above: Brian Handy and his DEP vehicle parked upstream of the Gilboa Dam off State Route 990V, where Handy spent Tropical Storm Irene. Photo by Christopher Auger-Domínguez.
Our next subject in the Faces of the Flood Project, a collaborative effort to tell the untold stories of the 2011 Catskills floods: Captain Brian Handy of the DEP Police.
Photo: Dry weather = clear nights. This photo of the Big and Little Dippers was taken by Flickr user Catskills Photography in the Watershed Post Flickr pool. We encourage you to join the pool and submit your local photos.
Above: Fourth of July celebration in the Village of Liberty. Village police say “1,000 people or more, steady throughout the day” thronged Main Street for the street fair and parade. All photos by Jason Dole.
Above: A 2008 video from the University of Albany about student research at the Pethick Site, an active prehistoric archaeological dig in the Schoharie County town of Esperance.
Today and Friday, July 5 and 6, the New York State Museum and the University of Albany's archaeology department are holding a two-day open house at the Pethick Site, in the Esperance hamlet of Central Bridge.
The site, one of the most important archaeological finds in the state, dates back to at least 2,000 B.C. Over 200,000 artifacts have been unearthed from the site.
