| Watershed Post

FEMA to fund rebuilding of Schoharie fire station

The Schoharie Fire Department's current temporary location on Fort Road, and the future site of the rebuilt Niagara Engine Co. No. 6. Photo by Matt Brisley.

After having seven and a half feet of water flow through it in last year’s floods, Niagara Engine Co. No. 6 is officially being relocated and rebuilt.

In a press release on Tuesday, Congressman Paul Tonko applauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) allotment of over $900,000 – or three-quarters of the cost to replace and relocate the firehouse in the village of Schoharie. The other 25 percent of the cost will be covered by the state of New York, under an agreement announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office this spring.

The new firehouse will be built on the Fort Road property the Schoharie Fire Department is currently using as a temporary location. The site, a former tractor sales and supply store, will be purchased from its current owner.

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NYC washes its hands of Phoenicia sewer; Shandaken supervisor cries foul

In a move that has angered local residents and town officials, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has walked away from the bargaining table over the building of a sewer treatment plant for the hamlet of Phoenicia.

Last month, after the Shandaken town board tabled a key vote on the project, town supervisor Rob Stanley wrote a letter to the DEP asking for more time, and raising several unresolved issues with the project. Among the town's concerns, Stanley wrote, was the fact that the most recent proposed design would not be fully built to serve the entire sewer district, putting the brunt of the plant's operating costs on the shoulders of a few downtown businesses and leaving plans for the rest of the sewer district in limbo.

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Shandaken ambulance unit up for statewide EMS award

Photo: Shandaken Ambulance Service Captain Rich Muellerleile proudly displays his squad's recent awards at the Shandaken town board meeting on Monday, June 4. Photo by Rusty Mae Moore.

The town of Shandaken’s Ambulance Service was recently voted Agency of the Year for the Hudson Valley region.

The Hudson Valley Regional EMS Council, which represents almost 200 EMS squads from Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster Counties, awarded Shandaken’s unit for their service at their annual dinner on May 25 at the Benedictine Auditorium in Kingston.

With the regional honors, Shandaken’s unit is now eligible for a statewide award in October. The winner will be selected from the regional award recipients in each of the 18 EMS regions in New York State.

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Little black-and-white Corvette

Catskills Photography took a sweet shot of this 1998 Corvette, now living a second life as the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office's DARE car.

There's a story behind Sullivan County's hot rod: The car used to belong to a crack cocaine dealer who parked it across the street from the Livingston Manor school on weekends to make drug deals. In 2009, the Times Herald-Record told the tale of how the car ended up on the other side of the law:

Most of the kids had seen the Corvette before, when Dunham was working the street.

"The instant they parked it here, they knew who it was, who the drug dealer was," said Sgt. Luis Alvarez, a DARE officer assigned to several Sullivan schools.

The sheriff's department plans to show the car, which was painted by Sullivan BOCES students, to every kid in the county's program. They can use it to tell Dunham's story over and over, and the consequences of getting involved in drugs.

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Livingston Manor to celebrate 9th annual Trout Parade

A familiar face at the Trout Parade: Bud Wertheim's Giant Brook Trout float. Photo from the first annual Livingston Manor Trout Parade in 2004; from the Trout Parade website.

New Orleans has Mardi Gras, Rio has Carnaval -- and Livingston Manor has the second Saturday in June, when its citizens take to the streets with costumes, floats and music in celebration of the fish that made the Beaverkill Valley famous.

This Saturday's Trout Parade kicks off at 1pm, led by parade marshals Don Simkin and Ellen Singer. For a sneak peek of what else is in store, check out the Trout Parade's website, or look for new updates on their Facebook page. As of Tuesday, parade organizers were looking for volunteers to help carry floats -- so if it's always been a dream of yours to march down Main Street with a 30-foot fish, drop the Catskill Art Society a line at 845-436-4227.

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Introducing our new real estate and vacation rentals section

We're launching a new section at the Watershed Post today about Catskills real estate and vacation rentals. Anne Pyburn Craig kicks off the section's coverage with a look at finding green properties in the Catskills (and a photo of a truly amazing staircase).

The real estate section will feature original reporting and listings for rentals and properties around the Catskills. Got ideas for stories? Have properties you'd like to list? Want to advertise? Check out our rate sheet for the section here, and get in touch with publisher Julia Reischel at 845-481-0155 or email [email protected].

This Saturday, Kingston Kayak Festival splashes down at Kingston Point Beach

A kayaker at the 2011 Kingston Kayak Festival. Photo courtesy of Kenco; for more photos of last year's festival, check out their Facebook album.

On Saturday, June 9, the Kingston Point Beach hosts an all-day kayakstravaganza (shhh, that's totally a word), featuring skills workshops, kayak tours of Kingston Point, pro tips on how to pick a kayak or paddle board, and local outdoor outfitters on hand to show off their freshest gear and give advice.

This year, with three New York City reservoirs opening to kayaks and other small boats for the first time, the Catskills region is looking a lot more enticing to outdoor enthusiasts. If you don't know how to kayak, this Saturday is a great opportunity to get your feet wet -- and if you're a seasoned kayaker, you can help spread the love. As one famous river rat once said, there is nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

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Crowns and whey: Delaware County names its 50th dairy princess

Above: 2012 Delaware County Dairy Princess Miquela Hanselman and Alternate Dairy Princess Cali Lutz. Photo by Chery Petersen.

On May 25, Delaware County crowned its 50th "dairy princess," 17-year-old Miquela Hanselman.

Cheryl Petersen, who writes for the Delaware County Times, was onhand at the coronation and sent us this photo of Hanselman and her royal alternate, 17-year-old Cali Lutz. Both girls attend South Kortright Central School.

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New York's 1940 Census records now searchable by name

Above: A 1940 U.S. Census record from Margaretville, New York, posted on Ancestry.com. On the highlighted lines are Sheldon and Madeline Birdsall and their daughter Dawn, the writer's great-grandparents and grandmother.

A treasure trove has just been opened up to historians, genealogists and biographers: As of today, the New York State records of the 1940 U.S. Census are available online at Ancestry.com and can be searched by name.

The AP reports the news today:

Starting after midnight, it will no longer be essential to provide exact addresses from seven decades ago to look for a New York connection.

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Making tracks

Above: Andes trail-lovers -- Bob Moses and Nick Verni of the Catskill Mountain Club and Bill Feldman of Andes Works! -- get muddy on Saturday while building a section of the Andes Rail Trail. Photo contributed by Ann Roberti.

Last Saturday, June 2, was National Trails Day, and hikers and walkers around the Catskills celebrated it by getting outside.

In Andes, a group of hardy volunteers got muddy while building a puncheon, or “bog boardwalk,” over a wet area on the soon-to-be completed Andes Rail Trail. (See photo above.)

In Kingston, a group of dignitaries celebrated the expansion of the Hudson River School Art Trail, a series of sites commemorating the paintings of Thomas Cole and his contemporaries.

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