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Golden Hill hearing: Occupied

Video: Saugerties resident Ralph Childers speaks against the privatization of Golden Hill, and has his words echoed by members of the crowd, in a "human microphone" technique used by Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Fifteen individual members of the public signed up to speak at the Ulster County Legislature's public hearing Tuesday night on whether or not to privatize the county-owned 280-bed Golden Hill Health Care Facility. But the human microphone technique made famous by Occupy Wall Street, used by several of the speakers, meant that quite a few additional members of the audience of about 60 were able to have their voices heard.

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golden hill

mike hein

Ulster County Legislature

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National Flood Insurance filing deadline extended

Photo of flood-damaged house taken in Margaretville, September 5, 2011. Taken by Flickr user fixbuffalo and posted to the Watershed Post Flickr pool.

This just in from FEMA: The deadlines for filing a Proof of Loss claim through the National Flood Insurance program for damage from Irene or Lee in New York State have been extended. The original 60-day period for filing the form has been extended to 120 days for Lee, and 150 days for Irene.

A FEMA press release sent today:

National Flood Insurance policyholders have been given an extension to file the Proof of Loss (POL) form with the insurance company handling their claim, officials with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) have announced.

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$1800 raised to give bikes to kids who lost theirs in Hurricane Irene

Above: The Catskill Mountain Velo Club raising money for a kids' bike fund at the Belleayre Mountain Fall Festival in October. Photo via the Catskills Cycling blog.

Mike Wentland, the brains behind the Catskill Mountain Velo Club, is giving back what Irene took away: kids' bikes.

In October, with the help of Shandaken town clerk Laurilyn Frasier and the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, Wentland raised about $1800 at a booth at the Belleayre Fall Festival, all of it destined to put new bikes "under the tree during the Holiday Season."

Wentland came up with the project in September, just as the Catskills were beginning to recover from the flooding caused by Irene and Lee. Here's what he wrote about the project on his blog, Catskills Cycling:

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Catskill Mountain Velo Club

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Amphenol to stay in Sidney

Breaking news: We've gotten word this morning that Amphenol, a high-tech manufacturer whose 1200-employee plant in Sidney was heavily damaged in the recent flooding, has decided to remain in Sidney rather than relocate the plant elsewhere. An announcement by the company is expected soon.

Background: Amphenol seeks to relocate Sidney manufacturing plant

Rob Ray, news director at WCDO 101FM in Sidney, shared some details on Amphenol's rebuilding plans with us, which he announced on the radio this morning:

They are building new facilities on property they now own, past the Sidney K-Mart on Delaware Avenue In Sidney. All office and the Manufacturing will locate there on the same side of the road. They also purchased acreage across the street, plans for that have not yet been determined. Plating will stay in present location, and will be barricaded against future flooding. construction 18 to 24 months to complete; weather permitting.

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Letter to the Editor: Support for Ulster's "strong executive"

Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my support for the strong executive form of government created by the Ulster County Charter. Specifically, I have witnessed a focus on Catskills advertising and a coordinated flood response. As a business owner in Shandaken, these efforts have been critical to my business. In addition, we have seen a virtual flat-line to county taxes under Mike Hein because of his willingness to make tough choices, from consolidating departments to looking at whether government should be in the home health care business. Thank goodness Ulster County voters adopted a Charter that gave our Executive the responsibility to make tough decisions and that we elected a leader willing to tackle the hard issues.

Sincerely,

Scott Fawaz, Innkeeper
Alpine Osteria B&B
Highmount, New York

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Letters to the Editor

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DEC hosts gas drilling hearings today in Sullivan County

Today (November 29), Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake hosts the third in a series of four hearings on proposed gas drilling regulations held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Two similar hearings have already been held in Binghamton and Dansville.

Today's hearing will be held in the Seelig Theater, in two separate sessions: 1pm-4pm, and 6pm-9pm.

The final hearing in the series will be held tomorrow, November 30, in Manhattan's Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, also from 1pm-4pm and 6pm-9pm.

In addition to the DEC-sponsored hearings, an unofficial hearing was held in Oneonta on November 10, where transcripts of speakers' comments were taken and passed on to the DEC.

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Department of Environmental Conservation

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Bagels and scrambled eggs return to Margaretville

Owner Kari Blish flies the "Open" flag in front of the the Flour Patch for the first time since the August flood, on Wednesday, November 23. Photo by Lissa Harris.

In a small town, every business is vital. But it's the ones that feed people that always seem to be the beating heart of the community. When a cafe or a restaurant shuts down, a little bit of the life of the town goes out with it.

So although Margaretville still has a long way to go before its business district is whole again, it's beginning to feel a little more like itself lately, with most of its flood-damaged restaurants finally reopened.

The Flour Patch, a beloved bagel bakery and cafe on Bridge Street, reopened the day before Thanksgiving, after months of post-flood cleanup and rebuilding. Across the street, Margaretville's iconic diner, the Bun 'N Cone, opened a few days earlier. Another nearby eatery, the Cheese Barrel, has been open for nearly two months in a temporary location in the Galli-Curci building.

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Delaware, Schoharie and Greene each get $500,000 in flood recovery grants for Main Street businesses

Above: A building on Main Street Prattsville after Tropical Storm Irene. Photo by Jay Harsevoort, via the Watershed Post Flickr pool.

The governor's meeting on Windham Mountain this afternoon ended with a big announcement: Three Catskills counties are each receiving half-a-million dollars in flood-relief grants from the New York State Agricultural and Community Recovery Fund, also known as the Main Street Fund.

The money will be given to Main Street "businesses and building owners" in specific towns in Delaware County, Schoharie County, and Greene County. Here's the breakdown:

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Night light

It's not easy to get a photo like this, but with patience, a long exposure, and a clear night, you can take some astonishing images. This gorgeous photo of a home ablaze with light under a clear Delaware County night sky was taken by local photographer Mark Zilberman on Friday, November 25. Photographer's note:

Decided to test the G12. This is full out at ISO 3200, fully open at 15 secs. Will try out again with the big gun (D700).

Want to share your local photos with us? Email us at [email protected], or post them in our Watershed Post Flickr group.

Below is an older photo Zilberman shared with us recently: A trailer in Andes, aglow under an otherworldly July night sky.

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Nostalgic for our present

Window display at the Phoenicia Pharmacy. Photo by Flickr user Lori_NY; published under Creative Commons license.

When I think of historic places, I think of roadside markers. I think of heroic conflicts and memorable people long deceased. I think of villages restored to resemble the way they looked a long time ago, with actors reenacting the way folks lived in the distant past. I think of old machines on display that few of us have ever seen actually used, all from a bygone era. These are places set aside intentionally. They have velvet ropes to keep us from sitting on the chairs, and signs warning us not to touch the machines. The reenactment scenes stay confined within clearly defined borders, separate from the modern world.

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Dispatches From Shandaken

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