Above: Helen Budrock, Community Planner for Sullivan Renaissance, addresses the community members gathered in Livingston Manor's Presbyterian Church hall for last week's Visioning Workshop. Nearly 80 people attended. Photo by Jason Dole.
Last Thursday evening, nearly 80 Livingston Manor residents braved frigid temperatures to plan the future of their community, rocked by recent flooding, fire and the loss of many beloved local businesses. They packed the Livingston Manor Presbyterian Church for the first in a series of Community Visioning Workshops organized by members of Sullivan Renaissance, the Livingston Manor Chamber of Commerce, and the Sullivan County Division of Planning.
The workshops were planned last autumn, when Marge Feuerstein and her fellow Sullivan Renaissance volunteers in Livingston Manor began looking for help. They had wrapped up another successful season landscaping, planting, weeding, and dead-heading flowers, but they knew their hamlet needed more. Others kept offering advice on what the town needed next. Read more
National Weather Service forecasters are warning Catskills residents that high winds are expected to develop tonight and tomorrow, increasing the risk of downed trees and power outages across the region. The area is already under a flood watch, with heavy rains expected to fall later in the evening.
Southerly Winds Becoming West Thursday Morning At 20 To 35 Mph With Gusts To 65 Mph...With The Strongest Wind Gusts Expected Across Higher Elevations...And Across Portions Of The Western Mohawk Valley. Read more
Heavy rain and warmer temperatures are pushing into the southern Catskills, melting snow on the ground and bringing an increased risk of flash flooding.
A Strong Storm System Is Developing Over The Center Of The Country And Will Push Mild Air And Rain Into The Region On Wednesday. Some Of The Rain Will Be Heavy Wednesday Evening. This Rain...In Combination With Melting Snow ...Could Cause Flooding Of Small Streams And Minor Flooding Of The Rivers In The Region. ...Flood Watch In Effect From Wednesday Evening Through Thursday Morning. Read more
Ulster County executive Mike Hein's office announced this morning that the State of the County address scheduled for this evening will be postponed because of the weather. Hein's address is now scheduled for Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 6:30 PM in SUNY Ulster’s College Hall.
Below are a few links for more info on local weather-related cancellations.
Above: Video of Ted Blazer's comments to the Catskills at the Boiceville Inn last night. Apologies for the extremely fuzzy video quality. Video shot by Julia Reischel.
Ted Blazer, the CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, visited the Catskills last night to deliver an apology and a promise about the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, which ORDA took over in November. (For our previous coverage of the ORDA takeover, click here.) Read more
Above: The Royal Court of last year's Livingston Manor Ice Carnival Dance. From the Livingston Manor Rotary Ice Carnival Facebook page.
The 54th annual Livingston Manor Ice Carnival, which was originally scheduled to be held earlier will take place this weekend, which is good timing because, if you haven't left the house since last weekend, the sub-zero temperatures are now ideal for any event with the word "ice" in the name.
Friday evening is all about dancing -- indoors, thank goodess -- at the Livingston Manor Central School Gym. Saturday revolves around the much-anticipated snow sculpture competition at Rotary Park. Sunday activities take place on the ice at Rotary Park, featuring exhibitions, races and a community skate, as well as snowshoeing and sleigh rides. For the complete line-up of events, see the event's Facebook page.
Above: A screenshot from state senator John Bonacic's website, urging constituents in the 42nd District to sign a petition to repeal New York State's new gun control law.
Above: Four Deadly Reasons, the film that sparked a Hollywood-worthy furor in the little Sullivan County hamlet of Narrowsburg over a decade ago.
Regular listeners of This American Life, a national radio program from Public Radio International, heard a local legend last week: The story of how the little Sullivan County hamlet of Narrowsburg fell for a smooth-talking two-bit actor named Richard Castellano, and let him walk off with tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for a few empty Hollywood promises.
A 22-year-old solo pilot flying a single-engine Piper Cherokee Warrior was forced to make an emergency landing in a field in the Sullivan County town of Bethel on Monday, according to a statement released recently by New York State Police.
Brent Kozura, a resident of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, was flying from Rutland Regional Airport in Vermont, en route to Schuylkill County Airport in Pottsville, when he began having mechanical problems. The plane was diverted to Sullivan County Airport, but Kozura was unable to land at the airport, and made an emergency landing in a field near Horseshoe Lake Road and Davis Road.
The airplane was not damaged in the landing, and no one was injured. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
