Ulster County law enforcement officers are spearheading a county-wide effort to review local school safety policies, and are seeking input from the public about what can be done to make Ulster County schools safer.
Throughout the month of January, a new committee recently set up to review school safety policies will be seeking input from local citizens. The committee, formed by the Ulster County Police Chiefs' Association, is made up of representatives from local and state police and the county District Attorney's Office, and chaired by Ulster County Undersheriff Frank Faluotico.
A press release issued Monday by the Ulster County Sheriff's Office: Read more
This afternoon, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, issued a joint statement: Read more
Above: A map showing snow forecasts for Central New York, the Southern Tier and northeast Pennsylvania from the National Weather Service in Binghamton.
Snow is already falling across much of New York State, and is expected to keep falling throughout the evening and into Thursday. In some areas, sleet and freezing rain is expected in the mix along with snow. Forecasters warn that snowfall will be heavy at times this evening, possibly reaching rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour, so please be careful on the roads.
According to a recent NWS forecast, 8 to 10 inches are expected to fall in the Western Catskills and Twin Tiers, and 4 to 6 inches in the southern Catskills. Read more
In the wake of last Friday's horrifying shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, schools around the Catskills are increasing their security.
The Daily Mail reported this week that students at both schools in Catskill in Greene County will now find an armed police officer at the door when they arrive in the morning. An officer will be present throughout the school day, and doors will be checked on an hourly basis to make sure they remain locked. The plan will remain in place for the immediate future.
Catskill Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Farrell, also present at Darling’s office, said it will continue at least until the end of the Christmas break, Wednesday, Jan. 2, when students return to school. Read more
This letter is part of an ongoingconversation in our letters section about the future of the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Ulster County. -- Julia Reischel
Dear Editor:
The statements that the scrapping of the rails West of Phoenicia will not impact the operation of CMRR [Catskill Mountain Railroad] are not entirely true. The rails west of Phoenicia are a County Asset, and are part of what is currently under a lease between Ulster County and the Catskill Mountain Railroad. CMRR has been using portions of the rails from West of Phoenicia to rebuild the active portions of the line, from Phoenicia, east to Kingston. At the present time, the D & U RR has also been running their trains into Ulster County, using a turnout and platform at BellAyre/Highmount. D & U has plans to extend their train service through Highmount to include the Horseshoe Curve. The plan to scrap the rails west of Phoenicia was contrived by Mike Hein with the advice and counsel of Kathy Nolan, chairperson of UTAC. CMRR, as lessee, was never asked if they had need of the rails or plans to continue re-opening the line West of Phoenicia. Mike Hein, having conveniently disbanded the Ulster County Railroad Advisory Board some two years prior, had no source of information as to what CMRR or the D & U RR were doing. In fact, the Catskill Mountain Railroad only found out the rails west of Phoenicia were to be scrapped when they read it in the "Freeman". This is in violation of the lease agreement, and should have been discussed with the Catskill Mountain Railroad. Read more
New York State is currently accepting public comments on its latest draft of gas drilling regulations. Helen Slottje, a lawyer who has been prominent in the movement to pass town bans on gas drilling, is hosting a series of public forums this week on the revised regulations in an effort to gather more public comments from fracking opponents. The third and last of these forums will be held in Cooperstown tonight.
But here at the WP, we thought we'd put a more local spin on a favorite carol. While we're at it, we'd like to wish a very Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to our readers across the Catskills and beyond, and a big thank-you to all the local small businesses that have supported the Watershed Post's news efforts this year by advertising with us. Twelve of them are featured below.
As the last days of the holiday season wrap up, we hope you'll shop local, and support the small businesses that are the heart and soul of all our Main Streets.
On the first day of Christmas, the Catskills gave to me: An expert on forestry
