By Jay Braman Jr.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Four years ago the Fleischmanns Village Board saw what appeared to be an opportunity. It had just used the power of condemnation to take a piece of private property on the corner of Main and Depot streets to build some waste-treatment infrastructure as part of the sewer system provided by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. On the property sat an old, vacant building that looks as if it were some sort retail shop in years gone by.

By Matthew J. Perry
The Delaware County Board of Supervisors received a sobering report last Wednesday on the radio system used by emergency services and police.
While there are no immediate, glaring problems that suggest lives may be at stake, county officials are facing the daunting challenge of necessary, expensive work, with initial estimates of as much as $24 million, upgrades and, worse, a looming deadline.

By Julia Green
When Highway Contract Mail Carrier Bud Searles arrived at the Arkville Post Office Tuesday morning, postmaster Brenda Finch-Hasay was waiting to bid him farewell.
When he arrived at the Margaretville Post Office, a group of five postal employees was waiting with a card and offers of freshly-brewed coffee. In Halcottsville, postmaster Lori Camillone leaned over the railing to give him a hug and a parting gift. In Roxbury, a local resident stopped by the post office to wish him luck, and the owner of Fane’s Family Deli gives him a cup of coffee on the house.
Tuesday marked Searles’ last day as a mail carrier after driving the Kingston to Roxbury mail route for 46 years – and the responses from the postal employees in Arkville, Margaretville, Halcottsville and Roxbury left no doubt that he’s leaving behind some pretty big shoes to fill.

Students at area high schools celebrated this weekend as Andes, Margaretville, Roxbury and Onteora central schools conferred diplomas on the graduating classes of 2009.

Delhi — Janice Burdick was honored as Democrat of the Year at last Saturday’s Delaware County Democratic Committee (DCDC) dinner.
Tom Coddington, the 2008 honoree, presented Janice with a plaque from the committee, and a certificate and letter of congratulations from Rep. Scott Murphy. Tom thanked Janice for her years of exemplary service as deputy commissioner and her excellent work meeting the challenges of the recent special election.

Leslie Roselli will serve as the keynote speaker at the 2009 Andes Central School graduation ceremony on Friday, June 26. The celebration will be held at 7 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium. Seven graduates will receive their diplomas.
ACS seniors Hattie Brown and Melody Grapes, who possess averages less than one percent apart, will serve as co-valedictorians of the Class of 2009.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The cost of building and operating a sewer system in Phoenicia, along with related technological issues, has kept the project at a controversial standstill for years, but new technology has now appeared that may convince voters in this hamlet that installing a system is the right thing to do.
Three years ago voters in the district turned down plans for a conventional system that would have cost $17 million.

By Brian Sweeney
Exterior renovations got underway this week on a project to turn the Margaretville Masonic Building into an eCenter business incubator.
The building was purchased last year from the Masonic Lodge by the Delaware County Industrial Devel-opment Agency. The IDA previously has established an eCenter in Delhi.

By Jay Braman Jr.
Be careful where you park in Fleischmanns.
While violators of the no parking zones in the village may have in the past gotten off with a warning, it appears those days are gone following a special meeting of the village’s board of trustees Monday evening that had the board and audience members standing on Main Street and arguing over where parking zones end.