Community

By Jay Braman Jr.
Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson proposed last week that Ulster, Greene and Delaware counties team up to institute a “Catskill Regional Ski Pass” that would allow skiers to ski at any of the resorts in the Catskill Region.
But so far the idea has received a chilly reception from one of the region’s biggest ski centers and only a curious look from another.

Information on the potential for natural gas drilling in the Catskills is now available from the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC). The CWC, as a public service, is offering a packet of basic information culled from various sources for landowners, municipal officials and Catskills residents interested in or concerned about the possibility for natural gas exploration in the Marcellus shale formation.

The public is invited to participate in a meeting of the Central Catskills Collaborative at the Skene Memorial Library in Fleischmanns on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. This month’s featured speaker will be Peg Ellsworth, executive director of the MARK Group, Inc.
Ellsworth was a driving force behind the Town of Roxbury’s heritage tourism programs and landscapes, which earned the community the prestigious Preserve America Designation and the NY State Historic Preservation Award. The Roxbury Nine Vintage Base Ball Club and popular “turn-of-the-century” events like “Railride into Yesteryear” have helped stimulate the area’s economy for 10 years.

One more actor is needed to complete the cast for a new stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel “The Cricket on the Hearth,” performing in early December at The Open Eye Theater in Margaretville. Amie Brockway has written the script for this festive holiday play with music, and Monica Wildermuth will direct.

Saturday, Oct. 11 is the last chance to register to vote for the November 4 General Election. Local registration will be held in the towns of Colchester, Davenport, Delhi, Hancock, Middletown, Roxbury, Sidney and Walton from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11. All other towns will hold registration on Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

The earliest issues of the Catskill Mountain News, which for more than a century has been chronicling the life and times of the greater Margaretville area, may now be viewed on-line and on a dedicated computer at Fairview Public Library.
A tutorial on the use of the new library computer is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at Fairview, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville.

Margaretville Hospital will hold its annual Fall Health Fair on Monday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the hospital lobby. Flu shots will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the cost of which will be totally covered for Medicare and Medicaid recipients. The cash price is $30 per shot which may be covered in part by private insurances.

The 29th annual Belleayre Fall Festival has been moved to the area behind the Delaware & Ulster Railroad on Route 28, Arkville and will be held on Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12.
In partnership with Belleayre Mountain the railroad will offer an exciting array of high quality craft vendors.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The man who has been described as the final authority over proposed drastic budget cuts to the state-owned Belleayre Ski Center has been invited to visit the facility and the region next month for a quick lesson on the local economy, and what would happen to it if those cuts were allowed.
This is the latest ripple effect from news two weeks ago that Belleayre faces a difficult season this year due to budget cuts. While no specific figures have been released, staffers and local officials have heard of 181 job cuts, with fewer trails and fewer chair lifts operating