Fleischmanns

By Julia Green
Voters head to the polls today in Fleischmanns and Margaretville to cast their ballots for mayor and trustee positions.
On the ballot in the Margaretville mayoral election are Deputy Mayor John VanBenschoten and Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carol O’Beirne. Current trustee Iris Mead and Margaretville resident Wallace Patterson are running for two open seats on the village’s board of trustees.

By Jay Braman Jr.
With two people running for the job of mayor and three people running for two village trustee seats, voters in the Village of Fleischmanns have a hotly contested election on their hands year.
In the race for mayor, incumbent Malcolm Becker faces a challenge from Dave Morell, a member of the village’s planning board.

By Jay Braman Jr.
Acting Fleischmanns Mayor Malcolm Becker, missing the deadline to appear on the ballot in this year’s village elections on March 18, has announced his candidacy for the position of mayor as a write in candidate.

By Matthew J. Perry
Dave Morell, the single Fleischmanns resident to declare his candidacy for mayor before the February 13 deadline, is quick to state that he would serve at the pleasure of his constituents and will embrace their views.
“I’m willing to talk to anyone and I’m ready to do what the people of Fleischmanns want me to do,” he says.

By Matthew J. Perry
A months-long legal battle between the Village of Fleischmanns and two property owners, which focused on the placement of a proposed water-storage tower, was settled quietly last week when the village agreed to move the tower to another site.
In 2008, the village planned to place a 30-foot, 325,000-gallon water tower on land owned by residents Arnold and Roslyn Bernstein.

The position of mayor will be on the ballot in the villages of Margaretville and Fleischmanns in the March 18 election. Current Margaretville Mayor Bill Stanton announced last month that he would not be seeking a fourth term.

The MARK Group in collaboration with the Village of Fleischmanns, is asking residents, historians and collectors to dig into their archives for photos of the Wagner Avenue Park in Fleischmanns and/or any additional information that may assist with efforts to research the history surrounding the park. With funding provided by the Pasternak Foundation and the O’Connor Foundation, the MARK Group has contracted with Landscape Architect Bob Toole to develop the Historic Analysis, Existing Conditions and Schematic Plans for the revitalization of this community gem.

The 75th anniversary of the New Deal and its impact on the Catskills is celebrated in a new book whose author will speak at upcoming events in Fleischmanns and Arkville. Diane Galusha, author of Another Day, Another Dollar: The Civilian Conservation Corps in the Catskills, will provide an illustrated talk Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. at Skene Memorial Library, Main St., Fleischmanns, and Saturday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development in Arkville. The Catskill Center talk is preceded by a book signing at 1 p.m.

A Fleischmanns junkyard owner has pleaded guilty to charges of fifth-degree insurance fraud and second-degree offering a false instrument for filing and was fined and given a conditional discharge. William Hrazanek, 61, was allowed to plea to the reduced charges in Delaware County Court stemming from his arrest in February. He was originally accused of fraudulently insuring and registering vehicles for illegal aliens.

Fleischmanns — Purple Mountain Press has announced the publication of The Heart of the Catskills by Bob Steuding, author of the popular and highly acclaimed The Last of the Handmade Dams: The Story of the Ashokan Reservoir.
In this new book Steuding describes the early settlement of the area, its exploitation by the tanning industry, and the building of the Grand Hotel near Belleayre. He presents the stories of colorful personalities, such as Jim Dutcher, the mountain man; John Burroughs, the writer and naturalist; and others, who once peopled this wild and beautiful place.