News

By Jay Braman Jr.
A critical decision will be made in coming weeks as the towns of Olive and Shandaken hold the keys to the eastern end of the proposed Route 28 Scenic Byway plan.
Plans for a Scenic Byway designation for a 50-mile chunk of the Route 28 corridor have not only been bogged down in the eastern portion of the region, but one community has already officially opted out of the program.

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein’s proposal to create a rail trail that extends from the Catskills to the Hudson River got a big boost late Tuesday.

United States Senator Charles Schumer announced that he is urging the Federal Surface Transportation Board to ”Rail bank” abandoned Ulster and Delaware rail beds, allowing Ulster County to create a trail from the Ashokan Reservoir to the Hudson River walkway. It would create a trail that would pass through New Paltz and Kingston.

Six of the winning films from the First Annual Art and Soul of the Catskills Film Festival will be screened at the Pine Hill Community Center on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7 pm.  
The films were among  the 40+ that were submitted to the Festival  and shown in Delhi on August 25th.  Free will donation. 

By Jay Braman Jr.
One week after the Shandaken Town Board passed a memorializing resolution against recently adopted New York State gun laws, residents opposing the measure have launched a petition drive to force the board to reconsider that action.

The town board on February 4 passed an anti-gun control resolution brought forward by town of Shandaken Councilman Vincent Bernstein despite an almost unanimous cry against it from residents that insisted the language in the resolution did not reflect the sentiments of the townsfolk.

Roxbury — The Roxbury Central School and the Roxbury Teachers’ Association have agreed to terms for a three-year contract beginning July 1, 2013.

The agreement, which was finalized on February 7, calls for an annual salary increase of 1.6 percent plus $200 for each teacher, along with an annual increase of one percent in the amount of the health insurance premium paid by the teachers.

RCS Board President Ed Fersch stated that he was pleased with both the agreement and the fact that it had been reached so quickly.

By Jay Braman Jr.
With the dust barely settled after a local ruckus over new state gun laws in Shandaken (see related story above), a larger dust-up is expected in Kingston next week when the Ulster County Legislature mulls passage of a measure that calls for the New York State Safe Act to be brought before a firing squad.

The SAFE Act, enacted last month as a ban on assault weapons, has drawn fire from gun enthusiasts and defenders of the United States Constitution.

By Joe Moskowitz
Terry Doyle had no children, but loved them dearly.
Terry Doyle had no pets, but was a strong supporter of Delhi’s Heart and Soul of the Catskills animal shelter.

Terry Doyle did not sing and played no instruments, but he was almost unquestionably the biggest supporter of local musical talent.
And baked really good cookies.

His many friends say Terry Doyle had a heart of gold, but on February 6, his heart failed him and Terry Doyle died of complications following a heart attack. He was 46.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The chairman of the Catskill Mountain Railroad refuses to give up hope that there will one day be trains running between Kingston and Highmount even though Ulster County is taking steps to dismantle the railway and sell it for scrap.

CMRR Chair Harry Jameson issued a written appeal to County Executive Mike Hein after Hein outlined the demise of the railway in his recent State of the County Address.

A group of 11` local community organizations, committed to promoting economic development while maintaining environmental safeguards in their towns, are sponsoring an informational forum, “Leveling the Playing Field - Open Meetings and Freedom of Information for Concerned Citizens.”
The forum will be held on Wednesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. at the East Meredith Firehall, 6192 County Highway 10, East Meredith.

Arkville — Introduced in the early 1900s, the Eurasian Boar now ranges freely in at least 39 states.  The species differs from domestic swine by having an elongate head and coarse, dark hair. Transported across county and state lines to stock hunting preserves, populations of escaped Eurasian Boar have sprung up far from their original source.