By Jay Braman Jr.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officials have begun contacting the leaders in towns and organizations that have a stake in the outcome of the Belleayre Resort review.
The description of those exchanges differ between the supervisors of the two towns most affected by the project, but it appears that both were contacted and interviewed by DEC personnel about the project and how it might affect their respective communities.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The Town of Shandaken government is taking a look at its laws. Some are new, another is being reviewed and interpreted to perhaps pave the way for at least one controversial project, and still another is being scrutinized to see if there’s a way to change it that would allow one popular business, whose owner is currently at odds with town officials, to continue.

By Julia Green
Margaretville’s Community Christmas Project held its annual Jimmy DiGiacomo Auction at the Inn Between on Sunday evening raising over $5,500 to benefit the Christmas project.
“With the economy the way it is and the weather being kind of blustery and cold, I think we did OK,” said Marilyn Pitetti, chair of the auction committee. “I think a lot of people who would have showed up didn’t because of the roads, but we did OK.”

By Julia Green
At its annual holiday party at the Binnekill Square Restaurant on Sunday, the Margaretville Rotary Club honored Dr. George Levy with the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship award. Levy was presented with a certificate, lapel pin and medallion as emblems of the award.
Dr. Levy, a dentist who practiced locally for many years, joined the Margaretville Rotary Club in 1970 and has been a faithful member for the past 40 years. He served as the organization’s president in 1975.

By Matthew J. Perry
Two members of the state’s office of real property services traveled to Andes Tuesday to present an award to Tina Moshier, the town’s tax assessor, at the town board’s monthly meeting.
Arnold Jones and Jim Laponte, managers in the state’s real property Newburgh office, praised Moshier and Andes in general for their 2008 effort to reassess local property values and update information on land parcels that previously had been spotty.

By Brian Sweeney
A public hearing on renovation plans for the A&P plaza will be held by the Margaretville Village Planning Board on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the village offices. The Mount Vernon-based PSK Supermarkets purchased the A&P plaza last year. The company plans to take over the space occupied by the A&P and convert the store to a Freshtown Supermarket.

By Julia Green
The Middletown Town Board held a second public meeting Monday night to discuss the proposed Arkville Water District upgrade. The majority of concerns raised by those in attendance revolved around the ultimate cost to taxpayers living in the water district, while there were virtually no arguments raised as to the necessity of the upgrades to the system.

By Matthew J. Perry
So far, debate over natural gas drilling in the Catskills has swirled between a fixed set of participants: the gas industry, its proponents and opponents, and state and city regulators. But if a new bill passes through congress, the federal government will also have a seat at the table.

By Julia Green
A part of the Margaretville holiday tradition for over 40 years, the Community Christmas Project is gearing up for the 2008 holiday season. The Christmas Project, which was founded by a group of women from the Margaretville United Methodist Church, provides food baskets and gifts for approximately 130 needy families in the Margaretville area.

By Julia Green
The ball is back in Invenergy's court.
Following its October meeting, the Town of Roxbury Planning Board submitted to Invenergy, the company behind the proposed Moresville Wind Farm, requests for additional information and studies needed prior to issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – a key step in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process.