According to the Delaware County Board of Election website, Judge Carl Becker leads challenger Gary Rosa. Unofficial results show Judge Becker as getting 8335 votes and Mr. Rosa receiving 8160 votes. There is no indication from the board of elections on the number of absentee ballots to be counted. However, Judge Rosa's campaign has indicated that there are more than 1,700 absentee ballots to be counted.

By Brian Sweeney
A temporary “flood wall” erected behind the Freshtown Supermarket in Margaretville on Sunday was dismantled Monday because there was no permit for the structure.

The floodwall was put into place as the Freshtown owners were attempting to protect their store from potential flooding predicted when the effects of Hurricane Sandy moved through the area.

By Geoff Samuels
Monday around noon on Main Street Margaretville, there was a light rain falling from an overcast and foggy looking sky; nothing too unusual.

The only outward signs that there might be something more about to happen were the boarded up windows on the front of the Granary Building on Bridge Street, and some plastic and plywood nailed up around the corner on the Ice Bar’s front door.

By Brian Sweeney
The top local race in November 6 balloting will be the competition for Delaware County Judge.
The judge race has incumbent Republican Carl Becker of Stamford facing a challenge from Margaretville attorney/Middletown Town Justice Gary Rosa, a Democrat. The county judge race is for a 10-year term. Mr. Becker has served in the position for the past decade. See related story above on last week’s Meet The Judges forum sponsored by the Catskill Mountain News.

By Trish Adams
Delaware County Judge Carl Becker (R) and Town of Middletown Judge Gary Rosa (D) each defended their credentials for the position of county judge in a Catskill Mountain News-sponsored, “You Be the Judge” forum last Wednesday evening, hosted in the Arkville Firehouse and broadcast live over WIOX 91.3 FM and MTC Cable Channel 20. Mark Birman moderated the question-and-answer session.

By Trish Adams
Judge Carl Becker likes to tell you he runs a “hot bench,” and if you think that he’s talking about the three courts, the 3,000 family court cases and the 100-some criminal cases he must oversee each year, in addition to drug court and surrogate court and trying to rifle through more than 200 pistol permits a year and review 90-some foster child cases semi-annually, well, you’d be wrong. “Hot” bench refers to the difference between a judge who has waded through the five-inch briefs before the case comes before him or a “cold” bench, where the justice truly does walk in blind, hoping he can manage the proceedings from the sheet music he finds in front of him.

By Trish Adams
In his 20 years of serving as one of the Town of Middletown’s two town judges, Gary Rosa remarks ironically that of the cases he sees, the fewest come from his own home valley in New Kingston. “If you could bottle what we have in New Kingston, there might not be a judgeship to run for,” he remarks. Rosa, a multi-generational native of the county, has raised his own four children in a hamlet where ties are strong, not just between natives and “newcomers,” but also between generations. 

By Trish Adams
In an October 24 meeting, the Delaware County Board of Supervisors introduced a local law that would allow the county to override the current 2 percent tax levy cap imposed on next year’s budget. The public will have a chance to comment on the measure at a hearing, Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 12:45 p.m. in the Charles Cook County Office Building in Delhi. 

Jay Braman Jr.
The reshuffling of legislative district boundaries in the New York State has left the tiny town of Hardenburgh without it’s longtime state representatives.

Democrat Kevin Cahill, who has been the 101st District Assembly representative for several terms, is now running unopposed in the redrawn 103rd District.

Hardenburgh voters now have two new candidates from which to choose to replace Cahill.

By Jay Braman Jr.
A longtime Greene County Legislator, who represents the tiny Town of Halcott, is again unopposed for reelection.

Larry Gardner, a Democrat from the Town of Hunter, is seeking another three-year term representing District 7.

Gardner was first elected a legislator in 1982. He has run unopposed in his last two-reelection bids.