The "Junk Yard" South End of Town did not Fare well from Irene.

Hi Bob,

I just wanted you to know that many of us in the "Junk Yard" South end

of town did not fare so well from Irene.  I think that Copake has been

negligent regarding the over flow from the creek to the south end of town.

Thanks again for all the wonderful work you do to keep us informed.

Thanks to all the people of Copake who made it possible for us to evacuate

to town park and helped us.  The Fire Dept., Copake Police, Reggie, Hank and others.

I hope you will help us so that many of us in south end of town will not have to

evacuate as the overflow from the creek is very preventable and manageable.

Thank you,

Kathy & Alan Friedman

Is this a Judge?

To the editor: 

My name is Timothy Smith. I’m a stonemason and I train young people who are often under-served in having access to learning skill trades. I was outraged after reading in the Register-Star Thursday August 25, 2011, front page article: DROPPED FELONY CHARGES RAISES QUESTION. Here is why. Audra Jornov’s exhaustive investigating, found in Claverack Town Court in Jan 2011, that Town Judge Charles Hoag reduced the felony charges for a white  male 20 year old, for speeding 18 miles over the speed limit on the Taconic, possessing 4.7 grams of marijuana. Ian Cross, gave the arresting State Trooper Adul Weed a, false, freshly printed driver’s license, and he had the printing equipment in the trunk. Judge Charles Hoag reduced all of these charges  to PARKING ON THE PAVEMENT. Last week I went down to Claverack Town Court and spoke to Judge Hoag in the presence of Beth Cozzolino’s ADA. I had given one my 20 year old male, for his birthday, dinner at one of four great restaurants in Philmont. He got a $125 fine for seat belt violation while in Philmont. Kevin Clark is African American and works hard for wages. That was his food money for the month. I went to the Claverack Court, in person, to ask to please reduce the fine. Both the Judge and the ADA said that BY LAW they cannot reduce it. I had taken $25 a week out of Kevin’s pay. They lied to me. Since Beth Cozzolino is running for Columbia County Judge, this is everyone’s business. I call on her to immediately account for the $10,000 check that was issued to the County on behalf of the 20 year old defendant Ian Cross. It is obvious what he was doing with the printing press and the marijuana. It is not obvious what happened to the $10,000. We need to know how honest a judge she will be. Beth Cozzolino has a reputation of really sticking it to poor, defenseless young people. Why doesn’t she treat young people with wealthy families and expensive lawyers the same way? Is this the kind of Judge we want to elect in our County? Is this fair? Don’t we want a non-partial, non-corrupt County Judge?

Timothy Smith

SGEIS on Hydrofracturing

Hello Bob:

I love reading the Chronicle, even though I live in Craryville.  It connects me, a disabled adult, with the community somehow.

 

I want to bring to the readers' attention the following: The DEC is prepared to release the SGEIS on Hydrofracturing (FRACKING) any day now.  It will be downloadable at the DEC website.  However, they are only allowing a 60 day comments period from the public!  The text is at least 1000 pages of techno-speak that the average Joe/Jane will have to slog through to comprehend the full meaning in order to be able to respons with cogent comments.  Please petition the DEC to expand the comments period to 180 days.  For those who are unfamiliar with the fracking process, be sure to get to Roe-Jan on 9.24.2011 3-5pm to see Gasland the movie.  And while we don't expect that fracking will be done in our immediate area, it has concerns for ALL NYS residents, not the least being: how do the deep drilling processes used in fracking affect the stability of the Atlantic Plate - you know, that huge plate under our feet that rocked and rolled in August, producing the largest earthquake in NY since God was a boy.  (OK, I am exaggerating...)  PLEASE everyone: bone up on the fracking procedure(s) and understand what it means to our state.  Thank you.

 

Yours,
Morgana Washington

The Roe Jan Library Annual Gala

 TO THE EDITOR:

As president of the Board of Trustees of the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, I want to invite  everyone who can do so to attend our annual gala on Saturday, Sept 10, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Theater at Camp Pontiac in West Copake, NY.

            The proceeds from this fund raiser will be used to improve every aspect of our service to the communities we serve: Ancram, Copake and Hillsdale.

            This year's event is especially important. Times are tough for many in our service area. Many are out of work, many more are experiencing difficulty paying their mortgages or rent. Its precisely in times like these that more people that ever take advantage of the library's resources -- to log onto the Internet, to apply for unemployment insurance, to search for jobs, to access training materials to start new careers, to attend our many free programs and workshops, and to increase the love of learning and reading among their children and grandchildren.

            To meet the increased demand, we have added staff, opened our doors on Sundays so that we're now open seven days a week, and added many free programs and events for adults and children. Plus our wonderful corps of volunteers is working even more hours than usual!

            The gala promises to be a great evening. It includes a musical performance by Broadway stars Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, live jazz with the George Mandel Jazz Quartet, delicious food from more than 30 area restaurants and caterers, and a live auction with Copake Auction's Mike Fallon. Items include producer seats (and backstage tours) for The Book of Mormon, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, a Vermont ski vacation, an overnight trip to Foxwoods with a professional tournament poker player, oil paintings by HM Safer and Dennis Wheeler, dinner for six at Rao's famous NYC Italian eatery and many more.
           

If you don't have tickets yet, there's still time to purchase them, either at the library, or online at

www.roejanlibrary.org. And remember -- every penny we raise benefits everyone who uses our library.

            Thanks again for all that so many of you do for our community!

Howard Van Lenten

President, Board of Trustees

Roeliff Jansen Community Library

Calming and Instructive, rather than Alarming

Bob. Your coverage of the last few emergencies in our area has been fantastic. It never occurred to me that an electronic newspaper could be so helpful in times of great need. I am thankful for your work, advice and coverage of the storm. It was always calming and instructive, rather than alarming. 

John Miller

Has the Town Board and the Chronicle publicly thanked the crews?

The people of Copake owe a debt to the power company crews who came from Muskegon, Mich. to restore power and to the Town supervisor and Board that coordinated the effort. Has the Town Board and the Chronicle publicly thanked the crews?

Service was back on within 24 hours on Lakeview Road. Great Job.

Steve Savarese

WOULD HAVE CONGRESSMAN GIBSON HAVE VOTED FOR THE TRIANGLE FIRE REFORM LEGISLATION?

A LABOR DAY REFLECTION:

WOULD HAVE CONGRESSMAN GIBSON HAVE VOTED FOR

THE TRIANGLE FIRE REFORM LEGISLATION?

This Labor Day I would like to reflect on the Triangle fire that took place in New York City a hundred years ago which killed 146 garment workers who died either because they were trapped in the building or jumped to their deaths.

The garment workers in the building had demanded sprinklers and unlocked stairwells, but the buildings owners refused. When the Triangle Fire broke out locked stairwell doors trapped workers in the fire, and there were no sprinklers to put the fire out. In the months after the blaze, dozens of fire safety, building codes and workplace regulations were passed, helping to make factories much safer.

What is not as well known about this fire is the New York City business community’s strong opposition to the legislation, opposition that today seems heartless and cruel.

The changes to the fire code, said a spokesman for the Associated Industries of New York, would lead to “the wiping out of industry in this state.” The regulations, wrote George Olvany, special counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York City, would force expenditures on precautions that were “absolutely needless and useless.”

 “The best government is the least possible government,” said Laurence McGuire, president of the Real Estate Board. “To my mind, this [the post-Triangle regulations] is all wrong.”

What is striking about these quotes is that they sound exactly like the quotes we read in today’s newspapers from right wing politicians and supporters in opposition to government regulation, including our Congressman, Chris Gibson. At Millerton’s Town Hall meeting last week, Gibson’s presented a job creation policy based upon the same claims and philosophy expressed by the opponents to the Triangle Fire reform legislation that “government regulations kill jobs”. 

We have recently witnessed the largest lost of jobs since the Great Depression brought about by not too much government regulation, but rather by too little or inadequate regulation of Wall Street and the US mortgage industry. The great recession is our Triangle Fire of the early 21^st century. And just like the Triangle Fire, the most important thing we can do to create and protect jobs is to make sure that a regulatory environment exists to prevent another economic meltdown caused by financial industry greed.

So, why isn’t Gibson a champion of making effective financial regulation protecting consumers one of the cornerstones of his Washington? Instead, Gibson voted for H.R. 1315, misleadingly and disingenuously entitled “Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011”. This legislation, which if enacted, would have amended the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in a manner that would expose American consumers and the nation’s economy to the same risks that led to the 2008 financial crisis.  He has also voted against regulations that are essential to making sure our air and water are safe and clean among others.

When we hear Congressman Gibson, or the Chamber of Commerce, or anyone else talk about government regulation by saying:  “That will kill our industry”, or “That would force expenditures on precautions that are absolutely needless and useless” or “That will kill jobs”, or words of similar meaning, REMEMBER THE TRIANGLE FIRE.

Shirley Ripullone

Hillsdale, NY

Living in the Community of Copake

My favorite part of living in the community of Copake are the friendships and connections that you form.  As the lights flickered on and off Sunday night, I was catching up with Carol and Bob Sacks just back from Florida.  As Bob prepares our "Italian Feast" I shared my view of the warmth and charm of last Wednesday at The Grange host for the CEAB Awards for 2011.

The Grange was decked out in sunflowers, smiling faces and a warmth that was astounding.  I counted four generations of people who came to together to celebrate in the Renaissance of Copake.  The new connections of The Greens, lending a hand to Chow House with the surplus from their kitchens. To hear that 50 people come each Tuesday to break bread and share in good cheer is amazing. To remember the incredible contribution that Elinor Mettler had made to our world.

In a world where we only hear of strife, we saw the harvest of the determination of the CEAB to foster and recognize our world. The history of The Grange in Copake made it a logical place to recognize, the Flowers of Alice Belt, The Greens, Rus Davis and Ingrid Cain's Clock Restoration, KOA Campground, The Copake Comprehensive Committee, United Methodist Church Ladies, Bob Sacks Copake Chronicle, Jane Peck, and Roberta Roll Farmers Market. The determination and the passion that each of these nominees committed to made Copake a better place.

So I am here to celebrate and cheer for this renaissance in our town and as Key Bank approaches its fiftieth year in 2012 I for one cannot wait for the next Star Evening.

Nancy Rutter

Would Someone Please Pull The Budget Officer Out From Under The Bus He Keeps Getting Thrown Under?

Let me first say I am a little flattered by being quoted/picked up by our

local Copake Chronicle in the last two weeks. Yes in my post “the

gentleman doth protest too much methinks” I point out that the most vocal

individual in the audience may be partially responsibility for the town

being $20,000 in the red due to a misquote or miscommunication in regard

to the town’s health insurance costs. After all, the gentleman is the

town Budget Officer and the Deputy Supervisor, and in an earlier town

meeting he made it appeared that he had negotiated with our insurance

provider at some point. But, and this is a big but, the bottom line is

that the responsibility comes down to the individual members of our Town

Board. I cannot find in the record any member of the Town Board making

any objection to the terms of this Insurance policy, during the budget

meetings. They place the insurance in the budget, therefore they are the

responsible parties.

Let me pose this question to every single one of our Town Board members,

did you review the terms of our town insurance policy? Did you accept or

object to the written quote provided to you by our insurance provider?

All variables of the coverage must have been documented in a written

agreement, right? What say you Mr. Crowley, Mr. Sacks, Ms Gabaccia, Mr.

Tompkins or Mr. Kiernan?

Gerard M.

We have Lost the AAA Rating on our Bonds that Will Cost Us All

In the local area there is a problem of how the Republican Party plays polices.  It is a bigger National problem. Mr. McConnell has publicly vowed to make Obama a one term President. It is fair to call him anti-Obama because the Republican has not even settled on a presidential candidate. The two most powerful Republican politicians are anti-Obama. I believe it is fair to say both are from an area of the country that has a history of racial tension.  Mr. Boehner lunched an attack on the health insurance care reform labeling it Obama Care. They refuse to allow the government to bargain with the drug makers and keep pushing for the repeal of “Obama Care.”   Their continued attack on our President, that they do not respect, has resulted in the election of many anti-Obama Tea Party Representatives. They demanded no new taxes. Their song is we don’t have a taxing problem we have a spending problem. Now we have lost the AAA rating on our bonds that will cost us all.  The problem given for the drop in the rating is the loss of a clear path forward. Washington is broken and if we are to fix thing we need a President that is allowed to lead. The Republicans should respect our President. Obama is well educated, dedicated, and very able. He is black and has been a unifying force for much, but not all, of the County.

Grant Langdon

We need a County Manager

I am cheered by a possible good thing happening at the County level. Yes, that's Columbia County, the Republican-run County you live in. Next week the County Board of Supervisors may vote (full BOS Board Meeting on Aug 10th) on a recommendation from the County Government Committee to move forward to establish an appointed County Manager as the executive officer. This move will set up a central management for the cumbersome County government which should assure some efficiencies and coherence to county operations. Columbia County is currently one of only 9 counties in NY State that have no centralized management, most of them, recently including Greene and Ulster Counties, having made the change. Here, management by multi-committee works slowly and often to cross purposes. The part-time Supervisors are hard pressed to oversee the details of daily management of departments. Germantown Supervisor, Roy Brown, has led a combined group of Supervisors and community leaders who have done the research on the issue, discussed the pros & cons and have come up with the recommendation. You can see their findings on the County website : www.columbiacountyny.com

If you want more information, work your way through the findings. It's a little redundant in their effort to cover all bases and opinions, but their conclusion is that "We need a County Manager."

Those proposing the change are optimistic about the vote next week. The most often asked question is "won't it just be an increased cost that results in no savings?". The study says no, the savings and efficiencies will more than make up for the cost of a manager and any staff. They have set up a list of qualifications for the office that are encouraging, but the change, if voted for, will need constant attention by the public to see that its promise is achieved. This is a step into the 21st Century for the county. One question still to be asked: "Will it be possible for someone to get a County job without changing his/her voter registration to the Republican Party?" This is the state of things right now. Will it change? Keep tuned.

Kay Abraham 

Happy to See a Revaluation of my Home

I would be happy to see a revaluation of my home. It's been a while since I saw the appraisal on my house as my husband takes care of the paperwork here, but I do remember whenever the appraisal was done it added about 600 SF to my house and called my one car detached garage a two car attached.

Terrie Schmearer

An Affront to the American People

The debt ceiling compromise is an affront to the American people who overwhelmingly supported a balanced approach of both tax cuts andtax increases to bring the federal budget into balance. But Gibson and the GOPparty have vigorously protected the assets of the top 2% of the wealthiestpeople in our country rather than bring federal budgets into balance byresponsibly increasing tax revenues along with spending cuts. The cost of theBush cuts to the federal treasury has been estimated to be $1.3 trillion, $1.3trillion of which could have been a significant down payment to reduce thenational debt and pay for 2 unfunded wars. The only way the Obamaadministration felt that they could prevent a catastrophic default was to agreeto a deal that contains no tax increases. But without tax increases, the cuts to essential governmental programsthat protect the American dream will be far more drastic than would otherwisebe necessary.

As Thom Hartmann has said, “Lost amid all the demagogue andarguing regarding the debt/deficit, what's lost is the fact is it's really anargument that pits tax cuts and wars vs. the social safety net.  And it's tax cuts and wars that havegotten us into this mess, not Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.” 

ShirleyRipullone

Instead Being of Assistance – A Ticket

Instead Being of Assistance – A Ticket
A few weeks ago my niece and a friend were driving to our home in Copake from Great Barrington at approximately 11 pm at night. The GPS in their car was directing them. The GPS guided them a bit off track as they were looking for our road.

They saw no police car or any other cars on the road and they had no cell phone service to call us for directions.

As they made the left hand turn onto what they thought was our road the police car followed the young women’s car with no headlights on or flashing lights for approximately  ½ a mile.  The police then put on their lights and stopped my niece and friend on the dark dirt road.  The first policemen approached the car and said they were speeding.  The two college age young woman said they were lost and looking for our house. Then a second officer got out of the car with his flashlight and started shining it on everything in the back seat as well as the two young women. 

When they asked why they didn't put on their lights - the officers said they were going too fast and couldn’t catch them - as far as I know police cars can drive fast when they need to  especially going down Rt 7 and turning left onto what is consider by the Town of Copake to be a private road.

Instead of helping them to find their way or lend any assistance  they gave the driver a speeding ticket for going 47 in a 30. It is not possible to be going that speed in the dark to make a left turn.

Why would they follow them with no lights on? How would the girls know it was the police? Why would they not assist these two young women to find our home? They were so scared and confused.

 In further research these officers were not even from our area. 

Copake promotes itself as the land of rural charm and wants people to visit and enjoy the area. This is not a way to promote our community.

I hope that in the future the police that patrol our area will be more helpful.

Linda Senk
Copake, New York

Place the Local Police on the Ballot

Mr. Sachs:

I read the last issue of your blog and had to write a letter to the editor. The incompetence of the local Republican administration in Copake never fails to amaze me.  Each day they show two important things. They came into office with no experience and have proven that they don’t know how to learn from their mistakes. I find it strange that this town never had any money trouble till Crowley took over?  And we have had nothing but bankruptcy problems since these guys took office. Placing an electrician in charge of the budget turned out to be a brilliant idea. Keeping him there was equally brilliant.

I am begging anyone who is willing to listen to reason to place the local police on the ballot this November. It is one of the only ways we can get out of this financial corner that incompetence has placed on us.

John Decker 

Extended Blackouts In Copake and Elsewhere

Hi Bob
Before moving Columbia Country full time, I had an opportunity to travel around the globe for business...including several trips to India.
While there I noticed that there were power outages due, I was told, to a poorly developed infrastructure. Well, here we am years later in America and it is happening  to our town of Copake and the areas around us as regularly as in some emerging nations.

It is, I believe, the result of the large Spanish energy conglomerate Iberdrola, its services reach 16 million customers, over nine million in Spain.  In September 2008, Iberdrola bought Energy East, a utilities company that serves 2.9 million customers in the Northeast United States.
They took over NYSEG and that is when the extended blackouts began and they disassembled the service teams in our area.

What do you or your readers know about it?  How can we get to the bottom of this and halt the deterioration of our local energy service.

Maj Kalfus

GOALS FOR COPAKE

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORTED CANDIDATE'S GOALS FOR COPAKE

I've been observing the actions of the Republican-controlled Town Board in Copake for the past three and a half years, and I find that the Republican majority has lost sight of the needs of the residents of the Town.  We need change in Copake.  We need to avoid large tax increases and an inability to pay for unexpected expenses.  Copake now faces another financial crisis with no plan in place to resolve the issues.   We need long range financial planning as well as sound planning for the future of Copake as proposed in the recently released final draft of the Comprehensive Plan.  We do not need to act in panic and plug the holes with stopgap financial measures as they arise.

The Democratic Party supported candidates are the ones who are best capable of the kind of forward-thinking  leadership Copake so desperately needs.  They are running on a ten point platform to bring change to Copake.  Look at their plans and see for yourself:

1. Develop a five year financial plan to avoid large future tax increases;

2. Modernize our Town Hall systems and record keeping to achieve savings in money,

     time and space, and improve service to residents;

3. Assure fair and equitable assessments for all;

4. Encourage community and business participation in community revitalization;

5. Support development of Copake as a sustainable, environmentally protected community

6. Help to make alternate energy available to all residents;

7. Preserve farmland as part of our community heritage;

8. Conserve the former Copake Green property as open space;

9. Assure open meetings and community dialog, and increase public participation in town government;

10.Develop initiatives to keep our seniors and veterans active within the Town.

Say no with your votes, to the Republican approach toward governing.  Let's not repeat the mistakes of the recent past with borrowed funds and deficits in our budget.  Vote for the Democratic Party supported candidates for the Town in the November election and bring needed change and improvement to Town government.

Morris Ordover

Copake NY

An open letter to the Taxpayers & Town Board of Copake

An open letter to the Taxpayers & Town Board of Copake

At the Thursday July 14th meeting of the town board a question was asked about placing a referendum about the Copake Police Department on this November’s Ballot. This has been an ongoing request of many voters for years.  We, the Republican candidates for the Town Board of Copake strongly support our local Police Department, but we also believe it is time for the voters of our town to finally have a say in the decision of our Police Department. We are asking the town board to enact a resolution to place a referendum on this November’s ballot about the future of our Police Department. It is time for the voters to decide on this.

We only ask that if a referendum is placed on this Novembers ballot, that the voters will take the time to get all the facts about what a local Police Department means to our Town.

Jeff Nayer (candidate for Town Supervisor)

Stephen Hoppe (candidate for Town Council)

Kelly Miller-Simmons(candidate for Town Council)

What's going on in this town? I am truly baffled.

It was just a short time ago that the little pond behind the municipal parking lot was granted as a water source for the Fire Department, and otherwise left undisturbed. What a brilliant, generous, and conscientious idea. Now, I am hearing that it may be turned into a park? How about putting a couple of benches along the road and see how that goes first. What's going on in this town? I am truly baffled.

Steve "KotL" Rosenzweig

A Grand Jury Would Indict a Ham Sandwich

I congratulate Senator Saland on the legislative program he put forth. His bill requiring DNA testing should help the police solve crimes. Frank Sterling served 18 years in prison for a murder that DNA later proved was committed by Mark Christie. Frank Sterling is on of the 27 in the state wrongly convicted that was freed by The Innocents’ Project. Had a Preliminary Hearing with cross examination been held instead of having the Grand Jury indict, Christie, the other suspect in the murder, might have been indicted. The cross examination is the big difference. With a Preliminary Hearing the judge decides if a trial will take place. Chief Judge Wachtler of the Court Of Appeals said a Grand Jury would indict a ham Sandwich. That is because it is controlled by the District Attorney with no cross examination.  Keeping what went on secret originally served the purpose of protecting the reputation of people not indicted. Now the police do a prep walk for the press so it serves no purpose.  The Supreme Court has ruled the Grand Jury is not needed in State Court, but it is required by the New York State Constitution. I would like to see Senator Saland introduce a Constitutional Amendment allowing the Legislature to replace the Grand Jury. Britain, Canada, New Zeeland, Australia have all done away with the Grand Jury. New York State should do the same


Grant Langdon