The Truth about the Copake Police Commission

                  

Once again I find myself having to respond to an editorial by Bob Sacks in his Copake Chronicle. This time it is about “The Secret Police of Copake”. I feel the readers of the Chronicle should know the true facts & not the misinformation Mr. Sacks likes to distribute to his readers. First off there is no such thing as a Secret Police Commission. The Police Commission meets quarterly as the website says unless there are no issues that need to be addressed. The Town Clerk is notified, a public notice is put on the appropriate board in Town Hall & an official newspaper (which the Town Board designates in January) is notified. It is not put in the paper as a public notice because the Town Board voted to keep costs down & only certain Boards need to officially advertise. Mr. Sacks should have known this, as he is a Town Board member. Next Mr. Sacks states that before the Crowley administration the Police Commission met openly and monthly and always posted the minutes of their meetings. But if you look on the Copake Website you will see that the last time any minutes posted were in 10/2006, when Councilwoman Gabaccia & Councilman Ritchie were Commissioners. If you read those minutes, you will see the Commission decided to meet as needed & not monthly. If no minutes were posted since then, are we to assume that the commissioners at that time did nothing for 14 months or had secret meetings while under the then pre-Crowley Democratic controlled Board? Mr. Sacks also writes that I am the head spokesperson for the Police Commission. I am neither Chairman nor spokesperson, but am a Citizen that constantly attends board meetings, & when an issue with the police comes up I am then asked about my knowledge of it. Am I not allowed to give an answer now without being labeled? As Mr. Sacks knows there are 3 Commissioners, why then does he always only email me & not the other Commissioners when he has a question? Obviously he has assumed that I am in charge, when in fact I am not. Finally, any young man or woman can inquire about a career in law enforcement and request a ride-along to see the inner workings of a career possibly being pursued. Some do in fact inquire about this to many other Police Departments. Last spring there were two young men who showed an interest. They met with the Police Chief (who happens to run the daily operations of the PD) were interviewed by him, and were granted permission to ride along. The Town Attorney was contacted, a waiver was signed and the insurance company was notified, all legal & allowable. This is not in any way a training program, as Mr. Sacks would like you to think, it is an informational program only. Councilman Tompkins & Councilwoman Gabaccia inquired about this & were satisfied that the proper steps had being taken. If Mr. Sacks was so concerned, why did we not hear from him? And yes one of the young men happened to be a current Police Commissioner’s son, but should he not be allowed the same opportunity as anyone else in a non-paid status? Unfortunately, the other young man changed his mind and we were unable to assist him. Ride alongs are not something any Police Department advertises and neither do we, this is a selective process that the Police Chief goes through with the person of interest to see if they would qualify after they have inquired and are interviewed by him.

So, Mr. Sacks, no secret or back door meetings, no more posting of minutes from the previous Police Commissioner’s meetings, no nepotism, and no, I am not the chairman for the Police Commission.

Once again Mr. Sacks you have managed to print an editorial without getting the true facts and have done a disservice to your readers by giving them more misinformation in your paper.

Finally if minutes haven’t been posted for over 5 years, why is it an issue with you now and one that has not been bought up before? I can only assume that this is a politically motivated editorial to mar my reputation as a fair an honest person during my campaign for Town Supervisor.

Jeff Nayer

Seeking Volunteers to Help Save the Historic Octagon Home

Dear Contractors/ Community Residence,

In recent weeks, a handful of community members have expressed their desire with volunteering to help another long time resident, Helen Mang of 193 county rte 7A Copake, NY 12516 with repairing and painting her historic octagon home.  Helen is an elder, single woman, that does not have the financial, or physical ability to properly maintain her home.  In an effort to preserve Copake, and its historical homes, we have decided to help.  Upon closer inspection of her octagon home, it has been discovered that the building has several areas where the wood is very moist, rotten, or no longer exist where it should. We all know the importance of a sound solid structure, before beginning a big painting project. We are seeking the help of local carpenters/community members with examining and repairing/painting this structure.  Since this is a volunteer project, we would appreciate any community service that you are willing to give.  Efforts are under way for gathering the material needed for the job by donations from various people within the community, as well as utilizing resources outside the community. If you would like to participate or donate please contact me at the number provided.  

This project originally started with a generous man, named Dan Posser, that volunteered his time to mow Helen’s lawn, and clean up the debris/shrubs around her home. This gentleman made a big difference to our community.  If all of us could follow in his footsteps, and help to preserve this old, historic octagon home, our community would be a much better place. 

The scraping and painting project of this historic octagon home will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 11- Oct. 23.  Time: 9:00-4:00.  All volunteers are welcome to participate.  If you would like to join us, please call me or email me.  We have a sign-up sheet.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Sincerely,

Ruth Thomas 

Copake Community Cares c/o Ruth Thomas 189 Rte 7A Copake, NY 12516 518 329-0364 Email ancramcamp@fairpoint.net

Thanking both Political Parties

To The Editor:

I would like to go on record in thanking the Copake Chronicle and both political parties for showing smart restraint when it comes to placing political signs in Copake. There seems to be only a few idiots, who can’t or won’t behave in following the rules of the town and additionally show some respect to their neighbors.

I won’t mention his name, but the owner of the house on 22 should know better. 

J. Miller 

A letter of thanks to Copake Falls:

Dear Neighbors:

When the Copake Falls Day Planning Committee met for the first time in the winter of 2007, we never could have imagined that four years later, it would take three single spaced, typewritten pages to name and thank everybody who participated in and contributed to Copake Falls Day 2011.

So with the deepest possible gratitude, the Copake Falls Day Planning Committee takes this opportunity to thank each and every person who made the day possible:  To all of our neighbors in Copake Falls who made available their gardens, backyards, front lawns, storefronts, driveways and more, please accept this most heartfelt thank you.  To Bill Gregory and his incredible Highway Department team, where would we be without you?  To virtually every business in Copake Falls, Copake and Hillsdale - your support of our event with prizes for our raffle and chance auctions allowed us to put the icing on a delicious cake.  To all our local vendors, farmers, crafters, horsewomen, face painters and road runners, thank you for making Copake Falls Day unique!  To the artists, musicians, playwrights, local authors and pitmasters whose special presentations book-ended a wonderful day, our deepest thanks.

We hope you’ll all join us again on Saturday, August 18, 2012 for the Fifth Annual Copake Falls Day.  We can’t do it without you.

Sincerely,

Milbrey Zelley on behalf of the Copake Falls Day Planning Committee

A More Consistent Practice of Open Government

Dear Editor

The Copake Chronicle has frequently urged more consistent practice of open government. Because town law focuses so narrowly on forbidding the assembly of a quorum of any committee or board outside of called and advertised public meeting, a very important benefit of open government is often overlooked. I suggest shifting focus from what should not be done to what should be done.

By talking to each other about pending cases or issues, pairs of committee and board members can clarify both their own tentative positions and areas in which they need to increase their information and understanding. That process, which is characteristic of conscientious members, can benefit the town by leading to wiser decisions. The manner in which ideas are generated, however, is less important than what becomes of them after they are formed. Critically important ideas may well originate with a minority or bare quorum of a board or committee; deliberation by all members, however, is typically the means by which good ideas are brought to full fruition. It is that process of full and open discussion that should always take place in public meeting, not in private collaboration. Having the opportunity to hear that discussion, Copake citizens can understand the basis of board or committee decisions and recommendations, and so provide support for governmental action.

We should bear in mind John Stuart Mill’s illustration of the value of having one’s ideas questioned or challenged. The challenger may present a valid and valuable idea that I can incorporate in my improved proposal. If I find no such source of improvement, I shall, in the course of defending my idea, have gained appreciation of its merits.

All members of Copake boards and committees have a local constituency. When any one of them is ignored or shunted aside, full democratic representation is denied to a portion of the Copake populace. To be as productive as it ought to be, a board or committee meeting should be a learning experience for all present, whether members or audience. Respect for each, including opponents, can only benefit all.

Respectfully submitted,

Mac Simms

Broadband - $75 billion in new Capital Spending

The President projects that the Federal government can raise $27.8 billion over the next decade by auctioning off wireless spectrum, something wireless carriers eagerly want the government to do. Under Obama's plan, $10 billion of this money will pay for an expansion of the Public Safety Broadband Network and to build out wireless broadband to cover 98% of the nation.

"Recent data shows that making additional spectrum available for wireless will lead to 500,000 new jobs in America," said Jonathan Spalter, chairman of the non-profit wireless industry think tank Mobile Future, in a written statement.

A report that Mobile Future released in August spelled it out: "Building on previous studies, we estimate that the reassignment of 300 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband within five years will spur $75 billion in new capital spending, creating more than 300,000 jobs and $230 billion in additional Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The release of an additional 200 MHz of new spectrum after five years will create an additional 200,000 jobs and increase GDP by an additional $155 billion."

Plus the study said the economy would benefit from a "spillover" effect. Companies like Apple, Google, Qualcomm and small application developers would boom as they created new mobile broadband applications to be carried upon all that ubiquitous bandwidth. Here's wishing wireless and jobs for all.

Shirley Ripullone

Is Fracking Safe?

Please plan to join Kathy Nolan from Catskill Mountainkeeper to find out "Is Fracking Safe?" this Saturday, Sept 24th at the Roe Jan Community Library.

Fracking is one of the most important issues facing New York Sate in the next 3 to 6 months and this is your chance to learn what the issues are. So we hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to learn about fracking.

Regards,
Shirley Ripullone

The History of Early Pollution of Political Signs in Copake

After reading last weeks article by Bob Sacks about the early pollution of political signs in Copake, I thought a history lesson about how this came to be would interest the readers of the Chronicle. Like Mr. Sacks, when I first ran for office in the 2005 election, I inquired about the correct time to put out my signs. Researching our zoning code, I too found a 30-day law on the books about political signs, which I was happy to comply with.

I remember also that in the 2007 election, for the most part, even though a few county politicians had their signs out, the Copake candidates stayed within our town’s 30-day ordinance.

But then in the 2009 election something changed. In July, Town Justice Brian Herman, running for re-election, put his signs out & questions were brought up to Town Board members about our 30-day law on political signs. In an email to the Town Board dated August 13, 2009, Morris Ordover president of the Copake Democratic Club stated it was illegal for us to enforce this law, as it is unconstitutional. This email was read at the September 12, 2009 Copake Town Board meeting under correspondence. A copy of this email is available at the Town Hall (Copake Town Board meeting of 9/12/2009 minutes). Subsequent to Mr. Ordover’s letter came more early political signs for Councilman Gabaccia, and yes also Councilman Sacks. Following the lead of the Democratic candidates, the rest of the candidates followed suit.

 Now, this takes us to present day & Mr. Sacks’ article asking to go back to our 30-day law. The law was interpreted as unconstitutional by the President of the Democratic Club, and therefore the Democratic candidates did not abide by it. Now Mr. Sacks wants to go back to the way it was. Readers of the Chronicle, please realize that once the laws are challenged & not abided by, it is hard to go back to them. I personally have no problem living within our local law about political signs, but maybe there should have been a little more thought and consideration given by Mr. Ordover & the candidates in the 2009 election about the legal right verses the right thing for Copake.

 Jeff Nayer

A Great Reflection of this Town and Magnificent Countryside.

Hi. I'm writing to thank you for publishing the Copake Chronicle.  I think it has addictive content and I'm charmed by both the look of it - such great placement - and so refreshing - which is a great reflection of this town and magnificent countryside.  The Chronicle tells the important stories.  Junk-free reporting that I look forward to.  The thought and the care you put into this evident and appreciated.

 

I've passed the Chronicle on to other folks, just as it was sent to me from an admirer of yours who has been enjoying it for years. He's a pretty smart guy who lives in Copake.  He knew when he gave it to me that I don't live in Copake and was wise to realize that it wouldn't matter. I'm glad he passed it on.

One of these days I hope to thank you in person. I'll bet you're fun to talk with too. 

 

Polly

E. Taghkanic

An Inspiring Event at Camp Pontiac

Dear Roe Jan Library People,

What a beautiful event you sponsored on Saturday night. The food was WONDERFUL, the auction fun, and, after passing Camp Pontiac for almost 10 years, it was nice to finally go inside. It is really inspiring to see how hard so many people are working to make the library a great educational and cultural center.

Thank you!

Lois

Thanks to the Electrical Crews from Michigan

I second the motion to have the town thank the crews that helped us after the deluge. I certainly would like to thank the electrical crews from Michigan. We had wires down and I watched their work which was efficient and totally professional. If someone has the name of the company and a mailing address, I would like it so I can personally send a letter.

Having said that, I also want to note that the Copake Outpost of the County Highway Dept were equally effective in clearing the road following the incident near my house. I've already written to their management to thank them for their good work and effective operation.

Thanks,

Ian Jarvis

Copake

Signs are Polluting Copake

To The Editor:

I have been fed up with the white and red signs around town for a very long time. They are ugly and serve no purpose whatsoever. It has been years and no one has done anything about them. The crisis is long gone and yet the town is still polluted by these ugly signs. Why? Aren't there any laws about this?  And now I see that the Republicans are polluting Copake and have started to put up election signs three months before the election.

The old Supervisor told me that the town had a law that you couldn’t put up election signs until 30 days before an election.  Now that the Republicans have put up signs, I’m sure the Democrats will do the same thing.  Please, Please  Please,. can’t we wait and not pollute the beauty of this town.  Show some leadership and take down your signs and follow Copake's laws.  

J Miller

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