News

They carry on the memory. Service Unit 126 of the Girl Scouts of Northern New York hosted a 9/11 memorial event on Tuesday at Volunteer Park in Kinderhook. The scouts raised and lowered the flag, read a poem and sang. They were joined by representatives from the State Police, the county Sheriff’s Office, the Village of Chatham Police, local firefighters and state and town officials. Pictured with local Girl Scouts are Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106th) (pictured l, holding her Girl Scout sash), Assemblyman Jake Ashby (R-107th) and troop leader Amy Griesemer. Photo by Lance Wheeler

Please, no more ‘aspirational’ recycling

by DEBBY MAYER

HUDSON – Aspirational recyclers are people who “hope” a material is recyclable and put it in the blue bin or recycling dumpster. “It’s made of plastic, there must be some way to recycle this!” they think. In an effort to counteract this, to make Columbia County recyclables as valuable on the market as they can be, the county Solid Waste Department, has published a new recycling chart, listing which clean materials can be recycled, or not.

In an accompanying memo, Solid Waste director Jolene Race wrote, “A number of actions taken by China over the past months have begun to impact the recycling markets. The new proposed standard quality limit is far more stringent than any existing international standard. Our goal moving forward is to ensure the highest quality material that could be marketed, domestically and internationally. Columbia County is working with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and our vendor Casella Recycling to assist in educating residents about recycling.” Read more…

Hudson graduation rate grows 21% over last six years

by JEANETTE WOLFBERG

HUDSON–Improved outcomes, a new student representative, new academic programs, extracurricular transportation, Price Chopper, a new district slogan, and the first day of school highlighted the Hudson City School District (HCSD) Board of Education meeting Monday, September 10.

Superintendent Maria L Suttmeier reported several academic improvements since last year: “Elementary grades k-2 improved 8% on the Fountas & Pinnel reading exam results; grade 4 increased their NYS science score by 9%; grades 3-5 increased their NYS scores by % in ELA and 10% in math; and grades 6 – 8 increased their scores by 6% in ELA and 2.5% in math.

Though actual scores are currently embargoed, “these increases can be shared,” she said. Read more…

New faces join school resource deputy roster

by STAFF

GREENPORT—Some new faces have been added to the School Resource Deputy Program at Columbia County schools. Currently there are seven deputies working at schools around the county.

The program was initiated in 2014 during Sheriff David P. Bartlett’s first year in office. He was determined to bring this concept to fruition and worked with the Columbia County Board of Supervisors for assistance and cooperation, according to a press release from the sheriff.

Full-time school resource deputies were assigned to Ichabod Crane and Taconic Hills during the first year. Read more…

Foes say store plan too flawed to proceed

by DIANE VALDEN

COPAKE—Opposition to a proposed convenience store/gas station in Craryville is not letting up and is now planning to organize.

GRJH, Inc., has an application before the Copake Planning Board seeking site plan approval for a new Cobble Pond gas station/convenience store at the northwest corner of the intersection on the 1.7-acre parcel where the old Craryville supermarket once stood. Craryville is a hamlet in the Town of Copake.

The proposed 3,240 square-foot convenience store will have six fuel dispensers–two on each of three islands–and access to the business is proposed from State Route 23 and Craryville Road. Read more…

G’town group takes dollar store plan to court

by DEBBY MAYER

GERMANTOWN—After two years of process, on July 26, the town Planning Board approved a Dollar General retail store on Route 9G, just north of County Route 8 / Main Street.

On August 22, several town residents filed a legal challenge called an Article 78 Proceeding in state Supreme Court against four defendants: the Planning Board; Primax Properties, developer of the Dollar General property; and Paul D’Sousa and Henrietta D’Sousa, owners of the property to be subdivided for the Dollar General store.

The petitioners filing the action are: Arthur M. Cady, Elizabeth M. Cawley, Carole Neville, Karen Targove, Angela Olszewski, Douglas Trapp and William Kimmel. They are represented by Warren S. Replansky. Read more…