News

Voters have had their say. Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka (l) celebrates his reelection with current Town of Kinderhook Supervisor Pat Grattan (c) and Kinderhook Supervisor-elect Patsy Leader on election night, November 5, at Ryan’s Bar and Grill in Valatie. Mr. Czajka was reelected to another four-year term on Tuesday night. Ms. Leader is currently a member of the Town Board and serves as deputy supervisor. Both were elected by wide margins, although problems with the early voting have delayed more accurate unofficial results and final tallies will not be known for weeks. Photo by Lance Wheeler

ICC ponders space squeeze during upgrade construction

by EMILIA TEASDALE

KINDERHOOK–Ichabod Crane Interim Superintendent Lee Bordick held a community forum Wednesday, October 30, about where students will be moved during the major construction project in the district starting in 2020.

Mr. Bordick said he would review the plans, which are preliminary until final designs are approved by the state Education Department and the work is put out for bids on construction. But he described the plans he was presenting at the meeting as “pretty solid.”

He said the district and the construction firm managing the project needed to figure out, “How do you do this project with students and staff in the building?” Read more…

Chatham village adopts updated zoning

by EMILIA TEASDALE

CHATHAM–The Village Board has approved an updated zoning code. Monday, Mayor John Howe and Trustees Lenore Packet and Melony Spock voted in favor of Local Law #2 of 2019 to amend the zoning code of the Village of Chatham. Trustee Pete Minahan voted against. Trustee Jaimee Boehme was not at the meeting.

The board held a public hearing before the regular meeting November 4 with little comment on the updated zoning code. Three residents attended the hearing.

During the regular meeting the board went through the state environmental review (SEQRA). The board made no comments when passing the new law and Mr. Minahan did not comment on why he voted against the zoning updates. Read more…

Hudson High principal looks back, moves on

by JEANETTE WOLFBERG

HUDSON–“I’ve learned everybody in this community wants what’s best for our children. I just need to give them time, space and, resources to support them.” said Antonio Abitabile, principal of Hudson High School, who will leave November 22 to become superintendent of the Lansingburgh Central School District near Troy, after six and a half years in his current position and 17½ years with the Hudson City School District (HCSD).

Dr. Antonio Abitabile, Hudson High School

“We’ve taken great strides to re-establish trust between the district and the community. When I started, there seemed to be conflict between the district and the community; some doubted we had the children’s best interest at heart. Now the relation between the school and the community is the best I’ve ever seen and still getting better,” He said in an interview by phone October 2. Read more…

Early vote = late result

by PARRY TEASDALE

GHENT—It’s all over but the counting, which means that at least some of the local races in the election of 2019 will stretch out a little while longer.

That’s not unusual; counting of absentee ballots doesn’t even begin until November 22. But the unofficial vote tallies from the Columbia County Board of Elections issued by press deadline Wednesday, November 6, did not include the ballots from the thousands of early voters, including approximately 700 early ballots that could not be read by the ballot scanning machines and are being recorded manually.

Some races produced clear winners, because statistically there aren’t enough votes to change the outcome, even though the margin of victory is likely to differ from the initial results. Read more…

Ancramdale hosts annual Halloween Party

by DAVID LEE

The Ancramdale Halloween Party at the Ancramdale Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall has been a longstanding tradition. It was started back in the 1940s by Avery Dietter (the mayor of Ancramdale) who was in attendance Saturday, October 26 dressed in his own version of a Superman costume topped by his Korean War Veteran cap. He was also celebrating his 92 birthday on Saturday and he was presented with a cake. Pictured is Mr. Dietter blowing out the candles on his cake, held by great-granddaughter Karlee Bishop. Pictured on the right are granddaughter Monica Cleveland, and her daughter Sydney with Thomas Heath and Ronnie Cleveland. Photo by David Lee

Read more…