Doll returns ‘home’ 54 years later

by HOWARD BLUE

COPAKE—It started on a so-so note. Chris Quinby, president of the recently revived Copake Grange announced at a recent meeting that he had bought a doll on eBay whose seller had used the keyword “Copake” in advertising it.

Mr. Quinby wasn’t quite sure of the doll’s connection to the Grange, but he was donating it to the organization in any case.

Suddenly Grange member Bob Callahan who had been sitting in the middle of the large room got up, walked into a back room and returned holding a picture frame. Read more…

K’hook puts off vote on new emergency access law

by EMILIA TEASDALE

VALATIE–The Kinderhook Town Board decided this week to adjourn until next month the public hearing on a proposed local law requiring emergency access to alarmed buildings in the town. No one from the public commented on the law, but Supervisor Pat Grattan wanted to give residents more time to review the proposal.

The purpose of the proposed law is for “providing emergency service organizations with a safe, secure and dependable method of gaining rapid entry into locked buildings in order to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the occupants inside any such building, as well as those responding emergency crews.”

If adopted, the law would require all buildings in the town with automatic fire alarms and/or fire suppression systems to have a key box with “keys to important areas within a structure and information that may be vital and necessary” in the box. The emergency crews would have access to the key box. There is a list in the proposed law of what documents should go in the box. Read more…

Hillsdale receives $80k grant for Clean Energy Initiatives

by STAFF

HILLSDALE – The Town of Hillsdale has received an $80,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Peter Cipkowski, Hillsdale Town Supervisor, said, in the press release, “The grant money will be used to take additional steps to reduce the Town’s energy costs and its dependence on fossil fuels to heat and power Town buildings.”

Announced by Governor Cuomo in August 2016, the $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the state by providing grants to eligible municipalities to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities. Clean Energy Communities advances the Governor’s Reforming the Energy (REV) strategy by demonstrating the importance of communities in helping New York reach its Clean Energy Standard mandate of having half of the state’s electricity coming from renewable energy resources by 2030. Read more…

Bill includes Faso’s opioid safety act

by DAN FREEDMAN

Reprinted with permission from the Times Union

WASHINGTON, DC– A massive bipartisan opioids bill working its way through Congress includes a measure on Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage authored by Congressman John Faso (R-19th).

Rep. Faso’s bill, the Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act of 2018, would require the Department of Health and Human Services to include warnings about opioids and alternative options for pain relief in “Medicare and You,” the online introduction to Medicare that seniors view when signing up.

By itself, the bill is a modest step forward in a drug-addiction crisis that took 72,000 lives nationwide in 2017, 12 percent higher than 2016. Opioid addiction takes the lives of 115 a day, according to one estimate. Read more…

Austerlitz Town Hall project aims to wrap up in December

by PETER FLIERL

AUSTERLITZ–A recent visit to the new Town Hall still under construction found Bob Daloia, the general contractor, and his crew busy at work both inside and out. There is now an addition on the side, added since the dedication of the building in June. Town Supervisor Rob Lagonia offered a complete tour.

Walking through the former church reveals the efforts made to lovingly preserve the historic structure, which had been falling down and in disrepair before the town acquired it. The building was in need of massive rebuilding inside along with lifting it up to set it on a new foundation. Supervisor Lagonia pointed out a small section of historic wood, noting that its grain had been painted on over 100 years ago and painted over in blue paint since. A piece of the original will be on display on the first floor.

A neighbor sold the town a small piece of land behind the building to permit construction of a septic system and leach field for the Town Hall. An elevator will make the building handicapped accessible. Stained glass windows, removed for restoration, will be reinstalled in the new board and community room. That room will be equipped with audiovisual equipment to present movies for children and teens. Read more…