Greene May Day

CRIMES. By the time this blog gets posted, the jurors may well be back with a verdict in the case of Travis Augustine. They started deliberating, as well as having lunch, at just after noon today. They may not need more than half a day to find that Augustine murdered his friend Martha Conners, killed her dog, and stole her property. The prosecution's case, as unfolded by District Attorney Terry Wilhelm in a former classroom of the St Patricks Academy in Catskill, now serving as Judge George Pulver Jr's temporary courtroom, was altogether circumstantial and, we reckon, altogether conclusive. Details may follow. -----IT HAPPENED. The jurors returned at 3:20pm. The foreman delivered a verdict notice. Judge Pulver opened it and read the result: Guilty On All Counts. He then polled the jurors by number. Each voiced concurrence. At that point, two women in the audience--the defendant's mother and sister--erupted in a shrieking fit. They were not pacified by Public Defender Dominic J. Cornelius's promise that "it's not over." Then police officers arrived with shackles for the defendant. Augustine, who had been meek and expressionless throughout the trial, went into a rage. Seven officers were needed to subdue the 6 foot 4 inch convict. Those events, at any rate, are based onhastily written notes taken from the observations of a first-hand witness: Catskill historian and seasoned journalist Richard Philp. JOBS. GreeneLand’s rate of private sector unemployment in March, according to the State Labor Department, came to 9.1 per cent of the labor force. That is quite an increase over the March 2008 figure of 5.9%. It is higher (which is to say, worse) than the country-wide figure (8.5%, versus 5.1% in 3/08), the State-wide figure (7.8%, vs. 4.8%), and nearby counties (Ulster, 7.8% vs. 5.2%; Columbia, 8.0% vs. 4.9%). It’s not as bad as the unemployment rates (as high as 11.5%) in a dozen small counties that, like GreeneLand, are not part of major labor areas. HUNGRY KIDS. Nearly half of the children who attend Catskill public schools qualify for the free lunch program. The qualifying population, reports Superintendent Kathleen Farrell, is up about 5 per cent from last year. Meanwhile, any other kid who forgets lunch money or lunch box gets fed. HOMES. Sales of single-family homes in the Capital Region (including GreeneLand) during the first quarter of this year declined from the same period in 2008, according to the New York Association of Realtors, by almost a third. Average and median prices also declined, to the extent of about 9 per cent. DEALS. The current real estate market is, ahem, abnormal. What’s normal is for prices to be up when interest rates on mortgages are down, and, conversely, for prices to drop when interest rates rise. Makes sense. But present interest rates are close to record lows, and prices are below their average in recent years (modestly here; dramatically, in the "liar loan" regions).. Coinciding with this general condition is the special, or rather extra-special, tax break for first-time home buyers. BANKS. Amid the housing slump, the shortage of jobs, and the economic recession, Greene County Bancorp, parent of the Bank of Greene County, has continued to flourish. In the course of the nine months ending March 31, according to a company release,, net income rose 58% to $3million. For the January 1-March 31 period the gain was $1.2million, or 69% more than for the same period in 2008. President Donald Gibson attributed the “strong earnings” chiefly to “net interest income,” but a one-time cash payment of $1.7million for the sale of its merchant credit card business did not hurt. Total assets of this parent of the Bank of Green County grew in the three-quarter period by 21 per cent, to $458.6 million. Deposits rose by 24 per cent to $395million. Yes, some loans did go sour, and more defaults are anticipated, but so are net gains. In the wake of its recent dividend announcement and then its earnings report, the company's share price has zoomed by around 35 per cent. RATES. Central Hudson is applying to State regulators for permission to raise electricity and natural gas prices. According to reporter Melanie Lekiocevic (Daily Mail,3/17), approval would mean many millions of dollars of additional revenue to the company while costing the average household $93 more per year for electricity and $151 more for gas. Local officials are resisting. LAWSUITS. John Velosa of Cairo is about to be sued for allegedly stealing timber from the property in Athens of Casey Biggs. According to Mr Biggs, the two of them talked about a deal whereby Mr Velosa would fell trees on the property, haul them away, sell them, then split the profits with Biggs. Biggs and his wife subsequently left town on business. When they returned, trees were gone and all efforts to contact Valosa were unavailing. Attorney Michael Smith is preparing the lawsuit. MALADIES. Lyme Disease rates in GreeneLand have doubled in recent years, says reporter Billie Dunn (Daily Mail, 4/25) citing Columbia County Public Health Nurse Paul Phillippe. Columbia's incidence is the worst in northeastern New York, with GreeneLand coming in second, at the rate of 246 cases per 100,000 population. If we kill more deer, would we humans have fewer bites from those blood-sucking deer ticks? DRINKS. NO B Y O B? A couple of GreeneLand restaurateurs were warned recently that, unless they already are licensed to sell wine and beer, they cannot legally allow diners to bring in their own beverages. That warning, citing Article 64B of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, may have dire implications for places other than restaurants. To serve beer and wine at a gallery opening or a fund-raising event, it seems, one must obtain a Special Permit. Eligibility is fraught with restrictions. Lots of non-profit community groups may be hurt. And that in turn will hurt the people who ratted to the ABC. Meanwhile, Catskill proprietor Mary DiStefano says “MOD is using this as a springboard. We will make lemonade out of lemons, spiking it appropriately...when we obtain our beer and wine license. That is already in the works. It may have been some-one's intent to hurt us, but we will take this adversity and make better things out of it.” DRINKS + EATS. The former Yanni’s II restaurant, hugging the Hudson at at the north end of Athens, now is The Dockside Grill, run by Steve Womack and a crew of 25. After selling his previous restaurant in Florida he was persuaded by his wife, Susan, to come to GreeneLand, her old stomping ground, instead of returning to his native California. Business since his March 3d opening, says Steve, has been ”much better than we expected.” Fully licensed and sporting live music, the place was full of happy people last Friday. TONIGHT. Opening party for exhibition, titled “Nature is the Key,” of plein air pictures by Patti Ferrara, at the Agroforestry Resource Center’s gallery in Acra, 5-7pm. 6229823. www.agroforestrycenter.org ---->>>Coxsackie-Athens Rotary Club diiner and auction, Quarry Steakhouse, 6pm. Raffle too. TOMORROW. Birder Larry Biegel introduces the activity of birding, from 9am at the Agroforestry Resource Center. >>Catskill Village Clean Sweep, from 8am. Volunteers are invited to go to village hall, collect tools, gloves, trash bags, doughnuts, coffee and assignments--toi Main Street business district, west side business district, parks, cemetery, Maple Avenue, schools. >> Thomas Cole National Historic Site's season-opening exhibition, "River Views of the Hudson River School" (paintings by Cole, Gifford, Cropsey...), compiled in keeping with the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's journey of discovery here. The show opens at noon in Catskill. At 1:30pm or thereabouts, the man who was primarily responsible for the resurgence of attention to the Hudson River School in the post-World War II years will give a talk. He is John R. Howatt, erstwhile chairman of American Art at the Metropolitan (NYC) Museum of Art. www.thomascole.org >>Jazz + Jazz Talk at Athens Cultural Center, from 7pm, led by Grammy winners Brian Lynch (trumpet) and Boris Kozlov (bass). www.athensculturalcenter.org >>"In the Blink of an Eye" headlines photographic art of Dmitri Belyi, shown at the upstairs BFA gallery in Ruby's Hotel in Freehold. Reception from 5pm.

----

Saturation Saturday

In just one GreeneLand village, on just one day, too much is happening. The village is Catskill. The day is tomorrow. Public events start quietly at the Community Center, with a seminar for adults on managing their legal and related affairs, the guidance being provided gratis by an ace lawyer and two program-administering nurses. Soon after that, starting at 1 pm at the C C, comes the launch of an on-line version of the new community radio station, WGXC (meaning Greene & Columbia counties), with various speakers and events culminating in--drum roll, please--live extracts from the impending home-grown musical, "River of Dreams." That performance will be beamed from across the street at the Union Mills Gallery (where author Hudson Talbott will autograph copies of his book River of Dreams and will donate the sale proceeds to the Center. Meanwhile, a rubber duck race will be staged on the west side of Catskill Creek, from the Middle School parking lot. Starting time is said to be 1pm, with a post-race celebration to follow at the Creekside Restaurant. Meanwhile, along Main Street, shops and galleries will be participating in Second Saturday activities. Meanwhile, parking lots around the County Building will be occupied by two-, four-, and more-wheeled participants (along with their owners) in the Village Car Show. That's a 3-8pm spectacle, augmented by live music. Meanwhile, up the hill, a special program devoted to the late Raymond Beecher, county historian, philanthropist and promoter of good GreeneLand causes, will unfold (from 1pm) at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site (which Mr Beecher saved from demolition). Meanwhile, at nearby Beattie-Powers Place, the Fortnightly Club unfolds a wine & cheece fund-raiser throughout the afternoon. Meanwhile, back on Main Street, a 6pm reception will hail the reopening of the Play Of Light gallery, showcasing the holographic and laser light magic achieved by the late Rudie Berkhout.

MORE CATSKILL. There's a good chance, moreover, that the new River Street Bakery will open at Brandow's Alley on Tuesday (following a trial run during the Saturday festivities) and that the new Port Of Call restaurant at Catskill Point will on Wednesday, from 6pm, have what proprietor Frank Guido dubs a "pre-grand opening." (To that event, says an advertisement on www.welcometocatskill.com, "Your invited." CATSKILL acquired its name, says Town & Village Historian Richard Philp, in consequence of "a Dutch tradition of honoring a distinguishing person by naming a geographical site after him or her." The honoree here was "early 17th-century statesman and poet Johannes Katz." The kill part is Dutch for creek (sowhen we say "Catskill Creek" we commit redundancy). That bit of history is just a morsel in the feast served by Mr Philp in his new pictorial history: The book's 208 historic photographs are accompanied by captions that go well beyond immediate description to mini-memoirs (William Van Vechten Jr and his pet woodchuck, for example). The cover picture here shows "local citizens crowding onto an experimental lifeboat" that had just been made locally during World War I. Catskill Village will be available in nine days from the publisher; www.arcadiapublishing.com. CATKILL-based Greene County Bancorp has withdrawn its application to "participate" in the Federal bank bailout program. According to a company announcement, taking the Federal money would have or could have been coupled with accepting onerous "regulatory burdens," and anyway, the bank has arranged an alternative: a revolving line of credit for $5 million from Atlanta Central Bankers Bank (sic), to be tapped in case of need. But there's no need, the announcement adds. The bank's "regulatory capital" supply exceeds what is required legally "by substantial margins." Anyhow, the announced withdrawal of application was not preceded by a company announcement of application, and we now know that, back in February, when we said in Seeing Greene that the bank had not sought bailout money, we were wrong. CAN'T STOP writing about Catskillians. Stories by writer Ann Cooper, who is fully imported from Scotland, have appeared lately on line (http://laurabird.com/showcase/annieforbescooper2.html) and in RAW (=Random Acts of Writing). And Linda Overbaugh, veteran director of the Heart of Catskill Association (=Village chamber of commerce), as special honoree at the Beaux Arts Ball of the Greene County Council on the Arts, was hailed for "steadfast commitment and unselfish contributions to the quality of cultural life in Greene County." [REMINDER. Comments are welcome, but they must be signed by their authors]

Numberful News

401=latest count of votes, out of 160,335, by which Scott Murphy leads James Tedisco in the special 20th Congressional District election. Still to come are judicial rulings on absentee ballots whose validity has been questioned by county election commissioners or by party lawyers. Most of the challenges have come from the Tedisco (Republican) camp and have aimed at ballots cast by voters who, in party registration, are Democrats or blanks. The presiding State Supreme Court judge, James Brand, reversed an earlier ruling and decided that attention could be paid not only to the ballots themselves (how they are marked) but also to the applicants' legitimacy. The Republican lawyers want rulings on whether the primary residences of targeted absentee voters are indeed in the 20th district rather than, say, in New York City. In keeping with that project, Republican chieftains sponsored an "exit poll," asking respondents whether they had voted, whether they had voted directly or by absentee ballot, and whether they had voted for Murphy or Tedisco. Actually, they knew that the respondents had voted and had done so by absentee ballot. They were compiling a pool of prospective challenges. (Much trouble and expense would be spared if candidates were not identified on the ballots by party affiliation. There would then be no need for governments to take elaborate, costly procedures, such as primary elections, to decide who gets what party "line.") 343,000=dollars just allocated by the National Parks Service to GreeneLand's Thomas Cole National Historic Site. It's a piece of the Federal stimulus (Recovery & Reinvestment Act) pie. The money will fund repairs and deferred maintenance on the Cole House and reconstruction of the stone wall and picket fence along Spring Street in Catskill. The grant is one of 800 Park Service projects, costing $750 million, which met the stated criteria of creating local economy-boosting jobs while also serving, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, "as investments in telling the story of America to future generations." 3,600,000,000=dollars pledged (yes, 3.6 billion) by GlazoSmithKline Corporation to acquire ownership of Stiefel Laboratories, including Stiefel's 270- employee facility in Oak Hill. Privately owned for the past 162 years (by family members, mostly), Stiefel is a global force in skin care products, with reported sales last year, according to company announcements, of $900 million. Its 3000 employees work in California, Florida (company headquarters), Georgia and five foreign countries as well as GreeneLand. The acquiring company, based in London, is the world's second largest drug maker. 23,000=dollars re-granted by the Greene County Council on the Arts to local cultural projects. Recipients include the County Historical Society's Bronck Museum, Catskill Mountain Foundation, Free103WaveRadio, Horton By The Stream theater, Inter-Cities Performing Arts at Altamura music center, Irish American Heritage Museum in East Durham, Irish Cultural and Sports Centre, Grazhda Music and Arts Centre in Jewett, Planet Arts in Athens, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Windham Chamber Music Festival, and Zadock Pratt Museum of Prattsville. The awards, ranging in amount from $900 to $3000, are re-grants in that the money comes from the State Arts Council. 3=number of Catskill School Board members who voted against adopting a $37million (OK; only $36,970,555) budget for 2009-10. The other six voted in favor. The proposed total was included in the agenda that was distributed to audience members at Tuesday's meeting. The details and comparative figures that Business Director Kimberly Lewis had prepared were distributed only to Board members. No statements for or against the budget were voiced. 17=cents per share of common stock payable as a dividend to people who, as of May 15th, own pieces of Greene County Bankcorp. That sum covers the first quarter of this year. Similar dividends were paid in several previous quarter-years and are anticipated in successive quarters. At the current market price of $11.50 per share, that dividend rate amounts to about 6 per cent per year. The company is 56 per cent owner of the Bank of Greene County. It can pay that dividend because the bank's business is healthy (very few bad loans) and because it waives its own right to dividends. Thus, the dividends go only to owners of 44% of the shares. 808=number of persons "admitted" to jail in GreeneLand in 2008, as noted in Sheriff Gregory R. Seeley's comprehensive, first-of-its-kind, report. That is an increase of 39 over the previous year's inmate population. ("Admitted" sounds like allowed to enter ?) 326,730=boarding-out costs incurred in 2008 by the Sheriff's department. The costs are necessitated by the dearth of cells here. Some inmates must be transported under escort to jails in other counties, housed and fed there at GreeneLand taxpayers' expense, and transported back. The 2008 boarding-out cost, Sheriff Seeley reports, represented a big reduction-- $389,714--over the 2007 cost. It came from rationalizing the choice of boarded-out prisoners, with preference being given to the already-sentenced, as distinct from those who are awaiting court hearings or imminent release. 933=miles of highway (State and County) and municipal road that are subject to patrol by GreeneLand sheriff's deputies. 410,468=miles driven in Sheriff's Department vehicles on those roads, as well as on boarding-out trips, on off-road chases and, in Marine Patrol craft, on the Hudson River. 11,091=official deeds performed by deputies while patrolling those roadways: traffic stops, alarm (de-)activations, dispute interventions,animal complaints, suicide attempts or threats.... 60=drunk driving cases handled (a 55% increases over 2007, under the previous Sheriff). 97=drug busts, up from 88 in 2007. 99=warrants of eviction served by deputies (who usually made a point of standing by during actual removal of tenants' personal property). Those warrants were among 1,995 civil papers (vs. 1,634 in 2007) served by deputies (summonses, family court orders...). 392,120=Federal and State dollars that enabled the Sheriff in 2008 to acquire a new boat and pick-up truck, jet skis, all-terrain vehicles and other equipment--including cameras that read every license plate that passes a patrol car, run the number through Department of Motor Vehicles files, ascertain whether the plate is suspended or revoked and whether there is a warrant out for the registered owner's arrest. Instantly. 208,000=Federal dollars that Sheriff Seeley still hopes to snare from an award that was made to the Department back in 2001 for patrol car computers but was "not utilized by the previous administration."

Balmy April News

MURPHY WINS (?). In the special Congressional election contest in New York's 20th district, according to this morning's tally as reported by the State Elections Board, Scott Murphy leads James Tedisco by 178 votes. That margin (79,452 to 79,274) looks minuscule relative to the hundreds of paper ballots (absentee, military, Federal) that remain to be counted or to be assessed by a judge after being challenged. Most of the challenges, however, have been lodged by Republican operatives on behalf of Mr Tedisco. They have been lodged against ballots that are preponderantly pro-Murphy. [As of 3:30pm today, Murphy's edge had grown to 273]

WINDHAM SHINES. The April 12th Travel section of Newsday (www.newsday.com ) gives Windham a nice build-up, with special emphasis on food. "In the new parlance of sustainable agriculture," says writer Valerie Yolen-Cohen. "the region is a locavore's utopia--visitors can purchase a variety of fruits, vegetables and organic meats after working up an appetite hiking to the graceful and multitiered Kaaterskill Falls or up...Pratt Rock." As regards dining, the author stretches the scope of her tour to include Damon Baehrel's Basement Bistro, which is quite a distance from Windham but is eminently praiseworthy (and pricey). "Scoring a reservation,"she warns, "is like winning the lottery." PUMAS CELEBRATE. With music and with favors for all comers last week, Lorin and Nicolas Puma celebrated the first anniversary in Catskill of their stylish gift and apparel shop, Rebel Katz. (www.rebelkatz.com)

JAWBONING on the subject of "The Dentist's Role in Facial Anti-Aging" next week in Louisville KY, at the conference of the International Association of Orthodontics, will be GreeneLand's Dr Theodore Belfor, who also gave a talk last month in San Diego to a symposium on, ahem, dentofacial orthopaedics. BROKEN BUT UNBOWED, following a ribs-cracking fall last week, is Verso Gallery's (and Main Street's) Harold Hanson. DELINQUENT in payment of county taxes, among people included in Treasurer Willis Vermilyea's annual list, are a former Village President and his brother, a county legislator's wife, a School Board president, a riverside estate owner, the Irish Cultural Centre, a restaurateur, shop owners.... FILINGS. The forthcoming election for seats on the Catskill Central District's governing board could offer the voters a choice of six candidates for three seats. Incumbents James Garafalo (the board's president) and Eric Holsopple plan to seek re-election, we understand, but incumbent Carol Schilansky does not. Prospective new faces on the board belong to Kristie Allen, Beverly Cotten, Jennifer Osswald and Justin Somma. MISCREANT FILES. *Donna Caltabianco of Catskill entered a plea of guilty to the crime of embezzling money from fellow members of her trade union. She was president during 2000-07 of Civil Service Employees Local 888, composed of GreeneLand nursing assistants and health care clerks. (That information comes from The Greenville Press, which, incidentally scored third-place honors in its circulation division, in the New York Press Association, for the quality of its coverage of local government doings). *Franklin Marone's bid to have the "erroneous" and "prejudicial" phrase Ponzi scheme removed from his criminal file did not find favor with GreeneLand judge George Pulver Jr. "While fully conceding that he defrauded and stole money" from Windham Ski Patrol comrades, the judge noted, "Defendant contends that he did not pay the initial investors with money defrauded from later investors" and thus did not perpetrate the classic Ponzi swindle. Nevertheless, "Ponzi scheme" is what the lawyer for the victims called Marone's racket, and that "opinion," the judge ruled on Tuesday (4/14), does not deserve retroactive redaction. *Felicia Olivett of Catskill has been charged by State police with forgery, criminal impersonation and check-kiting, in connection with her activities as erstwhile president of the local Babe Ruth League. (Daily Mail, 3/20) *Donald Williams of Catskill has been charged with attempted murder and lesser crimes in connection with the wounding by gunfire on Monday of a Hudson man. LAY-OFFS of State prison correctional officers, as ordered by Gov. David Paterson, "will only affect the real workers," says a well-placed local observer. The top staff members--Deputy Supervisors for Programs, for Administrative Services, for Security, for Medical Services, for Whatever--"will do even less real work, at great public expense, with fewer people to supervise. They are the ones who should be laid off." SATURDAY in GreeneLand will be balmy and busy. Among alternatives to playing and watching ball games could be a waterfall hike starting in the morning from the headquarters of the Mountain Top Historical Society (www.mths.org ) . In Acra at mid-day, Rick Burstell of the Agroforestry Resources Center will conduct a workshop on gardening in raised beds--a practice that can be "twice as productive as traditional in-the-ground gardening" (http://agroforestrycenter.org). In Catskill at 4pm, the new short film, "Thomas Cole: Painting the American Landscape," will get its first public screening, admission free, at the Community Theatre. Also on show will be the new web site, "Explore Thomas Cole," enabling viewers to see, and to read and hear about, 100 paintings by Cole. (www.thomascole.org/explore). Immediately following those revelations will be a benefit reception at the M Gallery (350 Main St), with a portion of proceeds from picture sales going to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. And that ain't all. A new showplace, The Galleria, opens at 281 Main Street, with landscapes by Edith Marcik and Terence Barrell. The Union Mills (ex-Orens Furniture) building will exhibit art by Ruth Edwy and Alex Kveton. At the Arts Council headquarters (398 Main St), the upstairs gallery will host a new show of work by the late Art Tieger, while the ground floor gllery hosts "Sculpture on Main." Across the street, at Imagine That!, live jazz will be performed by Perry Beekman and Malcolm Cecil.

To the Races

THE HOUSE RACE. As of this morning, as reported by the New York State Board of Elections, Scott Murphy led James Tedisco in the special 20th district congressional election by eight votes: 77,590 to 77,582. That tally is the last figure on votes actually cast by lever-pull at polling stations in the district's 10 counties, plus some absentee ballots. Of those, 598 went to Murphy, 522 to Tedisco. (UPDATE. As of 10am today, the Board put out new figures putting Murphy ahead by 46: 77,773 to 77,727. Everything below is based on last night's report] ------The tallied absentee ballots represent a fraction of all that were returned in time to be counted. Those 6726 ballots, moreover, do not include "military" and "federal" mailed ballots. Of those, 1918 were applied for, 403 have been returned, and more can still arrive and be eligible for inclusion. ------The absentee ballot count, the Elections Board's report said yesterday (4/9), is complete for only three counties: Delaware (Murphy, 139; Tedisco, 119), Otsego (Murphy, 51; Tedisco, 60) and Rensselaer (Murphy, 221; Tedisco, 202). Three counties (Columbia, Dutchess, Greene) have reported incomplete tallies of absentee votes. Uncounted so far are absentee ballots from Essex, Saratoga (populous, Tedisco-leaning), Warren and Washington counties. Those Rensselaer County figures can be viewed as auspicious for Murphy. His 52% majority came from a pool of ballots returned by more Republicans and Conservatives by registration (211) than Democrats, Independence Party and Working Families Party members by registration (155). In addition, absentee ballots were cast by 91 non-aligned voters. In this case, Murphy snared some Republican votes, or won heavily among independents, or both. ------Of district voters who returned absentee ballots, 3111 are Republicans and 77 are Conservatives by party registration, while 2394 are Democrats, 157 are Independence Party adherents, 11 are Working Families partisans, and 976 (!) are otherwise inclined. Those figures look auspicious for Tedisco. So do the numbers by county of residence. Absentee ballot returns, by county, ranged in number from 169 (Otsego) up to 1841 (Saratoga, the most populous county in the district, and pro-Tedisco territory). ------In GreeneLand, 457 absentee ballots were returned in time, and an incomplete count yesterday gave Tedisco a lead of 106 to 97. Those votes came from a pool composed of 48% Republicans by registration, 32% Democratic. As between the 10 counties or portions of counties that make up the 20th congressional district, Columbia gave Murphy his strongest margin of support at the polls (56%), while Greene gave Tedisco his biggest margin: 55%. ------GreeneLand's cumulative result came about amid substantial geographic variations. Among the county's 14 voting divisions, Tedicso gained majorities in all but one (Hunter) but his margins ranged from tiny (51% in Catskill, and 52-54% in Athens, Coxsackie, Jewett) to crushing (Ashland, 71%; Prattsville and Cairo, 65%; Windham,63.5%). ------The GreeneLand voting also was noteworthy in that votes cast for Tedisco on the Conservative Party line (921) exceeded votes cast for Murphy on the Independence and Working Families lines combined (663). THE VILLAGE RACE. While Murphy and Tedisco were virtually tied at the end of voting on March 31st, voting in the Village of Catskill on the same day, for local offices, brought clear results. Incumbent trustees James Chewens and Patrick McCulloch were turned to office, with 259 and 276 votes, while new candidate Eileen Porto Rosenblatt fell short with 176 votes (as reported in The Daily Mail, 4/1). The victors immediately met with the other incumbent trustees, Angelo Amato and Joseph Kosloski, and re-elected Vincent Seeley as Board President (and/or Mayor). (Incidentally, Mr McCulloch is no longer, as of March 13th, deputy highway superintendent for the Town of Catskill. He now works for Mr Seeley's private company). ------Meanwhile, Village Justice William Wooton, unopposed, was returned with 329 votes. (I wrote incorrectly in a previous blog that Mr Wooton first came into office by way of appointment to succeed the departed David Leggio. Actually, Veronica Kosich succeeded Mr Leggio, and Mr Wooton succeeded Ms Kosich). SCHOOL BOARD RACES. Next on the electoral agenda for GreeneLanders are school board and school budget elections, to be held on May 19th. Prospective candidates for election to five boards must submit petitions, duly completed, by April 20th. GET BUSY. UPCOMING. To learn what's happening in Catskill this weekend, do NOT try the official website www.welcometocatskill.com . The Events link there evidently has been sabotaged. Not duly publicized, consequently, are highlights of the Second Saturday Strolls promotion. One of them is a soft opening of Matt Kovner's shop, Hudson Valley Historics (390 Main St) featuring artwork by Paul Fero that forms a backdrop for the main scene in a forthcoming movie about the poet Allen ("Howl") Ginsberg. Another Saturday treat could be the appearance, at The Candyman, around 5pm, of the Easter Bunny.

Post-April Foolery;

FRANKLIN MARONE, a former Windham Mountain Ski Patrol member, would like a judge to remove two words from records that contributed to his incarceration. He is nearing the time when the State Parole Board will assess his application for release from the Otisville Correctional Facility after serving the minimum portion of a sentence meted out back in Septemberr 2004 by GreeneLand judge George Pulver Jr. The presence of those two words, he contends, would prejudice his bid for early parole. -----The words were used in a pre-sentencing report to characterize Marone's method of swindling 29 victims, most of them Ski Patrol comrades or their relatives and friends, out of $8 million. To induce his suckers to believe that they were making sound investments under his guidance, he passed some money elicited from fresh "investors" along to earlier "investors." At the same time he diverted most of the money to his yacht, his Connecticut mansion and luxury Windham abode, his sports cars, his extravagant living. When the scheme collapsed, the victims learned that what they thought were nicely appreciating funds earmarked for retirement, for medical care, and for the college education of children and grandchildren, were gone. On the day Marone was sentenced, some victims spoke of their experiences. "Once Frank...wormed his way in" to the fraternity of rescue volunteers, said Kevin Kennedy, director of the Ski Patrol, "he was free to work his devious, swindling scheme." He "gained our trust, then stole our hard-earned money, our security, our future...." The experience "devastated me both financially and emotionally." In keeping with the plea bargain worked out with the prosecutor, Marone pleaded guilty to a couple of counts of grand larceny, and was sentenced by Judge Pulver to a prison term that could range from six years to 18 years. Marone's sixth year will arrive early in 2010. He is asking Judge Pulver to remove, from the 2004 pre-sentencing report that will be reviewed by the Parole Board, the words "Ponzi scheme." DONALD J. CASE JR. got shot during a quarrel, and he was the one who got arrested. According to police reports, Case evidently broke in to the home of his estranged wife, Mary Sue, subjected her to drunken abuse and threats, but was induced to back off when her sister, Geraldine Finelli, displayed a shotgun. After he retreated to the driveway but continued to threaten, Ms Finelli fired a blast that hit him in the left leg. He then limped off, encountered an acquaintance who lived near the scene on State Route 32 in Catskill, and induced the acquaintance to drive him away. Meanwhile, Ms Finelli made a 911 call which prompted police to stop the escape car at the east end of Catskill Village. Case was taken by ambulance to Columbia Memorial Hospital, treated for the leg wound, then charged with burglary, arraigned by a Village justice, and jailed in lieu of $50,000 cash or $100,000 bail. Ms Finelli's use of a firearm has been treated as a legal act of home protection. -----The incident is not Case's first brush with law enforcement. There have been previous convictions, with prison time, for attempted burglary and assault and for drug-related crimes. Back in 2003, after completing a five-year sentence, Case was released into the custody of his wife. -----(The foregoing account is drawn from Times Union and Daily Mail stories plus county records. Part of a D M report, incidentally, says "Finelli allegedly fired one round towards the gun and struck Case in the lower left leg.") CASEY BIGGS is not a murderer. He only pretends to be one, namely, the fratricidal Claudius, king of Denmark, as depicted in "Hamlet" by budding playwright William Shakespeare. That chore, at the Duke Theatre in Manhattan, has not altogether disrupted Mr Bigg's work here in GreeneLand with the musical adaptation of Hudson Talbott's book River of Dreams. BRIGIT BINNS is not a pig. She is a cookbook cooker, an InsideOut columnist and, reliable sources (including Mr Biggs) attest, a tasty dish, who has just come back to Athens after an expedition devoted to pork. For musings and pictures on that subject and others, see http://roadfoodie.com. Her advice to the pork-lorn: "Feel the wind in your hair, the sinews between your teeth." J. GRAY SWEENEY is not a theologian, but nonetheless he plans to expound on "The Divinity of the Hudson River." It's all about unfinished paintings by Thomas Cole, as well as about Cole's influence on American art. For more on this finale of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site's Sunday Salon series, see www.thomascole.org.

Why Murphy?

----For a voter whose principal value in approaching Tuesday's special congressional election here is to inflict on the Obama Administration a major rebuke, to advance the cause of "conservatism," to resuscitate the Republican Party, or perhaps to punish "Wall Street greed," the appropriate candidate is James Tedisco. -----Three of those values, or tests of candidate merit, have been conspicuous in fund-raising appeals made by national Republican figures, and by quasi-Republican group leaders, in support of the Tedisco campaign. They have NOT been conspicuous, however, in the campaign materials distributed to district voters by those support groups or by the candidate himself. Thus, while the National Republican Trust PAC, Our Country Deserves Better, and Human Events ("headquarters of the conservative underground") invite prospective donors to "express your outrage" at the Obama Administration's "socialist" proclivities by supporting the Tedisco campaign, their mailings to the voters do not voice those same appeals. They take the form largely of mendacious personal attacks on Tedisco's opponent. Similarly, while assuring their backers that Tedisco is a rock-solid "conservative," those strategists do not invoke that label, or invoke "conservative" values, in their pro-Tedisco campaign rhetoric. -----As for the plea to Punish Wall Street Greed thesis, that comes directly from Tedisco. Wall Street greed is his recently nominated cause (along with "Washington incompetence") of our current economic misery,, as well as his current rationale for opposing the Obama Administration's economic stimulus package. In addition, "Wall Street millionaire" has served Tedisco as a persistent way of stigmatizing his opponent. "Jim Tedisco...because A I G and Wall Street don't need another voice in Washington." Thus does Wall Street bashing come in this campaign from the Republican candidate. THE CASE FOR MURPHY ----- For voters who do not give top priority to Obama-shocking, "conservatism"--boosting, GOP-resuscitating or Wall Street bashing, Scott Murphy's appeal as prospective successor to Kirsten Gillibrand as our United States Representative seems to be formidable. It comes under three headings. -----CHARACTER. Murphy seems to be an extraordinarily intelligent and grounded young man. After graduating with honors from one of the world's great colleges, he achieved early success as an innovative, job-creating enterpriser. His business experience seems peculiarly appropriate for current conditions. Murphy could bring to the Congress a trained talent for distinguishing between sound recovery projects and junk. Meanwhile, Murphy could carry to Washington a distinctive up-State, down-home spirit. Although his natural base as a venture capitalist would be a big-city financial district or Silicon Valley, Murphy chose to settle with his wife and children, three years ago, in a rural community amid scores of in-laws. He embodies what we feel instinctively as family values. By way of contrast, his opponent got married, at age 57, last year. ---- OUTLOOK. Candidates for elective office are subject to evaluation on the basis of how they stand on a broad range of issues. In Murphy's case, information on many of the issues has been provided in the course of campaign stops as well as in the Issues of his web site, http://scottmurphy09.com. What emerges is the picture of a middle-roader--a fiscal conservative but not a right-wing "conservative," a Gillibrand-style centrist as distinct from a liberal or "progressive" poster boy. In contrast, while Tedisco isfl categorized by outside supporters as a rock-solid "conservative," he has been ideologically elusive. His campaign rhetoric has been devoted to flipping and floppng and evasive blustering. Tedisco ducked a chance to gain major exposure to 20th district voters by meeting Murphy in a March 19th "debate" on public television that reached the whole 20th district (and No, he did not have a previous engagement). Tedisco's web site (www.jimtedisco.com ) is equally unenlightening. It does not contain an Issues section. -----CONNECTION. Scott Murphy's appeal as prospective Representative also derives from his affiliation with the winning team: the Gillibrand-Schumer-Obama team; the majority team in the Congress. That connection is a major asset. Members of the governing majority can do more for their constituents, more in the way of Federal stimulus dollars, more in the way of grants, for highways and bridges, hospitals and museums and parks.

Murphy Will Win

---- With four days to go in the battle to decide who shall succeed Kirsten Gillibrand as U.S. Representative for Greene and other up-State counties, it now looks as if Scott Murphy will win. That prospect is indicated by the latest sample survey data and by other calculations. -----The latest Siena Research Institute survey, based on telephone conversations last Wednesday and Thursday (3/25-26) with 917 likely voters, gives Murphy, the Democratic candidate, a lead over James Tedisco, the Republican, of 4 percentage points. Ten per cent of respondents--enough to swing the election either way--were undecided. ----Murphy's 47-43 plurality reverses what the Siena pollsters found two weeks earlier. Tedisco led then by 4 points, with 13% of respondents not supporting either man. The latest score marks the culmination of a big one-directional trend. An early January poll sponsored by the Republican National Committee gave Tedisco an apparent lead over Murphy of 50% to 29%. A late-February Siena poll put the score at 46% for Tedisco, 34% for Murphy. Another sampling, taiken for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at about the same time, reduced Tedisco's estimated edge to 44-37 (and prompted Democratic strategists to make a big investment in the race). -----In response to the final Siena poll, the Tedisco camp has cited other ostensible survey data. According to a statement issued by a Tedisco spokesman, Republican-sponsored confidential polling "shows us continuing in the lead," and so does Democratic polling. -----The Siena interviewers also found that while a plurality of respondents favored Murphy, a plurality (of 45%) also guessed that Murphy would lose. Their guess probably is wrong. Murphy stands a good chance of out-performing the Siena estimate, thanks to these factors. >>The Under-Estimate Factor. Opinion surveys that rely on land-line telephone calls do not reach voters who only own cellular phones. Those voters, a growing population, are younger and, currently, are more pro-Democratic (or pro-Obama) than other voters. >>The Defection Factor. When elections are closely contested, the outcome depends crucially on different rates of turnout. Those rates in turn depend on the intensity of voters' feelings about candidates and issues, and on organizers' efforts at mobilization. Those forces carry extra the weight in the context of a special election, where voter participation normally is lower than in regular elections. In this special election, Murphy's and Teidsco's active supporters may be about equal in numbers and energy, but Tedisco's organizers are handicapped by softness in their political base. As indicated in the last Siena poll, the proportion of Republicans who plan to vote for Murphy (27%) is greater than the proportion of Democrats who plan to vote for Tedisco (11%). That makes it harder to Tedisco organizers to find their voters. >>The Independence Factor. When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they will see James Tedisco's name on two party lines: Republican and Conservative. They will see Murphy's name on three party lines: Democratic, Working Families, and Independence. The latter designation will gain Murphy a few votes that otherwise would go to Tedisco. Murphy's endorsement by the Independence Party's executive committee, as pointed out by reporter Elizabeth Benjamin (New York Daily News, 3/1) came after "furious lobbying by other side" and qualifies as a minor political coup. In all his races for State Assembly, Tedisco stood as the Independence as well as the Republican party candidate (as had Republicans John Sweeney and Sandy Treadwell in their campaigns for Congress from the 20th District). >>The Sundwall Factor. One setback experienced by Murphy this week was rejection by the State Election Board of Eric Sundwall's application to appear on the ballot as the Libertarian Party candidate. The rejection was based on subtle flaws in the petitions Sundwall submitted. The Elections Commissioners were responding to complaints made by Tedisco supporters who anticipated, correctly, that Sundwall's candidacy would draw more votes away from the Republican candidate than from his Democratic rival. The prospective pay-off was reduced, however, when Sundwall came out with a strongly worded endorsement of Murphy. (See www.sundwallo4congress.org ) >>The Obama Factor. Although Murphy has campaigned as a keen supporter of President Obama's economic stimulus package, he was not in a position to trumpet an explicit presidential endorsement. That situation changed on Thursday. The President (whose local favorability rating is 65%) joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Vice-President Joe Biden in broadcasting a message of support for Scott Murphy. News of that boost came out after the last Siena survey was taken. -----On this showing, it seems probable that Murphy will win by at least 4 points. -----How Murphy came from so far behind, and whether that is a curse or a blessing, are topics for other treatments.

Greene Gloom

MOURNED by family and by legions of friends, following his death, at age 18, in a car crash on Route 9W on March 9^th: Victor Armstead,Catskill High School senior class president, soccer team captain, Buddy Reader and prom king.

This posthumous portrait, painted by a teacher, Tee Jay Jones, was given to Victor’s parents, Ernest and Jan Armstead.

PREMIERING this very night (3/20) in Hollywood, New York, and CATSKILL: “The Cake Eaters,” a “quirky, small town drama that explores the lives of two interconnected families as they confront old ghosts and discover love in the face of devastating loss,” as filmed right here two years ago. At 7pm and at 8:45pm in the Catskill Community Theatre. Moreover, after Saturday’s 7pm showing, director Mary Stuart Masterson will be on hand for a question-answer session.

COMING TOMORROW also in downtown Catskill are an exhibition of new Patrick Milbourn art (see www.mgallery-online.com ) and a free live music party (SuperStringZ jazz the classics) at Imagine That!

VILLAGE VOTERS put Mayors Andrea Smallwood and Lee McGunnigle back in office in Athens and Tannersville on Wednesday, while replacing Mayor John Bull with Town Councilman Mark Evans in Coxsackie. As reported yesterday (3/19) in The Daily Mail, Ms Smallwood out-polled challenger Ron Coons by just 303 votes to 259, and ascribed the narrowness of her margin to opposition scare tactics and (in reporter Susan Campriello's paraphrase) “misrepresented facts.” Her Democratic running mates, Tom Sopris (incumbent) and Bob June, won Village Board seats by more comfortable margins, 302 and 308 votes to 221 and 202 for Republican candidates Richard Green and Arlene Halsted.

------In Tannersville, the voters who participated in the Village backed Mr McGunnigle by 71 votes, while giving 11 write-ins to former mayor Gina Guarino. They also went through the motions of returning unopposed incumbents Anthony Lucido and Gregory Landers to the Village board with, respectively, 70 and 65 votes.

------In Coxsackie, as reported in The Daily Mail, voters who turned out for the Village election gave Mr Evans 453 votes to 221 for Mr Bull, while also giving unopposed incumbent trustees Stephen Hanse and Greg Backus 537 and 528 votes. Judging from remarks quoted by reporter Billie Dunn, co-operation between local Democrats and Republicans shaped the election’s results, which laid the foundation for a period of comity between Village and Town leaders.

SELECTED to add her public health expertise to the battle against AIDS and other critical diseases in Africa: GreeneLander Deirdre Astin (aka Deirdre McInerney). Having accepted a three-month assignment with Global Health Partners, a U.S. government program, she will join a team of experts providing technical assistance and training to regional laboratories in the health care system of Tanzania. Her departure in May, however, will leave a gap. Since her husband, John, works in New York City as a psychotherapist on Mondays through Wednesdays, and there are two boys (16 and 11) at home in Athens, live-in household help is needed. Prospective helpers are invited to make contact at macastin@aol.com.

SENTENCED by County Judge George Pulver Jr, to State prison for a term of at least seven years, for abusing young girls sexually: Dennis M. Johns, formerly of New Street in Catskill. One victim was under 15 years of age at the time; the other was under 17. The age difference affects the gravity of the crimes. Second-degree rape and oral sexual intercourse win an extra year of hard time each relative to third-degree felonies.

POSTPONED by GreeneLand’s legislators, pending receipt of advice from a search committee led by Dorothy Prest: choice of County Historian to replace the late, irreplaceable Raymond Beecher.

BUSINESS DEPT.

*A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Monday for the Empire Merchants North liquor distribution warehouse that is slated for construction—250,000 square feet on 21 acres, at a cost of $28 million—in the Kalkberg Commerce Park in Coxsackie. Employees would number 360. Many of them already work at the current EMN warehouse in Kingston. (Daily Mail, 3/17/09; I.D.A. news release, 3 /15/09).

*Bank of Greene County‘s “merchant bank card processing business,” according to a statement from the parent Greene County Bancorp, Inc., has been “transferred” to a company called TrasnFirst LLC, for “a cash payment of $1.65 million.” The buyer “will continue to provide merchant bank card processing to merchant customers of the Bank but will now bear the costs, responsibilities and associated risks of administering the processing service.” The deal does not pertain to depositors who get Master, Visa or other credit cards through the bank. It relates to the 600 merchants who have used the bank, at the cost of a fee, to process payments made by their customers using credit cards issued by many banks.

*Port Of Call is owner Frank Guido's name for the restaurant he will (re)open, come spring or early summer, at Historic Catskill Point.

*Anything Works is Patrick Reith’s name for his recently licensed business in Oak Hill.

*Jerry’s Deli, now awkwardly located on Boulevard Avenue near Catskill Commons, may move over to the recently closed Whole Donut site on West Bridge St. Meanwhile, at the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts, they’ve put up a banner welcoming Dan Berkowitz’s former Whole Donut customers. 943 3542 www.jerrysdeli.net

*Old Soul Music reposes at 241 Main St, Catskill.

*Amy Serrago, the luscious, vocalizing component of Nite-Time, the party band, has launched a wedding planner blog: http://weddingsingersguide.blogspot.com. For evidence of wit as well as experience, see the Pre-Nuptial Syndrome text.

*Coldwell Banker Prime Properties no longer operates GreeneLand offices (in Catskill and Greenville). Nearest CBPP agency is in Delmar.

*ELCO, the electric boat company in Athens, seems to be altogether defunct. The story may go something like this: Robert J. Lievense of Beaufort SC, former president of the A.C. Nielsen audience rating company, bought into the firm, forced out partner Charles Houghton, borrowed money from a semi-governmental Village fund, sold not a single boat, lost $3.5 million or thereabouts. Pathetically, a company web site still exists: www.elcoelectriclaunch.com

* Unemployment in January soared to 14.1 percent of the labor force, anincrease over December’s already huge 11.2 per cent and the January 2008 figure of 9.2 per cent. In Greene County, TENNESSEE.

The Village Elections

-----Local elections in GreeneLand's five Villages will take place this Wednesday (3/18; not on the usual Tuesday, which is St Patrick's Day). At stake are seats on governing boards, some mayoralties (where they are decided by direct election rather than trustees' choice), and judicial offices. Four of those elections are treated in The Daily Mail of 3/14: www.thedailymail.net . CORRECTION. The Catskill Village election does not take place until March 31st (coinciding with the date of the special Congressional election) In HUNTER, one Village Trusteeship is subject to election this year, and one candidate has taken the field. Michael Tancredi, proprietor of High Peak Landscape Company, seeks a fifth three-year term. He is an enrolled Democrat who is identified on the ballot (as in previous elections) as the Independent Mountain Party standard-bearer. A single vote will enable Mr Tancredi to re-join Mayor William Malley and Trustee Alan Higgins on the Village governing board. In TANNERSVILLE, Mayor Lee McGunnigle seeks re-election, and he almost faced a challenge, a vocally strong challenge, from ex-mayor Gina Guarino. Mr McGunnigle defeated Ms Guarino at the last election, when her last name was Legari and she stood as the Republican incumbent. This time she announced that she would run as an Open Government Party candidate, and she contended (to Daily Mail reporter Jim Planck, 1/28) that Tannersville's finances have gone into a "downward spiral" under the present regime. ------The nominating petition that she presented to the county Board of Elections, however, was ruled invalid. The election commissioners found that the dates of signatures of purported witnesses to endorsements of the Guarino candidacy preceded the dates of purported endorsements. Ms Guarino then declared that she would carry on as a write-in candidate. "I'm still interested in being a voice of the people." ------Ms Guarino formerly worked in the Elections office as a Deputy Commissioner. She left in the wake of legal troubles arising from her use of Tannersville Village checks to make official purchases after she had lost the March 2007 election. ------Mr McGunnigle is the endorsed Democratic Party candidate. He is running in tandem on the Democratic line with incumbent Village trustees, Gregory Landers (who in terms of enrollment is independent) and Anthony Lucido (an enrolled Republican). The terms of the other incumbent trustees, Linda Kline and Mary Sue Timpson, run to March 2010. The local Republicans did not hold a caucus and thus are not fielding Village candidates this year. ----The winning candidates, incidentally, could prudently consider up-dating their Village's web site, whose Events link yields news about a Halloween curfew and a Christmas tree lighting, while its board meeting minutes terminate in May 2008, and its Notices & Announcements are dated 2005. In CATSKILL, three candidates are vying for two Village Board seats. They are Jim Chewens and Patrick McCulloch, incumbents, and Eileen Porto Rosenblatt, wife of a former trustee. Mr Chewens, a prison correctional officer and veteran local firefighter, is standing for a third two-year term. He is a registered Republican but has been endorsed by the local Democratic committee as well as by the Republican committee. Mr McCulloch, an enrolled Democrat, will be listed on the ballot as a Liberty Party as well as a Democratic candidate. At the Republican caucus he came close to winning that committee's endorsement. He is well connected with local firefighters and police officers, and was praised warmly by Mayor Vincent Seeley. ------Ms Rosenblatt's name will appear on the Working Women's Party line as well as the Republican line. -----Meanwhile, incumbent Village Justice William Wooton, who came into office by appointment to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of David Leggio, is unopposed in a bid for a regular term on the bench. He has been nominated by the Democratic and the Republican committees. In COXSACKIE, Village voters will decide a contest between two candidates for mayor: John Bull, the incumbent, and Mark Evans, who is currently a Coxsackie Town Council member. In addition, the voters will go through the motions of re-electing Village Trustees Stephen Hanse and Gregory Backus, Republican candidates who are unopposed. ------Mr Evans's name will appear on the ballot on the Taxpayers' Choice Party and the Republican Party lines. Mr Bull, who won the mayor's office in 2007 as the Democratic candidate (out-polling long-serving incumbent Dianne Ringwald), did not seek local Democratic endorsement this time. Just before the deadline for filing, however, he filed petitions that served to put him on the ballot under the Citizens for the Preservation of Coxsackie banner. -----Mr Bull's time in office has been characterized by Linda Fenoff, editor of The Greenville Press, as "rancorous." Two trustees quit. Mr Bull suspended and locked out the police chief. He incurred legal bills which the trustees had not authorized. ------In a letter to constituents, as quoted in The Daily Mail (Billie Dunn, 3/14) Mr Bull sais "I've demanded that the Village and its officials act in a legal, ethical and responsible manner"--insinuating thereby that his demand was sorely needed. He also said that he had "determined it would be irresponsible for me to step away during this critical time in our community." ------A Coxsackie resident, Dolores Gori, accuses Mr Bull of circulating campaign material which improperly maligns Mr Evans and his employer, the locally owned State Telephone Company. His spurious conflict-of-interest warning, says Ms Gori (Daily Mail , 3/6; Greenville Press, 3/12)) diverts attention from real issues such as Village finances, water quality, policing, public works and "the very, very bad press that [Bull] brought to our village not long ago." ------Another local resident, Sandy Mathes, who manages the county's Industrial Development Agency, has voiced the hope that Mr Evans as mayor can "lead us out of this abyss of mismanagement." ATHENS is the scene this year of full-scale electoral competition. Two candidates are running for mayor, and four are vying for two Village Board seats. ------Nomnated by local Republicans for the Village Board seats are Richard Green (making a second run) and Arlene Halsted. The Democratic nominees are Robert June and incumbent R. Thomas Sopris Jr. (The other incumbent whose term was ending, Chris Pfister, chose to not seek re-election). -----Mayor Andrea Smallwood is standing for re-election. This would be a second term, following service as a Trustee. Ms Smallwood carries the Democratic Party endorsement along with support from residents who are loosely allied under the banner Friends of Athens. She was unopposed until a last-minute appearance by Ronald Coons Sr, a Planning Board member who attended the Republican caucus but did not seek endorsement. Subsequently he filed to run on a Concerned Citizens Party line. ------Mr Coons's filing marks the latest phase of a campaign waged against Mayor Smallwood and other local officials by him and by Dolores Hodges, who operates a web site called Concerned Americans for Reponsible Government (http://concernedusa.org . Its last entry dates from July 2008). They contend that current Village governors, in cahoots with newer residents, are fostering ominous changes in the community's character. -----Mingled with expressions of apprehension about change in permitted uses of properties in Athens are lamentations by Mr Coons about the state of civil society. These are expressed by means of rhetorical questions. In a newspaper missive (Daily Mail, 2/28/09; also in http://cathera.blogspot.com) Mr Coons asks "Whatever happened to the things we were taught as youths in our schools?" "Who is better to determine what is best for us than 'We the People'?" "Where have these values that we were taught and cherished gone? Has the world changed so much that the people no longer have a say in what their government does?" ------(Also voiced in that letter is the opinion that "We often think that the problems of government will not hamper with us on the small village level but they do.") ------Those questions, signed by "...candidate for mayor," invite the inference that they are peculiarly relevant to the imminent local election. They prod respondents to accept the belief that traditional core values have indeed been lost. The author does not undertake to address the questions he poses. He does not say what difference would be made by local votes. Yet he insinuates that a vote for Coons would be restorative. ------Disputing that version of what is at stake, in addition to Mayor Smallwood are various Village officials and residents. According to Mr Sopris (in a Daily Mail guest column), Mr Coons persistently delivers claims that are "incredulous" and "outrageous." According to Village Trustee Herman Reinhold (Daily Mail, 12/15/09) Mr Coons and Ms Hodges make a practice of sounding false alarms, depicting open deliberations as secretive plots, confounding their small group with the citizenry at large, and otherwise "misrepresenting the facts." WARNING. Implicit in the foregoing treatments of imminent Village elections is an insidious suggestion. The suggestion is conveyed by way of what information is given and is not given. Any act of description is an act of selection, and hence of emphasis. In these reports, candidates are described persistently, and often solely, by way of party affiliations: Democratic, Republican, other. That verbiage reflects common journalistic practice. It derives legitimacy in some measure from election laws prescribing that candidates be listed on the ballot both vertically, by office sought, and horizontally, by party affiliation. Candidates can only get their names on the ballot by meeting requirements, mostly in the way of petition signatures, which oblige them to l be identified as the nominee of a named party, or of more than one party (even a fictive, no-members party). Thus, in describing candidates mainly by party affiliation, a reporter delivers a solid, factual, objective bit of information. At the same time, however, he makes a suggestion about the information's value. He suggests that for the purpose of choosing candidates for elective office, party brand is a meaningful and even sufficient basis.

Greeneward March

OUT, IN, OUT, IN, OUT, IN. Michael Conine is back in jail after a four-day furlough. He was jailed last July on criminal charges arising from the disappearance of greenbacks--sacks of them--from the trunk of a car belonging to Catskill luminary Frank McDonald. (Seeing Greene, 8/15/08). Six weeks later he was released by county court order, on his own recognizance, pending disposition of those charges. Shortly after that, he was re-arrested on other, unrelated charges and returned, on order of Village Justice Charles Adsit, to his second home. After he entered a plea of guilty to the grand larceny charge, with sentencing set for April 22, Judge Adsit and Visiting County Judge George Bartlett III agreed to release Conine again, so that he could get his personal affairs in order before entering State prison. They stipulated, on February 18, that while at liberty Conine must not drink alcohol or drive a car. On February 22, however, Conine was arrested by State police on suspicion of driving while drunk and unlicensed. To those offenses, Village police added car theft. This time Conine was returned to jail without possibility of release. LAUNCHED officially on Wednesday (3/11), at Historic Catskill Point, was GreeneLand's participation in (to cite the full title)the Hudson-Champlain-Fulton Quadricentennial celebration. On hand to present the special flag to Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh was the Quadricentennial Commission's executive director, Tara Sullivan, who has been making similar stops at other riverbank communities. As reported in The Daily Mail (3/12) Karen Deyo, who chairs the legislature's Government Operations Committee, recognized GreeneLand organizations that have been funded, by way of the Commission, to the extent of $45,000: the historical society, the Catskill and Cairo chambers of commerce, the Arts Foundation, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, the arts council, and Cornell Co-operative Extension's Agroforestry Resource Center. For an incomplete list of coming Quadricentennial events, click www.exploreNY400.com fthen Things to Do and Events Calendar. THE TRICENTENNIAL celebration in 1909 of Henry Hudson's arrival, says author Tom Lewis in The Hudson: A History (2005; and a great read) was the "greatest and longest celebration in the history of the Hudson Valley."

From New York City to Troy the organizers scheduled parades, flotillas, light shows, art and scientific exhibitions, and long-winded speeches. The people of Holland sent a full-scale reproduction of the Half Moon.... The navies of England, Germany, France and the Netherlands each sent a squadron of battleships, submarines, and torpedo boats, which joined the American fleet of more than fifteen hundred military boats and yachts. A million schoolchildren marched in parades that included floats depicting...the first sachem of the Iroquois, Minuit's purchase of Manhattan Island, the reception of Peter Stuyvesant, the capture of Major Andre, Washington's farewell to his officers, Rip Van Winkle, the legend of Sleepy Hollow, an Erie Canal boat, and the Statue of Liberty.... The aeronaut Wilbur Wright demonstrated the possibilities of flight by piloting his plane from Governor's Island to Grant's Tomb and back, an astounding distance of twenty miles. On September 25 a great electrical and pyrotechnic display bathed the Hudson River in light from New York City's Battery to Spuyten Duyvil. And on October 9 a chain of fiery beacons flashed up the valley from the river's mouth.

POETS WANTED. Cash prizes plus exposure can be earned by entries in the tenth running of the Rip Van Winkle competition, sponsored by All Arts Matter and the GreeneLand Library Association. For details, see www.allartsmatter.org. The deadline for submissions coincides with the date of our 20th congressional district special election: March 31. VISIONARIES WANTED. An ambitious quest for ideas about revitalizing the heart (or is it the spine?) of Catskill has been proceeding of late. Under sponsorship by GreeneLand's Industrial Development Agency, representatives of the consulting firm Elan Planning and Design have met with members of all sorts of local interest groups. Next on the program is a public, everybody-welcome Workshop. Bold, bright (and feasible) ideas are wanted. Think about transforming the creekside, all the way from the fuel tanks at the Point through the marina and Main-Care and the former Waterfalls Laundry site, through Hop-0-Nose and the erstwhile Herrington's (and Dunns), past the Uncle Sam bridge and far beyond. Ponder what attractions, suitably developed and effectively promoted, could make Catskill a choice destination for visitors. A performing arts as well as a visual arts center? A home improvements mecca? A diners' delight? A marine recreation magnet? A historical museum? And if they come, where shall they stay? Join the conversation tomorrow, from noon to 5pm, at the Senior Center (15 Academy St). TOMORROW offers additional reasons to get out and mingle. It's Second Saturday Strolls day in Catskill, and it's almost St Patrick's Day. In keeping with the latter, many clubs are going public with corned beef specials. Among them are Veterans of Foreign Wars (Main St, Catskill, from mid-afternoon), the Masons (Route 9W), Knights of Columbus (St Patrick's Church, Catskil; Knights' Hall, East Durham), and GreeneLand Democrats (at Shamrock House, East Durham, with music). Meanwhile, for highlights of Saturday Stroll events (bappiper, openings, menus, discounts for greenwear...) click http://welcometocatskill.com .

GUIDES WANTED. On Sunday, at The Thomas Cole National Historic Site (also known as Cedar Grove), persons who may wish to serve as volunteer docents at the Site, or on the Art Trail that wends through GreeneLand, are invited to an open house (218 Spring St, Catskill) starting at noon. (For more information: 943-7465 extension 2).

AUDITORS WANTED. Slated to follow that orientation, and open to all comers, is a talk at the Cole Site on the cleverly worded topic “Paper View: Recent Research on Thomas Cole, Sanford Gifford, and Frederic Church.” Independent school Gerald L. Carr will expatiate on newly discovered writings by these artists. http://thomascole.org

Taking Stock

TAKINGS. In GreeneLand last year, according to Department of Environmental Conservation figures (http://dec.ny.gov), 55 black bears were taken, along with 1291 white-tailed deer. Eight of those bears were taken by archers. Most of the bears were taken at, or from, mountain sites: Lexington (8 takings), Jewett (7), Windham, Hunter, Halcott, Ashland, Prattsville. The 2008 takings exceed the 2007 takings, of 31 bears and 1244 deer(s). They contributed to State-wide takings, of 1295 bears and 222,979 deer, exceeding the 2007 takings, or harvests, of 1117 and 219,141. Taken, of course, means killed by hunters. So does harvested. The growth in takings, DEC heads calculate, attests to growth in the target populations. TAKEN: jobs. In GreeneLand, according to State Government figures (www.labor.state.ny.us), the rate of unemployment rose in January to 8.5 per cent of the labor force. That is a jump from 6.2% in January 2008, and it is the second-highest figure in the mid-Hudson Valley (the highest being Sullivan County's 10.2%). The State-wide figure, meanwhile, was 7% in January, a jump from 4.7 in Januaryof 2008. TAKEN: expectations. At least three GreeneLand non-profit organizations were notified recently that State dollars they had been expecting, dollars they had more or less been promised, won't be forthcoming. The notices went "with much regret" from our State Senator, James Seward, to the Athens Cultural Center, the Catskill Chamber of Commerce, and the Greene County Historical Society. They involve sums of as much as $10,000. Senator Seward traced the disappointing news to the deficit reduction measure which Gov. David Paterson had proposed and the majority of legislators (not including Seward) had adopted. That measure "diverted or 'swept'" money from "funding projects set aside to pay legislative initiatives"--also known as member items--into the State Government's general fund. There is a chance, the senator stipulated, that the expected money will become available later. (We wonder, however, what leverage Mr Seward can exert, now that he is a member of the minority party in the Senate). HUDSON IN HUDSON ON HUDSON. At the Hudson Opera House on Sunday afternoon, author-illustrator Hudson Talbott will front a program devoted to his new book, River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River; to the current state of that majestic tidal estuary (expounded by Scenic Hudson's Ned Sullivan); and to the incipient musical show based on historic Hudsonian highlights (with composer Frank Cuthbert leading cast members through a couple of his new songs). From 2pm. http://riverofdreamsproject.blogspot.com WHEN? WHERE? On behalf of Jim Tedisco, the Republican candidate in the race to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand as U.S. Representative, publicist Joshua Fitzpatrick put out a news release yesterday that looked ahead and behind. Mr Tedisco, said Mr Fitzpatrick, "tonight conducted" a "Tele-Town Hall" "speaking with and hearing from, thousands of voters" in the 20th congressional district. Mr Fitzpatrick did not say where, or by what channel, that bit of "grassroots outreach" would occur or, alternatively, had occurred. NIMBY NEWS. A new housing development whose environmentally friendly features include "roof insulation, double glazing, lovers and wells" is not coming to GreeneLand. Neither is jazz musician Wayne Tisdale, who, according to Sporting News Today, "will make his first musical appearance since having a portion of his right leg amputated at halftime of the Sooners basketball game...next month." Greene County judges, however, have been active in particularly newsworthy ways. One of them established a record when, for Chi Quang Du, who was suspected of stabbing his girlfriend and had been captured after being at large for 11 years, he set bond at $55 million. Another set a date for the trial of one Randy Sloan, who is charged with felony standing nude in his front yard and whistling at passing school children. Those judges occupy benches in Greene County, Ohio and Greene County, Misssouri. They accordingly were not present at Chatham House in Columbia County (NY) the other day for the annual Crystal Apple award celebration, where Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, according to reporter Seasame Campbell, gave the keynote speech "after hors'devours."