Jumping January

It has not been a quiet month here in GreeneLand. Two big boxes sprang open, as did several small ones.

Lowes Home Improvement opened at Catskill Commons, with a ceremonial picture of a board-sawing instead of a ribbon-cutting. Its prices, our informants say, are competitive with Home Depot (whereas in match-ups in other towns, they have been higher). Meanwhile, home-grown builders’ supplier Dunns is still eminently competitive—especially for buyers who need their loads to be delivered.

Wal-Mart’s gigantic (200,000 square feet) store opened, with thousands of customers and gawkers passing through on the first day. Our spies say a 24-pack of soda costs $5 at Wal-Mart, $7 at PriceChopper (so we did round upward by a penny) and TV dinners cost less too; but for fresh produce, PriceChopper is best. Meanwhile, a disarming note: enormous as it is, variegated as it is, the Catskill Wal-Mart does not sell firearms. Ammunition, yes; guns, no. That observation comes from columnist Dick Nelson—who in this matter is credible, even though as a writer he is apt to confound roll with role and to endorse the fiction that the sum of one ranger plus one ranger is two “ranger’s”.

Turning to smaller boxes, we venture to report that:

**The new Stella’s Lounge, at Catskill Point, is doing brisk weekend business, and deservedly so, with fine musical entertainment. Lex Grey filled the place to overflowing last week when she varied her usual rock diva output in favor of songs from the 1920’s and 1930’s.

**The Muddy Cup on Main Street, across from the County office building in Catskill, has opened on a 15-hours-a-day schedule and invitations to sip slowly. Modeled by owners Jim Spetz and Brian Woodward on their eponymous Hudson shop, it is touted as a gathering place for conversation, reading, Net-surfing, writing and occasional music-making. And landlord Frank Cuthbert, the mogul of upper Main Street, has just returned from a trip to Brazil, fired with the idea of extending his property holdings to Rio de Janeiro, so as to foster exchanges of music and, uh, thongs.

**Purple Heart clothing salon at 396 Main Street, Catskill, after a lingering illness, expired.

**"Catskill gets sauce from Saugerties” is the headline on a TimesUnion report that Wolfgang Brandl is moving his gourmet sauces business up here. He is buying a moribund 6000 square foot facility at 117 Cauterskill Road, behind and above PriceChopper . Bolstered by a $160,000 low-interest Quantum Fund loan, he plans to invest $320,000 in the place, which originated as a planned bakery but never got under way. His refrigerated pasta sauces are marketed under private labels by Dean & DeLuca,Gourmet Garage, Grace’s Market Place,TheAmish Markets, Raffetto’s and Adams Fairacre Farms.

**Targeted for restoration is the venerable Cairo Diner, which flourished back when a cup of coffee cost a dime. At a recent fund-raiser for that purpose, in the Town Hall, participants bought raffle tickets for a new Ron Tunison sculpture, “Union Drummer Boy,” as well as autographed copies of historian Robert Uzzilia’s book, Portrait of the Past.

**Summit Hill Athletic Club has just entered into its 21^st year of operation on Route 9W in Catskill. Current membership, reports co-owner Paul Mademann, is about 600 bodies (more or less sculpted). Most senior of members are Ray and Claudia Bracaliello, who have been there from the get-go.

AND FURTHERMORE

REFILL AHEAD. Since Rite Aid Corporation has swallowed Eckerd, we can expect one of the parent drugstore company's adjacent outlets here to be closed. That would create a vacant big box, with plentiful parking. A Best Buy? A gourmet grocery? [Inserted 1/29, 8 a.m.]

WINDFALL. GreeneLander Tammy Coats scored a big win in the New York Lottery’s Jubilee game; BUT she was portrayed falsely as GreeneLand’s third lottery millionaire (along with James Maher of Windham and, 11 years ago, Kenneth Weeks of Hannacroix). The Climax resident, who works at the Stewart’s Shop in Greeenville, will receive $50,000 in each of the next 20 years. The Daily Mail’s picture shows her (along with three unidentified men) holdng a magnified $1 million check, but nothing of the sort actually was given to her. Lottery officials call her prize a $1 million win, but it’s effectively a lot less than that when the full amount will only be doled out in the course of 20 years, even though taking the full amount immediately would entail a huge income tax payment. As pointed out by Edward Ugel in today’s New York Times, “the lump sum is much preferable”; “you can invest it, earn interest on it, and be protected against inflation.” You can buy your new house, live in it, profit from its gain in market value.

PROSE is a who as well as a what. Francine is her first name. And her vocation is--would you believe?--writing. A specialist in cultural satire, Ms Prose gave a talk recently in Hunter as part of the Catskill Mountain Foundation’s Readers & Writers series.

TOP PERFORMER in GreeneLand real estate brokering in 2006, with sales of 51 units in deals totaling almost $7 million, is Ronnie McCue. Being Number One is a familiar position for Ronnie. Her firm, Rip Van Winkle Realty, also led the pack.

DAILY MAUL: “He…unloaded the lumber—donated by the big box store that had not been used for its own construction—to the Community Center.” Frank Stabile was saluted with mementos “in recognition of his distinguished service from the [GCCC’s] Board of Trustees.” “Containing a conference room, De Lucia, who has an art bachelor’s degree, the artificial stones resemble those a farmer would have taken from the fields to form his first house.” In one issue (1/23) all stories on a page headlined “Neighbors” were home-county stories. Nearly all stories on the facing page, also headlined “Neighbors,” were home-county stories, and one (“St Pat’s accepting registrations for fall”) was an exact copy of what appeared on the previous page. On the "Greene County” page the lead story was not a Greene County story.

“PSYCHIC SENSES” is the topic of a workshop slated for the Cairo Public Library this Saturday ($10; 622-9864). Conductor Michele Curtis--billed as energy body worker, massage therapist, Reiki Master and Interfaith minister--promises to elucidate what those senses “can contribute to your life.” Which finesses questions about their existence.

Comment Management (continued)

Dick, Why was Congressmen Sweeney attacked for his incident? When no one said a word about the Chewens Drunk Fest and Cover Up? Or Vinneys high housing development water main caper with stolen piping from a major industry? Talk about abuse of power and special priviliges!

The foregoing verbiage was offered, anonymously, forposting as a comment on the “Year in Review” installment of Seeing Greene. Because it makes serious accusations without backing them up or taking personal responsibility for them, it does not qualify for posting. It does qualify, however, as food for thought about sophistry, or specious argument, in everyday discourse. Let us proceed.

“WHY?” AS ‘THAT’ Any declarative statement about the when, where, how, or why of a putative event conveys a historical claim, namely, that the event took place. The same is true of any question about when, where, how or why. It prods the respondent in the direction of believing that the supposed event really occurred. To put it another way, it deters doubt about occurrence. In this case, accordingly, the commentator prods readers to believe that an “incident” pertaining to Congressman Sweeney occurred, that he was attacked for same, that a Chewens Drunk Fest and Cover Up occurred, that no one said a word about it, that a Vinney-related “caper with stolen piping” occurred, and that no one said a word about that.

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS The quoted comment consists most immediately, and preponderantly, of rhetorical questions. These are utterances whose form is interrogatory but whose discursive function is not to solicit information but rather to urge a conclusion. In this case the suggested conclusion is voiced in a closing exclamation, namely, that the cited putative incidents exemplify abuse of power and/or of special privilege. Respondents accordingly are prodded to accept two propositions: that certain “incidents” did occur, and that they are, in an important way, equivalent. The claim about equivalence serves to reinforce the claim about occurrence.

LEADING QUESTION In some respects the cited passage resembles the classic question “When did you stop beating your wife?” That utterance is formally interrogatory, or information-soliciting, and the interrogator may hope to trick the immediate addressee into giving a direct answer. But in context (prosecutor to defendant in court) the question also is rhetorical and accusatory, and its prime target is not the defendant but rather the audience and, most particularly, the jurors. These auditors are invited to believe that information has been conveyed; it is that the defendant has been a wife-beater. In the present case, a compound question is addressed to “Dick” while being offered as a blog comment that would go out to the community-at-large. The passage differs from the wife-beating query, however, in that the immediate addressee is not the immediate target of accusation-in-the-form-of-question. Instead, Dick is treated as a kind of confederate who might help to confirm accusations and, perhaps, provide the ostensibly solicited explanation(s).

COMMON KNOWLEDGE PLOY Vital to the rhetorical force of the quoted message is a tacit claim of comprehensibility. The sender prods receivers to believe that his words make sense and so do his references. We are prodded to believe that the Sweeney “incident,” the “Chewens Drunk Fest” and the “caper” are matters of common knowledge. That suggestion is conveyed partly by the absence of elaboration. The fact that the putative episodes are cited without elaboration ‘means’ that—for decently informed citizens, at any rate--elaboration is superfluous. Reinforcing the Common Knowledge nudge, along with the absence of elaboration, is the use of special labels. These labels, often capitalized, convey an impression of being part of common discourse. They seem to be shorthand references to event clusters whose details are generally known and are recorded in readily accessible sources. Thus we have cryptic references to “Watergate,” “Enron scandal,” “Teapot Dome” and “9/11”—references whose persistent use imparts an aura of authenticity. Anybody who does not immediately recognize “Watergate” as the name of a scandalous episode (as well as an apartment complex) can learn all about it on Google. An unscrupulous communicator can exploit this usage by devising his own set of labels for putative past events. Thus, by citing “Chewens Drunk Fest” in capital letters and without elaboration, a communicator seems to be alluding to a matter of common local knowledge. Such is the case, too, with a message whose author (a would-be contributor to Seeing Greene), arguing that Catskill is rife with “cover-ups,” recites a string of catchy labels: “the $450,000.00 Rescue Truck Bid Rigging Cover Up,” “the police cadet money caper,” “the Grapplers hire for Less Contest,” “the ETA 3-11 scam,” “the Liberty Street Racial Profiling Case,” “the tax monie [sic.] laundering scam” (“just to name a few thast [sic.]come to mind!”). The author seems to be tapping standard shorthand labels for locally known events. He deters suspicion that those cryptic labels are his own creations, designating events whose occurrence has not been confirmed.

DUPLICITY In this case the Common Knowledge ploy is quite a club. To challenge the sender’s claims effectively, a respondent needs to be self-confident about his grasp of the relevant facts as well as about sound reasoning. I shall now assume the guise of the confident analyst and critic.

>>The question “Why was Congressman Sweeney attacked for his incident?” is phony. It expresses a counter-factual proposition. Judging from what appeared in the news media, Mr Sweeney was the beneficiary for many months of suppression of a State Police report of an emergency (911) telephone call wherein Mrs Sweeney complained of being mauled by her husband. At a late stage in the Congressional election race last year, after months of being stonewalled officially, news people got copies of the report and published them. Mr Sweeney was not attacked; a domestic incident in which he was involved was exposed. He responded with an attack on the ethics of his opponent, along with spurious promises to produce the “authentic” report. The question of whether Mr Sweeney used political leverage to get the report suppressed for most of 2006 has not been answered. If he did so, he used special privilege illegitimately.

>>The occurrence of a “Chewens Drunk Fest” is not a matter of record or of common knowledge. Accordingly, respondents who don’t know what event our commentator is talking about are not abnormally ill-informed citizens. As it happens, a few anonymous commentators on two local blog sites have alluded persistently in the past year or so to the supposed event. Their unsubstantiated references do not give it historical authenticity.

>>If the “Drunk Fest” did occur and “no one said a word about it,” it remains to be seen whether the absence of “word” betokens abuse of power (by, presumably, Chewens or Chewenites). Other explanations come readily to mind: participants and spectators chose silence on the subject; police authorities did not know about it, so no report eventuated….. In alluding to a “Cover Up” our commentator implies that (i) there was an event that can properly be called a Chewens Drunk Fest, and (ii) its occurrence was reported officially, but (iii) the report was suppressed, and (iv) the suppression has not been disclosed. Moreover, by way of his closing exclamation the commentator also claims (v) that the lack of publicity can be traced to illicit use of special privilege. Those claims, however, are not self-evident. In point of fact, no police report of anything like that event exists. The absence of such a report COULD be due to the exertion of special influence, but there are other eminently plausible explanations. It behooves our commentator to dispose of them (as distinct from repeating his version of reality, ad nauseum, without substantiation, on two blog sites).

>>Similarly, the stolen piping “caper” seems to be our commentator’s invention. It “exists” only in the form of reiterations, by him and perhaps others, in anonymous blogs, without substantiation, and without attention to what Mr Seeley has said on the subject. Our commentator COULD buttress his Cover-Up thesis by establishing either that (a) the “caper” (stolen pipe) was duly noted in a police or other credible report, but the report was suppressed at the behest of a privileged power wielder such as Mr Seeley; or that (b) the “caper” occurred but was never reported, and in that way was effectively covered up, thanks to the use of special influence. The commentator does not make, let alone substantiating, either claim. He simply indulges in irresponsible, anonymous, cowardly defamation.

UKASE Anonymous comments will no longer be posted on Seeing Greene. Would-be contributors must accompany proposed comments with verifiable personal identifications (name plus telephone number or e-mail address). However, we will consider submissions in which contributors identify themselves clearly to the Greenekeeper and request anonymous postings. We will either heed those requests or not publish.

P.S. If this were a scholarly paper, it would be sprinkled with references to rhetorical analysis, discourse analysis, the Principle of Charity, the Principle of Relevance, conversational implicatures, pragmatic (vs. logical) implication, and invited inference.

A Year in Review

For most of GreeneLand, most of the time, 2006 was a very good year. Northern river towns experienced further renovation of historic buildings along with industrial park development, the prospect of attractive new residential and retail tracts, and incipient participation in burgeoning nanotechnology projects. The Industrial Development Agency settled in new Coxsackie quarters and established Greene Accelerator, an incubator of promising start-ups.

Mountaintop communities suffered from the closing, for urgent repairs, of Route 23A between Palenville and Haines Falls. That was a nuisance for residents and a deterrent to visitors--who also were deterred by the fact that, owing to the absence of winter, the 2006-07 winter sports season did not commence in December 2006. Meanwhile, mountaintoppers and visitors were able to enjoy excellent movies, top-grade concerts, organic produce and other treats, thanks to the Catskill Mountain Foundation. Local support for the Foundation’s manifold cultural products was manifested at the benefit banquet in October that, with dinner sales, donations and auctioned items, brought in $84,000.

Catskill’s 200^th birthday came in the midst of a surging transformation, with majestic old houses being restored by new owners, Main Street undergoing a comprehensive makeover, and the imminent emergence in Catskill Commons of a huge retailing complex. Renovation of upstairs apartments brought in a new breed of Main Street residents. The Community Center was rescued from oblivion. To restored, restyled storefronts came more art galleries, more cafes, more home interior improvement shops. Of the many gallery exhibits (especially on promotional Second Saturdays) one was touted memorably as exploring the “cyclical nature of experience” by means of “elegiac and ethereal” images showing “fluidity and fragility of life forms” whereby “the ephemeral and the eternal find a necessary balance.” Memorable too was Daily Maul prose crediting a new tattoo parlor with “exceedingly unique masterpieces” on its walls and, on its proprietor’s torso, “profound and vociferous figures.”

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site experienced a banner year, with big increases in visitors, members, sales (thanks to newly opened reception center and bookstore), events and grants.

“Our Town” and two Chekhov plays were performed, by local casts at Catskill Point and in Beattie-Powers House (whose refreshed Friends organization, proved to be the real deal).

Musicians took advantage of the new high-tech recording studio on Water Street. Among them were harpist Jim Davis, rock diva Lex Grey, and proprietor Frank Cuthbert,composer of these poignant lines, among many others:

You're drifting through my mind again. I close my eyes and just pretend. You're still tugging at my heart, dancing in the dark. You're drifting through my mind again.

You're drifting through my mind again as my lover and best friend. It was magic from the start, shot an arrow through my heart. Drifting through my mind again.

Sometimes I cry, that we said goodbye. I can't let it lie. I guess that's why, you're drifting through my mind again.

You're drifting through my mind again. I go to sleep but there's no end. You're the star of all my dreams, stealing every scene. Drifting through my mind again.

You're drifting through my mind again. I close my eyes and just pretend. Every night and every day ever since you went away. You're drifting through my mind again.

You're still tugging at my heart, dancing in the dark. Drifting through my mind again.

ELECTIONS on November 7^th yielded gains, locally as well as nationally, for Democrats. Full credit goes to the Botch Administration. In the county legislature, the ranks of Democrats swelled from two members out of 14 to five. In State-wide races and the U.S. Senate contest, Democratic candidates swept the field.In the 20^th U.S. Congressional district (Greene and other counties, or pieces thereof), new face Kirsten Gillibrand ousted four-term Republican incumbent John Sweeney; it was one of the country’s biggest surprises. Meanwhile, Republican State Senator Jim Seward easily won re-election, and the two rookie Republican candidates for Assembly seats representing parts of GreeneLand, Mark Molinari* and Peter Lopez, also won by comfortable margins. Prior to that result, a Daily Mailfactor opined that neither candidate was “a shoe-in”. [*OOPS.  As commentator Sean pointed out, it is Tim Gordon, not Mark Molinaro or even Mark Molinari, who won election to represent part of GreeneLand in the Assembly; and he is an Independencian, not an outright Republican]

TRANSITIONS. Long-serving county legislators Frank Stabile and Gunther Ohm retired, with Wayne Speenburgh succeeding Mr Stabile as chairman of that governing body. County Chamber of Commerce director Debbie Zetterlund was succeeded by Tracy McNally; Catskill Postmaster Donald Stegall, by Leon Griffin; Public Health Director Martin Kosich, after revocation of his license to practice medicine, by Marie Cross-Ostoyich. At the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Amy Bruning was succeeded as education and volunteers manager by Lana Davis Chassman. Catskill Librarian Luisa Sabin-Kildiss resigned abruptly, and was succeeded by Jessica Maisano. The Catskill Game Farm, at age 73, died. So too, in infancy, did the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. The venerable, esteemed Freehold Country Inn either died (on or about December 10, and contrary to a previous Seeing Greene note) or entered a comatose state.

EPISODES.

>Four GreeneLand women were convicted in separate cases of, in essence, swindling. They evidently extracted money on false pretences from would- be authors of published books, from foreign residents hoping to stay and work legally in the U.S., from high school cheerleaders, and from female softball players. The Green Card scam artist blamed her prosecution/persecution (by the State Attorney General’s office, most immediately) on the Russian Mafia.

>Herb-growing Margo Muller ran afoul of Catskill Town authorities on account of the height of her weeds. She was given 60 days, said The Daily Maul, “to correct the citation.”

>According to Maul reports, local police in February conducted a search “vehemently,” and for three hours a man ”held a real estate office hostage.”

>Sheriff Richard Hussey’s license to drive was suspended after (long after) he refused to take a chemical sobriety test.

>Three deputies filed a lawsuit accusing the sheriff of favoritism in connection with the elevation of Sgt Tor Tryland to lieutenant.

>A defense lawyer, according to a Maul confabulation, moved to have Judge George Pulver Jr recused from trying a certain case “because of impartiality.”

>Volunteer firefighters Joel Shanks and his father Rick filed suit against the Catskill Fire Company and the Catskill Village Trustees, claiming deprivation of their rights to freedom of speech and to due process of law.

>GreeneLanders were invited, in an Awakened Heart Café advertisement, to meet a “Renounced Artist.”

>John Walde was charged with embezzling funds from, while serving as treasurer of, the Order of Red Men.

>Jared Paul Stern of Oak Hill was charged with attempting to extort money from victims of nasty gossip published (with his help) in The New York Post.  [Post-post message from Mr Stern: "Dick, I was not 'charged' with anything. Burkle made false accusations. There have been no charges, no filings, no nothing. I am prepping libel and defamation lawsuits against him and the Daily News. Please change your post." I should have said accused].

>A pub owner, a State trooper, town council members and other Greenville denizens were embroiled in legal disputes involving harassment, stalking, excavating, and a generous dose of whatever

>A Tannersville Village trustee filed suit accusing her putative colleagues of illegitimacy.

>A teenager reportedly drove her vehicle into the side of a “convenient store.”

>In East Durham, the priest of Sacred Heart parish, Jeremiah Nunan, was placed on administrative leave by the Albany diocese pending the outcome of investigation of a sexual abuse charge.

>Foodie Janeen Sarlin expatiated on “Chocolate as Aphrodisiac.”

>“Greene County Historian and [sic.] Raymond Beecher” reportedly expatiated on the legacy of Cedar Grove. (So much for reporting).

>Story’s Nursery was heavily damaged by fire, but faithful customers rallied.

>Inside/Out magazine moved to Stewart House in Athens.

>Two small children were maltreated, fatally, by their mothers’ live-in lovers.

>Bellydancing, declared teacher Bonnie Mion, is “memorizing to watch.”

>Two feature movies were made in GreeneLand.

>After watching news about Terrell Owens “with baited breath,” sportswriter Antonio D’Arcangelis turned to games talk “without further adieu.”

>The former Grandview Elementary School building on West Bridge Street in Catskill was demolished, amid local lamentations. The former Washington Irving School building, on the other hand, survived, with renewed prospect of becoming stylish condominium development, next door to the former annex, which is now the flourishing Senior Center

>A truck that was hauling a cargo reportedly incurred a serious accident “while being transported.”

>The Hudson River at one period in 2006, said columnist Don Nelson, was “teaming with bass.”

>The Bank of Greene County opened a new administration building and three branches.

>A Seeing Greene commentator lamented cover-ups of “every wrongful transgression.”

>Ambitious renovation of Tannersville’s Orpheum Theater, for use as a live performance venue, was launched by the Catskill Mountain Foundation.

>The Coxsackie-Athens Courier came into existence, as a member of publisher Richard Bleezarde’s mini-stable of local papers.

>Rumors of complete consolidation of The Daily Mail and The Register-Star proved to be unfounded.

>Those publications advertised for a Circulation Department employee who could do “computer imputing.”

>Daily Maul readers were invited to contemplate such events as:

PRESIDENT SAYS U.S. DOESN’T TORTURE PRISONERS
IN ANSWER TO CHENEY REMARK

Festival draws a crowd with attractions abound

THRUWAY URGES HOLIDAY MOTORISTS TO DRIVE SAFELY

HEAT SWELTER KNICKS WITH 111-100 WIN

The Monday announcement by the county of the grant’s arrival, preceded by a Governor’s Office for Small Cities declaration six days earlier, accompanies along with some statistics, seen as staggering by a county Planning and Economic Development Department statement.

[Local law 3 of 2006] amends the Dogs and Other Animals Law with the intent of deterring pet owners, especially dogs, from defecating on property, public or private, other than the owners.

Karen explained that [her pet] had been scene in the Catskill and Cairo areas.

[Walter Mirmann, owner of Rainbow Golf Club, said] the tourism industry in the county, which, following what is regarded nationally ‘rule of thumb’ within the business, generates for around every dollar spent at a tourist attraction, seven dollars spent elsewhere in the county.

To Post or Not To Post

Dick, How come your affraid to comment on the dumb comments Vinny Seeley made in the Daily Mail in refrence to the lawsuit that has rocked the village and it's dissfuntional fire dept.? Looks like Vinny has screwed himself and every taxpayer in this town! His lawyer should buy him a roll of duct tape to help stop him from sinking himself and his convict friends!

The foregoing message is an example of what we hesitate to accept for posting in Seeing Greene’s Comments section. It also is an example of what fortifies our inclination to reject all anonymous comments. But as I write this I’m leaning in favor of posting. And one of the lines of argument is that the case is suitable for sharing thoughts about words and contexts, and hence about deciding what comments deserve to be posted.

Against posting is apprehension that ‘publication’ could be construed as endorsement or concurrence, and that it would give the comment an otherwise-unavailable boost in credibility. A naïve reader could be prompted to infer, from the fact of posting (by somebody other than its author) along with its substance, that key statements in this comment express what is common knowledge. In addition, the naive reader could be prompted to believe that the commentator’s value judgments are truth-valuable statements, are in keeping with reality, and express common sentiments. Those errors could be encouraged not only by the fact of 'publication' (even in a blog site) but also, oddly enough, by the absence of attempts to substantiate. When a speaker indulges freely in sliming people and in tendentious versions of events, we normally expect the speaker to take up the task of substantiation. If he does not bother to do that, we may infer charitably that what the speaker says, however scurrilous, is so widely and rightly accepted that substantiation would be idle. Consequently, that kind of reader would put some stock in the propositions that Seeing Greene's keeper has been silent on a cited topic and has been silent because he’s afraid to address it; that Vincent Seeley made statements to The Daily Mail and that they are self-screwing; that the village has been rocked (that being a figure of speech whose literal sense is so well known as to require no translation); that the fire department is dysfunctional; and that included in Mr Seeley’s friends are several convicts. Two of those propositions are readily verifiable; they are that Mr Seeley talked to The Daily Mail and that Seeing Greene has not commented on his words. They are true and trivial. The other propositions are far from being self-evident or substantiated. They are far from being common knowledge. Accordingly, the author is guilty of indulging in irresponsible sneering and smearing. But that status does not clinch the case for refusing to post the comment.

In favor of posting are several considerations: (1) Our basic policy is in favor of posting. The presumption then is against blocking. And we feel especially obligated to post comments that find fault with Seeing Greene. Moreover, this comment is no more vile than others that have been accepted. It falls short of being plainly, thoroughly scurrilous. It is not in the same league with some gross slanders (adulterer! thief! liar!) that are void of substantiation.

(2) For many readers the cited comment, with its mutilations of the English language, its casual smears and gratuitous assumptions, along with its craven anonymity, must be self-discrediting. And when a commentator's own words discredit his own position, readers should know about it.

(3) The cited comment may qualify as an instructive example of the casual responsibility-dodging smear. Thus: --DODGING *Vinnie Seeley’s comments in The Daily Mail are “dumb” (versus identifying what one deems dumb, and explaining). *Vinnie “has screwed himself” (versus identifying how his words are self-damaging). --GRATUITOUS ACCUSATORY EXPLANATION *Lack of comment on Seeley’s statements betokens fear (versus canvassing alternative explanations and eliminating them, or saying what is to be feared). --GRATUITOUS FACTUAL CLAIMS *The lawsuit has “rocked the village and its dissfuntional fire dept” (versus citing observed reactions to the lawsuit). *Mr Seeley’s friends, or a substantial number of them and particularly close ones, are convicts (versus identifying those people, the crimes for which they were convicted, their prison sentences).

The latter analysis, however, can be provided only if posting is accompanied by lengthy discourse about discourse.

On the Eve

RUMORED AND FALSE: * That Dunn Builders Supply’s Catskill operation is for sale. The sprawling creekside property is not for sale, says company president Steve Dunn. Retail business dwindled somewhat when Home Depot opened, and it may dwindle more with the advent of Lowes Home Improvement at Catskill Commons. That could prompt a termination of Saturday trade at Dunns. But business with contractors is flourishing, and it will continue to flourish amid the local building boom. The false rumor hurts business a bit, by making regular customers nervous about ongoing and future commitments. Could it be coming from competitors? *That the Freehold Country Inn has closed, owing to financial problems of purchaser Sophia Goshal. Unanticipated problems have been encountered, but the gracious, popular, restaurant is OPEN. *That a historic riverside estate, where a Republican bigwig lived for decades before the place passed on to Hillaryians, is on the market. Trust Seeing Greene on this. *That the Catskill Masons are moving from their present lodge on Route 9W. The “building for rent” sign at the bottom of the lodge’s driveway, along the highway, is just an invitation to rent the place (fully equipped kitchen & all) for special functions.

RECOMMENDED, by Human Events, the proudly “conservative” magazine, as one of 10 ideal Christmas-gift books: Strategery: How George Bush is Defeating Terrorism, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media.

ESTIMATED: that $500,000 will be the likely cost, to Town of Catskill taxpayers, of adapting the former Auto Parts Unlimited building, at 82 West Bridge St, for use as ambulance service headquarters. That would in addition to the $425,000 acquisition cost. And that is why two Councilmen Robert Antonelli and Joseph Leggio have opposed the whole deal. And well might they wonder. The building already is plumbed, wired, heated, roofed, solid-boned. It contains office space, a kitchen, toilets, storage space, and garage space enough to house several ambulances. Here’s hoping that Mr Antonelli and Mr Leggio get assigned to supervising the renovation.

SENTENCED, to a State prison term of up to 51/2 years, for peddling crack cocaine: school teacher Jodi Parker, 29, of Broome St, Catskill.

SALUTED, by various commentators, and by The New York Times (12/14 editorial, “Congress and the Benefits of Sunshine”) for her decision to “post details of her work calendar on the Internet at the end of each day so that constituents can tell what she is actually doing for their money,” thereby attaining “a rare level of transparency”: GreeneLand’s U.S. Representative-elect, Kirsten Gillibrand. Meanwhile, the freshwoman has been appointed to the powerful Armed Services Committee of the House. She’ll take her seat after formal swearing-in as a new Congressperson on Jan. 6.. That will be preceded by a ceremonial swearing-in at the Columbia County courthouse on Jan. 2, with neighboring Representatives (and fellow Democrats) Mike McNulty and Maurice Hinchey in attendance.

ARRESTED, on suspicion of embezzling $45,000-plus from the Order of Red Men, while serving (so to speak) as treasurer of that lodge’s New York chapter: John Walde, 60, of Catskill. As reported in The Daily Mail (11/30; Andrea Macko), the fraternal Red Men take their name from the Sons of Liberty, who disguised themselves as Mohawks while perpetrating, in 1773, the Boston Tea Party.

REVOKED, following a long-delayed Department of Motor Vehicles hearing, at Columbia County courthouse, as required by law, for anyone who refuses to submit to a chemical test after being charged with driving while intoxicated, on Wednesday (12/20), as reported in The Daily Mail: the driver’s license of Greene County Sheriff Richard Hussey. That action is independent of the pending trial on the misdemeanor DWI indictment.

RUMORED: *That downtown Catskill will soon acquire a bookstore. *That a venerable, big, decayed Victorian mansion near Rams Horn/Livingston sanctuary will be converted into a Bird & Breakfast. *that a county legislator is waging a punitive campaign against people in his district who supported his opponent at the November 7^th election (from signing the opponent’s petition to be placed on the ballot, to more active support). *that Bank of Greene County has scored a coup by hiring First Niagara’s star commercial loan officer. *that serious people, with serious backing, are seriously pursuing the project of making GreeneLand a citadel of the fine arts. Of performance and training. Summer long and beyond. At several sites. Seriously. *that the Big Boxes at Catskill Commons will be opened soon—Lowes on Saturday, Jan. 6, and Wal-Mart at 6 pm. on Thursday, Jan. 18. *that Catskill Commons shoppers will be offered free bus rides to downtown Catskill and back. *that, contrary to empirical meterological evidence, winter has not been canceled. So:

“Summer is gone! – the summer days are ended!” A voice mysterious struck my wakeful ear, As o’er the hills through the vales I wended. Rejoicing in the glory of the year.

* * Yes, they are gone! Summer and Autumn too! But shall I therefore sigh the winter through? Bears he no chaplet on his frosty brow? Unfading Ivy, thou dost surely know,

And faithful Evergreens, his temples bind; Pluck them, and cast thy sorrows to the wind! Beside the hearth, when winter winds are wild, Domestic peace, and love, and friendship mild,

Those evergreens shall bloom; they flourish best When by the storm heart nearer heart is prest. Wait God’s own seasons; it would be a curse, Perennial Summer: Winter is the nurse

Of Virtue: ‘tis the hour to intertwine Holy affections, and to look within The soul; to strive to win from Time A wreath that withers not by change of clime --Thomas Cole

*that “the day is upon us on which we commemorate the Birth of our Saviour. It is a blessed day to those whose lives are steadily in accordance with the teaching of Him who in lowliness and humility took upon himself our form and nature in order that we might live. God grant that if it is permitted me and mine to see another return of this day it will find us farther advanced in holiness than this day has found us.” --again, Thomas Cole.

Downtown Doings

IT PAYS TO STRIP. In the course of refurbishing the ground floor of the Catskill building that formerly housed the Mental Health Association office, proprietor Michele Saunders has unearthed treasures. Beneath “layers of linoleum and crap,” parquet flooring. Behind plaster panels, “magnificent” radiators, fully wainscotted walls, and stylish windows. Behind the false ceiling, pressed tin. Soon the place at 377 Main St, Catskill, will be a gracious setting for ex-Hudsonians Jim Deskevich and Corbett Marshall, who, as Variegated Inc., create textile designs.

COMMUTERS. Bruce and Lynn Anderson, new Catskillians, run a high-tech design and engineering business, Datapak Associates, inventing stronger-but-lighter carbon fiber gadgets for aircraft and other uses. They commute to work. That trip consists of walking down the back stairs of their new CPC apartment on Main Street, crossing the alley, thereby arriving at company headquarters: the refurbished carriage house.

SHIFTING. Day & Holt, having sold out most of its hardwares stock, will close altogether at the end of the month, in preparation for moving in the stock of Swamp Angel Antiques from the adjoining (less spacious) part of the double storefront building. Then, according to Pat and Stephanie Walsh, the vacated space at 347 Main St will be available for lease.

STOCKED BUT not signed or opened for business yet is the new N & S bathroom supplies showroom at 352 Main St, Catskill.

DENTIST Ted Belfor is now fully installed in offices formerly occupied by Dr Leonard Niad, has already added staff, and now has his presence touted by a toothsome Karl Anis-made sign on Bridge Street. (Actually, toothsome does not have anything to do with teeth).

GONE from 342 Main St—and not a moment too soon—is the Columbia-Greene Beauty School, which moved to Latham.

NOW LICENSED to sell spirituous beverages at Doubles II, the new tavern on Church St, Catskill (corner of Water St), are partners Michael De Benedictus and Sam Arvi. The new dispensation was celebrated Friday night (12/15). The place, holographically illuminated by Rudi Berkhout, will serve drinks and snacks on Friday and Saturday nights until January, then from Wednesday through Saturday nights, with special music programs on Wednesdays.

SOLD already are two of the 20 condominium apartments that are being created inside the former Orens Furniture warehouse on Water St, even though they won’t be habitable before mid-2007.

KEEPING TRACK. $4.5 million in State subsidies will go to CSX Transportation for track improvements and siding construction during 2007-10 in Catskill. Additional big sums from the Rail Freight and Passenger Assistance Program, Gov. George Pataki announced on Thursday, will go to CSX for work in Kingston, Saugerties and other places in the State. The outlays are part of $60 million altogether for railroad maintenance and improvements. Yes, this is a clear case of giving taxpayer money to private companies. The particular case weakens the force of the idea that railroads suffer unfair discrimination in competition with truckers, since the latter do not have to create or maintain the roads on which they travel. No, the old train station, now occupied by Haines Garage, won’t be re-opened.

SALUTED by Architectural Digest, as one of the “top international architects and interior designers whose work we have featured on these pages over the past several years”: Steven Shadley, who heads a six-person firm in Manhattan and is a long-time resident of Leeds. In addition to serving clients such as Diane Keaton and Matthew Modine, Mr Shadley has taken the time to conceive and in large measure to implement, personally, adaptation of the old storeroom at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, in Catskill, into a visitor center and book store. Pro bono.

LAUDED by The New York Times, in an editorial (Dec. 14) entitled “Congress and the Benefits of Sunshine,” for deciding to “post details of her work calendar on the Internet at the end of each day,” thereby enabling constituents to learn “what she is actually doing for their money” and achieving “a quiet touch of revoloution”: our newly-elected U.S. Representative, Kirsten Gillibrand.

APPOINTED by unanimous vote of Catskill’s governing Trustees, to the newly created office of Village Historian, in recognition of his services as editor of and contributor to the commemorative bicentennial book Village, as well as of his editorial savvy and historiographic enthusiasm: Richard Philp.

CROSSING. The semi-weekly Independent, which is based in Hillsdale, Columbia County, and is owned by the parents of the Kingston-based Daily Freeman, is coming to Greene County. First issue of a planned quarterly supplement devoted to this side of the river, or at least to burgeoning Catskill, is slated, says publisher Grant Cover, for this February. (Wouldn’t it be better if Mr Cover were a magazine publisher?)

CAIRO “offers both a dramatic past—it was once both a thriving tannery town and a tourist stop on the famed Catskill Mountain Railroad, and gangster Jack ‘Legs’ Diamond was shot in a bar there—and a small town atmosphere,” says writer Al Desetta. Moreover, its Main Street “is studded with gift stores rather than its former resorts, boarding houses, and saloons” and Cairo home prices are “among the most affordable regionally.” Those words appear in the current issue of in New York House. The Real Estate Magazine for Smarter Living. The magazine’s cover page promises to show, as a “featured listing,” an “equestrian and skier’s paradise” in Greene County. But no such property is presented inside the magazine.

“HARK the HArOld Angels Sing” could appropriately come from the duplex stores operated at 386 and 388 Main Street by the neighboring Harolds: Hanson (of Verso) and Gondrez (of Dream).

SEEING REALITY. “There are views of the Hudson’s tree-lined riverbanks, of the gossamer blue Catskill Mountains, of ancient willows bent over woodland brooks that appear so idyllically beautiful,” says travel writer Nicole Cotroneo (Washington Post, 12/17) that “I was forced to swallow all the criticisms I'd had of the 19th-century artists who painted this region. Previously I had dismissed the work of the Hudson River School -- the landscape painters whose collective work is widely recognized as the first coherent American art movement -- as unrealistically pastoral. Now I saw that they were extraordinarily accurate.” The writer also hails Olana, the Moorish castle in Hudson, as “the architectural star of the heritage area. It stands in stark contrast to Thomas Cole's home, Cedar Grove, on the opposite bank, a modest yellow Federal-style home... Cole was not only the founder of the Hudson River School but also [Frederick] Church's teacher. If homes are indeed an indication of success, it seems the student outshone his master.”

Village Fire Company & Trustees Sued

Two Catskill firefighters have brought suit against the Village Fire Department and the Village Trustees, claiming that they have been deprived of basic Constitutional rights. They seek Federal court orders confirming their complaint and awarding them compensation for deprivations allegedly experienced at the hands of the defendants and for costs incurred in seeking justice. Named as defendants in the action, filed last week in Northern district Federal court in Albany, are ten men who were officers of the volunteer fire company during 2005-06, along with the five men who served as Village Trustees during the period. The plaintiffs are Joel Shanks and his father Rick Shanks. According to the complaint filed by their attorney, Evan Foulke of Goshen NY, they contend that they have incurred “humiliation and anguish” from being harassed, abused, threatened, stigmatized and shunned by fellow firefighters since late 2005. That treatment betokens an “ongoing, intentional policy and practice of punishing the plaintiffs for the exercise of their First Amendment rights’ [sic.] to free speech and to deter plaintiffs [and others] from exercise that right in the future.” The deed that triggered this retaliation, the plaintiffs say, consisted of a report that went to Federal and State authorities in October 2005, alleging that Catskill’s fire company was rife with safety violations. Suspicion that he was the confidential report’s author, according to the plaintiffs, unleashed a campaign of verbal abuse (“scumbags,” “rat,” “troublemaker,” “piece of shit”), of “false and frivolous charges” against Joel Shanks, and of threats against Joel Shanks, as well as against his father, his brother Brian, and his closer fire company friends. Unconstitutional conduct on the part of the Village Trustees, according to the plaintiffs, consisted of voting last March to suspend Joel Shanks from membership in the fire company. This decision, made without inviting him to be heard, purportedly violated the plaintiff’s 14^th Amendment right to due process of law. The case has not yet been assigned to a judge. Text of the complaint is provided below. Commentators on the case, or on other matters, are urged by the SeeingGreenekeeper to sign their offerings.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -----------------------------------------------------------------------X JOEL SHANKS and RICKY SHANKS, Plaintiffs Index No.

COMPLAINT

-against-

VILLAGE OF CATSKILL BOARD OF TRUSTEES, VILLAGE OF CATSKILL FIRE DEPT., VILLAGE OF DEMANDS TRIAL BY JURY

CATSKILL FIRE COMPANY INC., RANDY ORMEROD,

FLOYD PRINCE, JR., JACK ORMEROD SR.,

NEAL RUSSELL, JOHN DEES, JOHN DARLING 3^RD,

JIM CHEWENS, STEVE SCHULTZ, HANK COONS,

RICK CHEWENS, HAROLD RIVENBURG, FOREST

COTTON, ANGELO W. AMATO, JOSEPH KOZLOSKI,

PAUL OVERBAUGH and VINCENT SEELEY,

Defendants.

Plaintiffs, JOEL SHANKS and RICKY SHANKS, by their attorneys, FOULKE LAW OFFICES, complaining of the defendants, alleges as follows:

PARTIES

1.At all times hereinafter mentioned, plaintiff, Joel Shanks (“Joel Shanks”), is an individual residing in the County of Greene, State of New York.

2. At all times hereinafter mentioned, plaintiff, Ricky Shanks (“Ricky Shanks”), is an individual residing in the County of Greene, State of New York.

3. At all times mentioned, the defendant Village of Catskill Board of Trustees is and was a municipal entity acting under color of state law located in the County of Greene and State of New York.

4. At all times hereinafter mentioned, defendants Village of Catskill Fire Dept. and Village of Catskill Fire Company Inc. (“Catskill Fire Company”) are municipalities and/or municipal agencies acting under color of state law located in the County of Greene, State of New York.

5. Defendant Randy Ormerod was at all times relevant to this action the Chief at the Catskill Fire Company in the Village of Catskill. Randy Ormerod is being sued in his individual capacity.

6. Defendant Floyd Prince Jr. was at all times relevant to this action the Assistant Chief at the Catskill Fire Company in the Village of Catskill. Prince is being sued in his individual capacity.

7. Defendant Jack Ormerod Sr. was at all time relevant to this action the 2^nd Assistant Chief at the Catskill Firehouse in the Village of Catskill. Jack Ornerod Sr. is being sued in his individual capacity.

8. Defendant Neal Russell was at all times relevant to this action the Captain at the Catskill Fire Company in the Village of Catskill. Russell is being sued in his individual capacity.

9. Defendant John Dees was at all times relevant to this action the 2^nd Lieutenant at the Catskill Fire Company in the Village of Catskill. Dees is being sued in his individual capacity.

10. Defendant John Darling 3^rd was at all times relevant to this action the 1^st Lieutenant at the Catskill Fire Company in the Village of Catskill. Darling is being sued in his individual capacity.

11. Defendant Fire Chair Person Jim Chewens was at all times relevant to this action the Fire Chair Person for the Village of Catskill/Village Trustee and a Board Member and Trustee of the Village of Catskill. Jim Chewens is being sued in his individual capacity.

12. Defendant Steve Schultz was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member of the Village of Catskill Fire Company . Schultz is being sued in his individual capacity.

13. Defendant Hank Coons was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member of the Village of Catskill Fire Company. Coons is being sued in his individual capacity.

14. Defendant Rick Chewens was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member of the Village of Catskill Fire Company. Rick Chewens is being sued in his individual capacity.

15. Defendant Forest Cotton was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member and Trustee of the Village of Catskill. Forest Cotton is being sued in his individual capacity.

16. Defendant Angelo W. Amato was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member and Trustee of the Village of Catskill. Angelo W. Amato is being sued in his individual capacity.

17. Defendant Joseph Kozloski was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member and Trustee of the Village of Catskill. Joseph Kozloski is being sued in his individual capacity.

18. Defendant Harold Rivenburg was at all times relevant to this action the President of the Village of Catskill Fire Company. Rivenburg is being sued in his individual capacity.

19. Defendant Paul Overbaugh was at all times relevant to this action a Board Member of the Catskill Fire Company. Overbaugh is being sued in his individual capacity

20. Defendant Vincent Seeley was at all times relevant to this action the President of the Village of Catskill. Seeley is being sued in his individual capacity.

21. At all tmes mentioned herein, defendants and each of them acted under color of state law.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

22. This is a civil action authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages to redress the deprivations, under the color of state law, of rights, privileges, and immunities secure to plaintiff by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Jurisdiction is conferred by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, and 2201. Plaintiffs also invoke this Court’s supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims under N.Y.S. Executive Law § 740.

23. This action is properly filed in the United States District Court forthe Northern District of New York, as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1391, inasmuch as jurisdiction of this action is not founded on diversity of citizenship, each claim arose within the Northern District of New York and the defendants’ principal place of business is located in the Northern District of New York.

STATEMENT OF CLAIMS 24. Since 2001, Joel Shanks, has been and continues to be a volunteer firefighter for the Village of Catskill and the Catskill Fire Department and, as such, an “employee” of said Village and Department within the meaning of Labor Law § 740(1)(a).

25. Since 1997, Ricky Shanks has been and continues to be a volunteer firefighter for the Village of Catskill and the Catskill Fire Department and, as such, an “employee” of said Village and Department within the meaning of Labor Law § 740(1)(a). He is a graduate of New York State’s Ladder Truck Operators Course and has more than six years experience as a ladder truck driver and over two years experience as Chief Driver of Catskill Fire Department’s 110 foot ladder truck. Ricky Shanks is Joel Shanks’ father.

26. On October 4, 2005, Joel Shanks reported to the United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the New York State Department of Labor, Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (“PESH”) numerous safety violations committed by the Catskill Fire Company. These reported safety violations included outdated aerial ladder inspection, lack of safety equipment, firefighters with facial hair wearing “SCBA’s”, outdated equipment, lack of training and standards and failure to follow OSHA standards. The online OSHA complaint form used by Joel Shanks is attached as Exhibit A.

27. Also on or about October 4, 2005, defendant Randy Ormerod stood up at a monthly meeting and told the firefighters at the Catskill Firehouse to keep their mouths shut and mind their own business. Defendant Jim Chewens then stood up and stated that when they (the defendants) found out who “was trying to start problems” they were “going to take care of business”.

28. On or about October 26, 2006 defendant John Dees approached Joel Shanks at a PESH audit/investigation and told Joel Shanks, “someone turned us into the board of health, one of our own”. He then stated that when they (the defendant’s) found out who made the complaints they were “going to throw them out”.

29. In or about October, 2005, while attending a funeral for a fireman in Cairo, New York, defendant Randy Ormerod stated to firemen and civilians that if he ever became a paid Village Fire Chief “the first thing he would do is throw out the scumbag Shanks’ boys”.

30. In October 2005, defendants repeatedly refused to issue firefighter shields for plaintiffs’ helmets while providing such shields to other firefighters.

31. Since October, 2005, defendant Jack Ormerod has refused to place Joel Shanks, Brian Shanks, Rick Shanks and Tom Birk on the Fire Department website list of members.

32. Since November 2005, defendant Randy Ormerod has refused to qualify both Joel Shanks and Ricky Shanks as a drivers on the ladder truck even though both Joel Shanks and Ricky Shanks took the road test and passed several times.

33. From about November 1, 2005 to March 14 2006, defendants Hank Coon and Harold Rivenburg frequently stated that they were in the process of creating a disharmony law in order to “throw out” anyone who caused disharmony at the Catskill Firehouse by “turning them in”.

34. From November 1, 2005 to March 14, 2006, during monthly Fire Company meetings, firefighters, including the defendants, would advise anyone who did not like the way the department was run to quit and described what they were going to do if they found out who turned them in.

35. On December 13, 2005, Joel Shanks e-mailed PESH concerning harassment by defendants. A copy of this e-mail is attached as Exhibit B.

36. On January 20, 2006, Joel Shanks mailed PESH a formal harassment complaint. A copy of this complaint is attached as Exhibit C.

37. In January 2006, Ricky Shanks submitted to PESH a complaint about safety violations at the Catskill Firehouse. These reported safety violations included vehicle maintenance, operator qualifications, un-repaired equipment, falsification of paper work/reports and outdated aerial ladder inspection. A copy of this complaint is attached as Exhibit D.

38. All or some of the aforementioned reports, complaints and information provided by plaintiffs to OSHA and PESH involved matters of public concern and dangers to public health and safety, including, but not limited to activities, policies and/or practices of the Village of Catskill and the Catskill Fire Department that are/were in violation of law, rule or regulation which violation(s) create(d) and present(d) substantial and specific dangers to the public health or safety, and plaintiffs’ acts of providing such reports and information constituted speech protected by the First Amendment and N.Y.S. Executive Law § 740.

39. In retaliation against plaintiffs for their having exercised their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech by providing the aforementioned reports, complaints and information to OSHA and PESH, and for the purpose of deterring plaintiffs and others from providing such information in the future, defendant Catskill Fire Company, with the assistance and cooperation of the defendants Randy Ormerod, Floyd Prince Jr., Jack Ormerod Sr., Neal Russell, John Dees, John Darling 3^rd , Jim Chewens, Steve Schultz, Hank Coons, Rick Chewens, Harold Rivenburg, Paul Overbaugh and Vincent Seeley, continued to threaten, harass, intimidate and punish plaintiff by engaging in the following.

40. Since January of 2006, defendants have carried out a persistent policy, practice and course of conduct designed to ostracize plaintiffs from any meaningful participation in Catskill Firehouse activities and events.

41. In January 2006 at a fire company meeting, defendants Vincent Seeley, Randy Ormerod and Jim Chewens and Harold Rivenburg all threatened and/or affirmed that they were going to punish whoever made the safety complaints while staring directly at plaintiff Joel Shanks.

42. On or about January 10, 2006, defendant Second Assistant Chief Jack Ormerod conspired with Probe Firefighter Craig Turczyn to trump up false charges against Ricky Shanks to the effect that Ricky Shanks had violated safety procedures in responding to a fire call.

43. On a daily basis since January, 2006, the defendants and volunteer firefighters have cursed, yelled, threatened, and harassed plaintiffs with statements such as, “The Shanks are fucking rats and are going to get their asses kicked,” “If the scumbags don’t like it here they should leave!”, “Their turn is coming”, “Why did Joel do this, he is never going to hold any office in this company now!” and “If Joel ever says anything about me I will beat the shit out of him.”

44. Defendants have continuously tolerated, permitted and encouraged other firefighters to make derogatory comments toward plaintiffs at company sponsored breakfasts.

45. Plaintiffs have been called scumbags, troublemakers, disgruntled and “pieces of shit”, among other things. Plaintiffs are often glared at and subjected to veiled comments. Firefighters often cease talking whenever plaintiffs are in their presence. When plaintiffs approach firefighters, firefighters will get up and walk away and otherwise ostracize them from participation. Line officers and chiefs ignore plaintiffs and refuse to talk to plaintiffs or to give them meaningful work and orders.

46. Catskill Fire Company officers, with the intent to humiliate and belittle plaintiffs, require that plaintiffs perform menial tasks typically assigned to probes or less qualified firefighters. Because of the Catskill Firehouse’s refusal to permit plaintiffs to participate meaningfully as firefighters, plaintiffs have often found themselves standing around at fire scenes and not properly utilized unless absolutely necessary.

47. Defendants and voluntary firefighters at the Catskill Firehouse have labeled Joel Shanks, Ricky Shanks, Brian Shanks, Tom Birk, and George Lackie “rats”, “scumbags”, “trouble makers”, “pieces of shit Shank boys”, and “disgruntled firemen”. This would take place when the plaintiffs would walk into a room full of fellow firefighters during monthly meetings, drills, alarms and fundraisers and when the defendants would refer to the plaintiffs amongst line officers while giving out tasks at fire calls.

48. Defendant Neal Russell would assign Joel Shanks tasks which were normally assigned to probationary firefighters or less skilled firefighters. Joel Shanks was ordered to direct traffic at “jaws” calls even though he was certified on the “jaws” and other firefighters were not. At a different auto accident plaintiff Joel Shanks was attempting to help EMS crews place a patient on a back board when Captain Russell advised him to “go sit in Engine 3-21 and stay there!”

49. From about January 2006 to March 14, 2006, defendant Steve Schultz would often call plaintiff a “rat” and a “scumbag” at Sunday morning breakfasts. Fire Department leaders, including defendants, would listen to the verbal harassment and allow it to continue.

50. In January 2006, defendant Seeley stated that he was going to find out who turned in the Village and “they were going to have hell to pay”.

51. In about February 2006 , defendant John Darling 3^rd told Mike O’Connell, a firefighter at the Catskill Firehouse and friend of Joel Shanks, that he was not to mark Joel Shanks off on attended alarms and if he did he would be thrown out of the Department.

52. In February, 2006, defendant Rick Chewens, while in a Rite Aid in Catskill, NY, told Joel Shanks’ girlfriend’s co-workers that Joel Shanks ruined the Fire Department.

53. On February 16, 2006 defendant John Dees told Joel Shanks that he had to wear a new shield on his helmet. When Joel Shanks pointed out that three other helmets had the wrong shields on them, John Dees began cursing at Joel Shanks in front of others including defendants John Darling and Harold Rivenburg, who laughed at Joel Shanks. John Dees stated to Joel Shanks that he was nothing but a troublemaker and he should “report him to the village or PESH”.

54. On March 2, 2006 Joel Shanks received a letter stating he had to appear in front of the Board of Directors of the Catskill Fire Company in regard to his helmet shield. A copy of this letter is attached as Exhibit E.

55. On or about March 1, 2006, firefighter Mike O’Connell heard other firefighters state that Joel Shanks was going to be “thrown out” of the Catskill Firehouse because of the helmet shield incident. Defendant Harold Rivenburg told. O’Connell that if he told Joel Shanks about what he had heard he would be kicked out of the Catskill Firehouse.

56. On March 13, 2006, at a meeting of the Village Board of the Village of Catskill, the Trustees unanimously carried a motion to place Joel Shanks on administrative leave from the Fire Company pending completion of investigation of his allegations of being harassed and not feeling safe. A copy of the Minutes of the March 13, 2006, Village Board Meeting is attached as Exhibit F.

57. The aforementioned action by the Village of Catskill Board of Trustees at its March 13, 2006, meeting suspending Joel Shanks was taken without serving Joel Shanks with any Notice of Charge and without providing him with any opportunity to respond. This failure to give Joel Shanks an opportunity to contest his being placed on administrative leave was in violation of the Catskill Fire Company Bi-laws.

58. By letter from the President of the Village Board dated March 14, 2006 (attached as Exhibit G), Joel Shanks was put on notice that he had been suspended and that such suspension was “effective immediately”. The letter further advised Joel Shanks that he was to “not participate in any fire company or firematic activity until further notice”, and that he was being “removed from the active firefighters list for the Catskill Fire Department/Company. . .” Although said letter stated that a letter would be forthcoming outlining the next steps and a proposed meeting to date, no such “forthcoming” letter was ever sent.

59. Since March 14, 2006, firefighters from the Catskill Firehouse routinely give Joel Shanks the finger when they drive past him.

60. On or about March 27, 2006, defendants Randy Ormerod and Jim Chewens advised all other firefighters that if Joel Shanks was to step foot in the Catskill Firehouse they were to call the cops and have Joel Shanks arrested.

61. On May 16, 2006, at the Catskill Westside Station on 1 Central Ave., Catskill, New York 12414, defendants Jim Chewens, Randy Ormerod, and Vincent Seeley held a meeting about Joel Shanks. They advised firefighters that if Joel Shanks showed up at the firehouse he was to be arrested. Defendant Randy Ormerod stated he would like to see plaintiffs “disappear from the face of the earth”, and his goal before his Chief term ended was “to get rid of the last two Shanks”. Joel Shanks was banned from playing on the firehouse softball team.

62. On May 28, 2006 a volunteer firefighter at the Catskill Firehouse named Richie Overbaugh parked in front of Joel Shanks’ home and then drove slowly around his home.

63. On May 29, 2006, Richie Overbaugh and several other volunteer firefighters confronted Mike O’Connell and told him that he was not allowed to hang out with “that scumbag”, referring to Joel Shanks, and if he continued to he would “get kicked out” or have his “probation extended”.

64. On May 31, 2006, during a fire call to Broad Street, Ricky Shanks was verbally attacked, yelled at and screamed at by firefighter Richie Overbaugh. Ricky Shanks was subsequently brought up on false and frivolous charges arising out of the Broad Street fire call which were later dismissed for lack of evidence.

65. On or about June 1, 2006, firefighter Craig Turczyn told Ricky Shanks that “we know who made the OSHA complaints and we are going to kick them out”. Turczyn also made the statements “we’re going to kick their ass” and “we are going to take care of them!”

66. On June 3, 2006 Mike O’Connell received a phone call and was told that “the firehouse people were going to kick Ricky Shanks, Brain Shanks and Joel Shanks ass”. A few minutes later firefighter Richie Overbaugh appeared outside of Joel Shanks’ house in his truck.

67. On June 11, 2006, defendant Floyd Prince Jr. called Mike O’Connell and told O’Connell that “he hates the Shanks and that he is going to kill the Shanks”.

68. On June 14, 2006, Joel Shanks drove onto the Catskill Firehouse premises. After he pulled up, defendant Randy Ormerod called the police. After Catskill Police Officer Dave Deyo arrived at the Firehouse, they both approached Joel Shanks’ truck and told him he was not allowed on the premises due to his administrative leave. Defendant Randy Ormerod then told Joel Shanks that if he did not leave the firehouse parking lot, he would be arrested for trespassing. Joel Shanks requested a document proving that he was not allowed to be on the property and Ormerod and Deyo told Joel Shanks to “take it up” with defendant Vincent Seeley.

69. On July 4, 2006 Joel Shanks heard motorcycles pull up to his house and heard someone yell “fuck you scumbag”. When Joel Shanks looked out of his window he saw Catskill Fire Company firefighters Richie Overbaugh, John Dees, and Paul Overbaugh revving their engines and yelling. 70. On August 1, 2006, Paul Ormerod Jr. drove the Catskill Fire

Company ladder truck past the plaintiffs’ house on Scenic Drive after an alarm and yelled “Fuck You” and “Loser” at Joel Shanks.

71. On or about March 2005 after a small electrical fire had broken out at Ricky Shanks’ residence, Randy Ormerod told several firefighters at the firehouse bar that he wished plaintiff’s house had burned to the ground. When Randy Ormerod dispatched the call to plaintiff’s residence, he stated on the radio that it was the “Shanks’ house”. Hardly anyone showed up to the scene to render assistance. Only six members came to the house for the alarm. Normally structure fire alarms have over twenty men respond.

72. In or about August 2006, firefighter Craig Turczyn, in a threatening manner, stated to Ricky Shanks “as soon as we find out who is making the complaints we are going to beat the fuck out of him!”, “he’s done, he’s going to get the shit kicked out of him”, and “he’s done for”.

73. On September 30, 2006, at the Hill Street fire scene, Jack Ormerod selected Ricky Shanks out of approximately 65 firefighters to perform the menial task of carrying coffee, hot chocolate, and cups from one side of the fire scene across to the other. Such tasks are typically assigned to inexperienced firefighters or probes. President Vincent Seeley and Vice President Jim Chewens were standing on the other end of the street mocking Ricky Shanks as he carried drinks to the firefighters.

74. On or about October 14, 2006, Joel Shanks received a form letter from the Fire Company Banquet Committee (Exhibit H) inviting him and a guest to the Fire Company’s annual banquet. He filled out the RSVP on the form letter and sent it back. On November 3, 2006, defendant Harold Rivenburgh told Joel Shanks from a telephone at the Police Department that if he, Shanks, showed up at the banquet they were going to have the State Police arrest him. By letter from Rivenburgh dated November 2, 2006 (Exhibit I), this threat was confirmed in writing.

75. Defendant Jack Ormerod intentionally omits and refuses to name plaintiffs as firefighters on the Fire Department’s website list of members.

76. Firefighters who befriend or speak with plaintiffs have been told and instructed not to communicate with plaintiffs and have had their careers threatened.

77. All of the foregoing actions were conducted against Joel Shanks and Ricky Shanks in direct retaliation for their expressions of safety concerns to the Catskill Fire Company and to PESH and OSHA.

78. As a result of the unconstitutional conduct of the defendants as set forth above, plaintiffs have been stigmatized and caused to suffer humiliation and anguish.

79. The acts of defendants as set forth above constitute an ongoing, intentional policy and practice of punishing plaintiffs for the exercise of their First Amendment rights’ to free speech and to deter plaintiffs and other members of the Catskill Fire Company from exercising that right in the future.

80. The conduct of the defendants as set forth above has had, and continues to have, an objective chilling effect upon plaintiffs’ exercise of their First Amendment rights to free speech, in that a reasonable person in plaintiffs’ positions would perceive the defendants’ conduct as a threat of further punishment if he or she in the future reported wrongdoing committed by Catskill Fire Company officials and employees.

81. By virtue of the chilling effect which the aforementioned conduct and policy has had, and continues to have, upon plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, as well as the First Amendment rights of all members of the Catskill Fire Department, plaintiffs have been and continue to be irreparably injured and will suffer further irreparable injury if the defendants’ conduct is not declared to be unconstitutional.

82. In addition to the foregoing First Amendment violations, the defendants’ conduct has been arbitrary and capricious and has deprived plaintiffs of their rights to Due Process and Equal Protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

83. The unconstitutional conduct of the individual defendants as set forth above was performed in bad faith and with a deliberate indifference to plaintiffs’ constitutional rights rendering these defendants liable for punitive damages.

84. In addition to the aforementioned constitutional violations, the defendants’ conduct constitutes an ongoing series of violations the plaintiffs’ rights under N.Y.S. Executive Law § 740.

WHEREFORE, plaintiffs ask this Court to:

A. Issue an order adjudging and declaring that the defendants’conduct violated, and continues to violate, plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution;

B. Issue an order adjudging and declaring that the defendants’ conduct violated plaintiffs’ rights to due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

C. Issue an order adjudging and declaring that the defendants’ conduct violated plaintiffs’ rights to equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

D. Issue an order adjudging and declaring that the defendants’ conduct violated plaintiffs’ rights under N.Y.S. Executive Law § 740;

E. Issue an order directing that the defendants expunge from plaintiffs’ personnel files any references to the complaints against the plaintiffs that are referenced in this action;

F. Award plaintiffs compensatory damages against the defendants;

G. Award plaintiffs punitive damages against the individual defendants; H. Award plaintiffs the costs and disbursements of this action; I. Award plaintiffs reasonable attorney fees; and

J. Grant plaintiffs such further and other relief as to this Court may seem just andproper.