--------GreeneLand evidently is unhealthy. Among this State’s 62 counties, according to figures compiled by University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute monitors, GreeneLand ranks 59th. Only Chenango, Sullivan and Bronx counties are less healthy. Healthiest of the 62 is Putnam County, closely followed by Saratoga. As for GreeneLand’s neighbors, in health “outcome” scores they rank 27th (Albany), 32nd (Ulster) and 45th (Columbia)
--------Those rankings (www.countyhealthrankings.org/new-york ) stem from statistics that could be inaccurate or could be poor indicators of geographic variations in health. They were calculated on the basis of two equally weighted components. One is “mortality,” which the Health Institute measures by rates of death among residents who have not reached the age of 75. By this gauge alone, GreeneLand sinks to 60th among New York counties (with Nassau first, Albany 36th, Columbia 58th, Ulster 32nd, Sullivan 62nd).
--------The other component of the Health Institute’s “health outcomes” indicator is labeled “morbidity.” It was measured by way of percentage of people rating their health as poor or fair, of numbers of days people estimated that they felt fair or poor in physical and in mental health, and of rates of births of under-weight infants. In morbidity, so measured, GreeneLand ranks 29th among New York counties. Top ranking on this scale goes to Ontario County, with Saratoga placing 9th, Albany 18th, Columbia 16th, Ulster 32nd, and Bronx at the bottom.
--------Coupled with the Health Institute researchers’ effort to rate and rank county populations by health outcomes went an effort to identify, measure and compare health “factors,” or likely contributors to variations in outcome. To this end, the investigators drew on available figures relating to patterns of behavior (smoking, drinking…), to socio-economic features (schooling, jobs, …), to health care facilities, and to physical environment. From the figures they compiled, and the weightings they assigned to the cited factors, the investigators inferred that the best-endowed county in New York State is Nassau. The worst is Bronx. GreeneLand comes in 39th—substantially below neighboring Albany (12th), Columbia (23rd), and Ulster (30th).
--------GreeneLand’s score on health “factors” got pushed down chiefly by the habits and traits of its inhabitants, rather than by its physical environment or the availability and quality of health care facilities. Compared with their neighbors and with residents of a lot of other counties, GreeneLanders are poor (41st among NYS counties), ill-educated (62nd!), under-employed (38th in rate of adult employment), and still addicted to tobacco.
--------Among adults who smoke, the percentage by county ranges from 14 (Rockland) to 33 (Jefferson). The percentage imputed to GreeneLanders is 26. That figure is higher than for Albany County (22%) and Columbia County (18%) and is the same as for Ulster County. In terms of rankings, GreeneLand’s smokers put their county in 46th place relative to other New York counties. That ranking (the lower the rank, the higher the percentage of adult smokers) marks a huge contrast with neighboring Columbia County (10th place) as well as with Albany County (24th).
LATE BULLETIN: DUMPS. The county transfer stations in Catskill, Hunter and Windham are not open on Wednesdays, but are open on Mondays. Only the Coxsackie station is open on Wednesdays. The changes were made recently, with minimal public notice.
RECORD SETTER? Robert C. Knissel of Palenville, 31, was scheduled to appear in Catskill Town court yesterday (Thursday, 3/4/10) to face two charges: the felony of showing contempt of court by violating an order to stay away from a young Palenville woman; and the misdemeanor of committing aggravated harassment of that young woman, by calling her, in the course of a few days in February, 46 times. He was arrested on February 25 and spent some time in jail in lieu of posting $2500 bail or $5000 bond. His court case before Judge Robert Carl was adjourned yesterday until April Fools Day.
MEANWHILE, another Palenville resident was busted recently by State police on welfare fraud charges. According to a bulletin (2/22/10) from the Greene County Social Services Department, Christopher Lis, 66, is accused of collecting from the Department, between May 2007 and September 2008, more than $13,000 in Medicaid benefits to which he was not entitled. Charged with grand larceny, welfare fraud, and filing false instruments, he is due to appear before Catskill Village Justice William Wooton on March 11th.
GREEN IN GREENE Dept. Last Friday (2/26/10) Michelle Plummer sold 1000 shares of Greene County Bancorp at $15 apiece, and bought 4000 shares for just $3.94 apiece. In other words, she paid $15,760 for goods whose immediate market value was $60,000. Not many people can do that. Ms Plummer was exercising options that she had been granted years ago as an employee of the bank. She holds the titles of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer—second only to the titles of President and Chief Executive, as held (along with Board membership) by Donald Gibson.
ReSTORE (not Restore) is the name of a new, ahem, store in Hudson that could be restorative for some GreeneLanders. No, it’s not health foods emporium. It’s a sales outlet run by Habitat for Humanity volunteers, dispensing used and surplus building materials including paint, stain, floor tiles, insulation, plywood, bathroom fixtures, and furniture—all at prices far below normal retail, all in aid of structural renovation qua restoration. It’s located in a big facility at the intersection of State Routes 9H and 66, and is open on Fridays and Saturdays.
TOMORROW at the Agroforestry Resource Center: a workshop on producing (growing, drying) hops, which go into sleep aids as well as beer. The registration deadline was yesterday (3/4) but maybe they’ll accept a late entry. http://agroforestrycenter.org
And after dark, at Windham Mountain, organizers hope to achieve a massive, record-setting “parade” of torch-bearing skiers and board riders. http://windhammountain.com
SUNDAY at Christman’s Windham House: Dinner show featuring Schoharie Creek
Players enacting a female version of “The Odd Couple,” from 5pm.
DAILY MAUL. “Under Sec. 182 NYS Lien Law, property will be sold at Public Auction on Friday, February 19, 2010, at 10 AM on the premises of J&M Self Storage…to satisfy non-payment of rent….”
---------------- --Public Notice published on March 2d.
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2 comments:
You might also want to take a peek at the New York State Health Department's cancer registries. Last time I checked (about five years ago) Greene had something like the third highest rate of lung cancer per capita in the state.
Also, you've made a minor, common and understandable error about the location of ReStore. Though it likely has a Hudson ZIP code, it's not in Hudson. Rather, its location at the intersection of routes 9H and 66 places it in the Town of Claverack -- just beyond the borders of Greenport (to the west) and Ghent (to the north).
People do often refer to shops on Fairview Avenue in Greenport as "Hudson" (including some business owners, e.g. in their radio ads), but Restore is several miles past the G'port strip on 66.
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