Animal shelter thanks benefactors
The Saugerties Animal Shelter is blessed with having strong support from the residents of Saugerties and the surrounding communities. In the last few months, the following groups have contributed cash donations, pet food, blankets; towels, cleaning supplies and other useful items to our facility for the benefit of the dogs and cats in our care. Thank you to: The Blue Kats Men’s Organization, Cahill Elementary School, St. Mary of the Snow School, Saugerties Girl Scout troops, Saugerties Monday Club; Ulster/Greene ARC, Atonement Lutheran Church Sunday School, students and staff of the Onteora school system, Woodstock Elementary School, the Woodstock branch of Bank of America, Smith Hardware, Village Apothecary, Brier’s Feed, and our monthly contributor, Target Department Store. We also will be receiving a contribution from the Saugerties Price Chopper Store.
A separate acknowledgement is made to the media. The area newspapers and public access stations in Saugerties and Woodstock have been so helpful. Many thanks also to the individuals who contribute to the shelter. Without their assistance, the improvements to the shelter building could never have been made. Once again, I personally thank the staffs of the Saugerties Shelter and Transfer Station for their patience and support, Guy Monfett for the donation of his expertise and time. He has put his whole heart and any free time into building on the new addition, Anthony Ferraro, for always being available in a moment of electrical and plumbing crisis, all the town departments for their assistance and support, the members of the Saugerties Town Board and those faithful who drop off beautiful yard sale donations each time a sale is scheduled, like the unknown lady who donated a cat figurine collection and costume jewelry. If I have accidentally omitted a contributor, I humbly apologize. Remember our yard sale on May 18. We invite you to come and visit to see what improvements are being made. For further information, call 845-246-6211.
Marie Post
Department manager
Animal Shelter
Rail trail’s benefits
Ulster County has an amazing opportunity to take advantage of a valuable public resource for tremendous public benefit: a rail trail on the county-owned (that is, publicly owned) rail corridor. But a private company, the Catskill Mountain Railroad, which is nearing the end of its 25-year lease on all 38.6 miles of the corridor, refuses to allow the county to develop a usable trail on the portions of the corridor that it doesn’t and will never be able to use. It currently operates only 2.5 miles in Mt. Tremper and another 2.25 miles in Kingston.
In 1979, the county invested $1.5 million ($4.79 million in 2013 dollars) to buy the rail corridor. But between 1991 and this year, the county says it has only collected $35,000 in rent from the Catskill Mountain Railroad. That is an unacceptably bad return on the county’s investment of our money and an enormously generous public subsidy to the privately owned railroad. Furthermore, the Catskill Mountain Railroad has allowed much of the track to deteriorate, failing to keep it clear in many places of trees or garbage and debris. Cleaning this up will cost Ulster Co. taxpayers much more than it has collected over the years from the railroad.
Despite this sorry situation, the county is proposing to allow the Catskill Mountain Railroad to continue to operate in Mt. Tremper, which gets 75 percent of the railroad’s ridership. I believe that is a very generous offer, which the Catskill Mountain Railroad should accept. It would allow the railroad to continue operating in an area that it can handle, while freeing up the rest of the rail corridor for a trail that could be used by pedestrians, cyclists, and in some places horseback riders.
But at least so far, it doesn’t look like the railroad is going to take that offer. Although Catskill Mountain Railroad has not allowed anybody else to use the corridor in the past, it is now promoting a “rails and trails” campaign. But this can’t work, because a 26-foot corridor is needed to accommodate both rail and trail. There are many places along the corridor where that would be impossible, for instance through underpasses, over bridges, through narrow rock cuts, or adjacent to private property, so such a plan would privilege the railroad at the expense of the trail.
The county’s ultimate goal is to develop a world-class trail system that would enable people to go all the way from Highmount to the Walkway Over the Hudson. Trail users would also be able to access the D&H Heritage Trail that begins in Hurley and the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. The Walkway over the Hudson attracted more than 780,000 in its first year (2009), and now is responsible for more than $24 million a year in economic activity. I’m sure that a rail trail through our beautiful mountains, aside from being an incredible asset to those of us who are lucky enough to live here full-time, would attract millions and generate the kind of low-impact, environmentally friendly economic activity that would really boost the region and that so many have been wanting for so long.
I urge our elected officials to do whatever they can to make the trail a reality as soon as possible.
Karen Charman
Shandaken
Connect the rail trails
I’m writing to bring your attention, and that of our County Legislators, to the enormous economic and tourism benefits of creating the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail. By converting 30 or so miles of this approximately 40 mile corridor (leaving out the 3-6 miles near Phoenicia that the railroad occasionally uses), northern Ulster County can reap the benefits of having a world-class rail trail.
Such benefits are already being realized by residents, business owners, and visitors elsewhere in Ulster County, thanks to the work of those who have seen the O&W(Route 209)/D&H Canal, the Wallkill Valley (Rte 32), and the Hudson River Valley (paralleling Route 299 between Highland & New Paltz) rail trails take shape over the past few years.
These rail trails coupled with the contemplated U&D rail trail are the beginnings of realizing a grand vision of reconnecting communities within and between Ulster and Dutchess Counties via the Walkway Over the Hudson, and the entire New York southern tier to each other and to nature.
This grand vision entails a network of rail trails that extend as “spokes” through the Wallkill Valley, Rondout Valley, Rondout Waterfront/Kingston Point and the Catskill Mountains that will meet at a midtown “hub” in the historic City of Kingston, helping the city to serve as a key focal point for economic development opportunities in the Catskill region.
Multiple studies demonstrate that longer rail trails attract more tourists, who stay for longer periods of time, and spend far higher amounts during their visits. In light of this, the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail promises to be a significant component of the region’s recreational and tourism future. It is deserving of all of our support.
Dave Channon
Shandaken
Use it or lose it
As a health-conscious person who loves the outdoors, I have been following the debate over the proposed rail trail for I wanted it built yesterday! I don’t understand why Ulster County should continue to give preferential treatment to a private company, the Catskill Mountain Railroad, that uses a county-owned resource to charge money for people to enjoy the scenic beauty of land that we tax payers should be able to access freely.
The only free (i.e. legal, without a paid permit) access to the spectacular views along the northern side of the Ashokan Reservoir is the Ulster & Delaware railroad corridor and that segment has remained unused throughout CMRR’s lease. The CMRR’s current 25-year lease that began in 1991 calls for it to restore to active service one additional mile of track per year for the life of the lease. Over the last 30 years of its two leaseholds, CMRR has restored only about six miles of track at the height of its operations (pre-Hurricane Irene).
It is way overdue for the county to consider alternate uses of this underutilized U&D corridor, so that it can broadly benefit our local communities as well as the Catskill Mountain Region as a whole. There’s no question that re-purposing underutilized rail corridors as recreational trails provides many year-round benefits, from enhancing the overall health of individuals and connecting children with nature, to greatly benefiting local businesses (which would increase county tax revenues and employment levels), and protecting the environment.
I hope our county legislators will recognize their responsibility to put the interests of their many constituents over the desire of a fee-charging private company to control a public resource that it does not even use. To me it is crystal clear that legislators ought to think of the greater good and support the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail.
R. R. Jackson
Woodstock
Support elementary school libraries
In today’s climate of ever-shrinking funding, hard decisions need to be made in order to balance the school budget. As you consider where to make cuts and what programs to eliminate, please consider the following information about school library programs and school librarians.
While all school libraries are important, we believe that school libraries, especially elementary school libraries, and certified school librarians to staff them are needed now more than ever. As you know, elementary school provides the basis upon which all further education is built. A strong school library program in elementary school will result in the future success of your students as they move toward college and careers.
Strong school libraries build strong students. Schools must empower our students to be ethical decision makers, effective users of information, creative thinkers, and innovative problem-solvers. School library programs are critical to provide all students and the entire school community with the resources, the instruction, the opportunities, and the leadership to prepare for college, career, and lifelong learning. Certified school librarians:
Provide technology to the entire school community and the necessary instruction to find the most reliable information, how to stay safe online, and how to use this information ethically. This is digital literacy.
Provide students with vicarious experiences with other cultures, mores, and life styles for a better understanding of themselves and their place in society.
Provide for interaction with carefully selected resources and tools necessary for students to create products that demonstrate authentic learning.
Collaborate with teachers to select the most engaging and appropriate resources and learning experiences to co-teach subject content and the critical thinking skills needed to meet the Common Core State Standards.
Involve the school community in literacy initiatives and teaching reading comprehension skills in order to ensure that students think critically, and produce knowledge from the ideas and information with which they interact.
We call on the members of the Board of Education of every school to please consider these points before making a decision to eliminate any school library program run by a certified school librarian. Thank you for your consideration.
Carol Ann Germain
President, New York Library Association
State University of New York, Albany
Join the family! 
