Our hearts are overwhelmed
So many have been touched by the loss of our beloved son, brother, and uncle.
We are humbled by the outpouring of love and support from those near and far: family, friends, neighbors, and the Brotherhood of Fire Fighters, Police and EMS.
We cherish each and every gesture, every tribute made in Jack’s honor.
The fire trucks …. Friends and neighbors lining the streets .… Firefighters and first responders standing at attention and saluting Jack in the bitter cold was the most beautiful sight our grieving family has ever seen.
Our hearts are overwhelmed! We know it’s just not possible to thank every single person that honored Jack in one way or another, but we hope this letter lets each and every one of you know that we have felt and cherish your love and support.
Jack’s memory, and your love, uplifts us and gives us the courage to smile and slowly put one foot in front of the other. You have given us strength. You have become part of the light that guides us.
Thank you.
With love and honor,
Gary, Linda, Matt, Marley, and Jess Rose
Saugerties
Info about Solarize
It was great to see Bob Berman’s article “Going Solar.” He did an excellent job in breaking down the choices and the issues for homeowners. A few months ago I saw a reference in a business column that said “the Hudson Valley is awash in solar marketing.” There is a lot of interest, and it is exciting to see solar arrays going up everywhere as you drive around the county.
However, there is an important piece to add: Solarize Hudson Valley is the non-profit, community-sponsored, state-supported project. The purpose of Solarize is simply to give people the information they need to decide whether solar makes sense for their home or business. We do this through community workshops and solar open houses, sponsored by volunteers who are your neighbors. By partnering with solar installation companies that are pre-certified by NYSERDA, our state energy authority, and qualified through a rigorous process to assure that they are financially stable (they’ll be around for a long time to come) and dedicated to best practices. We offer choices: roof mount or ground mount, lease or purchase, local or national company. Plus one more very important thing: our installers offer a group purchase discount so that the costs Bob cites in his article are actually 10 to 15 % cheaper with our Solarize discount.
Bob mentioned three of the installers we worked with in 2015. Here are the other four: NY State Solar Farm (Gardiner), Lotus Energy (Hudson), Apex Solar Power (a regional company) and Direct Energy Solar (a national company).
Solarize Hudson Valley is a project of Sustainable Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountainkeeper. It reframes the individual decision to go solar as a community-wide campaign. Our next wave will include all of Ulster and Dutchess Counties beginning March 1. It’s for business owners, too. To find out more, go to our website, and get on our list for 2016 www.solarize-HudsonValley.org.
John Wackman
Program manager
Solarize Hudson Valley
Promoting solar power
Kudos to Bob Berman for his clearly presented overview of the possibilities for Solar Power acquisition by the general public (January 7, edition of Saugerties Times). I feel his review helps dispel the notion that adoption of this environment-friendly, money-saving, technology is as daunting or costly as some may believe. I hope it opens the door to many who would like to investigate the possibilities for themselves.
There is a group of local volunteers whose goal it is to aid folks who are interested in that investigation. We go under the name of Solarize Saugerties and have begun a campaign to reach out and assist by offering information to make it easy and affordable to have the advantages of solar power. We will make information available via website, Facebook, and face-to-face workshops (where one will be able to speak directly to people with personal experience with solar-power ownership, with installers themselves … as well offering free evaluations of individual’s particular situation).
If you are interested in getting information, or helping with our efforts, please contact us at solarizesaugerties@gmail.com or at the Solarize Saugerties Facebook page, and let us know how we can help.
Open yourself to the blessings of the sun.
Skip Arthur
Saugerties
Apocalypse and politics
This election will be as dramatic as I’ve ever seen, not just because of my belief that our future will depend on it not just for eight years, but for hundreds because of where our planet is at this moment.
I believe in climate change, and I believe that since it is already happening. It is having a huge impact on our sanity. If we don’t accept that as a fact, I believe that we feel it in our bodies and our minds.
Our universal food supply is already feeling it as reported by the United Nations panel on the subject. The bees, the butterflies, the fish and other species are already in danger, and it is now moving on and affecting the plants and trees as well.
A report done by Stanford University said that: “Almost everywhere, you see the warming effects have a negative affect on wheat and corn.” They also said that heat and water stress could reduce yields of food overall by 25% within 20 years. For those whose only issue is money, that’s bad. Then, aside from food, there are floods, fear, and violence, which are already at work all over the planet.
This is why as I look at the upcoming elections, I have finally decided, along with some leading Democrats, that Bernie Sanders has a better chance of fighting The Donald than Hillary. Although I’d love to see the first woman president, I just don’t think that this is the moment for that, since I see it as a life-on-earth issue, if not for all of us, certainly for a lot of us. Some are saying that Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren could jump in, but I doubt that.
I must admit that I see it as a race against a brilliant speaker, and I see Bernie Sanders as someone who knows how to put the gloves on and fight. The two issues that are at the forefront for me are climate change and the toxins that are causing fear and violence all around the world. I believe that we have to pay attention to the reality that is becoming obvious and never forget that democracy is not a spectator sport.
Jill Paperno
Glenford
Join the family! 
