Woodstock Times news notes

DEP Nature Walk

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will host a nature walk at 1 p.m. Friday, February 28 at the Ashokan Rail Trail in Boiceville. The event will begin at the Boiceville Bridge Trailhead parking lot off Route 28A. 

DEP ecologists will lead a walk along the rail trail and teach participants how to identify trees and shrubs that commonly grow in the Catskills. Ecologists will teach participants to recognize the physical features of each species, including their buds and bark, to better familiarize them with life in the forest during the colder times of the year. They will also discuss the importance of trees and shrubs to the health of the watershed, and the ecology of several Catskills species. 

Registration for the event is required, as participation is limited to 12 people. Those interested can by finding the event on DEP’s watershed Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nycwatershed. Participants will walk approximately 1 mile out and back on the flat trail. Please come with walking or hiking shoes, water, binoculars and warm clothes. Those seeking more information on this and other DEP outdoor events can email watershedevents@dep.nyc.gov. 

Draft Recreation Plan For Public Review And Comment

The Catskill Watershed Corporation has announced the release for public review of a Draft Comprehensive Recreational Plan for the greater Catskill region, with a focus on the public lands in the Catskill Park and New York City’s Catskill/Delaware watershed.

This plan will serve as a reference document to help guide future recreation decisions in the Greater Catskill Region.

At the Public Hearing on February 13, 2020, it was requested that the comment period be extended, and that hard copies of the plan be made available. As a result, the plan can be found at the following locations for review:

Daniel Pierce Library, Grahamsville, NY

Fairview Library, Margaretville, NY

Middletown Town Hall, Margaretville, NY

Mountain Top Library, Tannersville, NY 

Phoenicia Library, Phoenicia, NY

The CWC welcomes you to review the plan, which can also be found at www.cwconline.org. Comments on the plan must be sent to recreationplan@cwconline.org. The deadline for public comments has been extended to Tuesday, March 31.

Onteora Accepting Applications For Pre-K 

If you live in the Onteora Central School District and have a child turning four by December 1, 2020, you’re invited to apply online for the District’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program for the 2020-2021 school year. UPK online registration forms must be completed by May 8, 2020.

To access the online UPK application, see call 845-657-6383 or see  https://www.onteora.k12.ny.us/departments/pupil-services/universal-pre-kindergarten-program. 

When your child is registered, their name will be added to a list from which the UPK students will be chosen. Onteora’s full-day Universal Pre-K enrollment is based on need. Students who receive Special Education supports, those eligible for free/reduced lunch, and/or those who are English Language Learners will be enrolled first. All other children will be chosen randomly by lottery for the District’s full-day or half-day programs.

Dutchess lawyer To Challenge Delgado For Congress

Another Republican has entered the race to unseat U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-Rhinebeck) in November’s election.

But Millbrook-based attorney and Army Reserve officer Kyle Van De Water will have to overcome Delgado’s formidable fundraising advantage of almost $3 million to compete across the sprawling 19th Congressional District.

Van De Water grew up in Poughkeepsie and attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on an ROTC scholarship. At Amherst, Van De Water earned the Distinguished Military Graduate award and a degree in political science and economics.

Following his graduation from college, Van De Water served in the Army Reserve until his graduation from Albany Law School, when he switched to active duty. As a member of the Army’s Judicial Advocate General’s Corps, Van De Water served as an administrative law attorney at the United States Military Academy and served a tour on Afghanistan, where he earned the Bronze Star in 2011. Van De Water is employed as a litigation attorney at the Poughkeepsie-based firm Corbally, Gartland & Rappleyea, LLP. He lives in Millbrook with his wife Melissa and four children.

The 19th Congressional District covers all of Ulster, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie and Sullivan counties and portions of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery and Rensselaer counties. 

Poughkeepsie-based fashion designer and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump Ola Hawatmeh is seeking the seat. Candidate Mike Roth of Ellenville, running on a far-right platform, has mainly confined his campaign to social media. Also in the race is New Paltz’s Steve Greenfield, who announced earlier this month his intention to make another bid for the seat on the Green Party line.

Catskill Stewards Greeted More Than 50,000 

Created in 2018 by the Catskill Center (in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) to assist in managing high-use at the Peekamoose Blue Hole, the Catskill Stewards Program’s 2019 season expanded program allowed Stewards to reach more than 50,000 visitors to the Catskill Park.

The program expanded from the only Peekamoose Blue Hole to include Kaaterskill Falls and the Platte Clove Preserve.

Trained by Catskill Center, on-site Catskill Stewards answer questions from the public about the Park, its natural resources and communities. The Stewards help re-direct visitors from these very popular areas into the rest of the Park and offer advice on everything from where to go swimming to where to find lunch.

The 2020 Catskill Steward season will focus on additional public educational programs, alongside additional staff at a new location. The Catskill Stewards Program will now host a weekend steward at the Mountain Top Historical Society in Haines Falls.

For more information about the Catskill Stewards Program and to read the Program’s

2019 Annual report, visit catskillcenter.org/catskillstewardsprogram