The views and opinions expressed in our letters section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hudson Valley One. You can submit a letter to the editor here.
The question is: Why?
In May 2019, the Commission of Civic Design (CCD) was asked by the Town Board to conduct a review of Walker’s architectural design for an addition to the existing two-story Comeau Building. The CCD accepted this assignment, fully agreeing that the Town offices are in need of improvements and upgrades. But the CCD has not been allowed by McKenna to complete their review of the Comeau Project.
The CCD had three design reviews with Walker Architects. The first review was on 6/10/19, when the CCD brought up the need to widen the narrow single-loaded hallway, to study alternative roof forms other than interior-facing shed roofs and questioned the choice of windows, which did not relate to or complement the Comeau Building.
The second review on 9/23/19 showed some changes in the design, but the submitted overall plan and form remained similar to the original, which resulted in the CCD requesting “future design reviews because there remain serious design issues.”
The third review was on 4/12/21, at which time the CCD concluded that the submitted plans still had serious design issues. Since then, numerous requests by the CCD to both the Walkers and McKenna to schedule additional reviews have gone unanswered.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Back to the ‘50s
In the ‘50s, we had senator Joseph McCarthy charge anyone who disagreed with him a Communist sympathizer. How strange to have a liberal today use his tactics accusing me of being a member of the Hudson Valley Proud Boys. While I’ve heard of the Proud Boys, until Mr. Rothberg informed us, I was unaware that there was a Hudson Valley chapter. To my knowledge, none of my friends are members. Rather than rebut my criticisms of President Biden, he resorts to name-calling.
Without attempting character assassination, I’ll list some of the things I don’t like about the Biden administration. Most recently, when asked about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, the president said he hadn’t followed the trial and stated, “I stand by what the jury has concluded.” After 72 minutes he said, “The verdict leaves many Americans angry and concerned, myself included.” It seems that the “they” that instruct him when to take questions from the press and who to call on changed his view, as there was no way he could review the trial transcript in 72 minutes. As always, I wonder who “they” are.
Just a few other reasons: his untimely pullout of Afghanistan, resulting in 13 dead American military personnel and nine innocent civilians, including eight children, and his promise to make sure all Americans were out safely is still unfulfilled, and many of the Afghans he brought into this country are not vetted and some have walked off US military bases, as we have no right to detain them.
The open border where almost two million illegal aliens have been let in and transported around the country, including Westchester Airport. It’s done in the middle of the night with no notification to local authorities. We had 93,000 drug deaths last year and we just passed 100,000 this year. While the border patrol is handling the illegals, the cartels are smuggling drugs by the tons, which is a good reason drug deaths are spiking. In addition, the border patrol estimates there have been three to four hundred thousand “got aways” who we know nothing about. Border patrol has seen people from 150 countries enter illegally. The overwhelming number of the refuges are unvaccinated and can’t be forced to be vaccinated, while citizens can lose their jobs if they don’t want the vaccine under Biden’s mandate. I could go on, but this is enough for now.
John Habersberger
New Paltz
Affordable Housing Board needs Village volunteers
The Village of New Paltz’s Affordable Housing Board (AHB) is in need of new members. It’s imperative to have volunteers in order for this board (and all our boards) to function. Right now is a critical time for the AHB in approving applicants for housing. If you are a Village of New Paltz resident and are interested In volunteering for the AHB, please send letter of interest to affordablehousing@villageofnewpaltz.org. We have an excellent team who can teach you and guide you through the process — there is no direct experience necessary except a desire to help house people in our community.
AHB meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m., with some special meetings peppered in when needed.
We really need you, villagers!
Michele Zipp, Trustee
Village of New Paltz
Big Bird is the word
Who’s the real turkey for Thanksgiving? Yeah, we can once again add ultra-lightweight thinker Texas senator and Rethuglican Ted Cruz to the culture wars as he squared off in a vax clash with Big Bird! He picked a fight with a Muppet? Wait…Republicans watch PBS? Oh wow. What a headline; The Onion is really going full force. Wait…It wasn’t The Onion’s parody news reporting this stupidity? It’s difficult to present yourself as a rough and rugged Texan when you’re so intimidated by a children’s show. And when did the narrative switch from “Do what you want, just don’t make me do it” to “No one is allowed to be vaccinated”?
The real birdbrain easily had his feathers ruffled by a big “bad” bird. Now, who is really being the puppet here? Pretty sad when you gotta blame the kids’ favorite TV characters to get your sick agenda to be heard. Truly embarrassing, Mr. Cruz and company. The right wing is so fragile they even have to call Big Bird a “communist” to soothe themselves – so much fake pearl-clutching by these elected officials and their reactionary comrades.
Republicans and conservative media pundits who are vaccinated are outraged at fictional characters getting vaccinated. If it wasn’t encouraging dangerous behavior, it would be funny. Republicans have been trying to cancel Big Bird (mainly Sesame Street) for years. The dumbest part is that our big yellow feathery friend has been educating kids about vaccinations for decades; he’s been getting vax shots since the early ‘70s on television. I’ve never heard it referred to as government propaganda in regard to Sesame Street before. No one had a negative response until this global virus was politicized.
In other news, Oscar the Grouch says he was “immunized,” but later clarified that he did not receive the vaccine. Instead, he “did his own research.” He said he spoke to several “doctors” and Joe Rogan and plans to believe that his alternative treatment, known as living inside of a garbage can his entire life, has made him basically immune from any disease, including COVID-19. And Elmo taught us to wash our hands. Brainwashing and handwashing! Damn those Sesame Street characters.
So very sad. Sesame Street is an American treasure. We know right-wing behavior, so there really isn’t anyone surprised by this headline, right? I really do not understand what happened to about half of our nation. They have so much hate in them for things that are good – like Big Bird, vaccines, educating children, equality and helping those in need. You have a screw loose, like, really loose, if you’re mad at Big Bird for vaccine messaging.
Once again, the conservative right are wrong! They have flown the coop from health and safety, good science and the importance of facts and education. Oh, the horror of real puppetry!
Happy Thanksgiving to the Hudson Valley One publication and to all readers and letter-writers; peacefulness always!
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Chasing rainbows
A whole city stops to gaze at a rainbow.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Vaccinated for COVID & proud of it!
In his November 10 letter, Mr. Steve Romine has created the illusion of his “scientific capability” by comparing the 856,919 adverse events (AEs) reported to VAERS over the last year to 1,673,645 such events reported over the last 30 years. He thus claims that 65,000 (actually 55,788 according to my calculation) AEs would have “been expected,” “using the rate seen in the last 30 years.”
Unfortunately (and erroneously), Mr. Romine has not based his calculations on the actual “rate” of AEs per vaccine injection, but rather the absolute number of injection AEs over the two different time periods. According to the latest US data (up to 11/14/21), “at least 226,607,653 people or 69 percent of the US population have received at least one COVID dose” in approximately the last 11 months (https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states).
Therefore, this disproportionately large number of recent vaccinations should have been factored into this analysis to arrive at a valid historical comparison of AE “rates per injection.” I therefore think that Steve is going to have to do some extensive recalculation and reevaluation in order to convince us to forgo any additional “shots.” I personally admire logic and science – giving me a great deal of trust in the expertise of Dr. Fauci and the other well-qualified officials at the CDC and NIH – and I am proud to say that I have fully embraced the current vaccination program for myself and others.
Finally, in evaluating the scientific expertise demonstrated thus far by Mr. Romine, I would have to say, “not so much!” In this regard, I would like to ask Mr. Romine if he has personally received any COVID vaccinations and whether he is urging us to “do as he says, but not as he does”? Just asking!
Peter V. Fiorentino
Rosendale
Democrats like Delgado simply worthless
My disappointment with representative Antonio Delgado had been limited to his utter lack of interest in human rights. He has been a steady and well-paid ally to apartheid Israel, raking in $31,723 from the Israel lobby in 2021. Just how does that cash square with his talk about overcoming racism?
But his recent co-sponsoring of the SALT Deductibility Act shows just what kind of a rich man’s Democrat we have voted in. In his own words, he supports “bipartisan legislation that would eliminate the harmful cap on state and local tax deductions.” Harmful to whom? Why do the very richest of Americans want even more tax breaks than they have now? According to the Brookings Institute, “Lifting the cap on the SALT deduction would massively favor the rich, with most of the benefit going to the top one percent.”
According to Representative Delgado, all he is doing is “simplifying the tax code by closing loopholes that serve only the wealthiest Americans.” No, Representative Delgado, you are pushing through a bill that would – again according to Brookings – “give almost three times as much, as a share of the cut, to the top one percent.”
How stupid does he think we are? His recent letter to constituents is full of praise for working families. But Representative Delgado knows just who is paying his tab: Wall Street, the wealthiest Americans and the Israel lobby. Democrats like Delgado are simply worthless to the rest of us. Don’t we, the 99 percent, deserve someone better?
Fred Nagel
Rhinebeck
Just sayin’
Shout-out to Uncle Joe: He did it all in ten months. DeBlasio took eight years. Taliban, Afghanistan, People without Borders, big lies, murder and so much more.
On a good note: Bye-bye Billy De and Andy C., Tesla cars and trips to Mars. Is Kamala really feeding Pete’s twins? ’Til next time.
Greg Safris
Woodstock
Delgado wants to release petroleum
I was distressed to receive an e-mail from Congressman Delgado touting his letter to the president asking for a release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I understand that higher gas/oil prices are difficult for many folks, and I support providing more money to programs that provide energy assistance to those people. But releasing oil makes no sense at all at a time when we are in a climate crisis.
First of all, it encourages the use of fossil fuels and postpones the day when we are weaned off of them. More oil seems madness only days after an international conference on addressing climate change. Secondly, why should people (such as myself) who can afford higher gas/oil prices benefit from lower prices? Gas prices are $8 a gallon in Great Britain, $5 a gallon in Canada, $4 a gallon in Mexico.
Finally, there is little evidence that such a release is effective at reducing gas prices, other than perhaps in the very short term. It is just a political stunt with no real impact other than the release of another few millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Richard Azoff
Saugerties
ID for voting
I voted recently and did not have to prove my identity. Today, I had to show my ID to make a bank transaction.
I don’t understand why proving my identity is required for a bank transaction but not required when I vote.
Tom Losee
New Paltz
Leave nature alone!
I support the objections raised to the latest proposal for inappropriate development of Winston Farm’s 800 acres. They are many and valid, from habitat preservation to doubts about serious economic benefit to the residents of Saugerties, not to mention the dire noise pollution and traffic congestion issues to anyone who lives nearby or has to navigate the 212/32 intersection. But my most fundamental concern is along the lines of the “Think global, act local” mantra.
Anyone who pays attention to what’s happening with global warming – I won’t go into the list of catastrophic outcomes manifesting all over the world here, but as a recent “graduate” of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project training, I could – must understand that every piece of land left in its natural state (undeveloped, unimproved, unlandscaped, unchanged) is what the planet needs now. Roads and traffic, buildings that require heating and cooling, entertainment venues that use monstrous amounts of electricity: These contribute to carbon pollution and new ones increase it. Unspoiled natural landscapes act as “carbon sinks,” meaning they suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
All the people living on Planet Earth are interconnected now. The large-scale burning of the Amazon rainforest, for example, is damaging the whole Earth’s capacity to maintain a balanced atmosphere by destroying one of the world’s most important carbon sinks and adding to air pollution at the same time. We in Saugerties are affected by climate catastrophes wherever they happen, both environmentally and economically. Do you think it’s a matter of scale? But consider that all the little Winston Farms all over the US add up, and it’s obvious that we have to take responsibility, along with everyone else, to preserve our open and forested spaces.
So, it’s unconscionable to support development of Winston Farm, unless you honestly don’t know what’s happening or think you’re exempt from its consequences. Business as usual got us into this mess, and it will only make things worse if we don’t stop paving over every available inch. Our mantra must be Leave Nature Alone!
Stay informed about the opposition to this project for local development by e-mailing beautifulsaugerties@gmail.com and requesting to be put on the mailing list. You can also support Catskill Mountainkeeper, which has joined this fight alongside the local group.
Janet Asiain
Saugerties
Hand over your heart
Put your hand over your heart. I have all my life. You may feel now this motion is more of a salute to the past than a gesture of honor.
We are witnessing morality, a bulwark built to protect democracy, crumble. Justice, the principal rampart of our republic, has lost its authority to wealth, politics and bureaucracy. Our leadership has forgotten that millions of living and dead soldiers have gone to war to defend their freedoms.
Throughout history, our military and government’s captaincy has rhetorically supported morality and humanity. Going to war was first to protect the United States and second to plant the seeds of freedom and justice on the battlefields of foreign lands.
We all know that the political rhetoric espoused in our history’s moral codes over the last 100 years of political speeches was just that: rhetoric. Yet, though everyone knew this was political talk, concern in our cities, towns and village governments was evident. The welfare of the hungry and sick could be taken care of by churches and synagogues, if not the government and concerned citizens. Protecting the unprotected happened; educating all children, regardless of color, was attempted.
Today, mentoring, apprenticing, instilling emotional intelligence and taking the time to teach humanity through behaviors get bulldozed by ones and zeros. The myopic keyboard education communicates self-serving information with no real consequences if deceptions are delivered. Technology is like money. When used as power, the reality of human life becomes diminished to numbers and codes that lose heartbeat and spirit. Truth and trust become so difficult to sort out. So many surrender and wash up on the beach like the billions of tons of plastics we throw in the digital sea of hyperbole.
When you put your hand to your chest, it is touching the only place on your body that will keep us alive today. Imagine if Americans touched their hearts as often as their keyboards.
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Dear God, we need another Moses
We have Republican members reacting to fellow Republicans as to their vote giving all manner of verbal death threats. Outrageous! What happened to manners? Civility?
They say history repeats itself. We have a nation returning to the days of the Wild Wild West. Everyone has guns, knives. Shootings daily, weekly, everywhere. Older women robbed, abused. Immigrants receiving more perks, money than our own. When growing up I heard frequently, “Take care of your own first, then care for others.”
Whenever there is an injustice to the blacks, riots occur, stores looted. I am not against the black community, but when our white women are raped and other crimes occur, you don’t have whites starting riots, burning shops et cetera.
Watching TV at night becomes a challenge to avoid violence, murders, abuse to women. Brainwashing commercials every four minutes. Children killing parents? Parents killing children? Is it any wonder we are unraveling? Time for a Moses to come down a mountain and reinstate the rules!
When I grew up, your mouth was washed with soap if you swore. You were home when it became dark. You were allowed no parties in your own home or to go to one unless there were two sets of parents chaperoning. You never went to school sick. Girls wore skirts. No makeup or smoking until a certain age. No rumors of a pregnant student. Swearing not allowed at any time. I saw a fiancé during college break. No sex. At night he stayed at a neighbor’s home. I loved those years. No one was rebelling. In grammar school, the Ten Commandants were visible along with the Golden Rule.
Let’s bring them back. A thousand times I have given thanks to a dad who enforced the rules. It was called “upbringing,” and it was this upbringing that created what has been defined as “the Greatest Generation.”
Joyce Benedict
Hyde Park
Urgency of now for local immigrants
If you are an immigrant living and working in Ulster County, any or all of these situations might apply to you:
• You fled your country of origin because of political, gang or sexual violence, kidnapping and extortion, environmental devastation and/or economic injustice.
• Although seeking asylum in the US and working legally, if you lose your job, you cannot get unemployment or most other state or federal benefits.
• While awaiting a ruling affecting your immigration status, you must work off the books and may be easily exploited.
• When you got COVID, instead of giving you paid or unpaid time off, your boss fired you.
• People on the street sometimes shout racist insults, telling you to go back to a country they know nothing about.
• You might lose your apartment when New York State’s eviction moratorium is lifted in January.
• A real estate developer is buying up houses in your neighborhood, planning to replace them with luxury apartments.
• Your child was born with a preventable health problem because you did not have access to prenatal care.
• You work 70 hours a week, but the cost of childcare means you cannot afford to properly feed your family.
During COVID in particular, many immigrant families fell into dire financial straits. A groundbreaking program in New York State, the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF), has provided up to $15,600 each to thousands of immigrants without whose work our economy would falter. The Fund was quickly exhausted, with the lion’s share of the money going to New York City residents. The majority of Ulster County immigrants received no money from the Fund.
Even as we get back to work, the urgent needs of many Ulster County immigrants will worsen this year. Take, for example, the situation in Kingston. The National Association of Realtors reports that from 2020 to the second quarter of this year, Kingston had a 22.5 percent increase in the median price of homes. Low-income renters are being forced out, with the immigrant community disproportionately affected.
Many of us are appalled by the increasing cruelty and injustice of this moment in our national history, but none suffer from the country’s grave inequities more directly than our immigrant neighbors. As Giving Tuesday approaches, November 30, there is much to be done to improve the lives of immigrants whose work and culture we all benefit from.
First, donate what you can to Hudson Valley nonprofits that serve those who our government has failed. Second, pursue a volunteer opportunity with these organizations. Third, contact your state legislators; encourage them to press their colleagues and the governor to reopen the Excluded Workers Fund.
Don’t let this year be the one in which Ulster County immigrants experience record levels of homelessness and violence.
Patty Grossman
on behalf of the Board of Ulster Immigrant Defense Network
Woodstock Immigrant Support, wdstk.is@gmail.com
Woodstock
UnCivile rhymes with silly
After reading Meyer Rothberg’s letter “Booby Prize winners!” I thought “how terribly ‘woke’ of him.” (Please see my parody “When You’re Woke.”) Meyer complained that my parody songs – although prizeworthy – are silly and, along with John Habersberger’s letters and those of our “ilk,” deserve the “Booby Prize” with regard to content. After encouraging us to “Let It Go” (in other words, stop writing), Meyer gave us a “heads-up” explaining that we sound like idiots to “anyone who is thoughtful or informed.”
With this in view, it seems appropriate to acknowledge that Meyer, despite promising to cancel his Hudson Valley One subscription because the paper printed letters like mine and Mr. Habersberger’s, is still reading the paper. Thank you, Meyer, for not canceling and continuing to read and comment on my letters. (Apparently, Meyer finds them worthy of his “woke” consideration, despite the idiocy they contain.)
Because of this, it also seems appropriate to present yet another silly George “UnCivile” (Meyer’s description of me) song parody (based upon the Sinatra classic “That’s Why the Lady Is a Tramp”) titled “That’s Why I’m Voting for Old Joe.” Inspired by POTUS Biden’s presidential campaign and first ten months in office, the song presents some pretty compelling reasons why a Democrat would vote to reelect Joe Biden in 2024. It works best if the reader imagines Mr. Rothberg singing the song, in the style of “Old Blue Eyes,” as if no one was watching and listening except the “thoughtful and informed” readers Meyer claims to represent.
His Dad from Scranton gave Joe advice
Joe told us all and it sounded nice
Joe got my vote once; he’ll get it twice
That’s why I’m voting for old Joe
He gave Charlemagne-tha-god a lot of flack
Said blacks for Trump weren’t really black
He’s a real liberal po-lit-ical hack
That’s why I’m voting for brother Joe
Joe says the rich should pay their fair share
Trump said that to NATO, but it wasn’t fair
His critics say Joe has fake plugs for hair
That’s why I’ll vote for Uncle Joe
(Bridge)
The Donald said that Joe was so bad
Though I got mad, no joke, Joe’s woke
Joe stopped the building of Trump’s border wall
Now the border looks like a Black Friday shopping mall
Immigrants are surging from springtime to fall
But I’m still voting for dear old Joe
Joe said he’d be a POTUS we all could trust
But his Afghan withdrawal was such a bust
I can’t defend it, try though I must
That’s why my vote will go to Joe
(Bridge)
His choice of VP came as a shock
It shook the whole world but made Kamala’s world rock
He made NATO’s leaders feel so secure
They liked him better than Trump for sure
But Joe’s decisions have caused a NATO uproar
But NATO’s overrated as informed people know
He always counts stars and grains of sand
He’s increased division across the land
President Macron thinks Joe’s so out of hand
He withdrew France’s ambassador ‘cos of Joe
(Bridge)
I know inflation is rising fast, Joe said it won’t last
“Here’s the deal: It’s not real!”
Nancy won’t impeach him or call him names
Ridicule his style or his press-avoiding games
He said Mitt’s party would put blacks back in chains
De Niro’s glad Joe isn’t Trump
Joe writes orders that are against the law
Leaving Americans behind stuck in my craw
But I will love him despite every flaw
As long as he’s not Donald Trump
(Bridge)
They mock Joe’s tales like “bad dude” Corn Pop
I mock them too, but Joe just can’t stop
The press’ questions never lay a glove
They treat Joe like he’s their great love
It’s getting harder, but when push comes to shove
Everyone knows I’ve got Joe’s back
I think Civile’s an “uncivile” guy
And if you ask me, I’ll tell you why
His songs are silly and make me cry
All thoughtful Feedback readers say it’s so
And that’s why we’re voting for our guy Joe
George Civile
Gardiner
Lack of imagination?
The children being born this year will be close to my age when the world as we know it, and all mankind, will cease to exist. This is an existential threat. Really, a rather highly dramatic, intentionally frightening term, chosen to scare many people into voting for a team of exceptionally competent, “settled science” politicians. We picked Joe.
Any group of intelligent people who cannot come up with a solution to the ocean rising three whole feet in 80 or so years is not so smart. This is easier to solve than funding Social Security in the year 2100. This is easier to solve than feeding the two or three trillion people who will be living here.
Floods, droughts and a lot of other scary things are talked about in the Old Testament. A slave by the name of Joseph made a big name for himself (and evened the score with his brothers) by planning for bad times. Today, we need a guy who can think about the problem, and in the next several decades, help us plan the solution.
We move gasoline from Louisiana to New York in a pipeline and have for years. We often have way too much water in Louisiana, but we cannot seem to move any of it to the drought-plagued West. That seems illogical to me. It does not seem illogical to politicians. They don’t actually seem to consider it. What a bumbling group of rich wannabes.
When the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit, and the truly brave men and women brought down the plane headed for an attack on Washington, our leadership forgave themselves for not catching the attackers, who boarded four planes, by exclaiming their surprise at the form of the attack because it had never happened before! But at that same time, a very popular author, Tom Clancy, had written and sold a best-seller in which a Japanese airline captain successfully flew his 747 into the US Capitol Building, killing most of our national government. His motive was different, his method was identical.
When our government is surprised, it suggests they lack imagination. Duh.
Did you know that New York State has twice as much forest as it did in 1850? To hear the climate alarmists, you’d think we are running low on trees, on oil, on clean air, on whatever will make a lot of us go batty. Ain’t true! We are just flopping around looking for someone to blame. Oh, and get more votes. Generally, I think my mirror gives me a clue.
Blame me and the guy in your mirror.
Paul Nathe
New Paltz
Fair pay for home care
I am glad that Michael Solow and Margarita Asiain recently brought the issue of fair pay for home-care workers to this Letters section. They both rightly point out that the prevailing $12 hourly rate paid by Medicaid is unconscionable. It was a crisis case before healthcare aides had to navigate the pandemic and the sudden spike in housing costs in our region. Now, the issue of low pay for difficult work has grown more dire.
In a report issued by CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies, a current shortage of caregivers, coupled with ongoing industry attrition over the next decade, means that “over the ten-year period 2018 to 2028, nearly 1,000,000 job positions must be filled to meet the demand for aides.” (And that’s just in New York State.)
A growing number of seniors aim to “age in place,” and many will require home-health aides at some stage of their lives. Already, we’re seeing a growing number of seniors in the mid-Hudson Valley with the need for help, but unable to even locate an available caregiver.
Boosting the hourly wage rate to $22.50, as the “Fair Pay for Home Care” act calls for, is long overdue. And it should be indexed for inflation, so that it doesn’t slowly stagnate, as has been the case with the federal minimum wage (which remarkably, has been stuck at $7.25/hour since 2009).
Whether fair pay for home-care workers will personally affect either you or a loved one isn’t the point. All of us have a stake in addressing this issue, which is already beyond the crisis point. Please raise the issue with your local legislator. If they hear from enough of us, maybe they will feel compelled to help get this bill signed into law.
David Sterman
Huguenot Financial Planning
New Paltz
SAA Golf Tourney thank you
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish to give my many thanks, along with my sincere appreciation to all the sponsors, volunteers and players who made the SAA’s 30th annual Sawyer Motors/Sawyer Chevy Golf Tournament an overwhelming success.
Returning to a somewhat normal tournament, after last year’s COVID-modified tournament, the tournament was a sell-out and a financial success for the 30th consecutive year.
Many thanks to our tournament lead sponsor Bob and Larry Siracusano for their tremendous show of generosity to the SAA. Both are truly remarkable individuals. We are most fortunate and lucky to have both of them as part of our great community.
Additionally, John and Sara Smith, proprietors of Rip Van Winkle Country Club, the venue host. Their current show of support and generosity continues to be unprecedented, as it has been for the past 30 years, from the Smith Family!
The combined hundreds of businesses, organizations and individuals who have taken various levels of sponsorship each year, along with those who have donated and contributed prizes, gifts, etc. and the 80 players, some, who have participated since year one. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
My many thanks to the tournament committee, along with the other volunteers who play vital roles and work the tournament, the day of. To all of you, your tireless efforts, dedication, support and generosity has been unprecedented. I, nor any one person, could ever do without each and every one of you.
None of this would be possible if it were not for all aforementioned, all for the benefit of the SAA, our youth and community. I can never begin to extend the amount of thanks and appreciation equal to your support and generosity.
I wish everyone a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season, along with hopes you are able to enjoy the season and the wonders of Christmas to its fullest with family and friends. May 2022 bring you nothing but happiness and good health, along with being your best year yet. Thank you all, again and all the best to the best!
Greg Chorvas, Chairman
SAA Golf Tournament
Saugerties
Town of Woodstock capital projects
There seems to be a virus in the Town of Woodstock that is not related to COVID. Our taxing institutions have been struck with the compulsion to take taxpayer’s money from “excesses” in the annual budget and put them in a capital fund that are later used for building plans. Another way to put this is that our taxes have been excessive to create assets for building projects.
Both the Woodstock Library and the Town board have been hit by this malady.
On July 1, 2019, The Woodstock library had a surplus of $134,326 out of a budget of $641,744 (approximately 1/6th of the taxpayer’s bill). The library board moved $100,000 into the capital fund which they later used to pay the architect Tilly on a project that has been abandoned. The auditor for the Library recommended that the Library board use the “Uniform System of Accounts for the Capital fund as required.”
Meanwhile, the Town of Woodstock voters approved a $1 million bond for an addition to the Comeau property. This bond was low due to the Town squirreling away $1.9 million into the capital fund from the annual taxes.
This virus might be called “tax to avoid public input on capital projects.” That original virus seems to have evolved into a variant that attacks the concept of public meetings on the capital projects. The last Library public meeting on the subject of capital projects was July 2019. The Town held a series of meetings called “elected official meet and greet” which included plans for the Comeau though that was not stated on the Calendar. The architectural plans posted on the Town website online date from February of 2020 but were only posted in the fall of 2021.
Gay Leonhardt
Willow
Investing in Infrastructure
A healthy society is willing to invest for the benefit of the future. Why is it that so many of our citizens are unwilling to be taxed for important infrastructure projects?
It saddens me that the New Paltz Supervisor and Town Council were recently criticized for debt service which increases the tax burden for 2022. The new justice center was built when the Town took on this debt. We have neglected investing in suitable public buildings for too long
We all think that our children are important and we are willing to invest in raising and educating them. It would be a step forward if we adopted the same attitude towards keeping our water mains, bridges, public buildings, etc., safe and adequate to serve future as well as current needs.
Caroline Paulson
New Paltz
Join the family! 
