Shady Waters, the documentary about illegal dumping in the tiny Woodstock hamlet of Shady, now has a new venue after threats of lawsuits canceled the June 26 screening at Tinker Street Cinema. The new screenings will be at the Woodstock Public Library on Library Lane on September 23 and 30 at 7 p.m.
Filmmaker Chris Finlay said he has recut Shady Waters to “squarely lay responsibility for the illegal dumping at 10 Church Road at the feet of those who were tasked to remove the toxic fill and who have failed in every regard to do so.”
Finlay said he’s only made three documentaries, “and it’s not my favorite genre.” His second documentary, Homeless in Woodstock: Last Night in the Van, was about the neglect of Woodstock’s homeless population during the pandemic.
As was intended for the June screening, there will be a question-and-answer session after the film. Politicians won’t be on the panel, he promised.
In January 2020, the town suspected contaminated fill was dumped at 10 Church Road. Officials determined the source was contractor Joseph Karolys, who had been pursued by the state for multiple environmental violations and is now awaiting trial for manslaughter, assault and evidence tampering in the death of David “Mickey” Meyer.
Eventually, the construction debris-laden fill became unstable and caused a landslide, sending debris cascading down the hill and into the neighboring Eighmeys’ back yard.
Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna said a court judgment allowed the town to clean up the property and recoup the costs through a tax lien. Otherwise, the state constitution barred spending taxpayer money on private property, the supervisor said.
The construction debris was removed and the dangerous slope facing the Eighmeys’ property was regraded and stabilized. Samples tested by the state Department of Environmental Conservation determined ten percent of the material was concrete, asphalt and wood, and the rest contained natural rock. The DEC does not believe the situation poses a hazard.
Neighbors and supervisor candidate Bennet Ratcliff insist all the fill must be removed, not just the chunks of concrete and asphalt.
“I’m just hoping to achieve consciousness. The people in the town can decide for themselves if or not the construction and demolition material is a threat to the water,” Finlay said. “Now, if you and I were to sit down and go through all the documents and all that that’s happened over the last three years .… If we were to look at town meetings if we were to go through court documents, if we were to talk to experts and invite them here to this table, it would take us six months at least to get through everything. The documentary does it in one hour.”
The documentary, he said, “captures a three-year slice of reality of what happened.”
Join the family! 
