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Hudson Valley One welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and submitted by 9:00am on Monday. Our policy is to print as many letters to the editor as possible. As with all print publications, available space is determined by ads sold. If there is insufficient space in a given issue, letters will be approved based on established content standards. Points of View will also run at our discretion.
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End the Gaza war
It was baffling to see half a page reserved for an opinion piece that adds very little to the current conversation about the war on Gaza (Liberal identity, Jewish inheritance, 8/27/25). At this critical moment in time, Jews of all political stripes must stand for what is morally correct according to their inheritance and call for the end of the war. This is not the time to recycle tropes of victimhood and argue “historical rights.” This is the time to publically cry: Enough is enough! I am an Israeli whose both sides of the family died in the Holocaust. I refuse to turn a blind eye to the relentless attacks on Gazan civilians, among them children, medical staff and journalists sanctioned by the Israeli government. We need to shelve our conversations about fear and antisemitism and join right now the hundreds of thousands Israelis who protest daily calling for an immediate end to the war on Gaza.
Tova Weitzman
New Paltz
Protocol or harassment
Woodstock police chief Clayton Keefe received a referral from Child Protective Services (CPS). The concern: town employee Michael Innello, a Level 3 sexually violent offender, had been observed working near a school and playground, seemingly in violation of a restriction requiring him to stay at least 1000 feet from a school.
Chief Keefe responded by documenting the incident and forwarding it to Innello’s parole officer. He didn’t act on impulse. He acted on a formal alert from CPS, an agency tasked with protecting children. Supervisor Bill McKenna responded by calling Keefe’s lawful action “harassment.” Let that sink in. McKenna didn’t dispute the facts. He disputed an act of accountability. Based on his interpretation of state law, he claimed that forwarding the report to the parole officer was tantamount to harassing Innello.
The police chief followed protocol. And the town’s top elected official responded by chastising him.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Hatred of Israel
The letters keep coming and flowing that are hung up on blaming Israel for everything that has happened to the Palestinians. It’s as if Israel is intentionally starving every last Palestinian as part of a grand scheme of genocide. These letters, of course, make no reference to any other facts that contradict this one-sided vision of Israel alone carrying out this alleged “intentional genocide.” This is due to the fact that most of their information is gleaned from many sources of “data” coming directly from Hamas or filtered through Hamas. This misinformation is their gospel. No matter what one’s political affiliations, no one likes to see the extremely unfortunate plight of the Palestinians, even including a large number of Jewish people. Following are several examples of what Hamas intentionally omits from its incomplete and false reporting, which of course does not show that Israel and many other countries have been trying to come to the aid of the suffering Palestinians, examples that the Israel -haters fail to mention, or even completely deny. Twelve countries plus Israel and the United States have been trying to deliver aid and supplies by trucks and air drops. Most recently, since May 2025 there have been 10,000 trucks delivering or attempting to deliver aid. The obvious question is what has happened to all this aid. The reality and facts are that Hamas intercepts and loots these deliveries for their own use while also on occasion shooting at humanitarian aid personnel and their vehicles. Videos confirm this, along with drone footage showing Hamas firing at Gazan civilians as they try to access aid distribution centers. Hamas also sabotages these aid distribution centers. On 8-1-25, Hamas launched a rocket near the main corridor used for transporting aid.
The bottom line is that Hamas steals humanitarian aid while spewing misinformation and exaggerated as well as false information/statistics to fuel its war on Israel, making it look to the world like Israel is totally responsible for all the woes of the Palestinians. It seems that Margaret Foster, Eli Kassirer, Matt Frisch, Steve Romine and the other anti-Israel writers are satisfied with only half the story, since they have bought into the Hamas propaganda while refusing to acknowledge the preceding factual and documented examples of Hamas’s devious tactics.I suspect that the anti-Israel group would rather have had Israel roll over and play dead after the October 7th carnage, allowing Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran to continue their terrorist attacks on Israel for generations or until they accomplished their ultimate goal — the complete extinction of Israel.
John N. Butz
Modena
Silence is not the answer
There’s such a flood of news these days, it might have been easy to miss Oklahoma’s new “America-First” test designed exclusively for teachers from California and New York. As a New Yorker, and as someone who spent a good and meaningful chunk of her life as a library teacher in the Kingston school district, this means that if I wanted to work in an Oklahoma public school I would need to prove that I share MAGA values. I would need to show, for example, that I know “the biological differences between females and males.” In other words, I would need to agree to deny the existence of my trans students. I would also need to agree with the outrageous lie that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from Trump. Of course, I would fail that political litmus test miserably, as would any other thinking, caring prospective teacher. But what if I didn’t fail the test? What if I actually ended up teaching in an Oklahoma public school? Would I be required to teach my students that slavery wasn’t “all bad,” because that’s what Trump says? And what about women’s right to vote? Secretary of Defense Hegseth has publicly promoted the words of religious leaders he supports who want to repeal the 19th Amendment. And what about teaching real science? Secretary of Health and Human Services Kennedy doesn’t believe in real science. If you think that any of these possibilities are far-fetched, think again. Last year, the Oklahoma superintendent of education ordered all public schools to keep the bible in the classroom and use it as a teaching tool. And, if you think this wave of flat-earth madness will stop at the borders of Oklahoma, or that we’re “safe” here in New York, our lovely blue bubble, don’t count on it. Book banning, a crusade led by conservative groups like Moms for Liberty, has spread to nearly every state, including New York. Since 2021, PEN America has documented nearly 16,000 book bans in public schools nationwide, a number not seen since the McCarthy era red scare of the 1950s.
We are now being terrorized by a different flavor of red scare, a MAGA scare, and silence is not the answer. Our children are counting on us to speak truth to power.
Charlotte Adamis
Kingston
The medical Middle Ages
Robert Kennedy Jr’s purge of experts at the Centers for Disease Control is nothing less than a national disgrace. The CDC has long stood as the world’s premier public health agency, the place where our nation — and often the world — has turned in moments of crises, from polio to Ebola to Covid. By hollowing it out of scientific expertise, Kennedy is deliberately crippling our ability to respond to the next all but certain health emergency. This is not just reckless, it is a direct threat to American lives. Weakening the CDC does not make us safer or stronger; it leaves us more vulnerable to disease, panic and unnecessary death.
The irony could not be starker: Donald Trump, in his wisdom, chose an anti vaccination activist with a history of heroin and sex addiction, who is neither a scientist nor a doctor, to lead the world’s premier public health organization. I hope that American voters realize the danger we are in, and will at long last vote out of power those who might plunge our nation into the medical Middle Ages.
Edward Kornbluh, DDS
Schodack Landing
Stay in your own lane
At the August 12 Gardiner town board meeting, a letter I wrote regarding Michael Hartner’s interactions with the planning board was read into the record by planning board chairperson Paul Colucci.
In response, councilperson Carol Richman published an editorial that, in my view, misdirected the focus of my original letter. My letter was less about the town board’s position on SEQRA for the Riverbend application and more about the importance of protecting the autonomy of all Gardiner boards.
The following excerpt captures the central concern and intent of my correspondence: “Such remarks, made in a public setting while the board is deliberating sensitive matters, can be construed as an attempt to exert influence over a body that is intended to function independently. His follow-up email, which appears to critique how the board handled the lead-agency discussion, further reinforces a concerning pattern of overreach. While I fully support inter-board communication and cooperation, there is a clear line between collaboration and interference. The planning board’s independence must be respected if we are to maintain the public’s trust in our land use and review processes.”
Ralph Varano
Vice chairperson, Gardiner Planning Board
Gardiner
Mayors support Tim Rogers
We are a sample of New York State mayors who for years have collaborated closely – sharing strategies, solving day-to-day municipal challenges, and advocating together in Albany and Washington, D.C. By working together on pressing issues like the climate crisis, affordable housing, municipal finance, and critical infrastructure upgrades, we’ve seen firsthand how effective local leadership drives meaningful change.
As Democratic leaders in local government, we know the importance of standing behind Democratic candidates who share our values and deliver results. That’s why we’re proud to support Tim Rogers for town supervisor of New Paltz this November — a principled Democrat with a proven track record of public service. Local elections are where our shared values are put into practice. Real leadership is more than rhetoric, it’s reflected in the decisions we make, the coalitions we build, and the people we choose to lead us. Tim Rogers is that kind of leader. His record of thoughtful governance and unwavering commitment to his community make him uniquely qualified to continue to serve New Paltz at this critical moment. This race matters not only for New Paltz, but for communities across New York State and beyond.
Strong, coordinated leadership at the local, county, state, and national levels is essential to meeting the challenges we all face. Let’s send a clear message: we are united, focused, and committed to electing Democrats who lead with integrity and deliver results for our communities. We stand with Tim Rogers for town supervisor of New Paltz, and we invite you to stand with us.
Mayor Nicola Armacost
Hastings-on-Hudson
Mayor Gary Bassett
Rhinebeck
Mayor Robert Cantelmo
Ithaca
Mayor Steve Noble
Kingston
Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard
Mount Vernon
Mayor Peter Scherer
Pleasantville
Mayor Kathy Sheehan
Albany
In case of emergency
Would you know what to do in the case of an emergency? What should you have on hand in case you have to shelter in place for days? What documents and supplies should you have with you if you have to evacuate? Come find out at a free citizen preparedness training on Saturday, October 4th, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 34 S. Chestnut St., New Paltz.
The course provides an introduction to responding to a natural or human-caused disaster. Participants are advised on how to properly develop family emergency plans and stock up on emergency supplies. One member from each family that preregisters and attends will receive a preparedness kit. To register, visit www.prepare.ny.gov.
This training, free to all residents of New York, gives residents the tools and resources to prepare for any type of disaster or emergency, respond accordingly and recover as quickly as possible to pre-disaster conditions.
Citizen Preparedness Corps training began in February 2014. Trainings are led by the New York National Guard working with experts from the division’s Office of Emergency Management and Office of Fire Prevention and Control.
Holly Shader
Gardiner
A life in song
On Sunday, September 14, from 4 to 7 p.m., Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston will present a memorial tribute concert honoring Bill Vanaver. The Vanaver Caravan invites one and all to gather for a joyful evening honoring visionary musician, folklorist, beloved teacher, and co-founder of The Vanaver Caravan, William “Bill” Vanaver. The event will feature performances by dear friends, and longtime collaborators, including: Natalie Merchant, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis. David Amram, Tony Trischka, Cole Quest & The City Pickers, Brenda Bufalino, Professor Louie, Joel Hanna, Ramona Staffeld, Dave Revels, Rabbi Jonathan Kligler, Matoaka Little Eagle, Julia Howl Haines, and The Vanaver Caravan’s Company Dancers & Musicians, Youth Company & Caravan Kids.
Tickets are available now through the UPAC box office. Reserve your seats on Ticketmaster, or skip the online fees and call or visit the box office in person.
Livia Vanaver
Rosendale
A matter of vintage
Trump is Hitler; he’s just not 1945 Hitler – he’s 1933 Hitler.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
What did I expect?
The name of Jesus, once a river of compassion, has been diverted into canals of conquest. Crusades, inquisitions, and campaign rallies dragged his name like a sacred banner through the mud and still dared to parade it as holy cloth. Dan Brown gave words to this theft in his book, The Lost Symbol “From the Crusades to the Inquisition, to American politics, the name Jesus has been hijacked as an ally in all kinds of power struggles. Since the beginning of time, the ignorant have always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding. They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand. They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their convictions. Now, after all these years, humanity had finally managed to utterly erode everything that had once been so beautiful about Jesus.”
That is the gift of fiction: it can tell truths without being crucified for them. It wears the mask of a story so it may enter the banquet hall of power unnoticed. A novel can gut hypocrisy while the priest still polishes his cross. A tale can call the stars liars, and we nod because daylight has deceived us. Fiction is the Trojan horse of truth.
But outside those walls, truth is hawked in the bazaar of distraction. Anything with a whisper of humanity becomes repackaged: compassion sold as brand strategy, justice flattened into hashtags, hope diced into thirty-second clips. Digital truth has become a carnival mirror — distorted, grotesque, and endlessly repeated. And yet behind those screens, the ditch digger grips his shovel, the garbage hauler shoulders his weight, the dyslexic child wrestles with leaping letters, and the hungry wait with bellies hollow as drums. They do not need slogans; they need bread. They do not need slogans of truth; they need truths baked into the common tongue.
Here is the myth I see rising in our time:
We are marching through a new crusade, one not waged with swords but with algorithms. Each click, each swipe is an unintended prayer laid on the altar of attention merchants. The inquisitors no longer burn books; they delete nuance with a keystroke. Where once intolerance draped itself in Scripture, it now hides in metrics.
And yet — imagination remains Prometheus’ flame, smuggled into the present. Fiction lights the cavern where sleepers lie. A story is not just an escape; it is a rebellion. It is the whisper that the spine of our shared humanity is bent but not yet broken.
We hunger for a truth that is not branded, encrypted, or auctioned but given. A truth spoken enough that the ditch-digger, the child, the mother, and the neighbor can hold it in their hands like bread.
If we fail to reclaim this truth in the common tongue, we risk losing more than our faith. We risk losing our voice, the voice that names what is sacred, resists what is false, and insists that imagination is not indulgence, but survival.
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Cap-and-invest revisited
Several environmental groups filed a lawsuit claiming New York is “stonewalling necessary climate action in outright violation” of its legal obligations. By not releasing economy-wide emissions rules, the suit alleges, the DEC is “defying the legislature’s clear directive” in CLCPA, the Climate Act (CLCPA). Cap-and-invest sets a cap on greenhouse gas emissions: “The declining cap ensures annual emissions are reduced, setting the state on a trajectory to meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements of 40 percent by 2030, and at least 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, as mandated by the Climate Act.”
California has a similar program, so why can’t the DEC revise California’s rules for use in New York? It’s not that simple. California, as well as other governmental bodies, adopted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) standards for calculating emissions. New York did not. IPCC provides comprehensive scientific assessments of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks.
New York instead established its own standards. One example is Global Warming Potential (GWP), which accounts for methane emissions. The IPCC uses a GWP of 100 years. New York uses 20 years, amplifying the effect of methane.
Also, New York requires emitters to account for methane leakage from out-of-state fracking wells. Tompkins County calculated its GHG emissions using both methods: the traditional IPCC protocol and New York’s CLCPA protocol. Emissions were 1.6 times higher using CLCPA.
This is a problem for the DEC and the governor. Releasing cap-and-invest rules consistent with CLCPA will increase GHG emissions by 60 percent, a problem that can’t be solved with a court order.
Ken Panza
Woodstock
Beloved Andes café
In the quiet hamlet of Andes, a beloved local café has become the center of a growing concern involving access, aesthetics, zoning oversight, and the evolving nature of property ownership in small towns. Mutsi, a charming café opened recently by a young couple who invested their life savings into creating a warm, welcoming space, has quickly become a favorite gathering spot for residents and visitors alike.
In front of it sits another commercial building, recently acquired by Leo Koenig, a prominent New York City gallerist. According to community members, Koenig has taken legal action to exercise property rights that now restrict pedestrians’ access to the café’s front entrance. It is important to note that this particular property had long been designated as a business, despite lacking formal egress to the Main Street. Despite this, the site thrived for many years as a diner without challenge or objection from nearby landlords, reinforcing its role as an active part of Andes’ local economy. Visitors are now being redirected to enter from the rear.
Adding to this, Koenig’s lawyers are demanding that the café remove its landscaping that has adorned the cafe and has been enjoyed by the town for years. Mr. Koenig has expressed interest in converting the rear area of his building into a garden. Some residents question the need of adding to the town’s green space in the heart of the Catskills and Andes’s business district, while others worry about the immediate impact on Mutsi’s visibility, customer experience and curb appeal.
Speculation persists about Koenig’s broader intentions. It is understood that he had originally sought to place a food concept in another of his nearby properties, which houses his gallery and a bookstore. It is believed that that effort was rejected by insurers who deemed the idea too risky for that particular building.
The situation raises a larger issue that extends beyond one café or neighboring building owners: county planning boards must reconsider how they review commercially zoned parcels. When properties are zoned and approved for commercial use but later leave owners vulnerable to legal challenges or neighbor disputes due to ambiguous access or outdated criteria, the boards themselves bear responsibility. Residents argue that stronger, clearer zoning oversight is needed to prevent future conflicts of this kind.
The owners of Mutsi have emphasized their desire to resolve the matter amicably and to preserve the café’s access and identity within the neighborhood. Many in the Andes community are rallying in support, urging respectful discussion and cooperative solutions. Andes has always thrived on mutual support, shared vision, and creative collaboration. In that spirit, many hope all parties can come together to find a resolution that preserves not only what makes Mutsi special, but also the town’s ability to sustain the small businesses that give it character and life.
David Zilenziger
Andes
New Paltz member item
We are excited to share that our request for operating funding through the office of assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha was successful. $40,000 in operating funds was requested. The funds are to be shared between the New Paltz Rescue Squad and our all-volunteer New Paltz Fire Department.
Most grant opportunities are designed to help with capital investments. This program’s unique focus provides assistance for the agencies’ operational budgets, and this helps directly with the affordability burdens facing our taxpayers.
Thank you. state officials and assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha.
Mayor Tim Rogers
Village of New Paltz
Battery energy storage
New York State has set an ambitious timeline to achieve a net-zero carbon goal in the coming years, which requires implementing Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across the state. This transition puts significant pressure on electric companies to upgrade their grid systems and demands active participation from all communities.
To successfully advance the deployment of a smart grid that incorporates renewable energy and reduces reliance on fossil fuels, careful selection of battery sites are critical decisions. Today, New York has some of the nation’s strictest environmental review standards and procedures, with regulations governing BESS having improved significantly since previous incidents involving fires. We urge state and county governments, as well as power companies, to take a proactive approach in identifying suitable locations for these facilities. We believe local municipalities should advocate for high safety standards. When these standards are met, residents and businesses can be confident that their safety is a top priority. This strategy is vital for ensuring safety as well as community support.
Our local community needs to participate in this move toward carbon neutrality. A site in the Town of Ulster, specifically at the former Coleman High School, is under consideration for BESS installation. Ulster Strong is fully dedicated to supporting the deployment of renewable energy, smart grid systems, and battery sites, provided they undergo rigorous SEQRA review) and safety assessments. We are proud to align with our county executive on these issues, reflecting our unity and shared goals for a sustainable energy future.
Meagan Bianco
Ulster Strong Engagement
Highland
Eldering
Perhaps you have noticed my occasional and odd use of the word “olders” to refer to those of us of a certain age. It is an awkward usage for that demographic to which I belong, but the term “elder” has vanished from our vocabularies. As a word to designate status rather than just age, “elder” may linger in certain quarters — church and fraternal organizations — but as a title of respect to an aged man or woman, the word has no currency.
Once upon a time, the term lodged in large, multi-generational social groups — clans, tribes, villages and towns. Elders thrived when there were no rapid or radical technological changes, no generational leaps, no ecological shifts, no incursions from too many outsiders, however defined. Theirs was the authority of experience and the wisdom of common sense. Longevity allowed them to witness the cyclic patterns of nature and human life. They knew the lore and history that went far back in time. Their memories were seed banks. They were seen to possess an equanimity composed of compassion, humor, and humility, and their wisdom was most often told aslant in stories rather than in lessons or rules.
Once upon a time, it took a village to recognize the elder and a village to mourn her passing.
But that time is gone. Now they run through generational alphabets, obsolescing parents, leaving grandparents far behind. To them we are old, passe, out of touch. We cannot keep up with their pace, nor do we wish to. We are looking for our peer-group, and we must create it, as if starting from scratch to find our way on this common ground. In short, we are elders to one another.
My father, who died in his 85th year, said often near his end, “Old age is not for cowards.” How right he was, and we do not need to face it alone. Graceful Aging meets in the Elting Library from 10:30 to noon the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
Peter Pitzele
New Paltz
Criminal fights crime
“The people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims but accomplices,” wrote George Orwell.
When you can’t win without cheating, you shouldn’t be allowed to play the game. Rigging elections is fine when Trump does it. When legal voters reject your policies, our current government finds ways to disenfranchise those voters. This is why the GOP is unworried about unpopular policies. It’s the Republican playbook. It’s lunacy for the U.S. president to take election advice from Putin. Yeah, that’s what we need, Putin as an election advisor. Is he, Trump, a Russian asset? By the way – hmm — he routinely votes by mail…
If Trump does try to control how states conduct their own elections, then this would be something completely outside the Constitutional duties of what a president is permitted to do. And under the Scotus presidential Immunity ruling, this would mean that Trump would not be shielded from being criminally prosecuted. States could charge him for interfering in their election process and he could be prosecuted at a state level —meaning that he cannot pardon himself, either.
Trump is surrounding the Capitol with the national guard, FBI, and ICE to make it so that the people can’t come and protest what is being done to them by him. Don’t think that he needs this many national guardsmen for crime. He needs them to defend the crimes he is getting ready to commit.
A fish rots from the head, and incompetency is contagious. Donald Trump is utterly unfit to be president, and as a result America doesn’t look strong — it looks brittle, hollowed out by corruption, staggering under the weight of delusion and cognitive decay. He has crammed our entire government full of inept individuals who are incapable of or unwilling to do their jobs well. The long-term effects of this failed administration will take decades to calculate.
“Oh, America, do not go gently into that dark night.
Rage, rage at the dying of the light.”
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Crypto industry pressure
What does cryptocurrency mean to us? Do your readers use bitcoin to pay for groceries? Are their retirement savings heavily invested in crypto? How many people are employed by the crypto industry in New York State? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I would guess that very few of us have any regular dealings with cryptocurrency at all.
Yet cryptocurrency has a huge presence in New York State. According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, there are eleven known Proof of Work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining operations (CMOs) in the state, consuming 7.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, about sjx oercent of the state’s annual energy production. The entire country of Switzerland used 56.1 TWh of electricity in 2023. Using electricity from the grid as well as behind-the-meter-electricity produced from their own fossil-fuel power plants, the DEC estimates that the crypto industry produces three million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
In its Generic Environmental Impact Statement, the DEC also cites water, air and noise pollution associated with the crypto mining process. The report estimates that for 2024, the cost of damages resulting from crypto greenhouse gas emissions alone was $444 million. The report suggests many regulatory measures that could be imposed to mitigate the heavy negative impact crypto mining will have on New York’s future. It also includes potential efforts the crypto industry could make to lower its use of the state’s energy and natural resources.
In the end, according to the DEC report, “Regardless of such measures, PoW CMOs will have unavoidable energy uses that may contribute to challenges meeting New York’s renewable-energy transition goals.” Greenhouse gas emissions, electronic waste, waste heat generation, and noise pollution are likely unavoidable. So, while most of us have very little daily contact with cryptocurrency, the crypto industry is exerting enormous pressure on our energy supply, our natural resources and on the quality of life of all New Yorkers.
To comment on the DEC’s GEIS, you can send an email to climatechange@dec.ny.gov, subject line “Crypto Draft GEIS.” The comment period ends on September 25. The report can be found at: Cryptocurrency Mining Operations Using Proof-of-Work Authentication GEIS Draft
If you would like to join the conversation, The New Paltz Climate Action Coalition meets every Thursday from 5 to 6:30 pm, at the New Paltz village hall on Plattekill Avenue. All are welcome.
Mark Varian
New Paltz Climate Action Coalition
New Paltz
So who put who at risk?
Yesterday I had to call Bill McKenna to get on the agenda about Project Access I was told Bill would call me back. As I do, I give everyone two wks to return my call. McKenna answered the phone. Now, reader. I had just posted a very accurate video by a watchdog group about McKenna hiring a Level 3 sex offender.
Bill was beyond nasty, and accused me of risking his family. Ahem, McKenna, I’m not the one who hired and is now protecting a Level 3. You’re the one who put this town at risk, the town you’re supposed to be protecting.
So who put who at risk? Always deflecting. When his “confidential secretary ” Melanie returned my call, I had just been weeding my garden so I was out of breath, Her very rude comment was “Call back when your nicer,” and then she hung up.
It also came to my attention that McKenna attempted to file a harassment charge on me and one other. You can’t file harassment charges when one speaks the truth, so that didn’t float.
The group of watchdogs that I follow are beyond accurate. It’s what they do for a living all day every day. They inform the public of recent released pedophiles of all levels in order to help parents know where the pedophiles live. Totally legal as long as you don’t harass the pedophile. Just so happens they also have McKenna and Inello on their radar. It was due to my very accurate post of the video that McKenna tried to make the claim that I put his family at risk.
Note he said his family and not our Woodstock community. It’s his job to keep the community informed. But why should he, since he didn’t inform the other board members nor our Woodstock police.
He has a real issue when it comes to transparency, especially on something like this. No less to bring Inello back and continue to defend him. There was a board meeting at which two summer camp counselors who attended told McKenna they saw Innello filling the pool while children were around.
He will leave office in shame, and I say to him, “Shame on you.”
Jacqueline Manganaro
Woodstock
Kingston’s arts district
I was glad to see recent coverage by Zac Shaw on the many housing and development deserve the attention, and it is encouraging to see the city and community moving forward with new initiatives.
What was missing, however, was Midtown’s designation as the city’s arts district. For more than a decade, artists, educators, business owners and community leaders have worked at the grassroots level to make this area a cultural hub — with dozens of arts-related businesses, artist studios and performance venues. The arts and the contributions of the creative economy have been foundational to the revitalization of Midtown.
The city’s establishment of the arts district is an intentional act of placemaking — mobilizing arts and culture to improve quality of life for residents while raising visibility so that many more people can participate. The Midtown Kingston Arts District (MKAD), which I represent, was founded with advocacy as one of its core pillars. Much of this work happens behind the scenes: advising on community-led design projects, partnering with the Midtown Business Alliance and fellow arts organizations, and working with local government to shape policies that positively affect the people who live and work here.
In doing so, we prioritize investment in an arts ecosystem that can elevate new perspectives, provide access and affordability, and make communities more inclusive and vibrant in an era of rapid demographic change. As housing and infrastructure reshape Midtown, we must not lose sight of the role the arts district plays in anchoring community identity and economic growth. The artists and cultural workers who invested their energy here long before Midtown was “hot” deserve recognition — and continued support — as essential partners in shaping its future.
Lisa Kelley
Executive director, MKAD, Kingston
A rail-trail census
I walk the Wallkill Valley rail-trail nearly every day when I’m in town, from Mulberry Street either two miles north to the bridge over the Wallkill River or two miles south to Jansen Road. I have to say, it is well-traveled and well-loved. Depending on time of day and time of year I pass anywhere between ten and a hundred people on my four-mile walks.
Because I’m a little on the OCD side, I often count on my walks. In case anyone besides me wants to know, it is about two to one pedestrians to cyclists. The percentage of cyclists goes up a little midday and on weekends, and that of pedestrians increases on weekdays and especially early in the morning (are walkers morning people?). The pedestrians are mostly in ones and twos, whereas the bicyclists favor groups of three or more.
There are a few small people in backpacks, strollers, and bicycle seats or bike trailers. Occasionally I see someone with a walker or in a wheelchair. I see runners, brisk walkers, and amblers; serious bicyclists in spandex, and families lazily bicycling along. There are a few e-bikes, but not that many, and an occasional reclining bike or tricycle – either childhood or adult.
I see couples holding hands, friend groups, and families of two or three generations. Once I saw what was obviously four generations: a little girl, her mother, grandmother and an elderly great grandmother. I see many of the brisk walkers almost daily. Interestingly, they skew toward the retired age group.
People represented are of all types. I see school cross country teams, mentally impaired adults walking with a caretaker, and all ages from newborn to probably well into their eighties. They come in all shapes and sizes, colors and nationalities. Of the languages I recognize, I have heard Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, German and Portugese. Many other languages I don’t recognize.
I have walked the rail-trail anywhere from six in the morning to six at night, occasionally bicycled (invariably with someone else), and cross-country skied it. The bicyclists nearly disappear in winter, and the skiers appear! But the pedestrians tough it out even in the thickest of snows. By noon after a snow, the footprints are generally so numerous as to preclude skiing.
Most people are very friendly, and almost uniformly say “hello,” “good morning,” or “good afternoon.” Or they smile. Bicyclists are generally polite and ring their bell or say, “on your left.” People wave. They point out birds they see.
Some have binoculars they’re willing to share. A child has offered to share a treat. Dog walkers are surprisingly in a small minority – I would say one in 50 – and mostly at dawn and dusk. They are very good about keeping their dogs on leash. I have seen one cat walker. Other non-human pedestrians also use the rail trail, also mostly at dawn and dusk.
I have seen white-tailed deer, red fox, porcupine, skunk, groundhog, red and grey squirrel and chipmunk ambling down the trail. I have also seen earthworms, garter snakes, turtles, frogs, lizards, butterflies, wasps, beetles, ants, robins, house sparrows, and turkeys making use of the trail.
Of course I’ve seen many other bird species in the surrounding trees and bushes
including grey cat birds, Carolina wrens, white breasted nuthatches, red breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, red- bellied woodpeckers, redheaded woodpeckers, song sparrows, black capped chickadees, tufted titmice, rose breasted grosbeaks, red tailed hawks, blue jays, crows, starlings, cardinals, scarlet tanagers, grackles, cowbirds, house finches, and a lot of warblers I’ve heard but can’t see or identify. Today I saw a great big barred owl (at noon!) on a branch voraciously devouring its poor pray. It turned its beautiful face to me, then went back to its lunch.
Lynn Nyquist
New Paltz
A night out
Let’s paint
the town red,
you say. I say.
why do that?
It’s our night
out, our night
off. Let’s have
fun instead of
painting. Besides,
red was never
my favorite color.
If you insist
on painting, pick
another.
Patrick Hammer, Jr.
Saugerties
So it’s come to this
I am generally loath to use the public square to litigate my personal grievances, but I feel that something must be said about the matter of a technological “advance” taking place in the Village of New Paltz. Regarding the app-based parking that has been systematically replacing traditional meters, I can understand if this investment in the future excuses the tripling of the cost of 15 minutes of parking time from $0.25 to $0.75.
And I understand that not everyone longs for the simple and satisfying act of popping a quarter into a meter, an act being replaced by what is in my opinion an odious process requiring a smartphone app and transforming another of the day’s waning analog experiences into yet more screen time, a silent digital deduction from a bank account replacing the halcyon clink of a quarter being fed through a meter.
Perhaps I am one of few with a noted appreciation for the occasional kindness of a stranger offering up the last ten minutes of their meter as they got into their car, a small token of human interaction becoming virtually impossible.
Alas, I have accepted these changes in relative silence (unless you happen to be my wife listening to me complain at the dinner table), yet I felt compelled to pen this letter upon receiving an envelope from the Village of New Paltz in the mail — an envelope containing only a parking ticket, folded haphazardly with no additional information or explanation attached.
Upon review, what I gathered was that someone with a car registered to my name had days earlier been parked at a space with an expired meter, thus now owed $20. After confirming with my wife that she had indeed been parked somewhere in New Paltz several days earlier, we checked the app and realized that she had mistakenly selected my car’s license plate instead of her own. Still, we were left to make the assumption that the signer of the ticket had witnessed her car parked but for some reason deemed it unnecessary to place the ticket on her windshield at the time of the event.
As just another busy citizen of New Paltz with limited free time, I then paid the $20. But I must ask if this is the great society technology hath wrought. Our parking is now digitally controlled and monitored, so should an allegation of a parking infraction really be leviable days after the fact, with no direct interaction at the time of the supposed offense? And if so, should not at least some form of proof be required, perhaps a photo as a reminder that you were even in the area at all days earlier?
Brian Bollbach
New Paltz
Woodstock’s water woes
Why should we be so concerned about a few parts-per-trillion (PPT) of PFAS compounds in our drinking water? PFAS, a group of exceptionally carcinogenic chemicals, particularly the PFOA and PFOS found in Woodstock’s water supply, may take up to a decade to degrade in human tissue. This means that the water an infant consumes from birth through childhood will continuously increase the concentration of PFAS compounds in the body with toxic results, unless consumption is prevented. For this reason, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stated unequivocally that there was “no safe level of PFOS in the human body.”
What does the Shady dump have to do with Woodstock’s water supply problems? The Shady dump at 10 Church Road contains approximately 200 truckloads of contaminated construction debris. It has been tested and is known to be contaminated with PFAS compounds. It happens to be situated directly above the upper extent of the aquifer that supplies most of Woodstock’s public water along with the adjoining Sawkill Creek. This repository of contamination is presently the only known source of PFAS compounds leaching directly into soil and groundwater connected to our public water supply.
Aren’t there state requirements for towns with public water systems and PFAS contamination? Yes, but it could be years before New York State implements even the 4 PPT limit recommended by the N.Y. Department of Health and USEPA. (The latest test results for one well showed a concentration of 3.43 PPT, an increase over the previous test.) So, for the foreseeable future, until town water reaches a concentration of 10 PPT, the town will not be compelled by the state to remedy the problem. It can, however, act on its own authority, as Hurley and other New York State jurisdictions have done.
Besides removal of the contamination in Shady, what else can the town due to mitigate the water supply contamination? We have encouraged the town board in emails, letters, presentations and a petition to take a proactive approach and install filtration now. The board did not even respond to the recent grant offered by the state for this purpose, although the supervisor has said they were “looking into” filtration. We have also suggested minimizing the use of the two wells with measured concentrations of PFAS contamination in favor of the other five wells that have thus far shown no trace.
We urge the citizens of Woodstock to demand that the board take action to protect the public health now, rather than waiting for a new board to inherit this threat.
Vince Mow
for Woodstockers United for Change
Woodstock
An almost sinful suggestion
I don’t think a single person who lives in New Paltz wants to see an amphitheater and parking lot built on the Deyo House property and lawn on Huguenot Street. Who is this very modern amphitheater supposed to be built to welcome? This is simply a horrible, ugly and for those who love New Paltz and its history and beauty an almost sinful suggestion.
Where is the imagination of those in charge of decisions for this town? There was a bank that stood empty for years right on Main Street. The historical society or the town could have purchased and refurbished that building as a theater or concert hall.
There is still the empty building on Chestnut Street last rented by Goodwill. This could be refurbished. It once was Barnaby’s restaurant, a vibrant local hang. There was the Academy Theater upstairs, for art films and the plays Donald Bellinger directed. I performed there many times and included the space in the documentary I produced featuring The Copasetics in Great Feats of Feet, Portrait of the Tap Dancer. Our town gathered together for this and other events and made community inside the town before it was such a busy business district, We could do it again.
New Paltz is fast becoming unrecognizable to those of us who have loved this town and still live here. I have watched so many towns build themselves out of community for the tourists that would come and spend their dollars, creating an atmosphere difficult to live in for its residents.
I’m sure there will be an outpouring of protest against this project on our beloved Huguenot Street if we want to keep the integrity of our town protected from being sold to outsize building projects that have no place in New Paltz.
Brenda Bufalino
New Paltz
It’s not safe to ignore it
Why do we demonstrate? Many in Saugerties gather at Market and Main Sstreets each Saturday at noon to voice our opposition to the Trump administration. We know from all recent polling that the majority of Americans agree with our anger. An astounding number of drivers beep their support as they pass by.
Speaking for myself, I participate to encourage others to protest in their own way. It is hard to watch or read the news these days. Trump is acting increasingly as an authoritarian, claiming more and more power whatever the constitution says. His masked thugs are grabbing people off the streets and throwing them into detention camps. He is trying to fix the 2026 election by unprecedented gerrymandering. He decimates our public health system and supports unscientific theories. His willy-nilly imposed tariffs will raise our cost of living.
And so much more. We wish the courts would stop it. We are sorry the Democrats lack the power to stop it. We rue the failure of Republicans in congress to stop it.
Easier to turn away. Read the sports. Watch a movie. Engage in a hobby. Enjoy friends and family. Go for a hike. Those are all okay. But it is not safe to ignore it. Each patriotic American should find a way to protest. Write letters to your representatives. Send money to organizations taking court cases. Join us on the streetcorner. Write letters of support to public servants who speak out.
Anything, not once but frequently, until this danger recedes. It will take the American people to stop it. Protesters, courageous judges, activist lawyers, outspoken Democrats, brave scientists, truthful journalists, principled Republicans. To return our government to its constitutional bounds. This is not normal and must not be accepted as normal.
Kathy Gordon
Saugerties
Plans for the Duzine School
A New Paltz Central School District (NPCSD) board meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 3rd featuring a consolidation presentation by former Ulster County BOCES superintendent, Dr. Charles Khoury. Dr. Khoury will be informing the board and community of several things for consideration concerning Duzine Elementary School:
(a) required changes should the Duzine Elementary building close (possible infrastructure upgrades, safety and security measures to Lenape Elementary?),
(b) the financial future of the district if the Duzine building is to remain open,
and (c) the financial future of the district if the board decides to consolidate and close the Duzine building.
Together, members of the community, New Paltz CSD staff and New Paltz United Teachers (NPUT) have voiced concerns about this endeavor. While many do not want the closing of Duzine to occur, a clear, transparent transition plan that includes community and staff input is necessary! NPUT hopes that whatever the outcome, NPCSD remains “committed to ensuring a smooth transition,” inclusive input from those directly impacted, and will provide ongoing updates as the district moves forward with these plans.
While the presentation and hopefully, information and detailed funding breakdowns may aim to demonstrate the district’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, NPUT earnestly hopes that every opportunity is being searched to protect the student experience across the district, ensuring that New Paltz schools remain whole and stable!
Join us for this important board meeting! We’ll be listening and hoping that our concerns were heard!
Paulette Easterlin
President, New Paltz United Teachers
New Paltz
What aligns with our voters?
Pat Ryan speaks with such plodding monotone platitudes that I can’t help but notice when a hint of genuine anger slips into his voice. It happened when he spoke on WAMC’s Congressional Corner in late July. Asked about Zohran Mamdani, the young wunderkind who thrilled many of us with his primary triumph, Ryan claimed not to know much or to care. Instead, he closely follows “all the 82 mayor and supervisor races in my district,” though he did understand that Mamdani’s campaign had something to do with “affordability.” Really? Ryan has nothing to learn from this young master of animated, intelligent communication who has shown us the power of mixing a compassionate heart with compelling ideas?
Then Ryan said something that finally helps me to understand him.
“The Democratic Socialists, DSA platform, I think folks actually need to go read that platform because I’m a proud Democrat. There are parts of the DSA platform that I think are just out of line with where folks are’ For example, ‘defunding the police,’ ‘seizing the means of production and anti-capitalist policy’ and ‘rhetoric supporting any violent action including the phrase Globalize the Intifada.’ So while he won the Democratic primary, some of the DSA ideology is not aligned with the majority of voters, certainly not in my district.”
‘Defund the police’ is a slogan that to Ryan must be beyond the pale. Read his weekly newsletter for its relentless focus on his priorities: veterans, veterans, veterans, police, police, firemen — oh, and, of course, seniors. If, like me, you’ve never worn a uniform, you’ll feel shit-out-of-luck at getting this congressmember’s attention. So we know why Ryan doesn’t like Zohran Mamdani (who, by the way, has proposed a “Department of Community Safety” to relieve the police of some their burden).
Why doesn’t he like Sarahana Shrestha’s proposal to convert Central Hudson into a public utility? Would it be “seizing the means of production and ani-capitalist policy?” Several years ago, Ryan prided himself on calling upon Central Hudson’s president to resign, a press-release stunt typical for Ryan that accomplished exactly what? The management at Central Hudson was a mess at the time, so maybe that got fixed up. The PSC, just gave Central Hudson a fat rate hike in part to be fair to the stockholders. The public uproar has reached Ryan’s office phone lines. “The rate-case system is fundamentally broken,” his recent newsletter admits. “We need wholesale change.”
Nebraska, that hotbed of socialism, has public utilities serving the entire state.
Pat Ryan, please get over your DSA animus. Our schools, our roads, our bridges, our libraries, yes, and even our police and our military are all public enterprises. You don’t think we can generate electrify, too? Only the capitalists at Central Hudson know how? Try listening to Sarahana’s plan. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Will Nixon
Kingston
Join the family! 
