Ulster BOCES CITL program teaches life skills and fosters community engagement
Tucked away at the end of the first-floor hallway of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at Port Ewen is the Level Up! program, a bustling hub for students to gain practical life and vocational skills. The room used by the program may be easy to overlook, but it’s the heart of a unique initiative designed to provide hands-on learning experiences for students with diverse needs.
The program is run and supervised by teachers Rosie Pagana and Lauren Whitney, supported by a dedicated team of teaching assistants, all working to create a real-world work environment where students not only learn, but thrive.
Level Up! is more than just a classroom — it’s also a vibrant workspace where students manage tasks such as answering the phone and taking orders, reading recipes, gathering ingredients, preparing meals, delivering items to classrooms and even making small repairs. “We want the students to mimic an actual workplace,” said Pagana. “Eventually, our goal is to have the students manage one another and take ownership of the entire process.”
One of the program’s highlights is the popular coffee cart, which students use to serve coffee and snacks to faculty throughout the day. For students like Ian, a fourth-year participant from the Onteora Central School District, this opportunity has been transformative. Initially hesitant and timid, Ian was reluctant to walk the halls alone or to take on new tasks. However, after just two weeks, he began confidently delivering coffee orders independently. In recognition of his progress, Ian was named crew member of the week in early September. His growth demonstrates the program’s success in helping students to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new challenges.
Christina Rutella, principal of the CITL at Port Ewen, is proud of the program’s impact. “Level Up! began to support students who struggled with attending other work programs due to anxiety or behavior challenges,” she said. “It keeps them engaged in school all day while offering valuable hands-on learning. As a first-year principal, I saw it as ‘my baby’ — and from improving attendance to adding a flock of chickens, the program has exceeded all expectations in preparing our life skills students for life beyond high school.”
The program has gone through its share of growing pains, but with each passing month, it has gained momentum. “Last summer, I focused on organizing and streamlining our systems,” Pagana shared. “Now, students come in, sign in, look for their assignments and get to work. We’re constantly working on making them more independent.”
Saugerties launches TextMyGov
On October 21, the Town of Saugerties and Village of Saugerties announced its deployment of TextMyGov. With this solution, they are trying to further improve communications between various government offices and residents who live in Saugerties. There are two main benefits that TextMyGov offers:
• Without any sign-up, you can simply text to the Saugerties TextMyGov number (845-681-6110), send one or two key words about the information you seek, and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will get a response.
• For anyone who wants to be on top of any messages (so called “alerts” or “notifications”) that Saugerties officials feel are important enough to send direct to your phone, you can sign up ((text “SAUGERTIES” to SMS short code 91896) to be on the list of cell phones to receive the messages.
The town and village will send these texts as they happen … in situations where citizens need to be aware, for example, of a traffic area in Saugerties to avoid. Or for a heads-up such as the occasional fire hydrant flushing (that may roil your water). Or for an unplanned cancellation or rescheduling of a meeting or event. And for any number of important planned or unplanned situations where quick communication is most helpful.
To opt in, visit saugerties.ny.us. You can text STOP at any time to remove yourself from the notification list.
Village may lease additional parking
A lot near Mirabella’s off Partition Street in Saugerties may provide parking for about 30 cars near the center of the village, mayor William Murphy said at the village board’s regular meeting on Monday, October 21.
Negotiation with the lot’s owner brought the asking price down from $50,000 per year to $1,000 a month, or $12,000 per year, the mayor said. The lot owner first wanted the village to buy the lot, then asked rental that exceeded what the village was willing to spend. They finally settled on the $1,000 figure, which was what Murphy said at a previous meeting was what he felt was a fair price.
Village trustee Terry Parisian asked that Murphy hold off signing a final agreement until the village can estimate the full cut of the transaction, including lighting, walkways and measuring to determine the actual capacity of the lot. Trustee Andrew Zink suggested that starting the lease as late as possible would make sense, as the need for business district parking is less in the winter than in the spring.
“Our attorney suggested that we have a survey done, only because the property is attached to the houses, so we designate the area we are actually leasing,” Murphy said. Payments for the lease on the property would start April 1, he said. The agreement would run for ten years, with a five percent increase in each year, Parisian said.
Murphy said the lot should accommodate at least 30 cars, and possibly more. Parisian said the deal appears to be a good one, but he wants a final check. Murphy asked him to take charge of the final arrangements.
Zink suggested that the board bring the matter up at its next meeting and take the final vote then.
— David Gordon
New York Forward grant
The Village of Saugerties has submitted a request for a $10.4-million grant through the New York Forward grant program, mayor William Murphy said at the village board’s regular meeting on Monday, October 21. The application was accompanied by some 30 letters of support from local businesses and officials.
There’s no guarantee the application will be accepted and the money granted, Murphy said, but if it is not approved in the current application period, the village will submit it again next year. “It was a long process, but we learned a lot,” he said. “Now we’re at the mercy of New York State. We should know by early spring, and if we don’t get it, we’re all set to resubmit it by early spring.”
Among the items the grant would cover is an extension of the walkway on the bridge across the Esopus Creek into the village on one side and up to Barclay Heights on the other.
— David Gordon
Saugerties Village Board greets new police chief
Ken Swart, the recently appointed chief of police in Saugerties, gave a report at the village board’s regular meeting on Monday, October 21 for his first time since being officially appointed to the full-time position three weeks ago.
Trustee Vincent Buono asked what plans Swart has for how the department will move forward.
“I’m inheriting a department that’s severely down on manpower,” Swart said. “I’ve already hired two, and I’ll be hiring three more in the next few weeks. They’re already part-way through their training, so we’re still looking until spring before they are done and ready to go.” Swart said he intends to work on traffic issues “that I see around the village, foot traffic issues that I see around the village, and then I want to get them out and meet and greet the businesses so they feel comfortable about the new officers that are coming on.”
Former chief Robert Nuzzo maintained foot patrols in the village on Friday and Saturday evenings, mayor Bill Murphy said and asked whether this would continue. Swart responded that he intends to continue patrols at night, despite the need for manpower. Murphy said he would be hoping for foot patrols, particularly in the late spring through early fall, when people are out and about evenings. Swart said he is greatly in favor of bike patrols, which he hopes to continue.
— David Gordon
Sewer plant odors reduced, but not eliminated
Odors from the Saugerties sewer plant have been reduced, but not eliminated, since the plant stopped taking in sludge from private operators, Saugerties village trustees agreed at their meeting on Monday, October 21.
The discussion of possible sources for the odors is still under study, trustee Don Hackett said. “It is better, sometimes it gets pretty smelly, but not as often and the duration is not as long,” said trustee Vincent Buono. “A couple of years ago, it could be hours with that nasty smell; now it’s five or ten minutes and then it dissipates.”
Plant operator Joe Myers said the sewer workers will continue trying to track down the source of the remaining odors. “We’re structuring the sampling data to get an understanding of the correlations that exist. I don’t think we have enough data yet to get an objective view on it. As you know, it’s something we take extremely seriously.” Myers estimated that it could be as much as six months before enough data has been collected to reach a conclusion.
How much does the septic waste the plant was processing add to the load? Myers estimated that the plant handled 700,000 gallons of waste per day, and about 10,000 gallons of septage. “However, ordinary wastewater has some nutrient value the plant can use; the septage that comes in, there’s nothing good in it, nothing the plant can use,” Myers said. “It’s the worst of the worst from other systems. It’s heavy and inert; there’s a lot of sulfides in it.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, waste haulers Frank and Zac Torok of Torok Excavating asked that the village accept their waste, as they have no good alternative. Trustee Don Hackett said that a study of the village waste handling is underway, and may last several more months. Among the main questions the study is looking into is whether the acceptance of outside waste caused odors that irritated neighbors of the sewer plant. Hackett also noted that the state permit for the plant specifies that it should stop taking in outside waste, and that a number of pollutants the plant is required to remove may be traced to the acceptance of the outside septic waste. It may be that when the study is completed, some outside waste may be acceptable, but it will be at least six months before any answer can be given.
— David Gordon
Saugerties Village DPW head says $280,000 truck is a bargain
At the Saugerties Village Board’s regular meeting on Monday, October 21, trustees agreed to purchase a six-wheel truck with snow plow and sander for $280,000 through Onondaga County’s state bid. The village budget includes $300,000 for the vehicle. Because the purchase would be through a state bid, the village will not need to seek bids for the truck, and could have it delivered within a week, rather than the time it would require to seek bids and go to contract.
— David Gordon
Esopus Creek weed harvest season statistics
The Village of Saugerties weed harvesters cleaned some 55.75 tons during the past season, code enforcement officer Eyal Saad reported at the village board meeting on Monday, October 21. The harvester took 187-and-a-half man hours. The village now uses two harvesters, one that it purchased several years ago from the contractor who had previously harvested the weeds and one on loan from the company that will be selling a new harvester to the village.
The process of removing the weed growth annually has cut down on the growth of new weeds each season, Saad said. “We’re getting good feedback from fishermen, from kayakers.” A new grass weed has been growing in the creek, which grows faster than it can be removed, Saad said.
“So over the years, we’re seeing less [weeds] now,” said trustee Don Hackett. Saad agreed, saying that in past years the village removed as much as 75 to 100 tons of weeds; now it’s more like 55.
In the meantime, the new harvester the village has ordered is on the production line, and “we should get it by next [weed harvesting] season,” Saad said.
— David Gordon
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