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Re-elect Amanda Gotto and we can all live happily ever after
I’ll be voting for Amanda Gotto in June for town supervisor so she can continue managing the government that includes every New Paltz town and village resident.
Merging the town and village is kind of like a marriage, so here’s a little marriage analogy:
In January of 2024, the village proposed to the town. The town accepted and happily announced our engagement.
In April of 2024, the town and village met to discuss our premarital agreement. We chose a wedding planner, decided who to invite and how much we wanted to spend.
In September of 2024, we met again to review the wedding planner’s estimate. The town thought it was too high and recommended some savings. Both parties agreed.
In October, the wedding planner quit.
In November, the village eloped with the wedding planner!
Now the village and the wedding planner are preparing to keep all the town’s wedding presents and move into the town’s house.
Okay, this analogy may have run its course. But once the village abandoned the consolidation process, there’s only one way to make sure all 14,000 residents are invited to the wedding:
Re-elect Amanda Gotto as supervisor! She is experienced, dedicated accomplished and is doing a great job.
When Amanda is re-elected, Tim will continue as mayor even if the village dissolves.
And we’ll all live happily ever after.
Kitty Brown
Town of New Paltz Deputy Supervisor
Sharing a unique perspective
My name is Jenny Jared and I’m a dedicated parent in the Onteora School District as well as a candidate for board of education. My two children, Faye at Bennett Elementary and Dylan in the middle school, both thrive in our wonderful district. I have been a PTA parent at Woodstock Elementary, the PTA president at Bennett Elementary and booster club leadership at the middle/high school. Our community has the opportunity to vote yes on Propositions 1 and 2, and bring all of our children together onto one central campus. I feel that my time in each of our district’s buildings has given me a unique perspective on the topic.
I had the good fortune of being a parent and president of the PTA at Bennett Elementary for three years. At the time it was a combined elementary school, holding all the district’s children from grades 4 through 6. It was amazing. I loved the energy of the kids in the hallway in the morning, all so different but young enough not to let it get in the way of friendship. The music programs, filled to the brim, felt so rewarding to them. The thriving band, orchestra and chorus program currently at the middle school is a direct result of having enough kids to make a healthy elementary program. We had after-school programming with jazz bands, art clubs and robotics. We had the magic of us. Our district. Being together.
My daughter remains at Bennett this year, the last combined grade leftover from the previous configuration. I will say that it’s just not the same. Her orchestra is tiny and the halls are quiet. There are around 220 kids in a building made to hold 400. I really miss what we had.
I also dream about what we could have with all the kids back together again. We would pool our brilliant teachers to lift up the education we offer, our special education children would receive the full day support they deserve, our music and art programs would flourish and we could harness opportunities for mentoring and community building between our littles and our older leaders at the middle school/high school.
With all the challenges facing our district, and all the uncertainties in our world, we have the chance to make a purposeful decision about our future. We have saved. We have dreamed. The choice is in each of our hands. I know this is hard and messy and that unknowns can be scary. The one thing that I know, in my heart, is nothing to fear is that chance that we could all be together again.
Jenny Jared
Woodstock
Village of New Paltz advocates for consolidation over dissolution after research and outreach
For the last few months, the Village of New Paltz has worked with the Laberge Group on New Paltz government reorganization planning. We received a NYS Citizen Reorganization Grant (CREG) to fund the plan. We are pleased to announce we have completed the “study document” stage. Initially, we focused on creating a “dissolution” of the village plan per NYS General Municipal Law Article 17-A in order to:
• Integrate town and village services to more prudently serve our community
• Harness $1 million per annum in perpetuity via the NYS Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) to help taxpayers.
At this point, after research and community outreach, we believe the best fit for our community and those employed by the town and village will be “consolidation,” rather than “dissolution.” We propose using the “study document” to inform the creation of a joint village board and town board “consolidation” agreement. Three important advantages of “consolidation” include:
1. A “consolidation” agreement may include a legally-binding collective bargaining solution, prior to referendum, involving both unions who currently represent the town and village staff. (Employee protection and continuity of services should be airtight.)
2. A referendum on whether to pursue “consolidation” would involve all town voters, whereas Article 17-A only allows village voters to participate in a “dissolution” referendum.
3. A November 4th “dissolution” referendum limits time to engage voters (NYS requires that County BOE officials have at least three months before an election to include referendum details. This would require plan endorsement, adoption and public hearings all being done by the end of this July.)
Taking the next several months, through this fall, to include “consolidation” agreement details and additional community engagement will be time and effort well spent. We could work towards holding a “consolidation” special election in 2026.
Our community needs to empower present and future leaders, while holding them accountable. Creating a more sensible local government will give them a better chance to more effectively navigate the next 50 to 100 years.
Upcoming public conversations where all are welcome:
• New Paltz Fire Department (117 Henry W. Dubois Drive), Tuesday, May 27, 7 p.m. (fire department member themed discussion, but open to the public)
• Retirees’ breakfast meeting (Plaza Diner), Monday, June 2, 8 a.m.
Please feel free to call or ask to meet with any questions.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
Erin Moran is my pick for Woodstock supervisor
After 20 years on the town board, it is time for me to let others step up. I am sure with three individuals seeking the job of supervisor, two of whom I consider friends, you might feel uncertain as to who the best candidate is. My time as supervisor has put me in a unique position of knowing the job and knowing who is best suited to doing it. Without reservation, Erin Moran is my choice.
Erin grew up in the Woodstock area. She learned to fish with her dad on Yankeetown Pond. Erin went to Woodstock Elementary School and graduated from Onteora High School. She holds a BS degree in business management from Webster University.
Jeremy Wilber and I were successful in working out many issues. We often approached a topic from different directions. We were willing to listen and adjust our opinions to bring a task to fruition. Erin Moran shares that mindset. Erin is a fierce defender of her beliefs but open to what others have to say. She is not afraid to compromise for a better solution.Erin and I first worked together back in 2014. We were on opposite ends of an issue regarding New York City properties. Jeremy appointed a task force which included Erin and me. While Erin was steadfast in her beliefs, she listened to the opinions of all. We crafted a solution all could live with. Our presentation was so forceful we convinced the NYC DEP to accept our proposal. The city was adamant they would not set “special conditions” for Woodstock. Yet here we are with “special conditions,” a great compromise. Erin was instrumental in affecting this outcome.
The job of supervisor in Woodstock requires thick skin, a person who can take the heat and come back smiling. Erin has this skill. I have witnessed her ability to have lively debates with people, and still end up sitting at the table together, working toward a common goal. She will genuinely work toward effective solutions, even when she disagrees with someone.
Erin continues to oversee the town’s commitment to the climate smart community program. As the coordinator, she worked countless hours throughout the pandemic helping achieve bronze status. As a member of the Woodstock Environmental Commission, she spearheaded several initiatives, including a composting program, natural resources inventory, Zena Woods being designated as a critical environmental area. Erin continues to work on numerous environmental issues on behalf of town, such as organizing the annual Earth Day celebration.
Erin has a magnificent work ethic; she will not hesitate to put the time in to do the job. She worked doggedly on the dumping issue in Shady. While she and I do not agree on the outcome, Erin hung in there, doing incredible research which produced valuable information for the town. Though she was disappointed with the outcome, she continues to pursue all avenues for a solution.
Woodstock deserves a supervisor who works to effect solutions, who perseveres under trying times, an individual not afraid to roll up her sleeves and do the work necessary to move our community forward together. Erin Moran has the skills needed to do just that; she is my pick for supervisor. I hope Erin’s your pick too!
Bill McKenna, Supervisor
Town of Woodstock
The knife that never stops falling
“Old men are bastards.” That was the title of a poem I scrawled in the heat of anger and sorrow when I came home from Vietnam. There’s not much subtlety in it, I know. But war burns away nuance. I couldn’t shake the image of Abraham binding Isaac and raising the knife. The Bible says he stopped — he saw a ram in the thicket and spared his son. But McNamara? The politicians? They found no ram. Or worse, they didn’t look. They took 58,000 of us up that mountain and let the blade fall.
I’ve lived a long time since then. Long enough to become one of those “old men.” But I’ve carried that mountain in my bones, and I still hear the knife cutting through the air. A clean sound. Too clean.
Now, I watch a new generation of leaders — if we can still use that word without choking on it — line their pockets, not with courage or conscience, but with corporate checks. They smile like salesmen, but their eyes are hollow. You can tell when someone’s soul was bartered off for campaign funding.
You might say, “It’s always been this way.” Sure. Power’s been a dirty game since the first man hid an extra rib from the mastodon roast. But the mastodons are gone. The ice is melting. The rivers are coughing up poison. The storms come harder each year; greed still sits fat and untouched, licking its fingers.
Sometimes, I wonder if January 6th was a warning flare — ugly, misguided, but born from hunger. Not just for power. For meaning. I saw boys, not men, storming that Capitol. Boys dressed in the rags of rage, carrying flags they didn’t understand. What they lacked wasn’t just morality — it was initiation. They were never given the love that shapes a man or the pain that teaches him to stand for something more profound than himself. Violence becomes their grammar. The only language they were taught that made people listen.
A crack runs through this country like a fault line — between those who govern for profit and those sent to bleed for it. Our military, our police, our working poor — they’ve become pawns in a boardroom war game. Fight over there. Fight over here. Protect the investments. Forget the people.
Mix in a history steeped in racism, a media circus wired for outrage, and a digital world that rewards shouting over truth — and maybe you get a formula for insurrection. Maybe. But formulas don’t feel. And this feels… rotten.
I look around now, at my age, and wonder what happened to the promise we once felt — even in the chaos. I don’t want to be the bitter old man yelling at the wind. But I also don’t want to lie quietly in the grass while the wolves circle.
So, I return to that poem. The old one. The one that shouted, “Old men are bastards.” I whisper it now, not with fury but with sadness. And I wonder — was the knife ever meant to be dropped? Or did we just stop reaching for the ram?
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Vote no on Prop 2
If you believe in Woodstock’s future as a vibrant community for full-time families, vote NO on Proposition 2.
If you believe Onteora’s student enrollment is tied to the health of our villages, vote NO on Prop 2.
If you believe community schools make communities stronger — and that Woodstock Elementary is essential to attracting and retaining young families — vote NO on Prop 2.
If you believe community schools provide better learning environments for young children, Vote NO on Prop 2.
If you believe the school board should have truly listened when the public spoke — through surveys, forums, and at the ballot box — in favor of keeping our local schools open, vote NO on Prop 2.
Prop 2 isn’t just about renovations. It’s a $70.5 million plan to centralize the district and shut down Woodstock Elementary — a beloved school located in the heart of a walkable, thriving town. It’s the kind of school many parents would give anything to send their children to and yet our school district is trying boarding it up.
Just last month, I watched 50 Woodstock Elementary students walk into town with their teachers and crossing guards to plant a tree in front of the Playhouse for Earth Day. That kind of connection to place — the ability to grow up in and with a community — is invaluable. It’s also a powerful draw for families deciding where to put down roots.
Some say keeping Woodstock open is about nostalgia. I say it’s about vision.
We deserve a plan that strengthens all our communities — not just one centralized location. We can invest in modernization without sacrificing what makes this district special.
If you believe in strong towns, healthy student enrollment and a future that includes more families, vote NO on Prop 2.
Cast your vote on May 20 from 2 to 9 p.m. at either Woodstock Elementary and Bennett Elementary.
Tansy Michaud
Woodstock
Support outdoor music
The music of Woodstock (past and present) is one of the things that make Woodstock the appealing place it is. We own a house in Woodstock and spend six months a year here. We can hear the outdoor music at the Colony and the weekly drum circle from our house and enjoy doing so. Any noise ordinance passed in the town should permit outdoor music. Of course a curfew is reasonable, but outdoor music should be permitted in a widespread manner. We need to continue to support musicians and artists to keep Woodstock a special place.
Deborah Abramson
Woodstock
For our students — Onteora’s opportunity is now!
For decades, Onteora school boards have considered how to address consistently declining enrollment. West Hurley was closed. The inequitable and overpriced Princeton Plan was tried. The 2018-19 school board commissioned a comprehensive building-use study. The findings of that study were not fully explored while Onteora grappled with teaching remotely and caring for our students spread over 300 square miles, many of whom didn’t have internet access. We fed them and their siblings, sending buses all over the district each day, delivering bagged breakfasts and lunches. That’s how Onteora reacts. We do what’s right for our kids and our community.
After struggling with temporary closures, hosting vaccine clinics, dealing with emotionally charged issues like face masks and hand sanitizers, we refocused on our declining enrollment, our soaring expenses and our academic inequities. We dug into the Baughman Report. The 2022-23 school board adopted an ambitious goal including a long-term plan to move sixth grade to middle school and move to a central campus. The board and administration created an ad-hoc committee to oversee the implementation of that goal. They reported publicly at every board meeting and initiated the first forums to actively inform and engage our community.
We have come so far since then. The board has approved contracts with amazing capital project consultants, meeting facilitators, architects, engineers and financial advisors. We’ve seen our architect’s vision-boards, and the possibilities for our students are endless. Our students are excited! We have great momentum! Our community has invested tremendous time, innovation, money and emotion into the optimizing Onteora plan. Our students deserve inspiring school buildings, equitable educational opportunities and diverse learning experiences alongside friends from every Onteora neighborhood. This is what a YES VOTE on Propositions 1 and 2 will ensure!
Cynthia Bishop, on behalf of myself
Hurley
Biased “reasoning”
Neil Jarmel says that “FEMA was an effective agency.” In doing his survey and study of FEMA, I guess Neil forgot to get the opinions of those residents who suffered greatly in parts of North Carolina and neighboring areas and states whose search for FEMA help was like playing “Where’s Waldo.” And those with Trump signs on their properties were very pleased, I’m sure, with FEMA passing right by their properties.
Regarding Tom Cherwin’s usual anti-Trump assessments, I do have to agree with Tom’s references to some of Trump’s statements. There is no question that Trump makes occasional comments that are self-absorbed, egomaniacal and inappropriately exaggerated. However, Tom and the others in his anti-Trump camp seem to be incapable of separating Trump’s mouth from his positive accomplishments. Is Tom and his crew disappointed that Trump and Homan fixed the border crisis almost overnight? Are they disappointed that all American’s safety is being protected by deporting highly dangerous illegal criminals? Are they disappointed that crime in our streets is not out of control any longer? Are they disappointed that Trump is defending and protecting ALL female athletes by banning biological males from competing against REAL women and girls? I guess they’re extremely disappointed that Trump is doing exactly what the voters elected him to do in these critical areas.
As we watch biological males smash women’s records while sometimes injuring them in the process, it’s astonishing that we have a female governor of Maine, Janet Mills, and all those of her ilk around the country thumbing their noses at all REAL female athletes. These pinhead politicians and some still spineless athletic associations are foolish and stupid enough to think that their defense of REAL female athletes would be considered transphobic and gender-phobic when the reality is that all sane people simply want an even playing field where biological females compete against biological females — the way it’s ALWAYS been since the birth of athletic competition. Alleged discrimination has absolutely nothing to do with the obvious common sense solution.
Tom Cherwin feels sorry for the Harvards, Columbias, etc., pretending that their “broken-hearted students” have a First Amendment right to shut down libraries during final exams while harassing Jewish students. Everyone with a functioning brain knows that all Jews in our country, students and non-students, who have been subjected to the abuses of the “peaceful demonstrators,” aka anti-Semites, have absolutely nothing to do with what’s been going on for the past year and a half in Gaza, Israel and neighboring countries. So, attacking Jewish students in the U.S., causing damages and injuries and blocking the learning process accomplishes what? These “peaceful” pea brains can’t figure that out, yet!
John N. Butz
Modena
We need a huge turnout on May 20 to save our Onteora school system
I have lived in Ulster County for almost 50 years. My kids went to school in Onteora and Woodstock.
A vibrant school is important to this area in the western end of the county. It gives it an identity — it tells people that this is a good place to raise a family.
According to the Onteora School District’s own data, kindergarten enrollment has stabilized and is projected to grow over the next five years with most of that growth in the parts of the district where soaring housing costs do not prohibit young families from being attracted as they have in Woodstock.
We need a huge turnout on May 20 to keep our school district AND our own personal finances in reality. Yes, closing Woodstock Elementary school will be emotionally wrenching for those who have used it in their lives whether as students or parents, just as it was for similar steps in West Hurley and more recently Phoenicia. While I empathize with this emotionally wrenching moment for ALL who have had to face such a situation in the last few years, please remember that it is only a moment in a long lifetime of a constant adjustment to changing circumstances, especially those which can threaten our larger financial soundness. PLEASE vote YES on Prop 2 (the $70.5 million re-organizational project) and vote yes on Prop 1 (annual school budget). Do not let the emotional turmoil that many have tried to stir up over this next difficult move dim your understanding that just as we had to decide with the West Hurley and Phoenicia school closings, we need to make this financially conservative call. Vote by May 20th and keep our local school system and our own personal lives financially solvent.
Jac Conaway
Olivebridge
Due process
“I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”
It’s pretty simple:
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger… nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Is that hard to understand? You’d think our president would.
Guilty. Thirty-four counts of felony falsification of business records in the first degree. Due process.
Guilty of rape. “Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.” The presiding judge. Due process.
Two-hundred-and-twenty lawsuits in 100 days with too many losses to count and others making their way through appellate courts. Due process.
Two congressional impeachments. Due process.
“From 1973 until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts,” Wikipedia. Due process.
Trump was arraigned at the federal courthouse in Miami on June 13, 2023, on 37 criminal charges related to the destruction, loss and illegal handling of government documents. This was the first time a president had been indicted in a felony case. Of course, this case was dropped when he won the election. Due process.
Abrego Garcia deported to notorious prison in El Salvador. Administrative error.
Maybe time to consider a prisoner exchange?
Mauriac Cunningham
Saugerties
Shaping our future
While he was campaigning, Trump never said: “I will destroy science!”
Sparrow
Phoenicia
A proactive approach
The cancellation of a recent free food distribution at People’s Place, initially cited as a lack of food and later as a “safety issue,” underscores a growing crisis in Ulster County. While scarcity wasn’t the immediate concern in this instance, the reality is that demand and need for food assistance is at an all-time high, and resources are already stretched dangerously thin.
I truly commend the Ulster County Legislature for its efforts to address food insecurity, including its comprehensive report examining the issue and its commitment to strengthening local food programs. The introduction of a $350,000 fund to support food assistance initiatives is a critical step forward, but with 14% of Ulster County residents living in poverty and a 17% rate of child food insecurity (Villalba, 2022) sustained investment is essential.
Cuts to food programs don’t trim excess, they eliminate thousands of meals that people rely on. At the same time the demand is growing, the ability to meet it is shrinking. This is not a theoretical concern: it is already happening. The ripple effects will be felt throughout our community, disproportionately affecting those already facing economic hardship.
It is time for Ulster County leadership to continue its proactive approach and ensure that food assistance programs remain robust and accessible. Increased investment, strengthened partnerships and transparent communication about resource allocation are essential. The people most affected by these shortages deserve answers.
More importantly, they deserve solutions.
Dylan Moscoso
New Paltz
“Wrong” side of the tracks
It appears that I have two counts against me, and as a result, I won’t be able to vote for or against the village dissolution. This is the process of voting for or against the idea to dissolve the Village of New Paltz and if the village people vote to dissolve the village, it will automatically become part of the Town of New Paltz, along with many of its positive attributes but also with many potential warts that we may or may not be made aware of. The people in the Town of New Paltz apparently have no say in the matter!
My name is Rusty Staub and I am sure there are many people in this position. Why can’t I vote? The two counts against me are:
1. I have lived in my home for 35 years. But it is several feet from the village/town line on the town side of the tracks.
2. I also own the Professional Center at 243 Main Street for the past 43 years, but it also is located several feet from the village/town line on the town side of the tracks.
I am a businessman, and as a result. I would like to know clearly the pros and cons of this project. What are the procedural benefits, the financial benefits to the town? What are the procedural downsides, the financial expenses to the town? What baggage/problems will the village be bringing to the town that may increase the town taxes for its residents. Is the village telling the town all it needs to know about any concerns or issues the village currently is dealing with and any associated costs?
I, as well as many of the town and village residents would like to see a plain English presentation of a combined projected town and village budget. I would like to see both the town and village working together on this project by answering any and all questions presented by and to either side!
From what I understand, Amanda Gotto, our current Town of New Paltz supervisor, was all in when the town and village were both at the table to explore consolidation. Suddenly, the village decided to kick Town of New Paltz representatives to the curb and go it alone. I heard town representatives were asking to many questions? Should this not be the process, ask questions? Why should the town buy a nicely packaged white box with a red bow on top and not get a chance to see what exactly is in the box!
As a result, and being team town, I will be casting my vote for Amanda Gotto for supervisor, Town of New Paltz in the June 2025 primary!
From my direct personal experience, Amanda appears to get things done in a timely manner. I’ve been told Amanda spends at least ten hours per day in the office and proudly proclaims that she is dedicated to all the residents in the town. When issues are on the table, Amanda makes it a point to learn about the issues. She does her research, asks questions and gets a consensus of what others think about the issue.
Amanda has proclaimed she will continue to be an effective, knowledgeable and fair Town of New Paltz supervisor for ALL the people. Give her your vote also!
Rusty Staub
New Paltz
Optimizing Onteora — the future is bright!
On May 20, Onteora voters have a historic opportunity to shape the future of our school district. With a vote on the budget, two board seats and a transformative capital project proposition, we can take a major step forward together. This project reflects the vision, values and pride of our community. It’s about more than bricks and mortar, it’s about creating learning spaces that inspire creativity, collaboration and a deep connection to the incredible natural beauty of the Catskill Mountains.
The plan is centered around students, supportive of staff and fiscally responsible. Highlights include modern science classrooms, expanded outdoor learning and play spaces, enhanced athletic fields with lights for year-round use, improved traffic flow and parking, and a refurbished auditorium to support the arts and community events, along with SO much more! Most exciting of all: thanks to the expected long-term savings from centralizing students on the Boiceville campus, this ambitious project is anticipated to be tax-neutral. That’s right, no additional tax burden, while we invest in our children and community. We have the chance to say yes to sustainability, innovation and equity. To say yes to a campus that mirrors our hopes for the future. Let’s seize this moment with optimism and unity. Vote YES on May 20 on Propositions 1 & 2. The future of Onteora is bright!
Meghann Reimondo, on behalf of myself
Woodstock
What are your questions?
As a parent in the Onteora Central School District, I’ve felt the blend of hope and anxiety that comes with sending children off to school — especially during a pandemic and school closures. But I continue to believe our district’s small size is a strength. Our 2025 valedictorian, Gavin Rice, said it best: “The best thing about Onteora is that it is a pretty small community, and I feel like I know everyone at least by name.”
You may know my name too. I ran for school board in 2022 because I had questions — and I’ve been asking them ever since. In 2023, I questioned the central campus resolution. While I saw the value, I wanted to better understand the budget, timing and opportunities for input.
Two years later, we now have a clear plan — and it won’t raise taxes. It’s funded by capital reserves, state aid and savings from closing two buildings. We’ve held collaborative meetings, and we already know integration works — Phoenicia successfully merged into Bennett.
So I’m urging our community: Vote on Tuesday, May 20, from 2–9 p.m. at Bennett or Woodstock Elementary. Proposition 1 is the annual budget. Proposition 2 is the capital project to modernize our buildings, athletic facilities, visual and performing arts spaces and create a central, sustainable, pedestrian-friendly campus with outdoor classrooms, natural play areas, and student gardens — all surrounded by mountain views.
Maintaining buildings, running extensive bus routes and preserving small class sizes and strong programs all cost money. Consolidation is a choice — for efficiency, sustainability and to create the best learning environment. Instead of patching up old buildings, we are making the most of our resources.
What are your questions? Class size, transportation and special needs are all being considered. Please call the superintendent before May 20th at 845-657-8851 and ask whatever is on your mind so you are prepared to vote too.
Sarah Hemingway Lynch
West Shokan
Harm to our economy
True leaders lead by example. So, when I listen to president-for-now Trump tell us that, because of the tariffs he’s imposed, children will have to be happy with fewer dolls and pencils — like there’s no greater harm being done to our economy right now — I’d like to hear what sacrifices he’s planning to make. Fewer golf games? Maybe not throwing himself a military parade for his birthday at taxpayer expense? And what about his other hand-picked leaders, like billionaire Scott Bessent, who believes that Americans ready to retire aren’t worried about day-to-day market fluctuations? How removed from the reality of every day citizens are these men? I’m reminded of Marie Antoinette who, when told that the peasants were starving, said, “Let them eat cake!” This, when her people didn’t even have bread.
Charlotte Adamis
Kingston
A bedtime story
Stop.
Unclench your jaw.
Soften your brow.
Relax your shoulders.
Breathe.
“The Going-To-Bed Prayer”
If TRUMP is gone
Before I awake,
I pray to God the
News ain’t fake.
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Why I support Tim Roger’s candidacy
Here’s a list of things New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers did that I appreciate:
1. I called regarding the AJC’s Mayors United Against Anti-semitism. Tim checked it out, saw names of other mayors he respected and happily added his own name. When I looked online, I saw that Tim had gotten Neil Bettez to sign on, too. Today, the mayor of New Paltz is one of more than 700+ mayors listed. I am thankful to the American Jewish Committee and all of the signatories.
2. For years, the village hall has welcomed an outdoor menorah lighting.
3. When Tim learned that the community center would not host a Chanukah display in 2014, he invited me to make one at the village hall. The responses — including one from a rabbi’s wife and one from my cousin in Israel — were all positive. What can I say? I hope Tim and I can work on another Chanukah display this year.
4. Today’s letter from Tim to New Paltz residents regarding drinking water violations is honest and welcome. After years of living with a chronic cough, a guy friend told me about a book titled The Chronic Cough Enigma. I bought the book at Inquiring Minds. I also listened to my friend’s advice. I now drink Smart Water: It’s alkaline and has a 9.5pH. It tastes better than tap water and I no longer cough! I appreciate having Tim as my mayor and will vote for him in the coming election on June 24th.
Carolida Steiner
New Paltz
Infrastructure issues should be addressed
New Paltz residents on village water received a letter from mayor Tim Rogers and other village officials this week warning us about the contaminants total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) over the maximum contaminant levels (MCL) in the village drinking water.
It lists the levels as “an average over the past 12 months,” meaning it is sometimes higher and sometimes lower. It also states “There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective action… This is not an emergency” and repeats assurances that if it was an emergency we would be “notified within 24 hours.” But we have been exposed to these contaminants on and off for a year!
Why would the village officials say there is no need to boil the water? Why not suggest simple safeguards like the fact that boiling water for a minute can reduce THMs by 75%, while carbon filtration using activated carbon can remove them.
I question mayor Tim Roger’s laissez faire statement: “There is nothing you need to do” when I read the rest of the letter … “If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care provider about drinking the water …”
I’m sure NYSDEC or EPA requires the village government to include some warnings. The letter goes on to caution …
“People who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”
“People who drink water containing haloacetic acids in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”
Apparently, village officials recognized that many people who drink the village water (renters, students, nursing homes) will not get this letter and suggest the reader “Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice … You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.”
Maybe Mayor Rogers could hand this letter out while he is going door to door running for supervisor. Village water has other problems like brown water and water main breaks that the mayor has kicked down the road. Rather than focusing on dissolution and passing these problems to the town, the village should be making a long-term plan to address these basic infrastructure issues.
Fawn Tantillo
New Paltz
Wasted moments
One would think that, after being the chair of the zoning board of appeals, a member of Woodstock’s town board and town supervisor, McKenna would have known that “type 1” and “unlisted” actions are, among other laws, subject to further review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). After watching the April 22nd town board meeting, you would be wrong to think that.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
The town would benefit from having Tim Rogers serve as the supervisor
I support Tim Rogers for the position of supervisor of the Town of New Paltz. I am a village resident where Tim has been mayor for the last ten years. He has demonstrated year after year commendable analytic skills and fiscal responsibility while attending to the daily business of the village and making significant improvements to our infrastructure. Impressively, we have not seen a single tax rate increase in the last nine years. Through regular successful grant writing he has brought in $7.65 million in sewer grants. The expense of lost water was significantly reduced by systematically detecting leaks and replacing valves within the village water system. Tim would bring that expertise and understanding to not only the town water use, but he would systematically analyze problems and come up with cost-effective solutions.
Having worked as mayor for ten years, Tim has studied and understands the opportunities provided by complex laws such as the Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) and the General Municipal Law Article 17-A. He will continue to improve the water and sewer situation and pursue opportunities to improve the overall infrastructure of both the town and village.
Regular informative letters to the editor from Tim appear in Hudson Valley One and on social media. For busy people, his proactive communications are important and useful. He has also been quick to respond to questions and comments from his constituents.
We are fortunate in the village to have had Tim Rogers as our mayor for this past decade. The town would benefit greatly from having Tim serve as the town supervisor.
Kathryn Silberger
New Paltz
In shambles
The proposed changes to Woodstock’s zoning codes are in shambles. The enormous document, virtually incomprehensible to begin with and marred by potential conflicts of interest, has been undergoing changes on the fly, including merging some items of the proposed new law with the old law as it appears on the town website. Whether this was done out of sloppiness or obfuscation is unclear, but currently there is nothing discernible enough to even consider.
Even more importantly, according to Woodstock Town law 272a.8: Environmental Review: “A town comprehensive plan, and any amendment thereto, is subject to the provisions of the state environmental quality review act under article eight of the environmental conservation law and its implementing regulations, etc.,” which would mandate that the town board hire a true professional zoning law expert to prepare a full and complete Environmental Impact Study on the impact of these proposed zoning changes. No such comprehensive environmental impact study has been done to determine how these proposed changes would affect the town’s water, sewage system, forests, wetlands, wildlife, etc. This failure prevents the town from enacting any changes at this time, and a lawsuit is being readied should the town attempt to do so.
There are several glaring problems with the proposal as it now stands, even after some minor concessions have been extracted, such as the withdrawal of the permission for three- and four-tiered constructions. What still stands, however, is the allowance of multiplex developments on up to 250 of our town roads. The congestion that this could create would change the character and comfortability of Woodstock forever.
Also, in the plan are changes to provisions regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). Current law requires that they be owner-occupied. That would change with the proposed new law, which would allow outside profiteers to purchase homes that could otherwise be occupied by Woodstockers for the express purpose of turning them into businesses.
Additionally, whereas only one ADU is permitted under current law, two would now be allowed (even more were considered). The way that this has been sold to the public, in order to maintain the otherwise largely abandoned claim that these changes were being undertaken to address our affordable housing crisis, the second ADU would be subject to some measure of affordability. Since the first ADU would have no such requirement, what would be the incentive for an owner to build that second one?
It’s clear that the proposed zoning changes would do little to nothing to help create affordable housing, but would do a lot to open our town up to outside developers to exploit and reshape Woodstock into an overdeveloped, unaffordable quasi-suburb, as well as endangering the natural resources that our current zoning code has protected well for decades.
We certainly need affordable housing, but it will not come from the good will of private developers and multiplexes. Even if there are state incentives for private developers to set aside a small percentage of the housing units they construct to be “affordable,” to meet Woodstock’s need for, say, 200 affordable units, that would greenlight the development of over a thousand luxury ones. Creative plans using smaller, spread-out developments on town-owned land, in conjunction with partnerships with public programs like RUPCO, while imperfect and incomplete solutions, are the only way to make at least a dent in the problem. There should also be stricter limits on short-term rentals beyond those that serve as reasonable supplementary income, and incentives to turn often vacant short-term rentals into long-term ones.
I, therefore, urge all Woodstockers to join in further researching and staying on top of the zoning controversies, and opposing any changes that are likely to cause over-congestion, significant environmental harm, benefits that will only be realized by predatory outside developers and insiders with conflicted interests, or an end to the very nature of the Woodstock that we grew up in or intentionally came to be a part of.
Alan M. Weber
Woodstock
Woodstock’s next town supervisor
It was inspiring to hear from the hopefuls at the WDC’s Woodstock candidate forum on Thursday, May 8. It’s a strong bench, including the three running for town council. Here’s my take on the trio in the race for town supervisor:
David Wallis is a good journalist and writer, but he’s new to Woodstock and hasn’t put in time on any of the important commissions. When asked what he sees as the three top priorities for Woodstock, his response was “Water, water and water.” I served on the Woodstock Environmental Commission (WEC) from 2017 through 2023 and arranged for Woodstock to receive free technical assistance via the ongoing Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2), so I completely agree that water is a vital issue. But it’s not the only issue.
Erin Moran spent time on the WEC from 2019 to 2024. She was one of the lead organizers of our Climate Smart Community initiative and of the WEC’s Earth Day celebrations for several years. While she was effective in those roles, she could also be erratic and lacking in judgment. She claims an area of key focus for her as supervisor would be civility. I’m sorry to say, the Erin I observed on the WEC wasn’t always civil to guests of the commission or to fellow WEC members. For more, Google Erin Moran + Yankeetown Pond.
Anula Courtis is currently doing a great job serving as town councilperson, which I feel is a prerequisite for election to town supervisor. Her many successful community initiatives include a focus on human rights, water protection, a tax break for volunteers, the Bear Task Force and the Good Neighbor Food Pantry. I believe Anula has the vision, integrity and experience to be Woodstock’s next town supervisor.
Julia Blelock
Woodstock
Winston Farm’s 800 acres
I do not talk
I stand in the quiet forest
Peace reigns in the woods
Years are rings
I grow tall and wide
A hundred years is not old for me
5000 years is old for me
I don’t walk, I breathe and live
Each day, I am quiet
I am the wooden floor to stand on
I am the wooden spoon
I make the shade to keep cool under
The fruits and nuts for food
An apple
I am the home of countless species
I am fire
I am green, I’m life
I do not negotiate but stand still always
I am majestic beauty
I burst into a pink cloud in the yard
I am the inspiration for sleeping podcasts
Walk on a meandering path in the woods
Sun shining through the green leaves
So peaceful, so relaxing, sleep follows easily
I am heat in the stove
The crackle and the glow
I am warm cozy happiness
I am the pretty flowers on a dress
The green leaves on pottery
I am alive and I am wood, I breathe
I do not negotiate or move
I do not create conflict and political upheaval
Purifying water and air
I create oxygen for all to use
I give of myself and don’t ask for anything in return
I grow in the woods
In the quiet woods
Each moment hears my silence
I am a keystone species
A keystone species
influences the survival of others
Many species depend on me!
The loss or decline of keystone species
Can lead to a collapse of the entire ecosystem
I am myself
Always standing in the earth
Breathing and still
I am in decline
Due to being cut down,
Due to fire,
Due to disease,
Due to drought,
Due to standing in standing water
Development means growth
Losing 800 acres of woods
Means losing clean air
Means losing clean water
Losing me is losing…
I am a speechless tree!
Edith Bolt
Saugerties
Well done U&D Corridor Committee
The CMRR and its surrogates are now pounding the drum that the highly reasonable solution which emerged from the committee on Thursday was based on partisan politics rather than on evidence and logic. Including, most recently, unconscionable full-page ads impugning the integrity of committee members. But an examination of the evidence which the committee has referenced should dispel those tactics.
Myriad points include
• A highly credible professional economic firm has estimated the economic benefit of the Ashokan Trail to already substantially exceed that of the tourist train, with projections of connectivity to Kingston showing an even higher economic benefit gap.
• Repeated studies by professional trail-design engineering firms have concluded “rail with trail” technically, environmentally and economically unfeasible. The most recent, 2023, study projects a cost of $50 million or more to construct a trail alongside the rail in a corridor not designed for that use.
• In the last decade Ulster County has generated $57 million in outside funds for the advancement of the county trail network.
• The Empire State Trail is the county’s highest tourist draw and there are over 1 million annual uses of the county’s growing rail trail system. There were nearly 100,000 resident uses, at no admission cost, of the ART alone in even its current form, versus.
• Only 7000 Ulster County residents riding the train last year who had to pay between $15-60 to do so and,
• The Kingston-Ashokan corridor, a county resource, sits completely empty and unused more than 75% of the time under the current CMRR monopolization. The committee has done exemplary professional work and should be congratulated in advancing a sound recommendation on the undesignated section in question based on evidence and sound analysis.
William Sheldon
Kingston
More is in the works
The Village of Saugerties is holding a public hearing on May 14 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the lot-line change for 83 North Street. The Village of Saugerties also appears to have negotiated terms for a land transfer with an outside developer, Country Acres, which would enable the developer to create 167 new apartment units that will significantly alter the community character of the Saugerties village and have greater impacts on the community than are currently being considered.
These lot changes will only make it easier for the developer to move forward with their larger project. Evaluation of the proposed lot line changes in isolation would neglect the significant impacts from the proposed development, including but not limited to:
• 167-unit development that doesn’t comply with existing village zoning, does not comply with the goals of the comprehensive plan and is not in keeping with our community character.
• 17.4 acres of forest disturbance
• 5.5 acres of impervious surface
• 255 parking spaces
• four years of construction-related traffic, noise and related disturbance to the community
• Loss of native plants and animals
• Other issues that have not been assessed include impacts from traffic, stormwater, MS4 compliance and over a million dollars in added cost to the school budget.
As residents, we ask what is the gain when it only appears to be a negative impact on our community? Why is there willingness to enable this development and make this lot exchange to facilitate this additional access? The shuffling of lots and attempts to change zoning are part of the larger overall Saugerties town-wide planning particularly to enable these higher density developments. None of which has anything to do with affordable housing, but rather destruction.
How are the village planning board and the mayor and the village trustees representing the best interests of the current owners and village taxpayers? While they may tell us this is only a lot line change now, such action implies more is in the works. The case for how they see this as a benefit to the community should come first. If the answer is for budget reasons, this seems short-sighted.
After all this is our community — the current owners and taxpayers — and we hope our elected officials are listening to us.
Tracy Phillips
on behalf of concerned Elm Street residents
Saugerties
Onteora’s enrollment reality
The May 7 letter’s section was full of misleading and fabricated information about Onteora’s enrollment picture that unless corrected, will lead voters astray on May 20 and could perpetuate our students getting far less than the best we can give them. Elizabeth Lesser and Tansy Michaud claim that Onteora is experiencing some kind of post-Covid enrollment climb that is projected to continue into the future. There is absolutely no actual enrollment data that supports these claims. The only year since Covid that Onteora’s kindergarten enrollment exceeded projections, by three students, was 2021, following the Covid migration of 2020-21 we all experienced. Since then, here are the actual (A) numbers that are enrolled for the last three cohorts, vs. the pre-COVID kindergarten projections (P) from 2019: 2022 P=80, A=71. 2023 P=83 A=64. 2024 P=82 A=72. Overall, K enrollments since COVID have lagged projections an average of 10%. Enrollment isn’t closed for fall 2025, but so far P=82, A=68. Cornell’s Program on Applied Demographics, which studies New York State in minute detail, released updated state demographic projections for the next 25 years in November 2024: “Our projections start with a 0-17 year-old population just over four million and in all scenarios the decline will continue and end between 3.0 million in the low scenario and 3.6 million in the high scenario.”
In order to believe a wave of increased enrollment is coming to Onteora, you have to believe that our area, with its much worse-than-average housing affordability, will do more than 10-25% better than other parts of the state. It’s time to admit to ourselves that we simply are a smaller district going forward and stop depleting the present in favor of imagined future of waves of children there is, very unfortunately, no credible evidence for. Instead, let’s make the present and future wonderful for the students we actually have, here and now. For them, please vote “Yes” on Proposition 2 on May 20.
Sierra Smith
Shokan
Graceful aging
Reading recently a thoughtful article about President Trump’s first hundred days, a sentence jumps out at me: “In dire times one looks for wisdom.”“Dire times?” To be sure. “Wisdom?” What is it? Having now reached an elder age when “elders” were once presumed wise, I wonder what is this wisdom which I am supposed to possess?
Today, in the Graceful Aging group, I had an epiphany: I saw that “elder wisdom” has something to do with what one comes to learn about the limits of will. Being “willful” belongs to youth and early adulthood. It is willfulness that drives initiative, that is applied to challenges, physical exploits, concentrations of the mind. Later, one learns the limits of willpower in relationships, where the receptive becomes more important. Will is not love’s best friend.
In middle age, when the will may become more supple; one becomes “willing,” pliant to change, open to discovery, exploratory. Retirement invites a willingness to try new things, to venture, to seek meaning rather than certainty. Then, in the light of aging and its signals, willingness is cautioned by the changing stamina and competence of the body. One becomes aware of limitation as it impinges on desire. That sense of limitation increases into older age; one becomes ever more aware of the shadow of the ending, of the unpredictability of the life that remains.
If my old age is at all typical, what defines it — what I know in a way I never did before — is the power of what is called “contingency.” Contingency (that ‘shit happens”) looms ever larger in my life. It comes in many forms, physical debilities and emotional losses, each with a power to challenge and disrupt. An investment collapses, a friend is harmed by a reckless driver; news comes of a dear sister’s death, of a brother’s dementia. I see again and again that my will has no force against the powers of contingency. In blithe youth I was not schooled to recognize them. In my “higher education,” I learned to focus on success and the search for happiness, ever told how at odds they are. At times I was assisted by the powers, but in my case, the powers were sufficiently beneficent that I could claim their gift as my own achievement.
Elder wisdom may be nothing more than a justifiable acknowledgment of the impossibility of accurate anticipation; of the growing sense that there is no way one propitiates those “powers;” they have always at work in our lives.
Peter Pitzele
New Paltz
Our new American pope!
On Thursday, May 8, the Catholic, nay, the Christian world rejoiced as the first American Pope was elected by the church’s Cardinals in Rome to be The Pope. Based on what I have seen in the news and media since then, millions and millions of Americans rejoiced to have an American picked as pope! It is said Pope Leo XIV is a champion for the poor, for the sick, for the weak, and for immigrants just as Jesus Christ was in His life here on earth. Clearly, Pope Leo is a man of the people. To me, it seems significant that that the Vatican Conclave picked an American to lead the church at this time in world history because we are in a dangerous time in world history. May God bless the cardinals. It evidently only took a few ballot attempts to pick him, and there is evidence that he did not seek the papacy.
We can and should celebrate this great event; it is a strong countermeasure to the clear cultural and political direction President Trump and his administration is taking to swiftly erode our democratic American leadership, values and protections.
Laura Loomer, the so-called social influencer who clearly influenced President Trump to recently fire some in his administration and defense Department, called Pope Leo a “woke Marxist” this weekend. She must be a sad person, a very sad person. Well, the president can’t fire the pope. Sorry, Laura.
…I wonder if the administration sent the Vatican an opportunity to renounce “DEI” as he did with other European governments.
Stephen Bangert
Clintondale
Stones Subrosa
What do stones become
in the water? Do they grow
porous, grow into rocks,
sprout a root when
no one is looking?
What does a stone become
in the course of changing
rivers the longer the stone
is submerged, embedded
in a muddy bottom, denied
the light of day?
What do stones aspire to
if water wears away their
mantle season after season?
And what of water? Does it
object to stones falling on
its face or unflinchingly
welcome the company?
Water and stone: liquid
and solid meld subrosa.
There’s an endless
metamorphosis. The stones
magnetic, magic, move
mountains.
Patrick Hammer, Jr.
Saugerties
I hope I’m wrong
As we head to the unknown, it’s sad many of us are not aware that perhaps we had our last Christmas and this is our last nice summer. I hope I’m wrong!
Our NYS politicians are constantly saying “I’m Fighting for you!” Enough with the fighting … just find common ground for even the most rabid Trumpists and left-wing extremists.
For example:
1. Can’t we all agree on term limits?
2. Can’t we all agree that Social Security tax should not stop at $167,000 but have no limit!
3. Can’t we all agree that permanent tax breaks are only for those under 100K families.
4. A five-year moratorium on retired military or congress from working for any company with federal contracts.
5. Open state and federal primaries, where all can vote/participate in choosing our representatives.
6. No stock trading allowed for congress members and their families while in office
7. Social Security is in danger … so pass a law that anyone over $100,000 should not receive or receive lowered amounts. Yes, you paid into it, but you don’t need it and our country’s poor, elderly and disabled need it more! Are you not your brother’s keeper?
The Democrats should stop the Bernie repetitive mantra of “it’s a tax cut for billionaires…the 1%.” Even if partly true, it’s not working!
Republicans are being really disingenuous to bleat out that it’s a tax cut for families when they know it’s not really more beneficial to the upper classes and it’s just plain wrong to include people who earn over $100,000!
Come on Senator Gillibrand, Pat Ryan — step up, do something please and propose the above now!
What Republican is going to say no to a tax break for those under 100K!? They would wither in town hall meetings to defend their full tax credit for all versus just for those under $100K (most of their constituency)! Come on Pat!
Ron Stonitsch
New Paltz
Join the family! 
