Tannersville, NY Debt Consolidation in New York

By Michael Ryan

JEWETT - Five more arrests have been made and additional apprehensions are expected in a recent rash of home burglaries on the mountaintop, according to Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley.

Seeley, in a press release issued Tuesday, said that Carl Lundwall, 27, Hensonville; Heather Stancek, 20, Windham; and Michelle Baio, 19, Hensonville, were all charged with 2nd degree burglary related to the ongoing investigation.

Sheriff's deputies and investigators, working with the Windham Police Department and Greene County District Attorney's office, snapped a string of recent break-ins on Nov. 21, announcing the arrest of Thomas Truskolaski, 27, Hensonville, and Aton-Re Abdulkhabir, 22, Windham, along with two other local men.

HUNTER - The holiday season's gift-giving offers a prime opportunity to share some of the Catskill region's finest heritage craft foods.

In Hunter on Saturday the first Winter Festival Celebrating Catskill Food & Farms is a chance to learn about the diversity of the intriguing, healthy, and flavorful local products available.

The all-day event is sponsored by the Catskill Mountain Foundation and Pure Catskills, and will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at CMF's Hunter Village Square facility, at the west end of the municipality, on Main Street, Route 23A.

By Michael Ryan

MAPLECREST - Four men have been arrested following a home invasion and armed robbery that took place last week within Windham town borders.

Residents of the home were held at gunpoint while a trio of thieves attempted to steal property, police said. It was later discovered that a pellet gun was used.

Thomas M. Truskolaski, 27, of Hensonville; Kenneth A. Baio, 20, of Hensonville and John W. Koehler, 18, of Jewett, were all charged with second-degree burglary, a Class C felony, police said.

Truskolaski and Baio were further charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree menacing, both Class A misdemeanors, police said.

Seeley stated that during the investigation the Sheriff's Office obtained information that led to the arrest of Aton-Re Abdulkhabir, 22, of Windham, shutting the file on a rash of residential burglaries.

By Tom Wanamaker

ALBANY - New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.5 percent in October, down from 5.6 percent in September, according to figures released Thursday by the state Labor Department. The rate was 4.4 percent in October 2007.

Nationally, the rate was 6.1 percent in October, up from 6.0 percent in September and from 4.4 percent in October 2007.

According to the seasonally unadjusted numbers for individual area counties, Greene had the highest October unemployment rate at 5.9 percent, down from 6.2 percent in September but up from 4.2 percent in October 2007.

By JAY BRAMAN JR.

Correspondent

OPPONENTS of the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park see an opportunity in the state's budget crisis, asking Gov. David Paterson to reconsider the $60 million in state money earmarked for the proposed public/private project.

In a Nov. 16 letter to Paterson, the Catskill Heritage Alliance, a 500-member grassroots community and environmental organization, wrote: "In our current crisis, when so much is being asked of so many, this kind of public spending to support private interests makes no sense at all."

HUNTER - Town of Hunter taxpayers will see a 7.85 percent increase in their tax rate for 2009 reflected in the $2,610,145 budget adopted by the town board Tuesday night.

That percentage is the increase for parcels outside of either of the two incorporated villages - Tannersville and Hunter - while the increase for all parcels within the two villages will be 6.75 percent.

These increases yield a $4.72 per $1,000 of assessment for the outside parcel rate, and a $3.20 per $1,000 rate for the inside parcels. The 2008 rates were $4.38 and $3, respectively.

By Colin DeVries

GREENE COUNTY - There are several facets of this year's general election that have made it a historical one.

America elected it's first African-American president, the GOP nominated its first female vice presidential candidate, and voter turnout reached new heights all across the nation.

In Greene County, the young vote was strong this year compared to the 2004 general election. According to official election results from 2004, there were a total of four - yes, four - votes in the 18 to 21 age group. In 2008, unofficial results report that 912 votes were cast among 18 to 21-year-olds.

By Jim Planck

HUNTER - When outdoor sports activities resume on the athletic fields behind Hunter Elementary School next spring, parents and spectators may find it a little easier to enjoy a snack and a beverage.

Vendor Laurie Carman asked the village board if they would consider granting her permission to park her vendor's wagon at the village's Main Street Park, which adjoins the elementary school.

Carman explained that her existing permit allows her to site the vehicle along the side of the road, but that given the distance from the fields, and the active parking lot that customers, including children, need to walk through, she has safety concerns about it.

By Melanie Lekocevic

CATSKILL - The Greene County Legislature has announced the county's tentative budget for 2009, and a public hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Catskill High School.

The proposed budget includes a 5.6 percent increase in spending, and an 11.57 percent tax levy increase, which is the anticipated hike in the amount to be carried by taxpayers. The increase largely reflects a concern cited around the country - the high cost of health care, a cost that is now hitting the taxpayers of Greene County.

Picture by the AP

From the Associated Press

More than 40,000 customers remained without power Wednesday in upstate New York, most of them in the Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks and the Catskills, according to utilities National Grid and New York State Electric & Gas.

By Billie Dunn

GREENE COUNTY - A winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on East Jewett.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Evan Heller snow had accumulated up to 14 inches by 6 p.m. Tuesday, while other Greene County locations reported wind and rain.

"This storm had an early onset and that's why we've gotten so much accumulation," said Heller, who noted that conditions are expected to worsen overnight before tapering off tomorrow.

By Melanie Lekocevic

CATSKILL - Wayne Speenburgh, the Republican chairman of the Greene County Legislature, reached across the aisle Wednesday to appoint a Democrat to head up the county's Human Resources Committee. Legislator Larry Gardner will take over the position from Legislator Keith Valentine, who has chaired the committee for the past five years.

In other news, the county recently extended the contract for the Rip Van Winkle Express bus service for another year.

Photo and story by Ariel Zangla, Freeman staff

Tim and Amber Adams, owners of Cave Mountain Brewing Co. in Windham, offer a toast with two of their beers.

WINDHAM - Hand-crafted ales brewed up in small batches are drawing people to a recently opened brew pub on Main Street.

Cave Mountain Brewing Company offers six different beers and some seasonal ales brewed on the premises.

ALBANY - Many New York parents who saved for college tuition through the state's tax-free investment program haven't escaped the turmoil in global markets.

Depending on the portfolio, the performance of the 529 savings plans since January range between a 42 percent loss for the most aggressive plans and a little more than 2 percent gained in the most conservative options.

Photo by Jim Planck, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Fall colors are peaking on the mountaintop. A sure sign that ski weather is on the way.

By Jim Planck

MOUNTAINTOP - A Rochester-based state appeals court issued a ruling that clears the way for New York State to continue paying taxes on its Forest Preserve parcels to its host communities.

A lower court ruled last year that the state's tax practice was arbitrary. Had that decision stood, it would have cost the county, and the Town of Hunter substantial tax dollars.

The state owns 79,213 acres in Greene County, and paid more than $2.2 million to local governments in 2002.

At the town level, Greene County Treasurer Willis Vermilyea, said that the Town of Hunter's most recent tax payment from the state for its Forest Preserve lands was $157,396.

By Colin DeVries

The fallout from the $37.8 million settlement agreed upon by the Hunter Town Board last Thursday is being felt in Tannersville.

"The village ... would owe in real money, over the last three years to which the treatment plant was over-assessed, an amount of about $22,000 a year," said Mayor Lee McGunnigle.

State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill says the level of funding provided for the coming winter season to state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is appropriate during rough economic times.

The funding means snowmaking and lift use will be reduced, along with advertising. Several less frequently used trails and the "half pipe" terrain will open only if the weather ocoperates, but snowmaking and grooming on most of the mountain will be unchanged.

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - Greene County officials will decide whether to go ahead with plans to create and fund a new Mountaintop Recreation and Events Planner. The county must approve funding in order to move forward with the position.

Most, not all, hilltop towns and villages have agreed to back the new position, committing up to $3,000 annually for the next three years.

But lawmakers will need to set aside approximately $30,000 in their upcoming budget to get the concept off the ground. Michelle Yost, the county's Watershed Assistance Program coordinator, and out-front voice of the months-long effort to create the MREP post, remains optimistic.

Think this could happen here in Tannersville?

KIROTV

KITIMAT, B.C. -- Surveillance footage from Kitimat, B.C., shows a bear wandering into a sandwich shop and then jumping over the counter and searching for food.

The video shows what appears to be a young bear pushing open the door to the shop and then walking inside. Another camera shows the startled look on the clerk's face before she runs away.