SusanCampriello: My Works

Enrollment dips in Greene schools
State report card lists WAJ Elementary as In Need of Improvement
The Daily Mail
April 30, 2009

CATSKILL — Enrollment in Greene County schools fell between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years, according to the 2007-08 New York State Education Department district report cards released last week.

One school in the county was listed as In Need of Improvement during that school year.

The report cards, which provide data on all districts and individual schools in the state, are intended to increase the accountability of schools, districts and the state.

The Windham-Ashland-Jewett elementary school program was the only program in the county reported to be In Need of Improvement (year one) during the 2007-08 school year.

Elementary school students with disabilities in the district did not make annual yearly progress for English language arts exam scores during the previous two school years, during which time the school received Title I funds.

WAJ School District Superintendent John Wiktorko said that although the improvement needs refers to a subset of his student population, he and his faculty are interested in the performance of all students.

“We are experiencing extremely positive student academic growth, particularly in the identified areas as a result of a series of initiatives launched in the school district many years ago that are now coming to fruition,” he said.

School faculty and parents have embarked on a program to increase literacy rates.

Staff has also received ongoing significant professional development to help create viable curriculum to boost student performance, he said.

“Students have really responded,” he said, adding that future examination scores and state report cards will show that the initiatives have paid off.

The report lists general elementary and high school performance and the overall district as In Good Standing.

Enrollment in the district decreased from 453 students during the 2006-07 school year to 441 during the 2007-08 school year. The district attendance rate was 94 percent during the 2006-07 school year, when the district spent $20,835 per pupil, the report shows.

Enrollment in the Cairo-Durham Central School District decreased from 1,734 to 1,666 from the 2006-07 school year to the 2007-08 school year. The attendance rate throughout the 2006-07 school year was 93 percent. The district spent $13,403 per student during the 2006-07 school year.

The Catskill Central School District saw a decrease from 1,806 students during the 2006-07 school year to 1,781 students during the 2007-08 school year. The attendance rate was 96 throughout the 2006-07 year. According to the report, the district spent $16,770 on each child that year.

Enrollment in the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District fell from 1,593 during the 2006-07 school year to 1,555 the following school year. The report showed an attendance rate of 93 percent throughout the 2006-07 school year, during which the district spent a total of $13,952 per student.

The report showed that enrollment in Greenville Central School District dropped from 1,422 during the 2006-07 school year to 1,363 during the next school year. The attendance rate throughout the 2006-07 school year was 96 percent. That year, the district spent $15,585 the report shows.

The Hunter-Tannersville Central School District saw an enrollment decrease from 517 during the 2006-07 school year to 466 during the 2007-08 school year. The attendance rate was 94 percent throughout the 2006-07 year, during which the district spent $19,751 per pupil.

The report issued next year will show examination scores from the current school year and enrollment and expenditure data from the 2007-08 school year.

Greene IDA decries state legislation
Lopez calls proposed bill a “witch hunt”
The Daily Mail
April 29, 2009

CATSKILL — A bill in the state Legislature would jeopardize new ventures facilitated by the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, according to officials.

The most contentious provision in the bill calls for paying prevailing wages for construction and building work, which, according to Sandy Mathes, executive director of the Greene County IDA, will increase the cost of projects by one-third.

“It will make a challenging situation worse,” he said, adding that New York already has a non-competitive market for work on industrial parks.

The legislation demands that work on IDA projects be completed by contractors and subcontractors that have appropriate apprenticeship agreements.

The bill requires a company receiving funding from an IDA would have to pay its employees no less than the median hourly wage for five years after a project is completed.

IDAs would also have to make available to the public all payment in lieu of of taxes schedules, including the name of the taxpayer and payment amounts.

The bill also sets rules for appointing board members from environmental organizations, school boards, organized labor, and other groups with community interests. It also directs IDA to support three projects of less than $100,000 a year if such projects exists and also to maintain a Web site.

Mathes said his agency, and agencies across the state, follows rules set forth by the Public Authority Law. In Greene County, the IDA is subject to an independent audit and other aggressive requirements and performs State Environmental Quality Reviews.

Mathes said the requirements in the legislation will significantly decrease the efficiency of his agency.

“There is nothing in that bill that would help us,” Mathes said.

Assemblyman Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie, said he worries that the bill will gut functional IDAs in his district.

IDAs, he said, provide essential assistance for businesses in certain locations which would otherwise be unable to open.

Lopez said has heard anecdotally about problems the legislation targets within IDAs around the state, but is unaware of issues within his district.

He said the bill offers one solution for all the problems that may or may not face each IDA in the state.

“There is a tendency in Albany to overstate a case and sometimes take it beyond a rational approach and it reaches the point where it is like a lynch-mob mentality, it becomes fashionable to attach something,” Lopez said.

He worried that economy would suffer if IDAs were rendered useless.

“If we engage in this witch hunt, and we try to use this one-size-fits-all and if we try to impose an artificial wage framework that may fit in urban settings or Downstate but not our rural communities, we are going to come up empty-handed,” Lopez said.

The state Economic Development Council, the AFL-CIO and the Working Families Party were a few organizations that opposed a similar bill; that bill was rejected by the state Senate last session.

Lopez said that many hospitals and not-for-profit organizations have benefited from IDA initiatives because at times they cannot seek necessary funding through other programs.

State Sen. James L. Seward (R-Oneonta) said that for years Republicans in the legislature worked to re-authorize IDA legislation that did not put forth the restrictions in the current bill.

“This legislation would hinder economic development and discourage job development, something we sorely need during these tough economic times,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

The Greene County IDA has a hand in 65 projects around the county including the Catskill Waterfront Revitalization project, the Greene Business Park, in Coxsackie, and the neighboring Kalkberg Business Park, in both Coxsackie and New Baltimore.

Lopez said some of the wage argument has grown out of conflicts between organized labor and the business communities, and employers and their workers.

Coxsackie Town Supervisor Alex Betke said that upstate communities do not have the organized labor force found in urban centers.

“We have seen a good mix of union workers and local small contractors and it has all worked out very well,” he said.

Board votes to sell land, considers revising permit
The Daily Mail
April 28, 2009

CATSKILL — At its Monday meeting, the Village Board authorized Village President Vincent Seeley to sell property on Lincoln Place for use as a medical facility.

The parcels located to the left of Walgreens, will be sold to an area doctor who plans to build an urgent care facility, for $70,000, Seeley said, contingent upon site plan approval from the village Planning Board and a negative State Environmental Quality Review Act declaration.

The board unanimously approved going forward with the sale. Trustee James Chewans was not in attendance.

“We are making excellent progress toward realizing a much-needed medical center in our community,” Seeley said.

The board has been working with Dr. Robert Schneider to finalize an agreement for about two months, Seeley said, adding that the village had purchased the land in 2007 with the specific intent of bringing a medical facility to Catskill.

“We have a shortage of doctors in our community,” he said.

The lots are roughly in the center of the village, about one mile from the most distant resident and closer than Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson or EmUrgent Care in Coxsackie, Seeley said.

“Our goal is to have that built and functional by January 2010,” he said.

Work crews drained wet portions of the lots last week and will pave Roosevelt Avenue back to the fire department building. A gate will prevent care patients from accessing the fire department parking lot, but will allow emergency fire vehicles onto Roosevelt Avenue, Seeley said.

Permit law discussed

Seeley, the village trustees and village employees also considered reviewing the village’s vending permit to resolve problems with vendors in Dutchmen’s Landing.

The issue arose when Village Clerk Carolyn Pardy pointed out that the village has never passed a resolution or enacted a law barring more than one vendor from selling food or other merchandise at Dutchmen’s Landing without permission from the village. A lease the village has with Dutchman’s Galley, located in the park, allows for one event per month to occur when another vendor can sell food.

“There can only be one event per month for someone else selling food down there and there have been some problems with other vendors coming in,” she said.

The board first discussed drafting a new local law to control vending before deciding to revisit the vendor permit.

Catskill Chief of Police David Darling told the board he needed authorization through a local ordinance to enforce a lease agreement.

“I have got to have something,” he said, “it is a public park.”

Trustee Angelo Amato requested that a new law protect existing agreements the village has with Dutchman’s Galley and other vendors.

“Think about how you are wording it,” he said.

Seeley suggested that a law might be expanded to include other parks in the village, including Elliott Park, which is used by numerous athletic organizations who sell snacks during events.

Trustee Joseph Kozlowski asked that a new law mention hours of operation.

“At some time you could have a vendor in Elliott Park other than when the Little League is there or the minor league is there or the girls’ softball league is there,” he said, adding that a potential vendor could be denied even if its desired hours of operation do not conflict with those of another vendor.

Seeley asked if the board wanted to move to pass a resolution that limited the number of vendors permitted in Dutchmen’s Landing during the Dutchman’s Galley restaurant’s hours of operation.

But Trustee Patrick McCulloch agreed with Darling’s statement, saying that a resolution would not solve the problem and an ordinance was needed.

Kozlowski then suggested that the existing local law be amended to prohibit vendors from entering Dutchmen’s Landing.

Pardy said she would examine the current vendors law Tuesday to see if new language could be added. If so, she said, a public hearing could be held on May 11.

“That may be the solution,” she said.

Committee continues preparations for Athens Street Festival
The Daily Mail, online
April 27, 2009

ATHENS - The Athens Street Festival Committee is entering its final months of preparation for the event, which Committee Chairman Herbert Blasewitz says draws visitors from across the country.

Blasewitz and Committee Treasurer Patty Whiteman briefed the Athens Town Council and the Village Board this week on their progress.

“We are promoting Athens in a positive light,” Blasewitz told the Town Council recently.

The annual festival will be held Saturday, July 11 this year.

One highlight of the festival is the hour-long fireworks display staged by Youngs Explosives. The $8,000 bill for the showing has been sponsored by the Athens Community Foundation.

The committee raises money for the festival beginning in January. To date, it has a balance of $24,000, according to Blasewitz, who added that a number of bills still need to be paid.

Blasewitz said the committee has already sold 75 advertisements for the informational booklet festival-goers can take home, and has room for more. Blasewitz explained that last year a record-setting 178 vendors participated in the festival. Each spot costs between $40 and $200, although non-profit organizations are exempt from the fees. All businesses in the immediate area of the festival will receive a free spot outside their businesses.

The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society will host guided tours of the lighthouse. The proceeds of the tours will go to the society, not the festival, he said.

Other attractions will include a parade, various carnival rides and demonstrations from woodworkers as well as from area dance and martial arts schools.

“We are trying to support our local businesses as much as we can,” he said.

The Greene County Cruisers Car Club hopes to host an automobile show at the Rivertown Senior Center, on Second Street.

A ventriloquist, a magician and a stilts-walker will perform throughout the day and 15 musical acts, including blues, country and rock bands, are scheduled to perform beginning July 10.

Golf carts will again be available for ferrying people to different locations in the festival as well as to their cars.

Whiteman told the board that the logo for this year’s festival has been changed from the village of Athens logo to one featuring fireworks. She said the change came about as a way to celebrate the festival’s 35th year as well as the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson’s sail to Albany.

She reminded the board that although numerous vendors will be open and patrons can purchase t-shirts and other mementos, there is no festival entrance fee and visitors can enjoy the day without spending any money.

“They can have a really fun family day,” she said.

The pair presented a similar report to the Village Board. Blasewitz thanked the board for nominating the committee for the Ellen Rettus Planning Award from Greene County, which it won this past year.

For more information on the Athens Street Festival, to volunteer or to become a vendor or patron, visit www.athensstreetfestival.com.

25 recruits graduate from C-GCC law enforcement academy
The Daily Mail, online
April 26, 2009
Register-Star, online
April 27, 2009

GREENPORT - Twenty-five recruits, wearing new badges and pressed uniforms, graduated Saturday from their academy at Columbia-Greene Community College, in front of an audience of family, friends and academy alumni.

The new officers, from Zone 14 Law Enforcement Academy, will soon begin working in communities in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Orange, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties.

Columbia-Greene Community College President James R. Campion commended the graduates for remaining focused, disciplined and dedicated during their year-long program and wished them all a safe and satisfying career.

“This college’s academy is the best in the state, and our graduates are the most thoroughly trained police officers in the business,” he said.

State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,C,I-Red Hook), the ceremony’s keynote speaker, offered the graduates humorous retorts to tell rowdy law-breakers and told a few speeding ticket jokes, eliciting smiles from their otherwise serious expressions.

He said that although some citizens may disrespect the law and the officers charged with upholding it, the graduates have an awesome responsibility to protect and preserve every citizen’s right to liberty and safety.

“Do not shrink from it,” he said.

Recruit Thomas M.D. Jones, of the Schodack Police Department, graduated with the highest academic average; Thomas J. McGuiness, of the Athens Police Department, was awarded best qualifier in firearms; and Timothy J. Hoffman, of the Mount Hope Police Department, won the physical training award.

Recruit First Sgt. Hoffman was also selected to speak at the ceremony by his fellow graduates.

He said that the recruits became a team over the duration of the program.

“As months proceeded, we slowly became 25 strong, working together and accomplishing our goals,” he said.

He thanked his instructors, citing each man’s unique teaching style, and the families in the audience for their patience and understanding over the duration of the program.

“The support you gave us helped us more than you can ever know,” he said.

Graduating recruits pose for photographs before their ceremony Saturday.

Columbia County graduates included Paula A. Falkner and Michael C. Meier, of the Chatham Police Department; John V. Brailey, David T. Pulcher and Ryan A. Scalera, of the Germantown Police Department; Aurora M. Lighthart, of the Greenport Police Department; Kevin T. Demarest, of the Philmont Police Department; and Samantha J. Demski, Keith E. Johnson and Peter D. Merants Jr. of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department.

Greene County’s newest officers included Mark A. Nazi and Ryan A. Schrader, of the Athens Police Department; Steven R. Espel, of the Catskill Police Department; David H. Chittenden and Ronald Messen, of the Coxsackie Police Department; and Joel S. Rowell, of the Hunter Police Department.

Other graduated included Ryan D. Cross and Frank A. McDonagh, of the Coeymans Police Department; Alan J. Roehr Jr. and Peter C. Zownir, of the Schodack Police Department; Keith M. Boniface, of the Nassau Police Department; as well as Jason M. Monell, of the Stillwater Police Department.

Diplomas were presented by the recruits’ new chiefs and fellow officers, and, in some cases, by their relatives.

The graduates recessed out of the auditorium just as they progressed in, following a long bagpiper, before being greeted by the families, friends and fellow officers from their new police departments.

Village board approves budget
The Daily Mail
April 25, 2009

ATHENS — The Athens Village Board unanimously approved their budget Wednesday night for 2009-2010 budget Wednesday night.

The budget allots $1,068,120.34 for the the general fund, $345,237.50 for the water fund and $208,582.67 for the sewer fund.

Taxes will only increase by 1.831 percent.

The budget indicated an estimated revenue of $166,082 for the general fund and a $50,000 appropriated surplus for a total revenue of $216,082.

It showed an estimated $345,250 revenue for the water fund and a $213,500 revenue for the sewer fund.

The budgets shows a taxable assessed value of $85,863,326 and a balance of appropriations to be raised by real property tax of $852,038.34.

The mayor’s salary remained at $5,000 per year and the salary for the trustees held at $3,750.

During a public hearing on the budget earlier in the evening, former-Trustee Chris Pfister requested that the board revisit line items in the tentative budget fire equipment and other expenses, engineering costs and garage costs.

After an hour of discussions, the board decided to modify those line items.

The Athens Fire Department requested $21,000 for equipment; the tentative budget originally allotted for $12,000.

Newly-elected Trustee and Fire Department liaison Bob June told the board that starting a trend of paring down the fund would be unwise.

“If you start scrimping, in a few years, you are going to find yourself way behind and you are going to have to pay big buck to keep up,” he said.

He also pointed out that the department may need new equipment if fire regulations and requirements change in the next few years.

Mayor Andrea Smallwood noted that the department will receive a refund from the State Emergency Management Office for between $7,000 and $8,000, which can be used for equipment.

She suggested that the the fund be budgeted at $14,000, to which the board agreed.

She decreased the line items for fire vehicle fuel from $2,000 to $1,500, and the inspection level from $7,000 to $6,000.

The board restored $3,000 to the engineering line item, which had been listed as $0.

Trustee Herman Reinhold said he would like the Village to move ahead with a project to construct a new Department of Public Works garage. He called the existing building, which needs re-pointing on bricks, and a new door among other repairs, a “money pit.”

The board agreed to raise the line item for the repairs to $2,000 from $1,500.

Village Clerk Mary Jo Wynne told the board that their modifications to the temporary budget were minor and would not change the bottom line or affect the tax increase.

She and the board said that next year’s budget may have to accommodate future expenditures, possibly including a salt shed and another new fire truck.

“I am happy the tax rate is below 10 percent,” Sopris said, “that to me is the top we can do, the maximum.”

Appeal notice filed in Alden suit
The Daily Mail
April 25, 2009

CAIRO — A notice of appeal has been filed in the Article 78 lawsuit surrounding a sewer upgrade project and approval for the Views at Alden Terrace housing and retail development project.

Plaintiffs Cairo Plaza, LLC, J. Triple S., Inc., E. Slater, Inc., Cairo Township Taxpayers Association and Cairo First Incorporated indicated their desire to appeal a March 26 decision handed down by Greene County Judge George J. Pulver Jr. to dismiss their Article 78 lawsuit earlier this month.

Pulver dismissed the suit, which claimed that the Town Board, the Planning Board, various state entities and the developers of the residential and retail project, The Views at Alden Terrace, failed to follow lawful procedures to obtain sewer system improvement funds, failed to conduct proper State Environmental Quality Review Act procedures and failed to hold required public hearings, for being untimely and for failing to state a cause of action.

The Plaintiffs countered every one of Pulver’s rulings in the suit and base their motion on the grounds that:

- The proceeding was timely because the applicable statute of limitations runs from the Sept. 10, 2008 publication date of a Town Board resolution approving the Views at Alden Terrace project.

- The suit is based on substantive arguments.

- The state Environmental Conservation Law and State Environmental Quality Review Act Regulation do not apply the the proceeding.

- The Town Board had failed to hold a required public hearing regarding their resolution.

- Proposed sewer improvements would benefit users out side of the sewer district, rather than those within the district.

- Councilman Raymond Suttmeier had a conflict of interest and should have recused himself from discussion and decisions regarding the project.

- The state Department of Environmental Conservation arbitrarily and capriciously approved the sewer improvements.

- An award made by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal was a final determination for purpose of Article 78 review. Also, the state Housing Trust Fund Corp. should have been named in the suit.

- The state Environmental Facilities Corporation is an interested party.

- The Bank of Greene County became a party to the sit when it approved a loan for the Town of Cairo based upon a loan package that incorrectly contained a “no-litigation” document, guaranteeing that no pending litigation was surrounding the project, and should be named in the case.

The Plaintiffs have sent notice of their motion to Respondents Cairo Town Board and the town Planning Board, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Environmental Facilities Corp. and the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, as well as developer Charles Maggio, Charles Frank & Associates, Regan Development Corp., Benjamin Buel and Richard Buoniconto.

Attorney for Maggio, Regan, Buel and Buoniconto, Andrew Brick, of Donald Zee, P.C., sent a letter to Pulver the day before oral arguments were to be heard that indicated his clients’ wishes to withdraw a previous Motion to Dismiss and to remove themselves from the suit.

Pulver heard oral arguments in the suit March 6.

Food: $2,000; donations: $100K; work of volunteers: priceless
United Way honors achievements at annual dinner
The Daily Mail and The Register-Star
April 24, 2009

CATSKILL — Several twin county residents were commended for their volunteer efforts of the last year by the United Way of Columbia & Greene Counties, Inc., at the group’s annual dinner Thursday night at Anthony’s Banquet Hall in Leeds.

Jerel “Jerry” Golub, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Golub Corporation and Price Chopper stores, addressed the United Way members and honorees after the organization’s business meeting concluded, thanking them for their selflessness.

He recounted some recent achievements made by local Price Chopper stores.

“Our folks are really genuinely interested in the communities they operate in,” he said, adding, “they have done a tremendous job.”

The Catskill store, he said, raised $2,000 for gifts and food for a family during the holidays and sponsored two local soldiers serving in Iraq. The store also adopted two miles of highway in Greene County, he said.

The store in Hudson sponsored six local families during the holiday season and the story in Chatham has been involved in local events as well, he said.

Golub said the United Way campaign has always been a cornerstone of the company’s community involvement. Thousands of corporation employees donate money to the campaign from their paychecks every week, he said.

The organization operates 177 stores in six states and requires some guidance on how money can be put to the best use locally. Price Chopper touches 42 United Way groups.

“We rely on United Way to ensure our resources are going to meet the most important needs of each community and never was that role so important as it is in today’s environment. Thank goodness United Way is here for us and able to assess the needs and reallocate resources by the community where they are most needed,” he said.

Golub replaced his father, Lewis Golub, as the chairman for the corporation’s United Way campaign three years ago.

Bernard “Ben” and William “Bill” Golub opened the family’s first self-service supermarket — the first of its kind in upstate New York — in Green Island in 1932.

Phil Jackson, United Way of Columbia & Green Counties’ board president, explained that although the United Way raises money for food pantries and other services, the organization remains flexible in order to meet the needs of the community.

This year, he said, more than $100,000 was allocated back to the communities in the twin counties.

Former United Way board member Jim Riley presented volunteerism awards and honors to several Columbia County and Greene County residents.

Charlene Paden, who initiated the Client Choice program at the Catholic Charities Food Pantry, was named the United Way Volunteer Partner of the Year. The program allows for clients and pantry staff to plan meals of foods clients like so that nothing goes to waste.

“Catholic Charities of Columbia-Greene Counties is truly blessed to have such a selfless individual who gives so freely in Charlene Paden,” Riley said.

Paden, who began volunteering at the pantry in 2007 when she moved to Taghkanic as a full-time resident, said the program has fostered greater interaction and even recipe-sharing between clients and staff.

Although she no longer volunteers with the pantry, she is active with Hospice, is training to be a certified music practitioner and has begun raising animals on her farm with her husband, Peter.

“It was just very rewarding to work there and meet the people coming there for services,” she said.

Jennifer Miller, Community Action of Greene County Inc. board president in Catskill, and Susan Fireman of The Good Dog Foundation in Ancram were named honorary partners.

Miller, who also works at First Niagara Bank in Catskill, along with her staff there, has been active with a number of programs including the Fortnightly Club of Catskill and the Ronald McDonald House Charities. She recently hosted a dinner for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

“Jennifer is absolutely committed to the growth and prosperity of her community and its constituents,” Riley announced to the attendees.

Fireman, the executive director and program coordinator of the New York-based foundation, orchestrates dog and handler teams who provide therapeutic services for adult and child clients of the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties, Inc. Twelve volunteer teacher teams participate in an educational and confidence-building after school reading program in Hudson, where students practice reading to patient and non-judgmental canine audiences.

Fireman said that although her name was on the plaque, the award belongs to the foundation’s volunteers.

Gary Van Allen, a former United Way board member, accepted a Senatorial Proclamation from Sen. Stephen M. Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, and Sen. James L. Seward, R-Oneonta, commending Metzwood Harder Insurance for making a significant contribution to the quality of life in the community. The agency, which has offices in Chatham and Kinderhook, services 5,000 clients in the area.

Siobahn Pellegrino, office supervisor of Save-a-Lot in Coxsackie, received a similar proclamation.

Pellegrino, Riley said, is responsible for encouraging Save-a-Lot employees to have United Way donations taken out of their paychecks. Pellegrino said her co-workers deserve the proclamation for making the sacrifice and for making the annual fund drive, bake sale and “cheesecake-a-thon,” a success.

“They’re the ones who pony up the dough,” she said.

Also in attendance were Price Chopper store managers from Chatham, Hudson and Catskill, the regional perishables manager, the zone director and community and public outreach director Barbara Page, who also coordinates the company’s United Way program in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Making green a way of life
The Daily Mail
April 23, 2009

CATSKILL — Sheila Dent wore a green blazer Wednesday adorned with a yellow, blue and green pin.

The blue and green triangles, the Catskill resident said, represent the sky and Earth and the yellow background the sun.

The pin is a memento from the Protect Your Environment — or PYE — group at her Gilboa school that was organized by the State University of New York at Oneonta.

The idea of environmental protection fit in with other politically charged issues in the 1960s, including the draft and a fear of nuclear warfare, she said.

“It was another thing to care about,” she said.

Dent, who calls herself a “true, reformed hippie,” points out that environmental responsibility is as easy as planting a tree or picking up garbage.

She remembers one protest her Gilboa group held over the felling of an oak tree near the Gilboa Dam.

“We didn’t win, but we were there,” she said.

Dent said her daughter, Rev. Ursula Carrie (Wilkerson), and grandson also recycle and conserve energy.

Carrie started her own church, the Church of the Sacred Earth, in Woodstock, and keeps a religious and environmental blog.

She writes that humans need to be aware of what they are doing to the earth if they want their children and grandchildren to have a life of any minute quality.

“The act of recycling and composting, and all those things can be utilized as a prayer to the earth,” she said.

And, as an herbalist, she said, everything she does is related to the earth.

She buys in bulk and recycles whatever she can to minimize her garbage, because there is no way humans can be separated from nature.

She said that once people become aware of their impact on the environment, environmentally friendly actions become part of an everyday routine.

“It’s a way of life,” she said, “because there is no life without the earth.”

Biomass heat equipment gains favor
The Daily Mail
April 22, 2009

State researchers and local businessmen are seeing green by seeing green.

Last fall, the state began an incentive program to support and improve biomass-fired heating equipment. The program was designed to foster the development of manufacturing jobs and the betterment of environmental performance of biomass technology.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Spokesman Sal Graven said that the initiative encouraged two pellet boiler manufacturers to relocated to New York, one to Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, and the other to Schenectady. They market a European outdoor wood-burning boiler, which, he said, operates about 80 percent more efficiently and produces less than five percent of the particulate emissions than a standard outdoor wood boiler.

“A house is now burning a renewable fuel instead of fossil fuels,” he said.

Graven said the project also encourages businesses to produce fuels grown in-state.

And the business potential is enough to excite Cairo businessman John Deschaine.

Deschaine, who runs a logging company, would like to add chipping capabilities to his logging business on Route 32.

Deschaine would join the roughly 30 logging companies in the state that produce chips as part of what DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino calls integrated harvesting operations.

Most of the companies are located in Northern New York.

Chips can be pressed into pellets, briquettes or used for fuel as they are.

Deschaine is optimistic about the possibilities of chipping wood closer to home.

“We have a large resource here in the Catskills,” he said, “I want to tap into that.”

Marilyn Wyman, program coordinator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County Agroforestry Center, in Acra, oversaw an open forum on issues surrounding biofuels earlier this month.

She said the discussion focused on the potential of woody plants found locally, such as willow.

Willow, she said, grows in wet areas as a harvested crop.

The roughly 30 participants in the dialogue were curious about business opportunities and the factors involved with producing biofuels.

“I think there was a lot of interest in this,” she said.

Zywia Wojnar, of Pace University, also attended the Acra meeting.

Wojnar is the project manager of the renewable fuels roadmap, a project coordinated by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Pace University, NYSERDA, the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and the state Department of Environmental Conservation that was created earlier this year.

The roadmap was recommended by the Renewable Energy Task Force, created by Gov. David A. Paterson in 2008.

The roadmap, which is expected to be completed later this year, will provide guidance to those working on how to reduce dependence on foreign oil and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Wojnar said the initiative focuses more on biofuels that are made from non-food crops in order to avoid entering into the debate between growing a crop for food versus growing it for fuel.

“We try to steer away from that,” she said.

Wojnar explained that poplar can also be grown for fuel. Once the trees are mature, she said, they can be cut back — but not to the ground — and regrow. After three years, wood can be harvested again, she said.

She said that most of the woodfuel used by New York companies is produced in New York.

Currently, fuelwood pellets are manufactured for residential use in five location in the state, in Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Stueben and Wyoming counties, Lori Severino, a DEC spokeswoman said in an e-mail last week.

She said two more plant will open, in Massena and Saratoga County, shortly.

Severino said that many sawmills use wood chips for space heaters and to run lumber dry-kilns and two coal-fired facilities in Niagara and Yates counties have begun to co-fire with wood.

Two electric/cogenerating plants, in Franklin and Lewis counties, use wood feedstocks exclusively, she said.

But chip and pellet production for large-scale operations still has room to evolve.

John Deschaine explained that the pellets are more expensive to produce than chips because wood needs to be stripped of its bark before it can be pressed into a pellet or briquette.

Zywia Wojnar said that biomass needs to be commoditized, before the industry can grow.

A number of variable factors including moisture content, size and weight need to be standardized in order to a customer to know exactly how much product is needed, she said.

“I would not say it is a very established market,” she said.