The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Front Page

James A. Ayres

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Berlin – James A. “Jay” Ayres, 41, of Route 22, Berlin, NY, died suddenly at his residence on Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
Born April 23, 1969, in Newton, NJ, he was the son of the late William Ayres and Patricia Sinclair Ayres-Fackler and her husband Frank of Staplesville, NC. He was the husband of the former Patricia T. “Tish” Kaplafka, whom he married on August 7, 1994, in New Jersey.
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The Berlin Municipal Center Is Dead

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by Kieron Kramer
The divisive debate that has haunted the Town of Berlin is over. The grand plan for the use of the defunct Berlin Lumber property as a municipal center, beaten to death over the last 22 months, is now dead and buried. In spite of a referendum on July 19, 2010, that approved of the expenditure for the project out of the Capital Reserve fund by a vote of 186 to 137, three members of the Berlin Town Board, Jim Saunders, Sheila Hewitt and Becky Giumarra, voted against proceeding with the purchase at the decisive Town Board meeting on April 14. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger, who conceived of the plan for the municipal center, voted to continue the purchase process. The only thing good about the vote is that the torturous arguing is finally over.
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Stephentown Town Board Action – Eyesores

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by David Flint
Moving ahead on a priority to get the Town’s Land Use Regulations updated, the Stephentown Town Board at their meeting Monday officially established a citizens committee to get it done. At the same time they also heard more complaints about the seeming inability of the Town to do anything about certain places around town considered by some to be environmental hazards as well as horrific eyesores.
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BCS District Adopts Budget With No Tax Levy Increase; School Board Candidates Named

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by Thaddeus Flint
The School Board of the Berlin Central School District unanimously adopted a budget for the 2011-2012 school year at the budget workshop meeting held last Thursday night, April 14.
The final budget is now $17,374,400. This is $907,316 less than last year’s budget. There is no increase to the local tax levy. The District’s savings, known as the Fund Balance, will finance $473,800 of the budget.
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Grafton Adopts Building Permit Amnesty Program

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by Alex Brooks
At its regular April meeting, the Grafton Town Board introduced a resolution establishing an amnesty program for those who have built buildings or additions without getting a building permit. The preamble says that the Board has been informed that numerous structures have been built without permits and goes on to say that Grafton would like to “afford its citizens the opportunity to avoid penalties related to the past failure” and help them to come into compliance with the Town law.
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Hoosick Falls Dispatch Service Ends April 30

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Calls Will Be Transferred To Troy May 1; Response Time Quicker
by Alex Brooks
Saturday, April 30 will be the last day of operation for the Hoosick Falls Dispatch office. Starting on Sunday, May 1, emergency calls will go directly to the County Dispatch office in Troy.
County and municipal officials have been preparing for this day for over a year, since the decision was made in March of 2010 to consider this change. Hoosick Falls Police Chief Robert Ashe said, “We’re prepared. From the point of view of someone calling 911, nothing is changed. Response times will be, if anything, quicker.”
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HFCS Finalizes Budget

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by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls School Board finalized its budget for the 2011-12 school year. Overall spending is $19,959,228, down by $761,887 from last year. This is a reduction in spending of 3.7%. State aid is down by more than 10% from last year. The tax levy will be increased by $213,415, which is 2.5% more than last year’s levy. The budget proposes to use exactly the same amount from the fund balance as last year.
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