The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Local News

Petersburgh Town Board Agrees To Help Pay For New Ambulance

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by Alex Brooks

At a Special Meeting on Monday, September 8, the Petersburgh Town Board agreed to give the Petersburgh Ambulance a 5 year service agreement paying the squad $20,000 per year, so that they could use these funds to purchase a new ambulance. The motion was made subject to approval of the details of the service contract by Town Attorney Kevin Engel, who was not present. Councilpersons Dick Snyder and Amy Manchester were present, along with Supervisor Mason Hubbard, but Councilpersons Bill Seel and Ray Broadwell were not present.

Brandon deWaal and Adam Griswold spoke on behalf of the Ambulance Squad. They said they had contacted eight ambulance companies asking for proposals and they had received four bids.  The lowest cost bid, from a company called Exceptional Emergency Vehicles, offered an ambulance to the Squad’s specifications, made by American Emergency Vehicles, for $136,000.

deWaal said the plan is to have the Ambulance Squad pay the down payment from money they have saved up over several years and make payments on the ambulance loan from the service contract funds. He said they would need a five year commitment from the Town before they could order the ambulance and they wanted to make sure it was discussed in time to get it into the 2009 budget.

Griswold said Town Attorney Kevin Engel had asked him to look into what it would cost if the Town relied on a paid ambulance service coming out of the western part of the county. He said a  commercial ambulance service charges about $1,500 per call. Since the Petersburgh Ambulance makes about 80 calls in a year, that would add up to about $120,000 in a year.

Town Of Hoosick Board Meeting

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by Gary Danforth

The regular monthly Town of Hoosick Board meeting took place this past Monday evening, September 8, in the Hoosick Falls Armory with Supervisor Marilyn Douglas calling the meeting to order at 7:06 pm. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the minutes of last month’s meeting were approved. Councilpersons Mark Surdam, Mark Cottrell, Kevin O’Malley and Bob Ryan were present as was Town Clerk Sue Stradinger and Town Attorney Tom Kenney.

The Town Clerk’s report was accepted with seven new dog licenses, including a pure bred license for $48, nine death certificates, eight building permits, 282 garbage stickers bought and four marriage licenses being of note. The Assessor’s report was in order.

Under people to be heard in the public comment session, James Martinez asked the Board for clarification as to whether former Town employee Aimee Allen had been paid for dogs she had boarded and cared for last year. Martinez was told the matter had been resolved, and Martinez was also told, after he asked, that the Town Attorney did not receive extra compensation for resolving the matter as it was in the course of his normal duties. Also, Everett Quackenbush and Louise Ciuk complained about litter on the roads near their homes and were told the Sheriff’s Department would arrest persons who litter if townspeople could get a license plate number to track such individuals.

Bill Shiland, Superintendent of Highways, said the Town crew was busy putting gravel on Cottrell Road which had been damaged by a heavy rainstorm last month. Some repaving of the road may take place in a couple of weeks. Also, a firm will winterize the swimming pool at the end of this month. The pool is already drained. There also was discussion as to whether a fence was needed between the existing tennis courts and basketball court at the athletic complex as errant tennis balls were finding their way onto the basketball courts and not being thrown back.

Bennington Paperboard closed August 29 with the Town receiving its first monthly report about the closed plant. There are eleven employees still doing clean up duties with security at the plant seven days a week.

The Court Clerk’s report was in order.

From the Supervisor’s report, Town Historian Phil Leonard, with assistance from Charlie Filkins, submitted a picture board showing bridges in the township using an evolutionary approach, showing the bridges as they had evolved over time to present day. The Buskirk Covered Bridge, the Eagle Bridge Bridge, the Dublin Bridge, the Route 7 Bridge, the Route 22/Church Street Bridge, the North Hoosick Bridge, the Paper Mill Bridge by the old Flomatic Company, the Caretaker’s Bridge by the Barnett homestead in Walloomsac, the “Shop Bridge” going over the Hoosic River on the north end of Church Street, the Route 7 Bridge (Long/Short Bridge) in Hoosick, the Shingle Hollow Bridge and the River Street Bridge were all featured.

Douglas noted that the Barnett Homestead had twenty five visitors from New Hampshire. The corn maze in Hoosick, the largest corn maze on the east coast, opened last weekend. September 13 is Community Appreciation Day with anyone bringing a canned food item for the community food closet getting a dollar off admission. September 20 will be Farm Appreciation Day at the maze with the Hill Country Cloggers being at the maze. On September 28 a Blue Grass festival will be held at the maze.

Quackenbush Appointed To Planning Board

When Quackenbush’s name was brought up for a vote to appoint him to the Planning Board to fill a vacancy created when Mike Batcher submitted his resignation Councilperson Surdam raised the issue of having an interview process to familiarize Board members with possible appointees. After some discussion the Board voted 5-0 to appoint Quackenbush, a land surveyor. 

Councilperson Cottrell said residents were pleased with the work done on Cottrell Road and reminded people to call him about street lights which are out. 

Councilperson O’Malley said the previous public hearing with Time Warner had to be cancelled which opened the way for the Board to set another public meeting about the cable TV franchise for October 14 at 6:30 pm in the Armory. Councilperson Ryan reminded voters of Primary Day.

In other actions, the Board approved a motion to let St. Mary’s Academy utilize the Town athletic field for their Cow Plop/Car Show event on October 4 and 5. The Board passed a resolution to apply to the Justice Court Assistance Program for money to buy furniture. The Board passed a motion to have the October regular Town Board meeting be on October 14 so as not to conflict with Columbus Day.

Land Use Meetings

Finally, Douglas informed the public that there will be a Land Use/Zoning Plan meeting on Thursday, September 11, at 7 pm in the Armory. Other meetings regarding same will take place at fire houses within the township as follows: Buskirk  Fire Hall – September 18, North Hoosick Fire Hall – October 8, Hoosick Fire Hall – October 15  and West Hoosick Fire Hall – October 22. All meetings will start at 7 pm with the time spent to set up land use laws and divide the township into zoning districts where certain things can or cannot take place.

The meeting adjourned at 8:21 pm.

Corn Maze Officially Open

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The Corn Maze at Kettle Farms officially opened Saturday, September 6, with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included (l-r) Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley, County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and owners Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers. (Bea Peterson photo)

The Corn Maze at Kettle Farms officially opened Saturday, September 6, with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included (l-r) Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley, County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and owners Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers. (Bea Peterson photo)

by Bea Peterson

It rained Friday night and Saturday afternoon but the weather held for the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the Kettle Farms Corn Maze. On hand for the event were Rensselaer County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley. NYS Assemblyman Roy McDonald was delayed and didn’t get to visit the Maze until later in the day.

The speakers heaped praise on Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers for showing initiative for this energetic project. They were proud to say they had the largest corn maze in the whole northeast, never mind Rensselaer County! All of them hoped the maze and the planned events will draw tourists to this beautiful area.

Tammy got a little emotional when she told the gathering how she and her husband had dreamed of this project for years. She couldn’t believe it was really taking place. A 20 acre corn maze and giant pumpkin patches are a huge endeavor for first time farmers. “We’ve lived here for 15 years,” she said. “We want to be a viable part of this community; we want to be a permanent fixture and continue to give back to the community.” She thanked the community for the support they have given the couple, especially Supervisor Douglas, Lorraine Robichaud, Charlie Filkins, her brother Randy Morgan, her father Leo Morgan and her husband Charlie. “No matter what idea I came up with or what I wanted done, Charlie did it,” she said. 

The maze has 7.8 miles of trails. The trails range in length from .5 to 3.2 miles. There are maps to guide visitors through the corn. Saturday, September 13, is Community Day at the Maze. Everyone who brings something for the Food Closet will receive $1 off on a maze ticket. At 5 pm the Hoosick Falls Community Band will perform.

Troop 1120 Earns Bronze Award – Highest Honor In Junior Girl Scouting

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Pete Dubacher, Director of the Berkshire Bird Paradise, thanks Junior Scouts for installing a bald eagle educational exhibit there. Pictured (l to r): Libby Cass, Kaitlyn Goodermote, Katie Gallucci, Nicole Cure, Schyler Haita, Lacey D’Alessio. Anna Prescott not pictured. Photo courtesy of Susan Brissette.

Pete Dubacher, Director of the Berkshire Bird Paradise, thanks Junior Scouts for installing a bald eagle educational exhibit there. Pictured (l to r): Libby Cass, Kaitlyn Goodermote, Katie Gallucci, Nicole Cure, Schyler Haita, Lacey D’Alessio. Anna Prescott not pictured. Photo courtesy of Susan Brissette.

submitted by Susan Brissette

Seven girls from Junior Troop 1120 of Stephentown, Libby Cass, Nicole Cure, Lacey D’Alessio, Katie Gallucci, Kaitlin Goodermote, Schyler Haita and Anna Prescott, earned the highest honor in Junior Girl Scouting, the Bronze Award, by devoting over 200 hours to a bald eagle project in conjunction with Berkshire Bird Paradise in Grafton. Berkshire Bird Paradise is home to 16 permanently injured bald eagles and golden eagles.

The girls chose this project after meeting with Pete Dubacher, sanctuary director, and learning about the eagles in residence there. They came away from their exploration of the sanctuary with the belief that bald eagles are true heroes and so is Pete Dubacher, their protector. They vowed to help Dubacher in his efforts to educate people about the need to protect bald eagles as well as to publicize the sanctuary’s highly successful eagle captive breeding program.

After earning many preliminary badges and patches and spending many volunteer hours working at the sanctuary, these Junior Scouts designed, researched and installed an educational display about bald eagles at the eagle habitat.  They developed informational displays about the habits of bald eagles, their many uses as an American symbol, their decline due to habitat destruction and pesticide use, national recovery efforts and successful breeding programs.

The girls also discovered that their eagle friends had extraordinary personal histories which they wrote about in a “bird bio” exhibit. One of the sanctuary’s residents, Zipper, came from Alaska where he had been attacked by a grizzly bear and was carried to a rehab center, zipped in a backpack. Another, who  was a victim of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, has been at the sanctuary over 20 years and in recent years successfully hatched an eaglet that was released into the wild.

The Scouts received their Bronze Award pins at a special ceremony at Berkshire Bird Paradise, with bald eagles watching the proceedings. Leaders Debi Gallucci and Sue Cass congratulated the girls for their dedication and commitment to our national symbol, the American Bald Eagle. All seven girls have now bridged to become Cadette Girl Scouts and are eager to continue their adventures, travel and community service.

Letter To The Editor – Ham Hill Farms – Pigs Or Property Taxes?

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To The Editor:

This letter is in reply and an update to the issues and comments of Tyler Sawyer and his Ham Hill Farms. His comments were made at the [August] Grafton Town Board Meeting and published in this newspaper.

Tyler Sawyer is a former Grafton Town Supervisor – 2007, former Planning Board member – 2008 and presently the Town of Grafton’s Bookkeeper.

Mr. Sawyer talked about the “lots of communications” he received and “none of the complaints are consistent with the current Town Code.” He is probably correct. But, the complaints he received were from his concerned neighbors. Apparently Mr. Sawyer feels he can snub and disregard his neighbors and cause potential pollution of the watershed at Babcock Lake all because he has the Town Code on his side. Maybe the Town Code should be looked into to determine if it is written in such a way that the Grafton Town tax base and tax payer property values can be impacted in negative ways by one person. 

Mr. Sawyer talked about the issued permit and took “offence at the insinuation that there was impropriety in the issuance of the permit.”  Mr. Sawyer, although offended did not mentioned his threats to the Lake Community to build Ham Hill Farms to raise hogs and pigs on a plot of land approximately 110 ft. x 115 ft. with residences right next door to this enterprise.  I am sure the Town Code Official who issued the permit for Sheds was following the Town Code.

Mr. Sawyer started “this issue,” when he apparently felt slighted that he was denied the opportunity to swap his newly purchased lots for land next to his house. With this denial, he had let it be known that he did not care about his neighbors and community.  He refused to accept the same restrictions that dues paying members of Lake Estates (he is not a member) had to obey for a deed swap. In his lack of concern, he let it be known that because members did not respond fast enough to his demands that he would now build a pig and hog farm a half mile from his private residence but next to other residences.

The article also went on to say that “he (Mr. Sawyer) had received many emails and no one approached him in person.” From my understanding he had spoken to members of the property owners association in person and other residents.  In fact the Board of Directors went way overboard in their communications and conversations with Mr. Sawyer. The article went on to say, he thought that “this issue was overblown.”  If he felt it was overblown at the Town Meeting, how would you feel if a person who lives in your community, your neighbor, was given the appearance that he was attempting to affect your property values and a way of life. 

Yes, Mr. Sawyer did withdraw his building permit. This withdrawal, coincided with the report that an Article 78 would be filed in this matter. Although the Code Enforcement Officer is somewhat correct in his statement, “The matter is now considered a personal matter between Sawyer and the residents of Lake,” I believe it has far more importance to the Town’s tax base, which has numerous residential areas on the numerous lakes. Just look at the pig and hog farm that shut down in West Hoosick. Could that same company come to Grafton and start another pig farm because as Mr. Sawyer said, “There is nothing in the Grafton Town Code to stop it.”

Mr. Sawyer brought up “failing septic systems at the lake right now.” Mr. Sawyer was Town Supervisor for many years. He apparently was aware that some residences might have septic issues. Yet as an elected Town Supervisor he failed to provide assistance to those taxpayers or to protect the watershed. In fact he might have stopped the Lake Community’s request for Town action a few years ago to insure the continuous protection of the lake from the use of gasoline/oil powered engines.

Town Board Member Fredricks asked Mr. Sawyer, “If there was going to be a specific number of pigs, 4 or 5?” No answer was recorded from Mr. Sawyer.

A Mr. Jason Sawyer is reported to have told The Grafton Town Board, that he plans in “bringing in some animals to my own property, too” at the Stonybrook subdivision (the Hemlock Valley Way Inc., Homeowner’s Association). That might be fine for his area where the average residential property is in acres, while the average Lake residence lots are in feet. I understand his house is on Dyken Pond. 

There is a chance that this issue will be before the citizens of Grafton and the elected officials again. Maybe the Board should consider the term “residential areas.” As we all know the “residential areas” are made up of taxpayers and voters.  Not pigs and hogs. 

Would it not be easier and advantageous to Mr. Sawyer to have one pig and hog farm with his son on his mutable acres, than on a plot of land less than a quarter acre and less than 30 feet from a residence – a residence of one who has lived there for 70 plus years.

Town resident O’Dell commented, “We had a right to farm law and many would not have eaten without one.” Our Lake Community is 90 years old, and I have been here for forty plus years and thankfully, I have not seen or heard of any person not having food, substance, denied a vegetable patch or living happily at the Lake, until now. If that issue arose, I am sure the Community would not allow it to happen. 

Mr. Sawyer did not even attend the landowners meeting when the vote was taken. He did not appear to express his desires, request a swap or answer questions. In fact Mr. Sawyer when given the opportunity by a vote to approve a swap, refused the terms that all dues paying members have to obey. Mr. Sawyer is now cutting trees on the plot of land he owns for some enterprise. Who knew!

Thank you.

Pat Ivory

Babcock Lake, Grafton

PS: Hoosick apparently is in the process of having some form of Land Use Regulations. Will Grafton be last or Petersburgh in Rensselaer County to protect the Tax paying Homeowner? 

Remember to register to vote.

Remember your absentee ballot application.

Letter To The Editor – Slow Down In Berlin Village

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To the Editor:

Anyone interested in seeing the speed limit on Route 22 in Berlin reduced to 40 m.p.h. should call 518-388-0380. These are the people who decide that.

I pointed out also that the current speed limit signs are placed too far into the village; few vehicles slow down until they are well into settled areas.

When all the k-6 students in the District start attending the old high school on School Street in Berlin, that means even more bus loads of children will have to turn across traffic onto Southeast Hollow Road – a dangerous situation.

Berlin village deserves a lower speed limit.

Mr. Gale Shaw

South Main Street, Berlin

Grafton VFD Breakfast

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The Grafton Volunteer Fire Department along with the Ladies Auxiliary will be holding an all you can eat buffet style breakfast on Saturday, September 27, from 8 am to 11 am a the VFW/Fire Hall on South Road in Grafton.  Come enjoy Belgian waffles, French toast, pancakes, eggs (made to order), toast, sausage, bacon, homefries, coffee, orange juice and milk. We look forward to serving you!  The cost is $7 for adults, $4 for kids 5 to 12 and free for kids 5 and under.

Grafton Historical Society News

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Dutch Barns

Dutch barns will be the topic of the next Grafton Historical Society meeting on September 17, at 7 pm at the Grafton Town Hall on Route 2. Presented by Everett Rau, who describes these barns as monuments to the pioneer days of our ancestors, this program will include some of the tools used to build the barns and some of the tools early settlers used in their everyday lives. The meeting is open to the public.

Everett Rau was born on a farm that has been in his family since 1799 and is an agricultural historian, barn builder and barn restorer.  Now in his retirement, he grows hand sown wheat, harvests it with an 1885 binder and threshes it with an 1885 wooden thresher. 

Historical Coloring Books

The Grafton Historical Society donated a coloring book to each child in the Grafton Summer Arts and Crafts Program.   The coloring book shows historic and prominent buildings in Grafton.  The pictures were drawn by Joan Gundrum of Petersburgh.  The coloring book was created to answer a request from Kathy Mason-Wagar for community input to the summer program and to meet the mission statement of the Grafton Historical Society, which is to collect, preserve, interpret and share information and artifacts of Grafton and its environs with the people of the community.

Wedding Display At Town Hall

Wedding pictures and wedding announcements of Grafton residents are now on display at the Grafton Town Hall.  The display, entitled “Fashions and Weddings of Yesteryear” shows many Town residents through the years in their wedding finery.  This display was created by Grafton Historical Society members Hilda Goyer and Pat Niebuhr.

Wine And Cheese 

The Grafton Historical Society’s annual Wine and Cheese Festival will be held on Saturday, October 18, from 4 to 6 pm at the historic Grafton Inn on Route 2 in Grafton.  A wide variety of state and international wines and many cheeses and other appetizers will be available for sampling.  There will be a raffle and door prizes will be awarded.  A limited number of tickets are available for this popular event.  Contact 658-3737 for information.

Local Primary Results

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by David Flint

Roy McDonald easily won his bid for the Republican nomination to replace Joseph Bruno as New York State Senator for the 43rd District, taking 83% of the vote in Rensselaer County. In the Eastwick Press area he did even a bit better than that in three of our towns, with 95% in Berlin, 90% in Grafton and 89% in Petersburgh. 

McDonald will face Michael A. Russo who served as District Manager for U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand. In the Democratic primary Russo beat out Brunswick lawyer Brian Premo in Rensselaer County with a margin of 57% to 43%. Eastern county results generally reflect that margin with the notable exception of the towns of Grafton and Hoosick where Premo was the victor winning by 18 and 6 percentage points respectively.

Tony Jordan, who was the choice of the Republican Party leadership to replace McDonald as representative of the 112th Assembly District, won the Republican Primary election against Chris Laing, a builder and developer from Northumberland. Jordan, a partner in a Greenwich law firm, won overwhelmingly in Washington County and took 67% of the Rensselaer County vote. He did not do as well in Grafton, Petersburgh or Stephentown where Laing spent a lot of time in door to door campaigning and defeated Jordan with 47%, 52% and 46% respectively.

Senate Results

                                            Republican Senate 43rd                      Democrat Senate 43rd

                                             Seney             McDonald                     Russo             Premo

Berlin                                       3                        59                             15                   13

Grafton                                  10                        93                             28                   31

Hoosick                                 32                      151                             43                   61

Petersburgh                            5                         42                            25                   12

Stephentown                         15                        63                             38                   31

Rensselaer Cnty                  617                    2914                         2473               1873

Elmhurst In The Taconics

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At the next meeting of the Taconic Valley Historical Society on September 15, at 7:30 pm, the residence of Elmhurst in the Taconics will be discussed. Sharon Klein, Berlin’s Town Historian, will lead the discussion of the different phases the building has had through the years and of the people who have lived there. 

Whether you knew the place as the Whitehouse home or as the Benediction House or more recently as the Thornbury home, you will want to hear about the history of the building and see the many pictures Mrs. Klein will be sharing with us all.

The meeting will be at the Berlin United Methodist Church on South Main Street. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting and the social time following it. If you have anecdotes about the home, plan to share them with the group.