The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Petersburgh

Petersburgh Residents Face To Face With Charter Cable

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by Alex Brooks

Representatives from Charter Communications came to a Special Meeting of the Petersburgh Town Board to talk with the Town Board and its cable TV customers in Petersburgh about service problems being experienced here and also about renewing Charter’s cable franchise.

Residents in Petersburgh and Berlin have experienced persistent problems with the cable signal. The signal will sometimes come and go or become weak and full of static or have another channel appear on top of the one being watched.

These problems have been happening in some cases on a daily basis, and customers have found that Charter’s response has been frustrating and ineffective. Usually they say a technician has to visit the customer’s house and want to make an appointment for the service call, which might be a week or two off.

About a dozen Charter customers attended the Special Board meeting, and  told the two Charter representatives about all of the problems they are having.  Some said they can’t stay home from work to meet with the service technician; some said having the technician come to their house was pointless because the problem is obviously somewhere earlier in the distribution system since everyone here is having the same problems; all said dealing with Charter’s phone system and trouble reporting protocols has been extremely frustrating.

Tom Cohan, the Director of Governmental Relations for Charter Communications, said his company had engaged call centers in Mexico and the Philippines to answer calls for them because before they did so, when there was an outage, everyone would be calling at once and very few were able to get through. Now at least someone will answer the phone, and they will have all the information about your account on their screen, even if it is not a local person.

Dan McCumber said he spoke to “a very nice lady in Nova Scotia, Canada,” so apparently the call centers are not only in Mexico and the Philippines.

Cohan said the company does not normally treat a call as a systemic problem unless they get three calls from people on the same street, but because of the persistent problems in Petersburgh, he said he will classify all calls from Petersburgh as a problem with the distribution system until the service is fixed on a town-wide basis.

Bill Rooney, Charter’s technician for fixing problems up on the poles, spoke next. He said there has been a very persistent problem through most of the summer, and he has been out here climbing poles three times a day trying to fix it. He said, “It is a long run – there’s a lot of wire and a lot of connections to check. He said he appreciates that this has been frustrating to the customers, and he said it has been frustrating to him as well.  He said he thinks he found the main source of the problem about two weeks ago, when he found a “node” with water in it and fixed that problem, and he has not had any calls from Petersburgh since that time.  Customers in the room did not seem to be convinced that the problem was fixed.

Rooney also said that Charter is planning to go over the whole system in this area over the next four weeks to “rebalance the whole system: and “sweep it.”  He said residents will probably see a lot of cable trucks in the area soon, and he is hopeful that the problem will be over when they’re finished. He also gave his cell phone number to all of the customers present so they can call him directly when there’s a problem and bypass the company’s trouble reporting system.

New Cable Franchise

Mr. Cohan then asked the Town Board to consider signing a new cable franchise. Supervisor Mason Hubbard said they would consider it but they need to show it to the Town Attorney and hold a public hearing on it before the Board can act. There are 94 Charter Communications subscribers in Petersburgh.

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.

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

Petersburgh FD Charlie Hot Dog Fund Raiser

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The first Petersburgh Fire Auxiliary Charlie Hot Dog Fund Raiser was such a success that the Auxiliary has decided to do it again! Get your Charlie Hot Dogs at the Petersburgh Fire House on Friday, September 19, from 3 pm until the dogs are gone. Last time we sold out in just a little over two hours. Pre-orders may be called in ahead of time to Janet at 658-3053 or Maureen at 658-3325.  The prices are $.75 ea., $ 4.50 for a  dozen and $ 9 for a dozen.

 Auxiliary President Maureen Seel said, “We hope that the community will stop by to support our endeavor and let us cook dinner for them!”

Boy Scout Troop 222 News

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Boy Scout Troop 222 is sponsoring a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser on Saturday, September 13, at the Taborton Church from 4 to 7 pm. The meal will consist of spaghetti with meatballs or sausage, a salad, bread, a beverage and dessert. The cost is $6.50 for adults, $4 for kids aged 5 to 10 and free for kids under 5. This event is open to the public. If you have questions or need directions, email Lori Cocca at coccafam@yahoo.com.

Open House

Be an outdoorsman. Troop 222 will show you how. Come meet the Troop at an open house on Monday, September 15, from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Hall. A parent or guardian must come with you.

Boy Scouts is open to all boys in grades six through twelve. For more information, please call, Scott Cocca at 674-3294 or Joe Burdick at 733-6975.

Edythe J. Hammond

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Petersburgh – Edythe J. “Edie” Hammond, 82, passed away on Monday, September 8, 2008, at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, NY, following a brief illness. Born November 8, 1925, in Hamilton, NY, she was the daughter of the late Arthur and Grace Fuller Smith Sr. and the beloved wife of Richard E. Hammond for almost fifty-two years. 

Edie had worked at Hoosick Falls Undergarment until 1957 when she left to devote her time to making a home and raising her children. In 1972 she returned to the work force and was employed in the Medical Records Department of St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, NY, until her retirement. She enjoyed being with her family and friends and enjoyed many hobbies, including crocheting, knitting, puzzles, card playing and bowling. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and special friend to many. She will be truly missed.

In addition to her husband, Edie is survived by her devoted children, Paul and wife Autumn Hammond and Becky Bonesteel, of Petersburgh, NY, cherished grandchildren, Phillip and Kevin and his wife Jennifer Bonesteel, Daniel and Jeffrey Hammond, Katie Hodges, Tabitha Lajuenesse, Hattie and husband Matt Richardson and Mary and husband Jude Watkins, and treasured great-grandchildren, Kayla, Thomas, Brittany, Tashina, Devon and Danielle. She was a sister to Arthur and his wife Gwen Smith, Jr., and a sister-in-law to Lee Hammond. She was pre-deceased by her brother, Lawrence Smith, and a sister-in-law, Marge Hammond.

Graveside services were held on Thursday, September 11, at the Hancock Cemetery, Route 43,  Hancock, MA,   where interment will take place. The family will host a reception following the cemetery services at the Petersburgh Baptist Church Hall on Route 22 and Route 2 in Petersburgh. Contributions in Edie’s memory would be appreciated by the family to the Liberty ARC, Attn: Barb Wool or Lisa Augustine, P.O. Box 515, Amsterdam, NY, 12010, or the Muscular Dystrophy Association, 1 Marcus Blvd, Suite 203, Albany, NY, 12205.

Calling All Singers To The Eastwick Choir

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You Gotta Hear This! announces the formation of a new community chorus called The Eastwick Choir. The Conductor is Steven Marking; the Music Director is Karen Webster. The choir will rehearse from 8 to 9:30 pm at the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center on Tuesday September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28 and November 4, 11 and 18. There will be at least one additional rehearsal (TBA) before our December 5 concert at PVMCC.

The Eastwick Choir is a community-based organization. As a community-based organization, repertoire will be selected from multiple genres. Repertoire will include, but is not limited to, living composers, religious and patriotic music, contemporary American, American folk and choruses from opera and oratorio.

The Eastwick Choir will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or religion. Anyone who can sing on pitch is welcome to join. Children 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult. 

Fees are $30 for music, and each member is responsible for selling tickets for our first concert on Dec. 5.

Call Steven Marking at 518-424-1089 or email him at baritonissimo@yahoo.com.

Ruth P. Wager

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Petersburgh –  Ruth P. Jones Wager, 80, died on Tuesday, August 19, 2008, at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT, after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Born October 24, 1927, in Berlin, NY, she was the daughter of the late Harold W. and Nora Brown Jones. She was the widow of Claude Wager. Ruth attended Berlin schools and was of the Baptist faith. She worked for General Cable in Williamstown, MA, for 34 years before relocating to Vero Beach, FL, in 1978. She returned to the area in October of 2007 to celebrate her 80th birthday with family and was taken ill. She resided with her brother Harold and his wife Eva in Petersburgh, NY, and at the Center for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington during her illness.

Survivors include a daughter, Debra and husband Wayne Barber of North Adams, MA, her siblings, Agnes Stanley of Zephyr Hills, FL, Harold W. and wife Eva Jones, Jr. of Petersburgh, Howard and wife Blanche Jones of Buskirk, NY, Dorothy Stewart of Las Vegas, NV, Alric “Mike” and wife Betty Jones of North Petersburgh, NY, a special niece, Gloria Adams of Berlin, an aunt, Gladys Jones of Berlin, and many nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by a brother, George Jones.

Following Ruth’s wishes, she will be cremated, with no calling hours or services. She had a great love for animals. Memorial contributions in her memory may be made to the Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County, FL Inc., PO Box 664, Vero Beach, FL, 32961. Arrangements are under the guidance of the Thomas M. Barber Funeral Home of Petersburgh.

Tara Lamb And Edward Cottrell Are Wed

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Tara Anne Lamb and Edward William Cottrell were united in marriage on Saturday, August 16, 2008, in a private ceremony along the Battenkill River on the grounds of the Georgi Museum and Park in Shushan, NY.  Afterwards the couple, along with their families, enjoyed a private reception at the Eagle Bridge Inn.

Tara is a the daughter of Terry and Christina Lamb of Buskirk, NY. She is a graduate of Hoosic Valley Central School and Hudson Valley Community College. Tara is currently employed at Stewart’s Shop in North Hoosick and Edmaral Farms in Johnsonville, NY.  

Edward is the son of Edward P. Cottrell of Pennsylvania and Betty Smith of Petersburgh, NY.  Ed graduated from Hoosick Falls Central School and attended Hudson Valley Community College.  He is currently employed at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT.

Nora Lamphere Graduates From Hartwick College

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Nora Lamphere, of Petersburgh, daughter of Nancy and Terry Lamphere, has graduated from Hartwick College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Lamphere graduated Cum Laude, with Departmental Distinction in English. At Hartwick she participated in Student Union, Untitled Art Club, Grassroots Environmental Club, Education Club and Wick Watch School of the Americas.