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The Daily Gazette •

Outlook 2024: Growth at Ghent's Art Omi starts with Ruth Adams

GHENT - When Art Omi opened in 1992, it was a simple park with no entrance or staff. At the time, it was used as an international residency program, inviting artists from around the world to come and practice their craft.

If local residents knew about it, they knew about it.

It wasn’t until 10 years later, when Ruth Adams joined as manager of artist residency, that the Columbia County arts center grew into something more.
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

County Legislature backs state bills to aid EMS crisis

CATSKILL– The Greene County Legislature passed a resolution Wednesday urging the state Legislature to pass a collection of bills to address a number of issues plaguing emergency medical service providers.

The county Legislature’s Health Services Committee moved a resolution at its May 1 meeting to the Legislature’s Finance Committee asking state lawmakers to move a package of bills to strengthen emergency medical services across the state.

Legislator Thomas Hobart, R-Coxsackie, brought the mot
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Planned dispensaries collide at board meeting

CATSKILL — A cannabis dispensary site plan application presented at Monday’s village Planning Board meeting has run into some opposition from a representative from a previously board-approved cannabis dispensary site.

In January, the board approved its first cannabis dispensary site plan for Catskill Roots, at 79-81 Maple Ave.

Catskill Cannabis NY LLC, presented its site plan application to the board Monday for a cannabis dispensary at Beer World, 170 W. Bridge St.

There is a minimum distance
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

New Little League field plan

WINDHAM — The Town Board came under fire at its meeting Wednesday over its proposal to move the municipal Little League Baseball field from its South Street site to a location adjacent to the Windham Path.

“The town owns just under 70 acres of land over where The Windham Path is,” Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt said. “No one is going to dispute that it’s a godsend to the town. We drafted a plan to put it to one side to make no visual impact to it and to not touch the path itself.”

The plan calls
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Village looks to raise water, sewer rates by 10%

CATSKILL — The Village Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing May 22 on a proposed resolution to increase village water and sewer rates by 10 percent.

With the water line project on Main Street beginning in August or September and the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project scheduled to begin next year, the village’s engineers said trustees would have to increase rates 20% over the next five to 10 years, said Village President Joseph Kozloski.

“We received grant money for the projects but
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

School community voices concerns over administration

CATSKILL — Concerns about the direction the Catskill Central School District’s Board of Education and its administration are heading were raised at a recent school board meeting by teachers and community members.

The concerns were raised at the board’s April 23 meeting after it approved its proposed 2024-25 school budget.

Superintendent of Schools Dan Wilson said the board’s votes in favor of the spending package showed its continued support of the quality opportunities the district has to off
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Catskill School budget proposed at $49.4 million

CATSKILL – The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on its proposed $49,4 million 2024-25 school budget that includes the elimination of 16 district positions and no tax increase.

The proposed budget is down $457,637, or 0.917%, from last year's spending plan and reflects the use of over $3 million from the district's fund balance, as well as state and federal aid to reduce year-to-year cost increases and hold the school tax rate flat.

"For the proposed budget, we allocated $3,438,121
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Village names Kozloski as village president; Law as vice president

CATSKILL– Joseph Kozloski and Natasha Law were named village board president and vice president, at an emergency meeting in Village Hall, 422 Main St, on Monday morning.

The Village of Catskill trustees held an emergency meeting to re-instate a vice president position and to appoint a new president after the former president’s term ended Sunday, March 31.

Peter Grasse III became Village president in 2021 following long-time president Vincent Seeley. Grasse’s term ended after losing his re-elec
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Athens town board places moratorium on battery energy storage systems

ATHENS — The Town Board voted to place a moratorium to temporarily stop any application for the installation of battery energy storage system facilities in the town.

The 3-2 decision was voted on following a public hearing Monday night, Town Supervisor Michael Pirrone said. Two board members weren't in attendance due to illness.

The moratorium will stop any application to install a battery energy storage system facility in the municipality for at least six months and up to a year to allow the
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Potential Catskill Game Farm buyer looks to turn site into residental community

CATSKILL – A prospective buyer of the Catskill Game Farm, Nicky’s Garden of Hope LLC, is looking to transform the property into a residential community for adults with autism and mixed housing for seniors and veterans.

In a pre-application conference at the town Planning Board meeting Tuesday, the business owner and project developer spoke with the board’s members to discuss next steps in the process.

Nicky’s Garden of Hope is nonprofit organization that describes itself as a sustainable, net-
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

Zoom Flume Waterpark faces $38K fine

EAST DURHAM — Between July 2021 and July 2022, Zoom Flume employed 35 15-year-old lifeguards at the top of elevated, power-driven waterslides resulting in a $38,010 fine, according to an investigation from the Albany division of the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

“In July 2022, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) opened an investigation into the employer’s [Zoom Flume] employment of junior workers,” according to court documents. “WHD investigated the employer’s [Zoom Flume] actions f
The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers •

A sober way of living proposed for Greene and Columbia Counties

The Oxford Houses plan to have one house in each county to split the initial cost, said Jason Fredenberg, community services director of Greene County Mental Health, at the Feb. 7 Greene County Legislature’s meeting.

Intended to promote an ongoing alcohol- and drug free lifestyle, the proposed houses will have an initial fee of $180,000 split between the two houses. Greene County Mental Health services is looking to use some of the county’s opioid funding for the houses.

“As we know there’s a
Your Schenectady •

Schenectady County Resources For Help With Meals During The Holidays - Your Schenectady

As the holiday season approaches, many people start to prepare menus for big holiday gatherings with friends and family, while others may not know if they will even have a holiday meal.

The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. This can be a temporary situation or can last for longer periods of time.
Your Schenectady •

Superintendent Soler shows support for new Swim Curriculum in schools - Your Schenectady

The morning of Oct. 25 at Schenectady High School was filled with fun, education and guidance as Superintendent Soler and colleagues worked with third grade students in the swimming pool, as part of a new swim program in their physical education curriculums.

District officials have noted that swimming has been an interest for many Schenectady students and their families judging by the turnout for a recently implemented new class. The school began a six week, “learn to swim classes” on Thursday
Your Schenectady - •

New interactive exhibits coming to miSci

From the space age to the future, miSci’s three new exhibits, “Ground to Gourmet: Tracing the Origins of the Food We Love,” “A Taste of Science” and “Space to Spoon,” will take visitors on a tour of food and food technology through artificial intelligence, starting Saturday, September 30 with weekend hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ground to Gourmet: Tracing the Origins of the Foods We Love

This interactive exhibit blends history, science and art while exploring the culinary depths of New York St
Your Schenectady - •

SUNY Schenectady Faculty and Staff Earn Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence

Five members of the SUNY Schenectady County Community College faculty and staff have been awarded with 2023 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence.

The SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence were created more than 45 years ago to honor the distinguished performance of SUNY’s teaching faculty, librarians, and members of the professional and classified services. The Awards are honors for professional achievement and to encourage the pursuit of continued excellence, according to SUNY.

The recip
Your Schenectady - •

The Artistry Studios, a neighborhood revitalization project

Another exciting neighborhood revitalization project is The Artistry Studios, a new venture from the Albany Barn, which operates a makerspace and performing arts space in Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill neighborhood called the Electric City Barn.

Located in a former convent on Eastern Avenue, The Artistry Studios will provide affordable studios for 20 artists, giving them a place to work and be part of the city’s burgeoning arts scene. Renovations are ongoing, but some studios have already been ren
Your Schenectady - •

Foundation grants $265k for neighborhood projects

In March 2015, a devastating fire destroyed two high-rise apartment buildings on Schenectady’s Jay Street, directly across from City Hall. Since then, the lot has stood empty, a grim reminder of the tragedy that killed four and left dozens homeless.

Soon the lot will undergo a transformation led by the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp (DSIC), giving rise to Jay Square – a welcoming public space with game tables, shade, art, benches and a small stage.

The hope is that Jay Square will be an
Your Schenectady - •

GreenSheen Paint and Schenectady County partner for a free recycling event

GreenSheen, a paint recycler and manufacturing company, partnered with Schenectady County for a free paint recycling event on Sept. 23 at the SUNY Schenectady West Parking Lot.

The 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. event will allow residents and businesses to safely dispose of paint and paint-like materials.

“Schenectady County has sponsored multiple events this year to make it easier for residents to recycle paint, common household chemicals, and electronics waste, which can have a big impact on our community
Your Schenectady - •

The NYS Board of Elections issue a warning of staff impersonations

Across multiple counties, many reports have been made of individuals impersonating county Board of Elections staff, said the state Board of Elections on Friday.

BOE officials said the impersonators are confronting voters about their registration status and falsely accusing voters of committing a crime because of how they appear in the state voter database.

While Schenectady County Election officials aren’t aware of any reports, commissioners Laura Fronk and Darlene Harris wanted to bring aware
Your Schenectady - •

Free paint recycling in Rotterdam keeps unused paint out of landfills

Businesses and residents alike can recycle their old paint and coatings for free at GreenSheen Paint, a daily dropoff paint recycler in Rotterdam.

The Colorado-based recycler opened their New York location in August 2022, with daily hours of Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but also operates in Colorado, Washington and Arizona, according to the Director of the New York location, Jared Pollack.

“We are a steward for the PaintCare program,” Pollack said. “And basically we are helping t
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