Community

Margaretville — Join the Heart of the Catskills Humane Society for its annual Spring Dance and Auction on Saturday, April 20, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Hanah Mountain Resort and Country Club.

Everyone’s a winner who purchases a ticket to this major fundraiser for the area’s largest animal shelter. Improve your luck all night long as the dance features the best in music, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a buffet dinner.

By Brian Sweeney
The Llobet Medical Group in Margaretville is continuing to expand its staff and the services it provides.

Located in the Palen Medical Building adjacent to Margaretville Hospital, the Llobet Medical Group (LMG) was established on October 1, 2010 and has rapidly grown to provide health care services to an increasingly wide coverage area.

The husband and wife physician team of Dr. Paul Llobet and Dr. Holly Llobet established the practice and they have been steadily adding specialists and extending a range of services.

By Cheryl Petersen
The Delaware County Board of Supervisors met in Delhi on March 27 with all supervisors present
Chair of Public Works, and Town of Hancock Supervisor, Sam Rowe, Jr., reported on a recent announcement by NYS Senator Jack Martins, that the 2013-2014 state budget includes $75 million of increased funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS).

By Joe Moskowitz
New York State’s new budget contains some expensive surprises for motorists convicted of speeding and other traffic violations.

Locally, with more state troopers on the road, more tickets are being written. And, with the state’s new budget, those tickets are going to cost more, but not as much as originally proposed by the governor.

Margaretville — Two residents at Mountainside Residential Care Center were recently certified as Hospice volunteers.

Esther Ronning and John Auran received their official certification in mid-March. They completed their training with a Catskill Area Hospice volunteer who traveled to Mountainside for the instruction.

Director Kathy Roberts said that an average of 8-10 residents are under Hospice care. As certified volunteers, Esther and John can provide a variety of comfort services for their fellow residents.

By Brian Sweeney
MTC Cable (MTC) has been awarded $1.8 million in matching funds to extend broadband into segments of the Catskills Region without access to this technology.
The award, announced last week, is part of the Governor’s Connect New York Broadband Grant Program.

By Joan Lawrence-Bauer
Visions of bobsled runs, ski jumps and hockey rinks danced in their heads as nearly two dozen community leaders returned last week from a trip to Lake Placid to visit facilities operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA).

By Geoff Samuels
A host of Emergency Watershed Projects (EWPs) are scheduled to begin on June 22 in the Town of Middletown and surrounding areas, and are slated to be completed by the September 15 “project window” deadline.

Permission was granted by the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to the Town of Middletown to start accepting bids for the projects immediately, and a motion was passed at last Tuesday’s Middletown Board meeting to do so. This should allow work to begin as soon as the project window opens in June.

Andes — Writers in the Mountains (WIM) will present “The Significance of Story” with popular instructor Carol Little for six Monday sessions, April 15-May 20, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Andes Public Library.

Regarding the class, Carol states, “Every person’s story is unique. Stories have personal meaning, turning points and markers. As we remember and write, or write and remember, we bring together parts of ourselves that may have been scattered, distorted or hidden.”

Andes — Filming is scheduled during May and June for “Promies, Passion and Pride: The Story of the Anti-Rent War of Andes,” an educational short film being shot at landmark locations in Ulster and Delaware counties.