News

In voting on Tuesday, the Margaretville Central School budget passed with a vote of 159 to 48. Terry Johnson was elected to a seat on the Board of Education, defeating current board member Randy Moore. Johnson received 134 votes to Moore's 72.

Other budget vote results will be updated as they become available.

By Geoff Samuels
A curious and unauthorized version of a law that was passed by the Middletown Town Board in July of 2012 has surfaced at the New York Department of State (DOS). The doctored document was discovered after Middletown Attorney John Fairbairn, at the request of Margaretville Mayor Diana Cope, asked the DOS to send a copy of the law back to the town for review.

By Brian Sweeney
An early Tuesday morning fire destroyed an multi-use commercial building just east of Arkville.
The fire at the Tinker’s Village complex was discovered about 4 a.m. by a passing motorist. By the time the alarm sounded, the building was fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters from Margaretville, Arkville, Fleischmanns, Halcottsville and Big Indian responded to the scene, but there was no chance to save the old wooden structure.

By Joe Moskowitz
State police already have their hands full trying to track down whoever is responsible for series of burglaries in Margaretville, but now they are looking for someone who has taken a bold, different approach, going through the roof.

By Jay Braman Jr.
Sixty-six years later, Odell Reynolds remembers it like it was yesterday.

In the summer of 1947, at age 20, he was part of a four-man crew charged with the task of cutting trees to clear a road up a steep Catskills mountainside for a new project. Armed with nothing but axes and bow saws, the team carved out a way in for construction crews that would come the following year to build the Belleayre Ski Center.

Memorial Day services to honor veterans of the Fleischmanns and Margaretville areas will be celebrated Monday, May 27 with American Legion Post 216 coordinating the activities.

There will be a parade and service in both Fleischmanns and Margaretville. The parade in Fleischmanns will form in front of the fire hall on Main Street at 8:45 a.m. with a start at 9 a.m. The parade will proceed to the Skene Memorial Library where there will be a wreath laying ceremony, the mayor will speak and the Margaretville Central School Band will perform.

By Brian Sweeney
The Arkville Country Market, a gas station and convenience store, has reopened under new ownership.

Bovina Center resident Jay Renner recently purchased the Route 28 property (across from the Delaware & Ulster Railroad). He, along with several family members, began operating the business last week.

Jay said that having gasoline and diesel available was a top priority and those products are currently being offered. Inside the convenience store, inventory is arriving daily and he expects the shelves to soon be fully stocked with a wide assortment of items.

Paige Elizabeth Miller, the daughter of Fred and Rebecca Miller of Margaretville, was awarded a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, PA on May 13.

Dr. Miller is a 2004 graduate of Margaretville Central School, where she was the salutatorian of her class and where she was active in advanced science research. She was also a member of the MCS Blue Devils’ 2002 NYS Section IV Championship soccer team coached by the late Dan Cohen.

Andes — Six of the region’s best bands will perform at an all-day music festival on Memorial Day Weekend as a tribute to their late friend and supporter, radio host Terry Doyle.

The event, dubbed “Doylestock,” will be held outdoors on Sunday, May 26, at the Andes Hotel Summer Shack (www.andeshotel.com), 110 Main St. in Andes.

Bands will perform from 2 to 8 p.m. The Doylestock lineup features Heaven’s Back Door, The Honest Mistakes, The Blues Maneuver, George Kilby Jr. and the Road Dogs, Just Throw Money, and Esquela. Deejay Patrick del Rosario will host.

By Joe Moskowitz