By Geoff Samuels
Thursday night’s well attended Middletown Flood Commission meeting took place under the ominous threat of Hurricane “Sandy” bearing down on the Northeast by Monday night. Middletown Supervisor Marge Miller announced that 586-1115 had been established as an emergency number and that infor­mation could also be found under the “emergency tab” on the Middletown website (http://middletowndelaware countyny.org/). During the meeting it was further determined that in the event the storm were to hit, shelter could be found at; the Methodist Church and the Advent Chris­tian Church in Margaret­ville; the fire department in Ark­ville for the first 24 to 72 hours (then moving to Belleayre); and either the Fleisch­manns Community Church, or the Fleischmanns Fire De­partment.

By Trish Adams
Roxbury’s monthly town board meeting will be held this Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. This meeting is moved from its traditional Monday because it’s an election year. Two public hearings will be held before the meeting, beginning at 6:45 p.m.

By Jay Braman Jr.
Uncertainty over the fate of the Bridge Street bridge in Fleischmanns remains, yet another bridge project in the village is underway just downstream.

Depot Street, the well-used entranceway on the western edge of the village that connects Route 28 to Main Street, remains closed just past the Wagner Avenue intersection as the Delaware County Department of Public Works make repairs to the bridge that sits right on the corner of Depot and Main streets.

By Geoff Samuels
In an effort to help the residents of Brooklyn who were badly battered by Hurricane Sandy, Michael Di Benedetto, owner of Halcott Centers’ Vly Mountain Spring Water, said he and his family are offering to collect several truckloads of much-needed relief supplies and transport them down to that area.

By Jay Braman Jr.
The ripple effects of Hurricane Sandy continue to cause damage locally even though the storm is now long past.

While the Catskills came away from last week’s storm relatively unscathed, the downstate portion of New York was hit hard. One of the problems facing downstaters is a shortage of gasoline.

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a Shokan couple, possibly due to carbon monoxide poisioning from an electric generator, according to a release.

The deceased are James Stapleford, 75, and Eva C. Stapleford, both of Black Road, Shokan.
Sheriff’s deputies said their office received a call about 7 p.m. Monday from a daughter in Pennsylvania who had been unable to reach her parents.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Carter Strickland today announced that watershed crews are being mobilized and deployed to NYC to aid in the recovery efforts.

According to the Delaware County Board of Election website, Judge Carl Becker leads challenger Gary Rosa. Unofficial results show Judge Becker as getting 8335 votes and Mr. Rosa receiving 8160 votes. There is no indication from the board of elections on the number of absentee ballots to be counted. However, Judge Rosa's campaign has indicated that there are more than 1,700 absentee ballots to be counted.

By Brian Sweeney
A temporary “flood wall” erected behind the Freshtown Supermarket in Margaretville on Sunday was dismantled Monday because there was no permit for the structure.

The floodwall was put into place as the Freshtown owners were attempting to protect their store from potential flooding predicted when the effects of Hurricane Sandy moved through the area.

By Geoff Samuels
Monday around noon on Main Street Margaretville, there was a light rain falling from an overcast and foggy looking sky; nothing too unusual.

The only outward signs that there might be something more about to happen were the boarded up windows on the front of the Granary Building on Bridge Street, and some plastic and plywood nailed up around the corner on the Ice Bar’s front door.