By Geoff Samuels
Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) President Georgiana Lepke called a special meeting at CWC headquarters last Friday to begin the analysis of a pair of “internal” documents that are certain to have far-reaching effects on watershed communities.

Spurred by Irene
CWC Executive Director Alan Rosa gave meeting attendees a brief history of the two documents. “This all came about because of Hurricane Irene,” he said, adding that the texts had only been available for examination by the CWC staff for about a week.

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 Brian Sweeney
Three Margaretville residents were arrested last week on charges stemming from cocaine possession.

Arrested on March 13 by NY State Police on charges of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance (with intent to sell) were Victor M. Perez, 57, his wife, Kris Perez, 45, both of 104 Frog Alley Road, Margaretville. The charges are Class “B” felonies. John D. Gilchrist, 53, of 2 Olga Drive, Margaretville was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class “A” misdemeanor.

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.

By Jay Braman Jr.
After years of foot-dragging, all of the municipalities that were part of a New York State Scenic Byway initiative have decided whether or not to officially participate, with the Ulster County Town of Olive being the last to take action.

On Tuesday, March 12 at town hall in Shokan, Olive’s five-member town board voted three to two to join in the effort to secure a Scenic Byway designation from the state’s Department of Transportation, a designation that promoters say will put the communities in a position to get grants funds for projects otherwise not available.

By Joe Moskowitz
It’s maple season. Last year, with exceptionally warm weather in March, it was already over by now. This year, syrup producers still can’t tell if it’s going to be a good or a bad year. It’s all up to the weather, which hasn’t cooperated very much so far this year.

We spoke with four “maple men” about this annual tradition.

Political newcomer Diana Cope will be Margaretville’s new mayor following a 102-24 win over longtime village resident Lauren Davis on Tuesday.

Ms. Cope ran a low-key campaign during her first run for public office.

Mr. Davis was seeking the village mayoral post for the third time. He waged a public battle during his campaign, often criticizing the actions of current Mayor Bill Stanton and the board of trustees.
The new mayor will take office on April 1.

The Fleischmanns Village Election results are as follows:

By Geoff Samuels
In a recent interview with the Catskill Mountain News, soon-to-retire Margaretville Mayor Bill Stanton stressed that he saw no reason for the dissolution of the village.

Even though last month’s board of trustees’ meeting saw the raw nerve of skyrocketing property taxes exposed, the “bombshell” has been defused somewhat by recent efforts of the budget committee to gain some degree of control over the situation.

Nevertheless, the specter of substantially higher taxes has certainly risen more than a few taxpaying eyebrows.

By Joe Moskowitz
Voters in Margaretville are about to choose a new mayor. Bill Stanton is stepping down. He will be replaced either by Diana Cope, former executive director of Margaretville’s Fairview Library, or Lauren Davis, a retired chemical engineer.

The village election will be held on Tuesday, March 19 with balloting from noon-9 p.m. in the village office on Main Street.