what senders means is that they give the preference to the people with the connections. Down in the junction you can bet that around Joe M.s compound the street is nice and neat. Dont you worry bout that ---capice????
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
This in no reflection on the town board of any town. Just as it was stated...the highway dept is an entity of it's own. It can pretty much do as it pleases. And there are certain streets that may get paved or plowed better than others. I don't know if it happens much now in Rotterdam, but during past administrations, some people even got their driveways plowed out in the winter. Now this is going back a ways.
And if memory served me right...Mr. Constantino use to live on Dolan Drive. It 'use' to connect Rt.7 and Dunnsville Rd. I guess he didn't like the cars using Dolan Dr. as a short cut for getting from one street to another. So, he had the Dunnsville Rd side blocked off.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Ehhh Rene I am talkig Rotterdam here, not where your town is (Delanson? right?). Joe and Elena get the good treatment, my gumba Joe G over here (Hamburg)got the good treatment, and a few others got the good treatment in town, but ya gotta have the money, and ya gotta have the connections, and ya gotta know people and it don't matter if you have the R or the D, it's who you know, always has been in this here town.
Kevin, the Rotterdam Town Board is at the mercy of the highway dept too as the highway superintendent is an elected position and seems to answer to no-one unless it wants to. Rotterdam did a lot of road resurfacing with a grant of some kind. If there's a good relationship between the town/village and the highway superintendent all goes smoothly if not then politics enter into the mix.
I'm sorry I was referring to this comment........sorry for the confusion.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
DUANESBURG Another delay for Hillcrest BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Another deadline came and went at the Hillcrest Commons Mobile Home Park this week. And for the third time, officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation extended the date they set for the park's residents to vacate. This time, Hillcrest residents were allowed to occupy the park for another week, as realtors attempt to broker a sale of the 53-site property. "We believe this will be enough time for a transfer of the property to take place," DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson said this week. "At this point, we're confident a new owner will take of over the mobile home park." Last fall, DEC officials ordered the park emptied after determining its wastewater treatment system was failing and discharging improperly treated sewage into the nearby Normans Kill. Park residents were initially given until April to leave the park. In February, the agency granted a 60-day reprieve from this order, after a prospective buyer expressed interest in purchasing the property from Morgan Management, the Rochester-area company that owns the park. DEC officials granted the extension under the terms that a new owner could prove they had both a plan and the financial ability to fix the park's faulty wastewater system. But the wet weather during the spring prevented engineers from completing a full study of the failed system. As a result, the DEC granted a 45-day extension in late May, just days before the deadline they had originally set. Georgeson said the initial thought was that a deal would be completed this week. He was unsure what had caused the latest holdup. The saga won't end with a sale, either. Georgeson said the DEC will draw up a revised consent order under which the new owner will be permitted to operate the park until the wastewater problems are corrected. "That way, the new owners will be responsible for the obligation to build a new storm water system," he said.
Not your average summer camp DUANESBURG Snoop puts Camp Bisco on map Rap star and Disco Biscuits headline festival BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Snoop Dogg peered through a pair of dark glasses and thrust a hand in the air. “If you’re havin’ a good time, wave your hands like this,” he shouted, as a deafening roar came from a crowd of several thousand gathered at the Indian Lookout Point Country Club. Stage lights illuminated the marijuana-laced smoke filling the air as the rapper took the stage Thursday during the first night of Camp Bisco, a three-day music festival making its second appearance at the 177-acre campground off Batter Street. Snoop Dogg was the highest profile act booked for the event, which is headlined by the fusion jam band, the Disco Biscuits. Fans rushed to the main stage in anticipation of the performer’s appearance and erupted into boisterous cheers when he finally appeared. But despite Snoop’s onenight performance — a stop-off between shows at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn and the Comcast Center in Massachusetts — many fans attending the festival appeared more interested in the Biscuits. Organizers estimated that about 7,500 people would attend this weekend. Though unofficial, the attendance appeared to eclipse the 5,600 people who came to the festival last year. Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein was thrilled to make a return to the country club. It’s the only time the event has returned to the same concert ground throughout its seven-year history. And to celebrate their return, the Biscuits plan to take the stage at least five more times over the course of the weekend. Brownstein will add a sixth performance with the British band, Younger Brother. “Tired is not in our vocabulary,” he said following the Biscuit’s opening performance Thursday. Brownstein was humbled to share a stage with Snoop Dogg this year, and offered praise to the performer. He said the festival has developed a knack for attracting like-minded musicians of varying popularity — something that the event’s loyal fan base has come to appreciate. “This is about getting the fans that care about us together and giving them one treat after another,” he said. One of those treats was the band Fiction Plane, an English rock band featuring Joe Sumner, the son of Police frontman Sting. The band opened up three days of performances as fans slowly trickled into the country club. John Cole, a Biscuit fan from Philadelphia, said the rapper’s performance was an extra during a weekend where he enjoys the low-key atmosphere and a procession of performers. He said the smaller size of the event makes it a destination during the summer. “I just love the vibe,” he said, while waiting to enter the country club. “It’s not too intense and it’s not too mellow.” Likewise, Rachel Bacon of Massachusetts said she attends the event because of its intimate feel. She said Camp Bisco is one of the few festivals she can attend where both her friends and her musical preferences are broadly represented. “This is like the biggest throwdown for the people I love,” she said. Georgia Smith of Massachusetts was attending the festival for her first time. Though she considers herself an avid Biscuits fan, she said Snoop Dogg convinced her to attend the festival this year. “For sure,” she said. Camp Bisco also featured Brownstein’s voter registration group, HeadCount. In 2004, he helped found the nonpartisan organization, which aims to register about 100,000 people during concerts and festivals this year. Festival Coordinator Larissa Albright had already registered about 200 people Thursday, and persuaded another 300 to sign a pledge to vote. She said having the registration booth at the Biscuits’ music festival helps their young fans connect with the voting process. “Once a young person registers to vote, they continue to vote throughout their lives,” she said.
BRUCE SQUIERS/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER At top, the Disco Biscuits perform on the main stage Thursday during Camp Bisco at the Indian Lookout Point Country Club in Mariaville. Above, a crowd of music fans fills the grounds during the show.
BRUCE SQUIERS/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Celeste Eberhardt of Tallahassee, Fla., raises one hand in the air during Thursday’s Camp Bisco concert in Mariaville.
Camp Bisco also featured Brownstein’s voter registration group, HeadCount. In 2004, he helped found the nonpartisan organization, which aims to register about 100,000 people during concerts and festivals this year. Festival Coordinator Larissa Albright had already registered about 200 people Thursday, and persuaded another 300 to sign a pledge to vote. She said having the registration booth at the Biscuits’ music festival helps their young fans connect with the voting process. “Once a young person registers to vote, they continue to vote throughout their lives,” she said.
I think that it is great to get people registered to vote. INFORMED PEOPLE!! It sounds really nice to hear when over 100,000 people have registered to vote...but the last thing we need are uninformed people who don't have a clue about squat! These people can then be blindsided by the untruths of the politicians. Registering to vote is just not enough!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The uninformed voting isn't any worse than the misinformed. It's sort of like going to the Saratoga Raceway with children. The professional gamblers with all the statistics from the racing form, who spend the whole night before going to the track, handicapping the races. And they're lucky if they pick one winner. Then you ask a young kid who they think is gonna win the 3rd race, and they pick the horse because they like the name, or the color of the horse, or some other reason other than logic and reason, and they end up picking winners.
Point being...... those of us who follow politics, and all the spin and all the lies, and half truths, and flip flops, do we really think we know who the hell we're getting. Just look at G.W Bush. People thought they were getting a conservative candidate, and they get a borrow and spend liberal republican.
We're almost better off voting for the person with the better hair.
I attended the Duanesburg Planning Commission meeting last night to observe the first test of their new wind turbine regulations. The commission did a thorough job of consideration. It was especially interesting because a waiver was granted to continue to the public hearing. The sticky issue involved a shortfall of about 15 feet to satisfy the required setback. Anyway, the waiver was granted, rightly I think, because the tower the blade will be mounted on is existing.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Duanesburg Planning Commission procedure. I discuss it more fully in my latest blog post.
I have forwarded your blog to all on the Planning Board. Their job is difficult and they do not receive enough gratitude for the time they spend. They will appreciate your remarks a great deal Michael, thank you. We have worked very hard to make our boards helpful, responsive, simple, and open. Applicants to the board forget that these people are their neighbors and basically volunteer their time. They receive $25 per meeting. This barely covers their transportation back and forth, site visits, and doesn't begin to cover their time. New State regulations require Planning and Zoning Board members to complete 4 hours of training per year. Most of our members of both boards complete well in excess of the 4 hours. Many of the members can be found at seminars from Rhinebeck to Saratoga and Albany to Oneonta representing D'burg. Usually on their own dime. We require applicants to have ALL required paperwork and information in 10 days prior to the meeting or they will not be placed on the agenda. This allows time for the board members to pick up and review the files prior to the meeting. It used to be, the members would come in and not have any idea what was on the agenda. They would look at files for the first time on the night of the meeting. It wasn't pretty. As for executive session? I have never seen the Planning Board go into exec. session in the eight years I have been around. Anyway, I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear a compliment for a change. Thank you so much.
DUANESBURG Wind tower on the horizon BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Absent Duanesburg’s wind turbine ordinance, Richard Wooding’s residential project might have faced a cumbersome approval process. Prior to the enactment of the law last month, wind turbine projects were confined to land zoned for agriculture. With the town’s ordinance in place now, residential properties can apply for permits to build turbines, provided they conform to several conditions. Wooding plans to convert a 90-foot-tall galvanized steel radio tower at his Mudge Road residence so that it can hold a small turbine. The project was proposed to the town Planning Board Thursday and is the first to be considered under the new law. “We’re excited,” said chairwoman Sandra Scott. “It’s the first one.” But it won’t be the last. Though Wooding’s turbine is the only official application on file with the Planning Board, Scott said she’s heard of at least two other projects being discussed in other areas of the town. Wooding said he originally constructed his tower during the 1980s for use with a ham radio. He’s proposing to mount a small turbine that would produce about 1 kilowatt of electricity an hour. As a steam turbine engineer with General Electric Co. in Schenectady, Wooding has taken a hobbyist’s interest in producing alternative energy at his home. He’s hoping to use the turbine and photovoltaic cells to form a hybrid system that will help lower his energy costs. “I really always wanted to do it,” he said. “I’m not even sure it’s going to break even economically.” Under the ordinance, Wooding’s turbine will need to be located roughly 135 feet from the closest residence. His tower already falls beneath the 200-foot maximum height established under the law for small wind energy projects. Wooding said his home is located at a relatively high elevation for the county. He said the contorted tree limbs around his property show signs of the strong gusts that sometimes course through the area.
DUANESBURG Suspect, 21, charged after foot, water chase BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
When fleeing from the authorities, it’s generally a bad idea to seek refuge on a small private island accessed by a single gated bridge. Or at least that’s the lesson Massachusetts resident Billy Joe Elliot learned, as he is accused of leading deputies from the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department on a short-lived foot and water chase around Mariaville Lake late Thursday morning. He now faces the misdemeanor charges of criminal impersonation, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, trespassing and obstruction of governmental administration. Lt. Jason Temple said Elliot, 21, was a passenger in a car heading toward the Camp Bisco festival when it was stopped at a sheriff’s roadblock on Mariaville Road. Deputies flagged the car after noticing the driver, Emmanuel Pitsiladis, 21, wasn’t wearing his seat belt. Upon further investigation, deputies arrested Pitsiladis on the misdemeanor charge of driving while ability impaired after they determined he had been drinking. Another passenger in his car was then cited for having a small amount of marijuana. When deputies asked Elliot to identify himself, he gave them a false name and then ran, Temple said. Elliot hopped a gate leading onto Gene Yauchler’s small private island, just offshore from the roadblock. “He knew he was caught,” Temple said. But instead of turning himself in, Elliot decided to take to the water. Temple said Yauchler assisted the deputies by pulling his boat alongside the fleeing man and hoisting him onboard. Investigators later determined Elliot had an outstanding arrest warrant in Massachusetts on a felony burglary charge. He was arraigned on the new charges in Town Court and sent to the Schenectady County Jail on $5,000 cash bail. Temple said deputies cited 19 drivers at the roadblock for minor infractions and made a total of three arrests. Overall, he said the concert fans were well behaved on their way to the Indian Lookout Country Club. “It’s been really quiet so far,” he said.