I believe you would be correct. I think they have a revenue stream from the State Police barracks, but I could be wrong. I'm sure that like D'burg they also receive revenue from the usual sources like mortgage tax, court fines, etc.
PRINCETOWN Vintage diner to be operated at new location on Route 20 BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
After more than 50 years and having crossed states from the East Coast to the Midwest and finally to Duanesburg, the Chuck Wagon Diner has found its new home. Crews used an industrial crane to hoist the 38-footlong and 17-foot-wide structure onto a foundation off Route 20 Wednesday morning. They used a bar on top and cables beneath to suspend the forlorn-looking silver diner several feet in the air before effortlessly placing it on a pair of steel I-beams set into the concrete. “It was just like a toy,” said owner Tom Ketchum, surveying the nearly 23-ton diner on its new base. The diner car sat on blocks near Ketchum’s autobody repair shop for more than a year after it was hauled 630 miles from a warehouse in Michigan. Built by the Mountain View Diner Co. factory in New Jersey during the mid-1950s, the restaurant once served Champagne, Ill., where it was one of the early pioneers to sell Col. Harland Sanders’ legendary fried chicken. Now, with the diner secured and all the necessary town approvals in hand, Ketchum and his wife Sally plan to continue the arduous task of restoring the eatery to its former grandeur. By next spring, they intend to open a full-service restaurant that will include authentic 1950s-era equipment and ......................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar02304
PRINCETOWN — Fire destroyed a house on Route 20 Sunday. The fire broke out just before 9 p.m. at a two-story house at 687 Western Turnpike Road across from the Princetown Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Pine Grove Fire Chief Wes Blessing said when fi refighters arrived on scene, there were flames shooting through the roof and out the second-floor front windows. About 35 firefighters from the Pine Grove, Duanesburg, Delanson, Carman and Rotterdam fire departments brought the blaze under control in about 15 minutes using hand lines. A family of three was home at the time but got out safely. Blessing said he believes the fire started on the first floor. It is too early to determine a cause but he said the Schenectady County Fire Coordinator is investigating.
PRINCETOWN Restored sign to serve as beacon of transplanted diner BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
For more than three decades, the giant neon Chuck Wagon Diner sign stayed on a shelf Gale Weatherby built in the garage of her mother’s Chicago residence. The former photography student fell in love with the sign during her visits to the restaurant while attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. So when the diner closed down in April 1976, Weatherby decided she wanted the piece she most readily identified with the eatery: the 9-by-11 foot electrifi ed cowboy head that once illuminated the city streets. “The sign was like a landmark in Champaign,” she recalled during a phone interview from her California residence. “The whole diner was like a landmark.” Weatherby paid $80 for the sign at auction, thinking she could one day hang it inside a studio apartment. She even asked workers to put it in the rear of her convertible so she could haul it away. Of course, the 9-foot-by-11-foot aluminum and steel structure looked much smaller when it was mounted atop the Mountain View Diner Co. restaurant. And the movers she hired balked at the prospect of putting the one-ton sign on anything less than a flatbed truck. “The next best thing was to dismantle it and pick it all apart,” she said. The sign would remain garaged and all but forgotten for the next 31 years until Weatherby happened to post a photo of it on the Internet. To her amazement, someone recognized the small silver diner in the picture as one that had been hauled halfway across the country to be fully restored in Princetown. The minute she contacted Tom Ketchum, the Chuck Wagon’s new owner, he jumped at the chance to purchase the sign. In May 2008, he drove to Chicago and hauled away the six sheets of porcelain-enameled aluminum, the 44 fluorescent rods and all the electrical inner workings. Weatherby painstakingly labeled all the parts in the hope that the cowboy would once again beckon restaurant customers. “I had always hoped I might be able to find someone who was operating the diner,” she said. Ketchum was searching for someone to help him with the sign when he was put in touch with J.R. Cooke, a large sign production specialist working at Signarama in Albany. The 14-year veteran trained under a journeyman who had spent most of his career working on signs much like the one that topped the Chuck Wagon. “I’ve adapted [to] the modern signs, but I still like the old ones,” he said from the business’s basement workshop. Two weeks ago, Cooke began designing the 14-inch-thick aluminum shell piece separating the two sides of the sign. He’s designed a steel pole skeleton that will create a framework so it can be mounted on a pole outside the diner, rather than on top of the aging structure Cooke said just about everything is original in the sign, including the 1950s-era electronics. However, the old wiring must be painstakingly replaced because of changes in code. “It’s a tedious process, because you have to un-solder, replace and re-solder every connection,” he said. By the time it’s finished, the sign will shine four different colors powered by a combined 108,000 volts. Cooke said he’ll have the sign back together within two weeks and ready for installation at the diner whenever Ketchum is ready. “It’s a project I wanted to do,” he said surveying the partially rebuilt sign. “This is like bringing back a piece of history,” Meanwhile in Princetown, Ketchum has finished work on a kitchen addition to the 38-foot-long and 17-foot-wide diner, which was mounted on its concrete foundation in November. The previous year, Ketchum had the nearly 23-ton structure hauled 630 miles from a warehouse in ................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00102
PRINCETOWN — The U. S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office will sponsor a home loan information session for prospective low- to moderate-income homebuyers at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Princetown Town Hall, 165 Princetown Plaza. The session will highlight the agency’s direct and guaranteed home loan programs. The loans require no down payment and no private mortgage insurance (PMI) and offer generous terms. Homebuyers must meet eligibility standards to qualify, and these will be reviewed at the session. Those who plan to attend should RSVP by calling 762-0077, ext. 4, by Tuesday, or e-mail patricia.snover@ny.usda.gov.
Flames consumed a hay barn late Monday, drawing six area fire crews to the scene and shutting down Western Turnpike for nearly four hours. Fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze, which was ruled accidental. Firefighters were called to the property near Gifford’s Church Road around 10 p.m. and found the structure engulfed in flames. “The fire completely destroyed the barn,” said Schenectady County Fire Coordinator John Nuzback. “In fact, it was throwing embers about a quarter-mile away.” Nuzback said the six responding fire companies initially feared embers from the fire would spread to other nearby areas, including the nearby Princetown Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He said more than 200 bales of hay stowed in the barn helped fuel the fast-moving fire. “It went up quick,” he said. Nuzback said the property owners were insured. He said the barn was used for storage and wasn’t part of an active farm.
PRINCETOWN Parties announce endorsements Some support decisions based on factors other than affiliation BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Party endorsements are in for Princetown’s elected offices, but few of them are following party lines. Princetown’s Republican Committee has endorsed first-term board member Melanie Whiteley, a Conservative, against incumbent Supervisor Nicholas Maura Jr., a Democrat. The GOP is also endorsing incumbent Republican Bob Meyers and Todd Edwards, a Conservative, for the two Town Board seats up for election this fall. The GOP also endorsed incumbent town Clerk Carole McClaine. The Schenectady County Conservatives endorsed the same slate as the Republicans. “All of them on the slate have strong backgrounds,” said Norm Miller, chairman of the town Republican committee. “They’ve all been involved in the town with different committees.” The Princetown Democrats have endorsed Maura, as well as political newcomers John Proper, the owner of High Lift Crane, and Louis Esposito, an area truck driver. Maura acknowledged both Proper and Esposito are enrolled Republicans, but said their party identification shouldn’t make a difference. “I don’t care what party they are in,” he said, mentioning that Deputy Supervisor Eric Plura is also a Republican. “If they’re good people, it doesn’t matter what party they’re in.” The Democrats also endorsed longtime Highway Superintendent Nicholas Maura Sr. Miller said the Republicans chose against endorsing a candidate for highway superintendent because the committee doesn’t believe the position should be filled. “We feel there’s no need for that position,” Miller said Friday. The highway superintendent’s position has been a point of contention between the Democrats and the Conservatives on the board. In 2007, the board reduced the elder Maura’s pay from $3,200 a year to $800, during a year when all other town employees were given a raise. ............>>>>..............>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01500
PRINCETOWN Smaller Planning Board proposed Plan suggests reducing number of members to expedite review process BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Town Board members are considering reducing the number of members on the Princetown Planning Board as a way to expedite projects through the planning process. Under the proposal, the sevenmember panel would be reduced by two positions starting in 2010. Supervisor Nicholas Maura Jr. said the reduction is aimed at generating quicker consensus among the Planning Board members. “That’s been an issue for years,” he said. “Pure and simple, it’s streamlining government.” Town Board members will conduct a public hearing on the change at 7 p.m. tonight in Town Hall. If approved, Maura said, the Planning Board would keep its two alternates and the reduced positions would be lost through attrition. If approved, longtime board member and former chairman Anthony Torre would be the first to go when his term expires in December. Chairwoman Patricia Bishop would be the second to lose her position in December 2010, unless fellow board member Todd Edwards wins a seat on the Town Board in November. The proposed reduction has caused frustration for some Planning Board members. Bishop said she was caught off guard by the proposal when it was announced during a Town Board meeting last month. “It was completely a surprise to me,” she said Monday. “I don’t think it’s a very good way to handle things.” But Maura said the Planning Board’s configuration has made the process of getting a project approved somewhat unwieldy. As an example, he cited the McLane’s Food Service Inc. project, which took more than two years to pass through the Planning Board’s approval process. ..................>>>>..............>>>>...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01001
PRINCETOWN Planning Board won’t be trimmed Public opposes smaller membership; members suggest streamlining rules BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Town officials have abandoned an attempt to reduce the Princetown Planing Board by two members, based on support for the panel as it is now. Supervisor Nicholas Maura Jr. said the issue was tabled following a public hearing last week and he doubted the effort will come up again. He said there isn’t a consensus for the move among the Town Board, which would need to approve any reduction. “They’d rather have it the way it is,” he said this week. Town Board members had considered the change as a way to streamline the project approval process. By reducing the planning board to five members, they argued that the panel might come to a quicker consensus. But those attending last week’s meeting expressed concern over losing the Planning Board’s two most experienced members. The Planning Board seats occupied by longtime member Anthony Torre and Chairwoman Patricia Bishop would have been eliminated. Last week’s public hearing was also attended by a number of Rotterdam residents offering support for the present size of seven members and two alternates. Many of these residents were among a group that had offered vocal protest over a 168,500-square-foot McLane’s Food Service warehouse proposed to straddle the Rotterdam and Princetown border. Bishop was reassured to see support for the Planning Board and pleased the Town Board had apparently ended the push to eliminate seats. She said some of the town laws could use tweaking to allow low-impact approvals to move quicker. “There is room for improvement,” she said. For instance, a simple boundary line adjustment can take up to three months. Bishop said the town should consider revisiting such laws. Yet not all the delays are a result of the town’s laws or the decisionmaking process. Bishop said a lot of times developers will make errors in their submissions to the board, meaning they can’t make timely decisions. “Sometimes it’s not our fault,” she said. Maura agreed the town laws need to be revisited. He urged the town begin revisiting some of the unwieldy sections of the code after the comprehensive plan is in place. After nearly three years, Princetown’s Comprehensive Plan Committee is about to release the document aimed at guiding development. Maura said the committee is expected to present the plan at the Town Board meeting later this month.
Tanker truck collides with pickup on Route 7; four hurt
PRINCETOWN — Four people were injured, two seriously, in an accident on Route 7 Thursday morning. The accident happened at about 8 a.m. A tractor-trailer water tanker was traveling east when, on a slight downward slope, the operator applied the brakes and lost control. The vehicle went onto the shoulder and the driver, 32-year-old Jason Roe of Schoharie, attempted to get the tractor-trailer back on the road and overcorrected, which caused it to jackknife. It hit head-on a state Department of Transportation pickup truck that was traveling west. The pickup truck overturned and trapped the driver, 35-year-old Kevin Dufresne of Valley Falls and his passenger and co-worker, Brian Courter, 51, of Schenectady. A car operated by 32-year-old Jessica Mitchell of Albany struck debris caused by the crash and ran off the road. Both Courter and Dufresne sustained serious injuries, officials said, and were extricated by Duanesburg Fire and Rescue and flown by Life Net to Albany Medical Center. ............>>>>.............>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01404
Princetown to offer 3 events Saturday PRINCETOWN — The town will host a trio of events this weekend aimed at celebrating Princetown pride. The Farmers Market sponsored by the Princetown Civic and Historical Committee will feature fresh produce, canned and baked goods for sale at Town Hall, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The committee will also sponsor a town garage sale at the same time. Maps showing locations of the homes participating will be available at Town Hall and Indian House Farm. Also on Saturday, the Plotterkill Fire Department will host its annual chicken barbecue from 4 to 7 p.m. at the firehouse. The group “Sweet Cider” will perform bluegrass tunes; bring blankets and lawn chairs.
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