Monthly Winter Farmer’s Market hosted by Kingston Natural Foods Buying Club

by

A Winter Farmer’s Market in the city of Kingston? Yes indeed.

Jennifer McKinley, founder of Kingston Natural Foods Buying Club, has started a winter Farmer’s Market at 33 Broadway in Kingston.  The ‘Winter Wednesday’s’ market will occur once a month on the following Wednesdays. Market hours are from 2:30pm – 6:30pm.

November 18th, 2009
December 16th, 2009
January 13th, 2010
Feburary 10th, 2010
March 10th, 2010

The Winter market coincides with the United Natural and Winter Sun Farms deliveries for members.

At this time, the local farm vendors present will include: Fitzgerald Farms, Four Winds Farm, Gardiner Eucalyptus, Liberty View Farms, Oliverea Schoolhouse Maple, Wild Hive Bakery, Winter Sun Farms – and more…

Find out how you can become a member of one of the top buying clubs in the nation (right here in Kingston!).  Save a bundle on natural and organic foods or learn more on Kingston’s Winter Farmers Market.  Visit the KINGSTON NATURAL FOODS BUYING CLUB website.   You can also call Jennifer McKinley at (914) 474-2676

Enjoy, and support our local farms and business.

– Rebecca Martin

Hey, Anonymous – Stand Behind Your Words

by

What’s up with the anonymous posts on blogs?

I frequent blogs with anonymous posters, and question their validity. The author of the blog could easily be one of those ‘anonymous’ voices. That’s not transparent. What’s more, is that it allows a person to say things that they certainly wouldn’t if their name were attached. How is that useful in moving any debate forward?

Request that your favorite blog who accepts anonymous posts move toward a member driven format.

– Rebecca Martin

Important Kingston Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting Next Week

by

This just in from the office of Steve Finkle:

Waterfront Advisory Committee

&

other interested parties


Wednesday, November 18, 2009
5:00 – 6:30
Common Council Chambers, City Hall
420 Broadway, Kingston, New York

There will be a meeting to update the Waterfront Advisory Committee and all other interested parties  on the progress and projects currently planned or underway.  They include:

1. The Waterfront Promenade and Bulkhead Project.

2. The Trolley Museum and Sewer Plant Facade Projects.

3. The upcoming work with the Army Corps of Engineers

4. Kingston Point Stabilization and Dayline Dock Design.

5. Ferry Feasibility Study

6. East Strand Flooding and other Engineering issues.

7. Update on Senator Schumer’s rail refurbishment funding.


 This will be an opportunity for members, residents and others to ask questions, make suggestions and get up to speed on the waterfront revitalization.
The meeting will begin at 5:00 pm and end at 6:30 pm.  If you have any questions or need additional information, please call (845) 334-3960.  We are looking forward to seeing you there- your input is important to us!

HISTORY AT THE STREET LEVEL by Lowell Thing: The Woman In White

by

One evening in May 1912, at a rather late hour, Jacob Greenwald and “his two young lady cousins” were walking down West Chestnut Street in Kingston.  Near the elaborate and perhaps at this hour vaguely ominous Van Deusen residence (the house that sits way up and back from the street and with the tower that then and still today commands a view of the Hudson), someone appeared behind Jacob and his cousins and seemed to be following them.  This someone was dressed all in white and when they crossed the street, so did the mysterious blob of white.  At any rate, Jacob’s frightened cousins began to walk ahead of him.  Jacob himself apparently kept calm enough to observe in the gaslight that the figure “was a woman about five feet eight inches in height, was scantily clad, and wore a white sheet thrown over her head.” No one believed this had anything to do with Halloween because it was not even summer yet.  Jacob’s cousins finally began to run wildly ahead toward Montrepose Avenue but soon after, when Jacob looked back, the phantom figure had disappeared.

Meanwhile, on nearby West Chester Street (not to be confused with West Chestnut as I often have to tell people delivering a pizza), another young man, presumably at a different time of the evening, saw this woman in white, who sprang up out of some bushes.  He got a good look at her, saw that she was woman wearing a sheet, and then decided to run away after she began to pursue him.  (I’m paraphrasing the story from the Kingston Daily Freeman.)

On a later night, another two people, two “drummers,” salesmen from out of town staying at a hotel, encountered the woman in white on West Chester Street.  As they were lighting their cigarettes, someone dressed all in white appeared around the corner of a house.  Apparently, the appearance was intimidating because the men immediately ran back to their hotel where they reported something that was nine feet tall with “a most terrifying aspect”!

By the time this story was reported in the Freeman, headed “Woman in White Sought by Police,” several gangs of youths had formed to look for this person or whatever it was.  Meanwhile, at least one young man who thought to have some fun donned a white sheet in imitation of the woman in white and reportedly received “a severe pummeling” from one of the youthful gangs.  All of this right here in my own neighborhood and only slightly more than one hundred years ago.

I happen to know this story because last week Margie Menard, Kingston Library Director, sent a note to the Friends of Historic Kingston to tell them that, beginning immediately, one no longer has to visit the Library to access the local newspaper archives, or at least the Kingston Daily Freeman archives from 1878 through 1969.  I quickly went to the Web site and entered “West Chestnut Street.”  Not only did I read about the mysterious Woman in White, but I learned that my neighbor up the street, Harry Coykendall, son of Ulster County’s greatest businessman ever, Samuel Coykendall, had shot himself hunting but was now at home resting comfortably.  As of October 15, 1905, that is.

In society notes of June 25, 1910, I learned that an earlier neighbor across the street, Edwin Shultz, the brick manufacturer, was entertaining Mr. and Mrs. T. Akahoshi of Tokyo, a couple he had met on the Lusitania.  More tragically, down the street right next to the Ulster Academy, recently made into some condo apartments with blackboards, a man named Clemmons disappeared, leaving a suicide note (February 17, 1904).

And finally some evidence about when the first house on West Chestnut Street met its end, a fact of interest for anyone interested in the Chestnut Street Historic District since this would have been its most historic building.  On May 11, also in 1904, appeared a notice that Samuel Coykendall had put up for sale and removal from his property the original home of James McEntee.  McEntee came to Kingston in 1825 as the resident engineer for the D&H Canal Company.  He later owned the Mansion House by the creek and built the Island Dock in the creek before buying the land that my end of West Chestnut is now on.  There he built the first house and subdivided the property into lots.  McEntee essentially built my street, beginning in 1848.  His daughter Sarah, one of America’s first women physicians, was one of the last McEntees to live in the house and sometime after she died, the McEntee home, the first house on West Chestnut, a large Hudson River Bracketed Italian villa, no longer existed.  But I never knew exactly when that was.  Now I do.  It must have been gone by well before the beginning of 1905.  And that more or less solves that.

But what about the Woman in White?  I could find no follow-up stories in the Freeman, at least in the year 1912 where the file I was looking at ended.  Perhaps the special detail assigned to the case by Chief of Police Wood, if not the gang of ruffians, was enough to encourage her to put the sheet back on the line.  Who she was remains another one of those stories without an ending.

Meanwhile, with this new and powerful local history search tool at our command, the possibilities seem worth thinking about.  You could look up what happened on your own street or, if you’ve lived in Kingston a while, some earlier members of your family.   You could look to find out what brands of automobile were being driven in Kingston in the early 1900s or who sold knickers (the advertisements are included, too).  I have a feeling that even more significant facts could be uncovered by a serious student of history.  At any rate, we owe thanks to Margie Menard, the Kingston Library, the Southeastern Library Council and all the other groups that collaborated to put this historical information online.  Visit the WEB SITE. The search engine is waiting.

– Lowell Thing

Introducing “History At The Street Level” by KingstonCitizens.org blogger Lowell Thing

by

I am very pleased to introduce the recent series added to our KingstonCitizens.org blogspot.

Long time city of Kingston resident Lowell Thing will write ‘History At The Street Level’. In his ongoing entries, Lowell’s theme will highlight what he calls ‘citizen’s local history’. We are very excited to not only have Lowell on board, but to also have what we feel is a very unique topic “generally overlooked by the more ‘major event’ oriented historical perspective” as Lowell points out.

About Lowell Thing – Lowell Thing is Chairman of the Friends of Historic Kingston’s Preservation Committee. He also served on Kingston’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission. Some years ago, he helped the Friends put the Chestnut Street Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places (joining Kingston’s three other historic districts). He helps out with the annual Bluestone Festival and, with a number of other people, is helping the County to find a future for the Persen House.

Welcome aboard, Lowell – and enjoy Kingston Citizens.

Thanks.

– Rebecca Martin
in**@**************ns.org

PS – We are always looking to add new citizen writer’s to the KingstonCitizens.org blog. If you have an idea for a series, please contact me at the email address above.


 

VOLUNTEER: Lend A Hand To Heart Street

by

We have a great volunteer opportunity for our local Citizens.

“Chiz’s Heart Street” located at 106 West Chestnut Street is looking for compassionate Kingston citizens to help around the house.

2009 YWCA Tribute to Women ‘Community Advocate Award’ honoree Mary ‘Chiz’ Chisholm has been called to some of the most important work in our community.  At her ‘house on the hill’, Mary provides residents suffering from mental illness a safe and loving home. She also maintains one of the food pantries in the city of Kingston that feeds our local families on a regular basis.

Can you make a contribution of your time? Two hours a month is all it takes to help to change lives in a profound way. Yours included.

An example of time of days and tasks:

Mondays, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Monday Task: Help to re-stock food pantry once a month.

Tuesdays, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Tuesday Task: Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic instrument.

Wednesday’s, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Wednesday Task: Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic instrument.

Thursday’s, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Thursday Task: Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic instrument.

Friday’s, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Monday Task:   Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic instrument.

Saturday’s, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Saturday Task:  Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic instrument.

Sunday’s, 10am – 6pm
10-12, Lunch prep / anytime: laundry or light cleaning / 3-6 dinner prep
* Special Sunday Task:  Musicians to play in-house piano or bring an acoustic  instrument.


For more information, Contact Mary ‘Chiz’ Chisholm at   845-399-7891 or email heartstreet106 at yahoo.com

Lend a hand…and a heart.  Thank you.

– Rebecca Martin, KingstonCitizens.org

Read the short interview of Mary and press below, and click on the link to watch the short film ‘Touched’ on Mary and the residents.

TOUCHED by Malcolm Burn – A beautiful short film on Mary and the residents of ‘Chiz’s Heart Street’ by Grammy Award producer Malcolm Burn.

Press, Times Herald Record: “Heart Street Will Beat On Screen”

When did Chiz’s Heart Street begin, and why?
Heart street began in 2003, when i was working in the jail and then for Mental Health Association. I saw the sadness of those who were far out of the margins. People who were mentally ill and had not been successful in other homes. When I saw this house, I knew that it was a place that could offer a home to people who were lost and left for the street.

What does a day in the life of Heart Street look like?
I am up at 4 am to get breakfast started and to put all of the medications out. I spend a lot of time talking and getting people ready for day treatment programs, figuring out the accounting of the house, holding hearts, cleaning rooms and bathrooms. Nurses arrive at about 8 am and all throughout the day. Lunch is served at 11, and dinner at 3: 30. Each day is different. People who are ill need to get to the hospital. Time is given talking with all of the necessary agencies. Sitting with what is and seeing and recognizing the frailties and stopping long enough to stroke a brow. The work is endless. Laundry done 7 days a week. Stocking the food pantry and doing yard work. The nights are also filled with tenderness to quell the fear and anxieties that speak to mental illness. Going to the ER to pick up homeless people who have no where to go. Giving the medication sleeves to people who are resistant to taking their meds. Taking pictures, laughing, crying. Running up and down the stairs….

Describe the residents living in the house.
Most people are schizophrenic, schizoaffective, bipolar. The “throw always”, and each one a human being. A gift on this earth filled with the pain of mental illness and the joy of a moment in the sun.

If you had one wish for the house, what would it be?
That people would come here and hold what I know are the most beautiful people in the whole world.

Local Business: “Stop, Shop and Get To Know” Wants You!

by

With the holiday’s fast approaching, I think it’s time to turn our attention to our local business. With whatever extra money one plans to spend this season – if you aren’t going to ‘make it yourself’, than stay close to home and support your local business and neighbors.

In preparation, I invite all of our local business in the Kingston area to please take part in our ‘Stop, Shop and Get To Know’ campaign.

If you’d like to be listed, send the following in an email to in**@**************ns.org

1. A short bio on your business and on you.
2. A special offer for the holidays
3. 10 fun facts about you and your business.

Keep it local…

– Rebecca Martin

Nationally Known and Critically Acclaimed Children’s Program “Gustafer Yellowgold” Coming To Kingston

by

Morgan Taylor — illustrator, songwriter, and creator of the Gustafer Yellowgold multimedia “musical moving storybook” concert experience — is hailed as one of today’s most original performers on the family music scene. GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S SHOW makes its KINGSTON, NY DEBUT with a show at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 6 at the Arts Society of Kingston, 97 Broadway, Kingston. As a special treat, on Saturday, December 5, Morgan Taylor will offer a Cartooning Workshop for ages 7 – 12 at 10:00 a.m. and a Songwriting Workshop for ages 12 – 15 at 11:00 a.m. at the Art Society of Kingston.

Named “Best Kids’ Performer 2008” by New York Magazine, Morgan Taylor developed the Gustafer Yellowgold experience as equal parts pop rock concert and minimally animated movie. A natural storyteller with a comedic bent, Taylor has dreamed up a whole world of catchy and original story-songs about Gustafer (a friendly creature who came to Earth from the sun), performed alongside a large screen displaying vividly colored animations with karaoke-style subtitles. Gustafer lives out an explorer’s life in a slightly psychedelic version of the Minnesota woods, where he resides in a cottage with his menagerie of friends, including a pet eel, a tuxedo-wearing pterodactyl, and a dragon named Asparagus who inhabits the fireplace and loves corn on the cob. For recreation, Gustafer enjoys jumping on cake.

Since his creation in 2005, Gustafer Yellowgold has become an international phenomenon, praised by Newsweek as “full of great pop tunes and hand-drawn animation about a li’l fella from the sun.” The Los Angeles Times enthused, “Taylor’s whimsical, lightly psychedelic world forms an interesting bridge between adult and kids’ music.” The Washington Post declared, “He’s a star on stage and screen! … The mix of catchy tunes and offbeat stories has endeared Taylor, and Gustafer, to teenagers as well.” The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Gustafer Yellowgold has made kids’ music so cool that teenagers and ultra-hip bands such as Wilco want to get in on the act … a shiny blend of pop art and pop tunes.” Parenting magazine called Gustafer “The coolest little space invader since E.T. … a hip and trippy sunsation. Parental warning: You, too, will become hooked on the tunes.”

Gustafer is not just for kids! Possessing an unusual crossover appeal, GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S SHOW has performed as the support act for Wilco and The Polyphonic Spree. Gustafer recently made his off-Broadway debut in a new production, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Mellow Sensation. Tours to performing arts centers, concert halls, theatres, festivals, museums, libraries, and cinemas have taken Gustafer across the U.S., the U.K., and even to Korea.

Morgan Taylor was a Grand Prize-winner in this year’s John Lennon Songwriting Contest. His other activities include playing bass for The Autumn Defense (John Stirratt and Pat Sansone of WIlco) and a recording project with Tony Award winning songwriter Duncan Sheik.

After The Election: Recycling Campaign Lawn Signs

by

After an election cycle, have you ever wondered what to do with those campaign lawn signs that you agreed to place on your property? Do you call the candidates and offer them back? Take them apart to recycle them? Re-use them for lawn sales?

I decided to take a look on-line to see if New York State had any lawn sign recycling program in place.

Nope. At least not so far as I could see. There are, however, several municipalities who have created such a thing (in Florida for example and of course California).

I wonder if those running for office would agree to do away with lawn signs. Not plausible? Then how about holding onto them to re-use in the case that they run again in the future. Most everyone has an attic, right?

Here is a good link to ‘Planet Green’ where you can read more about the recycling possibilities.

– Rebecca Martin

How To Follow General Election Results In Kingston And Ulster County

by

If you’re like me, you have children and a strict routine to follow on any given night. No general election parties for you!

Here are a few sites and tips to get up to the minute results so you too don’t have to wait for the Wednesday morning paper:

1. Board of Elections – Election results page (there will be a link to today’s election results sometime this evening. Check in periodically today).

2. Adam Bosch will probably do an up-to-the minute report on the Times Herald Record web page

3. Check out Public Access Channel 23. They are back on the air and in the past have reported accurate results.

If you have any further tips, please note them here in the comment section of this blog post.

Thanks.

– Rebecca Martin

Environmental Focus on Kingston: Plastics by the Numbers

by

Starting Novemember 8th the sale of all water bottles under a gallon will have a 5¢ deposit added to them.  This is the result of being included in the state’s newly expanded Bigger Better Bottle Bill.  It marks the first change to the state’s bottle deposit law since it was created in 1982.

An estimated 3.2 billion water bottles are sold annually across the Empire State.  Including water bottles under the deposit law is expected to result in increased recycling and decreased litter, which sounds good for the environment.  There’s even some good news for the state; 80% of unclaimed deposits will now go to Albany in the form of much-needed revenue, which is projected to be as much as $115 million.

Despite my long love affair with drinking the icy cold, refreshing liquid, thankfully I’ve avoided developing a water bottle habit.  I can probably count the number of times I buy them annually on one hand.  And when I do it’s usually under extreme duress, like immediate threat of dehydration or imminent death.

While including water bottles under the deposit law is a great idea that is long overdue for the state and the environment, it really got me thinking about the many different types plastics there are and how to recycle them.

Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in the US.  It’s in everything from toys, clothes, food containers, to medical equipment and devices.  It makes up 11.7% of the nation’s waste stream and is among the least recycled items.

Plastics are made from fossil fuels and their manufacture can involve the emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere and water.  When they are incinerated, toxins such as lead and chlorine are released.  When put into landfills, they can take 100-400 years to decompose.

There are over a hundred kinds of plastics that have been created, but the most common containers fall into one of seven categories.  The Society of the Plastics Industry developed this numeric system to identify the type of plastic resins used in specific products.  This helps recycling centers to sort them so they can find life in new products.

Here’s the low down on each of the seven types of common plastics used today:

plastic_tips_en-1

#1 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE)*: This is the most common type of plastic and is considered to be one of the least toxic.  However, most environmentalists agree that it is fit for single use only.  PET plastics are typical of soda, juice, water, and even cough syrup bottles.  (Accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#2 High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)*: Is considered one of the safer plastics, despite it being manufactured with chemicals such as hexane and benzene.  #2 plastics are most often used in shampoo and detergent bottles, milk jugs, cosmetic containers, toys and sturdy shopping bags.  (Accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Is considered a plastic to avoid and many environmentalists think it to be the most toxic, despite the plastic industry’s defense its safety.  Both its manufacture and disposal releases dioxin into the air and water.  It is used in shower curtains, meat & cheese wrappers, 3-ring binders, some bottles, plumbing pipes and many toys.  (NOT accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#4 Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)*: This type of plastic is used for shopping bags, six-pack rings, CD and DVD cases and some bottles.  (Acccepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#5 Polypropylene (PP)*: #5 is generally regarded as a relatively benign plastic.  It is used in prescription bottles, yogurt, food storage containers, diapers, candy containers and lab equipment.  (Accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#6 Polystyrene (PS): This plastic has undergone some chemical changes since it was phased out of McDonald’s sandwich wrappers some 20 years ago.  Ozone depleting CFC’s are no longer used in its manufacture, but environmentalists still dislike it because of the presence of toxic styrene and it is known to pollute nearby air & water.  #6 plastics are found in disposable cups, take-out food containers and packing peanuts.  (NOT accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

#7 Other: These types of plastics are “wild cards.”   They do not fall within the guidelines for the other common categories.  They include toothbrushes, protective head-gear, reusable water bottles, sunglasses and cell phones. (Accepted for recycling at UCRRA)

Remember when recycling plastic containers to remove and discard all caps and be sure to rinse all containers.  Lids are generally accepted.

*A quick word on bisphenol A (BPA), which has been a frequent media topic lately.  Scientists are studying the link between heating a plastic container lined with BPA and the potential leaching of the chemical into foods and beverages.  Some believe that BPA leaching causes neural and behavioral issues, particularly in young children.  The current expert thinking is that #1, 2, 4 & 5 plastics do not use BPA in the manufacturing of their related plastic products.

Finally, if that isn’t enough to help you understand plastics, the importances of choosing the right kinds as consumers and why/how to recycle them – then check out this article from How Stuff Works.

(Courtesy of: Silverman, Jacob.  “Why is the world’s biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean?.”  19 September 2007. HowStuffWorks.com,  29 October 2009.)

– Wilbur Girl

Environmental Focus on Kingston: Why Pay As You Throw?

by

The City of Kingston has a mounting waste management problem.  Forced reductions in budgets and workforce due to economic shortcomings will only put a temporary bandage on a hemorrhaging situation.

The reason is simple; weekly, unenforced curbside collection and hauling our garbage more than 250 miles away to the Seneca Meadows Landfill, is extremely expensive and is getting more so with each passing year.

In 2008 the city paid tipping fees of $71/ton to UCRRA, who ultimately hauls the waste upstate.  The national average is $42.08/ton.

It’s time to fundamentally rethink the ways we manage our waste disposal methods.  Public opposition is understandable and expected.  After all, as my mother explained to me without batting an eyelash, traditional weekly collection of garbage is number one on the list of Kingston’s Ten Commandments. And she was serious.

I didn’t say it would be a popular idea among citizens, but here’s why it should be:

1. Pay As You Throw (PAYT) encourages equity among users by charging fees based on the amount of waste a household actually disposes of.  It treats garbage disposal more like a utility such as your electric, water or phone bill.  Rather than charging everyone the same embedded fee in annual taxes, it allows the customer to have control over what they pay by controlling what they throw out.  It provides a direct link to consumer behavior and the cost generated by it.

2. Research shows that users of PAYT programs will alter their waste disposal habits in a number of positive ways in an effort to produce less waste and therefore pay less for disposal costs.  In terms of buying habits, consumers will be more likely to buy frequently used items in bulk in an effort to reduce packaging wastes.  Recycling habits improve, and items once carelessly tossed can be viewed as having a valuable reuse.  PAYT also motivates users to compost yard waste and kitchen scraps as another proven method of keeping excess waste from their personal waste stream.

This has a positive environmental impact given that the average person generates 4.4 pounds of garbage a day.

This approach to waste disposal is not new.  Over the past decade it has really taken off and gained popularity among municipalities across the nation.  In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated there were over 7,000 communities across the country that employ a PAYT system.  This included 42% of communities in NYS.  These programs report an overall waste disposal average decrease of 14-27% and an increase in recycling rates typically between 32-59%.

Here in Kingston the topic was first introduced in 2003, when city resident Emilie Hauser worked with several aldermen to propose studying the potential benefits it could have on our tax dollars and environment.  It was brought up again in early March 2008 by city environmental educator Steve Noble.  The most recent discussion on it came from the mayor’s office just last month.  We think now is the time for the Common Council to roll up their sleeves and take a serious look at the merits of PAYT.  If after doing their homework on the issue they determine it not to right for Kingston, then we expect them to put forth another viable solution.

All PAYT systems are not created equal.  Communities tend to create hybrid programs that meet and address their specific needs.  Typically users purchase disposal bags, tags or vouchers directly from the municipality.  Another possibility is the mandated purchase and use of specifically sized collection containers.  Payment options can include a direct sale purchase, use of a voucher system, monthly, quarterly or budget billing.  Some communities make allowances for seniors on fixed incomes and families that fall below certain income levels by offering subsidies, incentives or rebates to help control costs.

The constant in all successful applications of this method of waste management is that education and public involvement are critical to rendering it successful.  The EPA suggests that well implemented plans are phased in over an 18 month period.  During that time the ultimate goals desired from such a program are developed as well as a timeline for implementation.  Studies and data collection of volume and type of waste the community produces are conducted, joint citizen/official panel task forces are formed, and educational outreach programs begin.  During this time decisions on container options, rates structured plans, pilot programs, changes in city ordinances, and plans for effective enforcement need to be meted out.   Even beyond final implementation, educational outreach programs and enforcement need to continue.

Whether or not you love or hate the concept of Pay As You Throw, given our current economic development and path, you may not have a say on the ultimate decision.  Dragging our feet on an issue that is well researched, studied, documented and used by thousands of communities is doing us more harm than good.  The time is perfect for interested citizens to do their own research and to step forward to motivate our elected officials on moving one way or another on this important topic.

Maintaining status quo is no longer an acceptable approach.

Did You Know: The EPA has volumes of information on the subject and is a great place to get your feet wet!  You can start educating yourself by clicking here.

Don’t leave until you take our survey!  We want to know where you stand on this!

– Wilbur Girl

November General Elections: Amendment Proposals Citizen’s Need To Know

by

In the November general election, there are two proposals on the ballot that most citizens and public officials know little about. Taken from the League of Women Voters 2009 Voter’s Guide, here is what we know will be helpful this election cycle (special thanks to all who helped us in our search, particularly District 6 Legislator Jeanette Provenzano).

– Rebecca Martin

What will be on the ballot on Election Day, November 3rd, 2009?

Voters in New York State will elect local officials (e.g. your mayor, town supervisor, town council members, etc.). You will also be voting on two statewide ballot proposals, and may be voting on local ballot proposals.

BALLOT PROPOSALS

This Voter’s Guide will help you to evaluate the two ballot proposals that will be on the November 2009 ballot. Both are amendments to the New York State Constitution. Read about the amendments and decide whether you wish to vote for or against each one. Look carefully for them on the ballot; sometimes they are easy to miss.

PROPOSAL NUMBER ONE: AN AMENDMENT

FORM OF SUBMISSION (how the proposal will be presented to you on the ballot):

Amendment to section 1 of article 14 of the Constitution, in relation to the use of certain forest preserve lands by National Grid to construct a 46 kV power line along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County. The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to convey up to six acres of forest preserve land along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County to National Grid for construction of a power line. In exchange, National Grid would convey to the State at least 10 acres of forest land in St. Lawrence County, to be incorporated into the forest preserve. The land to be conveyed by National Grid to the State must be at least equal in value to the land conveyed to National Grid by the State. Should the amendment be approved?

What will this amendment do if approved by the voters?

The “Forever Wild” clause of the NYS Constitution prohibits any development in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, including the building of power lines, unless the constitution is specifically amended to allow it. A constitutional amendment requires passage by two separately elected state Legislatures and then approval by the voters. This amendment has been passed unanimously by the Legislatures that took office in 2007 and 2009, and is now being presented to the voters on the November, 2009 ballot.

This amendment will make constitutional an action that has, in fact, already taken place. The NYS Power Authority, with the involvement and agreement of the interested environmental and municipal groups, approved the building of a back-up power line through forest preserve land to protect the health and safety of the residents of the village of Tupper Lake. The line was built and activated in May of 2009.

What is the background on this proposal?

Before this new power line was built, the village of Tupper Lake had frequent power outages caused by damage to its single electrical supply line, principally from falling tree limbs in forested land along its route. There was no back-up line in the event of power failure, and during the winter alternative shelter had to be provided to village residents. This was considered an urgent situation that could not wait for the completion of the constitutional amendment process for relief, since it affected the health and safety of the villagers. The most environmentally friendly route for the new line traverses about two miles of Adirondack Forest Preserve land, affecting a small number of physical acres. While the new line couldhave been detoured to avoid forest preserve land, the detour would have involved a six mile cut through old-growth undeveloped forest and wetlands, endangering the habitat of wildlife. The chosen route along an existing road through previously cleared preserve land was judged to be more ecologically friendly.

National Grid, the builder of the line, will compensate for the loss of existing preserve land by conveying new forest preserve land to the State. This new land must be of equal or greater value than the land that was lost. Environmental and civic organizations are supportive of this remedy to what was a serious and persistent public health and safety issue. Since the amendment is specific to this situation, it does not give broader constitutional permission to other such solutions; each would require another constitutional amendment.

The League of Women Voters could not identify any organizations or opinions in opposition to this amendment.

PROPOSAL NUMBER TWO: AN AMENDMENT

FORM OF SUBMISSION (how the proposal will be presented to you on the ballot):

Amendment to article 3 of the Constitution, in relation to authorizing the Legislature to allow prisoners to voluntarily perform work for nonprofit organizations. The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to pass legislation to permit inmates in state and local correctional facilities to perform work for nonprofit organizations. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

What will this amendment do if approved by the voters?

The NYS Constitution currently prohibits labor performed by prisoners in state or local correctional facilities to be “be farmed out, contracted, given or sold to any person, firm, association or corporation”, except the state or any political division of the state and its public institutions. This means that prisoners cannot perform work, even voluntarily, for nonprofit organizations, such as churches, charities, social service agencies or educational institutions. If passed by the voters, this amendment will remove this constitutional impediment, and will authorize the Legislature to allow these inmates to voluntarily perform work for nonprofit organizations.

What is the background on this proposal?

The sponsors for the legislation proposing this constitutional amendment argue that prohibiting prisoners from voluntarily performing work for nonprofit organizations denies these often under-funded organizations access to a willing labor force for tasks such as grounds-keeping. They say that many localities have requested that the prohibition be removed. They also say that allowing inmate work crews to provide labor to these organizations will help fill the gaps in funding them, and will give the inmates a sense of “giving back” to the community.

The sponsors also make the point that passing this amendment would only give the Legislature authority to pass a law allowing inmates to do such work. This “enacting legislation” could include restrictions, in the interest of public safety, on which inmates would be eligible to perform this work. Two separately elected Legislatures passed this constitutional amendment with near unanimous votes in favor.

The League of Women Voters could not identify any organizations or opinions in opposition to this amendment.

What do I need to be aware of for this election?

Some local polling places will be piloting the new optical scanning equipment; the lever machines will no longer be in use at those polling places. You can consult the State Board of Elections web site for information on which polling places are involved in the pilot and how the process will work. The League’s Voter’s Guide Part I, cited above, also has good information about the new machines and voting process. As in prior elections, each polling place will have a Ballot Marking Device (BMD) for use by voters who are disabled and cannot use a lever machine, or by voters who want to vote on the BMD.

You should also be aware of what to do if you registered and your name is not on the rolls when you go to your polling place. The League’s Voter’s Guide Part I explains what to do in that situation; you should ask the poll worker for advice, and you either will be directed to a different polling place or assisted in voting by affidavit ballot. You should also plan to bring identification – a driver’s license, valid photo ID, current utility bill, bank statement, government check or some other government documentation that shows your name and address – especially if you are voting for the first time.