The Uncle Wakes

Now, this is my kind of weather. It reminds me of home.

So now that winter is over and I have resumed consciousness, let's get this moving again.

This week Neil Crouse and David Sutz faced off with nobody and achieved a fine victory.

Next week Dems pick a congressional candidate and Reps pick a Senatorial candidate. And the Uncle, Uncharacteristically, is interested in your opinions on that and other stuff.

We'll start, above, with food.

Vox Populi

Anonymous said...
Can the Uncle start a new comment on the M-W School Audit? The school board according to the state audit has been hiding millions of dollars in slush funds which are illegal for schools to do. They should have used this money to lower our school taxes. We need to vote all these people out of office.

Did The Earth Move For You?

KJ set to start Aqueduct pipeline dig
13.5-mile-long pipe would tap NYC water
By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 03/16/12

Kiryas Joel is preparing to start construction of the first phase of a 13.5-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct, a $29 million project the village has planned for more than a decade to solve its ever-increasing demand for drinking water.

For this initial work, the village plans to bury a 24-inch-wide pipe under state and county roads from Kiryas Joel to Cornwall, a 6.5-mile stretch that takes in all of Seven Springs Road and Ridge Road and the northern half of Route 32 in Woodbury, according to papers submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation in October.

A project engineer met with Woodbury officials in February and told them construction might begin in May. Woodbury Supervisor John Burke responded last week with a long list of questions and demands intended to minimize the traffic disruption and potential property damage.

Kiryas Joel still needs permits for the work, according to various permitting agencies.
As of Wednesday, the DEC had yet to grant permits to cross wetlands and disturb streams, an agency spokeswoman said.

The stream permit is needed because the water main would burrow under the Woodbury Creek.

NYC permission on hold
Meanwhile, the agency that oversees New York City's vast, upstate water supply and must grant Kiryas Joel permission to tap the Catskill Aqueduct says it hasn't finalized a water-supply agreement.

They also said they have had no contact with Kiryas Joel about its water project for at least a year.

If true, that lack of communication is surprising because representatives of the village and the city's Department of Environmental Protection agreed they were on the verge of finalizing a deal when they met to discuss the project in mid-February 2011, according to notes from that meeting that the Times Herald-Record obtained last year.

In response to a Freedom of Information Law request for any meeting notes, email exchanges or other documents concerning the project since April 1, 2011, department spokesman Mike Saucier said there were none.

The first stage of construction will end at a property on Route 32 in Cornwall where Kiryas Joel plans to build a pump station and connect a new well it needs to boost its backup water supply, according to the village's paperwork.

Upstate communities that use the city's water are required to maintain adequate backup sources they can use when the city's massive water tunnels are shut off for repairs. Kiryas Joel still had to prove it could meet that requirement when its lawyers met with the Department of Environmental Protection in February 2011.

Kiryas Joel's engineers told the state in October that its new Cornwall well can produce 600,000 gallons of water a day, which is a gusher. Drawings submitted with its permit application suggest the well is on a vacant, 9.7-acre parcel Kiryas Joel bought for $264,000 in November 2010.

Backup wells required
Farther north on Route 32, Kiryas Joel also hopes to connect an abandoned water system once used by the Star Expansion factory. Kiryas Joel officials told the city last year that the Star Expansion wells can produce 1.5 million gallons of water per day.

Ultimately, Kiryas Joel plans to extend its pipe to New Windsor and share that town's tap into the Catskill Aqueduct. It also plans to build a treatment plan on Seven Springs Road in Woodbury to filter the aqueduct water.

As Requested: Pipeline Update

In response to a posting by our most active reader, Anonymous, we turn our attention away from our attempt to come up with a new Jeremy Lin pun and look to the pipeline.

Last week pipeline engineers, under the watchful eyes of KJ attorneys, presented a somewhat brief overview of their plans to the Woodbury town and village boards.

As we already know, their plan is to put the pipe alongside (for the most part) routes 32 and 44. They'll be coming down from Cornwall, turning west at Ridge Rd and again at 7 Springs Mountain Rd.

They intend to start work in May and continue for 1 or 2 years.

What effect this will have on traffic access to those roads is not yet known.

Meanwhile, back at Route 105, the County is supposed to be working on reopening that road "in the Spring." We will attempt to get a more precise set of dates.

Left unanswered is where all the money for the pipeline is coming from.

Stay tuned.

H.T. to Anonymous.

Yes, I Repeat, No!

In Virginia a bill, HB825, was just introduced which would prohibited judges and state administrators from using any legal code esstablished outside the US in making decisions.

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, HB1580 would require “All members of the general court proposing bills and resolutions addressing individual rights or liberties shall include a direct quote from the Magna Carta which sets forth the article from which the individual right or liberty is derived.”

Last time I checked, Runnymede was outside the borders of the USA.

The Uncle can appreciate that the Tea Party folks are made as hell, but shouldn't they try to figure out what it is they're angry about?

Action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coumcilman James Skoufis; Action Alert!

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

We in Woodbury are continuing our strong push to make the Route 32/Thruway improvement project happen and happen on time but we need your help. It is critical that our state and federal representatives hear from as many residents as possible about just how important this is to our quality of life here in town so please call the elected officials below and spread the word to your friends to do the same.

When you're done, please fill out this quick response form so I know how many people called and what the response you got was: Survey

When federal and state reps hear from many local residents, it makes a *huge* difference - so, if you're fed up with the traffic on Route 32, please call the list below. And thank you very much for fighting for a better Woodbury for us all.***

Senator Chuck Schumer: 914-734-1532Thank the senator for coming to Woodbury yesterday and fighting on our behalf and encourage him to do everything he can to pass Senate Bill 1813, also known as MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century) and get Albany the funding to begin our improvement project in 2013, not 2017.

Congresswoman Nan Hayworth: 845-206-4600Encourage the congresswoman to introduce a version of Senate Bill 1813 in the House. It's believed that passage in the House will be difficult so it's important you explain to the congresswoman's staff how important this project is to you and Woodbury.

Senator Bill Larkin: 518-455-2770Encourage the senator to do everything he can to lobby the Department of Transportation to put Woodbury's improvement project back on the 2013 schedule and make it a priority.

Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun: 518-455-5441

In today's news, we found out that Assemblywoman Calhoun is working against our interests and is pushing for an alternate improvement plan that a) would start us back at ground zero in a process that has taken us a decade to get to where we are and b) has already been looked at by the Department of Transportation and deemed unfeasible. Tell her to back the plan that every local official is supporting and not go on a renegade mission that stands no chance of becoming a reality.***

If you need some background information when calling these offices: After about a decade of work, the Department of Transportation approved a plan that would construct a ribbon loop out of Woodbury Common directly onto the Thruway, eliminating the need for Common traffic to exit onto Route 32, eliminating the need for those left hand turns, and eliminating a number of traffic lights. This work had long been planned to start in 2013 until, just recently, we found out that the DOT has slated to push it back to 2017 due to lack of federal funding. Given the tremendous amount of sales tax both the Town of Woodbury and Woodbury Common generates for the state, this is simply unacceptable and we residents deserve better.

Again, when you're done, please take the very quick time to fill out the survey so we can track how many people have called and what kind of responses we are getting: Survey

Yours,

James

Unle Betty Presents...

ASAP's Fables

A fox wanted some grapes, but because they were unavailable he disparaged their quality.

Cold!

Lowe's has just dropped out as sponsor of NBC's annual telecast of Frosty the Snowman.

They were acting in response to a letter they'd received from the Freedom Families for Democracy and Diligence Association of America.

The FFDDAA had objected to FtS's "slanted depiction of snow as a happy friendly substance while ignoring the countless deaths due to blizzards, avalanches and hypothermia."

Lowe's's CEO, who asked not to have his name used, stated that the company was not taking sides on this issue, but was merely interested in not offending their customers.

A Reverie On Ralph

That dear, dear Ralph.

That small, grey man, with small, grey desires; slightly bent physically, spiritually somewhat more so.

What have you gotten up to now?

We have just heard from the Pieman that the councilmen's debate, sparsely attended though it may have been, almost didn't take place at all.

It seems that Ralph contacted the charming and delightful Ms Kathy Finnerty at the school business office to object to the use of the elementary school auditorium.

Why would Ralph choose to do such a thing?

Perhaps his reflexive desire to keep the electorate ignorant of anything and everything got the better of him.

After all Ralph, rats and roaches all do their best work in the dark.

But perhaps I am too harsh.

Is it Ralph's fault that he is so unlovable and thus so unloved?

Probably it is.

But we must all do what we can to give him one more shot at redemption.

The next time that you see Ralph, give him a hug, lean in close and whisper "God loves you, even if no-one else can."

The Uncle Throws His Head Into The Ring

Ralph Caruso, the aging don (oops, dean) of Woodbury politics, somehow forgot, once again, to put up a candidate to run for Supervisor.

Doesn't he realize how being ignored in such a way must hurt John Burke's feelings?

And so, out of respect for Big John and the office that he holds so tenaciously, the Uncle has agreed to run as a write-in candidate.

So write in Uncle Betty for Supervisor.

Do it for John.

Won't that make Burke's inevitable victory so much the sweeter?