Cobleskill in the Midst of a Pre-Teen Crime Wave

Last Sunday, Schoharie County residents were inconvenienced by a house fire on the corner of Main and North streets in the Village of Cobleskill. Traffic was redirected and a thick choking cloud of smoke hung over the business district and other parts of Downtown. But the truly disturbing issue was not the inconvenience, but the fact that the fire was apparently deliberately started by an 11-year old girl. So young.. and already a depraved arsonist! The young girl, in a display of maniacal abandon is alleged to have caused the hellish conflagration by setting fire to a couch with a cigarette lighter. Fortunately for the other residents of Cobleskill, this pre-teen menace was arrested and charged. Hopefully, the demon child will remain in custody long enough to prevent her from doing any more damage.

If this wasn’t bad enough, a quick glance in this week’s police blotter reveals that a 12 year old male was arrested for “forcible touching”. Now the police blotter entry did not go into any more specific details, but it seems to me like we’ve got a pre-teen boy with a penchant for rape on our hands and I want to know what we’re going to do about it? According to the blotter entry, the individual was released on an appearance ticket. This means that this sexual deviant is on the loose, free to wreak havoc and mayhem on decent people everywhere.

The local law enforcement authorities may need to recalibrate their strategies to account for this new criminal element. They may need to change the way they look at pre-teen children around the ages of 10-12. When these children assemble to loiter in the Downtown business districts of our communities, we can no longer turn a blind eye. We must be on guard against potential arsonists, sexual predators, and any number of other dastardly criminals.

My sincere hope is that the system tries these children as adults. I say, no special circumstances for juvenile offenders! I see no reason why this 11-year old girl shouldn't do hard time for this. Let the little arsonist have a go at general population. And as for the "forcible toucher", how about electroshock therapy? At the very least, he should be thrown in a dark room in some prison basement somewhere until he learns some manners.

Otherwise, what kind of message are we sending to all those potential pre-teen lawbreakers out there?

Galasso Would Give Breaks to Fellow Developer

Proving why it is important to have ordinary citizens as opposed to millionaires in Village government, Trustee Mark Galasso recently questioned the need for sidewalks, lighting and open space requirements as part of the sprawling condo project being constructed along Mineral Springs Road. The project will include nearly 60 condominium units and will be among the largest developments in the Village. To the Village’s credit, they did require the property to be annexed by the Village before receiving water and sewer services.

But that seems to be where the accountability ends. Village Trustee Mark Galasso, President of Lancaster Development, a major highway contractor based in Richmondville, has questioned the need to enforce requirements for sidewalks, lighting and open space. The developer of the project, Nadeau, originally balked at putting in sidewalks but has agreed to do so. As for the streetlights, Galasso argues that it would cause the Village’s electric bill to increase. Really? Is this about saving money for the Village or for Nadeau? Then there’s Galasso’s rant against mandating open space in planned unit districts. Galasso objected, calling the practice “wrong on so many levels”.

However, if anything is wrong with the Village’s zoning ordinance, it is that it is not strong enough on developers. The sidewalks, streetlights and open space are all something to build on. However, there needs to be design guidelines as well to ensure that the project is aesthetically appropriate, pedestrian-oriented and not out of character with the rest of the Village. Compactness, density, walkability, minimum setbacks, building at the lot line, requiring tree plantings; these are all things that could make the Donats Brow project more integrated with the Village. It would make the difference between having an asset to the Village and having an eyesore.

Don’t expect Galasso to hold the developers’ feet to the fire, he’s a developer himself. This is something Village residents should think about when they consider their own levels of political and civic engagement and when they vote for Village officials. Who should be leading development in Schoharie County: citizens with a stake in the community or developers with their own agenda?

Critic of Gilboa Dam Watchdog Group Doesn’t Hold Back

Lester Hendrix, the founder of Dam Concerned Citizens, a watchdog group focused on the safety of the Gilboa Dam had no desire to hold back criticism for the current membership and leadership of that group recently. He charged them with failing to push for necessary protections (liability for damage in the event of an accident, accountability to local governments effected, and more aggressive inspections). Instead, Hendrix accuses the group’s current leadership of preferring to “play cozy with political bigwigs and parade themselves in front of TV cameras every month in Schoharie”.

Hendrix’s basic complaint is that the group has lost its edge, been tamed and bought off by State and City officials. Now, as someone who does not live near the projected flood zone in the event of a dam failure, I really don’t care much about what goes on between the DCC, the State and the City of New York.

However, as someone interested in community organizing and activism in general, it seems like Hendrix is probably right. The DCC seem to have been de-fanged by the powers that be. This is a shame because a more confrontational approach would be good for the local communities. A good fight can unite people around a common cause and build community capacity, as opposed to typical NIMBY fights which revolve around smaller self-interested groups (see Richmondville posts).

If more people would rise up and increase their demands, they would learn that doing so can have substantial benefits. The more they speak out, the more money the State and City will be willing to send up here to shut them up.

So I join with Lester Hendrix in lamenting the fact that Dam Concerned Citizens has lost its way.

Is it Time to Ban Snowmobiles Altogether?

Recently, Sharon Springs school district residents concerned for the safety of their children have decided to speak out against the gangs of marauding snowmobilers who somehow believe they should have the right to ride their vehicles on school property. Of course, the critics are right. These machines are really quite dangerous. They are free-roaming and can approach very high speeds. Allowing them on school grounds poses a significant threat to school children. One resident recently called for the resignation of Jim McFadden, a Sharon Springs school board member who has supported the idea of allowing snowmobilers to pass through the school grounds. Whether McFadden should resign or not is a separate matter. However, it seems like every winter there are issues of public safety and quality of life being raised by residents complaining of snowmobilers. There are numerous concerns. The snowmobile treading has been know to cause damage to private property and public road surfaces. The noise that can be heard at all hours of the night is a nuisance. There are also numerous safety issues posed by intersections of roads and snowmobile paths, and then there’s the potential threat to pedestrians. That’s not to mention the danger to the riders themselves. By the way, there also a monumentally stupid and unnecessary waste of fuel. Add all this up and you get one more nuisance that we just don’t need. Snowmobiling is both a nuisance and a threat to public safety. Let’s end the bickering by banning snowmobiling completely.

The Man Bill Cherry is Afraid to Talk To

The latest victim of the divisive NIMBY politics associated with Reunion Power’s bid to install an industrial wind farm in Richmondville is a proposed municipal power company for Schoharie County. County Treasurer Bill Cherry proposed creating a public power company to provide electricity to country residents at a cheaper rate than National Grid. Currently, the Town of Richmondville already has a municipal power company and provides Town residents with electricity at lower costs.

The creation of a county-wide municipal power company has real potential to lower energy costs for Schoharie County ratepayers, and as a pretty significant side benefit, it would create a few new jobs. A resolution had been presented to the County Board of Supervisors and Cherry had been exploring talks with Albany County about creating a two-county program. The discussion had been moving along, until Bill Cherry found out that Albany County Legislator Sandy Gordon (with whom he was working on the project) was involved with Reunion Power, the very same Reunion Power of Richmondville wind farm fame. After finding out about Gordon’s involvement Cherry stopped short in his talks and has since put the whole issue on hold.

Ostensibly, Cherry cited a potential conflict of interest as the reason for his refusal to work with Gordon. However, that explanation simply doesn’t pass muster. It is obvious that Bill Cherry simply doesn’t want to get pulled into the political sh*tstorm raging in Richmondville over the wind mills. One incumbent town supervisor (Bernocco) was already defeated because of it. Cherry just doesn’t want any of that taint blowing his way.

But Cherry can only be blamed so much for his political cowardice, as most politicians would probably elect to play it safe in this situation. The real blame lies with the anti-windmill activists in Richmondville, whose scorched earth campaign has driven a wedge into the community and embittered local politics.

Sandy Gordon is not the problem here. The real problem is the glorified NIMBYism in Richmondville and a lack of political will to appropriately dismiss it. Cherry made the politically smart move by distancing himself from Gordon. Meanwhile Schoharie County is still paying unnecessarily high electricity rates to an overseas company, when it could be exploring a cheaper local alternative.