About an inch of snow fell last night. It’s mostly melted today though.
Vote Absentee
Please know that the General Election is fast approaching. Here is how to obtain an absentee ballot if you are registered to vote in NY state.
Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot:
Absent from your county or, if a resident of the city of New York absent from said city, on Election Day;
unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability;
A patient in a Veterans’ Administration Hospital;
Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony;
How to Vote by Absentee Ballot
Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your county board of elections.
You may also download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form. ( 261KB)
Upon completion, applications must be mailed to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.
You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election. The letter must contain the following information:
the address where you are registered
an address where the ballot is to be sent
the reason for the request, and
the signature of the voter
An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.
Washington County Board of Elections
383 Broadway
Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: 518-746-2180
Fax: 518-746-2179
Interview with Bob Banks, Town Supervisor
Continuing my coverage of town offices up for election this year, today’s candidate interview is with Bob Banks, the current Town Supervisor. Mr. Banks is the longest serving Town Supervisor in the history of the town. While he is currently running unopposed, I thought this would be an opportune time to ask him some questions about his positions.
To begin, you are now the longest serving Town Supervisor in the history of the town of Dresden. Could you tell us what this feels like and what your continued hopes for the future are for the town?
I’m proud of the way I’ve served and represented the Town on the Board and as Supervisor. I try to allow people in the Town and County to have as much freedom to pursue their desires. I believe that government is here to assist and provide needed services that people cannot provide for themselves.
Many of our newer town residents don’t remember that you grew up in Huletts. Could you tell us a little bit about your history in the town and growing up in Huletts?
I first came to Huletts in 1960 camping on an island with my Uncle Edwin Martin. He had been at the Hotel and Casino in the 1930s. The following year our family camped on an island for two weeks. After that my brother Bruce and I would spend the summer on the islands. Our parents would come up the first and last week of the summer and on most weekends. We purchased a “camp” near the Casino in 1965. I graduated high school in 1966 and cooked for George Eichler at the Casino that summer before going to school at the University of Vermont. After that, I joined the Naval Reserve in 1969, staying in after active duty, and retiring in 2008.
Could you tell us something about yourself? (Hobbies, interests, qualifications?)
I enjoy hunting and fishing. In the Naval Reserve I advanced to the Rank of Senior Chief Gunners Mate (E-8) and served as a small arms instructor and technician. I still work on guns and teach marksmanship.
The Town Supervisor sits on the board of supervisors which is responsible for running the county. Could you tell us what committees you serve on and what you envision happening at the county level this year?
I currently chair the Intercounty Solid Waste Coordinating Committee and was chairman when the refinancing was done saving Warren and Washington counties millions over the last 7 years. I am serving on the Finance, Public Works, Public Safety, and Human Services committees, represent the County on the Region 5 Fish and Wildlife Management Board (Former Region and State Chairman), the Region 5 Open Space Committee, the Intercounty Legislative Committee of the Adirondacks, and the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board.
You’ve always been known as a defender of property rights while also being a protector of the environment. You kept the Washington County beach open and saw two sewer systems built in Dresden. Where does Dresden go from here in the future?
We’ll see.
Taxes, taxes, and taxes are always the big issue in Huletts. Can you give some thoughts how we can keep taxes low?
Think before we act, and not go where we don’t belong.
I’d finish the interview by wishing you good luck in the election, but because you’re running unopposed I think its a foregone conclusion that the voters have already made up their mind. How do you run for election when you’re unopposed?
Very quietly. Thank You. Bob Banks
Town Approves Marina Variance
At Monday’s Dresden town board meeting, the town board approved the variance request for the Huletts Island View Marina.
The story is a bit long and complicated but here is how it was explained to me by Bob Banks, the Town Supervisor, this afternoon.
The Bluff Head Residential Ordinance was enacted in 1971 and provides that all property located within the Bluff Head residential area “shall be used only for single, private family residential purposes, and non-profit recreational purposes.”
The marina was considered a pre-existing use at the time but when modifications were done to modernize the main building in 1995 a variance was technically needed for the new space, resulting from the modernization.
At last month’s meeting, the town scheduled a public hearing regarding this request for an “after-the-fact” variance from the Huletts Island View Marina for the modernization done in 1995.
The public hearing was held and any person could give input. A number of people did so. The town board carefully considered the matter and this month, at Monday’s regular meeting, the town board granted the variance.
A copy of the resolution was provided to me by Mr. Banks. It can be viewed here.
There is no “new” use envisioned or contemplated. The variance only applies to the work done in 1995, which has been in existence for 16 years.
Casino’s Columbus Day Weekend Schedule
For the Columbus Day weekend, the Casino will be open from 8 to close on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Halloween party will be on Saturday night. Wear your best costume!
Summer Sets
As of 5:05 A.M. EDT on Thursday, September 22nd, the FALL EQUINOX began. This means summer has officially ended.
There are many ways to look at this. However going with the glass is half full approach, autumn now begins with its vibrant colors and cool nights!
And it’s also one day closer to next summer!
Thanks to Kathy Francis for submitting the picture of the sunset above. (Click to see full scale.)
Tower Relaying Calls
I will work to confirm this through “official” channels but I have just heard from a Huletts Current reader that he received a call from the landing from a person on an ATT cell phone.
So the tower is now live.
I Got a Funny Feelin
All at once I got a funny feelin’
That something around here was goin on wrong
Hmm
So you know what I did Jimmy?
What?
I got up and I began to look all around for my baby
Was that it?
That was it, you know the woman had packed up and gone
Oh lordIF IT WASN’T FOR BAD LUCK
Ray Charles
I think everyone understands that taxes are a part of life and I think everyone also believes that most public officials try their best to conserve resources when possible.
Having said that though, what troubles me most about the Whitehall School system is that there has always been very little effort put into a.) watching the taxpayers dollars once they’re in the public coffers and b.) the effort that is made is so cavalier it borders on the bizarre. It would be actually funny at times if it wasn’t for the damage it was doing to the community as a whole. The school board cannot shake their belief that the taxpayers’ pockets are endlessly deep.
What is going on now in Whitehall, with the closing of numerous businesses and the inability of people to sell their own real estate, is that the powers that be in the school district and town have made Whitehall too expensive to live in and there is very little effort being made to do those things to bring people into the community.
What is needed to spur the town forward is a dramatic decrease in the costs associated with living in the confines of Whitehall’s taxing districts. Every year the town stagnates more and taxes are increased, so what we’re all seeing in the demise of Whitehall is a natural outgrowth of years of poor stewardship and planning along with out of control spending combined with a lack of vision. The one thing that Whitehall needs most: a dramatic decrease in taxes, is the one thing that those who are mainly responsible for the tax policy of the community cannot even seem to entertain.
A small example illustrates my point. A few weeks ago, I wrote of the sad vandalism to the playground at the Whitehall School — a child’s slide appeared to have been deliberately broken. The presence of high-tech cameras at the playground, paid for by the taxpayers, were apparently irrelevant to this.
Recently, a reader snapped some photos of the school’s response, which does not involve any actual repair – instead, the school has apparently simply used plywood to render the entire slide – not just the damaged center section – unusable. Perhaps something more permanent is planned – but if so, why not fix it in the summer, when school is not in session?
Courtesy of taxpayers, the Whitehall school system treats students to amenities you’d expect to see on the Queen Mary 2, including tennis courts and an indoor swimming pool. Now the school is funding a complete overhaul of the auditorium as well, despite well-documented plummeting enrollment.
Leaving aside whether large capital improvements are necessary, how can the school board be trusted to undertake projects – with our money – when they can’t even properly fix a broken plastic child’s slide or identify the culprits with high tech security cameras?
Oh yeah?
Lord have mercy
I, I, I, I can understand it, it made you feel like you wanna holler a little bit
Made me feel like I wanna
Aahhhhhhh-ow!
Yeah man, when I run into that situation, makes me wanna cry a little
bit like this
Ooh-hoo!IF IT WASN’T FOR BAD LUCK
Ray Charles
Interview with Allen Wilbur, Town Board Candidate
2011 is an election year in the Town of Dresden so I’ll be continuing my interviews with candidates running for local office during the weeks ahead.
Today, I’m asking a few questions of Allen Wilbur, a Republican nominee who is running for one of two seats up for election on the Town Board. Allen is married to Marci Wilbur, the current Town Clerk, so don’t get confused. I ran Marci’s interview last week. Today, I ask some questions of Allen who is running for a seat on the Town Board. His responses are below.
To begin, could you tell us a little about yourself? (Education, hobbies, etc.)
Hello, my name is Allen Wilbur. I was born and raised in the town of Dresden. I graduated from Whitehall High school in 1984, I then attended the NYS Corrections Academy in 1989 and have worked in Comstock, NY since 1992. I am also a small business owner here in Dresden. My wife, Marci, and I started Lake View Blueberries in 2004 and also started our own Maple sugar house last year to add to the business. I like to fly fish and tie my own flies as well, and have given a few lessons now and then. I love to grow things in our gardens and our fruit trees are just doing awesome and get better with the passing of time.
It’s always good to have new people interested in serving. Are there any issues which spurred you to run?
I decided to run for no other reason than, I love this great little town. I would like to see it grow with a small store maybe, something more convenient for all. I have served on a budget committee for the Log Chapel in Putnam, and am a trustee for Grace Baptist Church in Whitehall.
Why should people consider voting for you?
I only want what is best for the town as a whole. I don’t want to hear about our side or their side of the mountain, I only want what’s best for all. I have always been known as a man of my word. If I don’t know the answer I don’t have a problem saying so, but I also will get the answer if I can.
Taxes have always been a big issue in Dresden. Can you give us your thoughts on Dresden’s tax policy.
Our town taxes don’t seem to be the issue. It’s the school taxes that are hurting us all.
Dresden is a large town, made up of unique sections. The different areas that make up Dresden sometimes see things differently. What is your vision for the entire town moving forward?
Like I had said before, we need to focus as one town as a whole. If we keep dividing it into separate parts we won’t accomplish anything.
Thanks Allen for taking the time to inform the voters and good luck in the election. We need people committed to making our town a better place for everyone.
Dresden Board Meeting: Monday Sept. 12th
Recently, I learned about a letter, which I do not have a copy of, which states that at this month’s regular Dresden town board meeting on Monday, Sept 12th at 7:05 PM, the town has scheduled a hearing regarding a request for an “after-the-fact” variance from the Huletts Island View Marina for modifications done to their main building in 1995.
The letter goes on to anticipate a variance will be granted. The town will allow limited public comment at the hearing. If a person cannot attend they can submit written comments but the town is requesting that 6 copies must be delivered prior to the meeting.
The Bluff Head Residential Ordinance was enacted in 1971 and provides that all property located within the Bluff Head residential area “shall be used only for single, private family residential purposes, and non-profit recreational purposes.”
I cannot provide any more information, because I have not seen the original letter nor do I have any facts regarding the ordinance in question.
Interview with Marci Wilbur, Town Clerk
2011 is an election year in the Town of Dresden. Many offices are uncontested but I’ll be asking the candidates some questions over the weeks ahead to help the readers of the Huletts Current stay informed.
Today’s candidate interview is with Marci Wilbur who is running for another term as Town Clerk. She is the incumbent, having held the office for 4 years. While she is currently running unopposed, I thought this would be an opportune time to ask her some questions about her position.
While many people know you as the Town Clerk, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? (Interests, hobbies, etc.)
I am a stay at home mother having raised a family of 6 children. Three of our children have begun their own lives and I continue to be active with my remaining three children. I enjoy hunting and fishing and raising a vegtable garden as well as flower gardens. My husband and I have a small blueberry farm located at our home as well as plants located a mile away at my parents house.
Could you tell the readers of the Huletts Current, what the duties of the Town Clerk are?
Some duties of the town clerk include distributing Washington County Recycling stickers and selling the hunting and fishing licenses. People can also come to my office to apply for a marriage license and for purchasing a dog license. I am the Local Registrar of Vital Statistics and maintain the birth/death/marriage records for our town dating as far back as 1920. As the town clerk my duty during a town board meeting is to record the minutes of business taking place.
It has been in the news recently that Town Clerk’s are responsible for marriage licenses. Does Dresden get a lot of marriage license requests and do you actually officiate marriages?
The town of Dresden does not have a lot of marriage license requests and I do not actually officiate a marriage, that is performed by clergy or magistrate.
Many people know that you are the official tax collector for the town but you probably get an earful when people have to pay their taxes. However, you don’t actually set the amount of taxes people pay?
The actual amount of taxes collected is determined by the Washington County budget process as well as the town budget process. There is a trickle down effect that occurs based on State Aid for certain programs offered by the county. A shortage in aid will increase county taxes that is passed along to the residents. There is very little amount to be raised by taxes, if any, generated in our town and most increases are due to the county level of revenue and spending. Also when there are questions of assessed value of property I am not able to answer those questions and refer to our town assessor June Maniacek.
As I understand it, you also take the minutes at all town board meetings. Are those minutes available to the public?
The minutes of each town meeting are kept in the town clerk’s office and are available to anyone who wished to read them. I have posted them on the hulettsnews website occasionally and there seems to be an interest in that continuing. I will be making an effort to follow up with that interest.
I’d finish the interview by wishing you good luck in the election, but because you’re running unopposed I think its a foregone conclusion that the voters have already made up their mind. How do you run for election when you’re unopposed?
I continue to be available to my constituents and as I continue to hold this position I am exposed to all aspects of how to effectively assist them with reliable answers to their every need. To be unopposed doesn’t automatically assure me a free ride and a guarantee. So in conlusion I welcome any comments from your readers to better serve their needs and when I don’t have the answer, I will get to the bottom of it and respond. Thank you for this opportunity to serve as your town clerk once again.
Labor Day Fun
Saturday September 3rd, there will be a corn-husking contest for the children starting at 9:00 am on the golf course.
Following that the Huletts Landing Property Owners Civic Association Annual Labor Day Picnic will start at noon on the golf course.
Looks like summer is coming to an end.
Hurricane Update: Thursday Afternoon
Here is what I can report regarding Thursday (9/1) in Huletts.
Phone service has been restored to many homes and the cleanup is well underway.
The Labor Day weekend weather looks good.
All-in-all Huletts was very lucky. Vermont still has a long way to go.
Message from National Grid
The effect of Irene is still being felt across the communities served by National Grid. At its peak, nearly 850,000 New England customers and more than 150,000 New York customers were without power. We have now restored power to approximately 80% of our New England customers and more than 90% of our New York customers. Crews continue to work around the clock to restore power.
Estimated restoration times are available by calling us at 1-800-465-1212 in New England and 1-800-867-5222 in New York.
We recognize the inconvenience and dramatic impact being without power has on our customers and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
We want to remind customers to stay safe as the restoration and clean up continues. Be extremely cautious when clearing debris near power lines and call us if you see any downed wires.