Members of the Summitville and Wurtsboro fire departments work at the scene of a fuel spill Thursday at the former Homowack Hotel in Spring Glen.For the Times Herald-Record/MIKE RICE

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Mamakating — A former resort hotel that has been under intense scrutiny since it was taken over by a Hasidic sect from New City has been charged with three counts of violating the state environmental conservation law after an oil spill Thursday at the site.

State DEC police Officer Scott Steingart said his officers, as well as DEC spill response units, answered a call at the former Homowack Hotel, now known as Machne Bnos Square, for an oil spill reported by a neighbor around 3:30 p.m. Upon arriving at the site, Steingart learned that the owners of the hotel, a Hasidic group known as Congregation Bais Trana, had released a quantity of heating oil while trying to transfer it from one tank on the property to another.

The oil escaped into drains that eventually empty into a nearby stream. A pump found near a hole by Phillipsport Road might have been used in an attempt to pump water out of the drainage culvert, possibly to stop the oil from escaping the property through another pipe that runs under the road, Steingart said.

Thursday evening, firefighters and members of a hazmat team tried to stanch the flow with pads of absorbent material.

No oil seems to have left the property, Steingart said.

However, charges were filed against the congregation for failing to report the spill, which occurred at 7:45 a.m., Steingart said. In addition, the group was charged with failing to register bulk storage tanks and producing an "unwholesome" material on or near a public road, all misdemeanors that carry heavy fines under the state environmental law.

The Skver sect of Hasidim from New City purchased the hotel, a former resort for non-Hasidic Jews, along with 450 acres of land in 2006, apparently intent on creating a new Hasidic village akin to the Satmar village of Kiryas Joel in Monroe. It was not known last night if there was a connection between the sect and Congregation Bais Trana.

Mamakating town officials, however, have lately been critical of the operation of the hotel, a summer getaway for Hasidim from all over the state, largely because the proprietors have failed to observe building, health and safety codes.

Town officials, including Supervisor Robert Fiore, were at the site last night, meeting with members of the congregation.

Town resident Andy Weil, who reported the spill, charged that the town leaders were failing to stay vigilant on the Hasidic group's activities. "There's a lot of problems at this end of Mamakating that the town's not dealing with," he said.

At the property, members of the congregation refused to speak to a reporter.

[email protected]

Energy Industry Sways Congress With Misleading Data

Want to listen to the story? Click here. [1]

Abrahm Lustgarten/ProPublica

The two key arguments that the oil and gas industry is using to fight federal regulation of the natural gas drilling process called hydraulic fracturing -- that the costs would cripple their business and that state regulations are already strong -- are challenged by the same data and reports the industry is using to bolster its position.

One widely-referenced study [2] (PDF) estimated that complying with regulations would cost the oil and gas industry more than $100,000 per gas well. But the figures are based on 10-year-old estimates and list expensive procedures that aren't mentioned in the proposed regulations.

Another report [3] (PDF) concluded that state regulations for drilling, including fracturing, "are adequately designed to directly protect water." But the report reveals that only four states require regulatory approval before hydraulic fracturing begins. It also outlines how requirements for encasing wells in cement -- a practice the author has said is critical to containing hydraulic fracturing fluids and protecting water -- varies from state to state.

One recommendation in that report flies in face of industry's assertion that its processes are safe: hydraulic fracturing needs more study and should be banned in certain cases near sensitive water supplies.

Hydraulic fracturing [4] -- where water and sand laced with chemicals is injected underground to break up rock -- is considered essential to harvesting deeply buried gas reserves that some predict could meet U.S. demand for 116 years.

In 2005 hydraulic fracturing was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act, based on assurances that the process was safe. But a series of ProPublica reports [5] has identified a number of cases in which water has been contaminated in drilling areas across the country, and EPA scientists say they can’t fully investigate them because of the exemption.

Now, Congress is considering legislation [6] to restore the Environmental Protection Agency's oversight of the process. And industry -- leveraging its money and political connections -- is using the recent reports to fight back [7].

Since January at least five studies [8] have been published making the case that state laws [9] (PDF) are adequate and that new regulations could hamper exploration [10] (PDF), raise fuel prices and eliminate jobs. Three of the studies were paid for by the Department of Energy and produced by consulting firms that also work with the industry. One of the DOE reports [2] (PDF) was written by the same person who authored a study for the Independent Petroleum Association of America [11] (PDF)

The industry argues [11] (PDF) that federal oversight would amount to a redundant layer of bureaucracy that is not needed because states already require the same environmental safeguards that might be required by the EPA, and that those safeguards are effective [7].

"We don't think the system is broke, so we question the value of trying to fix it with a federal solution," Richard Ranger, a senior policy analyst at the American Petroleum Institute [12], told ProPublica in May. "So proceed with caution if you are going to proceed with regulating this business because it could make a very significant difference in delivering a fuel that is fundamental to economic health."

How many gas wells does your state have? Click to find out.

But advocates for the federal legislation say the industry is misleading the public into a false choice between the economy and the environment.

"We are all for using science-based information," said Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council [15]. "But the underlying information doesn’t really tell the story they claim it does."

Nonetheless, the arguments have gained traction in Congress and have eroded support for new regulation.

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., told his fellow members in a recent hearing that "these folks are laying people off -- people are hurting in my district." Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., who sponsored legislation to regulate fracturing in 2008, but declined to add his name to this year's bill, told ProPublica that "developers may have legitimate concerns about the impact that removing the exemption may have on their ability to find and extract oil and gas."

To keep the legislation alive, Diana DeGette, D-Colo., its main sponsor, has shifted gears to seek environmental studies and hearings rather than a quick passage into law.

"The opposition has been throwing out scare tactics and mischaracterizations of what she is trying to do," said DeGette's spokesman, Kristofer Eisenla. "Unfortunately the oil and gas guys came out of the barn storming."

Fuzzy Numbers

The study that has received the most publicity [2] (PDF) is also among the most misleading.

The report, which evaluates the costs of regulations for the oil and gas industry, was written for the Department of Energy by a consulting company also used by the energy industry, Advanced Resources International, or ARI. It contains a table [16] (PDF) listing seven specific processes it says would be mandated under the proposed federal regulations, and what those processes would cost -- a total of $100,505 per well. Among the listed items is "state of the art" fracture imaging, at a per-well average cost of $37,500, and three-dimensional fracture simulation, at a cost of $7,500.

But a footnote reveals that these figures are based on memo sent to a DOE official by another consulting firm in 1999. The report’s author said they haven’t been updated to reflect technological advances or substantial shifts in the drilling business over the last decade.

Furthermore, none of the tests listed in the table are mentioned in the text of Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal law that would apply to hydraulic fracturing, according to an EPA spokesperson in Washington. And they aren’t mentioned in the bill being floated in Congress either.

"It's a sense of magnitude of the impacts, not a sense of absolute accuracy," said Michael Godec, Vice President of ARI and author of the report. The regulatory requirements were interpolated on a "bad-case" scenario, he explained, because the federal laws are not specific. "We took some liberties. You have to make some assumptions about what might be required."

One of the industry reports raises serious questions about the construction of the pits used to store toxic drilling waste and what happens when dangerous fluids are spilled.

Godec said he did not obtain recent cost figures from drilling companies, which are closely guarded. Halliburton -- one of the largest hydraulic fracturing service providers -- did not return calls from ProPublica for comment about the expense of the procedures listed.

Asked whether the age of the data was a concern, Godec said it had been discussed with Nancy Johnson, the DOE official who commissioned the report. He said he was instructed that the report was needed quickly, that the budget was limited and that he should move forward because "this is a hot topic and people are testifying."

Nancy Johnson did not return calls for comment and the Department of Energy's office of fossil energy did not make its officials available for an interview after repeated requests. It said, through a spokesperson, that the Department did not author the report.

Godec also produced a similar report on costs and state gas regulations for the Independent Petroleum Association of America that was published in late April. Titled "Bringing Real Information on Energy Forward," [11] (PDF) that report also makes the case that state regulations of drilling practices are effective. Godec says his company’s work is impartial and his conclusions would have been the same whether he was contracted by the oil and gas industry, or the federal government.

Even if the costs Godec laid out in the DOE report were up-to-date and accurate, it’s doubtful they would have the devastating financial impact the industry claims.

The estimated expense of regulating hydraulic fracturing amounts to between one and three percent of the total cost of drilling a new well when factored into operating costs estimated by financial analysts at Deutsche Bank. If all the testing that Godec includes is factored out, the regulations would cost the industry just $4,500 per well, according to his report, or just six hundredths of a percent of the cost of establishing a typical new well.

“I think at the end of the day it’s unlikely to have a real huge impact,” says John Freeman, a senior vice president for energy equity research at the investment bank Raymond James. “It’s a lot of fuzzy stuff that I can’t get my hands around. This just seems to be more of a soft number that I frankly have more of a hard time connecting the dots on.”

State Regulations Leave Gaps

In May the Ground Water Protection Council [18], a group made up mostly of industry representatives and state oil and gas regulators, released the first comprehensive review [3] (PDF) of oil and gas regulations across 27 of 31 drilling states it surveyed. The report, paid for by the DOE, concluded that most states have requirements to encase wells in cement and protect groundwater, and that a majority also require they be notified after hydraulic fracturing takes place.

"The study confirms what the industry has been saying [19] (PDF): that regulation of oil and gas field activities, including hydraulic fracturing, is best accomplished at the state level," the American Petroleum Institute said a press release about the study.

But the GWPC report -- which focuses on what regulations are in place, rather than what may be missing -- raises important points that are downplayed in its summary. It reveals that regulatory oversight is inconsistent from state to state and has substantial gaps. It also says hydraulic fracturing requires "comprehensive" further study "to determine the relative risk" and to determine best practices.

In fact, the report calls for some of same measures found in the congressional bill the industry is so hotly contesting.

See where states stand on regulating oil and gas.

A close examination of the appendices [21] (PDF) attached to the research also showed that 21 of the 31 states listed do not have any specific regulation addressing hydraulic fracturing; 17 states do not require companies to list the chemicals they put in the ground; and no state requires companies to track how much drilling fluid they pump into or remove from the earth -- crucial data for determining what portion of chemicals has been discarded underground.

"The tone is that in general states do an adequate job of protecting water," said Michael Nickolaus, the report's author, special projects director for the GWPC and former director of Indiana's state Oil and Gas Division. "There are certain gaps in certain states ... it’s not a hundred percent world."

The GWPC report does not name the states that lack more stringent regulations, a detail that is important because one or two states can account for a large proportion of the drilling in the United States. To extract that information from the report would require analyzing all the state regulations included in the appendices [21] (PDF) and repeating much of the GWPC's original research. Nickolaus also declined to name the states in an interview with ProPublica, saying that the GWPC was obliged to protect its members.

Nickolaus says well construction -- especially the cementing process that keeps drilling fluids and gas from seeping into groundwater -- is more important than the fracturing issue. But according to the report, state regulations about cementing are sometimes vague and often don't specify standards that makes the protection fool-proof.

While most states have regulations that protect drinking water near the surface, a third don’t require that the cement casing extends far enough to completely isolate wells from geologic layers and the deepest aquifers, according to the report. Twenty-two percent don't require the cement to harden before the well is used for fracturing, and don’t test cement quality and consistency -- one of the surest ways to protect against contamination.

Camping offers an economical alternative

By Dick Nelson

link to complete article is here:

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/07/07/sports/sports1.txt

If the number of people who spent the Fourth of July weekend sitting around a campfire is any indication on how the economy is affecting family vacations, I guess the $819 billion stimulus plan the Obama administration said was needed to turn the economy around has yet to reach the working man.

Just about every campsite operated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation were filled to capacity, with many private campgrounds reporting a high volume of campers as well.

Not that camping hasn’t always been popular with nature lovers. But every time the economy slows, camping is seen as an economical alternative for people looking to get away.

Whether you pitch a tent, or sleep under the stars, the forest has always provided a genuine outdoor experience, and much of that experience can be attributed to the dedication of forest rangers who are involved in various aspects of wild areas including managing the plants, trees, animals and the development and use of state lands.

They also play a large part in the management of fire control in wilderness areas, as well as educating the public about fire prevention in the outdoors.

Here in New York, the single most individual responsible for keeping forest fires to a minimum is the late William F. Fox. Considered the “father” of the state’s modern-day forest rangers, Fox, a lieutenant colonel in the Civil War, became New York’s “Superintendent of Forests” in 1891. He quickly came to the conclusion that the then-current fire patrol system which used “fire wardens” — firefighters who only worked when there were fire emergencies, and local ad hoc firefighters -- couldn't handle the job of forest protection.

A visionary, he wanted a paid staff to cover the Adirondacks and Catskills, and in a report to state leaders outlined how he would organize the patrols by assigning each ranger to a township seven-miles square. The ranger would reside in a log cabin built in the woods near the center of the township.

This forest guard would keep a sharp watch out for suspicious characters that might be a possible incendiary. In sum, Fox said he wanted to shift the emphasis from reacting after fires started to prevention by patrolling the woods.

It took several years and two major forest fires before the legislature acted on Fox’s proposal, and in 1909, then Gov. Charles E. Hughes signed legislation that brought sweeping changes to the Forest, Fish and Game law that included the creation of a fire patrol service in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Fox died shortly thereafter at age 69.

Further legislation followed, replacing the “Forest, Fish and Game Commission” with a “Conservation Commission” and creating the title “forest ranger” in 1912. Though he didn’t live to see his vision fully carried out, Fox is still credited with being the father of the forest rangers.

Today, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) — which evolved from the Conservation Commission — employs a statewide force of 134 uniformed Forest Rangers. Their mission of protecting the state’s natural resources remains consistent with Colonel Fox's vision.

Last month, the DEC held a ceremony to honor Fox on the 100th anniversary of his death. The ceremony was held at his graveside in Ballston Spa.

So what has all this have to do with camping you ask?

Well for one thing, campers probably benefit the most from Fox’s vision, inasmuch as forest fires have been kept at a minimum in both the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve, the last in 2006 when 900 acres was lost in Cherrytown (Ulster County). In addition forest rangers patrol state campgrounds making sure that everyone has an enjoyable stay.

If you’ve been thinking about sleeping under the star’s you would be wise to pick up a copy of Car Camping for Everyone, by Mary and Bill Burnham (Knack publishers, $19.95). Part of the Knack, Make it Easy series, this 224 soft cover full-color how-to book, is a culmination of years of trial and error for this outdoor adventure couple, providing a quick-reading picture driven approach to learning.

In the book, Mary, who grew up camping in the Adirondacks, recommends how you can keep your first outings simple and inexpensive. “There are lots of things you can do without when camping but a tent is not one of them. Use your budget to buy a good tent,” Mary said.

As she points out, you can get something decent for around $100 at one of the big box stores, but you should think about borrowing a tent from a friend or rent one from an outdoor store."

While borrowing or renting a tent will allow you to give it a test drive, the Burnham’s don't recommend buying a used tent sight unseen. And to save money on sleeping bags, Mary recommends packing up your blankets and pillows.

“You can spend a lot on a down sleeping bag, but unless you're camping in extremely cold weather, just go with your old comforter and some pillows. A closed cell foam pad or one of the inflatable beds people use for their guest rooms at home will keep you comfortable. If you get an air mattress, make sure you can plug it into a cigarette lighter to inflate it,” she said.

You can’t get away from cooking no matter where you pitch a tent and for this, Mary recommends a Coleman two-burner suitcase stove that uses propane canisters. “The little backpacking stoves are good, but they’re also more expensive,” she said, adding that you could also borrow one from a friend or rent one.

“Garage sales are a great place to find pots, pans, and other useful items,” she said.

As you gain more camping experience, you'll get a better idea of what you need and want based on the kind of camping you're doing, how long your trips are, where and when you’re camping and how comfortable you and your family need to be.

To purchase a copy of the book and/or learn more about the Burnham's outdoor adventures log onto: www.burnhamvirginia.com/books .

News and Notes: The Coxsackie Sportsman’s Club, will offered a handgun safety course on Saturday at 9 a.m. Applications for the four-hour course are available at the Greene County Sheriffs Office in Catskill. Advance registration is required. For more information call Jim Lee at 518-943-3428 or Bob Dingee at 518-945-1378. The club is located at 97 Reservoir Road, West Coxsackie. Directions can be found on the web at: www.cox-sports.org .

The first of several summer 3-D shoots will be held at the Glencadia Rod and Gun Club, Nutten Hook Road (off Cty Route 9J) on Sunday. Other dates include Aug. 9 and Sept. 13. For more information call 518- 799-3006.

Dropping anchor ‘til next time.

Camping offers an economical alternative

By Dick Nelson

link to complete article is here:

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/07/07/sports/sports1.txt

If the number of people who spent the Fourth of July weekend sitting around a campfire is any indication on how the economy is affecting family vacations, I guess the $819 billion stimulus plan the Obama administration said was needed to turn the economy around has yet to reach the working man.

Just about every campsite operated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation were filled to capacity, with many private campgrounds reporting a high volume of campers as well.

Not that camping hasn’t always been popular with nature lovers. But every time the economy slows, camping is seen as an economical alternative for people looking to get away.

Whether you pitch a tent, or sleep under the stars, the forest has always provided a genuine outdoor experience, and much of that experience can be attributed to the dedication of forest rangers who are involved in various aspects of wild areas including managing the plants, trees, animals and the development and use of state lands.

They also play a large part in the management of fire control in wilderness areas, as well as educating the public about fire prevention in the outdoors.

Here in New York, the single most individual responsible for keeping forest fires to a minimum is the late William F. Fox. Considered the “father” of the state’s modern-day forest rangers, Fox, a lieutenant colonel in the Civil War, became New York’s “Superintendent of Forests” in 1891. He quickly came to the conclusion that the then-current fire patrol system which used “fire wardens” — firefighters who only worked when there were fire emergencies, and local ad hoc firefighters -- couldn't handle the job of forest protection.

A visionary, he wanted a paid staff to cover the Adirondacks and Catskills, and in a report to state leaders outlined how he would organize the patrols by assigning each ranger to a township seven-miles square. The ranger would reside in a log cabin built in the woods near the center of the township.

This forest guard would keep a sharp watch out for suspicious characters that might be a possible incendiary. In sum, Fox said he wanted to shift the emphasis from reacting after fires started to prevention by patrolling the woods.

It took several years and two major forest fires before the legislature acted on Fox’s proposal, and in 1909, then Gov. Charles E. Hughes signed legislation that brought sweeping changes to the Forest, Fish and Game law that included the creation of a fire patrol service in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Fox died shortly thereafter at age 69.

Further legislation followed, replacing the “Forest, Fish and Game Commission” with a “Conservation Commission” and creating the title “forest ranger” in 1912. Though he didn’t live to see his vision fully carried out, Fox is still credited with being the father of the forest rangers.

Today, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) — which evolved from the Conservation Commission — employs a statewide force of 134 uniformed Forest Rangers. Their mission of protecting the state’s natural resources remains consistent with Colonel Fox's vision.

Last month, the DEC held a ceremony to honor Fox on the 100th anniversary of his death. The ceremony was held at his graveside in Ballston Spa.

So what has all this have to do with camping you ask?

Well for one thing, campers probably benefit the most from Fox’s vision, inasmuch as forest fires have been kept at a minimum in both the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve, the last in 2006 when 900 acres was lost in Cherrytown (Ulster County). In addition forest rangers patrol state campgrounds making sure that everyone has an enjoyable stay.

If you’ve been thinking about sleeping under the star’s you would be wise to pick up a copy of Car Camping for Everyone, by Mary and Bill Burnham (Knack publishers, $19.95). Part of the Knack, Make it Easy series, this 224 soft cover full-color how-to book, is a culmination of years of trial and error for this outdoor adventure couple, providing a quick-reading picture driven approach to learning.

In the book, Mary, who grew up camping in the Adirondacks, recommends how you can keep your first outings simple and inexpensive. “There are lots of things you can do without when camping but a tent is not one of them. Use your budget to buy a good tent,” Mary said.

As she points out, you can get something decent for around $100 at one of the big box stores, but you should think about borrowing a tent from a friend or rent one from an outdoor store."

While borrowing or renting a tent will allow you to give it a test drive, the Burnham’s don't recommend buying a used tent sight unseen. And to save money on sleeping bags, Mary recommends packing up your blankets and pillows.

“You can spend a lot on a down sleeping bag, but unless you're camping in extremely cold weather, just go with your old comforter and some pillows. A closed cell foam pad or one of the inflatable beds people use for their guest rooms at home will keep you comfortable. If you get an air mattress, make sure you can plug it into a cigarette lighter to inflate it,” she said.

You can’t get away from cooking no matter where you pitch a tent and for this, Mary recommends a Coleman two-burner suitcase stove that uses propane canisters. “The little backpacking stoves are good, but they’re also more expensive,” she said, adding that you could also borrow one from a friend or rent one.

“Garage sales are a great place to find pots, pans, and other useful items,” she said.

As you gain more camping experience, you'll get a better idea of what you need and want based on the kind of camping you're doing, how long your trips are, where and when you’re camping and how comfortable you and your family need to be.

To purchase a copy of the book and/or learn more about the Burnham's outdoor adventures log onto: www.burnhamvirginia.com/books .

News and Notes: The Coxsackie Sportsman’s Club, will offered a handgun safety course on Saturday at 9 a.m. Applications for the four-hour course are available at the Greene County Sheriffs Office in Catskill. Advance registration is required. For more information call Jim Lee at 518-943-3428 or Bob Dingee at 518-945-1378. The club is located at 97 Reservoir Road, West Coxsackie. Directions can be found on the web at: www.cox-sports.org .

The first of several summer 3-D shoots will be held at the Glencadia Rod and Gun Club, Nutten Hook Road (off Cty Route 9J) on Sunday. Other dates include Aug. 9 and Sept. 13. For more information call 518- 799-3006.

Dropping anchor ‘til next time.

Gas drilling co. begins application

link to complete article:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090707/NEWS/907070319/-1/NEWS

A natural-gas drilling rig works on a pad in Dimock, Pa., in July 2008. Drilling could also be coming to Sullivan County.Times Herald-Record/TOM BUSHE

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It's the opening salvo for gas drilling in one of the nation's most pristine — and protected — regions:

The nation's largest natural-gas corporation, Chesapeake, has applied to withdraw 1 million gallons of water per day from the Delaware River in nearby Wayne County, Pa.

The application, set for a public hearing July 15 before the Delaware River Basin Commission, is the first in the environmentally sensitive area regulated by the federally mandated interstate commission.

"We have a history of approving water withdrawals, but this is the initial one for natural gas," says DRBC spokeswoman Kate O'Hara.

The request for water to drill the gas-rich Marcellus shale has raised concerns, and some alarm, in an area rich in wildlife, lush land and small communities. Although the water would be withdrawn from the West Branch of the Delaware in Buckingham Township, Pa., it would also be used for wells in New York.

The Upper Delaware Council, based on the Delaware in Narrowsburg, has long tried to balance conservation and development in its management of the upper river corridor. While the UDC has yet to take sides on gas drilling, it's "definitely a concern," says Executive Director Bill Douglass.

"A little bit of water we can live with," he says, "but a lot over time "¦"

The trucks to cart the water to wells are another worry.

"Heavy industry should not be on the river corridor," says the UDC's senior resource specialist, Dave Soete.

The prominent environmental group Catskill Mountainkeeper is dead set against the withdrawal.

"We don't want to see any at this point because there are too many unanswered questions," says its executive director, Ramsay Adams. Those questions — about pollution and environmental destruction — are why the Department of Environmental Conservation has postponed issuing new regulations for gas drilling.

Chesapeake says it "typically operates above" local environmental regulations.

"As the play develops, Chesapeake will be moving from utilizing solely trucks to transport the fresh water "¦ by laying fresh water pipelines to reduce any impact truck traffic may have on a community," says its corporate development manager, Maribeth Anderson.

But even if this water withdrawal is approved, gas companies must clear other regulatory steps before they can drill — including those yet-to-be-

released DEC standards.

They include approval of the controversial — some say polluting — "fracking" process, which uses chemicals to extract gas from the shale.

"Our position is drilling will have an effect on (the river basin)," says DRBC spokeswoman O'Hara. "So they would have to go through all the steps to prove they're nonpolluting."

[email protected]

Bald Eagles in Catskills Show Increasing Mercury

Less than two years after the bald eagle was removed from the federal government’s endangered species list, an environmental organization in Maine has found an alarming accumulation of mercury in the blood and feathers of bald eagle chicks in the Catskill Park region of New York.

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Lou Bouscher

 

link to complete article here
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090628/NEWS/906280328 var isoPubDate = 'June 28, 2009'

also by Victor Whitman

Five years ago Tuesday, the racino at Monticello Raceway opened with as much flair as the rainbow-colored fountains that flowed in the track's Borscht Belt heyday.

The throngs who ran to the beeping slot machines represented 40 years of Catskill gambling dreams come true, said supporters. The racino was the first step towards the full-fledged savior, a casino....

Headlines: Stagedoor Manor Camp to Honor Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

Stagedoor has a long history with Sondheim, who made a cameo appearance in the 2003 movie Camp, which was filmed and based at the Sheldrake, NY, mecca for stagestruck 10- to 18-year-olds. “Stephen Sondheim’s shows are the most requested by our students,” production director Konnie Kittrell said in a statement. Sondheim reportedly responded that he is “blushingly flattered” by the upcoming tribute.

In the summer of 2008, Stagedoor premiered Dramafest, a program to discover and encourage the next generation of playwrights, modeled on Sondheim's Young Playwrights Inc. Selected winners direct and produce their scripts while at Stagedoor, then have their work published through Samuel French, Inc.

Notable Stagedoor alumni include actors Robert Downey Jr., Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jon Cryer, director Shawn Levy, composer Jeanne Tesori, and writer Jonathan Marc Sherman.

Camp in the Catskills: A Summer Tradition

By Rukhl Schaechter

In 1959, a group of Holocaust survivors, most of them living in the secular, Yiddish-speaking enclave of the Amalgamated Houses in the Bronx, did something remarkable. Each of them shelled out $500 of hard-earned money to found a summer camp in the Catskill Mountains. The survivors’ goal was to pass on to the next generation their own devotion to democratic socialism and to Yiddish language and culture, mirroring their childhood experiences in Poland between the two World Wars. They called it Camp Hemshekh, which means “continuation.”

Although Hemshekh shut its doors in 1978, many Hemshekhists have kept in touch over the years and have begun organizing a reunion set for this fall in New York City, to celebrate 50 years since the camp’s creation.

The founders of Camp Hemshekh were all members of the Jewish Labor Bund, a socialist party in Eastern Europe. Many had spent their childhood years in SKIF (Sotsyalistisher Kinder Farband, or the Socialist Children’s Union), and a number of them also spent several weeks or months at the Medem Sanitorium, a healing center for Jewish children with tuberculosis. As part of the healing process, the young patients were taught to garden, to care for animals and bees, to participate in group sports and sing-alongs, and to organize in order to help the children of striking miners.

That innocent world, however, was wiped away by the Holocaust. After transplanting themselves in the Bronx, the Bundists hoped that the camp they created would convey these values to their children. Besides their devotion to Democratic socialism and Yiddish, they also hoped the camp would reflect their distinctly non-Zionist stance — a formidable task, considering the strong Zionist affiliation of the general American Jewish community. They also insisted on maintaining a purely secular identity, which explains why the kitchen was not kosher, and why the word “Shabbos” was never mentioned.

The camp leaders worked hard to inculcate this Socialist, ethnically Jewish identity in their campers. The campers and counselors were taught dozens of Yiddish songs and competed in Hemshekh-yada — where two teams representing Yiddish poets received points not only in sports events, artwork and original dramatic presentations, but also for khavershaft (exhibiting good will or comradeship to the other team) and for creating and singing two original songs — one in English and one in Yiddish — in the spirit of the poet. They also performed plays in Yiddish for their parents on visiting day.

The most memorable event each summer, however, was Ghetto Day: a solemn, all-day commemoration of the Jewish partisans and victims of the Nazis that culminated in a gripping bilingual retelling of the Holocaust through poetry and song. At the end of the performance, as the piano softly played the haunting melody of “Ani Maamin” (“I Believe”), (a song reportedly sung by many Jews during the Holocaust as they entered the gas chambers), everyone walked out single file and followed a torch-lit path to the ghetto denkmol, a simple memorial that consisted of a replica of the barbed-wire ghetto wall, six signposts representing the 6 million Jews murdered, each one inscribed with the name of a death camp. In the center stood a striking mosaic of a ghetto fighter, created in 1962 by one of the older campers, Daniel Libeskind, later to become a world-renowned architect. The sobs heard throughout the evening reinforced the unique background of the Hemshekhists.

So did the Bundists succeed in their quest? Vida Semel Bauer, who attended camp in the 1970s, thinks so. “I remember what an honor it was to get points for khavershaft,” Semel Bauer, 46, recalled, “and I still try to conduct myself in that way.” She also said what an impression it made on her when the camp brought in a member of the grape picker’s union, and how she couldn’t wait till she was old enough to stand vakh (guard) by the mosaic on Ghetto Day.

In addition, Hemshekh succeeded in retaining its non-Zionist character. Aside from the two summers when the camp leaders included an Israel team in the Hemshekh Olympiada, the word “Israel” or “Zionism” was hardly mentioned.

George Rothe, 58, who attended camp from 1963 to 1974, remembers a girl who spent several summers at Hemshekh and then switched to Habonim, a socialist Zionist camp down the road. Both camps used to compete through sports and debates. One time, when Habonim was scheduled to come over, it was discovered that the girl would be coming, too. In protest, a group of older campers burned a likeness of her.

But the anti-Zionism of the Bundists was very different from that of the Arabs or Neturei Karta, said Norman Sas, whose parents were both camp founders. “The Bundists would probably have been more positive about Israel if it had been bilingual, like Canada or Belgium,” explained Sas, 60, who attended camp for seven summers. “They resented that the Zionists assumed they spoke for the entire Jewish people and that they had ‘decided’ what the official Jewish language would be.”

But the founders were less successful regarding Yiddish. Although the children of the Bundists knew it from home, they were growing up in a country where only English was spoken, at a time when minority languages had a low status. As they strived to be like their American classmates at public school, the Hemshekhists ended up speaking only English to each other.

The question, whether the camp founders succeeded in transmitting their values or not, is one that certainly could be debated as the former Hemshkhists reconnect at their reunion. Most of them admit, though, that their years at Hemshekh were among their happiest. If members of the camp committee are looking down from above, they can take pride in that accomplishment.

For more reunion information, see the Facebook page “Camp Hemshekh Reunion — October 10-11, 2009.”

Rukhl Schaechter is an editor of the Forverts, in which a version of this article originally appeared.