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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021
Volume 229, No. 175
154 Jefferson Heights Catskill, New York 12414 www.pinescatskill.com
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C-D construction races to finish
nFORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT
SAT
By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media
Partly sunny Mostly sunny Partly cloudy and pleasant and beautiful
HIGH 69
LOW 52
74 55
Complete weather, A2
n SPORTS MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
The first day of school in the Cairo-Durham Central School District will be Tuesday.
DURHAM — Capital project upgrades and COVID regulations continue at Cairo-Durham schools as the first day of a new school year approaches. The district held an online meeting with middle school principal Dotan Schips and high school principal Jeremy Moore on Wednesday to go over some of the changes in the schools with regard to both the ongoing construction project and health protocols as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A similar remote meeting was held Tuesday for families
with children in the elementary school. The first day of school will be Tuesday. The district spent much of the summer working on the $28.9 million capital project at the elementary and middle/high schools. The project includes the addition of air conditioning, upgrades to the parking lots at both campuses, reconfigured spaces, security enhancements, classroom renovations and more. “Our construction is in full swing,” Moore said. “We are trying to wrap up all of the additions and the remodeled
sections to be ready for our students next week. Most of them will be, some will not. Either way, Tuesday is coming.” One of the most visible changes at the middle/high school campus will be the new traffic pattern in the parking lot. The new traffic flow will affect how parents drop off and pick up their children. “One of the most changed elements of our school campus is the parking lot and the driving systems that we have,” Moore said. “Parent drop-off, busing and the main parking lot have See LOOK A2
By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media
Local teams ready to kick off
4 months after the Section II HS football season ended, teams will return to action this weekend. PAGE B1
n REGION
Cows, pigs,and an ox steal show Columbia County fairgoers are treated to cow exhibits, pig races and an ox named Rusty PAGE A3
n LOCAL
SETTING A TABLE OF HONOR FOR THE FALLEN MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
Mobile home fire held at bay A fire that broke out under a mobile home in Kiskatom is quickly brought under control PAGE A3
A “table of honor” inside the Citgo gas station in Cairo. Thirteen empty coffee cups, one for each service member who died in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, and a folded U.S. flag are in honor of the slain.
Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice
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See HONOR A2
Lawmakers ban evictions until Jan. 15 By Kate Lisa Johnson Newspaper Corp.
n INDEX
CAIRO — A local combat veteran and a Cairo business owner are offering a unique salute of their own to honor the 13 service members who died in the bombing at Kabul International Airport during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mike Adrian, commander of American Legion Post 983, works at the Citgo gas station, 4625 Route 23, Cairo. He wanted to honor the troops who died in a suicide bombing at the airport Aug. 26 as American citizens and Afghan allies were attempting to flee the country. The bombing killed 13 American troops and about 169 Afghans. “We heard about the men and women who lost their lives so we wanted to honor them with a last cup of coffee that they would never have again,” Adrian said. Adrian and gas station owner Minhajuddin Mohammed decided to set up a Table of Honor inside the building, with 13 empty coffee cups — one for each service member who died in the bombing. The Table was set up Wednesday and will remain for about a week, Adrian said. He got the idea from social media, where restaurants, bars and other businesses are putting up similar displays. “Everybody is doing it. Bars are putting out 13 bottles — I watched a video where 13
ALBANY — New York’s temporary ban on evictions and foreclosures will continue through the beginning of next year, lawmakers decided Wednesday, arguing the state needs more time to distribute billions of dollars in relief to make tenants, small landlords, business and property owners whole amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives started hours of questioning and debate late Wednesday afternoon to review two bills to extend the state’s eviction moratorium, barring the removal of residential and commercial tenants who could not pay rent due to financial hardships caused by the pandemic, through Jan. 15, 2022. Legislative leaders have worked to tweak the state law and program since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal moratorium on evictions late last week, ruling the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority during the ongoing public health crisis. “We took pains to make sure to address the area that was struck down by
KATE LISA/JOHNSON NEWSPAPER CORP.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, speaks in the state Capitol on Wednesday night after senators voted to extend the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.
the Supreme Court in terms of making sure that landlords will have an opportunity to at least have their say and deal with various, you know, tenant attestations,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins, D-Yonkers, said after the Senate
adjourned Wednesday night. “So we believe that we are on solid ground and again, we are trying to keep people in their homes. This money is flowing from landlords and we understand the pandemic is still very much part of what we
are living with. ...We have over $2 billion that people need. This is going to go a long way.” Senators voted to pass the omnibus bill 38-19, largely along party lines with Republicans voting against the extension. The Assembly started debate early Wednesday evening, and continued to argue for several hours. Vote counts in the lower house were not available as of press time. Democrats, who hold a supermajority in both houses, were confident as early as Tuesday night they had the votes to extend the moratorium against evictions and residential foreclosures, including for small businesses, as the state has been slow to administer more than $2.3 billion in relief payments from the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The extension is necessary to give the state more time to distribute the funds, Democrats argued, and said curbing evictions is the safest for public health to prevent overcrowding in shelters while COVID-19 numbers surge with the more See EVICTIONS A2