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The Daily Mail Copyright 2019, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 227, No. 130
All Rights Reserved
Show of force Trump orders tanks for grandiose July 4th Inside, A2
The nation’s fourth-oldest newspaper • Serving Greene County since 1792
TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2019
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New jail construction begins
n FORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT WED
By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media T-shower
Partly cloudy
Partly sunny and humid
HIGH 85
LOW 65
85 65
Complete weather, A2
n SPORTS
COXSACKIE — Without fanfare or a formal groundbreaking ceremony, construction began last week on the new Greene County Jail. The new jail will be built off Route 9W near the Coxsackie and Greene correctional facilities. Under recent criminal justice reforms, the bed count was dropped to 48, with a projected cost savings of $3.5 million. County lawmakers
will decide whether to cut expenses from the $8.1 million county contribution or from the $39 million U.S. Department of Agriculture bond. Bellamy Construction Co. of Scotia will begin the project by laying the ground work for the other contractors, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “The contractor will be doing all the utilities; putting in the water and sewer lines and cutting a service entry or driveway,” he said. “They will map out the footprint for the
jail.” Construction trailers will also be brought on-site to house crews, Groden said. “Construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months, depending on the weather,” he said. At the same time, the village of Coxsackie will be increasing the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant. “We have been in a moratorium since 2005,” Coxsackie Village Mayor Mark Evans See JAIL A8
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The village of Coxsackie held a groundbreaking ceremony May 18 for its wastewater treatment plant. The increase in capacity will allow the new jail to hook up to the plant.
County clerks question Green Light bill Hudson explodes with 21 runs Hudson 9-10s, NoCol 11-12s post victories PAGE B1
n LOCAL
20th reunion will be the last Annual Vietnam veterans reunion will stop at 20 PAGE A3
n REGION
Only destroyer escort afloat
DAVE SANDERS/THE NEW YORK TIMES
County clerks across New York state are rising up in opposition to the Green Light Bill, passed last month, which gives undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain standard driver’s licenses.
By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media
ALBANY — When the state passed the Green Light bill in June it became the 13th in the nation to adopt legislation enabling undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses — an issue that has been politically divisive and debated for years at the state level. But though the law has not gone into effect, it is already being challenged as a growing coalition of county clerks say they will refuse to issue licenses, and they are threatening to take their fight to court. “You are asking me to give a government document to somebody who is in our country breaking federal law. That is 100% wrong,” said Joseph Jastrzemski, the Niagara County clerk. “It compromises my oath of office to defend the Constitution.” Columbia County Clerk Holly C. Tanner said that while she opposes the law, she will carry it out if it goes into effect in December. “I was opposed to the bill for a number of reasons, especially regarding implementation,” Tanner said. “But we are a land of laws and if it is found to be upheld through the various legal challenges, my
USS Slater to dock in Albany on the 4th of July PAGE A3
n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice
A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-5 B7-8
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See BILL A8
FRED R. CONRAD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants are at the center of a controversy between state lawmakers and some county clerks.
Bowery Creek Bridge to be replaced By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media
DURHAM — Residents and visitors will need to be mindful of a detour coming up after the Independence Day holiday weekend. Greene County has hired Advanced Enterprise Concrete & Excavation Inc. to replace a steel-deck bridge over Bowery Creek on Sunside Road. The project is expected to take about 10 weeks and is budgeted at $139,400. “We’re waiting until after the Fourth because of Blackthorne,” Deputy Highway Superintendent Scott Templeton said. “We didn’t want to impact them during the holiday.” Sunside Road connects Blackthorne Resort to Route 145. “The problem is severe deterioration to the stringers on the bridge,” Templeton said. “The stringers will be replaced with pre-cast box beams with
SARAH TRAFTON/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
A view of Durham’s Bowery Creek Bridge, which will be fully replaced in about 10 weeks at a cost of $139,400.
an asphalt overlay.” Stringers are the supports beneath the bridge that run parallel to the
roadway. By replacing the metal decking with asphalt, the bridge will no longer have
any weight restrictions, Templeton said. The pre-construction bridge was limited to 20 tons. “There will be a full detour either down Route 31 to 20 or Jennings Road to Sunside Road,” Templeton said. “It was quicker to close the bridge and do a complete replacement than stage construction.” The detours are fairly short, Templeton added. Other large projects on the horizon include paving of County Route 12 in Windham for the bicycle lane this fall and a culvert replacement on County Route 2 in Lexington, Templeton said. “We will get bids back next week [for Lexington] and should start late August or September,” he said. The Lexington project will involve a full detour will the Windham project will have alternating traffic patterns.