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Former Delhi Village Clerk Pleads Innocent Of Theft Charge By Lillian Browne DELHI - Former Delhi Village Clerk Michele Barnes, 43, of Walton pled not guilty to an allegation that she stole money from the village of Delhi, on Monday, Sept. 30. Barnes was charged with thirddegree grand larceny, a felony, accused of stealing $4,788.23 from the village, between Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2018. Delaware County District Attorney John Hubbard, who has asked that Barnes’ case be prosecuted by another attorney, said Barnes received money she was not entitled to.
Because Barnes previously worked for the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Hubbard said, he has asked that his office be excused from involvement in the matter. The investigation, he said, was not done by his office. Instead, Hubbard said, a joint investigation by the New York State Comptroller’s Office and the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation resulted in the charge. Delhi Mayor Rich Maxey confirmed the criminal charge, which, he said, followed a state audit of the municipality’s paySee Former Clerk page 19
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Pictured, from left: NY Senator James Seward, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Chamber President Ray Pucci, Delaware County Treasurer Beverly Shield and NYS Assemblyman Clifford Crouch.
NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli Headlines County Chamber Event
Agriculture and Small Business are Key to Economy By Lillian Browne SIDNEY - New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was the featured speaker at the Delaware County Chamber’s monthly business networking event held on Oct. 4 at the Sidney Golf and Country Club. DiNapoli highlighted the impact of small business on the local and state economy, which provides nearly 40 percent of the state’s private sector payroll. “Small business, in so many ways, is the engine of our economy,” DiNapoli said to the more than 50 attendees - which included Senator James Seward, Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, Delaware County Treasurer Beverly Shields, Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak, Hancock and Delhi Councilmen Patrick O’Brien and Bill Cairns, respectively.
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The state’s unemployment rate is currently 4.4%, in contrast to what it was at the peak of the recession in 2008, where the unemployment rate was 8%. Statewide, DiNapoli continued, 70,000 jobs were lost in the public sector, in contrast to Delaware County which gained 100 public sector jobs. Despite the gain, Delaware County has lost 3,000 manufacturing jobs since 2008, with a current workforce of 15,500, which largely consists of government jobs, paid for with taxpayer dollars. Manufacturing made up for 21% of private sector jobs in Delaware County in 2018, DiNapoli reported, and job growth has increased during the first eight months of 2019. Tourism dollars are also driving Delaware County’s economy, with Delaware County boasting 1,100 tourism related jobs and the industry having grown by 11.6% from 2017 to 2018, leading the Catskill region. The increase in tourism and recent job growth, have also contributed to a 21% increase in home prices in Delaware County. “Delaware County has turned the corner,” DiNapoli said. DiNapoli also released his annual agriculture report indicating the most farms throughout the state are family-owned farms, and a vital part of the economy accounting for 4.1 million jobs in the state. See DelCo Chamber page 4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019
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The Risk Is Real
Schumer Pushes For Early Flood Warning System In Delaware County By Lillian Browne SIDNEY - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was at the Sidney Municipal Airport on Oct. 3, pushing for the approval of a $150 million Appalachian Regional Commission grant for the installation of an early warning system for imminent flooding or other catastrophic event. Delaware County’s lack of reliable cellphone or broadband internet service make traditional alert systems ineffective and put the county’s $400 million tourism industry, as well as residents, visitors and businesses at risk, Schumer said. The grant would cover approximately half of the expense of system, Schumer said, in a county which is routinely denied FEMA flood mitigation funding due to low property values and per capita damage costs. Flanked by county officials, Schumer said that unique factors in Delaware County create a perfect storm for increased risk of flooding. One of those factors is the county’s rural, sparselypopulated landscape, which includes low-lying mountains that hamper cellular service and costprohibitive private investment in broadband opportunities. Another factor is the positioning of two of New York City’s largest reservoirs, the Cannonsville and Pepacton, fed largely by the east and west branches of the Delaware River. The reservoirs are used as a drinking water supply and not for flood control. “Even though Delaware County maintains a unique risk and painful history of flash and major flooding, and the Delaware River Basin has a bustling tourism industry that must be protected from harm, the area is lacking an effective audible warning system for imminent flooding and other
Lillian Browne/The Reporter
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was at the Sidney Municipal Airport on Oct. 3 advocating for the approval of a matching grant application that would pay for the installation of an early flood warning system. Pictured with Schumer at the podium are supervisors, from left, Tom Axtell from Deposit, Art Merrill from Colchester and Jerry Vernold from Hancock. conditions such as extreme water temperatures. We’re allowing residents, business owners and tourists to fly blind into the eye of the storm, literally,” Schumer said. Colchester Supervisor Art Merrill said at the town level officials know the areas to go to first in the event of imminent flooding. The early warning system is especially important to visitors, Merrill said, who aren’t as familiar with the landscape. The early warning system, Merrill said, is a way to let them know danger is coming and to get them out of the rivers. Hancock Supervisor Jerry Vernold said if either one of the dams fail - the Cannonsville in Deposit or the Pepacton in Downsville Hancock will be in danger. “We are at the confluence of both of them,” Vernold said, describing the pathway of the tail waters of the east and west branches of the Delaware River. Deposit Supervisor Tom Axtell
echoed the two, saying that in the event of a flash flood, the warning system would give people ample time to get out of harm’s way and it would be another tool to keep communities safe. The audible system would compliment the system already in place by area fire and emergency services departments to warn of imminent flooding, Axtell said. Dale Downin, standing in for Delaware County Emergency Services Director Steve Hood, said the system would give people in below-the-dam communities a chance to get to safely ahead of disaster. “Cellular service in those areas is often spotty or non-existent and cannot be relied on,” Downin said. “This way, everybody in an affected area is pre-warned,” he said. Delaware County has participated in three locally sponsored See The Risk Is Real page 8
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Workers lower the steeple from the top of the Downsville United Methodist Church to the ground as part of its restoration.
Downsville Church Steeple Lowered For Restoration DOWNSVILLE - The members of the Colchester Community United Methodist Church (CCUMC) in Downsville started the rehabilitation project for their 151-year-old church’s steeple. On Friday, Oct. 4, community members and church members gathered around the fire department garage doors across the street to watch the work commence. Over the years, the steeple has suffered the wear of its age, and water damage has in more re-
cent years worsened it to a place where the church’s board of trustees had to act quickly on its reparations. They signed a contract with BH Decker Incorporated out of Delhi to do the restoration. After reviewing the damage and determining what needed to be done, Ben Decker decided the most cost efficient way of commencing with the most quality control would be to use a crane to lift the 6500 pound section of the steeple in need of restora-
tion off of the church instead of using scaffolding and working on it in place. In a timber frame structure such as this, it is a matter of taking out joining pegs to detach the steeple, and in theory, easy enough to remove from the body of the church, although old and damaged wood framing can make the job more complicated. Once lifted up and off the church, the restoration will take place in a See Downsville Church page 4