 Town Board Applauds Students' Generosity
At the Wednesday, March 17, Town Board meeting, the Board took time to recognize the children of the Glenham Elementary School Student Council, who hosted a food drive and collected toiletries to donate to the Open Arms Christian Ministries food pantry in Fishkill.
The children all received Proclamations from the Town Board for their generosity and dedication, and were accompanied by teacher Monica Taylor and Open Arms Ministries Rev. Nikesha Wimberly and food pantry community outreach liaisons Kenya and Bernard Gadsden.
Town Supervisor Ozzy Albra read the Proclamation from the Town Board, which reads in part:
"The students of the Glenham Elementary School Student Council demonstrated generosity in giving, empathy for those in need, and proved to be active citizens engaged in their community."
Congratulations Tigers, and keep up the good work!
Fishkill Eagle Scout Honored
Also at Wednesday's Town Board meeting, the Board presented a Proclamation to Fishkill resident Allen Corrado "A.C." McKay in recognition of his achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.
AC, who is 14 years old, attends Beacon City schools and completed a service project at Memorial Park in Beacon, building and installing two picnic tables near the snack stand, and painting a number of buildings and dugouts in the Beacon City school colors of navy and gold. After review by the national Eagle Board of Review, AC was awarded with the rank of Eagle Scout in January.
Congratulations AC, and the entire McKay family!
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Central Hudson Speaks to Residents, Hears Complaints About Ongoing Billing Issues
At Wednesday's Town Board meeting, the Board invited Central Hudson to speak to residents and address concerns about billing issues and high energy costs. To watch the presentation in full on the Town YouTube channel, click here.
Representatives of Central Hudson spoke and answered questions for more than an hour, before offering individual assistance to residents in the Town Hall lobby. Representatives said Central Hudson is currently working to address two separate issues affecting customer bills: first, a series of bug and glitches in the company's new computer billing system have caused errors on many customer's bills, and second, the high volatility in the energy market has led to increased cost for electricity and natural gas, further adding to concerns and spikes in customer bills.
Central Hudson assured residents that it is working diligently to address its billing issues. Many residents were not satisfied with responses and indicated that they felt Central Hudson customer service representatives had failed to address their billing issues when called.
Residents received promise of assistance from elected officials Wednesday. First, Supervisor Albra read a statement sent by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney:
"If any constituent has a concern with their bill, or can’t get the right answers from Central Hudson, we want them to reach out directly to our office at 845-561-1259. We can work with you to try and find solutions from Central Hudson, or from other state or federal programs that can help with the rising cost of energy. You can also stop into our office in Newburgh at 123 Grand Street, Monday – Friday, 9 – 5."
A representative of New York State Senator James Skoufis was also in attendance to inform residents that the Senator will be launching a statewide investigation into skyrocketing bills and utility companies' practices. You can click here to see the Senator announce the investigation.
Earlier this month, Senator Skoufis hosted a "Know Your Rights" forum for residents about public utilities, which you can watch by clicking here. The Senator said he is available to assist residents obtain solutions by calling his district office at (845) 567-1270.
Town YouTube Channel Growing
Many residents are aware the Town has begun to utilize YouTube as an additional tool for residents to stay informed. Launched last month, the YouTube channel was a collaborative effort of Town Councilman Carmine Istvan, videographer Pete Skorewicz, and webmasters Debbie Colonna and Greg Totino.
Councilman Istvan introduced the idea after a conversation with Town resident John Namerow, who noticed that while Town meetings are filmed in High Definition, local cable TV providers only broadcast the meetings in low definition.
YouTube enables the Town to upload videos in high-definition, and utilize YouTube's intuitive Closed Captioning feature. Additionally, closed captions generated by YouTube can be automatically translated into more than 100 languages.
"The purpose of YouTube was to make our meetings more open and accessible to residents so they can watch and know what's going on here at the Town," Councilman Istvan said.
On Tuesday, Councilman Istvan and Town Clerk Becki Tompkins visited the Town of Union Vale, to learn more about how Union Vale uses YouTube's closed captioning feature to create detailed meeting minutes.
"Becki does an incredible job with our meeting minutes," Councilman Istvan said. "But meetings can be long, with a lot of people speaking, and it can be a very painstaking process to manually create minutes. I hope that using the transcript of these captions will make the process easier and less time-consuming."
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 Town Board to Host Scenic Hudson Presentation
At the April 6, 2022 Town Board meeting, the Board will hear from Amy Kacala of Scenic Hudson. Amy is taking the lead on Scenic Hudson's planned Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, a waterfront trail planned to connect Cold Spring and Beacon, with a significant portion passing through the Town of Fishkill.
Kacala will speak to the Board about ongoing plans Scenic Hudson is developing for the project in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Supervisor Albra invites all who are interested to learn more about the project by visiting the Fjord Trail website and attending the meeting on April 6.
Addressing Castle Point Rumors
Many residents may have heard rumors about the possible closure of the Castle Point VA hospital. These rumors are based on a federal report which recommends relocating Castle Point services and eventually closing the facility.
On Friday, Councilman Istvan represented the Town at the VA, and made the following comments to the audience:
Councilman Istvan said "I want to make sure that the voices of our residents and the veterans who depend on VA health care are protected and heard."
Supervisor Albra and Councilman Istvan are both veterans. Having utilized VA services after being discharged, Supervisor Albra recognizes the importance of having these services for our veterans.
Friday at the VA, a 22-year-old Fishkill veteran who suffers from PTSD due to his service, spoke about the need to keep the VA open for himself and people like him.
Cullen Lyons, public affairs officer with the VA at Castle Point, offered reassurances that the VA at Castle Point is not set to be closed. To read Lyons' full press release, click here.
St. Patrick's Day Feast for Seniors
It was a very hearty "Top o' the Mornin" at the Senior Center on Thursday, as dozens of Fishkill seniors wore the green and gathered to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with festivities and traditional corned beef and cabbage.
Councilwoman Louise Daniele was in attendance for the event to lend a hand and help serve the seniors Thursday, and was impressed by both the event and the high turnout.
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"The food was excellent, the music was great and everyone enjoyed themselves," Councilwoman Daniele said. "We had a full room today, and it's great to see everyone is able to get together and socialize again."
Councilwoman Daniele thanks Maryann, Jay, Lauren and the entire team at the Senior Center for another fantastic event.
Reach Out at Any Time
As always, Supervisor Albra encourages any resident with questions or concerns about any item related to the Town, to reach out at any time by email at supervisor@fishkill-ny.gov or by phone at (845) 831-7800 ext. 3309
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