October 2006

Quickway Safety - Tracy Baxter @ 11:01 am EST
The State Department of Transportation has come up with its plan to deal with safety concerns on the Orange County stretch of Route 17....in the wake of several fatal crashes where vehicles crossed over into the opposite lanes. D-O-T Regional Director Robert Dennison says median barriers will be installed beginning next Spring. The first section of the quickway to get the barrier will be from Interstate 84 to the State Thruway...at a cost of 10 million dollars. Dennison says lowering the speed limit to 55 in that area may be considered since...he says..many of those devastating accidents happened because people were driving much too fast.

Bookkeeper Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 10:57 am EST
The bookkeeper for two businesses in Jeffersonville is facing a felony grand larceny charge for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from her two employers. 56 year old Alberta Gale of East Branch is charged with stealing about 40 thousand dollars from J. Hughson Excavation and Jeff Sanitation beginning in Feburary of 2005. Gale was ordered held on 20 thousand dollars bail for a court appearance November 6th.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Fury - Tracy Baxter @ 12:49 pm EST
Members of the Monticello Police Department are mourning the loss of a 4-legged officer. The department's K-9 officer Fury died Monday. He was 8 years old and had served the department for 5 years before being retired for medical reasons. Fury helped with dozens of drug arrests. He was also credited with saving the life of a Harris man who he found unconscious in a wooded area in sub-freezing weather. Fury also helped in the search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

Inside Job - Tracy Baxter @ 12:46 pm EST
Police in New Paltz say it was an inside job. According to police, a Burger King employee and his accomplise broke into the restaurant in the village early Monday morning and stole an undisclosed amount of cash. New Paltz police say they recovered the money at a rooming house near the Burger King and that is where 17 year old Nathaniel Barriel and 20 year old Michael Cote were taken into custody. Both face felony burglary charges.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Appeals Denied - Tracy Baxter @ 11:24 am EST
The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of 40 year old Erik Holman, the Middletown man convicted two years ago for strangling his former roommate Charles Freeman. Holman had tried to withdraw his guilty plea and this week the State Appellate Court rejected his appeal of the conviction and the 20 years to life sentence. The body of Freeman....a Middletown drug counselor...was found near Middletown railroad tracks...7 months after he'd disappeared.

Casino Rally - Tracy Baxter @ 11:21 am EST
It's part of the latest push to get a full-fledged gambling casino up and running at Monticello Raceway. The Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council is joining the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Empire Resorts in a rally Thursday evening outside the raceway. They're also hoping to apply a little political pressure to get the final approvals needed for the proposed 600 million dollar Mohawk Casino at Monticello Raceway.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Sullivan West Audit - Tracy Baxter @ 1:07 pm EST
A state audit has come down hard on officials in the Sullivan West School District. Comptroller Alan Hevesi's office questioned the need for a new high school and concluded that the district mismanaged the merger of the Delaware Valley, Narrowsburg and Jeff-Youngsville School Districts and...in the process...wasted more than 12 million dollars of taxpayer's money. The audit also found the district's system of internal controls, inadequate....that a former business manager was improperly paid 84 hundred dollars for unused vacation time and that Sullivan West District officials did not properly plan for staff and pupils-per-class levels. In a letter of response, Sullivan West School Board President Arthur Norden said the district is taking action to deal with the most of the issues but he said the State Education Department failed to adhere to its own guidelines when it came to the approcal of aid for new construction.

Capital Improvements - Tracy Baxter @ 12:55 pm EST
Creating a branch campus in Newburgh isn't the only project in the works at SUNY Orange. College president Dr. William Richards told members of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning that a capital improvement program at the Middletown campus includes demolition of the Sarah Wells building to be replaced by a new science and tech center. And Richards would also like the Middletown Common Council to allow South Street to be closed in the campus area so it can be turned into a pedestrian walkway.

Workers Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 12:51 pm EST
Two maintenance workers for a Monticello-area housing complex have been arrested for stealing power tools and construction equipment ...and stashing the stolen property throughout the Town and Country Homes development. 42 year old Patrick Ackerly and 36 year old Joseph Loughney, both of Monticello, were charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Monticello police say the arrests came after a local contractor spotted one of them breaking into a garage on Wood Avenue.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Same Suspect? - Tracy Baxter @ 12:28 pm EST
It was a rough weekend at the Days Inn motel in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Town police say the motel on Haight Avenue was robbed early Saturday morning and late Sunday night and police say it could have been the same man. In the first heist, a black male in his 30's and armed with a handgun took about 300 dollars from the cash register. A man with a similar description took 190 dollars at gunpoint from the register a day later.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Fleeing Suspects - Tracy Baxter @ 12:57 pm EST
A Port Jervis man is being sought by State Police after he ran off when the car he was in, was pulled over and drugs were found in the vehicle. It happened on Route 17 in the Town of Goshen. Police say the car was stopped for a vehicle and traffic violation. The driver, 26 year old Romaine Calhoun of Port Jervis, gave police a false name. In the car, police found marijuana, 8 and a half ounces of crack-cocaine and 500 decks of heroin. The 3 passengers jumped out and ran. Police, with the help of a Town of Warwick canine, rounded up 18 year old Doc Galloway and 22 year old Dorian Forte, both of Port Jervis. But 19 year old Courtney Banks of Port Jervis remains at large. Besides the drug and resisting arrest charges, Forte was charged with assaulting two State Police officers.

Arson/Grand Jury - Tracy Baxter @ 12:50 pm EST
An Ulster County grand jury has handed up an indictment against a man who set fire to the house where he was staying in the Town of Hurley. 40 year old Richie Alicea was indicted for arson and criminal mischief. He's accused of setting fire to the house at number 7 Braun Street back in August. The house did sustain some damage before firemen put it out. A person was in the house at the time of the fire. Alicea is being held without bail pending arraignment.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Probation - Tracy Baxter @ 2:22 pm EST
The former treasurer for the Friends of Goshen Library was sentenced Thursday to 5 years probation...in connection with the theft of 4 thousand dollars from the library. 46 year old Elisa Maruottolo was also sentenced to serve 200 hours of community service. She had previously paid back the stolen money. At the time, the thefts had reportedly created serious financial problems for the Goshen Library organization.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Meat Cleaver Attack - Tracy Baxter @ 2:07 pm EST
Police in Monticello have arrested a village resident for attacking another man with a meat cleaver. 22 year old Tobias Brown was charged with felony assault. Police say he ended a verbal dispute with a man at a Liberty Street address by cutting the 33 year old victim in the hand with the cleaver. The victim was taken to Westchester Medical Center to repair ligament damage.

Church Vandalized - Tracy Baxter @ 10:52 am EST
Three children have been charged with vandalizing a church in Kerhonkson. The pastor at the Reformed Methodist Federated Church of Kerhonkson discovered the damage Monday. The church had been broken into and fire extinguishers had been sprayed throughout the building. Items had been stolen including a video camera. State Police arrested 2, 12 year olds and a 15 year old. They've been charged with two felonies, burglary and criminal mischief.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Attempted Robbery - Tracy Baxter @ 1:26 pm EST
Two Newburgh Free Academy students have been suspended after being charged with attempted robbery for an incident at the school last Friday. City police say 16 year old Aakif Charles and 17 year old Ramon Angulo punched, knocked down and went through the pockets of a 15 year old boy in a second floor bathroom. Police say the teens are also linked to damage done a day later to the Town of Newburgh home of a person who witnessed the attack. Angulo was out on bail for a prior robbery at the time.

Search Warrant - Tracy Baxter @ 11:50 am EST
David McCollum had some nice furnishings in his residence....from the furniture to the electronic equipment...even the curtains and bedspread. But Town of Fallsburg police say the problem was...all the property was stolen during a rash of recent burglaries in the Laurel Avenue area of town. Police found all the stolen property after getting a search warrant and checking out the home of the 42 year old South Fallsburg resident. Police say McCollum broke into between 10 and 15 homes in Fallsburg in the past month.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Teen Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 12:02 pm EST
State Police say a Middletown teenager did a lot more than just abandon a 3 year old boy he was babysitting...they say he also stole from the house. Investigators say it happened last month at a house in Wurtsboro, where 17 year old Olsvaldo Marrero was babysitting the 3 year old for a friend. But police say he left the house without notifying anyone. An alert neighbor...stopping home for lunch...saw the 3 year old standing in the doorway, crying. The neighbor brought the child to his grandparent's house and when the parents got home, they discovered that several thousand dollars worth of jewelry had been stolen. Police have charged Marrero with grand larceny and endangering the welfare of a child.

Barricaded Suspect - Tracy Baxter @ 11:58 am EST
State Police in Sullivan County have charged a Town of Liberty man with weapons possession and menacing after he barricaded himself in his house Sunday following a domestic dispute. The wife of 47 year old Patrick Dresch was able to get out of the house. She told police he had guns and had threatoned to harm himself and others. Police set up a perimeter around the house on Red Barn Lane and after talking with him on the phone for about an hour and a half, Dresch surrendered without incident. He's in Sullivan County Jail pending a court appearance Tuesday.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Side Air Bags - Tracy Baxter @ 12:39 pm EST
Those of you in the market for a new car may want to make sure it has side air bags. A new study shows they reduce driver deaths in accidents by 52 percent in Sport Utility Vehicles and 37 percent in cars. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says you should ask for side air bags because they won't become standard equipment in American cars until 2010.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Reckless Driving - Tracy Baxter @ 11:56 am EST
New Paltz police say Charles Koemm made the last in a series of bad decisions Tuesday afternoon as he was trying to outrun police officers while riding his motorcycle in the area of the SUNY New Paltz campus. He made a quick turn off Plattekill Avenue....right into the police station parking lot. Officers quickly boxed him in and now the 21 year old from Ulster Park faces 13 traffic charges including reckless driving and failing to comply with a police officer. New Paltz police say Koemm had refused to pull over after passing vehicles in no-passing zones and narrowly missing pedestrians walking near the college campus.

Soldier Killed - Tracy Baxter @ 11:50 am EST
There is more sorrow in the Ulster County hamlet of Highland which has lost its third soldier in Iraq since 2003. Private Michael Oremus of Highland was killed by a sniper in Baghdad. Family members say Oremus was shot as he was getting into his humvee. In 2003, Sergeant Eugene Williams of Highland was killed at an Iraqi checkpoint and Specialist Doron Chan was killed a year later when his military vehicle flipped over.

Attorney Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 11:47 am EST
Newburgh City Attorney Geoffrey Chanin has found himself in trouble with the law. State Police are reporting that Chanin was arrested late Tuesday night on a charge of third degree criminal possession of marijuana. The 54 year old Goshen resident was a passenger in a van that was pulled over at a rest stop along the Palisades Parkway in Rockland county. Investigators say there was about a half-pound of marijuana in the van. Chanin and the driver....Eric Goldfeier of Closter New Jersey...were released pending an October 18th appearance in Orangetown Town Court.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

New Service - Tracy Baxter @ 12:14 pm EST
Stewart Airport will be getting additional passenger service beginning in January. Officials gathered at the airport Tuesday morning to announce that the low-fare carrier...Air Tran Airways...will begin service January 11th to Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. Air Tran currently serves 50 destinations. Introductory one-way fares will begin at 79 and 89 dollars. National Express Group announced last week that it plans to sell its lease as the operator of Stewart Airport.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Melee/Assault - Tracy Baxter @ 12:15 pm EST
Police in New Paltz had a major incident of violence to deal with last weekend. 10 people were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration following a large fight on Main street early Sunday morning. The fight included a stabbing. 23 year old Michael Avila of New Paltz was stabbed in the back and is in critical condition. Police have since charged 29 year old James Cannelli of New Windsor with felony assault. Police did not say what touched off the melee.

Driver Identified - Tracy Baxter @ 12:11 pm EST
Ulster County Sheriff's deputies have identified the man killed Saturday in a one-car crash on Route 209 in the Town of Wawarsing. 34 year old Kareem Hansen of Kingston was dead on arrival at Ellenville Regional Hospital. Police say he was driving a car that went out of control at a curve near the intersection with Route 44/55. The car went airborne and slammed into a utility pole.

Announcement - Tracy Baxter @ 12:07 pm EST
Officials at Stewart Airport are promising big things from a news conference scheduled for Tuesday at the Airport. U-S Senator Charles Schumer will be on hand to make the announcement that will "have a major impact on the airport's development and air travel in the Hudson Valley." Last week, British-based National Express Group announced that it was selling the lease it holds to operate Stewart Airport.