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SERVING COLUMBIA AND DUTCHESS

COUNTIES SINCE 1785 FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 VOL. 227, NO. 69
HUDSON COLUMBIA COUNTY

Teachers’ Supes
union,
district at travel
impasse cost
$17K
By Andrew Amelinckx
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

In the midst of the budget bat-

tle now being waged in the Hud-
son City School District, the
teacher’s union and the board of
education have come to an
impasse on contract negotiations.
The Hudson Teachers Union,
which represents the teaching
staff in the HCSD, has met on
three occasions with the district
this year on Jan. 31, March 21,
and March 29.
The teachers’ contract is set to
expire July 1. At that time the
district is obligated to pay a step
increment increase, totaling
around $275,000. Out of approx-
imately 197 teachers district-
wide, 160 would receive an auto-
matic step increase ranging from
approximately 2.21 percent to
5.76 percent, according to the
district. Overall, the HCSD
believes it would cost them
around 21.6 percent of payroll.
The HCSD is also legally
obligated to fund health insur-
ance and the employer’s contri-
bution to the state-administered
pension.
According to Jack Howe, the
district’s superintendent, if the
contract expires it could result in
“an additional $900,000 per
year” or a 4.7 percent per year
increase in the district’s budget
for teacher salaries and benefits.
“The impact on the taxpayer
Please see Union, page A12
WASHINGTON
Gibson applauds budget
Infantryman John Mausolf, 21, of Greenport, talks to kids in the fourth grade class of Ellen Huemmer, at right.
Soldier meets the kids behind the care package
By Jamie Larson
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
In the Western mountains of
Afghanistan, on the Pakistan boarder,
little mail gets through to the scattered
American bases that dot the severe
landscape. Helicopters come in only
when needed due to the high frequency
of missile fire from entrenched enemy
forces, and American troops, including
infantrymen John Mausolf, 21, of
Greenport, sleep on the ground every
Jewels for Japan
night to stay low.
In this cold and hostile environment,
just before Christmas, a care package did
get through to Mausolf’s outpost and
included a surprise— handmade Christ-
mas cards, drawings and letters from the
fourth grade class of Ellen Huemmer.
To repay the children and Huemmer,
who was his own third grade teacher,
Mausolf took time out of his two weeks of
leave Wednesday to sit down with the stu-
dents and answer their questions about
David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
being in the army and life at war in
Afghanistan.
“It’s really a big thing,” Mausolf said.
“The littlest card, the littlest package a lot,
especially to get it around Christmas.”
Mausolf, reserved in his comments
about the combat aspects of his job, talked
at length about interacting with tribal
communities and what his unit does to try
and help local people to change the per-
Please see Soldier, page A12
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Columbia County paid out
$17,506.55 to the Board of
Supervisors for mileage reim-
bursement in 2010.
Sixteen supervisors received
mileage reimbursement, mostly
for traveling to Hudson for
county committee meetings.
They were reimbursed at 50
cents per mile, at an average of
$1,094 each.
The five Hudson supervisors
(John Musall, D-1; Ed Cross, D-
2; Bill Hallenbeck, R-3; William
Hughes, D-4; Bart Delaney, R-
5) didn’t submit mileage
records. Neither did Greenport
Supervisor Ed Nabozny (I).
Those who were reimbursed,
in order from lowest to highest
reimbursement cost, were: Leo
Pulcher, R-Stockport; Kevin
McDonald, R-Livingston; Jeff
Braley, R-Austerlitz; Robin
Andrews, D-Claverack; Valerie
Bertram, R-Stuyvesant; Eliza-
beth Young, R-Taghkanic; Jesse
DeGroodt, NOP-Chatham; Reg-
gie Crowley, R-Copake; Pat
Grattan, R-Kinderhook; Art
Bassin, D-Ancram; Raymond
Staats, D-Clermont; Margaret
Robertson, D-New Lebanon;
Richard Keaveney, R-Canaan;
Lynda Scheer, R-Gallatin; Larry
Andrews, R-Ghent; and Art
Baer, NOP-Hillsdale.
For the actual breakdown,
see the graphic on page A12

proposed by Republicans The county’s current vehicle

By Marc Heller
Johnson News Service
The budget proposed this
week by House Republicans is a
plan “all Americans can get
behind,” Rep. Chris Gibson said,
even as it seemed to further the
divide between the two parties.
Gibson, R-Kinderhook,
embraced the proposal by House
Budget Committee Chairman
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., calling
it pro-growth and predicting that
it will reduce the deficit while
streamlining federal regulation,
containing health care costs and
encouraging energy independ-
ence.
“The real message here is we
have a budget that all Americans
can get behind,” Gibson said in a
telephone interview. The House
Budget Committee approved it
Wednesday, and will likely pass
the GOP-led House easily next
week.
But the debate over the meas-
ure — which saves the govern-
ment trillions of dollars while
cutting Medicare, food stamps
and other domestic programs
over the long term — suggests
anything but a bipartisan pep
rally.
Gibson tried to focus on the
proposal’s broader effects on
federal spending — it would cut
use policy does not lay out spe-
cific mileage-logging require-
$6.2 trillion more than President ments for supervisors and the
Barack Obama proposes over supervisors queried for this
the next decade and cut the story were not aware of a BOS-
deficit by $4.4 trillion more than specific policy. A new policy,
the president proposes — but developed by a committee
most of the discussion on Capi- chaired by Hallenbeck, is
tol Hill has been about the expected to be adopted in the
changes it envisions for next few months.
Medicare and Medicaid begin- Board of Supervisors Chair-
ning in 2022. man Roy Brown, R-German-
Economists and leaders in town, did not log mileage
both parties agree that those pro- because he has his own county-
grams are on an unsustainable issued vehicle — the same vehi-
spending path but disagree on cle, according to county vehicle
how to save money without dis- logs obtained via Freedom of
mantling them. Information Request, that Baer
The GOP proposal would used when he acted as chair.
shift Medicare from an entitle- David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers That vehicle and its mileage
ment to a subsidy for private Kiersten Deanna Berry and must be reported as income to
health insurance, similar to the
Harlee Jewel Thibeault hold the Internal Revenue Service,
current Medicare Advantage examples of the necklaces they Brown said. He did log mileage
program for prescription drugs.
are selling to raise money for a for his own vehicle when he
Funding would be tied to overall
Japan relief fund. Harlee came was a supervisor and not chair-
inflation, but not to actual health
up with the idea “Jewels for man.
care costs, which Democrats and
Japan” and, along with her “The only people, I believe,
the nonpartisan Congressional mother, began taking orders for that do not get mileage, are the
Budget Office said would lock the necklaces. At $1 each, folks from Hudson and anyone
beneficiaries into higher out-of-
orders have come pouring in. who opts out for whatever rea-
pocket costs than in the current
She enlisted the help of Kier- son,” he said.
program. sten as the orders increased. He added that supervisors
Medicaid would become a The girls presented a $700 can only get paid for their trip to
block grant to states, saving the
check to Brad Poster of the Unit- 401 once per day, giving this
government hundreds of billions
ed Way of Columbia and Greene example: “if I came in for a 9
of dollars and giving states more
Counties at the John L. Edwards a.m. meeting, then I came back
flexibility in spending the School. To contribute, go to for an evening meeting, I would
www.uwcg.com or call 755-
Please see Budget, page A12 2155. Please see Supes, page A12

TODAY’S High 56 Low 29 For a

complete
KINDERHOOK
Mostly
FORECAST
INSIDE
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Good morning
report,
see page A2
Ichabod Crane discusses how to fund football In the first year, Ichabod fielded strictly a Booster Club President Dennis Shields
Around the Globe A2 Booster club funds fall short; JV team; over the past two years, both levels said the club “is willing to help fund it, but
Obituaries A3
Carolyn Knowles. ICC considers adding to budget have taken the field. The understanding had we can’t fund the whole thing.”
Opinion A4 Thank you been that, after a three-year trial period, the He said the club has $9,000, and could
district would consider including the team in raise more from admissions and concessions.
Columbia County A5 for subscribing By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers the budget. “You need to tell us what the next step
Business A6 to the Register-Star! Football was up in the air at Tuesday’s
However, as Board Vice-President John
Phillips put it, “the stars are not aligned this
is,” he told the board. “A lot of people sup-
port football; I’d hate to see it put to the side
Neighbors A7, A8, A9 Ichabod Crane Central School District Board year.” In order to overcome a significant rev- after all the parents and community have
Sports B1, B2, B3 of Education meeting, with members lining enue shortfall due to a precipitous drop in done to support it.”
up on all sides of the question of whether to state aid, the administration has cut two Athletic Director Paul Thompson said it
Features B4, B5 support it. For the past three years, the schools, 32.5 staff and two sports programs, would cost in the range of $31,000 to field
Classified B6, B7, B8 Booster Club has provided the total funding, bowling and junior varsity tennis, and both varsity and J.V. this year.
about $40,000 a year, for the fledgling varsi- brought two special education classes in-
ty and junior varsity teams. house. Please see Football, page A12
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