Beacon Dispatch

What's your favorite place to sled?

The temperature is finally above-Arctic, a perfect day to go outside. What's your favorite place to sled? Sure, Memorial Park and Forrestal are good hills to try, but there must be others in town to recommend. Which ones do you like? And don't forget to send us your pictures of your winter frollicking!

Blizzard 2005! By the Hour!

Watching the news you'd think weather like this never happens in New York. So, I decided to track the progress of this "great Nor'easter" to see how it stacks up against other storms (when I was in the Hudson Fish Market today one of the fellows in there said they once had 10 feet of snow in Wappingers Falls.) So, we have a lot to live up to...

2:00 pm -- the snow begins...

3:00 pm

4:00 pm

Wondering if the Social Security issue is really a crisis?

Check out what some of these mainstream sources have to say about it:

New York Times (free registration required)
"Prudence dictates taking steps now to minimize the possible shortfall. This could include raising the cap, some modest cuts and tax increases and a gradual redeployment of the trust fund into assets that may not be tapped, willy-nilly, for whatever legislative purpose. But only a real crisis would dictate undoing an institution that has provided a safety net for retirees, that has helped to preserve in the social fabric some minimum of shared responsibility and that has been supported by workers in good faith. And, in looking at Social Security today, the crisis is yet to be found. "

Time Magazine
'At another appearance intended to promote federal standards for testing high school students, Bush went off script to warn a group of teenagers, "The system will be bankrupt by the year 2040."

That sounds pretty scary—except that it's not true. What will actually happen in 2018, according to the Social Security trustees who oversee the program, is that the money paid out in benefits will begin to exceed the amount collected in taxes. And since Social Security will run a surplus until then (and has been running one for some time), it has billions available that it can tap to fill the gap. Even under conservative estimates, the system as it stands will have enough money to pay all its promised benefits until 2042 and most of its obligations for decades after.'

Got cabin fever? Get out and enjoy Beacon!

Here are just a few of the things happening today and tonight here in town:

Beacon Dispatch Ring in the New Year PARTY
(Featuring music by Hector on Stilts)
8PM $5
CHTHONIC CLASH COFFEEHOUSE
418 Main St.
845- 831-0359

HOT APPLE CIDER SERIES: Talks On The Hudson
Riverkeeper: Learn about Riverkeeper's role in the protection of the Hudson River, and easy ways you can participate. Free admission- apple cider provided!
2-4pm
HUDSON VALLEY OUTFITTERS & WORLD'S END
474 Main St 
831.1760

The Landscape Show
a group exhibition of traditional and non-traditional landscape art.
Reception 6-9pm
VAN BRUNT GALLERY
460 Main St
838-2995

Lady B and the Belly Dance Troupe Demonstration
Free 8pm
THE HOWLAND CULTURAL CENTER
477 Main St

And speaking of sewage...

Another Dispatch reader sent us these pictures of this overflowing manhole at 70 Dennings Avenue. You can see the toilet paper and solids running down the street into the storm drain and adjacent properties.

Contrary To Popular Belief, Poop Does Flow Uphill...

If you force it to...

Recently, in an effort to keep raw sewage from flowing into Fishkill Creek, the City of Beacon has taken to locking down manhole covers. This attempt to keep sewage in the pipes had an unfortunate side effect yesterday. As Dan Shapely of the Poughkeepsie Journal reported this morning, this "lock down" forced sewage up through the toilets of at least two city resident's homes.

In a recent roundtable that the Beacon Dispatch sat in on, City Administrator Joe Braun stated that Beacon's sewer system is well capable of handling the flow of sewage that runs into the sanitary sewer system. He said that where problems arise is when citizens push storm runoff into the sanitary sewer system instead of into storm drains.

While the City is currently attempting to discover which residents are flooding the system, you can proactively help to resolve this problem if you check your own residence to see if rain gutters or sump pumps are tied directly to your sewer pipes.

In the mean time, it's clear that the City of Beacon needs to address this issue immediately.

Pile-up on 9D

This accident that happened on Sunday at 9D & I-84 was reported to be the result of a high-speed police car chase. Not sure why the alleged perp was fleeing the Beacon Police (who apparently violated their 'no chase' policy), but this 5-car wreck was the result. Amazingly, noone was hurt.

Check out Long Dock Beacon plans

You have to see these designs to fully understand what's in store for the Beacon waterfront. If you think the below picture kinda' looks like the Love Boat docked in Beacon, you wouldn't be too far off...

St. Joachim's / St. John's Church, 10:06pm

Just down the street from me...

Ring in the new year with the Dispatch!

To celebrate the new(ish) year and thank you, our readers and advertisers, for your support of the Dispatch, we're throwing a party on Saturday night @ 8pm at the chThonic Clash coffee house (418 Main St.) Your $5 cover charge will get you free beverages and the sonic stylings of Hector on Stilts. Our last party was a blast, so come on down and get your groove on!