Beacon Dispatch

Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger to play in Beacon

Press Release

At 8:00 pm on October 15, Arlo Guthrie will take the stage at the Beacon High School with guest Pete Seeger.  The legendary singers are performing a benefit concert for two Hudson River projects – the sloop Woody Guthrie and the River Pool at Beacon.

This benefit evening will raise money for an innovative floating pool project, as well as the re-decking of the sloop Woody Guthrie.  The Woody takes people for free sails weekday nights out of Beacon harbor.

“This is the 40th anniversary of Alice’s Restaurant and it’s expected that a full house will sing along,” says Pete Seeger.  Arlo Guthrie is taking time out from his current “Alice’s Restaurant Tour” to bring his storytelling and musical talent to Beacon. Arlo will be joined by his son Abe Guthrie on
keyboards and Gordon Titcomb on steel guitar, mandolin, and banjo.

Pete started traveling with Arlo’s father, Woody Guthrie in March 1940, the same year Woody wrote his now famous song, This Land is Your Land.  This concert connects these two families to the Hudson River clean-up cause.

Pete Seeger is, of course, one of our best-loved singers and community activists.  More than forty years ago, Seeger helped launch the Clearwater and spurred the formation of The Beacon Sloop Club.

“Rivers and bays all over America were inspired by the Clearwater to start their own clean up campaigns. There is still a long way to go – chemicals in many places affect the fish – and sewage plants will be upgraded as people keep pushing,” says Seeger. Locally, the benefits of this citizen action are now clear: the Hudson River is clean enough to swim in, and River Pool at
Beacon wants to celebrate this rebirth by building a community swimming pool at the waterfront in Beacon, NY.

Ticket prices for the Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger concert are: $19, $27, and $60. To purchase tickets online or by mail, go to www.riverpool.org. To buy tickets over the phone, call 845/838-0094 (Hudson Valley Renegades ticket office), Monday – Friday, 9-5. Visit one of the ticket outlet
locations listed below to buy tickets in person. The beautiful new Theater at Beacon High School is located off of Verplanck Avenue at 101 Matteawan Road in Beacon, NY.

Ticket Outlets:
·       Dutchess County Arts Council, 9 Vassar St., Poughkeepsie (845/454-3222)
·       World’s End Bookstore, 474 Main St, Beacon, NY (845/831-1760)
·       Hudson Valley Renegades ticket office, Dutchess Stadium on Rt 9D
(845/838-0094)
·       Yarn Swift, 2600 South Rd (Rt. 9) – Poughkeepsie Plaza Mall (845/454-7444)

BFP clarifies library tax issue; vote set for September 13

The Beacon Free Press has a very informative piece written by Melina Makris on the tax controversy surrounding Beacon's proposed new Howland Library:

"Sharing the cost through taxes will be residents of the City of Beacon and four other areas: Dutchess Junction, Beacon Hills, and Glenham, all in the Town of Fishkill, and the residents of the Wappinger hamlet of Chelsea. Residents in all four of those areas reside outside the city but within the boundaries of the Beacon School District."

There would be no double-taxation for people living in areas with more than one library, with one exception:

"For the small percentage of residents who live in Chelsea, the story is somewhat different. Bercause they live in the Town of Wappinger but pay taxes to the Beacon School District, they will be asked to fund both Grunnell Library in Wappingers Falls and the new Beacon facility...Chelsea voted to join the Beacon district four decades ago."

The tax burden is also detailed in the article, and it should be noted that these taxes are based on assessed value, not market value. But current estimates of actual taxpayer cost are based on the soon to be outdated figure of $60,000. A re-assessment of City of Beacon properties is meant to be completed for the 2006 tax rolls:

"In Beacon, the average homeowner would pay ... $1.04 per thousand dollars of assessed value; In Fishkill, the average homeowner would pay $.72 per thousand; in Wappinger the average homeowner would pay $.92 per thousand."

Another body found in Fishkill Creek

This time it's a "neatly dressed" male between the ages of 55 and 60. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that there was no sign of foul play. If you have any information concerning the case, please call Beacon Police at 845-831-4111.

This is the second body found this summer in the same area of Fishkill Creek, at the intersection of Verplanck Ave. and Main St. Back in June a 43-year-old woman, Joanne Kessler, was found and the cause of death is still unknown, though many locals suspect a heroin overdose.

Beacon School Budget Shortfall The Subject Of Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial

The Poughkeepsie Journal in an editorial today stated their concern over the recent Beacon City School District budget shortfalls and what clearly appears to be, not only poor budgetary oversight, but criminal activity in the BCSD. The district recently reported that, despite an 18.5 percent year-over-year budget increase and the elimination of 30 positions from last school year, it would need to borrow $5.3 million dollars from the state to cover its expenses.

In another recent PJ article Superintendent DiCesare laid the blame for this shortfall at the feet of an Assistant Superintendent that no longer works in the district. Providing further details today's editorial states that the latest shortfall was, "due to a former employee "forging a million-dollar document.'" But, as this is the second major fiscal indiscretion in the district in less than five years, it raises the larger question of what the Superintendent is going to do to ensure that this never happens again? And why have there been so many large financial "errors" while Mr. DiCesare has been sitting as superintendent? As the district superintendent it's time for Mr. DiCesare to take the reigns and to take responsibility for financial issues—especially those financial issues that include forgery and outright theft—that are taking place within his district.

Gas prices continue to soar

According to GasPriceWatch.com, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. is now $2.62. The highest prices are paid in San Francisco ($3.15) and the lowest in Rogersville, Tennessee ($2.11). Here in Beacon, prices are still below the average, at least according to the site. Below are the best prices to be found around town. Is this accurate? What are you seeing?

Beacon Coastal (Main St. & Fishkill Ave) = $2.11
Sunoco / Citgo (Main St & Elm) = $2.49
Mobil (Main St.) = $2.54

Source: GasPriceWatch.com

Letter to the Editor: New Library Should Not Be Approved

Editor's Note: Below is the latest in an exchange between concerned citizen John Steele and Pat Hasapis of the Howland Library regarding the costs of the new library in Beacon. You can read Mr. Steele's original letter here, as well as Ms Hasapis' response here. These letters do not necessarily represent the views of the Beacon Dispatch.

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Editors,

I read with interest the letter from Ms. Pat Hasapis—a Trustee of the Howland Library in Beacon. The $9.2 million price tag that she mentions is only what the library board will bond and does not include the cost for the purchase and improvement to the parking area. The deal calls for City of Beacon to agree to take on that portion of the project. If the City agrees they will issue the bonds to purchase the property and improve the proposed parking area. Either way the taxpayers will absorb the cost and the total is much closer to $11 million not the 9.2 million that Ms. Hasapis mentions. The trustees’ cost estimates are deceptive. Her statement that there may be a considerable grant is contrary to what we were told in Oct. of last year at Beacon High   School. At that time Ms. Keaton, the director, told us that not much money was available for library grants. How then have other area libraries succeeded where Howland has failed? If, as the trustees claim, there are now grants in the works they should be disclosed to the public. The board should also describe in detail the "aggressive fund raising efforts" which she refers to. The board should be willing to commit to the public that any monies from grants or fund raisers will be dedicated to lowering the total tax burden and not enhance the project as was stated in the April 2005 handout. Taxpayers are reminded that if the bond is approved at referendum that they will be responsible for the entire cost and all incentive for the library board to seek grants or pursue fund raisers is lost. Her belief that this is a good deal for BCSD taxpayers is not shared by many in the district. This will be a bad deal for taxpayers and the construction costs are only the beginning. Cost for increased staffing and maintenance will force increases in the operating budget pushing taxes still higher.

Editorial: Beauty, History, and a Master Plan to Save Them

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. —John Muir, Naturalist

It’s not often that a community gets the opportunity to save something uniquely beautiful and historically significant. Presently the City of Beacon and its residents have both.

The 123 acre Hiddenbrooke property, which lies nestled at the base of Mount Beacon and runs along DePuyster Avenue, remains the last piece of truly open space within the City of Beacon. Through the efforts of individuals and groups such as the Friends of Hiddenbrooke, the Mayor and the City Council have been encouraged to consider the value of this property as open, publicly accessible space and the benefit the city and its citizens would derive from it. It’s time now for the City to move beyond mere consideration and take whatever steps are necessary to keep this space open, undeveloped, and accessible to everyone, forever.

The 133-year-old Tioronda Bridge has recently been earmarked for destruction and replacement with a new bridge capable of handling modern vehicular traffic. This structure, which is listed on the National Historical Register, is one of two remaining “bowstring” truss bridges in the nation. Engineers working for the City have stated that the structure is beyond repair and that it cannot be restored for vehicular use.

While its historical significance alone should be enough to halt the destruction of this bridge, the bigger question that its replacement raises is why it’s necessary to provide an alternative route across Fishkill Creek, especially one that will potentially divert traffic from 9D through residential neighborhoods. At present the City has three crossings within a one-mile radius of each other. Why is a fourth necessary, especially in this particular area? The City should instead encourage the restoration of this bridge for pedestrian and bicycle use, and plan for better traffic flow along Route 9D.

Both of these issues underscore the City’s increasing need to update its aging master plan. Doing so will help to identify and protect historically significant structures as well as provide guidelines for development. It will also allow for growth without burdening the City’s aging infrastructure or forever destroying its irreplaceable open space and historical assets.

Bannerman Island: Bringing the Castle Back to Life

by Gina Masullo

It’s a typically hot summer day as I buzz along the Hudson River with Bannerman Island in full view. Normally I’d be zipping past that looming, arsenal-topped island 1000 yards off the Beacon shoreline on Metro-North, but today I’m braving the heat in a life jacket sitting on a bulky pontoon boat headed straight toward the island. My guide for the day is Neil Caplan, president and founder of the Bannerman Castle Trust, self-taught expert on the area’s history, and all-around Bannerman enthusiast.

My sister, a long-time resident of Newburgh, is also along for the ride, and she’s appropriately spooked by centuries-old ghost stories, excited for the opportunity to see the island up close, and maybe a little disappointed that this mysterious place will finally have a story.

Beacon Voices: Mark & Pam Seegler

Co-founders, Kid’s Place 

by Michael Daecher

As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a family. And if the measure of a healthy community is how much responsibility people take in caring for each other’s children, Beacon seems to be doing just fine. Mark and Pam Seegler had been working with children for years in Brooklyn. When they heard from other working parents how hard it was to find good after school childcare in Beacon, it seemed like a logical next step to start a new daycare center here in town.

Some friends told me about Kid’s Place and their commitment to providing affordable childcare to working families, and I thought it would be interesting to know more about the people who started it. I spoke to Mark & Pam after work at their home in Beacon, as their kids, Mark (4 ½) and Kayla Rose (2 ½) were getting ready for bed.  

Where did you two meet?

Pam: Park Slope, Brooklyn. We actually grew up about 9 blocks from each other. The funny thing is, the community we grew up in Brooklyn went through some of the same changes that Beacon is going through now. Artists were coming in, and the community was changing. It’s interesting to be going through it for a second time – this time as adults.

Howland Library – A Long Journey Towards a New Building Nears Its End

September 13th Library vote promises to spur debate

by Jack Sine

It’s funny,” said Anne Forman, vice president of Howland Public Library, “there’s always a controversy where the library and money are concerned. Take our latest budget. It was the same as last year’s – zero percent increase – and yet it was voted down by a handful of votes. That meant we had to go back to last year’s budget, which was what we were voting on in the first place. I think it’s a combination of two things. First, our patrons who would vote for improvements assume that it will automatically pass and don’t vote. Second, the people who vote against the library don’t understand that we’re about a lot more than books. We’re a huge asset to this community.”