Beacon Dispatch

Wee Play Children's Park breaks ground

Here's the update from founder Julann Cobb, first interviewed here on the Beacon Dispatch in February 2005:

The Park will be completed in two phases beginning with what we see this month.  The goal of this first phase is to get the key pieces of the park in place and usable in time for a planned opening of October 29 at the Recreation Department's Halloween Parade.  Between now and then, the ground needs to be prepared, playground equipment installed, safety surface installed, fencing installed, sand area built, and the stepping stones walkway installed...We have a lot of work to do to get there.  This week we're seeing the site preparation taking place (Thanks to the City of Beacon Highway Dept for doing this work for us!).  The area is being made level and a layer of stone will be added as a base to build on.  Next week the playground pieces will be installed--but won't be usable until the safety surface is in place. After that, the safety surface, fence, and masonry need to be installed. I haven't decided yet if stocking the sand pit is phase one or phase two!  I think it depends upon the budget and how much play value we'll get out of a sand delivery in October!

The second phase of the project will be to complete the landscaping and install additional play pieces that have been donated.  We have a community children's gardening plan in the works (for which we won a grant from the National Gardening Association) and have a large area of the park devoted to green space.  We also see a need to provide shaded areas and will work to do that, either with trees or  pergolas, perhaps.  While we're beginning our planning now, action on phase two will begin next spring with the return of the growing season and the moveable play pieces will be added with the return of the outdoor play season.

So keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates this month, that all deliveries of parts and equipment come in on time, and we'll be enjoying our grand opening soon!

I'll keep you posted as any developments arise.  Take care, and check out today's pic...

Ferry "appears" to be "almost" ready for docking

How many qualifiers can you fit in a headline? No more than two, apparently. A brief update on the Beacon/Newburgh ferry appears today in the Mid-Hudson News. The long and short of it -- the final stages of funding are "underway" and the start of Newburgh/Beacon ferry service could begin "by the end of the year."  Just in time for the deep freeze.

The ferry is expected to reduce the burden on Beacon train station parking, as people living west of the Hudson will be able to park in Newburgh and take the ferry across. Does that mean that all those new parking spaces down at the train station are going to go Beacon residents first? It should.

Castle in Ruin, on a River That Nearly Was

The NYT has an article (free membership required) today on the future of the Hudson River environmental movement, featuring John Cronin of the Rivers & Estuaries Center here in Beacon. John has lots of wise things to say about how the traditional ideas of environmentalism need to be re-thought to be relevant to more people:

"The environmental movement on the Hudson needs a new vision, Mr. Cronin said, one less focused on science and more in touch with the whole river system, including the communities along its banks. And just as a group of local people and businesses from the Beacon area are trying to stabilize what remains of the buildings on Bannerman's Island and open them to tourists, he says that the Hudson should be revitalized so it can again be a natural resource and economic engine for the region."

Well put...

Howland Library Measure Defeated

The Howland Library referendum was defeated this evening by nearly a 3 to 1 margin (1744 to 671). Crowds at the polls were large throughout the day with parking difficult and the line trailing out the library door right until the end.

Thanks to all the nearly 2500 voters who braved the lines,  the heat, and the parking to do their civic duty.

Busy Polls

Today's library referendum appears to have many voters out early. At 9:00 am there was a line of voters over ten minutes long and parking on the street was pretty difficult.

The chatter on line was fairly interesting, running from the erroneous to the actual. One voter was overheard saying that we didn't need a new library because, "...people have computers these days." Not exactly close to the truth as you wouldn't want to close the library and give everyone computers.

Referendum vote takes place from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm today. Make sure to give yourself enough time to park and vote.

Guaranteed to be a busy day.

Editorial: Vote “Yes” On New Library

Howland Library is too small and dilapidated for Beacon’s needs, and should be replaced by the new building put forth by the library board. Voting “yes” on September 13 will put the wheels in motion to build a community center that has long been needed in Beacon.

Editorial: Vote “NO” On New Library

There is no question that the City of Beacon needs a new library, but what’s presently being offered to the voters and taxpayers of the Beacon City School District is not that library.

Beacon Voices: Buddha Heroes

by Michael Daecher

If you’re a regular shopper at Beacon’s Key Foods, you’ve undoubtedly met Alex Campone, the congenial cashier with tattooed arms and a shaggy mop of black hair. He started working part-time at the grocery store while a student at Beacon High   School. Now that he’s graduated, he’s starting his first year at Dutchess Community College and working to support his passion, playing in the local punk band Buddha Heroes.

Alex and his buddies Mark and Rob are the core of the Buddha Heroes, a band whose sound some compare to the Southern California punk scene of the early 1980’s. Listening to their demo, you can certainly hear early Social Distortion or Agent Orange, but the Buddha Heroes are not interested in comparisons.

Download the Buddha Heroes' MP3 "Wavin in the Sun"

I learned about Alex’s alter ego after seeing him behind the wheel of his multi-colored van, a 1987 Chevy with about 150,000 miles on the engine. Like something from a psychedelic A-Team episode, the van will be the band’s home as they tour the Northeast and beyond to build their audience one club at a time. The Buddha Heroes just came off consecutive shows at Club Crannell Street in Poughkeepsie and the Continental in Manhattan. I was able to catch up with Alex C., Mark P., Rob C., and their good friend Derrick at Mark’s parents’ house here in Beacon late one weekday night in late August (bass player Clark E. couldn’t make the interview.)

Letter to the Editor: Understanding Library Referendum Requires a Well-informed Electorate

I would like to thank the voters in the Beacon City School District for their past support of the Howland Public Library’s mission in the community.  As the library building referendum approaches, it is most important that voters be well informed.  A new Howland Public Library has been in the works for over seven years.  Public input has been sought; people have been informed of, and asked to attend, board and special meetings.   After reading this letter, anyone who still has questions about the project should contact those in the know – Howland Public Library (831-1134) – for answers.

Highland Wanderer: Bannerman Castle Kayak Tour from the Beacon Sloop Club

The Hudson River Valley is filled with kayaking possibilities, but none quite as enticing as the hardhat tours that let you view the ruins of Bannerman Castle and walk the garden trails of Pollepel Island.

Pollepel (also known as Bannerman) Island has a storied history. It was considered haunted by Native Americans, drunken sailors were dropped off on the island to sober up, it has links to the American Revolution, and in the early 1900’s it became home to Francis Bannerman’s army surplus business. Bannerman Castle, which used to be the warehouse, is the most prominent structure on the island—for first-time travelers on Metro North’s Hudson Line, it’s a wonderful surprise —but the island is also covered with once luxuriant gardens, walking paths, and, on the south side of the island, the former Bannerman home.