Beacon Dispatch

Editorial: Whose Hole is it Anyway?

If you’ve looked at Mount Beacon at some time over the last two years you’ve no doubt noticed the gaping hole that appeared there seemingly overnight. You may also have wondered why, if the City of Beacon has a steep slopes law that limits tree cutting and building on slopes greater than 15%, anyone would be allowed to strip off such wide swath of trees and leave the land bare. Who’s responsible for the hole in the mountain? The answer lies not in Beacon but in the Town of Fishkill.

Police Department Struggles with Staffing Issues

In the midst of a spike in petty theft and vandalism, Department struggles with a lack of manpower.

by Kate Fraher

In an interview concerning a recent spike in burglary and vandalism in Beacon, Lt. Glenn Scofield voiced frustration with the Beacon Police Department’s lack of manpower. “Typically we try to have somebody that’s on call to handle [incoming reports],” explains Scofield, “Sometimes it’s not possible due to man power shortage or they’re tied up on something else, but we would normally make every attempt to get a detective out.” These days, the BPD’s patrol staff is at shift minimum. The short-handedness naturally produces an overwhelmed staff; some detectives are carrying double the ideal caseload. “You can manage five or less at one time,” explains Scofield, “some of my detectives are handling ten or more, and as you’re working the cases other ones are coming in and you sometimes tend not to get caught up.” And normal detective bureaus don’t operate like the ones on television, where multiple team members simultaneously work a case. Beacon Detectives are cross-trained to process the scene as well as interview witnesses and suspects. “We have more detectives then some our size,” says Scofield, “but as far as I’m concerned not enough.” While stipulating that it’s not his job to decide these matters, he offers: “I’d like to see more officers to accommodate all the things that we’d like to do, but it’s costly to implement things like that. Overtime’s been an issue here, but at the same time where do you go? Do you have overtime because we’re limited on the number of officers we have or you have significant more hires and then you have to pay salaries and benefits.”

Qajaqs On Muhheakunnuk (Kayaks On The Hudson River)

by Mark Price

The Hudson River has many secrets to reveal. Both the river and its tributaries are steeped in beautiful places, explored and discovered best by kayak. With the surge in popularity of paddle sports over the last few years and a increased desire to enjoy the Hudson Valley’s outdoor activities many more people are using kayaks to explore the Hudson River. If you are going to paddle on the Hudson your experience depends on making the right choices. The paddle craft you choose, the skills you possess, and your understandings of the aquatic environment are the keys to an enjoyable and safe kayaking experience.

Summer Grill

Spice Up Your Meals With Magnificent Marinades

by Bruce Beaty

If June is the month that jump-starts outdoor grilling and entertaining, then July is the month that turbo-charges it. There is surely no bigger grilling day than July 4th and   I will probably not cook another “proper” meal indoors until October.  I thought that it might be helpful to give a grill primer with tips for proper grilling, along with some recipes for quick, versatile sauces, salsas and relishes to accompany just about anything you might wish to cook outdoors this summer. 

The first thing to consider is whether to use a charcoal or gas grill. Each has its advantages. One benefit of a charcoal grill is that, along with being much cheaper than a gas grill, food simply tastes better over charcoal. By charcoal, I am referring to hardwood lump charcoal, not pre-soaked briquettes treated with chemicals that can lend an undesirable aftertaste to foods. (Electric fire-starters or natural fire starters are a much better option than lighter fluid.) One disadvantage to grilling over charcoal is that the fire must be lit well enough in advance to allow it to burn down until the coals are covered with white ash, about 45 minutes. One common mistake when charcoal grilling is cooking over a fire that is still too hot. A good rule of thumb about when your grill is ready is if you can hold your hand 5 inches over the coals for 5 seconds, it has burned down long enough. It is also harder to control the temperature of a charcoal grill . 

Homeopathic Health

A Beacon Woman Finds Solutions in Alternative Medicine that Bring Healing Home

by Jack Sine

Seven years ago Mary Kerr had serious health problems in her family.

“Both of my daughters were very young and both had serious asthma,” she said. “They would be on Albuterol and steroids for up to 10 days and they would be bouncing off the walls. When I held them I could feel their hearts hammering away. We had every single machine under the sun. It was awful and I hated it, but what do you do when your kids can’t breathe? We kept going to the doctor for treatment and it always worked, but the medicine never attacked the cause of the asthma, just its symptoms. A few days or weeks later, they would have another attack. Every cold turned into bronchial asthma. With all those steroids their livers would be shot by the time they were 20. It was a vicious cycle and I didn’t know what else to do.”

Then one day when Mary was out gardening, a neighborhood girl came by with a small plastic bottle in her hand.