Financial Assistance available for Sullivan County Veterans impacted by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee
Sullivan County Manager David Fanslau has announced that the Sullivan County Veterans Service Agency, through a grant from the Entertainment Properties Trust/ Empire Resorts Fund is providing monetary assistance to Veterans who were impacted by the recent Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
All resident Veterans and surviving spouses who suffered a loss are asked to contact the Sullivan County Veterans Service agency at 845-807-0233. An application form will be supplied upon request. All completed applications must be received by November 11, 2011.
(Release Provided)
Tri-Valley Little League Fundraiser: Baseball & Softball Clinic, Help Rebuild Irene Damaged Fields
Pro Prospects and the SCCC Generals are hosting a relief fundraiser for the Tri-Valley Little League Complex. The complex was the best set of baseball/softball fields in the county, but it was completely destroyed during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.
There will be a special baseball & softball clinic at SCCC on October 10th for ages 7-12 & 13-17. Registration is $50 – participants must pre-register by October 6th. All proceeds benefit the Tri-Valley Little League Relief Fund.
Players can register via Pro Prospects: 845-791-1749, pro_prospects@yahoo.com. Or use the registration form here: http://www.libertyindy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/reg.jpg
Pro Prospects camps are great and combined with a great fundraiser – it’s win-win!
Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust Donate $100,000 Towards Sullivan Disaster Relief
Empire Resorts, Inc. and Entertainment Properties Trust today announced a $100,000 donation to provide financial assistance for Sullivan County residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Irene.
David Brain, President and CEO of Entertainment Properties Trust said, “We are strongly connected to Sullivan County through our Concord property and recognize that many families and businesses suffered extensive property damage from Hurricane Irene. The need to repair damage and restore many communities is urgent and we want to contribute to the effort.”
Emanuel Pearlman, Chairman of the Board of Empire Resorts said, “For over fifty years Monticello Raceway has been one of the area’s largest employers. We are acutely aware of how hard this recent natural disaster has impacted the Sullivan County community. We have directed that all of the $100,000 be distributed as quickly as possible. We hope our example encourages more Sullivan County businesses to step forward to help during this critical time.”
Entertainment Properties Trust and Empire Resorts announced the donation today at a press conference at the Sullivan County Government Center. They were joined by area elected officials who helped identify local charities that could directly and quickly provide assistance to Sullivan County families. The county was hit hard by Hurricane Irene and is one of several counties in the region to be declared eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance.
The not-for-profits distributing the $100,000 on behalf of Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust include The Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, The Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless, The Salvation Army, Sullivan County Office for the Aging, Sullivan County Veterans Service Agency and various churches in Sullivan County.
“Community is all about neighbors helping neighbors,” said Congressman Maurice Hinchey. “With this donation, Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust exemplify what it means to be a good corporate citizen, and I thank them for their generosity.”
State Senator John Bonacic said, “Helping those in need should always be commended. I know this assistance will help many families who are recovering from Hurricane Irene.”
“The recent storm has further financially strained organizations that serve as a safety net to our most vulnerable neighbors, but it hasn’t stopped the Federation for the Homeless from stepping up and providing necessary services. I appreciate the contribution of Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust. Their tremendous support of the organizations that do so much for so many is another example of their commitment to our community,” commented Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther.
“Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust have stepped forward and made a commitment to the county in a time of crisis, and I commend them for not only their extraordinary generosity, but for defining what it means to be a civic minded business,” said County Legislature Chairman Jonathan Rouis. “Their gift will help to alleviate the suffering of many of our friends and neighbors, and on behalf of the county I extend my gratitude.”
“I think the initiative and generosity behind this donation shows their commitment to being a good neighbor in the Town of Thompson,” said Town of Thompson Supervisor Anthony Cellini, “and I really thank them on behalf of all the residents and businesses in the community.”
“I’d like to thank Empire Resorts and Entertainment Properties Trust for their generous donation,” said Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins. “I’m sure our residents that have been hit by the hardship of this storm will greatly appreciate what they’ve done.”
Earlier this year, Empire Resorts executed a term sheet agreement with Entertainment Properties Trust and MSEG LLC to explore the development of the Concord Resort Property and to also examine development options at the existing Raceway property. In August the companies selected Hart Howerton Partners, LTD. of New York City to be the Master Planners for the development of the former Concord Resort Property. The Master Plan is the first step in establishing a new vision for the revitalization of the former Concord Resort. Under the agreement Hart Howerton will create a new Master Plan for the mixed-use of the property envisioned to include an anchor casino with harness racetrack, hotel, two golf courses, specialty lodging, complementary retail and recreational uses, along with new residential communities.
A HUGE Thank You – Catskills Relief Drive a Success
Last Thursday night, the Liberty Independent along with help from the Liberty Community Development Corporation hosted a very successful “Catskills Relief Drive”! Food, clothing, toiletries and more were collected as people from Sullivan County, Orange County, Dutchess County, and New York City came out to support the supply drive.
The supply donations will be delivered to the Pine Hill Community Center in Delaware county on Saturday. Once there it will be distributed to families in need and to other relief groups for distribution.
Last Sunday (8/28) Delaware, Greene, and Schoharie counties were devastated by floods caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. Entire towns were devastated leaving people in the area with nothing. Even one week after the storm there are still people isolated, without power, and without basic necessities.
Thank you to everyone who cane out to donate and everyone who spread the word in a short 48 hour period. THANK YOU!
Tri-Valley Little League Complex Destroyed by Flood
The beautiful Tri-Valley Little League complex in Grahamsville has been destroyed by flooding caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. The damage to the complex is massive and irreparable. We’ll have more on the complex in the next couple of days – but for now, take a look at the video sent to us:
CATSKILLS FLOOD RELIEF SUPPLY DRIVE 8PM THURSDAY
ALTERNATE DROP OFF LOCATION ADDED
CATSKILLS FLOOD RELIEF! Thursday at 8pm @ Liberty, CDC offices (167 N. Main St. Liberty-by the police station) you can drop off clothing, non perishable food items, and bottled water that will be distributed to families in the Catskills who have been devastated by the floods.
YOU CAN DROP ITEMS OFF DURING THE DAY AT THESE LOCATIONS TOO:
Liberty Community Development Corp
167 North Main Street
Liberty, NY
Valley Brook Inn
201 Kingston Ave
Wurtsboro, NY
So if you have cleaned out your kids clothes to make room for new school clothes and don’t know what to do with the old bring it in! If it’s an inconvenience to go there at 8pm contact us before then info@libertyindy.com – 845-807-4372
Items will go to the Pine Hill Community Center where it will then be distributed to groups/those in need within Delaware and Greene Counties.
Goodnight, Irene…
Contributed by Shannon Hayes of Schoharie County
It was busy in town Friday and Saturday. Stores and restaurants were filled with New Yorkers and Long Islanders seeking refuge from hurricane Irene, slated to pummel downstate on Sunday.
We were safely outside the storm zone, but we figured we’d lose power, so we ground extra coffee, filled the bathtub and several jars with water, and made sure the yard was picked up of debris in the event of high winds. Down at the farm, the chickens and turkeys were brought in off pasture. We scattered wood shavings on the barn floor, tied up panels for temporary pens, then secured tarps along the open front to protect them from the rain. Dad and mom herded the sheep a mile up Heathen Creek road to the other farm we rent, which is on higher ground. We assumed we were over-prepared. We hoped we were.
We weren’t. We are too cut-off from the world right now to know what, exactly, came through Schoharie County on Sunday. Maybe it was just the fringe of the storm. Maybe Irene herself was checking out life in the Catskills. All I know was that at 9:30 Sunday morning, we lost power, as predicted. At 10 am, our phone rang with an automated message from our county’s emergency response system. Earlier storm predictions had been greatly underestimated for our area. If we were in an area prone to flooding, the message told us to evacuate immediately. As best as I can figure, only those of us high and safe on the mountain tops got the call. Most folks down below had already lost service. But even high up here, we heard the evacuation sirens.
Schoharie County residents make their lives in three different habitats. On top of the mountains, in the mountains, and down in the valleys. Bob and I live on top of a mountain. We watched the rains with interest and played with our daughters. My family’s farm, Sap Bush Hollow, is in the mountains, flanked on two sides by ordinarily pristine, calm mountain streams. Mom and dad sat in their house and watched them rage over the creek banks, come frighteningly close to the house, and cause the roads boil and rip. They were so fast and furious, one lane of the road on either side of the farm completely fell away, leaving a ten foot drop to the raging water. Two days after the storm, portions of the County Route 4 continue to fall away. It is no longer passable on the East side. The west side is not far behind. The bridge to Heathen Creek Road was completely washed away, separating us from our sheep.
We were the lucky ones. Last I heard, we still couldn’t get to the Middleburgh or Schoharie Valleys, where most of the vegetable farmers and many of our friends had their homes. I presume everyone got out safely, but I don’t think they had anything more than the shirts on their backs. We don’t know where folks are at this point.
The best soil for vegetable crops is generally located along the flood plains. But flooding around here is usually a winter-thaw phenomenon. It isn’t supposed to happen in the height of the harvest season. Vegetable producers around here make most of their annual income from July through October. In addition to the incredible damage to their homes, they’ve also just lost half the year’s income, and an unfathomable amount of topsoil and accumulated fertility.
There is a peculiar tendency in the face of devastation to fixate on what we do have, what wasn’t lost. The demolished road at the end of our farm’s driveway has become a local tourist attraction and gathering spot. Folks stand around and stare at it and snap pictures, then recite to each other a current inventory of their blessings. It is easier to concentrate on that than to wrap our heads around the tragedy that will unfold as we learn more about the valleys below.
Life could be worse than it is. Heathen Creek neighbors on the far side of the bridge gathered together yesterday and worked with their hands to forge a dirt and rock passage across the water, just wide enough to allow a four wheeler to traverse. One resident strapped a can of gas and a milk crate to his ATV and drove off seven miles to Cobleskill to re-stock his beer supply. Another neighbor came down to let us know it was safe to go up and bring the sheep home.
The moving of our flock was the first parade seen in West Fulton in many decades as people, unsure what else to do in the face of the wreckage, came out to stand along the road and help herd the ewes back to the farm. Saoirse and Ula rode behind in the mule, waving to all the neighbors, self-appointed princesses of the parade.
We are all unharmed. Our only casualty was a chicken that died of a heart attack. The gardens weathered the storm, leaving us ample vegetables. We picked one and a half bushels of tomatoes in the valley before Irene hit, and we gathered pears from my Aunt’s tree. This week we’ll press the pears for juice, and can the tomatoes on my propane cooktop. Preservation of the harvest will continue without electricity. Because our fields are in pasture, not a speck of our top soil was lost. Our farm’s fertility remains in tact.
We have a generator on the farm, but we only run it for a few hours each day, just enough to re-charge the freezers that hold our season’s harvest of meat, and to refill our water supply. We dare not run it longer. Because the road is crumbling away, we’ve learned the delivery trucks bearing fuel and animal feed cannot safely get to us. The cows and sheep need only the grass in our fields. The pigs and chickens require grain, and if the road goes unrepaired, we will begin processing them, keeping just those that we can sustain on our own food waste. We understand that the resources justifiably need to go to the folks in the low-lying areas, so we are working out our plans to make-do for the long haul.
In the meantime, we will continue farming, and continue offering prayers out to the universe for our valley friends. We will draw comfort and joy from the food on the table and the company of our loved ones. Meanwhile, I find myself incessantly mindlessly singing the refrain from an old song we often sing at parties around here, the words leaving a new, nightmarish taste in my mouth: Good night, Irene, Good night, Irene. I’ll see you in my dreams.
Shannon Hayes works with her family on Sap Bush Hollow Farm and is the author of Radical Homemakers, Farmer and the Grill and The Grassfed Gourmet. She hosts grassfedcooking.com and radicalhomemakers.com and blogs for Yes! Magazine.
Hurricane Irene Relief Needed at Frost Valley YMCA
On August 28, 2011, Hurricane Irene caused an overwhelming amount of destruction to Frost Valley YMCA and the water wrecked havoc on our camp and conference center. Currently there is no access by road to Frost Valley and we do not have an estimated timeline on when the road will be accessible. We will communicate when we know more.
Entire roads and bridges were washed away. One of our historic buildings, Pigeon Lodge, was engulfed by water and shattered beyond repair. Trees were down and buildings filled with water. We have started to clean up but it will be many weeks before we will see the full effects of this storm.
As the staff work to get the camp up and running, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors are focused on the many financial steps that must be addressed to start the rebuilding of Frost Valley. We are seeking donations through our website of www.frostvalley.org/relieffund. We will be announcing other help needed as we get a better idea of the damage.
For continuous coverage, please follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/frostvalley or on Facebook: facebook.com/frostvalley. For questions about programs, please check our website or email info@frostvalley.org.
Frost Valley YMCA
Established in 1901 as one of the nation’s first summer camps, Frost Valley YMCA now provides four seasons of outdoor, experiential and educational opportunities. Frost Valley YMCA is a 6,000 acre residential camping, environmental education, and conference center located in the heart of the “forever wild” Catskill Mountain Preserve and serves over 40,000 visitors per year.
Contributed by the Frost Valley YMCA
Disaster Relief for Delaware County – WSRK Radio-thon
WSRK Disaster Relief for Delaware County Radio-thon- Please give to our friends and neighbors in Delaware County hit hard by the recent storm. Starting at 7am, call 1-888-432-1030.
$16,000 RAISED SO FAR AND CALLS KEEP COMING IN.
100% OF ALL FUNDS GO TO THE VICTIMS OF THE FLOODING IN THE CATSKILLS.
Hurricane Irene Local Photo Compilation
We’ve taken all the photos we’ve received of Irene in our area and built this one stop post to view them all. If you have more you would like to contribute – please send them in to us at info@libertyindy.com. Make sure to tell us when and where they were taken!
Village of Liberty
White Sulphur Springs
Swan Lake
Frost Valley YMCA
Livingston Manor
Monticello / Town of Thompson
Jeffersonville
Orange County
