Putnam Investigating Rev 250 Vandalism

Parents Save Boy from Drowning Pool Safety

Haldane first-grader pulled from pool The end of the school year is always a big day, but for a 6-year-old Cold Spring boy, it almost marked the end of his life. Haldane kindergarteners and first graders, along with their parents, celebrated the start of summer at a backyard pool party in the village on the afternoon of June 24, the Wednesday of the final week of school. Bethany Califano said that when she picked up her son, Georgie, from his first-grade classroom at Haldane Elementary that day, "he said everyone was talking about the party, and he really wanted to go." By 2 p.m., the party was in full swing; Georgie was standing by the shallow end of the in-ground pool. "He was waving at me, and I took a picture of him," Califano recalled. But things quickly became a blur for the mother of three. Moments later, while tending to her 1-year-old, she heard someone say, "Are you OK?" "I just knew they were talking about Georgie," she remembers thinking. Stephen Selman, one of the fathers at the party, noticed a boy at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. Because his arms were moving, Selman hesitated. Before he could remove his shoes, Stefanie Kean, a mom, dove in and brought Georgie to the surface. Selman helped her pull him out. Georgie was not breathing. His eyes were open, his lips and eyelids were blue, his skin was gray and his tongue was sticking out, Selman said. Selman, who was a lifeguard as a teenager and trained in CPR, gave Georgie rescue breaths. He was joined by two other dads with CPR training, Aaron Ernst and Aaron Bartkiw, and the three worked as a team, doing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth. "I pinched his nose, pulled his head back and blew as hard as I could into him," said Bartkiw, also a former lifeguard. "He threw up all over me." Ernst said Georgie, after vomiting four times, started screaming. "It was the best scream that I've ever heard!" Ernst said. "I was just crying and praying; I've never prayed so hard in my whole life," Bethany Califano said. "I've never been so happy to hear him scream; I held him, and he didn't want to let go." After a call to 911, first responders arrived within minutes, Selman said. At that point, a frightened Georgie was talking coherently. He was taken by the Philipstown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, with his mother, to Mid-Hudson Hospital in Poughkeepsie. "We walked into about 20 doctors and nurses," she said. "It was pretty intense." After doctors examined Georgie, he was transferred to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Westchester County because of concerns about "secondary" or "delayed" drowning, which can occur up to 24 hours after a near drowning. Fluid builds in irritated and inflamed lungs, potentially causing respiratory failure. After his father, Bobby, and two sisters visited with Georgie, Bethany spent the night with him. He answered all the medical staff's questions quickly and alertly, allaying concerns about possible brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. "They kept giving him random prompts; in the middle of talking to me they'd ask him his favorite color, and he'd answer 'blue' immediately," his mother said. Georgie told his mother that he remembered standing in the shallow end and taking a step "and then it was deep," Bethany said. It isn't clear how long he was underwater. Children typically lose consciousness in 30 to 60 seconds, and brain damage can occur within four to six minutes. "I'm always watching the water, and every time I looked around there were two or three sets of eyes on that pool," Selman said. "There wasn't any neglect, but there is a lesson here about how quickly it can happen." Bethany said hospital staff emphasized that drowning doesn't usually occur as depicted on TV. A victim doesn't scream and splash. "It was so quick, so quiet," she said. "And he's a loud kid." After Georgie spent the night at the hospital, his classmates visited him via Zoom before he was released. Three days later, he spotted a children's inflatable...

Putnam Investigating Rev 250 Vandalism

Statue, Declaration display damaged Police are investigating political messages scrawled on a replica of the Declaration of Independence displayed at Putnam County's Historic Courthouse and damage to a newly restored statue of Sybil Ludington, a Revolutionary War hero. County Executive Kevin Byrne said on Tuesday (July 7) that a large reproduction of the Declaration hung on the face of the courthouse in Carmel for residents to sign on the Fourth of July had been removed the same day after being "defaced with political graffiti." On Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office announced an investigation into damage to the base of the Ludington statue, five days after police officers and firefighters escorted the figure back to the shore of Lake Gleneida in Carmel following a $100,000 restoration. Photos provided by the county showed some of the messages on the Declaration. Amid the signatures of residents were scribbles, some with misspellings, such as "5000 children in consencration camps god is telling you – stop being cruel usa 2026," "500 years genocide," "Free Palestine," "Stop ICE" and "Abolish Millionaires." The Town of Carmel Police Department said it received a call about the graffiti on the afternoon of July 4. Because the incident occurred on county property, it handed the investigation over to the Sheriff's Office. Security videos "are being reviewed to help verify the identities of those responsible" for the writings, said Byrne. He also said a replacement replica will be displayed for people to sign during the Putnam Lake Rev 250 Parade on July 11 and the county fair on July 25 and 26. The Declaration of Independence "deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," said Byrne. "Every American enjoys the constitutional right to free speech, but intentionally defacing a public display created for families to celebrate our history and heritage is not an act of civic engagement; it is an act of gross disrespect." Putnam first displayed the reproduction during its Putnam County Heroes Battle the Redcoats reenactment on June 6, and Byrne said he was among hundreds of people who signed the document. It was also displayed on July 3, when the county reinstalled the restored bronze statue of Ludington, a 16-year-old from Kent credited with riding 40 miles on horseback in 1777 to warn her father's militia about a British raid on Danbury, Connecticut. Since being installed at Lake Gleneida in 1961, the 4,000-pound statue has been the target of vandalism and graffiti, necessitating frequent cleaning, according to the Historian's Office. It returned to Lake Gleneida with its surface polished and its base rebuilt to fortify it against water damage. Someone reported damage to the base around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Sheriff's Office, which said its Bureau of Criminal Investigations responded, along with Putnam employees involved in the restoration. Investigators have not determined if the two incidents are related, but "will pursue all available investigative leads," said the Sheriff's Office.

Cold Spring Declares Water Emergency In other business …

Reservoir affected by recent storms At the beginning of the Wednesday (July 8) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, Mayor Kathleen Foley clarified why a Stage 2 Water Emergency had been declared earlier in the day. "We are not in a water shortage," she said. Instead, recent storms had overwhelmed the water treatment process with suspended solids, causing drinking water to become turbid or cloudy. In response, the village is trucking water to holding tanks at the Fishkill Road plant. During the emergency, water system users are required to identify and stop all leaks; cease washing vehicles, building exteriors or outside areas; refrain from watering lawns, ornamental shrubs, plants, trees or gardens; irrigate vegetables or fruits for human consumption from hand-held containers only; and refrain from filling and/or maintaining levels in swimming pools, hot tubs and similar recreational pools. Bars, bed & breakfasts, coffee shops, hotels and restaurants should provide drinking water only upon request, and hotels, bed & breakfasts and short-term rentals should wash guest linens only upon request. The water superintendent, code enforcement officer and Cold Spring Police Department will enforce the order, the village said. Foley said that, before the July 5 storm, debris had been cleared from Back Brook in anticipation of heavy flows. The large number of private drains that flow into the brook needs to be factored into the watershed assessment, she said. Fuss and O'Neill Engineering is conducting a Flood Resilience Study focusing on the Back Brook watershed, a 160-acre drainage area that carries stormwater from as far upstream as Bull Hill to culverts beneath Fair Street, which empty into the Hudson River. The firm will host a public workshop later this year. Before its meeting, the board held back-to-back executive sessions that lasted nearly three hours. The first dealt with litigation and the proposed acquisition of real estate, while the second dealt with personnel issues. The board accepted a low bid of $16,800 from WBE Fence Co. for chain-link fence replacement at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. It will be funded with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money received after the severe storms in 2023. The Cold Spring Fire Co. responded to 21 calls in June, including eight activated fire and CO2 alarms, six assists to emergency medical services, four structure fires and downed wires, two gas odor or smoke investigations and a residential dumpster fire. The Cold Spring Police Department responded to 154 calls in June, including 21 medical assists and six fire assists. Officers made a dozen traffic stops, issuing eight warnings and four tickets. Todd Seekircher resigned from the Historic District Review Board. The village will advertise to fill the vacancy.

Coast Guard Expels Clearwater from Flotilla What is the Clean Water Act, and Why Does It Need Saving?

Environmental group says advocacy led to dismissal A highlight of America's bicentennial in 1976 was Operation Sail, a parade of tall ships around New York City that featured the sloop Clearwater, representing the environmental organization of the same name created by folk icons Pete and Toshi Seeger of Beacon. The parade returned to New York City on July 4, this time as Sail4th 250 in honor of the nation's 250th birthday. But it sailed with one notable absence. Around 11 a.m., shortly after the parade began, the Clearwater was approached on both sides by U.S. Coast Guard boats and told to exit immediately. The sloop had been scheduled to escort the NRP Sagres, a Portuguese Navy ship. Instead, it was escorted from the parade route by the Coast Guard, Navy and New York Police Department, and had to wait until the parade was over to return to its current port at the Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, Brooklyn. "I was shouting at them [from the deck of the ship], 'Folks, we're part of this parade!'" said David Toman, the executive director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which is based in Beacon. "We're part of this all!" Toman said crew members were not immediately told why the sloop was being removed from the parade, and a call to organizers provided little clarity. "They told us they were unaware of this and that the decision was being made above their heads," said Toman. It was later that someone from one of the Coast Guard vessels told Capt. Rory Kane that it was because of the ship's banners, Toman said. One side of the ship's sail carried a banner that read: "Save the Clean Water Act," with a drawing of Pete Seeger's banjo. The other had a banner that read: "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions." A Coast Guard representative told The Current: "As part of the parade of sail, participants agreed to conditions established by Sail4th. One of those conditions was to not display political or politically charged messages/statements. The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail. They declined to remove it. So, the Coast Guard enforced the agreement on behalf of Sail4th, removing the vessel from the parade." But Jen Benson of Clearwater, who was on the sloop, said there was no communication from either Sail250 or the Coast Guard regarding the banners. "We were not given an option to remove the banners and continue in the parade," she said. Toman said that no such restrictions existed, only that ships were instructed not to carry banners that could be considered "promotional." A copy of Clearwater's contract with Sail4th 250 that was provided to The Current confirms there were no restrictions on political messaging, only that the ship "may not display any flags, signs or distribute any literature that includes sponsorship names and/or logos without providing examples of these items in advance and receiving express written permission." Sail4th 250 did not respond to numerous requests for comment. "We've been part of the coordination of Sail250 from the very beginning," Toman said. "We signed a contract last year, went to every meeting." While he acknowledged that Sail250 did not specifically approve the sloop's banners, he said he saw other ships in the parade also flying banners. "We're known as America's environmental flagship," he said. "We've been known to fly banners from our sails, as they know. And besides, Sail250 did not tell us to leave the parade." In 1986, the Clearwater took part in the Operation Sail tall ship parade in New York Harbor to celebrate the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. During the parade, the sloop flew two banners from its sails. One read: "Peace on Earth, And Sea, and Sky," and another expressed solidarity with the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship that had been sunk by France while in a New Zealand harbor, killing a photographer who was on board. By Brian PJ Cronin The "Save the Clean Wat...

Data Centers Face Backlash

East Fishkill approves moratorium When Debra Pagano heard that a developer was proposing a 1-gigawatt AI data center in East Fishkill, she asked her son in Texas what he thought of the controversial facilities. With 466 currently operating or planned data centers, Texas has more than any other state except Virginia, according to the Pew Research Center. "I asked his opinion — if it was to their advantage or not," said Pagano. "He said, 'If you can put the brakes [on] in any way to stop it from coming, especially to this area, do it.'" East Fishkill's Town Board applied those brakes on June 25. After a nearly two-hour public hearing during which Pagano and other residents aired emotions ranging from concern to fear, the board approved a three-year moratorium on data centers, which are facing a nationwide backlash as their construction accelerates to meet the large energy demands of AI. New York's Legislature approved a one-year moratorium that needs Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature to take effect. Several upstate towns have also hit pause on any new projects, and Orangetown officials in Rockland County are weighing a moratorium for their town, which has several existing centers. East Fishkill's moratorium, lasting until July 1, 2029, prohibits permitting or consideration of any data center "until the completion of federal and state studies" of their power and water usage, noise and heat emissions. The town allows an exception for projects "ancillary to an existing or permitted use" and less than 20 megawatts, or ones eligible for an economic-development special permit. It passed amid protests from residents who learned that Treetop Companies had asked the New York Independent System Operator, which operates the state's electric grid, to study the impact of an AI-processing and cloud-computing center at its property off of Donovan Drive. While the center would connect to ConEd's grid, the study will also look at its effect on Central Hudson and NYSEG's systems. Nick D'Alessandro, East Fishkill's supervisor, has emphasized that Treetop does not have a formal application with the town, but he said before the public hearing that "the people speak, the government listens and the government acts responsibly." He also said a "significant use" like a data center requires "impactful thought" by professionals and the public. "A moratorium gives us time," said D'Alessandro. "Time to study the infrastructure impacts and the environmental impacts. Time to hear from the experts." With its timeout, East Fishkill joins a movement that has led to more than 100 active moratoriums nationwide and permanent bans by eight municipalities and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker. The warehouse-sized centers house rows of servers that are the repositories and waystations for the documents, images and video stored and shared by Americans through their smartphones and computers. Their construction has accelerated in recent years, driven first by cloud computing and cryptocurrency mining, and now by the processing needs of AI. Behind the backlash are economic and environmental concerns: the effect of the power-hungry facilities on household electricity rates; their thirst for large amounts of water to cool equipment and the impact on wells; and other issues such as noise and traffic. A proposal to build a 200-megawatt data facility at Indian Point is also being studied by NYISO. Tanya Radford, an East Fishkill resident, who gets her electricity through Central Hudson, said any project should be subject to a "robust environmental review" that assesses "air, water, noise and light pollution." She also said that developers should pay for any new energy infrastructure they need. "Ratepayers and communities should not have to pay for new infrastructure that supports new industry," said Radford. "Large commercial industrial users should pay premium prices rather than get sweetheart deals at...