Looking Back in Philipstown 250 Years Ago (June 1776) 150 Years Ago (June 1876) 100 Years Ago (June 1926) 50 Years Ago (June 1976) 25 Years Ago (June 2001)

Notes from the Cold Spring Village Board Reservoir permit In other business…

Voltpost addresses EV charging station safety At the Wednesday (June 10) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, James Everley, a representative of Voltpost, the company contracted to install an electric vehicle charging station in the village-owned parking lot on New Street, addressed concerns raised about flooding, electrocution and fires. The Voltpost system includes a dual-charging unit mounted 10 feet off the ground on a wooden pole. When a driver activates the system using a QR code, a 25-foot cable lowers from the unit and retracts when charging is complete. Intense storms have historically caused flooding in the lower village. When Mayor Kathleen Foley pointed out that a number of sources can cause electrification of flood waters when houses are inundated, Everley responded, "Yes but our charger is very unlikely to be one of them." He emphasized that the charging unit will be mounted at a height of 10 feet, well above any flood waters, and that it will be powered by an overhead cable. John Pavlik, a resident of the lower village, asked about potential hazards caused by flood waters reaching as high as the charging port in a vehicle. "Electrocution has always been the main fear when people talk about batteries, so the engineering that has gone into safety is incredibly high," Everley said. "If there were a flood, either the vehicle and/or the charger would turn itself off." He added that Voltpost's unit has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories, which he described as "not an easy feat and a very rigorous process." UL certification is an independent safety verification that ensures products have been rigorously tested and meet national and international safety standards. Everley said that, in his 11 years in the industry, he has never heard of a fire at an EV charging station. He said that while gas-powered vehicles average 1,500 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold, EVs have 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold. "The only time you're likely to see a battery fire would be as the result of an accident, the same as a gas car," he said. Paul Thompson, who lives on New Street, said he had no concerns. "I'm just very satisfied as to the safety of this charging supply equipment," he said. The cost of the charging station, including hardware, installation, operations, software, driver support and maintenance, will be covered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Hudson House Inn leases the parking lot from the village for its guests and has agreed to the installation. Although Cold Spring's reservoirs have been providing residents with drinking for nearly 100 years, the village must apply to the state Department of Environmental Conservation for a permit to draw water from them. "We've been drawing water from our reservoirs since 1929 and have never had a permit; we've never been asked to apply for one," Foley said, noting the situation is not a violation and that the village will provide an annual report to the DEC summarizing water usage. Hahn Engineering will assist the village in acquiring the state permit. The situation may have come about because the reservoirs were established decades before the DEC was created in 1970. The board approved a $5,000 payment to LaBella Associates of Glens Falls for grant-writing services to assist the village with its application to the DEC Water Quality Improvement Program, which funds land acquisition for surface water protection. The application is part of multimillion-dollar repairs to the upper reservoir dam in North Highlands. Trustee Laura Bozzi said the grant application is "one of the last pieces of protecting the reservoir," will be in the $1 million range, and is highly technical. Foley pointed out that the state doesn't open Consolidated Funding Applications, including funding for WQIP, until June, with a deadline at the end of July. "We want to make sure that we land this grant," she said. The board also approved paying $11,950 to Tecton...

Looking Back in Philipstown 250 Years Ago (June 1776) 150 Years Ago (June 1876) 100 Years Ago (June 1926) 50 Years Ago (June 1976) 25 Years Ago (June 2001)

Gen. George Washington returned to New York City from a visit to Philadelphia to consult with the Continental Congress. On June 7, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution to Congress: "Resolved, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." Concerned about the strength of Loyalist sentiment, the provincial congress in New York advised its delegates in Philadelphia to abstain from voting on the resolution, which was tabled until July 2. On June 28, a five-man drafting committee in Philadelphia asked Thomas Jefferson to present the Declaration of Independence for debate. It was read aloud and tabled. On June 30, British Maj. Gen. William Howe and his 9,000 troops began disembarking on Staten Island. The case against Fanny Hay, 8, accused of stealing a breast pin from Mrs. Butterfass, was dismissed by Justice Coe because he felt the girl did not understand the nature of an oath. The Cold Spring Recorder's editor called it "a sad commentary on our Christian institutions that this child did not know how to read, was ignorant of the sin of and the penalty for lying or stealing; had not been taught that there was any future state, that she had an immortal soul; or that there was a Supreme Ruler, the source of all things and the judge of mankind!" A new street near the depot, Railroad Avenue, was completed; Stone Street was furnished with a paved gutter on its west side; and a "great improvement" was made to Kemble Avenue on the slope south of the Rock Street corner. The Recorder editor noted complaints about a Putnam Valley man who, once or twice a week, left his team of horses in the heat near the post office for hours without food or drink. James Finnin of Garden Street was working in the boiler shop at the West Point Foundry when a piece of steel from his hammer pierced an artery in his left wrist. The bleeding was stopped with difficulty by compression with a handkerchief. Assisted by a comrade, Finnin walked to Dr. Murdock's office on Fair Street. A company of Republicans visited Philipstown on a Saturday night to congratulate Rep. William Wheeler, who had been nominated to be the vice-presidential candidate alongside Rutherford Hayes in the 1876 election. Wheeler was staying with his brother-in-law, Henry Belcher, at Garrison's Landing. About 11 p.m. on a Saturday, an intoxicated laborer, said to be employed at the Garrison quarry, stumbled down Main Street. He was warned that the dock was unlit and dangerous, but several bystanders soon heard the splash. Jerry Delany jumped in after him, and a boat was rowed to the rescue. Because the cadets would be in Philadelphia for the Fourth of July centennial, the West Point fireworks were shot off on a Wednesday night in mid-June. Soon after 1 p.m. on a Monday, four young men marched up Main Street wearing what appeared to be baseball uniforms with knapsacks and tin drinking cups. "No one seemed to know where they came nor what place was their destination," The Recorder observed. Three young men from a New York canoe club drew a crowd when they stopped at the wharf on a Sunday afternoon wearing strange outfits. They left at 7 p.m., saying they planned to travel to Poughkeepsie, about 22 miles. The trip took longer than expected, as the Poughkeepsie News reported the men didn't arrive until Monday night and immediately booked hotel rooms. Workers excavated the rocky ground near the District 3 schoolhouse to install a much-needed outhouse. The flagging stones arrived for an "experimental" sidewalk between Kemble Avenue and Furnace Street. The Recorder said a newly constructed railroad fence that followed the rocks and curves "reminds one of the Great Wall of China." At 10 a.m. on a Friday morning, a crowd on Market Street armed with sticks, stones ...

The Race for District 17

Five Democrats compete to face Lawler A lot has changed since the November 2024 general election, when Republican Mike Lawler defeated Democrat Mondaire Jones to win a second, 2-year term representing U.S. House District 17, which includes Philipstown. The Democratic president, Joe Biden, was unpopular, a regular gallon of gas in New York state averaged $3.09, inflation stood at 2.7 percent and 39,000 people were being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly two-thirds of them arrested at the borders with Canada and Mexico. Less than two years later, Republican Donald Trump is the unpopular president, a regular gallon of gas averages $4.38, inflation hit 4.2 percent and 60,000 people were being held by ICE as of April, 85 percent of them arrested at their homes and workplaces, on the street and during routine check-ins with the agency. A Marist poll released in May found that more than half of 1,322 adults surveyed rated their cost of living as "not very affordable" (44 percent) or "not affordable at all" (12 percent); 63 percent did not believe the economy benefited them; and 81 percent felt either a "major" strain on their household budget (33 percent) or a "minor" one (48 percent). Trump's unpopularity, higher gas prices and other costs, and the unpopularity of the conflict with Iran and the president's immigration crackdown are some of the factors bolstering five Democrats competing in a June 23 primary to take on Lawler in November. The district is one of the most scrutinized in the country amid the Democratic Party's efforts to flip the House to its control. The Republicans have a 218-212 majority, with four seats vacant and one independent. Cait Conley has received high-profile endorsements and raised the most campaign funds. A graduate of West Point who earned master's degrees from Harvard and MIT, she spent 16 years on active duty in the U.S. Army before directing counterterrorism for the National Security Council and joining the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Both the Dutchess and Putnam Democratic Committees have endorsed her. Beth Davidson has also received notable endorsements, including from the Rockland Democratic Committee, where she is a county Legislator. Davidson, whose fundraising totals are only bested by Conley's, spent two years on the Nyack school board and has held board seats on local organizations such as Leadership Rockland and the Children's Shakespeare Theatre. A third candidate, Effie Phillips-Staley, is serving her third term as a Tarrytown village trustee. She has also held roles as vice president of strategic advancement at the Hispanic Federation in New York City, where she led a fundraising effort that netted more than $30 million for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria; executive director of the Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns; and director of capital and institutional advancement for The Kitchen, an art space in the city. Questions for Candidates Ahead of the Democratic primary on June 23, we gave each candidate 500 words to answer three questions. Their responses are posted at highlandscurrent.org/house-primary-17. John Cappello and Mike Sacks are the final two candidates. Cappello is an Air Force Academy graduate and bomber pilot who retired from the service and is president of the Halyard Mission Foundation, which commemorates the rescue of more than 500 U.S. airmen from Serbia during World War II. Sacks is a lawyer and journalist who covered law and politics for the MeidasTouch media network and Fox 5 in New York City, where he won an Emmy for his coverage of the protests following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. There have been four polls, but each was commissioned by a candidate or supporter, surveyed a relatively small sample and found large swaths of likely voters undecided. VoteVets, a political action committee backing Conley, commissioned a poll of 500 people in May showing he...

The Race for District 39

Three hopefuls vie for Democratic line Beacon and Philipstown have not been represented by a Democratic state senator since 2015, and the party hopes this year to flip the seat, held by Rob Rolison, a Republican seeking his third 2-year term. First, there will be a primary on June 23 to decide which of three Democratic candidates will challenge him in November: Lisa Kaul, a Dutchess County legislator; Gay Lee, a former City of Newburgh council member; or Evan Menist, a member of the Poughkeepsie Common Council. Sue Serino, now the Dutchess County executive, represented Beacon and Philipstown in the state Senate for three terms. She took office in 2015 after defeating Terry Gipson, a Democrat who served one term. Rolison won the seat in 2022, defeating Julie Shiroishi, a Beacon resident who was then chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson, whose district includes Beacon. In 2024, Rolison defeated Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith, whose district includes part of Beacon. She now chairs the Legislature after Democrats flipped the majority in 2025. Kaul is a native of India and Rhodes Scholar who moved to the U.S. in 2004. She spent five years as an administrator at Vassar College and served on the Arlington school board before defeating Republican Marc Pfeifer in 2023 to win a seat in the Legislature representing part of the Town of Poughkeepsie. She ran unopposed in 2025 for her second term and chairs the Environment Committee. Lee served for four years on the Newburgh City Council. She is a longtime clinical social worker and therapist with a private practice whose career includes stints with nonprofits that provide services to people who are homeless and have mental illnesses. She previously ran for the state Senate seat in 2014. Questions for Candidates Ahead of the Democratic primary on June 23, we gave each candidate 500 words to answer three questions. The responses are posted at highlandscurrent.org/senate-primary-39. Menist holds a master's degree in public administration from Marist University, where he played on and coached the men's rugby team. His resume includes working as a planner and researcher for Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a policy organization based in the City of Newburgh, as a staffer for former state Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and as assistant deputy county executive for Ulster County. He first won election to the Common Council in 2019 and is now in his fourth 2-year term. He also works as co-executive director of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, which produces fruits and vegetables for purchase and donation and educates farmers. Kaul has earned endorsements from the Dutchess County and Beacon Democratic Committees, and Menist from the Working Families Party. The Putnam Democratic Committee did not endorse a candidate; Jennifer Colamonico, its chair said the representatives from the two towns in District 39, including Philipstown, considered both Kaul and Menist to be "outstanding candidates." As of May 29, Kaul had $227,000 on hand and Menist, $133,000. Lee has not filed campaign finance reports. Rolison reported having $7,000 on hand. As of Wednesday (June 10), Kaul has received $268,479 from the state's Public Campaign Finance Board, which matches small donations, and Menist, $234,017. Rolison has received $160,219.

Better than Perfect

Haldane weighs how students are ranked Will future Haldane classes have more than one valedictorian? That's one question raised by a change to the school's grading system, which will be implemented this fall with the incoming ninth-grade class. Haldane, like Beacon and many high schools, gives bonuses when calculating grade-point averages for schedules that include rigorous courses, such as Advanced Placement, honors and college-level classes. At Haldane, AP courses get a 1.1 multiplier, meaning that 100 becomes 110 when calculating a student's four-year GPA. The top grade in an honors course is 105. "We had a few students with over 100 percent GPAs this year," said Julia Sniffen, the Haldane High School principal. At Beacon High School, 15 to 20 seniors crack 100 each year, said Principal Corey Dwyer. Max Sanders, the valedictorian of the 2026 Haldane class, which is scheduled to graduate today (June 12), said he has a GPA of about 101. At Beacon High School, the valedictorian, Oscar McKible, said he finished with around 105 to lead his class, which will graduate on June 24. Starting with Haldane's Class of 2030, Sniffen said the district is going to cap GPAs at 100. Rigorous courses will remain weighted, she said, but "you can't be better than perfect." She said administrators are still discussing how to award valedictorian and salutatorian in 2030 if several students have perfect GPAs. "Does this impact who speaks at graduation?" she said. It's not unheard of to have multiple valedictorians. This year, Jericho High School on Long Island has 21, shattering its previous record of 15. The district does not weight its courses, so any student who receives an A+ in every class over four years is honored. Rather than giving speeches, the valedictorians lead the procession, wear sashes and are featured in a video honoring their accomplishments. The Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Virginia, has a variation on the theme. It names any student with an A+ average as valedictorian and often has 100 or more. But only the student with the absolute highest GPA, including weighted classes, speaks at graduation. By contrast, the Cherry Creek School District near Denver, which serves 53,000 students, stopped recognizing valedictorians at its nine high schools this year. The district called naming a valedictorian "outdated" and inconsistent with its "core values of teaching all students, rather than ranking and sorting them." At Haldane, Sniffen said that capping the four-year GPA at 100 encourages a more well-rounded high school experience. "We want to focus on the whole child, a balanced experience through high school," she said. "They should take courses they're interested in and don't look at it like 'I'm being penalized if I want to stay in band for four years.' " Sniffen added that the change won't impact how universities evaluate student transcripts. She said colleges ignore weighting anyway and have their own processes for evaluating academic performance. Amanda Cotchen, a guidance counselor at Haldane, said some students do seem to select classes for the bonus points. "I have been asked, 'What's the weighting on each of these classes?' My reply is usually, 'Are you interested in the course?' " Sanders said he chose his courses not because of weighting but based on rigor. "I just asked, 'What classes do I want to fill my schedule with? For me, it happened to be APs." In retrospect, he wished he'd found time for Discrete Mathematics, an unweighted elective. "I was doing AP Calculus, and that was very involved," he said, so he took a study period instead. McKible said he scheduled difficult classes to keep his GPA at 100 or better. But he doesn't think he missed anything. The only thing he changed was dropping a study period and lunch "to take more heavy classes," he said. The senior successfully lobbied the administration to add weight to a science research class offered through the University at Albany. "I thought that w...