Mid Hudson Times Sept. 12 2018 | Page 4

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Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , September 12 , 2018

Danskammer opponents rally

Manna Jo Green , Environmental Director of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater , presented facts about the proposed new Danskammer power plant at a public forum that was held at the Newburgh Free Library last Saturday .

By MARK REYNOLDS mreynolds @ tcnewspapers . com

Last Saturday at the Newburgh Free Library , the public listened to a panel of experts who presented a wide range of information on what the impacts are to the local community from a proposed new Danskammer Power plant , located on the shore of the Hudson River in the Town of Newburgh .

In 2017 Tiger Infrastructure , in partnership with the independent company Agate Power , purchased the 65 year old , 511 mega-watt power plant from the Mercuria Energy Group . Last spring the company proposed a , “$ 400 million state of the art electric generating system and the permanent retirement of the existing generators currently on the site .” The company states that the new plant would be a more fuel efficient facility and minimize the impacts upon the surrounding communities , while maintaining economic benefits into the future . Tim Guinee , a Climate Reality Project leader , began

Ciaravino to seek ‘ alternative career opportunities ’

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hope to get further information in coming meetings .

“ The city manager has done some great work on our city . We had good open honest communication ,” said Mayor Torrance Harvey . “ He decided he will pursue other things , but ensure he will stay with us until the end . We have a key important position to fill going forward .”

Ciaravino was part of the group that led the way in the water contamination in the City of Newburgh . Ciaravino played an instrumental role in revealing the presence of PFOS in the watershed . He worked with city attorneys to pull together the litigation to reimburse the City of with a picture taken from space of a curved Earth with a clearly visible thin layer of atmosphere .

“ None of us would be here without it and yet we are dumping 110 million tons of global warming pollutants into that beautiful miraculous skin every single day ,” he said .

Guinee said as the concentrations of carbon dioxide , methane and black carbon and other gases increase , they trap more and more of the infrared radiation coming from the sun , resulting in rising temperatures that are killing scores of people , creating huge hurricanes , severe droughts , runaway fires , starvation and crop failures and livestock deaths .

“ We have to act now , we have to act with urgency . Carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere at a faster rate than at anytime in at least the past 66 million years ... Seventeen of the eighteen hottest years on record have all occurred since 2001 and the four hottest years

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Newburgh for contaminated water . His work for the city is greatly appreciated by many council members .

“ The entire council wants to thank him for his service ,” said Councilman Jonathan Jacobson . “ On some things he was quite excellent like responding to the water crisis , on other things there were situations where many members found misgivings . This will be an opportunity for the city council and the City of Newburgh to have a fresh start , I thought it was very professional for the city manager to not resign until after the budget process was over .”

Attempts to reach Ciaravino for further comment were unsuccessful .

In Brief

Town of Newburgh man gets 12 years for fatal stabbing

Orange County District Attorney David M . Hoovler announced that on Friday , September 7 , 2018 , Christopher Smith , 44 , of the Town of Newburgh , was sentenced by Orange County Court Judge William DeProspo to twelve years in prison , and five years post-release supervision , in connection with the April 2017 fatal stabbing of a man who had been staying in Smith ’ s home . On June 25 , 2018 , Smith pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree . Prosecutors had recommended that Smith be sentenced to twenty years in state prison .

At the time that he pled guilty , Smith admitted that , while he was in his home in the Town of Newburgh in April 2017 , he stabbed the man in the neck with a knife . Smith admitted that he had intended to cause serious physical injury to the man , and that the man died as a result of the knife wounds .

Christopher Smith The New York State Police had received a report from

the deceased man ’ s family on June 30 , 2017 , that he was missing . As a result of an investigation into the man ’ s disappearance , on October 24 , 2017 , members of the State Police discovered the man ’ s remains buried in a large planter outside of Smith ’ s residence .

Hoovler thanked the New York State Police for their investigation of the case and for the defendant ’ s arrest .

“ No sentence can ever mitigate the pain that a homicide victim ’ s family experiences when they lose a loved one to violence ,” said Hoovler . “ The unlawful taking of another human life is among the worst crimes that one can commit , and the likelihood of killing increases dramatically when a person chooses to use a weapon . My office will seek lengthy prison sentences for those who resort to violence and weapons to settle disputes . I only hope that the recovery of the victim ’ s body in this case brought some measure of closure to the victim ’ s family .”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Steven Goldberg and Eliza Filipowski .

Hydrant flushing to commence

The City of Newburgh Water Department will be flushing fire hydrants throughout the City beginning on Sunday , September 16 , and continuing through to completion . This process will take two to three weeks to finish . Residents can call the Water Department at 565-3356 to check flushing locations or for more information .

Customers may notice a discoloration of water or a change in water pressure for a short period of time . Please check water before use . Resident ’ s cooperation and patience during this procedure will be appreciated .