T IMES
SOUTHERN
ULSTER
Vol. 15, No. 16
3
APRIL 18 - 24, 2018
3
ONE DOLLAR
Future
engineers Dukes
win 5th
Page 23 Page 36
SERVING HIGHLAND, MARLBOROUGH AND PLATTEKILL
Frank Skartados, 1956-2018
Assemblyman mourned by colleagues and constituents
50 years
of service
Gael Appler honored by
Milton Engine Company
By MARK REYNOLDS
[email protected]
File photo
A farmer at heart, Skartados interrupted his assembly duties to tend to the birth of baby goats at his Milton Farm in 2010.
By MARK REYNOLDS
[email protected]
At 2 a.m. on Sunday morning April
15 NYS Assemblyman Frank Skartados
[D-Milton] passed away at St. Luke’s
Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh,
surrounded by family and friends,
according to his Chief of Staff Steve
Gold.
In January Skartados was diagnosed
with stage IV pancreatic cancer and was
admitted to the hospital on March 24
because of pain and respiratory issues
due to his illness.
Skartados, the seventh of eight
children, was born on the Greek island
of Astypalaia in the Aegean Sea. He
grew up on a small farm where he
helped his father with a variety of
chores.
On July 4, 1970, at the age of 14,
Skartados arrived in New York City
Continued on page 4
WWW.SOUTHERNULSTERTIMES.COM
The Milton Engine Company No. 1
recently held their annual Inspection
Dinner at Christo’s Catering in
Poughkeepsie.
John McElrath Sr. offered the
invocation.
“We thank you for the opportunity
tonight to acknowledge and recognize
the outstanding contributions that the
volunteers of this department have
made to their community. We also give
thanks for the blessings this association
has received for its leaders, for its
membership but most of all for its spirit,”
he said.
A moment of silence followed in
memory of Gerry Cocozza Sr. and Joe
Galante, who answered their last calls
in 2017.
Chief Gael Appler Jr. said 2017 was
“special and thank God it’s over.”
“We watched our firehouse be updated
to a modern, spacious facility and we
hosted our second Ulster County parade,
both in the same year, it was pretty
amazing,” he said. “For those of us
involved in the project, the planning and
the day to day decisions, I am very glad
it’s over and I’m glad we’re still friends
after it. To each firefighter who had to
move every book, binder, chair, desk and
paperweight in that firehouse, possibly
Continued on page 3