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Southern Ulster Times , Wednesday , January 25 , 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar .......................................... 12 Craig McKinney ................................ 9 Classifieds ...................................... 28 Crossword ...................................... 30 Highland ......................................... 23 Letters to the Editor ........................ 8 Marlboro ........................................ 22 Obituaries ...................................... 26 Opinion ............................................. 8 Police Blotter ................................... 4 School News ................................... 20 Service Directory ........................... 32 Sports ............................................ 40
PUBLIC AGENDA
THURSDAY , JANUARY 26
WHAT : Lloyd Planning Board WHEN : 7 p . m . WHERE : Lloyd Town Hall 12 Church St ., Highland
WHAT : Plattekill Zoning Board WHEN : 8 p . m . WHERE : Plattekill Town Hall 1915 Rte . 44 / 55 , Modena
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The Southern Ulster Times , ( USPS 022-586 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , NY 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , NY . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Southern Ulster Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY 12550
New Lloyd environmental chief at the helm
By MARK REYNOLDS mreynolds @ tcnewspapers . com
Recently Neil Curri was appointed as the Chairman of the Lloyd Environmental Conservation Council [ ECC ]. He holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Science from the University of New Haven and presently works for Partridge Venture Engineering as a Geographic Information System [ GIS ] analyst . He said GIS is just a “ fancy ” word for mapping .
“ It is mapping and data base technology and data management . I work for the environmental services division of PVE here in Poughkeepsie ,” he said .
Using GIS technology Curri highlights contaminated sites , brownfield sites , and conducts Phase I and II environmental assessments .
Curri moved to Highland in the fall of 2015 and began attending ECC meetings the following spring .
“ I ’ ve always been interested in environmental topics for a long , long time and I just wanted to be involved ,” he said , adding that his partner Samantha Langton also shares an interest in environmental matters , having served on similar council ’ s in areas where she has lived .
Curri said he has advised other municipal environmental councils on how to use GIS technology to review development plans , do conservation planning and has offered advice on watershed matters .
Curri is hoping to put his educational and professional background to good use for the Town of Lloyd . He recently brought information on electric vehicle charging stations to the attention of the Town Board for their consideration . He said he would continue to call attention to grant opportunities to could bring cutting edge technology to the town that is also aligned with the values of the ECC .
“ The ECC has been very effective in obtaining funding for some work on the Black Creek and for doing some habitat mapping a few years ago ,” Curri said . “ The ECC has been effective in getting grants to do some work and I ’ d like to continue in that tradition and hopefully improve upon it .”
Samantha Langton shares Curri ’ s enthusiasm for the environment .
“ It was just natural when we both moved here that we wanted to get involved in the ECC ,” she said . “ We ’ re also big on trail advocacy and in the past we worked with Scenic Hudson and the Town of Lloyd to help build trails on Illinois Mountain . So we knew about them [ ECC ] and knew they were a good group and wanted to join .”
Langton is a geologist , working for Environmental Products and Services of Vermont . Her local branch office is in New Windsor .
“ We do emergency spill response and we also do environmental remediation for all kinds of releases , usually related to petroleum spills ,” she said . “ We also do some bio-hazard cleanup .”
Langton said she enjoys being a member of the ECC , calling it a ” very active group . Everyone is very well educated on environmental topics and pretty passionate about being there and contributing .”
Former ECC Chairman Jack Maguire retired from the council last year after being a member for 24 years . He said he joined because the environment in Lloyd “ was so beautiful and that wasn ’ t hard to be involved in .” He said over the years the people who have been a part of the ECC have been “ exceptional … It was always a pretty dynamic group .”
Maguire said membership fluctuated widely during his
Neil Curri is the new Chairman of the Lloyd Environmental Conservation Council
tenure from ten to as few as two or three but since 2007 “ slowly but surely it built back up again .” He took on the chairmanship about seven years ago .
Maguire highlighted several significant accomplishments of the ECC ; the Black Creek stairs located off of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and the Black Creek Canoe and Kayak Launch on Route 299 .
“ Beyond that it was always keeping the environment in front of the Town Board as an issue ,” he said , in particular when a mine and an auto racetrack were proposed in Lloyd . “ We took a big part in campaigning against those .”
Maguire said the ECC has played a role in reminding people about the town ’ s rich geologic and environmental history and the fragile beauty of the area that should be preserved and protected .
“ Its so easy to take it for granted when its all around you and you just think it will last forever ,” he said .
Maguire said after such a long tenure he felt it was “ time for someone new and especially someone younger .” He laughed , saying now that he is in his seventies he is not comfortable with the increasing complexities of modern technology , “ post radio .” He added that the Curri and the rest of the ECC are very conversant with new technology , which will serve the board and the town well into the future .
Maguire feels the ECC will remain a vibrant organization with Curri at the helm .
“ Right from the minute he showed up at the council he had all of these contributions to make and he speaks a more informed language about the environment ,” Maguire said . “ We all really worked well together and were fond of each other ; it was really hard to leave for that reason . I might have left earlier if it hadn ’ t been for that … but I knew it was in good hands .”
The ECC recently honored Maguire for his tenure at a luncheon , presenting him with a framed certificate and photograph .