T IMES
SOUTHERN
ULSTER
Vol. 16, No. 24
3
Junior
Honor
Society
3
ONE DOLLAR
Goddess
art
Page 23
Page 21
SERVING HIGHLAND, MARLBOROUGH AND PLATTEKILL
A family seeks justice
Campaign started to keep special needs man from falling through the cracks
By ALLY TURK
Vinnie Carozza, 25, was arrested in
October 2018 and charged with Arson
in the third degree. His family members
are working hard on getting him back
home and shedding light on individuals
with special needs in the justice system.
Carozza was born with multiple birth
defects which began his many surgeries
he had from the age of 2 months to 2
years. Carozza was then diagnosed with
autism and spent his time in school
switching back and forth from special
education schools to neurotypical
schools.
“None of the schools ever seemed to
be the right fit for Vinnie,” Joe Carozza,
Vinnie’s father, said. “He was either too
low functioning or too high functioning
so he was continually passed along from
place to place trying to fit in but never
actually succeeding.”
While growing up Vinnie held
countless jobs, mowing lawns for
neighbors at the age of 13, working at
the Renegades Stadium, and an auto
shop and farm. Vinnie grew up with his
mom, dad and three siblings. When he
was 16 his mother died suddenly of a
brain aneurysm. Then as his siblings got
older and moved out of the house Vinnie
wanted to follow in their footsteps, so
he and Joe started looking into group
homes.
Vinnie was living in a group home
when he placed a book on the stove and
turned on the burner, then placed a
fork and battery in the microwave and
turned it on. The stove started smoking
and set off the fire alarm, no fire or
JUNE 12, 2019
Plattekill
residents
help shape
town’s future
By STACIA DONALDSON
“I went to see Vinnie today,” his father Joe writes in a Facebook post. “My early Father’s
Day gift to myself. Long drive there and back, but it was worth the trip.”
harm actually took place in the building.
According to his family, the group home
was supposed to be giving their residents
one on one supervision, meaning a staff
member should be with a resident at all
times. Vinnie was left alone during the
incident.
Vinnie was then arrested and sent
to county jail where he remained for a
week until Joe bailed him out. Once he
Continued on page 4
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What comes to mind when you
think about the Town of Plattekill? If
its residents have their way, the name
Plattekill will conjure images of apple
fields, mountain views and lots of
new business. Approximately twenty
Plattekill residents gathered at the
Plattekill Firehouse to attend the second
in a series of community visioning
workshops to update the Town of
Plattekill Comprehensive Master Plan.
Required by New York State, a
comprehensive master plan incompasses
both short and long range views that
will both improve and innovate the town.
Updates to the master plan will become
the basis for zoning changes and capital
improvement plans. This master plan
update has a helping hand in the form of a
grant provided by the Hudson River Valley
Greenway (HRVG). HRVG is prepared to
match town funds up to $10,000 with the
stipulation that the money is used to help
fund economic development. Currently in
the first of three phases, members of the
newly formed Master Plan committee are
hard at work, gathering information from
the people of Plattekill that will be used to
create a vision for the town’s future. After
gathering resident input, the committee
will start to narrow its focus, gathering
more detailed information.With all the
necessary information, the committee
Continued on page 4