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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , May 24 , 2017
Walden revisits fluoride issue
Continued from page 1
residents , particularly children . There ’ s already a level of natural fluoride in the water supply and only 17 of 161 water systems statewide use fluoridated water . Walden reintroduced fluoride to its water supply seven years ago .
Thompson said it ’ s hard to measure how much fluoride each individual in the village is ingesting on a daily basis . “ What really piqued my curiosity was when we went on our tour with ( Village Manager ) John Revella to the different water facilities ,” she said during the meeting . “ It was like ‘ Don ’ t go in there , don ’ t touch that , do you know about fluoride ?’ After he told us how lethal that could be to the village employees that handle it , and what it does to the equipment , that ’ s when I went home and really started looking up things . It ’ s kind of scary when you really think about what it does .”
Deputy Mayor Sean Hoffman noted that when the board spoke to a number of health experts the last time the issue was bandied about , the medical professionals strongly supported the use of fluoride in water supplies . Trustee John Ramos mentioned that the practice of using the compound dated back to 1945 . “ The technology has increased with toothpastes , fluoride rinses , and I think fluoridation of municipal water is outdated ,” Ramos said , adding that he was inclined to end the program .
The board took no action on the matter at the meeting , and the discussion could continue in the comings weeks . “ I do not feel , as well as many of the residents that I ’ ve spoken to , that the effectiveness of the fluoride in our water outweighs the health risks ,” Moore explained to the council .
The board is also exploring myriad options for how to handle landlord registry and fire inspections in the village . In March , the board passed legislation amending its code to ensure that multiple dwellings will be inspected for fire code violations at least once every 24 months . The Village Board is now trying to determine if the Building Department can handle the load of additional inspections on its own , while a possible increase in fees also has to be determined .
The board debated whether Building Inspector Dean
released by the District Attorney ’ s office indicated that the girlfriend had also reported that Bostick may have been entertaining suicidal thoughts .
According to the police report , when officers knocked on the door , Bostick refused to open the door , or surrender to police on misdemeanor charges . Police officers continued to talk to Bostick while they obtained an arrest warrant . Even after Bostick was informed that an arrest warrant had been issued , the report indicates , he refused to open the door . When officers attempted to enter , they discovered that in addition to the door being locked , objects had been placed behind the door to barricade it .
The police officer who initially entered the apartment was wearing a body-worn camera . Recordings from
Stickles and Code Enforcement Officer Jay Buchalski could do the inspections without bidding the work out to another firm , and Trustee Brian Sebring expressed his belief that the duo could take care of the added workload on their own . Hoffman noted that they could reassess after six months if doing the extra inspections in-house was too much for the department .
When the landlord registry law was passed in 2014 to hold landowners accountable for the condition of their properties , the bill included a non-refundable registration fee of $ 25 per building plus $ 10 for each unit . However , since the law took effect , the village has estimated that 33 percent of landlords have declined to enter the program , which has left the inspection initiative short on funds . “ When it happened there was a one-time fee for landlords to register , and I had asked Dean Stickles to give us a figure of how much it actually cost to do the administrative paperwork for that program ,” Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold said . “ When you figure out the hours it takes , the cost of the employees , salaries and benefits , it takes a lot to do what needs to be done . Because we ’ re not collecting fees from those that signed up at first , and there ’ s approximately a third that haven ’ t responded , there ’ s a $ 33,000 shortfall between what it costs to administer that program and what we bring in .”
Rumbold argued at the meeting that she would prefer to get the landlords who have opted out of the registry to pony up , instead of raising inspection fees or converting them into yearly dues . The legal fees can be costly to force all of the landlords into joining the registry . “ It ’ s always the case that those who are complying and doing the right thing , you ’ d hate to see them be impacted ,” Rumbold said . “ Obviously if everybody pays what they ’ re supposed to pay , the costs of the administration of the program is shared among everyone . If you have a group of people that aren ’ t complying , you don ’ t like to put the burden on those that do comply . I ’ d like to see what ’ s going on with that third , and find out why they ’ re not complying and figure out what our options are to get them to comply . Then you can get a fair assessment of what that program ’ s going to cost once you have everyone in compliance and paying their fair share .”
Amthor released from the hospital
Continued from page 1 the camera indicate that Bostick refused repeated orders to surrender , and fired a pistol at the police , striking Amthor , before one police officer returned fire . Approximately nine seconds after the last shot was fired by police , another shot is heard coming from the room that Bostick had been firing from , leading the police officers in the apartment to believe that he may have killed himself . Police retreated from the apartment until additional police resources could be brought to the scene .
The investigation into this incident is ongoing . In addition to the investigation being conducted by the District Attorney ’ s Office , and the New York State Police , a parallel investigation will be conducted by the Orange County Grand Jury .
Amthor , meanwhile , is recovering from his injury . In a letter to the Wallkill Valley Times , he indicated that he “ can expect a full recovery and return to service as Police Chief .”
Police Blotter
Walden Police
Christopher Rivera 36 of Wallkill was charged May 8 with petit larceny . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 14 .
Keith Gessel 38 of Walden was charged May 9 with circumventing interlock – tamper with operable device . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 28 .
William Kilian 30 of Montgomery was arrested May 10 on a bench warrant out of State Police Middletown . He was turned over to the State Police .
Ronnie Anzovino 41 of Newburgh was charged May 10 with imitation or counterfeit certificate of inspection , expired inspection certificate and operate a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 28 .
Stephen Tuthill 27 of Wallkill was charged May 10 with criminal impersonation 2nd , identity theft 3rd and aggravated unlicensed operation 2nd . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 14 .
Fiona Brown 31 of Poughkeepsie was charged May 11 with aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd . She is scheduled to appear in village court on June 14 .
Dominick Dellamarco 27 of Walden was charged May 12 with criminal contempt 2nd . He is scheduled to appear in village court on May 24
John Harper 57 of Walden was charged May 12 with criminal trespass 3rd . He is scheduled to appear in village court on May 24 .
Izak Venuti 31 of Walden was charged May 12 with disorderly conduct . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 14 .
Timothy Donnelly 58 of Walden was charged May 12 with driving while intoxicated and fail to comply with lawful order of the police . He is scheduled to appear in village court on June 28 .
Ulster County Sheriff
Members of the Ulster County Sheriff ’ s Office report the arrest of Christopher W . Kearney , 39 , of Wallkill . Mr . Kearney was charged with the misdemeanors of Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Second Degree , along with multiple traffic violations .
On May 9 , at about 7:04 a . m ., deputies stopped a vehicle operated by Mr . Kearney for traffic violations on Route 300 in the Town of Shawangunk . During the traffic stop , Mr . Kearney claimed he did not have identification and provided a name and date of birth , which deputies said later determined to be false . Further investigation revealed Kearney had several warrants for his arrest , as well as a suspended license . On May 17 , 2017 at about 7:15 a . m ., deputies located Kearney operating the same vehicle again on Route 300 in Shawangunk .
Kearney was arraigned in the Town of Plattekill Court and remanded to the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $ 2,500 cash bail or $ 5,000 property bond .