Daily Mail Sept. 3, 2019 by Columbia-Greene Media

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Shooting spree Gunman terrorizes two Texas towns Inside, A2

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Veteran dies after fall at Fawn’s Leap

nFORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT WED

By Amanda Purcell Columbia-Greene Media Partly cloudy An afternoon Partly sunny and humid t-storm

HIGH 80

82 54

LOW 62

Complete weather, A2

n SPORTS

Sets sights on winning

HUNTER — A veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a West Point cadet candidate died after falling from a popular cliff-diving spot in Kaaterskill Clove. Benjamin Bochtler, 20, of Bellevue, Nebraska, fell to his death Saturday after a portion of the rock he was hanging onto broke from the ledge at Fawn’s Leap off Route 23A in the town of Hunter. New York State Police have said the death was accidental. The waterfalls of Fawn’s Leap, a popular swimming spot in the summer months, are as high as 24 feet in some places.

Life-saving measures attempted at the scene were unsuccessful. Bochtler was a prior enlisted veteran and a student at U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School located 77 miles south of Hunter. The purpose of the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School is to prepare candidates selected by the U.S. Military Academy admission’s office for the academic, physical and military challenges of the United States Military Academy at West Point, according to the school’s website. “Cadet Candidate Bochtler had an incredible smile and

Contributed photo

Veteran and Cadet Candidate Benjamin K. Bochtler, 20, died after a fall from Fawn’s Leap at Kaaterskill Clove.

See VETERAN A8

Fair ends on a sunny note

The Coxsackie-Athens football team runs through drills during a recent practice PAGE B1

n NATION

Dorian’s wrath continues Hurricane Dorian makes its way to the U.S. after lashing the Bahamas. PAGE A5 By Amanda Purcell

n LOCAL

Columbia-Greene Media

CHATHAM – The 179th Columbia County Fair ended on a sunny note Monday. After rain fell throughout the morning, the skies cleared in the afternoon just as fairgoers began bottlenecking the fair’s gates. “We tried to have a last bit of summer fun before school

starts,” said Katie Tetro, of Athens, who brought her young son Owen to the fair Monday. “We came at the perfect time. There are no lines.” The final numbers aren’t in yet, but Columbia County Fair President Nelson R. Alford, Jr. said all 18 officers and the fair’s directors were happy with the turnout this year. “I am pleased with what we

are seeing so far today, given the way the morning started out for us,” Alford said. “We had a little rain Wednesday night. But up until today, we’ve been getting good weather.” Monday began with a livestock auction and culminated with the rodeo at the grandstands. See FAIR A8 Liana Lekocevic/For Columbia-Greene Media

Rides and carnival foods were high on many fairgoers lists.

Breathe Deep Albany Annual walk/run to raise funds and awareness of lung cancer. PAGE A7

A new look for Dutchman’s Landing By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media

n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice

A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-B5 B7-B8

On the web www.HudsonValley360.com Twitter Follow: @CatskillDailyMail Facebook www.facebook.com/ CatskillDailyMail/

CATSKILL — A new performance space is in the works for Dutchman’s Landing, village officials said Friday. After taking some inspiration from a park in Milwaukee, Village Trustee Peter Grasse, who oversees the parks, decided to amp up the entertainment space at Dutchman’s Landing. The new 28 x 25 foot bandstand is the first phase of the Dutchman’s Revitalization Program. “We want to take the park to the next level and utilize it the best we can,” Grasse said. For years he had heard talk of a new pavilion being added to the park by the Heart of Catskill Association. “Nothing ever really happened,” Grasse said. “When I took over parks, we came up with ideas and sketches.” Grasse liked the design of a timber stage he saw online, he

Sarah Trafton/Columbia-Greene Media

The galley at Dutchman’s Landing.

said. The stage was located at Lake Park in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin. Grasse contacted the municipality to find out how it

was built and was referred to Timber Peg Company in New Hampshire.

“I presented the idea and asked them, what do you think of this?” Grasse recalled. “Everybody loved it. I think it will be a great asset down there.” The stage has been a long time coming, Karen Robinson, of Heart of Catskill Association, said. “This is our 21st year of Music in the Park,” Robinson said. “With the money we raise, we do things for Dutchman’s to keep the place as beautiful as it is.” In the past the group has donated picnic tables and helped with the lighting in the park, Robinson noted. In addition to doing raffles during the 11-week summer concert series, the group also has its annual Cat’N Around Catskill fundraiser in which local artists decorate cat sculptures to put on display around the village. The cats are later auctioned See LANDING A8

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COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA • THE DAILY MAIL

A2 Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Shooting spree across 15 miles in West Texas terrorized two towns and killed 7

Weather FORECAST FOR HUDSON/CATSKILL

TODAY TONIGHT WED

THU

FRI

SAT

Lucinda Holt and Manny Fernandez The New York Times News Service

Partly cloudy An afternoon and humid t-storm

Partly sunny

HIGH 80

Nice with sunny intervals

Sun through high clouds

Chance of a shower

73 53

69 50

77 50

82 54

LOW 62

Ottawa 70/61

Montreal 71/61

Massena 72/59

Bancroft 69/56

Ogdensburg 71/67

Peterborough 71/57

Plattsburgh 71/60

Malone Potsdam 71/59 72/61

Kingston 71/66

Watertown 74/64

Rochester 79/67

Utica 73/60

Batavia Buffalo 77/67 78/67

Albany 78/63

Syracuse 75/66

Catskill 80/62

Binghamton 73/62

Hornell 76/64

Burlington 74/64

Lake Placid 69/56

Hudson 80/63

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

SUN AND MOON

ALMANAC Statistics through 3 p.m. yesterday

Temperature

Precipitation

Yesterday as of 3 p.m. 24 hrs. through 3 p.m. yest.

High

Low

Today 6:22 a.m. 7:27 p.m. 11:17 a.m. 10:16 p.m.

Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset

0.23”

Wed. 6:24 a.m. 7:25 p.m. 12:28 p.m. 10:50 p.m.

Moon Phases YEAR TO DATE

First

Full

Last

New

Sep 5

Sep 14

Sep 21

Sep 28

NORMAL

29.21 26.34

CONDITIONS TODAY AccuWeather.com UV Index™ & AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature®

4 84

8 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11 a.m. Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Very High; 11+ Extreme. The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature is an exclusive index of effective temperature based on eight weather factors.

NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Seattle 80/59

Winnipeg 61/45

Montreal 71/61

Billings 88/61

Toronto 75/65

Minneapolis 76/54 San Francisco 76/60

Chicago 84/58

Denver 85/64

Detroit 82/61

New York 81/69 Washington 86/73

Kansas City 91/59

Los Angeles 91/70

Atlanta 93/73 El Paso 97/73

DORIAN

Houston 97/75

Chihuahua 87/64

Miami 87/76

Monterrey 90/71

ALASKA HAWAII

Anchorage 64/52

-10s

-0s

showers t-storms

Honolulu 90/78

Fairbanks 61/46 Juneau 62/48

10s rain

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Hilo 87/72

20s flurries

30s

40s

snow

50s ice

60s

70s

cold front

80s

90s 100s 110s

warm front stationary front

NATIONAL CITIES City Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Charlotte Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus, OH Dallas Denver Des Moines Detroit Hartford Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Kansas City Knoxville Las Vegas

Today Wed. Hi/Lo W Hi/Lo W 95/69 t 91/67 s 64/52 sh 63/51 c 93/73 s 95/73 pc 79/69 s 83/69 t 86/69 s 93/66 t 88/61 s 98/60 s 96/70 s 97/70 s 97/64 s 95/68 pc 77/65 pc 85/61 t 87/76 t 81/73 r 88/64 s 85/59 pc 90/70 s 89/72 pc 81/54 pc 88/63 s 84/58 t 69/53 s 86/67 s 81/57 pc 84/65 pc 72/56 pc 84/66 pc 78/54 pc 96/73 s 97/72 s 85/64 s 94/66 pc 88/54 s 76/59 s 82/61 t 71/53 pc 81/62 pc 83/56 t 90/78 pc 90/78 sh 97/75 s 100/76 s 84/63 pc 75/54 pc 91/59 s 79/58 s 91/68 s 93/70 s 103/83 pc 105/82 t

City Little Rock Los Angeles Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Norfolk Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Portland Providence Raleigh Richmond Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Savannah Seattle Tampa Washington, DC

Today Wed. Hi/Lo W Hi/Lo W 93/72 s 94/69 s 91/70 s 92/71 s 87/76 t 90/78 t 81/57 t 67/53 s 76/54 pc 71/58 s 93/68 s 94/63 s 95/80 s 97/80 s 81/69 s 88/65 t 85/73 pc 88/75 t 93/67 s 92/66 s 87/55 s 79/64 s 83/74 r 83/78 t 85/70 s 90/66 t 109/89 pc 110/88 s 81/67 pc 77/53 pc 75/58 pc 78/52 t 83/59 s 84/60 s 81/64 pc 82/60 t 88/68 s 88/70 pc 88/69 s 92/71 c 95/62 pc 94/61 pc 91/68 pc 79/59 pc 96/70 pc 96/72 pc 76/60 pc 74/59 pc 88/76 t 83/75 r 80/59 s 79/59 s 90/79 t 89/79 pc 86/73 s 91/70 t

Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Saugerties Senior Housing

ODESSA, Texas — The 36-year-old man who terrorized two West Texas towns with an assault-style rifle Saturday had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he led authorities on a chaotic high-speed chase that ended with his death and the deaths of seven others. Along a 15-mile stretch between the sister cities of Midland and Odessa, the aftermath of the gunman’s rampage — in which he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers with an AR-15-style rifle while driving — clashed with the typically serene and dusty rural landscape of the region. On Sunday, authorities continued to collect evidence from more than 15 crime scenes, scattered along highways, car dealerships and shopping malls, marked by police tape, bullet-riddled cars and a wrecked postal van the gunman had hijacked. Authorities initially refused to name the gunman Sunday, not wanting to give him “any notoriety for what he did,” said Michael Gerke, the police chief of Odessa. But they later issued a statement identifying the gunman as Seth Aaron Ator, of Odessa. Police officers shot and killed Ator in the parking lot of a movie theater in Odessa, ending a shooting rampage that began after authorities had tried to pull him over for failing to signal a left turn. Although officials said in interviews that the gunman had been fired from his job with a trucking company Saturday morning, authorities stressed that they had not yet established a clear motive to explain the level of violence and firepower. “There are no definite answers as to motive or reasons at this point,” Gerke said, “but we are fairly certain that the subject did act alone.” The chief said it was not immediately known whether the gunman had legally purchased the rifle. Similar assault-style weapons have been used in most of the deadliest shootings this decade, including at a country music festival in Las Vegas, a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio, last month. Military-style assault weapons were largely banned from 1994 until 2004, and remain at the center of a continuing national conversation about gun control. While the gunman in the latest attack had a criminal record, there were no open warrants for his arrest when police tried to pull him over Saturday afternoon, Gerke said. Ator had been arrested in August 2001 in McLennan County near Waco on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and evading arrest, according to state records. “This is a different type of active shooter that we were involved with, because he was mobile, and that creates some very special type of issues,” Gerke said. The gunman sped away from the state troopers who had tried to pull him over, and then hijacked a U.S. Postal Service van, killed its driver and began firing at people randomly as he drove. In cellphone video from witnesses that captured the final moments of the shooting rampage, the postal van speeds into view and slams into a police cruiser outside the movie theater in Odessa. A burst of gunfire followed as officers who had been chasing

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/The New York Times

Janzen Baldwin cries during a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting in Odessa, Texas, Sept. 1, 2019. A city spokesman said seven people had been killed, in addition to the gunman. At least 21 others were wounded, including three law enforcement officers.

the van rushed out and shot the gunman, who appeared to still be inside the van. Authorities said Sunday that the seven people killed in the attack ranged in age from 15 to 57, including Mary Granados, 29, the driver of the postal van. The Postal Inspection Service said Granados was a letter carrier, that it was “shocked and saddened” at her death, and that it was working closely with other agencies on the investigation. A total of 22 people were wounded, officials said, including three law enforcement officers and a 17-month-old toddler who was recovering Sunday from injuries that included shrapnel in her chest. The attack Saturday spread panic and fear for hours across West Texas, hundreds of miles from the border city of El Paso, Texas, where four weeks earlier a gunman had killed 22 people at a Walmart in an anti-Hispanic attack. On Sunday afternoon, federal agents executed a search warrant at what appeared to be Ator’s residence, in a remote area of mobile homes at the western edge of Ector County, which includes Odessa. A neighbor, Rocio Martinez, 29, described Ator as a “loner” who sometimes frightened her because he was always firing guns outside. “Although I feel bad about the situation, I feel at ease knowing that he was killed,” Martinez said. “That tells me the threat has been removed, and my family is safe again.” Local and state officials said the shooting had begun at 3:13 p.m. Saturday with the attempted traffic stop on Interstate 20, a busy artery that connects Midland and Odessa. Authorities said Ator was driving west in a gold car and was near the Midland airport. Before his vehicle came to a complete stop, the gunman pointed a rifle toward the rear window and fired several shots at the state troopers, injuring one, the Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The gunman then drove west toward Odessa, shooting a person as he sped away on Interstate 20 and then on East Loop 338, a connecting highway. The shooting continued, and bodies were left in its wake as the gunman continued driving, eventually speeding into the parking lot of the Cinergy movie theater on Highway 191. He shot an Odessa police officer and a Midland police officer before officers returned fire and killed him, authorities said. On Sunday morning, the white postal van and the Odessa police vehicle remained

where they were when the shooting had ended. Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among the officers examining the crime scene on Sunday. Christopher H. Combs, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said the shooting was not connected to either domestic or international terrorism. Combs and Gov. Greg Abbott, both of whom spoke at the news conference Sunday, expressed sadness, frustration and a kind of exhaustion over the series of mass shootings in Texas in recent years. Beginning with a rampage that targeted police officers in downtown Dallas in 2016, killing five officers and wounding another nine, there have been five mass shootings in Texas in a stretch of three years. “I’m heartbroken by the crying of the people of the state of Texas,” the governor said. “I’m tired of the dying of the people of the state of Texas. Too many Texans are in mourning. Too many Texans have lost their lives. The status quo in Texas is unacceptable and action is needed.” Abbott, a Republican who has been a longtime advocate for gun rights, said the state must keep guns out of the hands of criminals like the gunman in Odessa, “while also assuring that we safeguard Second Amendment rights, and we must do it fast.” A spokesman for the Medical Center Health System in Odessa said Sunday evening that a total of 10 people injured in the shooting spree remained at its hospital — one in critical condition, two in serious condition and seven in fair condition. One patient had been released. The wounded state trooper was in serious but stable condition, and doctors were optimistic he would make a full recovery, officials said. The two Midland and Odessa police officers were in stable condition. The injured Midland officer, Zack Owens, was shot several times in an arm and a hand, but relatives said his most serious injury had resulted from having glass shards in one eye. The wife of his cousin set up a donation page on GoFundMe, a crowdfunding site, to help pay his medical expenses. By

HUDSON RIVER TIDES Low tide: 12:51 a.m. -0.26 feet High tide: 6:39 a.m. 4.84 feet Low tide: 1:15 p.m. -0.34 feet High tide: 7:17 p.m. 5.03 feet

Sunday evening more than $57,000 had been raised. The 17-month-old girl who was shot was identified by family friends as Anderson Davis. A GoFundMe page for Anderson, which had raised more than $145,000 Sunday evening, said the toddler had been wounded by a bullet fragment. In Washington, President Donald Trump praised the police and emergency workers in West Texas on Sunday and called the gunman a “very sick person.” “It’s tragic, but they did an incredible job under the circumstances,” Trump said after stepping off Marine One on his return to the White House. “Another very sick person. So I just want to thank everybody involved. And always, you say, as bad as it was, it could have been worse. But it was certainly bad. A very, very sad situation.” The president said a package of legislation was being prepared in response to the recent spate of mass shootings and would be presented to Congress, but he declined to discuss details. “This really hasn’t changed anything,” Trump said, adding, “We’re looking at a lot of different bills.” Regarding proposals to tighten background checks on gun purchases, he said: “I will say that for the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five, going back even five or six or seven years — for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. So it’s a big problem. It’s a mental problem.”

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019 A3

COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA • THE DAILY MAIL

CALENDAR Tuesday, Sept. 3 n Catskill Town Board with public

hearing LL5-19; parking 6:30 p.m. Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill n Durham Town Board workshop meeting 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 7309 Route 81, East Durham

Wednesday, Sept. 4 n Greene County Economic Development Corporation 4 p.m. Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning Conference Room (Room 427), 411 Main St., Catskill n Greene County Legislature health services; county resources and public safety 6 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., Catskill

Thursday, Sept. 5 n Ashland Planning Board 6 p.m.

Town Hall, 12094 Route 23, Ashland n Cairo Town Planning Board 7 p.m. Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo n Coxsackie Village Workshop 6 p.m. Village Hall, 119 Mansion St., Coxsackie

Monday, Sept. 9 n Ashland Town Board 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 12094 Route 23, Ashland n Cairo Town Board 7 p.m. Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo n Catskill Village Planning Board 7 p.m. Catskill Senior Center, 15 Academy St., Catskill n Coxsackie Village Board 7 p.m. Village Hall, 119 Mansion St., Coxsackie n Greene County Board of Electrical Examiners 1 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., 4th Floor, Room 469, Catskill n Greene County Legislature county services and public works 6 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., Catskill

Tuesday, Sept. 10 n Catskill Town Planning Board 7

p.m. Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill n Coxsackie Village Historic Preservation Committee 6 p.m. at Village Hall, 119 Mansion St., Coxsackie

Wednesday, Sept. 11 n Athens Village Board 6:30 p.m. Vil-

lage Hall, 2 First St., Athens n Catskill Town Zoning Board with public hearing Area Variance V-12 6 p.m. Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill n Catskill Village Board 7 p.m. Senior Center, 15 Academy St., Catskill n Jewett Town Board 7 p.m. Jewett Municipal Building, 3547 County Route 23C, Jewett

Thursday, Sept. 12 n Greene County Legislature finance

audit 4 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., Catskill

Monday, Sept. 16

Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre presents the world premiere of ‘Better’ CATSKILL — A shooting. A séance. Fondue. In the tradition of Kieron Barry’s “The Official Adventures of Kieron and Jade,” Bridge Street Theatre presents the world premiere of another brand-new comedy — this one by Michelle Carter, whose “How To Pray” was a big audience favorite during BST’s 2017 season. In Carter’s new play “Better,” coming to BST for eight performances only Sept. 12-22, 20-year-old Emily’s life is turned upside down when her mother commits a shockingly violent act. She leaves school, takes a job at a fondue restaurant, consults a medium, and, like the good student she’s always been, searches for answers. How will she be able to endure her pain? What might she be capable of? Does she deserve happiness? And will things ever get better? This quirky comedy on serious subjects will be directed by Sara Lampert Hoover, and features actors Montana Lampert Hoover as Emily, Brian Linden as Emily’s dad Ben, Lori Evans as Medium Molly (a down-toearth clairvoyant), Carla Lewis-Ruig as Luisa (Emily’s co-worker), and Eric Fleising as Emily’s boyfriend Michael. The production will also feature an original musical score composed

by Catskill’s Rodney Alan Greenblat! Sets and lighting will be designed by Bridge Street Artistic Director John Sowle, with costumes by Michelle Carter and sound by Carmen Borgia. Production stage manager is Joshua Martin. Production costs for this world premiere have been underwritten in part by a generous gift from Rachel Lampert. “Michelle Carter’s plays remind me so much of those unconventional, off-beat streaming comedy series so many of us binge on,” said Artistic Director John Sowle. “She takes on serious subjects (the aftermath of a school shooting, in this case) and deals with them in such a light-handed, humanizing way that it utterly disarms audiences, helps them let their guards down, and opens their hearts. You never see the violence that drives this play onstage – you merely witness the effect it has on the family the perpetrator leaves behind. And what a privilege to have Michelle here during the rehearsal process and for the first few public performances! We’ll even be holding an onstage Q&A session with her following our ‘Pay What You Will’ performance on Thursday September 12. Folks who saw Michelle’s ‘How To Pray’ at our theatre back in 2017 will

need no encouragement to visit her world again.” BST co-founder Steven Patterson concurs. “Not only is this a terrific new play, but the production has turned out to be a real family affair,” Patterson said. “We’ve got the great Sara Lampert Hoover, who helmed our production of Terrence McNally’s ‘Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune’ so brilliantly back in 2018, in the director’s chair. When we saw her daughter Montana Lampert Hoover at the NY Fringe last year in ‘The F#@%ing Wright Brothers’ by David Zellnik (whose ‘The Letters’ we premiered earlier this year), we immediately knew she’d be ideal casting as Emily – and she is, she is. And, since we want to make sure we do this incredible new play justice, we’ve hired a larger than usual complement of Equity actors, and THAT was made possible by a welcome donation, specifically for that purpose, from Sara’s sister (and Montana’s aunt) Rachel Lampert, who only recently retired after 20 years as the Artistic Director of the adventurous Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, NY. Our audiences will also recognize Lori Evans from her performance here as Marjory/Mallory in ‘The Moors’. The three remaining

cast members will all be making their Bridge Street Theatre debuts, though we’ve known and loved Brian Linden’s work since our San Francisco days. And to have Rodney Alan Greenblat creating an original score for us is simply the cherry on top of the sundae.” “Better” is recommended for audiences ages 13 and older and plays 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays from Sept. 12 through Sept. 22 on the Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage, 44 West Bridge St., Catskill, just a block and a half west of Main Street across the Uncle Sam Bridge, which spans Catskill Creek. Eight performances only. General admission is $25; students 21 and younger are $10. Discounted advance tickets are available at better.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. Tickets will also be sold at the door a half hour prior to each performance on a space available basis. “Pay What You Will” performances will be held Sept. 12 and Sunday afternoon, Sept. 15 (“Pay What You Will” tickets available only at the door a half hour prior to those performances”. For information, visit the theatre online at BridgeSt.org/ better/.

DEC reminds residents to ‘See the Catskills’ ALBANY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reminds New Yorkers to see the Catskills like never before in late summer and during leaf-peeping season by attending one of many guided hikes as part of the newly launched “Hike with Us • Catskills” program. Experienced hikers are encouraged to check out the Catskills Fire Tower Five Challenge, snap selfies at each fire tower, and send photos to the DEC for special prizes.

“As summer fades and fall begins, the Catskill Park is a short drive for millions of New Yorkers and provides great opportunities for families and individuals looking to get outside and explore,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “DEC’s new guided hikes and the Catskills Fire Tower Five Challenge encourage New Yorkers to find their own outdoor adventures close to home, while learning about the history of our state’s fire towers and experiencing the beauty of the

Catskills.” Hike with Us • Catskills is designed for individuals and families new to hiking. This series of beginner-level hikes provide a fun, safe, introductory experience that encourages continued participation in hiking while offering educational messages and outdoor skills. Guided hikes range from two to six miles and are being held in Greene, Sullivan and Ulster counties. To coincide with each hiking location, Empire State Development generated itineraries with other

activities, attractions and points of interest, including recommendations for dining and lodging. The itineraries are available on the DEC “Pocket Ranger” app (in the App Store, search for the New York Fish and Wildlife App) and at iloveny.com/Catskills. The Hike with Us • Catskills program announced last month by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo supports the governor’s “Health Across All Policies/Age-Friendly NY” Executive Order, which directs state agencies to incorporate the principles of age- and

health-friendly communities into all relevant programs and policies. The following guided hikes still have spaces available and participants are encouraged to sign up early because space is limited: Sept. 7 – Cabot Mountain Lookout; Sept. 7 – Alder Lake; Sept. 7 – North South Lake Ashley Falls Loop; Sept. 14 – Onteora Lake; Sept. 21 – Vernooy Kill Falls; Oct. 19 – North Point; Oct. 26 – Overlook Mountain Fire Tower; Oct. 26 – Trout Pond.

n Athens Town Board 6:45 p.m.

Town Hall, 2 First St., Athens n Greene County Legislature economic development and tourism; Gov. Ops; finance; Rep and Dem caucus 6 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., Catskill n Greenville Town Board 7 p.m. Town Hall, 11159 Route 32, Pioneer Building, Greenville

Tuesday, Sept. 17 n Athens Village Planning Board

6:30 p.m. Village Hall, 2 First St., Athens n Durham Town Board 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 7309 Route 81, East Durham n Hunter Town Board 7 p.m. Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Tannersville

Wednesday, Sept. 18 n Catskill Library Board 6:45 p.m. at

either the Catskill Library, 1 Franklin St., Catskill or Palenville Library, 3303 Route 23A, Palenville n Catskill Town Board committee meeting TBA 6:30 p.m. Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill n Greene County Legislature regular meeting No. 9 6:30 p.m. Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., Catskill

GREENE COUNTY POLICE BLOTTER Editor’s Note: A charge is not a conviction. All persons listed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed.

STATE POLICE n Matthew P. Zarboa, 52, of East Islip, was arrested at 6:10 p.m. Aug. 29 in Catskill and charged with driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction and firstdegree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, both class E felonies; operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08%, an unclassified

misdemeanor; and driving with broken glass, an infraction. He was released on his own recognizance. n Leonardo J. Genova, 21, of Yonkers, was arrested at 4:18 a.m. Aug. 30 in Windham and charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a class E felony, and second-degree harassment, a violation. He was issued an appearance ticket. n Jason T. Amoriello, 20, of Hensonville, was arrested at 3:20 a.m. Aug. 30 in Windham and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class

A misdemeanor. He was issued an appearance ticket. n Leonardo J. Genova, 21, of Yonkers, was arrested at 4:18 a.m. Aug. 30 in Windham and charged with seventhdegree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. He was issued an appearance ticket. n Kurt Cangelosi, 36, of East Durham, was arrested at 1:42 a.m. Aug. 30 in Hudson and charged with seventhdegree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. He was

issued an appearance ticket. n Felicia M. Cangelosi, 28, of East Durham, was arrested at 1:55 a.m. Aug. 30 in Hudson and charged with

seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. She was issued an appearance ticket.

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Where were the children, Mr. Cuomo? How can something so good turn out so bad? Here’s how. When Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Erin’s Law last week, he chose to do it privately. This peremptory gesture earned him criticism from child advocacy leaders. Rightly, they asked, where were the bill’s supporters? Where were the childhood sexual abuse survivors? Where was the bill-signing ceremony this occasion deserved? The law requires schools to provide training for both faculty and children from kindergarten through eighth grade on how to recognize and report sexual abuse. Gary Greenberg, of New Baltimore, founder of the Fighting for Children PAC, which lobbies for bills like the Child Victims Act

and Erin’s Law, said last week the signing should have put emphasis on the victims. “The signing is a lost opportunity,” Greenberg said. “This should have been an event for survivors, advocates and coalitions who are and have been working to educate and empower New York’s kids against the heinous crime of childhood sexual assault. We must raise public interest about this epidemic, especially among children, and a public signing would have been a great step forward.” This is the second time such an event has occurred. Right after Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act into law, children and survivors were conspicuous by their absence.

“Mostly attorneys were invited to the signing of the Child Victims Act,” Greenberg said. “That’s two historic bills passed by the Fighting for Children PAC, and zero signings which benefit or recognize survivors or children.” The signings of the Child Victims Act and Erin’s Law could have been a way to inform the public about the human cost of an epidemic of child sexual abuse. When Cuomo signs legislation to help police officers, police officers are present. When he signs bills related to climate change, environmentalists are present. When he signs legislation to assist farm laborers, farmers are present. So where were the children, Mr. Governor?

ANOTHER VIEW

If you have high expectations for Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., you are doomed to disappointment. The former Florida governor has perfected the art of eking out the narrowest of victories thanks to a combination of slimy attacks and his personal fortune. But Scott did beat those low expectations as governor when he signed legislation in 2018 after the Parkland school shooting that tightened Florida’s gun laws. Despite angering the National Rifle Association, which is supposedly a death knell for Republicans, Scott still won that year’s Senate race. Appearing on the Sunday talk shows a day after another mass shooting left seven dead in Midland and Odessa, Texas, would Scott tout the bill he signed as an example to fellow Republicans that the NRA need not be feared? No. Instead, he was too scared of the NRA to even talk about much of the law that he himself signed. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Scott described the bill to host Chuck Todd this way: “We sat down immediately. Within, like, three days, Chuck, we sat down with law enforcement, mental-health counselors, and educators and said, ‘What would really work?’ And so we passed historic legislation within three weeks. One is a ‘red flag’ law, that says that if you have threatened harm to yourself or somebody else, then through law enforcement and through due process, through the court system all your weapons can be taken away. And then on top of that we said every school in our state’s going to have law enforcement, and we’re going to have more mental health counselors, and we’re going to set up a process where we can really evaluate problems before they happen.” Scott described “what we did in Florida” in

similar terms on CNN’s “State of the Union,” as well as in an August opinion piece for The Washington Post: “The steps we took in Florida, in addition to committing $400 million to increasing school safety, included a ‘red flag’ provision.” You might be thinking at this point, “That’s doesn’t sound like all that much.” But Scott himself left out many of the key changes the law made. It also banned bump stocks (which increase the rate of fire for semiautomatic weapons), implemented a three-day waiting period for firearm sales and raised the minimum age to purchase a rifle, from 18 to 21. The latter change was significant enough that the NRA is suing over it, yet somehow it managed to slip Scott’s memory. To be clear, there’s mixed evidence at best that any parts of the bill will reduce mass shootings, though the waiting period and age limits will likely decrease suicides. Then again, we don’t have that much robust data on what does stop mass shootings, because Congress has refused for years to fund research into effective gun control. It won’t shock you that Scott has not come out in support of House Democrats’ bill to fix that. But even accounting for low expectations, it’s remarkably telling that Scott, even after winning the GOP nomination easily, not to mention the general election, remains so scared of the NRA and its allies that he’s selfcensoring the bills he’s signed. “This is not a partisan issue,” Scott claimed to CNN’s Dana Bash. Sorry, only one party behaves like this when it comes to gun control. As long as the GOP remains deathly (and wrongly) afraid of the gun lobby, the body count will rise higher and higher. James Downie is The Washington Post’s Digital Opinions Editor. He previously wrote for The New Republic and Foreign Policy magazine.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ‘Religion makes good people better and bad people worse.’ H. RICHARD NIEBUHR

While President Donald Trump plotted to annex Greenland, China’s Xi Jinping — a serious man — spent August weighing a decision that could shape the future of his country, and its relations with the world, for years to come. It has nothing to do with purchases of U.S. soybeans or other concessions to give Trump a face-saving way out of his self-defeating trade war with Beijing. For now, Xi appears inclined to sit back and watch Trump’s mounting panic over the potential election-year consequences of his folly. Instead, Xi is considering whether to act on his regime’s repeated threats to crush Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement by force. He has few other options to stop the mass demonstrations that have shaken the city this summer, which after 12 weeks are undiminished in strength. That’s because he has no intention of meeting the protesters’ demands for the resignation of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing executive and the staging of free elections. And he has something of a deadline: On Oct. 1, huge celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of his Communist regime are planned on the mainland. Counter-demonstrations in Hong Kong could spoil the show and cause Xi a humiliating loss of face. Xi’s media and military commanders have been threatening intervention for weeks. They’ve tweeted propaganda videos of People’s Liberation Army troops using machine guns against “rioters”; they’ve massed elements of the paramilitary People’s Armed Police in the neighboring city of Shenzhen, where they’ve been carrying out exercises. Fresh soldiers were conspicuously rotated to the existing PLA garrison in Hong Kong last week. The assumption among

many Western analysts has been that Xi is hoping that the mere threat of force will cause the movement to retreat. So far, it hasn’t. On Saturday, protesters again battled police in Hong Kong’s streets after a planned march was banned. A week ago, more than 200,000 people formed human chains across the territory to reiterate the demand for direct elections. The week before that, an estimated 1.7 million — nearly a quarter of the population — turned out. The regime has tried less conspicuous measures of force, such as dispatching gang members to beat up protesters and infiltrating marches with provocateurs. It has put pressure on Hong Kong businesses to discipline employees who join the marches. On Friday, it arrested several of the bestknown opposition leaders. So far, nothing has worked. Xi knows that the costs of intervention, or of an imposition by Hong Kong authorities of a state of emergency, would be large, which is why it hasn’t already happened. In addition to destroying the “one country, two systems” model for Hong Kong — which Beijing still hopes to peddle to Taiwan — the economic price would be huge. Though Hong Kong represents only 3 percent of China’s gross domestic product, some 60 percent of foreign investment in the mainland flows through the city, according to The Economist. Under U.S. law, the city is treated as a separate economic entity, allowing it to escape Trump’s tariffs. If an intervention were bloody, most or all of that could be lost. Yet Xi no doubt is listening to arguments such as that recently advanced by the Communist Global Times newspaper, which editorialized that China could more easily manage the economic and diplomatic consequences of a crackdown than it could 30 years ago, when the Tiananmen

The Daily Mail welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must contain a full name, full address and a daytime telephone number. Names will be published, but phone numbers will not be divulged. Letters of less than 400 words are more likely to be published quickly. The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and content. Letters should be exclusive to this publication, not duplicates of those sent to other persons, agencies

movement was shattered by tanks. “China is much stronger and more mature, and its ability to manage complex situations has been greatly enhanced,” it said. My guess is that the aftermath of a Hong Kong crackdown would be less like Tianamen, which wiped out the student-led democracy movement, and more like Communist Poland after the suppression of the Solidarity trade union in 1981. As in Poland, Hong Kong’s freedom movement is supported by the vast majority of the population. It cannot be stamped out — only forced to move underground. At some point, it likely would reemerge, especially if it had international support. That, sadly, is the missing element in Xi’s calculus. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter bluntly warned the Soviet Union against the military intervention in Poland that it was then preparing, helping Solidarity to survive for 16 months. After Moscow settled for the imposition of martial law by the Polish Army, President Ronald Reagan imposed crippling sanctions and set up clandestine ratlines to help keep the movement alive. As Xi has threatened Hong Kong, Trump repeatedly and publicly sympathized with him. Even under pressure from his advisers, the best he could do was muse that a crackdown would make it politically difficult for him to strike a trade deal. That’s why, while the histories of this summer will not remember Greenland, they may record that Trump opened the way to the suppression of the most important freedom movement Communist China has known. Jackson Diehl is deputy editorial page editor of The Post. He is an editorial writer specializing in foreign affairs and writes a biweekly column that appears in print on Mondays.

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Iranian journalist seeks asylum after fleeing foreign minister’s press corps Christina Anderson The New York Times News Service

STOCKHOLM — An Iranian journalist who traveled to Sweden with the foreign minister of Iran last week and fled during the trip is trying to claim asylum in Europe over fears of arrest. The journalist, Amir Tohid Fazel, said he had managed to slip away from the delegation that accompanied Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister. “I said I was going to go smoke,” Fazel explained. “Then I started to walk toward a gathering of people and pretended to be talking on my phone. When I was in the group of people I started to run.” He stopped to change clothes and discard the SIM card in his phone, then hailed a taxi that took him to a police station, where he asked for asylum. Fazel’s defection last week while on a Nordic tour in Zarif’s press pool surprised some in the Iranian news media who saw him as an ally of the conservative political elites aligned with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Roozbeh Mirebrahimi, an Iranian journalist and scholar who now lives in New York, asserts Fazel was present when Mirebrahimi was interrogated

in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran, where he was held for months in 2004. Fazel said that when he left Iran for the trip he had not planned to defect. But he was contacted on social media by a colleague from his office in Tehran who said four people dressed as civilians had gone to the news agency with an arrest warrant. The friend told Fazel to make sure his family was not at home. “I understood that I would be a victim of the power struggle that is going on in Iran,” Fazel said. “That is when I decided.” He was referring to the tensions between hard-line and reformist factions of the political elite who have very different views for the future of the country. Fazel said his reporting on the dual citizenship of high-level officials in Iran had gotten him into trouble. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship. He said a member of Parliament had provided him with a list of officials in the government of President Hassan Rouhani who are also citizens of countries deemed hostile to Iran. It is unclear if Fazel would be entitled to seek asylum in Sweden.

Trial for men charged with plotting 9/11 attacks is set for 2021 Carol Rosenberg The New York Times News Service

WASHINGTON — A military judge Friday set Jan. 11, 2021, as the start of the joint death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men charged with plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The date set by the judge, Col. W. Shane Cohen of the Air Force, signals the start of the selection of a military jury at Camp Justice, the war court convening at the Navy base in Cuba. It is the first time that a trial judge in the case actually set a start-of-trial date, despite requests by prosecutors since 2012 to two earlier judges to do so. If the 2021 timeline holds, jury selection would start nine months before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. One major issue the judge has yet to resolve is what evidence will be used at trial. He is set to begin a series of hearings next month with witnesses in an effort by the defense teams to exclude confessions the defendants made to FBI agents in early 2006 as tainted by years of CIA torture. The judge’s instructions were included in a 10-page

scheduling order that set deadlines toward reaching that trial date. As the first step, the prosecutors must provide the defense teams a list of materials by Oct. 1. The five men are charged in a conspiracy case that describes Mohammed as the architect of the plot in which 19 men hijacked four commercial passenger planes and slammed two of them into the World Trade Center towers and one into the Pentagon, with one crashing into a Pennsylvania field. The other four men are described as helping the hijackers with training, travel or finances. The charge sheets lists the names of the 2,976 people who died in the attacks. The five men were captured in Pakistan in 2002 and 2003. Besides Mohammed, the other men charged are Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ammar al-Baluchi and Mustafa al Hawsawi. They were arraigned in this case May 5, 2012. Since then, the judges have held more than 30 pretrial hearing sessions to work out questions of law and evidence that would apply at the trial by military commission.

Woman dies in Death Valley National Park as temperatures approach 120 degrees By Cindy Chang Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES — A woman died in Death Valley National Park this week as temperatures soared to nearly 120 degrees. The extreme heat is expected to continue through this weekend, with highs forecast at 120 degrees for Saturday and 122 for Sunday. Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, emergency responders received calls about a nonresponsive visitor south of Badwater, according to a news release from the National Park Service. National park rangers as well as officials from the Inyo County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol headed to the scene, but the woman died before they arrived. The cause of death is under investigation, and no other details were released. The high temperature in Death Valley that day was 119 degrees, according to the National

Weather Service. Heat-related illnesses and single-vehicle accidents are among the most common hazards in the park, the National Park Service said in the news release. Two days before the woman’s death, another woman died in the park in a singlevehicle crash. The driver was heading westbound on CA-190 near Twenty Mule Team Canyon when she veered off the road and collided with a rock wall, the National Park Service said. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for this weekend, urging holiday travelers to pack extra water before venturing into the desert. (c)2019 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A ‘catastrophic’ Category 5 storm with ferocious winds Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Patricia Mazzei and Patrick J. Lyons The New York Times News Service

As Hurricane Dorian struck the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said that the maximum sustained winds around the eye of the “extremely dangerous” storm had reached 185 mph, making it a “catastrophic” storm with “devastating winds.” Late in the evening, with the eye of the storm reaching Grand Bahama Island, the winds had slowed very slightly to 180 mph. The center said further gradual weakening was forecast but fluctuations in intensity up or down could occur. Early images and video emerging from the Abaco Islands showed scenes of devastation as the powerful, slow-moving storm churned its way through the islands. Forecasters said Dorian would continue to lash the islands for much of the day Monday. Storm surges of as much as 18 to 23 feet were possible, enough to swamp many low-lying areas, and as much as 30 inches of rain could fall in some locations before the storm passes. The hurricane center warned that no one should venture outdoors into the eye of the storm. “The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night,” the hurricane center said. Hurricane and storm surge watches on the coast were extended Sunday night to reach all the way north to the Florida-Georgia border. A hurricane warning was posted for the Florida coast from near Jupiter to near Titusville, indicating the area that forecasters see as most likely to experience hurricane-force winds on Monday; a storm surge warning was posted from Lantana, near Boca Raton, to near Titusville. Storm surge along the Florida coast could reach 4 to 7 feet in places, forecasters said. The hurricane center said Sunday that there were wind gusts exceeding 220 mph — three times the wind speed

Johnny Milano/The New York Times

Officials monitor data at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Aug. 31, 2019, ahead of Hurricane Dorian’s potential landfall. For all that is known about Dorian, which reached Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale on Sunday with maximum winds of 180 miles an hour, one big question remains: Will it be a disaster for the United States?

to qualify as a hurricane. Officials said the storm was the strongest on record in the Bahamas and one of the most intense in the Atlantic in the last century. Hurricane-force winds extend 45 miles outward from the center of the storm, the center said, with tropical storm-force winds as much as 140 miles outward. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina each announced mandatory evacuations for certain coastal areas of their states, to take effect at noon Monday. Forecasters expect the storm to creep nearer to the coast of Florida through Monday and then swing northward, paralleling the mainland coast. Though it may not make landfall all week if it follows that track, its strong winds and heavy rains, storm surge and punishing surf could still have the potential to do major damage in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida warned on Sunday that while forecasts now suggested that Hurricane Dorian may veer north offshore, a slight nudge could bring its powerful eye to landfall somewhere along Florida’s Atlantic coast. “We’ve got to prepare for

that eventuality,” DeSantis said, speaking from the state’s emergency operations in Tallahassee, the capital. He was surrounded by a small group of grim-faced public officials. Even if the storm stays offshore, the state will probably still experience dangerous storm surge and some flooding. At least four counties have begun evacuating coastal communities, with several more expected to follow soon. DeSantis suspended tolls on a number of major highways to facilitate the movement of coastal residents inland. DeSantis sought to put Dorian’s sustained winds of 185 mph in perspective: “That’s significantly stronger than Hurricane Andrew, which reached landfall at 165 mph. It’s significantly stronger than Hurricane Michael, 160 mph. South Florida has had one hurricane in our history — the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 — that reached that level, and that was total destruction. The strength of this storm cannot be underestimated.” Buddy Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, declared a state of emergency for the city on Sunday afternoon, as the forecast showed the city still within the “cone” of places

Hiring refugees is how to solve crisis, yogurt billionaire says Ezra Fieser Bloomberg

Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant who used a small business loan to build a bestselling yogurt brand in the U.S., has a plan to solve the world’s growing refugee crisis: Give them jobs. During a trip to Colombia, where he was meeting with business leaders and Venezuelan migrants, the billionaire founder of the Greek-style yogurt producer Chobani said companies have a responsibility to help solve the global refugee emergency. “The number one thing is hiring, a job,” he said in an interview in Bogota. “For a refugee, it’s day and night. That’s the point at which they find their life can continue.” Ulukaya, 46, is putting his money where his mouth is. Chobani has a policy of employing refugees at its U.S. plants, and he has pledged much of his personal fortune to the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a charity he founded. Since then, he’s been traveling to recruit business leaders, pushing them to give refugees equal consideration when hiring employees. “It’s good for the companies to be a part of this,” he said. “Because people five years or 10 years from now are going to question ‘What did you do about this? Why were you not part of this?’ “

The UN Refugee Agency estimates that the worldwide population of forcibly displaced people, which includes refugees and other migrants, has risen nearly 70% over the past decade, to roughly 71 million. About 4 million Venezuelans have fled an economic and humanitarian crisis in their homelands. Some 1.4 million have settled in Colombia, a country of 49 million that has called on international donors to help it cover growing costs. Ulukaya said a “significant” number of businesses in the goods and services industries with operations in Latin America have agreed to join him in helping Venezuelan migrants in Colombia by providing employment and other initiatives. They will announce their commitments next month in New York to coincide with the first day of the United Nations General Assembly. Raised in a dairy-farming family in Turkey, Ulukaya bought a shuttered Kraft Foods factory in upstate New York and launched his company in 2007 using a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. He turned the thick-style Chobani yogurt into a household name in the U.S., where it is the No. 1 yogurt by sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The closely-held company has struggled in recent years

as Greek yogurt sales dipped and competition increased. The yogurt maker’s 2025 bond traded below 80 cents on the dollar at the end of 2018 before recovering to around 93 cents this month. Private equity firm TPG Capital lent Chobani $750 million in 2014 and received warrants that could have been converted into equity. Chobani paid off TPG last year by selling a 20% equity stake to Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, which Ulukaya described as a “longterm minority investor.” Sales have improved in 2019, the company said, and annual revenues are around $1.5 billion. For now, Ulukaya said he sees no need to take Chobani public, instead focusing on launching new products “in categories where we’ve never been before,” without elaborating on the products or timing. “I’m not against an IPO,” he said. “I just have to do it for the right reason and at the right time.” Ulukaya’s net worth was estimated at $1.1 billion last year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In 2015, he signed on to the Giving Pledge campaign, popularized by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and promised to commit the majority of his personal wealth to end the global refugee crisis.

where the storm’s eye may go. Residents of Orange County had picked up more than 187,000 sandbags by Sunday, which was 67,000 more than were handed out for Hurricane Irma. Jerry Demings, the mayor of Orange County, took that as a sign that people were taking Hurricane Dorian seriously, which he said was vital. Demings said he remained “cautiously optimistic” that the storm would spare Orlando the worst of its wrath, but that it is “still a massive storm that is somewhat unpredictable.” With forecasters now expecting the storm to move north up the coast before making landfall, the governors of North and South Carolina have declared states of emergency, adding to those already declared in all of Florida and in 12 counties in Georgia.

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BRIEFS We want to hear from you. To send information to be included in Briefs, email to editorial@thedailymail.net; mail to The Daily Mail, Atten: Community News, One Hudson City Centre, Suite 202, Hudson, NY 12534; fax to 518-828-3870. For information, and questions, call 518-8281616 ext. 2490.

SEPT. 3 HUDSON — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties Board of Directors will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Extension Education Center, 479 Route 66, Hudson.

SEPT. 4 CATSKILL — Literacy Connections of the Hudson Valley announces a new no-cost, confidential, adult English as another language class in Catskill. The classes will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 at The Children of the King Church, 169 West Bridge St., Catskill. The classes are ongoing, and are open to adults, 18 years and older, from any language background, regardless of proficiency level. To enroll in the class, simply show up at the Children of the King Church. For information, or to volunteer, contact Heather Martin, Columbia and Greene County Coordinator at colgreene@literacyconnections.org or by calling 518-828-1792 ext. 104. ALBANY — The Mendelssohn Club of Albany will hold auditions beginning in September for male singers interested in joining the club for its 111th season. Interested tenors and basses are invited to rehearse with the club at 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays starting Sept. 4 at the New Covenant Presbyterian Church, 916 Western Ave., Albany. Prospective members are invited to sing with the club during subsequent rehearsals in September to become acquainted with the music, conductor and members of the club. Rehearsals are held every Wednesday, and auditions will take place near the end of September. For information, visit the Mendelssohn Club online at www.mendelssohn.org or e-mail the club at info@mendelssohn.org. The Mendelssohn Club will perform its traditional holiday concert on Dec. 13 at The Egg in Albany.

SEPT. 5 CATSKILL — The Honeyford Memorial American Legion Post 110 will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Catskill Elks Lodge, 45 North Jefferson Heights, Catskill. COXSACKIE — Annemarie Barkman, the Queen of Earl, will share her story of wintering in Florida at 6 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Heermance Memorial Library, 1 Ely St., Coxsackie. Longing for an escape from the cold northeast winter? Dreaming of “flying” south? Join as she shares her story of wintering in Florida. She will reveal her tips and tricks to make your dream a reality. Presentation with a Q & A session. Admission is free. All are welcome. Registration required through the online calendar or by calling the library at 518-7318084. Parking available in rear of building.

SEPT. 6 SAUGERTIES — The Katsbaan Ladies Aid Society will sponsor a Mum Sale, Yard Sale & Bake Sale, rain or shine, 9 a.m.3 p.m. Sept. 6 and Sept. 7 in the Katsbaan Reformed Church Hall, 1801 Old Kings Highway, Saugerties. There will be lots of colorful Chrysanthemum Plants as well as tables full of household items, toys, books, jewelry and delicious homemade baked goods.

SEPT. 7 SOUTH BETHLEHEM — The South Bethlehem United Methodist Church, 67 Willowbrook Ave., South Bethlehem, will be holding their Fall Festival 9 a.m.4 p.m. Sept. 7. The church is celebrating 230 years. Celebrate the anniversary, browse through photos, documents and memorabilia, and listen to stories. And, of course, it will be a day of country church fun. The festival features many vendor booths including crafts, bake sale, flowers and plants, and much more. Enjoy lunch at the lunch/snack bar, starting at 11 a.m. In addition, fried dough and ice cream

will be a Bouncy Bounce for the kids and a community business booth auction which starts at 12:30 p.m. And don’t forget the 50/50 raffle. For information, call Lisa Perry at 518-767-3292 or cell 518-253-5734.

The cost is $12.50, cash only. RSVP no later than Sept. 10. Call Ruth at 518-634-7405 or Lynn Overbaugh at 910-382-6373. When calling, mention any specific dietary needs and if you are a first timer.

CATSKILL — The Catskill United Methodist Church, 40 Woodland Ave., Catskill, will serve its 42nd annual chicken barbecue with continuous seating 4-7 p.m. Sept. 7. Take outs begin at 4 p.m. Menu includes a half chicken, corn on the cob, homemade salads and desserts. Adults, $13; children 5-12, $8; children 4 and younger, free with paid adult. For information and to reserve a ticket, call 518943-2042. Tickets are also available from church members.

ATHENS — There will be a fall flea market to benefit the American Legion Post 187 9:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Athens Post, 92 Second St., Athens. There is no admission cost but vendors will be offering a variety of goods and serivies. All donations welcome and appreciated. This event will help fund some necessary building repairs to the Post. For information, including how to be a vendor, call 518965-1550.

WINDHAM — The Windham-Hensonville United Methodist Church, 5296 Main St., Windham, will have an Ice Cream Social 5-8 p.m. Sept. 7. There will be sundaes, banana splits, root beer floats and more. The Country Cloggers will perform at 6 p.m.

SEPT. 9 CATSKILL — The Catskill Glee Club, an all-male chorus, will resume rehearsals 7-9:15 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Community Life Church, 20 West Main St., Catskill. The Glee Club also will host a membership mixer 3-5 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Crossroads Brewing Company in Catskill. Prospective members are welcome to meet members, enjoy some fellowship, and sing. New members, from high school to adults, are welcome. The Catskill Glee Club was organized in 1927. Members are from from Greene and surrounding counties. Michael Wright is the conductor and Lou Curschmann is the Club President. Call Bob Gaus at 845-389-1503 or Face Book @TheCatskillGleeClub for information. DELMAR — The Delmar Community Orchestra will begin rehearsals for its Fall/Winter season 7:30-9:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave., Delmar. The Orchestra, conducted by Michael Blostein, rehearses weekly on Monday evenings at the Bethlehem Town Hall auditorium, 445 Delaware Ave., Delmar, and will perform a series of four concerts, two concerts for residents of area nursing homes and two public concerts. New members are always welcome, and instrumentalists of all ages are invited to participate. For information, visit the DCO website at www.delmarcommunityorchestra.org or contact DCO President Janet Behning at delmarcommunityorchestra@ gmail.com or 914-271-2055.

SEPT. 10 HUDSON — The Faculty and Friends exhibition of art by the fine art faculty of ColumbiaGreene Community College and invited friends will be held Sept. 10 through Oct. 3 in the Foundation Gallery, Arts Center Building, C-GCC, 4400 Route 23, Hudson. The opening reception will be 12:30-1:30 p.m. Sept. 10. LATHAM — The local group of The Society of American Magicians, Assembly 24 will meet at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the S. W. Pitts Hose Co., 226 Old Loudon Road, Latham. All persons, 16 and older, with any interest in the art of magic are welcome. For information about the organization, or for a link to a local magician, visit WWW.SAM24. SYNTHASITE.COM.

SEPT. 12 SOUTH CAIRO — The South Cairo United Methodist Church, 25 County Road 67, Leeds, will hold a rummage and bake sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 12 and Sept. 13. COXSACKIE — The Columbia-Greene Women’s Perpetual Blessings Luncheon will be held 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 12 at Pegasus Restaurant, 10885 Route 9W, Coxsackie. Donna Peterson, Cornell Cooperative Extension will feature “Getting Ready for Fall”; Linda Larsen and Shirley Algozzine of Cairo will provide the music and Carolyn DiMaura, a teacher from Germantown will speak. Reservations are necessary and cancellations a must.

SEPT. 14

TANNERSVILLE — Exploring Native Edibles + Ornamentals with Hortus Conclusus 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 14 at the Mountain Top Arboretum Education Center, 4 MAude Adams Road, Tannersville. Join horticulturists, garden designers, and artists Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano for a visual presentation of edible native trees and shrubs all grown at Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. They will share the magnificent diversity of American plants, showcasing rare, highly ornamental, edible varieties that deserve to be used widely by backyard gardeners. Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is a small botanical garden in the mid-Hudson valley now recognized by the Morton Arboretum’s international ArbNet program as a Level II-accredited arboretum. The gardens have an extensive collection of unusual edible and decorative plantings. By trialing both native and exotic plants, their goal is to push the limits of what can be successfully grown in Zone 6, and help fellow gardeners expand their knowledge base and incorporate some of these garden-worthy plants at home. Members, free; nonmembers, $10. For information, call 518-589-3903. ROUND TOP — A benefit for Carl Zoccola will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Maple Lawn Hotel, 10 Storks Nest Road, Round Top. The cost is $20 and includes a buffet and dessert, eat in or take out. There will be live music, raffles and a 50/50. For information, call 518-6223058. CAIRO — Friends of the Cairo Public Library will sponsor fall book sales 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 14 and Oct. 19 at the shed behind the library, 15 Railroad Ave., Cairo, weather permitting. The sales include 3 for $1 paperbacks, 50 cent hardcovers, and $5 bags of books “buy one get one free.” TROY — The Friends of Oakwood will present the next Full Moon Twilight Tour 5:30 p.m. Sept. 14. Led by Oakwood volunteer Heidi Klinowski, the group will start in the magnificent Gardner Earl Chapel, to take advantage of the western sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. Then we will walk to the monuments of some of Oakwood’s interesting ‘residents” and hear their stories. Uncle Sam’s grave and the panoramic overlook at sunset are included highlights of this walking tour. The cost is $15, payable at the door. To register and for information, call 518328-0090. If the weather forces us to cancel, we will call you if you have registered. COXSACKIE — Cornell Cooperative Extension presents Emergency Preparedness With A Financial Twist at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Heermance Memorial Library, 1 Ely St., Coxsackie. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages Americans to become more knowledgeable about emergency preparedness by being aware of different types of emergencies and appropriate responses; putting together an emergency supply kit; making a family emergency plan; and getting involved in community efforts. Special emphasis will be placed on the compilation of important financial, legal and health documents. Present-

Cooperative Extension of Columbia & Greene Counties Resource Educator. Admission is free. All are welcome. Registration required through the online calendar or by calling the library at 518-731-8084. Parking available in rear of building.

SEPT. 18 TROY — The Friends of Oakwood will present a new special art program at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the Earl Chapel at Oakwood Cemetery, Troy. For the past 25 years Peter Jung has been the owner of a gallery on Warren Street in Hudson, featuring traditional American paintings. He will share his expertise with an illustrated lecture on the history of the 19th C Hudson River School art movement of landscapes and luminists. We will also hear how he recently restored the family gravesite of the great artist Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823–1880) in the Hudson City Cemetery. Adults, $15; students with ID, $10. Registration is preferred but not required and can be made by calling 518-3280090. COXSACKIE — Representatives from The Eddy Alzheimer’s Services and Catholic Charities will be on hand to share information and answer questions about the availability of free support and respite services for caregivers at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Heermance Memorial Library, 1 Ely St., Coxsackie. The Eddy Alzheimer’s Services are a program that provides a wide range of free support and respite services for caregivers across a 10 county region through the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Initiative: which is a grant supported by the Department of Health. This is a free presentation. All are welcome. Registration required. Parking available in rear of building. For information and to register, call 518731-8084. TROY — The Sage Singers are accepting singers for the fall 2019 season. The group will be performing Vivaldi’s Gloria and seasonal selections. Rehearsals

are held 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Sept. 18 in Bush Memorial Hall, Russell Sage College, 65 First St., Troy. Auditions for this chorus are not “pressure-cooker” events. We simply want to hear your voice, see what vocal range is comfortable for you and check out your basic instincts for melody and harmony. Music reading skills or choral experience is a plus, but not a hard and fast requirement. For information, email Michael Musial at musiam@ sage.edu.

SEPT. 21 HURLEY — The 13th annual Mid-Hudson Woodworkers Show will be held 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Hurley Reformed Church, 11 Main St., Hurley. There will be displays of fine woodworking items, demonstrations of woodworking techniques, Woodmizer demonstration, gifts for the children and more. RAVENA — Grace United Methodist Church, 16 Hillcrest Drive, Ravena, will hold its Fall Fair 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 21. Including the Country Kitchen with baked goods, homemade canned goods, homemade candy; locally grown produce; Silent Auction; craft centers; huge book sale: bargain shed; games; bounce house; photo booth; music; chicken barbecue. Special events 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; appraisals by “Antique Ladies” ($3 per item); and more. TANNERSVILLE — Mountain Top Arboretume presents Basket Making: Twining with Natural Materials 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Mountain Top Arboretum Education Center, 4 Maude Adams Road, Tannersville. Members, free; nonmembers, $10; materials, $10. This workshop is limited to 12 participants. Pre-registration is required at mtarboretum.org/ events. In this class Katie Grove will introduce the classic basketry technique of twining, using locally harvested plant materials.

SEPT. 28

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Angel Names Association (ANA) will hold its 14th Annual Memorial Walk Sept. 28 at the Saratoga State Spa Park in Saratoga Springs. The walk is being held in recognition of National Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Awareness month. Registration begins at noon and the walk will follow at 1:15 p.m. The day includes children’s activities, light refreshments and prizes. Everyone is welcomed to attend this uplifting, free family event to walk and raise awareness of stillbirth, pregnancy loss and infant death. For additional information, visit www.angelnames. org, contact Michelle Mosca at mgmosca@msn.com or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/angelnamesassociation/. WINDHAM — The VFW Post 1545, 5565 Route 23, Windham, will hold Christmas in September 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 28 at the VFW Hall. There will be gifts, crafts, vendors, antiques and more. Cold and hot drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. CATSKILL — The 2019 Columbia Greene Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be held Sept. 28 at Dutchman’s Landing, Lower Main Street, Catskill. Registration begins at 10 a.m. followed by the ceremony at 11 a.m. and the walk beginning at 11:15 a.m. Registration is necessary. There is no registration fee, however, walkers are asked to make a personal donation and commit to raising funds in the fight against Alzheimer’s. For information, contact Joe Heaney at 518-8674999 ext. 1679 or joheaney@alz. org. Register at alz.org/walk. The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide and 5 locations in the region, this inspiring event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to reclaim the future for millions.

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COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA • THE DAILY MAIL

A8 Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Veteran From A1

infectious positive attitude,” said Col. Joshua Higgins, commandant of the preparatory school. The incident was still under investigation by state police Monday. Higgins thanked New York State Police and first responders who attempted to save Bochtler’s life. “He was everyone’s friend,” Higgins said. “Ben was a prior enlisted combat veteran who set a tremendous example and used his experience in the Army to help his fellow cadet candidates. His warm personality and that big smile made a lasting impact on everyone at USMAPS [the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School]. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and friends.” Bochtler entered West Point Academy in July 2019. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2016 as an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operator (15W). He attended Initial Entry Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Bochtler was assigned to the 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Carson, Colorado, from March 2018 to July 2019. He was deployed to Afghanistan from April 2018 to January 2019 in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, a mission that is part of the U.S. government’s “war on

terrorism.” Bochtler’s death follows a recent string of deaths at the Kaaterskill Creek, which have increased with the site’s internet popularity. There have been at least eight fatal accidents near or at Kaaterskill Falls since 1992, with six of them having occurred in the past decade, according to the New York Times. The last four occurred when people were posing for pictures, according to the newspaper report. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has been implementing new safety features to the tune of $1.25 million over the past four years, including a viewing platform, fencing, warning signs, railings and a bridge upstream from Kaaterskill Falls. But in some cases, the incidents are caused by hikers and recreationists who go off the trails. An 18-year-old hiker fell several feet on July 6, 2018, after veering off the trail, sustaining injuries to his left side. DEC forest ranger Rob Dawson said at the time that the area the teen fell from is “very dangerous for the public. I don’t even go in that area.” He said the incident “could have been a lot worse.” To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail. net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.

Contributed photo

Cadet Candidate Benjamin K. Bochtler, who died in a fatal fall at Fawn’s Leap this weekend.

Landing From A1

off. “Last year the litter of 50 went for $68,000,” Robinson said. This year’s auction will be held Sept. 21 at The Historic Catskill Point. Fifty one cats will be up for auction and one cat is a raffle cat, Robinson said. Robinson is hopeful the stage will be ready for next summer’s Music in the Park series, which will begin midJune, she said. “The pavilion was delivered on Tuesday,” Grasse said. “I just have to pull together a crew to set it up.” Grasse expects the village’s Department of Works will play a key role in assembling the stage, he said. Currently the platform for the stage is at the park and the construction area is taped off. The project costs about $50,000, Grasse said, adding that $24,000 was donated by the Heart of Catskill

Sarah Trafton/Columbia-Greene Media

The new music stage at the park.

Association and the remainder came from the village’s parks budget. The location of the bandstand to the existing gazebo offers the opportunity for multiple stages or to house the soundbooth on the gazebo for events, Grasse said. The pavilion will also be a prime spot for events, Grasse said. The village has Music in

the Park on Thursdays in the summer months, he pointed out. “The gazebo was really cramped for bands,” Grasse noted. Other projects lined up for the park include upgrading the boat launch and the parking lot, and renovating the galley building, which was closed this summer. “The bathrooms need to

be updated,” Grasse said. “The kitchen may need a new hood. The plumbing and electric all needs to be upgraded.” In prior years the galley served hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream each summer. This year the park had a rotation of food trucks instead. Grasse estimates the upgrades to the park will take about three years.

Fair From A1

“These guys [volunteers] give so much of their time,” Alford said. “We’ll have a meeting later on this month and do a wrap up and then we’ll immediately start working on next year’s fair.” Alford was born and raised down the street from the fair. “I’ve been around the fair practically my whole life,” Alford said, adding that his favorite fair activity was riding the Ferris wheel when he was a kid. “To me it is just a great way to give back to the community. “ Now Alford has three grandchildren, two 10-year-olds and an 18-year-old, who live outside the state. They visit Alford and Chatham each year to go to the fair, he said. Over the years, the fair’s venue has seen improvements, Alford said. “We’ve been able to rebuild or replace many of the fair’s buildings over the last 20 years to make it an attractive venue,” Alford said. “It’s more low key than the state fair and people seem to like it. We get all kinds of comments from people while we are shuttling people back and fourth from their cars.” Many visitors, Alford said, come from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. “We have people come up from New Jersey who tell us they try to get up here every year to the fair,” Alford said. “That’s kind of an inner reward you get.” To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.

Liana Lekocevic/For Columbia-Greene Media

Animals took center stage all six days of the fair.

Amanda Purcell/Columbia-Greene Media

An oxen demonstration was one of the events on the Columbia County Fair’s final day Monday.

To start Afghan withdrawal, U.S. would pull 5,400 troops in 135 days Mujib Mashal The New York Times News Service

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States would pull 5,400 troops from Afghanistan within 135 days of signing an agreement with the Taliban, the American special envoy told Afghan leaders Monday. That pullout would be the start of what is expected to be the gradual withdrawal of all 14,000 U.S. troops that could end America’s longest running war. The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, who has led nearly a year of talks with the Taliban, told an Afghan news channel in Kabul that the United States had reached an agreement “in principle” with the Afghan insurgents, but he cautioned that final approval rested with President Donald Trump. The initial troop withdrawal and base closures would take place within 135 days after the deal goes into effect,

and Afghan leaders aware of Khalilzad’s discussions in Kabul said the most likely sticking point for Trump would be the timeline under which the rest of the American troops would leave Afghanistan. Western officials have previously suggested the timeline for the full withdrawal of American troops would probably be 16 months. The deal is intended to immediately reduce violence in several provinces where the American troops would start to leave, though the exact nature of that reduction was not clear. Khalilzad is also said to have told Afghan leaders that, as part of the agreement, the United States would reserve the right to assist Afghan forces should they be attacked by the Taliban. The initial troop withdrawal would mean the closing of five military bases or the transfer of those bases to the Afghan government. A deal with the Taliban

could be the beginning of an end to the nearly two decades of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, which began with the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The war has cost the lives of tens of thousands of Afghans and more than 3,500 American and coalition soldiers. Khalilzad has provided full details on the agreement to President Ashraf Ghani, according to the president’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi. The Afghan president has been skeptical of the talks with the Taliban, which have so far excluded his government. As American diplomats and Taliban officials have neared a deal in their negotiations, violence has intensified in Afghanistan. The Taliban have launched assaults on two northern Afghan cities in two days.