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The Daily Mail Copyright 2019, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 227, No. 142
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Third-story fire Flames damage home, occupants escape A3
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FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2019
CMH moves birthing services to Albany
By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media
Complete weather, A2
did not allow for a continuum of care, he said. Partnering with Albany
CAIRO — The town board is investigating allegations that Highway Superintendent Robert Hempstead misused town funds to pave county roads. Hempstead responded by defending the “handshake agreement” and describing it as “mutual bond and trust.” A complaint on social media earlier this week triggered the investigation and the town board is consulting with legal counsel and the New York State Association of Towns on the matter, Town Supervisor Daniel Benoit said Thursday. “Whether [Hempstead] may face criminal charges or be held personally liable to repay the town is under investigation,” Benoit said. Benoit declined to say if Hempstead’s job is in jeopardy. “His term ends in December and he is not running for re-election,” Benoit said. Hempstead is accused of working on county roads without having a shared services agreement with the county. Benoit confirmed Thursday that a written shared services agreement is a requirement for such work and that the town of Cairo does not have one with the county at this time. “We have in the past had them when it comes to removing snow off of Main Street, which is (Route) 23B, in the winter,” Benoit said. The town is not pursuing an agreement for blacktopping at this time, Benoit said. During this season, Hempstead allegedly patched portions of County Route 85 and County Route 41 and worked on a bridge over the Shinglekill Creek, Benoit said. Hempstead said he had a verbal agreement for the work performed with county’s foreman, James Wilson. “No one has shared-service agreements with the county,” Hempstead said. “We share services every day but there is no shared-service agreement per se. There is nothing sinister about it; it’s a kinship. A reciprocal type of thing.” Hempstead recalled that for Cairo’s various paving
See CMH A2
See HANDSHAKE A2
n SPORTS
Triola, Dunkle lead Rattlers past Knights The Knights’ Connor Hall drives a ball to the outfield during a Hudson River Collegiate Baseball League game PAGE B1
n THE SCENE File photo
Effective Oct. 1, birthing services will be moved from Columbia Memorial Health to Albany Medical Center. Prenatal and postnatal care will continue to be provided at CMH’s Hudson and Catskill offices.
By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media
Exhibit makes us feel fine “Summer Breeze,” the perennial exhibition of domesticity and beauty, to open at GCCA PAGE A7
n NATION
Dangerous heat wave A potentially deadly blend of heat, humidity and stagnant air engulfs central, eastern U.S. PAGE A5
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HUDSON — Beginning Oct. 1, expectant mothers will no longer give birth at Columbia Memorial Health. Those services are being moved to The Birth Place at Albany Medical Center. The decision is not a precursor to closing the hospital, Columbia Memorial Health spokesman Bill Van Slyke said. Prenatal and postnatal care — medical services provided in the months leading up to birth and immediately afterward — will continue to be provided at the two Columbia Memorial Health offices in Hudson and Catskill, but the actual birthing experience will be moved to Albany Medical Center. The decision was made due to a national shortage of obstetricians, along with a declining number of births. “This was not a decision we made, it was a decision made for us, driven by market forces,” Van Slyke said of the
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Zack Wittman/The New York Times
Pregnant women will still be able to receive prenatal and postnatal care at Columbia Memorial Health, but they will go to Albany Medical Center for birthing services beginning Oct. 1.
shortage of available obstetricians. Because of the lack of obstetricians, the hospital had come to rely on “locums,”
physicians who temporarily cover a position, Van Slyke said. Often, that meant a patient might see a particular physician only once, which
Green Lake decision surprises officials By Sarah Trafton Columbia-Greene Media
n INDEX
Hempstead defends ‘handshake agreement’
ATHENS — A beloved Greene County recreational space is being restored to its natural state, town officials said Thursday. Green Lake in Athens is a Department of Environmental Conservation boat launch and popular fishing spot located off Valley Road. Until recently, the property sported picnic tables and benches, donated by the Athens Community Foundation, for visitors to enjoy. But that is changing as the Department of Environmental Conservation moves to return Green Lake to its former Forever Wild designation. “I’m really heartbroken,” Athens Town Historian Lynn Brunner said Thursday. “We raised that money for a reason. You try to do something for people to enjoy and it’s taken away by the state.”
Athens officials did not receive any notification from DEC, Town Supervisor Robert Butler Jr, said. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden informed Butler of the change to come. “We figured we would get ahead of it and take them out,” Butler said. The three tables and three benches from Victor Stanley cost $11,000, Butler said. “It’s a shame,” he said. “They didn’t fit in with what DEC wanted going at the park, unfortunately, so they have to come out three years after they were installed.” Brunner agreed, saying environmental protection and recreational pleasure could have coexisted. “It’s very sad,” she said. “It wasn’t harming anything.” The DEC declined to comment on the transition. See LAKE A2
File photo
Green Lake in Athens is a popular fishing spot.