Selkirk Firm Helping Ravaged N. Country Local Distributor Provides Portable Generators
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update 1998: a progress edition 1ns1de Vol. XLIII No.3 The King of the hill Selkirk firm helping ravaged N. Country Local distributor provides portable generators. By Peter Hanson . since ice and falling trees tore down power A Selkirk-based heavy equipment linesthroughoutnorthernNewYorkState distributor rushed household generators and parts of Quebec. At the height of the and other machines to the storm-ravaged crisis, a reported two million homes were North Country last weekend. without electricity. The staff of Robert H. Finke & Sons last Thursday, Finke began mobilizing gathered portable generators from his effort to bring power to the North around the country to sell in towns such Country. He said his staff worked about as Champlain and 20 hours a day last weekend Hemmingford, Quebec, corralling generators from when they heard residents After seeing other distributors and from of the North Country were the Situation the Homelite factory in South being overcharged for Carolina. generators. Up there, a/1 Of Finke made arrangements The North Country was my people jUSt with Clinton County officials, hammered by an ice storm wanted tO help Michael Tobin, the Empire in the first week of January State Development Office's that left hundreds of those folks, Montreal representative, and thousands of homes without nO matter Champlain's local govern- power. Niagara Mohawk men!. The officials issued crews, aided in some towns what it took. public service announce- . Greg McCarty gives Mary DeVries a ride up the hill ai Elm Avenue Park. Paul Deyss by firefighters, have John Finke ments informing residents restored much of the generators would be available region's power, but many . , . _ at~~asonable prices and set rural households and towns on the · ·up a voice-mail systei:n to handle incoming Canadian border remain dark. orders. Landfill fees lake ·dip The latest bad weather was an ice "After seeing the situation up there, all storm that hit Champlain and its of my people just wanted to help those Bethlehem rates drop $11.52 per ton surrounding area last Thursday. folks, no matter what it took," Finke said, Champlain town supervisor Arnold Beal adding that the company had 24 people By Usa K. Kelly will be $55 per ton, and in 2000 and 2001 estimated that 95 percentof Champlain's working "around the clock" over the The Bethlehem town board· approved the cost will rise to $60 per ton. 1,600 households lost power. weekend. "We got into full swing Friday a four-year extension of its 10-year Bethlehem Supervisor Sheila Fuller Around the time the Champlain storm morning, and our normal stocking contract with the city of Albany for the said vendors pay the town to use its hit, Finke & Sons president John Finke inventory (of about 60 generators) was disposal of solid waste at the ANSWERS ANSWERS permit "heard war stories of ($600) generators exhausted in three hours." landfill facility. The board also set tipping The town doesn't actually pay for the that were being retailed for as high as · Using tractor-trailers and other heavy fees .at its meeting lastweek. use of the landfill, but bills the private solid $2,500. The bulk of them were being sold vehicles, Finke's employees brought The extension will lneah a decrease in waste haulers of individual residents. for between $600 and $850." about 1,000 generators to the North costs for the town. In 1997, the charge was The contract extension was made The generators in question, such as a Country. "With the help of the Clinton $61.52 per ton. The contracted costs for possible after the state Department of 4400-watt Homelite model that Finke sells County Emergency Services Office, this year are $50 per ton, in 1999 the cost National Guard and sllltltpolice, we were D LANOFILIJpage 16 for $ 590 in his store, have been in demand able to get up there very quickly against bad weather conditions." Beal said the generators arrived just in time. "We were glad because all the Town board could restrict zoning changes generators (at local stores) were bought out," he explained, adding that .residents By Usa K. Kelly be set on the project. If through. They also expressed needed generators to power furnaces, The town board has the authority to "the project was "not concern about how changes lights and sump pumps, which they use restrict wning changes for the 6.8 parcel completed by that time, will affect the town. to keep their basements dry and their of land on Delaware Avenue proposed as the land would revert to Louis Dempf Jr., who furnaces safe from flooding. a site for CMI senior housing. its previous zoning. attended the meeting, said the Finke said at least 800 generators have CMI is requesting the town rezone the Flanigan said the situation with CMI is similar been sold at an average of $590 apiece. land on Delaware Avenue to a "planned sunset date has been to a situation several years ago "(Customers) paid the same price that commercial district"' from "residential N' used in other rezoning with Chadwick Square. they would've paid in my store on a sunny property. decisions. He said the "In the exercise of good day in July. We didn't add any freight or Oabor) charges." The new wning law, if approved, would contractors had to come government and planning, the create a "planned commercial zone," back to the town to get change of zone was approved, Some of the generators were sold on allowing the town to add any restrictions it rewned so they could the project, under the control faith. Because of the power outages; it wants, .said building inspector John proceed with the and regulation of the town of obtaining credit card approvals was Flanigan. project. Bethlehem was planned, particularly difficult in Quebec, so Finke developed and constructed," "released several units on trust." "The town board can restrict it (the At the planning Dempfsaid. Finke hopes publicizing the effort his zone) for planned senior housing," board's Jan. 6 meeting, Flanigan said. many residents voiced Flanigan said a planned company made will counter what he concerns over the possibility of something district allows for many uses including described as "negative press (about) price For example, a sunset date could be other than a senior housing project being multiple-family dwellings, retail stores or gouging" that has appeared on TV and in added. This means that a time limit would built on the site if the CMI project fell · - • , , D ZONING/page 16 0 HELPING/page 28 ·'\···'. • :}.~·., 0 PAGE 2- January 21, 1998 THE SPOTLIGHT Spaulding suspects ~ould face grand jury Superintendent suspends By Peter Hanson Both men were employed by about 18,000 tattoo needles, po Two Rensselaerville men were Spaulding & Rogers until Decem lice said. The two men are also BCMS girl for assault arrested on Jan. 8 and 9 for posses ber, when Lansing was fired and accused of selling the stolen mer sion of medical equipment alleg Cain was laid off. Their employer, chandise to local tattoo parlors. By Peter Hanson charges in assault cases to send a edly stolen from a Voorheesville Huck Spaulding, was unaware of An anonymous tip to Spaulding A Bethlehem Central Middle message that such incidents incur firm, the Albany County Sheriffs their alleged criminal activities during the first week of January School student who was sus serious repercussions. Department reported last week. when the men worked for him. prompted him to contact the pended in December for kicking Loomis said the suspended stu James H. Cain, 47, of15Jubilee "Wedidn'tknowwhattheywere sheriffs department. Spaulding and punching a teacher will not dent "has the right to return to Lane, and Douglas F. Lansing, of up to," Spaulding said. "We didn't believes the anonymous tip came return to school until the fall, BC school in good standing at the Route 145, are accused of taking have tight enough security (then), from a third accomplice who re Superintendent Les Loomis said start of the next school year," pro approximately $4,000 in tattooing but we do now. We were a little bit mains at large. last week. vided her behavior conforms to equipment from Spaulding & too trusting." Police said, Lansing, who is The 13-year-oldgirl beat health school rules. Rogers, a manufacturer that em Among the items deputies re currently on parole for an unre teacher Jeannette Rice about the "At our middle school, the stu, ploys about 60 people at its New covered during a search of Cain's lated conviction, was charged with legs, chest arms and shoulders dents are very sure what the stan Scotland Road location. residence were boxes containing criminal possession of stolen prop when Rice intervened in a student dards are for conduct," he said. erty in the fourth-degree. Cain was fight after school Dec. 1. 'These are community standards · charged with the same offense and Rice was bruised during the as well." criminal possession of marijuana. altercation, and BCMS Principal Lansing was arraigned in Stephen Lobban suspended the Rensselaervilletowncourtbytown student for five days, the maxi Correction JAIIIIIIARY SPECIAL! justice Peter Isaacson, and is be mum penalty he could impose. ing held in the Albany County jail The girl was also charged with Due to an editorial error. the 1 Year Of Cellular Service without bail because of the parole third-degree assault, a Class A following names were omitted violation. Cain was released on his misdemeanor. from Bethlehem Central Middle own recognizance. School eighth-grade high honor She was scheduled to appear in roll: Katherine Bonafide, Martin 96 Sheriff James L Campbell said Albany County Family Court late Bonventre, Shannon Boynton, •.,$59 * the duo's town court appearance last month.