Caver's Death Raises Safety Concerns Local Volunteers Made Valiant Effort
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..--------- .............. ..,_- 1 '2',...:.._F t' .......-. !.--" -•,· ·• ·~·: , . .~. , h \Bt='p··RYl L \l _.JtJ_.Ci JC:i I ·,, ... ,.... BOU auction Cap Rep presents S pnng turns 15 1Having Our Say1 Horne improvement OSee section Supplement inside ZtO£-tSOZt AN HVW13Q ·, 3A'I 3HVKY13Q tSt AiiVHal'f ~I1and W3H31HUS dS~ KOZt tO-t0-60 tStZ WHIA~••••••••••••••••••••~•~ the Towns of Bethlehem & New Caver's death raises safety concerns BCboard By JOSEPH A. PHILLIPS The death of a student from juggles Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in -an accident last week has prompted concerns among local and county public sports safety officials over unfettered access to a Clarksville cave popular with local outdoors groups. requests By week' send, the bodyof24-year-old B'/ETHAN SCHOOLMAN Robert Svensson of Sherburne, Mass., had been removed from what local cavers Budgets change, and money call Ward's-Gregory's Cave, a subter· comes and goes. But there will ranean passage on private property just always be football, track, lacrosse off Delaware Turnpike. The recovery and even hockey. came nearly 46 hours after Svensson, one TheBethlehem school board of four cavers from a student club, heard from representatives of aU became trapped in a narrow water-filled these sports at its Feb. 28 meeting. passage during a dive. :Superintendent Les Loomis "They were experienced, good started the meeting with a reminder cavers," said Emily Davis, a member of about the district's special the all-volunteer Albany-Schoharie Cave predicament this year, with a likely Rescue Team that participated in the lowering of the power plant's recovery. "My opinion is they pushed the assessment, rising enrollment and envelope a little bit beyond their abilities, state mandates. and lost a member of their group as a When he was finished, the board result.". heard; as it doest;veryMarch, from The recovery effort required people asking for more money. thousands of man-hours nearly round' ·Bill Youngs noted that thereare the-clock by the Albany County Sheriff's 2nly two cross country coaches for. · Department, the Onesquethaw, Slinger more than 80 runner§\,• boys and lands and Selkirk volunteer fire gU:Is,:~nd asked whether several companies, various other agencies and more coaches might be added. businesses and dozens of other Hockey booster John Bartow volunteers. wondered whether the varsity The costs of that effort are still being hockey team, currently self-funded, calculated - and prompted an inquiry might; riOt see the school district by Albany County Sheriff James pick up the tab forice rental. Campbell into the causes of the accident, "Uullyappredate the position and the prevention of future mishaps. you all are in,'' Bartow said, "butt~ 'The sheriff is going to do everything hockey)s a growing sport, and he can to close that cave down," said funding for the program is an Undersheriff James Mahon on Friday. increasing struggle." 'We lost the life of a 24-year-old kid, and The. board· was also asked ito it's a shame. In an attempt to stop this ~drisidet' adding a fourth football kind of tragedy from happening again, team, for freshmen. we'd like to close off this cave. We've been Arid several·btcrosse players, ~~. up there so many times over the years Well as girls lacrosse coach John D SAFETY/page 36 Volunteers oversee recovery attempts at Clarksville cave. Joseph A. Phillips Battaglino, told the ... board t~.~t a modified girls lacrosse.. team :-va~ 1 nec~ssat;yif the district wants tg' .•. ' stay,c()I]lpetitive. .... ,. 1.. •. , . ir. 1, • Local volunteers made valiant effort Eve~fually,BC i}thletic Ass;icia:, tion president)()Jm D~lton add:.d . tion officer. 'We knew almost from the "We had many private companies 1 his voice to the chorus; I : ·· • By DONNA J. BELL start that there would not be a happy donate equipment," Mudge said. "Niagara ..:'Atl!letics,is nota frill, bu! an Clarksville may be a sleepy little ending, that it would be a recovery, not Mohawk put a truck out for our db posal, a rescue. We still had to do it. We had to the Walter Pratt Co. provided pumps and important ·part of.. students~' hamlet at the foot of the Helderbergs, but educati()ll/' D~!oll said; "Jlie boafd, it is anything but quiet for the carry on, there was no alternative." hoses. There are people I don't know personally, just local shouldnotseeathletics as ;!ll':asy Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Depart· citizens who came by and cut in.·.atough ye31"1?•. ,,/··:.:: ',;·)'·.,,:it: ment. offered their help." A.fter heining requests for t;~~6ie With the Clarksville caves smack dab The auxiliaries of the than an hour, the board started,t() · in the middle of the department's We knew almost from the start that there Onesquethaw and Slinger make decisi()ns. ..I jurisdiction, its volunteers have seen their would not be a happy ending, that it lands fire departments LO?t;~~is. ~.sked Athletic Dirc;cto; share of action. would be a recovery, not a rescue. We were also on the scene for · ChuckApba to estimate how much1 ; Last week's call to the caves was more than two days, .·a freshman football team would, almost business as usual, with one still had to do it. We had to carry on, · providing hot meals to cost. About $7,000, Abba said. ToO} exception-this time there was no happy there was no alternative. rescue workers. much, shldthe ~()l!rd. ..., ..•... ending. For the first time in the "Everyone was a team "We certainly need .a fourth C department's history, there was no Jeff Mudge member," Mudge said. footbal!team,; Loomis said: "Arid ·· successful rescue, only the painfully long "There were no juris :-ve will PI' moving to:-vard tha~ in recovery of a man who became trapped dictions, we couldn't have years to come ... but this year it just and drowned while caving. While Onesquethaw took the initial asked for better cooperation, people did isn'f~()~~iple." "It's tough emotionally," said Jeff 1 call, the department received support what they were told and carried out their ·. Jhe majodty of Bart()V/'s Mudge, Onesquethaw's public informa- and mutual aid from other fire assignments without question." proposal for hockey funding was departments and agencies including the While this call was not just another 48 likewise rebuffed. New Salem, Slingerlands and Selkirk hours in the life of a volunteer firefighter, 'i'Our proposal is. exceedingly fire companies, Albany County Sheriff's Mudge said that next week, when another Department's search and rescue team D. JUGGLESpage 17 6 and Voorheesville Ambulance Service. THE SPOTUGHT$.50 D VOLUNTEERS/page 17 PAGE 2- March 7, 2001 - THESPOTL'/GHT Police~make four owrarrests Court· cases adjudica-ted Joseph Tyler Weekes, 17, of 13 field sobriety tests, he arrested By JOSEPHA.PHI LLiPs William Michael Saleh, 48, of 332 By JOSEPH A. PHILLIPS ~····~·'"' '·'""''''""'~ - Glenmont Road, Glenmont, ~ """""'*'"•"-""'f////_, Maple Ridge, Ballston Lake, on James Joseph Mullarkey Jr., 61, Four individuals were due in- Route32neartheDelmarbypass of 234 East 75th St, New York Nearly a dozen cases involving arrested Dec. 14; Daniel Paul Bethlehem Town Court Tuesday for speeding. City, and charged him with DWl. charges of driving while Burch, 20, of 2727 Delaware intoxicated (DWI) were recently Turnpike, Voorheesville, arrested to face charges of driving while After administering field Travis also stopped. a vehicle resolved in Bethlehem Town Dec. 23; William John Duell, 40, intoxicated (DWI). sobriety tests and a pre- on Sunday, Feb. 25, about 1 a.m. Court. of 16 Beacon Road, Glenmont, The first of those arrests took screening, Sleurs arrested after the driver, identified as Mark placeonSaturday, Feb. 17, about Weekes for DWl and also cited· H. DiNapoli, 27, of 56 South On Feb. 21, three individuals arrested Dec. 29; Anthony Canty, pleaded guilty to pending DWl 42, of Griswold Heights Apart 2:30 a.m., when Officer Craig him for speeding, consuming Clement Ave., Ravena, failed to Sleurs pursued a vehicle on Route - alcohol in a motor vehicle and signal as he left the parking lot of charges. They included David J ments, Troy, arrested Jan. 6; 9W in Glenmont that was underage possession of alcohoL a closed business on Route 144. Michael, 45, of 475 Pitcher Lane, Joseph M. Sangiovanni, 24, of Red Hook, arrested on Dec. 1; 4040 Elm Ave., Selkirk, arrested speeding. He stopped it on Route Also on. Feb. 19 about DiNapoliwasarrestedforDWl Michael Paul Mavroudis, 27, of Jan. 21; and Francis Charles· 787 in Albany, and after midnight, Officer George Travis after submitting to field sobriety 503 Baxter Court, Delmar, Smith, Jr., 44, of 170ld Route 66, administering field sobriety and stopped a vehicle without a tests. A license check also turned arrested on Jan. 23; and Michael Averill Park, arrested Jan. 29. pre-screening tests, arrested the headlight on Route 32 near Elm up a previous license suspension driver, Edward Michael Denegar, Avenue Park After administering on an alcohol-related conviction. Casey RiChter, 28, of 1657-14 Also convicted of DWAI in a Indian Fields Road, Feura Bush, drug-related case was Charles E. 38, of 59 Mather St, Schenectady, arrested on Jan. 26. Sweeney, 34, of 94 Chestnut St., for DWJ. Denegar was also ticketed for speeding, failure to- Area host families needed Each was sentenced by Town Albany, arrested by Albany Justice Theresa Egan to a $500 County deputies on Dec. 12. stay in his lane and an equipment Host families are needed for 30 Students from countries all fine with a $125 state-mandated He was ordered to pay a $300 violation. American Field Service (AFS) over the world will attend local surcharge, and had his driver's fine and $35 state-mandated Bethlehem police made two- foreign exchange students who high schools and participate in all license revoked for siX months.