Library Chief Outlines How Sweet It Is Building Proposal
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BETHLEHE~ PUBLICLIBRARY \)Uh G v ~QO DO_ NOT CfRCULA.Ti ' . : ' '• ·• . ' ,_,.:. ·~'-.-' ' -~ : '. -~ . Pooch park on agenda Landslide update Salute to graduates ·- 0 Page 28 _ O_hae23 __ ,.., ·'"'"'" . ttO.£-tsOtt 1.N l!YH'IXQ XAY Xli11M1t'l3a tSt All11l!SI'l JI'ISOd H3H3'IH~3S dOS MOt OO-t0-60 £tO£ H~IJ•••••••••••••••••;~••••• Volume XLIV Number 24 .. Library chief outlines How sweet it is ~· building proposal By SUSAN GRAVES which the library did, she added. r Shortly after that, the board appointed Bethlehem Public Library is second a Citizens Advisory Committee for input to none in the Capital District, and its on renovation and expansion plans. stewards want to keep it that way. "We appointed a cross section of the Although the library is still referred community, we wanted divergent to by some as "the new library," it is opinions, and we asked them to look at showing signs of age and growing pains. plans that Stewart (architect Stewart Since 1973, when the library was built, Roberts) came up with," Pieri said. circulation has doubled, and the "Ultimately, we said the original plan was children's area is over- to support a second story." ] crowded and cluttered. Another major area of That's why ·library concern is that the library is Director Nancy Pieri, the not in compliance with the ,. library board of trustees, led Americans With Disabilities by Susan Birkhead, and a Act, Pieri said. citizens advisory_ committee Expanding the library will have come up with a plan to likely be costly, but Pieri said expand the existing facility. no monetary figure has been According to Pieri, the best determined yet. way for the library to go is up. "We're still working on She said the building, which price tags for this," she said. is nearing its 30th birthday, She added that as i:he plan was designed with a second ;· Pieri evolves, the library will take story in mind. it on the road to inform the "It's pushing 30. It's tired," community of what needs to Pieri said. be done. Signs of aging began to surface in "Right now, we're reconvening the about 1996, she said, when it became citizens group to take our message to necessary to put duct tape on the carpet, their constituents, to take it to the which in some spots is worn away community, one-on-one," Pieri said. completely. "We're putting together a schedule for That, along with incre~sing usage by public discussions, with models and ·- library patrons, prompted library plans that will be on display and we'll be caretakers to engage a consultant to help doing a TV-18 production by early fall," prepare for the future. she added. Pieri said the library hired Nolan In order for an expansion plan to go Lushington to assess its needs. forward, it will have to be approved by "He came and worked with demo referendum, and Pieri said if voters do \ graphics and growth projections and met OK the plan, construction could start as with staff and came up with recom early as next spring. mend~tions," Pieri said. That won't be soon enough for Pieri, In 1998, "He advised us to get an who said the library staff is "completely Bethlehem Central High School graduate Andre Perilla! is clearly happy during architect for redesign of the inside," maxed" in terms of existing space. There commencement ceremonies. · J1m Franco are about 70 full and pari-time library .... staffers. Police probing rash of car break-ins of the week. The thief or thieves will jump more the exception than the rule. By JOSEPH A PHILLIPS from one neighborhood to another from Holligan said the culprits appear to be night to night; they have ranged from simply searching for the easy score. Since Memorial Day weekend, Slingerlands to Glenmont, and as far "Very few cars are forced entries," Bethlehem has been struck by a rash of south along thefts from vehicles, mostly parked, Halligan said. Route 9W as "Mostly they're, unlocked, in residential driveways- 59 Dowerskill unlocked vehi- reported larcenies and counting, as oflast Village - but cles. They seem week. mostly have Everyone likes to think we Jive to be passing hut htalt:ed six "Everyone likes to think we live in nice concentrated in nice secure neighborhoods, through neigh weeks ago road secure neighborhoods, but the tn,1th is, on neigh borhoods, trying became a .major, 2~~ur in the we're easy pickings," said Bethlehem borhoods in but the truth is, we're easy unlocked doors." wake of Delaware.Avenue's police Lt. Tim Beebe. Delmar and pickings. The thieves closing,. will get back on track · The string of car-based thefts, dating Elsmere. Tim Beebe work clean. today in a race toward com back to Sunday, May 28, have followed · An exam "They want any pletion as scheduled this fall. such similar patterns, said Lt. Fred ination of the thing that's easily But James McDonald, the Holligan, that "We're fairly certain they pattern of taken - anything small and portable, DOT Region One engineer in are related. We suspect that it's more police reports reveals that, with few relatively easy to convert to cash," charge ofthe project, offers the than one person, and that they are exceptions, thefts occur in a fairly close Holligan said. working together." following reassurance f()r Beth' area on any given night, with only a few The thefts are mostly of loose items lehem motorists: "Our goal is to The thieves appear to strike late at hits at a time; a spree of 11 reported on a car seat or in the glove com ·build them a better road, not to night and in the early morning hours, overnight thefts on June 2 and 3 in the partment. There has only been one screw up traffic.Jbat's No. 1." after residents have turned in for the network of streets bounded by Cherry reported smashed window and no dash- D DOT/page 23 night. Thefts are likeliest on weekends and Delaware avenues, Fisher Boulevard but have occurred on virtually any night and New Scotland Road appears to be D BREAK-INS/page 24 • "'!' • • -- ., - THE SPOTLIGHT Grand larceny Bethlehem police make DWI arrest charges lodged By Joseph A. Phillips nary screening. He was ordered in the same May 26 incident - rested in Bethlehem on felony Bethlehem police arrested· a to appear in Town Court July 5. Gregory Thomas Ashline, 34, of DWI counts have all had their By Joseph A. Phillips Selkirk man lastweekand charged On June 16inBethlehem Town Albany, charged with driving un cases transferred to Albany Police in Bethlehem and New him with driving while intoxicated. Court, Timothy Patrick Breslin, der the influence of drugs, and County Court. Scotland recently made arrests in Meanwhile, another individual 40, of 7 Minnowbrook Ave., Glenn Scott Ashline, 44, of 327 They include Gregory Alan a pair of grand larceny cases. arrested earlier for DWI pleaded Delmar, pleaded guilty to a DWI Bullock Road, Slingerlands, Thompson, 39, of 61 Main St., Coeymans police on June 13 :w guilty last week to the charge in charge stemming from his arrest charged with DWI -also pleaded New Baltimore, arrested on arrested Kathleen Matthews, 56, Bethlehem Town Court, while on April26. guilty to DWA!June 6.. March 18, and appearing in court of 38 Johnson Road, Alcove, and several others recently pleaded Hewasfined$500andassessed All four men men were sen on June 6; Christopher M. turned her over to Bethlehem ,_ guilty to reduced charges of driv $125 in state-mandated sur tenced to pay fines of $300 along Facteau, 29, of644 Columbia Tum police for arraignment on a felony ingwhileabilityimpaired (DWAI). charges, and also had his license with a $30 state-mandated sur pike, East Greenbush, arrested charge of grand larceny. Another did the same in revoked for six months. charge, and had their driver's li onMay6; and John H. Minor, Jr., The arrest concluded an inves Voorheesville Village Court. censes suspended for 90 days. 33, of Dean's Mill Road, Ravena, tigation by Bethlehem detectives .._ The Sa!ne night, Thomas Drake arrested in Bethlehem by State stemming from a complaint origi The recent DWI arrest oc of 11 Mayfair Drive, Slingerlands, They were also ordered to at Police on April 6 for DWI and nally lodged on behalf of an eld curred on Tuesday, June 20, pleaded guilty to a DWAI in an tend a victim-impact panel and a stolen vehicle charges. erly Delmar woman on Jan. 28. '• shortly after 3 a.m., when Officer swer to his DWI arrest on April drinking driver remediation pro Matthews, a former home Jeffrey Vunck observed a motor 27. gram. Facteau and Minor both ap pearedinTown CourtJune20and health aide, was alleged to have istfailingto !{eep right while south He was fined $300 and a $30 Another individual charged had their cases transferred to the stolen a credit card from the ,. bound on Elsmere Avenue. state-mandated surcharge, and with DWI, as well as a count of endangering the welfare of a child County Court. woman's home on Jan. 26 and • The driver, Paul-Norman Keir, had his license suspended 90 days. used it to purchase more than 33, of 34 Marsdale Court, Selkirk, On June 6, Samuel]. Cenci, 20, who was in his vehicle at the time of his May 21 arrest, offered a Slingerlands student $600 worth of items. was arrested for DWI after failing of 15 Blue Jay Way, Rexford, of Matthews was released after ' field sobriety tests and a prelimi- fered the same plea to charges DWAI plea in Voorheesville Vil training in Germany lage Court on June 5.