* Winner: 10 Better Newspaper Contest Awards *New York Press Association, 2013 Happy Fourth of July! FREE | FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014 69 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | www.philipstown.info Haldane Program Cuts Restored with Union Contract Settlement Thorpe resigns from board president post By Pamela Doan t’s been an emotional spring at Hal- dane Central School District, but it Iappears that program cuts in art and athletics for the 2014-15 school year have been avoided with an agreement between the district and the Haldane Faculty Association, which represents 81 teachers and 6 teaching assistants. Board of Edu- cation President Gillian Thorpe made the announcement at a special meeting The USS Slater sails past the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on June 30. Photo by M. Turton on the last day of school, Thursday, June 26. Thorpe said: “I am thankful that the HFA worked with the district to find a USS Slater Sails Upriver to Albany Home solution that preserved programs and Only WWII destroyer which was to escort allied convoys dur- trine, she was transferred to the Greek teachers. I have always respected Hal- ing WWII. They were fast, maneuverable, Navy and renamed the Aetos or Eagle. She dane’s teachers, but more so now.” escort left afloat long-range ships, with capabilities that served in Greece for 40 years, primarily in Neither party has commented on the By Michael Turton aided them in anti-submarine warfare. the Aegean Sea. In 1991, Greece donated outstanding issues that led HFA mem- The Slater followed U.S. Navy tradi- the Slater to the Destroyer Escort Sailors bers to reject a previous settlement a n important piece of American tion, deriving its name from a naval hero Association. She arrived in the Port of Al- few weeks ago (Continued on page 3) naval history sailed past Garrison — in this case an Alabama sailor, Frank bany in 1997 and now serves Aand Cold Spring on Monday (June O. Slater, who was killed at his gunner’s as a museum ship there. In 30) attracting appreciative crowds along post on the USS San Francisco during 1998 the USS Slater was listed the way. The USS Slater, a cannon-class the battle of Guadalcanal. Reports state on the National Register of destroyer escort, left Staten Island early that Slater never stopped firing at a Japa- Historic Places. Monday morning and passed by Philip- nese bomber — even knowing he faced The Slater also had a movie stown around 1 p.m. as it made its way certain death as the plane flew directly career, appearing in three up the Hudson River to Albany. It was at his position and crashed into the ship. motion pictures including the escorted by two New York State Marine Slater was posthumously awarded the 1961 film The Guns of Nava- Highway tugs — the Margot and the Fran- Navy Cross for gallantry in action. rone starring Gregory Peck. ces. The Slater had been on Staten Island The Slater served in both the Atlantic The Paper spoke with since April where it underwent repairs. It and Pacific theaters before being assigned 88-year-old Don Shattuck, is the only destroyer escort still afloat and to the reserve fleet after the end of the an Albany area resident. At Gillian Thorpe File photo by Michael Turton one of only a dozen still in existence. war. In 1951, as part of the Truman Doc- age 18 he was a (To page 5) Several dozen people waited atop the Bear Mountain Bridge to watch the his- Barbara DeSilva, for easement rights to toric ship pass underneath. As it ap- Town Board Reviews Prospective the strips of land at stake. proached West Point, the Slater offered a In other action, the board briefly recapped gun salute to the U.S. Military Academy. plans for selling the VFW building. Before West Point responded in kind with its VFW Sale, Protests PCNR Coverage adjournment, Supervisor Richard Shea and own booming salute. Further upstream at Declares eminent domain for he Philipstown Town Board last other Town Board members also lashed out Cold Spring, a large crowd assembled on Wednesday took the rare step of at the Putnam County News and Recorder the dock, anticipating the ship’s arrival. Indian Brook Road bridge invoking eminent domain for ease- T over a headline in the June 25 newspaper Around midnight the Slater entered the By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong ment access to a historic Indian Brook alleging board dithering on the Butterfield Port of Albany, coming into her berth in Road property and Hospital project, currently under review by the downtown area at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. begin long-awaited the Village of Cold Spring, not the Town of Some local spectators were surprised replacement of an Philipstown. at the Slater’s appearance. The only inadequate culvert- destroyer escort restored to its World bridge over the PCNR coverage War II configuration, it is decked out in brook, near the The board took issue with a PCNR “dazzle” camouflage. According to the intersection with headline, Town & Village Hesitate on Slater’s website, the painting scheme Route 9 in Garrison. Butterfield, as Planning Board Begins was “purposely confusing.” Its highly By a 5-0 vote Site Plan Review. contrasting colors, “sharp zigzagging June 25, the board “I was not spoken to about that story. lines and jagged geometric shapes” were authorized the I think the headline is not accurate,” Su- designed to make it difficult for enemy town’s law firm to pervisor Shea said. He said he informed ships to determine its size, direction and commence emi- the PCNR “that I thought it was very speed, making it more difficult to attack. nent domain pro- unfair to print the headline like that, be- Built in Tampa, Florida, the USS Slater cedures, including cause it would give people the impression was commissioned in 1944, one of 563 getting an apprais- we were actively pulling back on But- destroyer escorts constructed in the al to determine the terfield, which is not the case at all.” He U.S. between 1943 and 1945. Their clas- Barbara DeSilva’s historic house stands near the bridge railing amount to pay the stated that the town government was the sification hints at their primary mission, in foreground above. Photo by L.S. Armstrong owners, Ron and first government (Continued on page 3) 2 July 4, 2014 The Paper www.philipstown.info | Philipstown.info Mouths to Feed for interrogating her about it. So okay, I’ll drop it. But if it were up to me — if I was looking ahead to a clear July A Little Lamb evening and a tableful of people hanker- ing for something simple and summery By Celia Barbour — I would not make hamburgers, which I find a bit dull, but rather lamb burgers. t’s easy to make my mother happy To my mind, they are the perfect take on in July. Give her a burger, the usual the whole ground-meat-patty thing: su- Icondiments, lettuce, tomato, pickle; per flavorful, rich, and wonderfully bal- nothing fancy — no artisanal ginger- anced, but still easy to make, and iconic tamarind ketchup or brioche buns. May- enough for this flag-waving time of year. be a patio to sit outdoors on, some grand- Lamb is as American as beef, as a mat- kids for company. Done. ter of fact, which is to say: as American as I used to think she was just being most of us are, or: sort of. Both sheep and thoughtful by suggesting I grill ham- cows are descended from Eurasian ances- burgers when she came to visit. Burgers tors, and both were first brought to the are so easy, and she often worries that new world by Spaniards. Moreover, sheep I have too much on my plate as it is. I have thrived on whatever kinds of rough, figured she was trying to save me the rocky terrain this country has thrown at trouble of preparing something more them — from Idaho foothills to Califor- elaborate. nia coastline, from boulder-strewn New England meadows Lamb sliders Photos by C. Barbour to the dusty plains of the American make (and eat) two or three small burg- Meanwhile, meatball-size sliders had Southwest where ers rather than one big one. Because long been slipping onto high-end restau- the Navajo have when you eat one big burger, no mat- rant menus, the perfect appetizer for an been herding them ter how careful you are, the thing turns era obsessed with miniaturization (see masterfully for all chaotic and grisly by the time you Apple for more examples). Made with centuries. get to the last bite — a bite you can things like Kobe or Wagyu beef, and Yet patriotic as a barely hold together with your ketchup- topped with foie gras, Asian pickles, or lamb burger surely drenched fingers. tempura’d tomatillos, they were hardly is, I have to admit The name “sliders” seems onomato- greasy-spoon fare. that I like mine poeiac, but is not; you do actually have Gourmet sliders are about the right best with Greek fla- to chew them. It was first used derogato- size for an American Girl doll’s supper, vorings — minced rily to refer to the small, greasy burgers but the so-called slider buns I’ve bought garlic, chopped served at White Castle. The company ig- locally are really quite medium, with rosemary, and a nored this insult until 1993, when they de- roughly the circumference of ordinary small squeeze of cided instead to trademark the name, al- hamburger buns from the 1970s, before lemon juice in the tering the spelling to “slyders,” and laying supersizing took hold.