[FREE] Serving Philipstown and Beacon Beacon Open Studios Page 9 APRIL 20, 2018 161 MANI ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | highlandscurrent.com Assemblyman Skartados Dies at 62 Represented Beacon in the state Legislature By Chip Rowe A CENTURY IN COLD SPRING — The Village Board threw an early birthday party for Joe Etta at its Tuesday (April 17) meeting. The 1938 Haldane grad, who turns 100 on Sunday, is flanked by his daughter, Maureen Etta, and Mayor Dave Merandy. The village is also planning a celebration for June. See story on Page 6. Photo by Michael Turton Frank Skartados Photo by Daniel Case rank Skartados, the Greek immi- Larry Burke Did Not Call You grant and developer who served four Scammer claims to be Cold enue Service. Even notification of debts Fterms in the state Assembly repre- owed for traffic tickets and fines would be senting Beacon, Newburgh and Pough- Spring police chief sent by mail through the Cold Spring Jus- keepsie, died at age 62 on Sunday (April tice Court system, he said. By Chip Rowe 15) of pancreatic cancer. The Democrat, A lawyer and former Federal Trade who lived on a farm in Milford, had been telephone crook claiming to be Commission manager in Atlanta who diagnosed in late January and entered St. Cold Spring Officer-in-Charge Lar- spent years in telemarketing enforcement Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh on A ry Burke last week demanded that emailed The Current on Friday (April March 24 with respiratory problems. callers send immediate payment for a sup- 13) saying his wife had received a robo- Because Skartados' seat was vacated af- posed tax debt under threat of arrest. call from someone who “breathlessly and ter April 1, under state law the governor “This is a complete scam,” Burke said imperatively” claimed to be from the In- can only call a special election to fill the when told about the calls. “Neither I nor ternal Revenue Service and demanded a position if the legislature is called into a anyone from the Cold Spring Police De- return call to an 845 number or police special session. Otherwise, it will remain partment would ever call anyone for any would be on the way to arrest her. empty until Jan. 1. (See Page 3). kind of payment owed,” particularly for a The number registered in Newburgh Officer-in-Charge Larry Burke Born Jan. 3, 1956, on the Greek island federal agency such as the Internal Rev- to a wireless (Continued on Page 5) File photo by Michael Turton of Astypalaia as the seventh of eight chil- dren, Skartados grew up on a small farm which he helped his father maintain, ac- 5 Candidates for 2 Seats on Haldane Board cording to a biography shared by his chief Garrison incumbents have school board. Incumbent Margaret Parr board. (Gelber and Hoch are seeking of staff, Steve Gold. is among them, but board member Evan their third, three-year terms and On July 4, 1970, at age 14, Skartodos ar- rived in New York City with his mother. no challengers Schwartz chose not to run for re-election O'Rourke his fourth.) The nine-member after serving since 2007. Beacon school board has three open According to his official biography, with- By Pamela Doan The election, as well as a vote on the seats; the deadline for nominating in months his mother had returned to proposed Haldane budget, is scheduled petitions is April 26. Greece and the teenager was left to learn ive candidates filed nominating for Tuesday, May 15. Following are introductions to each of English and work his way through school. petitions by the April 16 deadline In Garrison, David Gelber, James Hoch the five Haldane candidates, in alpha- He graduated from George Washington for two open seats on the Haldane and will run unopposed to betical High School in Manhattan, worked four F Ray O'Rourke (Continued on Page 7) (Continued on Page 3) retain their seats on the seven-member 2 APRIL 20, 2018 The Highlands Current highlandscurrent.com NEWS BRIEFS School Opt-Out Rates Five Questions: CHRIS REISMAN eginning April 11, students in grades By Jeff Simms B3 to 8 took the state English language 5 arts exam and, as in the past, many par- eisman owns Hudson Valley Vinyl at 267 Main St. in see everybody from kids just graduating high school to 70-year- ents who oppose standardized testing Beacon. olds in here. Everyone’s passing good music down. The MP3 is a chose to have their children opt out. R Record Store Day is tomorrow (April 21). Why convenience. You can’t put a record player in a car or wear one At Haldane, 10 of the 182 elementary (5 per- don’t you participate? while you’re jogging, so there’s cent) and 43 of the 207 middle school students It’s designed to say that re- a need for digital but in the (21 percent) opted out, or 14 percent overall. cords are back “in” style, but I end, people love records. Last year 11 percent did not take the test. don’t think they ever went out What do you specialize in? At Garrison, 13 of the 87 elementary (15 of style. It also promotes limit- Vintage soul, jazz and rock. percent) and 16 of the 59 middle school ed editions, but you don’t need And obscurities. A week af- students (27 percent) did not take the test, that to enjoy records. People ter we opened we bought a or 20 percent overall. Its rate last year was should buy records every day, 7,000-piece jazz collection 32 percent. not just one day a year. spanning the late 1950s into At Beacon, 116 elementary and 291 mid- dle school students declined to take the How did you get hooked the ’80s. We had two Alan Watts records walk in off the test, or 31 percent of the total for grades on LPs? 3 to 8. Last year the rate was 33 percent. There were two kinds of kids street the other day. You don’t The state math tests begin May 1. when I was growing up — the see them too often. kids who liked sports and the What are your desert- kids who liked music. Music island discs? State Recovers $4.1 Million made me feel good, so I started For me, it would be John Col- in 'Stolen Wages' buying records, and it turned trane, A Love Supreme or Nat into an obsession. As I got older Coleman, The Shape of Jazz ore than $4.1 million in “stolen wag- I started looking for more ob- to Come. Metallica, Master of Mes” were repaid last year to 2,389 scure things, and it became an Puppets. From the Beatles, people in the Hudson Valley after enforce- addiction. There’s something Rubber Soul or Revolver. And ment by the state Department of Labor. not right with us record people. Abdul Wadud, By Myself. It’s According to the agency, the most com- mon ways that employers underpay wages Will people ever stop an improvisational cello record and it’s one of the most beauti- include paying tips only; paying a day buying records? rate that turns out to be less than the It’s never going to go away. I Chris Reisman Photo by J. Simms ful things I’ve ever heard. minimum wage; not paying for overtime, training or travel time between work as- 24 Dutchess Inmates signments on the same day; withholding Kids’ Kayak Classes the final paycheck; and charging employ- July 9-13 and July 23-27 Reported to ICE ees for required uniforms or equipment. Week-long series of classes get your utchess County Jail officials released To file a complaint about wage theft, kids outdoors and on the water. D24 prisoners to federal authorities call 888-469-7365. Visit from 2016 through mid-2017, according www.HudsonRiverExpeditions.com/kids for more information. to The Journal News. A spokesman told the paper that jail policy is to notify U.S. HUDSON RIVER EXPEDITIONS Tuition-Free College Immigration and Customs Enforcement he application window opened last whenever anyone in custody was born month for the Excelsior Scholarship outside of the U.S. T program for the 2018-19 school year for The Putnam County Jail does not have a families who earn $110,000 annually or similar policy, said a spokeswoman. less. Combined with other financial aid, the About 10 percent of the population scholarship this year allowed 22,000 New of Putnam and Dutchess counties York residents to attend a SUNY or CUNY is foreign-born, and the highest two- or four-year college tuition-free. percentage of immigrants in the state, The application is open to anyone en- aside from New York City and Long tering SUNY or CUNY in the fall and stu- Island, is found in the Hudson Valley, dents who have never applied. according to the state comptroller. See hesc.ny.gov/excelsior. Hudson Valley Auctioneers LLC Antique and Estate Auctioneers 432 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508 Monthly Public Auctions Mondays 5 p.m. Featuring online and offl ine sessions Sunday Previews • Gallery open daily by appointment Estimates Free consultations Consignments accepted Antiques and estates purchased Estate and insurance appraisals Tags sales Clean outs Neil Vaughn, 914-489-2399, Auctioneer Theo Dehaas, 845-480-2381, Manager Visit www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com Offi ce 845-838-3049 and sign up for email notifi cation. highlandscurrent.com The Highlands Current APRIL 20, 2018 3 Assemblyman Skartados Dies at 62 (from Page 1) Tributes rank is now at peace and we ur community has lost a truly “Fshould pray for his family and be “Oremarkable advocate and public grateful for his life of service to us all.