Casinos

After voters statewide approved casino gambling in New York State in 2013, numerous applicants this year sought licenses to operate gaming facilities, presenting their proposals to the selection committee. On December 17, 2014, the Gaming Facility Location Board announced its decision: one casino for Sullivan, in the Town of Thompson, and none in Orange—a relief to those who had argued that a casino in Orange would have made one in Sullivan irrelevant.

Casinos by the Numbers

16 applications submitted

4 or fewer to be awarded

3 regions considered

2 options in Sullivan County

1 winner: Empire Resorts

Fracking

With regard to fracking, the big story is the New York State ban on the practice, which was announced on December 17 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Leading up to that decision, in June the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, followed the lead of the lower courts and ruled in favor of the towns of Dryden and Middlefield municipalities have the power to ban fracking via zoning.

Eric Matthew Frein

Timeline of the manhunt for cop killer Eric Frein

September 12: A gunman ambushes the Blooming Grove Police Barracks, killing Corporal Byron Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass.

September 16: Eric Frein, 31 years old, of Canandensis, PA, is named as the suspect. His Jeep is found submerged in a pond near Blooming Grove. A warrant is issued for his arrest.

September 24: The search focuses mainly on the Pike and Monroe county border.

September 30: Police find items discarded by Frein in the search area, which includes state game lands.

October 3: The Pennsylvania Game Commission temporarily closes game lands and suspended hunting and trapping seasons.

October 6: A letter written by Frein is discovered.

October 18: The search continues in the Swiftwater area in Paradise and Pocono Townships.

October 30: Frein is captured. He was hiding in an abandoned airplane hangar in Pocono Township, in Monroe County in the general area where police had been searching for him.

The Narrowsburg School Saga

The key players: Joan Buto, Brendan and Kathy Weiden, the Sullivan West Central School District Board of Education, and Narrowsburg Organization for Responsible School Use (NORSU)

June 19: The contract is sold to the highest bidder: The Sullivan West Board of Education awards the Narrowsburg School to Joan Buto for $751,000 to be used as a rehab facility.

July 8: Backlash against the proposed rehab soon begins, and over 100 citizens show up at the July Tusten Town Board meeting to voice their opposition.

July 10: The group NORSU is formed. It asks the school board to reconsider the sale and begins a campaign to stop the sale of the school to Buto.

September 3: Buto submits a request to the Sullivan West Central School District to allow her to assign her contract for the purchase of the school to the Weidens. At a special meeting the next day, the board agrees to the change.

September 12: When Buto and the attorneys met to finish the assignment, Buto says she will not go forward with the deal unless the price of the school is raised to $1.5 million, with roughly half of that going to Buto. The Weidens do not agree to those terms, which is what Buto later says is what she expected, and the move prompts the Weidens to file another lawsuit claiming that Buto is in breach of contract.

September 22: Judge Stephan Schick orders Joan Buto to sign over her contract to buy the Narrowsburg School to Brendan and Kathy Weiden as she had previously agreed to do. The Weidens write, “We remain committed to our development plans for the Narrowsburg School, and we thank all of you for your continued support and encouragement.”

Controversy in the Department of Family Services

June: The legislature passes a resolution to spend $175,000 to pay for an investigation into various complaints within Sullivan County Department of Family Services (DFS).

July 22: A lawyer for DFS Commissioner Randy Parker issues a press release that harshly criticizes an investigation that targeted Parker. The press release from Orseck Law Offices says, “After the resolution was passed by the legislature, the County Attorney’s office admitted, in a sworn affidavit, that the purpose of the resolution was specifically to hire a firm to try to smear Parker. Once the legislature discovered that this $175,000 was to be spent in a vengeful attempt to spite one man several members properly sought to revoke the resolution. The County Attorney’s Office responded vehemently, wrongfully threatening and attempting to bully the legislators.”

July 24: Sullivan County Legislators vote five to three to rescind the resolution that authorized County Manager Josh Potosek to spend up to $175,000 on an investigation. Gerald Orseck, an attorney representing Parker, says the investigation targeted his client, but some 40 whistle-blower complaints against Parker have been made by employees who were reacting to Parker’s attempt to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the system.

November 26: Members of the Sullivan County Legislature on November 20 are briefed about the results of an investigation regarding complaints by and about Parker. According to two legislators, the investigator, lawyer Richard Graham, cleared Parker of any wrongdoing, although he did recommend some changes in the department and to the county’s whistle-blower policy. Graham had been hired to do the investigation by county manager Potosek.

Explosion in Callicoon

June 15: The couple who owned and operated the Callicoon Flea Market for 35 years perish in an explosion that ripped apart their riverside home on River Road. The home was located in Damascus Township, just across the river from the hamlet of Callicoon, NY.

Ten-year-old murderer

October 15: Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards announces the arrest of a 10-year-old boy, Tristen Kurilla, who is charged with killing a 90-year-old woman. Officials charge that the boy put a cane around her throat and repeatedly struck the woman.

Defeat of Gov. Tom Corbett

November 2: Democrat Tom Wolf defeats Gov. Tom Corbett in the state gubernatorial election. Pennsylvania governors gained the right to run for two terms about 40 years ago. Since that time, Republican Tom Corbett is the only governor to be turned out of office after only one term. This came in an election where the voters handed expanded majorities to the Republicans in both the state house and senate.

Greening Sullivan

The greening of Sullivan County proceeded apace in 2014. Among the developments: Plans for new solar installations are approved by the county government (at the Adult Care Center in Liberty) and by the Town of Tusten; the Town of Delaware is taking a serious look at the solar option; in May, students at BOCES unveil a wind turbine they created; there’s talk of a wind turbine for the Liberty school district; the towns of Lumberland and Highland become the latest to sign the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Pledge; and the Town of Delaware forms a committee to work on implementing its CSC pledge.

The heroin epidemic

Signs of the heroin epidemic in Sullivan and Wayne counties and beyond are everywhere.

Statistics (from PA Sen. Gene Yaw)

• 80% of heroin abusers started with prescription drug abuse

• 70% of those in prison have a treatable substance abuse problem

• Heroin is cheaper and easier for young people to obtain than alcohol

• We have resources to treat one in eight people with an addiction problem

New York

A new state “Combat Heroin” campaign is launched to inform and educate New Yorkers about the risks of heroin and prescription opioid use, the signs of addiction and the resources available to help. The Combat Heroin campaign features PSAs, social media awareness efforts and a new website, combatheroin.ny.gov, which is targeted toward parents, adults and young people who are seeking help and information concerning heroin and opioid abuse.

Pennsylvania

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania sets out to study the matter of heroin addiction and come up with strategies to battle it. A final report is issued on September 24, at a press conference presided over by Sen. Gene Yaw, the chair of the center. The report calls for community education; provider education; hospital emergency department policies; diversion control (which stresses proper storage and disposal of prescription medication); pain-patient support; and harm reduction (increasing access to naloxone).