Residents of the Fallsburg School District are being asked to approve Tuesday a $4.5 million capital improvement project that will focus on structural repairs and replacements to sections of the high school roof.

Margot Getman of the district finance office says the repairs will be on areas of the roof that were last repaired, or redone, in 1992-94 and are no longer under warranty. The fascia, soffits and some masonry work also will be done.

District officials say that delays will result in further deterioration, inflation will drive up the costs, and the 10 percent Legislative Incentive Aid, which is due to sunset next year, might not be available in the future.

The 23,000-square-foot building, which has been vacant for several years, was one of the earliest homes of the Rhulen Agency. In 1934, Max Rhulen started the agency that would grow into Frontier Insurance Group, a one-time billion-dollar company headquartered in Rock Hill.

The Frontier Insurance empire crumbled over the past decade, in great part because of widespread underpricing of policies and underestimation of the risk underlying those policies. Frontier Insurance Co., the group's largest subsidiary, is being run by the state Insurance Department.

Frontier Insurance Group, the parent company, filed in July for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The case is being heard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Poughkeepsie. Frontier had asked the court for permission to sell the building.

Speaking at the Legislature's General Services committee, Goodman said she didn't want to waste time with purchase orders. "Let's look around this building, there has to be 10 chairs. This is a quick fix."

Chairman Chris Cunningham and Legislator Leni Binder also met with the deputies and asked them to compile a list of all their issues and concerns.

The veteran Star 93.3 host had vowed that if at least 14 school buses were filled with food in the annual "Stuff the bus" drive for the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, he would get a mohawk haircut.

Three days later, Bolger had his date with the barber's shears – live on his show. You can see the results at the station's Web site, www.star933.com.

"I'm here to speak not just for myself, but for my children," she said during a state land conservation meeting at Bear Mountain State Park this week.

"During one recent hike, they sat down with tears in their eyes. They said, 'Can you imagine if this is not protected?' It's a gem, and can't be replaced."

One of seven Hudson Valley regions tagged by the state for priority funding, Schunnemunk is in line for a windfall of cash if a Department of Environmental Conservation plan is approved.

At stake are hundreds of acres of vulnerable wilderness, from the Great Rondout Wetlands in Ulster County to the New York Highlands in Orange County.

We might live in an area that's getting more developed, more suburbanized or urbanized all the time. But we haven't completely let go of our rural origins, at least not in Cornwall.

On Wednesday, town police for a few minutes were extremely busy trying to track down a truck from which bales of hay reportedly were falling off as it made its way through town.

Welcome to the big leagues, Pine Tree Elementary. The fifth-grade orchestra will have quite an audience today when it plays at the New York State School Music Association winter conference in Rochester. The group is the only one from an elementary school to perform at the state association's annual gathering.

Music teacher Lise Lindros' orchestra is no stranger to NYSSMA. The group received gold with distinction honors – one of the highest – from the state organization last year. The children will play five songs at the conference, including one that may be fitting in Rochester this weekend – "Let it Snow."

It won't be long now before Washingtonville School District officials resolve the long-standing issue of what to do about a proposed building project that came in over budget by $9.5 million.

Officials said yesterday that they're postponing a public forum – scheduled for Dec. 12 – so they can further research the issue and present three to four realistic options for discussion in January. The district hopes to make a final decision on what to do by the end of January or early February.

The Woodbury Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday and discuss developer Bill Brodsky's proposed 451-home project, officially known as WP3. Town officials are starting the meeting earlier than usual to allow enough time for that project and other pending applications.

The usual modus operandi of the parts-prowling hoodlums is to park behind a nearby fire station, sneak through the woods and rummage around on the lot until they find what they need.

If it's something big, the parts-nappers might stash it in the woods until they can sneak it out. Or they just load it into their car and split, posthaste.

We're not talking about big-ticket items here, or stuff that's hard to find. Cops said one guy drove all the way from Philadelphia to snatch a $2 thermostat for his Honda.

Using real estate agents, the City of Middletown has signed deals to sell off 10 pieces of city-owned properties, acquired mostly through tax-delinquency foreclosures.

Mayor Marlinda Duncanson, who stepped in after the former mayor resigned in April, started the ball rolling earlier this year, saying she did not believe the city should be in the real estate business.

The 10th, the former House of Yen, was sold this week to a bidder for $100,000, bringing real estate earnings for the city up to nearly half a million dollars.

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