22-year-old seriously injured in motorcycle accident

COCHECTON CENTER, NY — A 2001 Sullivan West graduate was seriously injured when he crashed a 1999 Honda motorcycle on Daub Road at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, July 23. Chad Powell lost control of the motorcycle and crashed through a fence. He was not wearing a helmet.

Powell was airlifted from Firemen’s Field in Lake Huntington to CMC Hospital in Scranton, PA, where he was listed in critical condition. He suffered serious damage of his face and knee.

Ethel Hulse, Powell’s grandmother, said early Wednesday morning that Powell was conscious and that he seemed to have sustained no brain damage. Powell is the son of Nancy and Dur Powell of Lake Huntington.

Rusty Palmer plans expansion

TEXAS TOWNSHIP, PA — Rusty Palmer’s power sports dealership was destroyed by fire in February. The next day, Palmer spent $1.65 million to buy Tri-State Sports Center, his neighbor on Route 6 and a long-time competitor, to resume his business, Rusty Palmer Inc.

But the location will not accommodate his retail aims, and Palmer submitted plans to Texas Township officials last week to expand the business just west of his current facility in Indian Orchard.

The township’s planning commission recommended that Palmer be allowed to combine five previously subdivided properties to create one larger one totaling 14.9 acres, The Scranton Times reported. The plans show several parking lots for customers and display merchandise including motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, small watercraft and snowmobiles. The plans also show a new three-floor building near the center of the property. Palmer plans to reopen Rusty’s Café in the new building.

Township supervisors will rule on the application at their August 1 meeting.

County approves steps to tighten security

MONTICELLO, NY — Last week the Sullivan County Legislature approved steps to enhance security at the county’s government center which was hit by arson on June 23. County Manager Dan Briggs said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security authorized the county’s use of grant money to purchase 20 security cameras and a photo-ID card system for the building. Other measures include installing keypad entry locks on offices of the county attorney, personnel clerk, treasurer and risk manager and hiring up to three additional sheriff’s deputies. Legislators approved spending $120,000 annually to pay additional deputies, though Briggs said only one position would be filled for now. One hundred thousand dollars in authorized bond money is currently available for new personnel.

Emergency Management Coordinator Richard Martinkovic said the main reason for the steps is accountability. In order to keep track of who enters the building after business hours, county employees will be required to swipe ID cards after 6:00 p.m. Deputies will not leave the building until 12:00 midnight.

Pre-K registration at SW

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Registration for the Sullivan West Pre-K program will be held on July 28 and 29 and August 1 and 2 at the elementary building in Jeffersonville, NY. All students who will be four years old by December 1, 2005 are eligible for the full-day program. Class sizes will be limited to 18 students and placement will be based on academic need. Applicants must have a competed application, copy of birth certificate or passport, proof of residency and proof of a physical and immunization shots within the past year. Transportation will be provided by the district.

Delaware to remove signs

HORTONVILLE, NY — Six portable signs along Route 97 that announce the sale of new properties at the Delaware Ridge Estates, the former Top-of-the-World, will be removed by Town of Delaware officials. The signs appear near the entrance of the Grover Hermann Hospital.

Two residents of Callicoon complained of the illegal signs at the July 20 Delaware Town Board meeting. Town officials said they had not received any other complaints about the signs and did not know that they were in place along the roadway.

The signs present a danger to cyclists who are appearing more frequently along the scenic route, since the signs obstruct the space that the cyclists use, the two residents said.

Sherwood admits affair, denies abuse

WASHINGTON, DC — A Maryland woman, Cynthia Ore, 29, is suing U.S. Representative Don Sherwood (R-PA) of northeastern Pennsylvania, saying he assaulted her several times. Sherwood called the allegations “baseless.”

Sherwood, 64, admitted in court papers filed Thursday that the two had a five-year affair, but he denied abusing Ore. In the filing, he also denied that Ore lived at his Capitol Hill apartment, as she claimed in her suit. He said the affair ended September 15, the day police were called to Sherwood’s apartment after Ore dialed 911.

Sherwood, a married millionaire from Tunkhannock, is a four-term congressman. In her suit, Ore says she remained in the relationship despite the alleged assaults because Sherwood had promised to marry her. Sherwood denies that.

Hinchey leads charge on media reform

WASHINGTON, DC — On July 14, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced HR 3302, the Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005. Among other provisions, the act would roll back changes introduced in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that have allowed for individual companies to control increasingly large segments of the market, limit the ability of one company to dominate all types of media (e.g. television, newspaper and radio) in a single market and reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, requiring broadcast outlets to provide air time for discussion of important and controversial subjects and the opportunity for a variety of different points of view on these subjects to be heard. For a copy of the bill, click this link: riverreporter.com/issues/05-07-28/hincheybill.pdf.