City grants extra water for trout protection

NEW YORK, NY — In order to cool trout habitats in the Upper Delaware River, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is willing to grant its state counterpart, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), 3.7 billion gallons of extra water to release from the three reservoirs that feed the river, DEP spokesman Ian Michaels said on Monday. The DEP approved the measure at its July 28 meeting. Approval is still needed from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware conservation officials.

As reported in last week’s issue of The River Reporter, unusual circumstances at the Swinging Bridge Dam combined with extended periods of hot and dry weather this summer, making it necessary for the DEC to deplete the annual portion of habitat preservation water that is set aside for cooling river temperatures by more than half.

The overextension led to a premature conclusion of the trout fishing season on the Upper Delaware’s main stem.

“It’s something we can do to help out. This will not have a significant impact on water supply,” Michaels said. The DEP draws half of the New York City metropolitan area’s drinking water supply from the Upper Delaware reservoirs.

Wayne Elliot, region three fisheries manager for the DEC, said the state’s priority would be to keep temperatures cool enough in the river’s three tributaries, where trout from the main stem have sought refuge.

Pataki will leave office after 2006

ALBANY, NY — Gov. George E. Pataki announced on July 27 that he would not seek a fourth term as the governor of New York. After a near 11-year Pataki era, the Republican party will face a formidable Democratic challenger in state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has elevated his national prominence by going after white-collar fraud on Wall Street.

Other potential Republican candidates include former Representative Rick Lazio, who lost to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2000 Senate race; William F. Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts and a Manhattan resident; Secretary of State Randy A. Daniels; former Assemblyman John J. Faso; Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro; and billionaire entrepreneur Tom Golisano, a three-time opponent of Pataki’s from Rochester registered with the Independence Party. The New York Times reported that Golisano could switch parties and persuade Republican leaders for an endorsement based on the $70 million of his own money he spent to run against Pataki in 2002.

Senators urge crackdown on off-reservation gaming

WASHINGTON, DC — Two senators have urged a crackdown on off-reservation Indian gaming, while an Interior Department official, George Skibine, said expansion of tribal casinos away from native lands is not yet creating problems but could at some point in the future. Sens. David Vitter, R-LA, and George Voinovich, R-OH, told the committee that off-reservation gaming is already a national problem as tribes seek casinos near big cities to boost revenues. It was the committee’s fifth hearing on Indian gaming since April, underscoring the desire of its chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, to add federal oversight to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

Accident on 17B kills six

MONGAUP VALLEY, NY — A 25-year-old camp counselor with a suspended Florida driver’s license collided with a Sullivan County Department of Public Works dump truck midday on July 27 when she failed to stay in her eastbound lane on Route 17B. The crash killed Irina Mironova of Miami Beach, FL and the five young campers in her 1994 Toyota Corolla.

Reportedly, minutes before the accident a 911 call notified sheriff’s deputies of a car driving erratically and passing cars illegally. The victims were apparently headed to go swimming at Lake Superior. They were Igor Golovunin, 16; Illya Kapitannikov, 16; Anatoliy Cheremonykh, 14; Masha Fishman, 14,;and Gabrielle Saybelman, 12. The owners of Camp Atlanta Dance Camp could face criminal charges if Sullivan County District Attorney Stephen Lungen finds grounds to charge them with negligent homicide.

The driver of the dump truck, Michael Cooper of Mongaup Valley, was treated for minor injuries, police said.

Man arrested for striking his son’s friend

HONESDALE, PA — Honesdale police investigated the assault of a 10-year-old juvenile at the Sunrise Terrace Mobile Home Park on Sunrise Avenue on July 22. The investigation revealed that the boy was riding his friend’s bicycle when the friend’s father interrupted the boys and struck the 10-year-old and took the bike away. The man, 47-year-old David Hnatko of Honesdale, then threatened the 10-year-old with further assault if he ever rode the bike again. Charges of simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment were filed against Hnatko as a result.

State releases draft report on invasive species

ALBANY, NY — The Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Agriculture and Markets are seeking public comment on the draft report of the New York State Invasive Species Task Force, which was released last week. The report describes problems associated with invasive plants, animals and pathogens, including Japanese knotweed. It discusses existing efforts by government, conservation groups and industry and makes recommendations about how New York can more effectively combat this growing and expensive threat.

To read the report go to dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/habitat/istf/invasivedescp.html. To read The River Reporter’s July 14 story on Japanese Knotweed, go to riverreporter.com/issues/05-07-14/feature.html.

Pike Commissioners seek art grant

MILFORD, PA — The Pike County Commissioners have applied to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) for an $8,000 grant to provide funding for three county art groups. If approved, the county would match the grant with another $8,000, making $16,000 available to the Black Bear Film Festival, the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and Pike County Arts and Crafts.

“The amount of the grant, whatever it will be, and the county portion will be divided into thirds and given to each of the groups,” said Christine Obser, director of Pike County Office of Human Development. A decision from PCA is expected in January 2006.