Public input sought on Port plan

PORT JERVIS, NY — The City of Port Jervis will hold an open house information session on the Needs Analysis and Community Development Strategic Plan it is currently developing under the guidance of the city’s Community Development Agency. The session will be held at the City Council Chambers on Wednesday, March 26 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Residents are encouraged to attend this information session to provide their views and opinions regarding needs in the local community. In addition, a community needs public survey will be conducted from Friday, March 14 through Monday, March 31. Paper copies of the survey are available at the Port Jervis Community Development Agency in City Hall, the Port Jervis Free Library at 138 Pike Street and the City Clerk Treasurer’s Office. The survey may also be completed online by visiting portjervisny.org and clicking on “Port Jervis Community Needs Public Survey.”

Five municipalities get funds for police

ALBANY, NY — State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/C - Mount Hope) has announced that five local police departments in Orange and Sullivan Counties will receive a total of $50,000 in state funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program.

Bonacic said that the Byrne Memorial Grant program provides funding to local police departments for drug, violence and crime-control prevention programs. The police departments of the Town of Fallsburg, villages of Monticello and Liberty and the cities of Middletown and Port Jervis will each receive $10,000 in state funding.

“Putting more officers on the street and giving them the tools they need to protect the public is a key goal of mine. State funding helps the departments meet equipment needs which might otherwise go unmet, or would have to be paid for by property taxes.”

Gunther reminder: returns must be filed

REGION — Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D, C-Forestburgh) is reminding Sullivan and Orange county residents that they must file a 2007 federal income tax return in order to qualify for the economic stimulus payment, even if they are not normally required to file one. The stimulus payments will be issued to more than 130 million households starting in May—but only to filers.

“For those who annually file a tax return, it’s not a problem,” Gunther said. “But it will become an issue possibly for seniors who receive Social Security benefits and also for anybody who does not normally file a tax return, or has not in a very long time. Certain Social Security recipients, railroad retirees, those receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and taxpayers with income below a certain level are ordinarily exempt from filing a tax return. However, those with at least $3,000 of qualifying income who file may be eligible for a $300 payment ($600 on a joint return).”

Energy-independence passes PA house

HARRISBURG, PA — Legislation that would establish an $850 million clean-energy initiative in Pennsylvania has passed the state house. Rep. John Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike, who supported the bill (Special Session H.B. 1) said, “This bill would reduce our dependence on Middle East oil and other foreign energy sources, and it is projected to create more than 13,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania.”

The bill would spur in-state investment through $106 million in venture capital, matched dollar-for-dollar by private funds, to attract cutting-edge energy firms to the state; $500 million to improve infrastructure and attract private investment in alternative energy generation and energy conservation; and $244 million in rebates and loans for Energy Star-certified home improvements and Energy Star-certified efficient appliance purchases, as well as “Sunshine Grants” to promote the use of solar power. The bill would establish the $850 million bond fund by tapping into existing gross receipts taxes on electric bills to create a clean-energy program that would promote low-pollution, state-based energy generation and investment.

The legislation now goes to the state senate.

Mayfield Borough Council stands firm

MAYFIELD, PA — A veto by Mayfield Borough Mayor Alexander Chelik that would have paved the way for construction of a proposed ethanol plant was overridden by the new borough council. The council voted 6–1 to override the mayor’s opposition to their zoning decision affecting a 38-acre parcel where the plant was to be built.

The parcel’s zoning status had switched from residential to industrial and then back again to residential in the course of the past year, potentially thwarting a developer’s plan to build an ethanol plant on the site.

The council that originally allowed the zoning change was voted out of office last November by angry borough residents.

“Our borough is only two miles long,” said Borough President Anthony Spataro. “There’s not any home that’s not going to be affected by an ethanol plant.”

Jeff fire department nets grant

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — The Jeffersonville Fire Department has been awarded $102,446 in federal grant funding to purchase a wide array of new equipment to keep the public safe and protect firefighters.

Items that the fire department plans to purchase with the funds include a thermal imaging camera that allows firelighters to find unconscious victims in smoke-filled rooms and pinpoint the sources of fires, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for all volunteer firefighters, a fixed cascade fill station used to refill their SCBA tanks, 10 complete sets of turnout gear and more.

The funds come from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey was instrumental in obtaining them.