Uccelli Restaurant Grand Opening October 27, 2011

Chef Robert Uccelli has announced the "OFFICIAL" Grand Opening of his Uccelli Restaurant, and on October 27th our community's wait for a full service menu is over as he brings his menu of delicious treats from Northern Italy and Spain to our hamlet of Mountaindale. His menu in addition to some very traditional pizza pies from his homeland includes 18 different pasta dishes, as well as some of our favorites from forest and field.

Stop by, say hello; give Chef Robert a warm welcome to our community and sample his fine offerings on this special night. His doors will open at 4:00 PM, and you can see his menu at Uccelli Restaurant.

Eating Healthy is EXPENSIVE

I always forget why it is I stopped eating healthy until I decide to eat healthy again. Fact is, eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables is expensive. Deciding that I needed to lose some weight, lower my cholesterol a bit, I made the decision to go on a healthy diet again, complete with some really yummy fruit and vegetable smoothies, and yesterday I went on a MAJOR SHOPPING trip to bring all those wonderful green goodies into my apartment. Talk about some sticker shock!

The good news is I got lots and lots of healthy stuff. Cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, parsley, carrots and other cool veggie kinds of things. Loaded up on fruits, apples, bananas, tangerines, Bartlett Pears (a personal favorite) and mangoes. Got home, put everything away and made myself a really delicious Fruit Smoothie...drinking the last of it as I write this article.

The bad news was the staggering price tag at the cash register...I am a single person, have only myself to feed, and my bill yesterday at Shop Rite was well North of $200 dollars. How does a family of say four manage to feed themselves in a healthy fashion? Is it any wonder as a nation we have weight issues when eating healthy seems to cost so much more than filling our bodies up with CHEAP PROCESSED FOODS? Should three cucumbers cost as much as dinner for four in a cardboard box? Just seems wrong to me, that eating healthy foods is a luxury that many Americans in this depressed economy simply cannot afford.

Featured Rental...76 Main Street 1A...Charming One Bedroom Apartment With Porch

Mountaindale's downtown is filling up, but there are still a few places available for immediate occupancy. 76 Main has just been repainted, and is our featured rental today. If you are looking for an apartment conveniently located to just about everything in Sullivan county at an affordable price give Barb a call at (845) 434-4747 to arrange a tour of this and other apartments available here in Mountaindale.

76 Main Street 1A-One Bedroom Apartment For Immediate Occupancy

This charming one bedroom apartment right on Main Street in Mountaindale, New York has just been repainted and is ready for immediate occupancy. Amenities include walk in closet, Maytag appliances and wall to wall carpeting in the bedroom. Kitchen comes with ample cabinets and generous counter space, perfect for preparing holiday meals. This one bedroom apartment is centrally located here in Sullivan county with easy access to both Monticello and Middletown. There is a tenant only coin laundry within easy walking distance and you have a biking/hiking path just a two minute walk from your front door. Modern fuel efficient gas fired hot water radiators with thermostat control keep winter heating bills under control. At just $650 a month, this apartment is a must see rental.

Contact Us For more information or tour!

Amenities List

• 600 Square Feet total on one floor
• Gas fired hot water baseboard heat
• Tile Floor and Shower in Bathroom
• Walk in Closet 5’ by 5’
• One Carpeted Bedroom
• Living Room/Kitchen/Dining in one Large Flexible Space (20’ by 15’) with laminate flooring
• Maytag Refrigerator, Stove/Oven
• Tenant Only Coin Laundry With Maytag Washers and Dryers

Rent is $650 per month, with a Security Deposit Required of $700. Water is included. Heating and Cooking gas, electric is tenant's responsibility. We provide Garbage and Recycling services, both included services free. Landloard meters and bills monthly for propane gas usage. No pets, No smokers.

Security Deposit: $700

Diversified Realty Services 438 Church Road tel: (845) 434-4747
Mountaindale, NY 12763 fax: (845) 434-4820

A SCARY Fact To Ponder

Global Warming, starving people around the world, Mother Earth's resources being stretched to the limits...this month, somewhere in the world a child will be born that will push our world wide population to SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE. Folks, we cannot sustain this large of a population on the only planet that we have.

Martin Luther King Memorial Being Dedicated Today

Almost to a soul, we remember those famous words, "I have a dream." and today, a long awaited moment for many in the Civil Rights Movement has finally arrived. President Obama today will dedicate the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC.

The journey to that promised land where we have equal rights for one and all is not complete, many prejudices still exist, but the completion of this monument at a cost of some $140 million dollars stands as testament to just how far we as a nation have come since that cold day on December 1, 1955 when the "First Lady of Civil Rights" Rosa Parks, refused to surrender her seat on the bus and move to the back where colored folks were supposed to be.

At 11AM this morning CNN will be airing Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in its entirety, and it is something the whole family should sit and watch on this day when finally, a testament to Civil Rights, to Martin Luther King is dedicated, and open to the public. We still have a long journey ahead of us as we address our own prejudices, as we work to truly become one nation under God where every man, woman and child has truly equal rights, but on this day, let us all rejoice over the progress we have made, and reflect on the journey yet ahead.

Musicians...Did You Know There Is an Open Mic Night Every Wednesday At The Mountaindale Inn here in Mountaindale?

Calling all musicians, and those that love listening to some really good, even emerging talent in Sullivan County's music scene.

Mark and Kelsey, two of our very talented Mountaindale residents have teamed up with Ed who is the owner of the Mountaindale Inn to hold a weekly Open Mic Night each and every Wednesday night. In its first six weeks, it has grown from just a couple musicians to a full blown evening of fun and great entertainment with music that stretches across a wide range of styles from folk, to country as well as classic and contemporary rock songs.

So, if you are looking for a good pizza and some great musical entertainment, or if you are a musician looking to sit in with and network with your contemporaries, put this event on your list of things to do on a Wednesday night. The crowd starts arriving around 7:30 with music starting around 8:00 PM.

Where: Mountaindale Inn
69 Main Street

Mountain Dale, NY 12763

(845) 434-1023

Mountaindale Downtown Filling Up

Mountaindale is experiencing what can only be described as a population explosion of sorts. As we enjoy the fall color, get ourselves ready for the coming winter, we are seeing a LOT of new faces here in town. We in the past couple of months, and moving towards November have seen five apartments get committed to new neighbors here in town. That is exciting news for our small hamlet. Believe it or not, right now we are running out of space at the proverbial Inn with just four apartments available in our downtown right now...THAT IS EXCITING.

In other news, Robert Uccelli, also a new neighbor is going will be holding a soft opening on the 27th of October, with a more formalized Grand Opening two weeks later.

In the department of musing...am wondering if it would be a good idea for all of us in the hamlet's downtown area to get together for sort of a "Meet and Greet" time? If any one is interested in putting together something like this with me, give me a call at (845)693-4513. Would give all of us a chance to meet one another, and forge stronger community bonds.

*Note...for our new neighbors...Mountaindale has some of the GREATEST snow removal in the entire state of New York. The snow crew does ask all of us though to move our cars off of the streets if a storm is coming so that they can keep our Main Street and its sidewalks free of snow this winter.

Police Use Brutality In Attempt To End The Peaceful "Occupy Wall Street" Protest

No jobs, buried in debt, and running out of hope, Americans have taken to the streets...more specifically, a group of protestors exercising their First Amendment Rights have for weeks now held a successful siege of a small part of New York's financial district.  Self described billionaire Potentate and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has decided this peaceful protest is not good for his city, has decided to use force, even brutality to bring it to an end as New York's not so finest stoop to using what is referred too in most quarters as police brutality to move people out of spaces that Michael Bloomberg wants them out of...such as his dearly beloved financial district and Times Square.   I guess he has decided the message being delivered by these new American Heroes is not good for business?  Or perhaps he knows there is a very real chance that this simple peaceful protest is coming perilously close to becoming a movement?  (pictures and video of police brutality)

Today saw about 5000 protestors march through Times Square, and with some 20 million out of work, or under employed Americans facing the same financial problems as the protesters, I have to wonder where additional support and participation is...seriously, illegal aliens and their supporters managed to put a half a million people out on the street in Los Angeles, and the best we oppressed Americans can do is put 5000 people out on the street in New York City...are we that apathetic these days?  Are we willing to march to our own demise without a word of protest, meek lambs willingly marching to the gallows as Big Business and a corrupt government do their best to eliminate the middle class?  Wake up Americans...the "Occupy Wall Street" protest is possibly the most important social movement in America since the civil rights marches of the 60's, and it is time that we join those in New York and other cities out on the protest lines, time that we peacefully express our discontent with the status quo on Wall Street, and in Washington DC.

Mayor Bloomberg is using Police State tactics, and that kind of action can only be stopped with overwhelming numbers of FREE CITIZENS marching in unison in numbers so great that the police have no choice but to see the wisdom in letting us exercise our First Amendment Rights which include five fundamental rights:

 

Speech

The First Amendment says that people have the right to speak freely without government interference.

Press

The First Amendment gives the press the right to publish news, information and opinions without government interference. This also means people have the right to publish their own newspapers, newsletters, magazines, etc.

Religion

The First Amendment prohibits government from establishing a religion and protects each person's right to practice (or not practice) any faith without government interference.

Petition

The First Amendment says that people have the right to appeal to government in favor of or against policies that affect them or that they feel strongly about. This freedom includes the right to gather signatures in support of a cause and to lobby legislative bodies for or against legislation.

Assembly

The First Amendment says that people have the right to gather in public to march, protest, demonstrate, carry signs and otherwise express their views in a nonviolent way. It also means people can join and associate with groups and organizations without interference.

Before Billionaire Potentate Michael Bloomberg continues his wrong sighted attempts to deny citizens those basic rights,  perhaps he should sit down and read the First Amendment, taking special note of our protected right of Assembly.  America is not Syria, New York City is not Daraa, and yet much like Assad, Bloomberg is stooping to the use of fear, intimidation and brutality against American Citizens exercising their basic constitutional rights.
 

Internet Access For All Should Be National Priority

Here in Mountaindale, it is not hard finding people who do not have internet access...can almost see all those who live over on Church Road jumping up and down waving their hands shouting me, me, me when the question is posed, "Who does not have reliable internet service in our area?" Was tweeting from the Mountaindale Inn 's Open Mic night this past Wednesday night when a young man sitting beside me lamented his own lack of internet access over on Church Road...three small start up businesses are over there that he knows about, all of them without reliable access to the web, Global Net at best spotty if rumors are too be believed, and so slow as to be worthless for anything more than checking one's email. Another Church Road resident's children do their homework in downtown Mountaindale, rather than at their house for one simple reason...they can get online in town, but not in our out lying areas.

Mountaindale Park has neither cable or broadband access to the internet...how much more profitable would this Town of Fallsburg campground be if it did? Internet access is a commodity, but it is also a necessity in our modern times, and even more important it is the must have ingredient in building a road to tomorrow as Steve Israel so eloquently pointed out in his "Times Herald Record" article in yesterday's paper. In today's modern day society, internet access should not be a privilege, but a right, access to it a necessity in our homes, in our businesses.

A young woman can't take online college courses because her part of Sullivan County doesn't have high-speed Internet.

Scores of flooded, stranded Ulster County residents can't find out where to get food or shelter because they don't have that high-speed connection to download the Watershed Post blog.

How can our children compete when they cannot access something as basic as an online college course? Should scores of stranded residents have their lives unnecessarily put at risk because they do not have basic reliable access to the internet? Surely we as a nation can do better than this?

In Fallsburg, our elected officials are in the process of negotiating a new contract with Time Warner, and with luck they will be able to plug in a few more of the holes in our community where internet access at best is a shaky hope...should it have to be like that? Is it time for the Federal Government to step in and deem Internet Service Providers are Public Utilities, and make it mandatory that they provide fair and equal access to the internet to EVERY AMERICAN? Has the time come for our nation to eliminate discrimination based upon where you live? Has the time come for our congress to provide equal rights (and equal access) to Rural Americans, has the time come where our future depends on America linking up every home in the United States, providing internet access to one and all?

As Steve Israel says about internet access, "It's the difference between merely surviving or thriving."

Share Your Beautification Plans for 2012 With Sullivan Renaissance

BEAUTIFICATION PLANS

Let Sullivan Renaissance Know What You’re Thinking for 2012

[FERNDALE] – As Sullivan Renaissance finalizes plans for 2012, it is asking groups and individuals now to describe the kind of projects they might like to do next year.

New groups should complete an “Expression of Interest” form which is available from Sullivan Renaissance. Filling out the form does not obligate an individual or organization to submit an application, nor does it guarantee funding. Groups that had projects in 2011 have already indicated their future plans when they completed their end-of-season survey.

The types of projects Sullivan Renaissance traditionally funds include:

• Beautification Grants

- Category A (single element projects)

- Category B (multiple element projects at one location

- Category C (multiple element projects at multiple locations)

- Maintenance grants for long-term projects

- Community development grants

• Seasonal Demonstration Grants
• Mini-grants for Beautification
• School and Youth Initiatives
• Technical Assistance Grants
• Environmental Initiatives

Groups that would like to explore possible projects or need assistance in planning are encouraged to call the Sullivan Renaissance office. Organizations that have not been part of the Sullivan Renaissance program in the past should contact us prior to submitting an application.

Sullivan Renaissance is a beautification and community development program principally funded by the Gerry Foundation.

For more information, visit www.sullivanrenaissance.org or call 845-295-2445.

The Sad Tale Of My Apple IPOD Touch

I am sitting here listening to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice Restaurant" as I write this tale of woe...the song seems an appropriate epic song to enjoy as I share the sad tale of my defunct Apple IPOD Touch. As luck would have it, my new favorite toy which I acquired this past March (2011) gave up the ghost, ceased working less than 24 hours after the passing of Steve Jobs.

Having the extended AppleCare Protection Plan, with tears in my eyes, I got on the phone and called Apple Tech Support knowing they would resolve my problem for me as they had always done in the past. After sitting around on hold for close on too 20 minutes I was connected to someone in tech support who walked me through various attempts to resuscitate my beloved IPOD Touch, but alas, it was not to be, the technician basically informing me that my IPOD Touch was dead, the music on it (that unfortunately was not synched to my new laptop) gone.

The good news in this tragic story is they would be sending out a pick up request, and once they received my dearly loved IPOD, they would be sending me out a brand new working one. The tag was supposed to be here last Friday, and today or tomorrow I should have had my new replacement IPOD Touch...the keywords in that sentence being SHOULD HAVE.

Enter Murphy's Law (being nice) or blame it on an inept employee, as of today, October 12, 2011 I am still waiting on said pick up tag, so I took it upon myself to get on the phone, sit on hold again for close on too 20 minutes to check on the status of my repair ticket. A nice friendly female voice finally gets on the line, and after explaining to her the entire story in four part harmony she asks if she can transfer me to someone else that can help me in resolving the problem with my repair order.

Enter one Brett Shaff in Apple's Customer Support Center...After a wait of around five minutes, I was transferred to this gentleman, and again in four part harmony explained the situation to him. He asked a few questions, and after giving him the ticket number he tracked down the root of the problem...for whatever reasons, the person who wrote up the original ticket has put a hold on it as the computerized system Apple uses was unable to verify my address...although Brett did verify that the address they had was 100 percent CORRECT. Brett was also somewhat surprised that no one (either by email or phone) had gotten back to me to resolve this problem or glitch, and told me he was going to see what he could do to expedite a resolution to the situation for me.

More time on hold...Brett comes back and informs me that his phone call was fruitless, and he was told to send a recap of the problem via email to his contact IN INDIA! As you can imagine, I was not finding much solace in knowing my customer service issue was now getting more convoluted and international in scope. I give Brett credit...he did his best, tried really hard, but the bottom line was simple, "I would not be seeing my IPOD Touch today, tomorrow, or for that matter any time this week.

Not satisfied, I contacted Apple Corporate Headquarters where after again being put on hold I was passed through to one RW (that's right, I was not given a real name, just initials) who asked me to let him look into the issue for me, as he wanted me to again be a happy Apple camper. This said, he put me on hold...something that would occur numerous times during my conversation with him as he researched and sought out answers and solutions.

The bottom line according to RW was simple...Apple made a mistake, and he would be issuing a new call tag, sending me out the pickup box that should have been in my hands last Friday. IF EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT he informed me, I would have my laptop before the end of next week...that's right, the Apple IPOD Touch I was supposed to have today or tomorrow might be here by the end of next week IF I AM LUCKY.

At this point, I have some three hours of time invested in this process, and even assuming no further errors or mistakes on the part of Apple, I will be able to wash my hands of this sad tale sometime next week with a time investment of about four hours worth of angst and frustration. Perhaps it is just pure chance, but never in all my involvements with Apple during the Steve Jobs years did I have these kinds of problems with Apple Customer Support. Let's hope my experience this time around is an exception to the rules, rather than a insight of things to come. I have to admit here, that the Apple IPAD I am coveting, have been saving up for needs perhaps some more consideration...RW said he would be contacting me next week to see if I got my new IPOD, and make sure it was working properly, and at that point in time would see what Apple could do to restore my confidence in the company...I will keep everyone posted on the progress of that conversation.

A Very Special Happy Birthday To Anna Kurtz Who Is 101 Years Old Today

We wish Anna Kurtz of Mountaindale a very special "Happy Birthday" today. This Centenarian celebrates her 101 birthday today. Anna who was born October 12, 1910 on Henry Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan has lived in our area for a very long time. She is one of three sisters, the other two being Sylvia (Goldress) Rosenthal, and Bertha/Birdie (Goldress) Rothstein. Her parents, Abe and Minnie Goldress, moved the family to Mountaindale in 1916 where Abe sold bottled propane, and worked as an electrician.

In 1938 Anna married the love her life, Joe Kurtz and together they had a son Chet Kurtz who was born in 1943.

When Anna (Goldress) Kurtz was born, William Howard Taft was our President, and six years later when she and her family moved to Mountaindale, Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States, and America had not yet entered into World War I. In 1938 when Anna married Joe Kurtz, World War II was looming after Japan had invaded China, and the president of the United States was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The world changes and history Anna has seen unfold are monumental in scope. Henry Ford started production of the Model T (Tin Lizzie) just two years before Anna's birth in 1908. She was just a toddler when the Titanic sank in April of 1912. Pick almost any major news story or event in the 20th Century, and Anna was here as it unfolded, from the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers to the United States putting a man on the moon in 1969, Anna has witnessed history, seen first hand the dramatic changes in how we live our lives, and the technology which makes the world go around.

So Anna Kurtz, we wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY as you celebrate being 101 today.

*Note-The Manhattan Bridge was being built in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1910, the year Anna was born. (See picture of construction.)

*In conversation with her son Chet this morning, we learned that Anna is a huge fan of "Wheel of Fortune", and was upset that she missed one of the puzzles she should have known.

The O&W Steam Locomotive “Mountaineer” 405 started service in Mountaindale the year Anna was married (1938)...the painting of the “Mountaineer” heading south along the West Shore of the Hudson River is in 1938 or 1939. This “Streamstyled” upscaled train lasted only until WWII really got under way. The "Mountaineer" began regular service June 24, 1938 traveling a 135 mile route from Weehawken, NJ all the way to Roscoe, NY. The trip took just about 5 hours. The "Mountaineer" stopped in Mountaindale just in front of the Goldress home and business.

Anna blessed us this morning with an old Irving Berlin Hit from 1918 which she sang at our old High School: "Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning"...Wish I had brought a video camera with me! The Lyrics...which she recalled perfectly:

I've been a soldier quite a while
And I would like to state
The life is simply wonderful
The Army food is great
I sleep with ninety-seven others in a wooden hut
I love them all
They all love me
It's very lovely but

Oh!How I hate to get up in the morning
Oh!How I'd love to remain in bed

For the hardest blow of all
Is to hear the bugler call
Ya gotta get up
Ya gotta get up
Ya gotta get up this morning

Someday I'm going to murder the bugler
Someday they're going to find him dead

I'll amputate his reveille
And step upon it heavily
And spend the rest of my life in bed

The You Tube Video of this song:

To Our Local Readers...Please Help Our Little Blog Grow

Greetings:

Our little Mountaindale NY News blog has grown significantly since our launch earlier this year, and it is you the reader who have made this possible, and we thank all of you for stopping by regularly to read our articles. We obviously want to continue to grow, want to broaden our readership, and to do that we are asking for your help, as there are a lot of things you as a reader can do to help get the word out about our blog, and to help improve our ranking on the Google search pages. So, below is a list of some simple things our readers can do to lend us a hand in our efforts to reach a wider audience.

1. Leave comments below the articles. Like an article, don't like an article, have an opinion on something that has been written? Then please leave a comment! Start a discussion in the comments area, or just tell us we are doing a good job. Comments show an active and interested readership, and the more comments we have, the better we will place in the search engines.

2. Toss us some Google Publicity...at the bottom of each post is a small box with a plus one on it. Click on it, and it gives us a bit of a boost, some free Google publicity.

3. Share a link to your favorite articles on the various Social Media sites such as DIGG, Facebook and Twitter...you can even share the link, and include commentary about the article.

4. See an article on the blog you want to share with friends and family...send them the link to the article, rather than copying and pasting the article into an email.

Again, thanks to all our readers...our blog numbers keep going up with each passing month, and we could not accomplish that without your help and support.

A question for our audience...is there any interest in seeing us holding a blogging workshop here in Mountaindale, or perhaps a Social Media workshop? Leave us a comment if you might be interested, or call (845) 434-4747.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the first question that needs to be asked of women is, "Have you had your mammogram this year?" Seems like an overly obvious, even unnecessary question to ask, but it is not. How many women put off this yearly screening for various reasons such as, "I'm just too busy to do it" or "I don't have insurance" or "I'm healthy, I'll do it next year or the year after that". Statistics show us that skipping your Mammogram is not a gamble women should take. The statistics from from the American Cancer Society for 2011 bear this reality out.

How many cases and deaths are estimated to occur in 2011?
• In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women, as well as an estimated 57,650 additional cases of in situ breast cancer.

• In 2011, approximately 39,520 women are expected to die from. Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women.

The old proverb, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is so true, and when it comes to breast cancer, early detection is so very important for women. I know this from first hand knowledge, as my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer...she/we were lucky. She was diagnosed at the earliest possible stage (stage 0), but that diagnosis still forever changed her life, and forever changed my own.

The good news for her, is she is now more than three years post treatment (lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation) still cancer free. The bad news is there is always that shoe waiting to drop, each new ordered test by her team seeing that question looming in the air unspoken, "What if?"

A close friend was not so lucky. She had put off her yearly mammograms, ignored certain warning signs until it was too late...she did not have breast cancer, but instead Stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain...it was not until she had a seizure at work, was taken to the ER to be safe that the diagnosis was made. She passed away earlier this year at the age of 53, leaving behind a young son who had already lost his dad to cancer. Perhaps the end result for her would have been the same, but what if early detection had given her far better odds of surviving her own battle with cancer, or at least extended her life for years, rather than the months she ended up having?

Please, cancer is not something to gamble with, and the inconvenience of that yearly mammogram for women over 40 is worth it...please, don't gamble with your life when it comes to Breast Cancer and early detection...get the Mammogram and men, make sure the women (Mom's, daughters, wives, or significant others) in your life get a yearly Mammogram.

For More Information, Please Visit These Great Sites

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Website
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Website.
National Breast Cancer Foundation Website

Why Is NYSEG Employing OUT OF STATE Tree Company To Trim New York Trees?

For several days now I have watched the trees under and around the power lines in our rural area being trimmed as I drove from here to there, visiting various small communities here in Sullivan County taking care of business and chores that needed my attention. Having our trees trimmed to where they are under our power-lines is a good thing, decreases the chance of winter storms taking down lines, leaving us without power. For that service, I thank NYSEG.

The company doing the work for NYSEG came into our small hamlet today, giving me a chance to take a closer look. Their workers were polite, and did good work. When asked if they could shape the one tree by our little water garden area (they were going to be topping some 12 foot off of said tree) they were very cooperative in working with our request. In short, Reese out of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania has done a very good job, and should be commended. That being said, shouldn't our trees here in New York state be trimmed by New York state citizens?

My problem with the tree trimming lays with NYSEG and who they contracted with...their business supplies about 40 percent of upstate New York with power, providing services for almost 900, 000 New York citizens in rural parts of our state. Guessing here that we rural New Yorkers put a lot of dollars into the cash register of NYSEG...yet, they are not keeping that money local, are not hiring OUR CITIZENS to do the work that we could be doing.

Perhaps I am wrong, but feel whenever possible our corporate citizens have a duty to give back, to keep our dollars in our communities. Tree trimming services in and around power lines here in New York should be done by New Yorkers, not by a company out of state that employs out of state workers.

NYSEG needs to think globally, BUT SPEND LOCALLY. Perhaps the problem is NYSEG's parent company, Iberdrola USA which is part of Iberdrola SA out of Spain where almost 70 percent of its customers reside. This international company that owns NYSEG loves to siphon our money up the chain to the parent company, but apparently does not feel it owes any alliance to the citizens and companies here in our area that are generating their income stream.

A call to NYSEG on this question was more than frustrating...first, I spent about three minutes having to push buttons as I worked my way through their automated system before I was placed on hold to wait for a customer service representative. Once on hold, I was briefly informed that the average wait time would be 8-12 minutes. The actual wait time ended up being not 8-12 minutes, but 21 minutes. Add to that time the three minutes it took pushing buttons, and speaking to an actual human being took 24 minutes...maybe NYSEG needs to look at adding more people to its customer service program?...perhaps some of our qualified, yet unemployed citizens?

As to my basic question, "Does NYSEG have a moral and ethical responsibility to give back to the communities they serve by hiring locally?", the company seemed reluctant to address that question directly, instead stating, "We subcontract out our easement work to whoever happens to be available, and there are times when that work does go to out of state contractors." Which begs the question, "How often does this work go to out of state contractors?" Furthermore, as food for thought, are the bidding criteria designed in such a fashion as to make it impossible for smaller local companies to bid? IE...if a local company can handle say doing the line easement for 50 Square miles, but the bidding criteria are 150 square miles, you instantly eliminate small local companies from the bidding process, and from my perspective that is wrong.