Ulster County executive Pat Ryan’s press conference late Wednesday morning, December 18 in Kingston underlined just how serious the situation has become for the embattled owner of the sprawling, obsolete, polluted and ill-maintained 258-acre former IBM plant in the Town of Ulster.
On Thursday, Dec. 12 a fast-approaching Mack truck cut through the early-morning hush of Route 212 in the Town of Saugerties, just a few minutes away from depositing another load of construction and demolition debris at Joe Karolys’ dump. But after 10 months of court-ordered inaction in enforcing the numerous stop-work orders issued to Karolys, this morning there was action.
“For us, for many people, the sound of a siren means someone is in distress,” said one resident, referring to the sounds emitted by fire engines distributing candy throughout the village on Christmas morning. “On Christmas Day, when we’re celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, maybe there’s a better sound,” she said.
Investigations conducted by this month by the Ulster County Department of Social Services Special Investigation Unit, in conjunction with the
Ex-county legislator Chris Allen, in Saugerties Village Court Monday night, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass stemming from an October incident where he allegedly got into a shouting match with resident Paul Fowler and refused to leave Fowler’s domicile.
A potential conflict of interest for Saugerties Town Justice Chris Kraft in the matter of accused illegal dumpsite owner Joe Karolys caused the trial on misdemeanor charges that Karolys accepted dumping of construction and demolition debris on his three Saugerties properties outside of a court-mandated 7 a.m.-3 p.m. window to be moved to Woodstock Town Court. Now, it seems another conflict of interest may result in the trial having to be moved again.
Shivering and chanting on a cold and snowy Tuesday morning, a group of about 30 protestors confronted oncoming trucks laden with construction and demolition debris depositing their loads at 1446 Route 212, the home of Saugerties resident Joe Karolys.
Three residents of 9 Lafayette St. awoke to the blare of their fire alarm and the smell of smoke on the morning Nov. 13, but were able to escape unharmed, firefighters said.
A detailed rendering of a new Saugerties animal shelter and a schematic of its interior have been commissioned by a committee of local stakeholders. According to Adele Zinderman, daughter of shelter founder Marie Post and administrator of the Saugerties Animal Welfare Fund, these plans are a crucial element to receive needed grant funding for the proposed building.
A 22-year-old Kingston man is in jail after police say he chased a group while armed with a shotgun at Riccardi Elementary in Glasco.