Putnam Valley: Voters Reject School Spending
Residents of the Putnam Valley Central School District on Tuesday (Jan. 28) rejected $14 million in capital spending by a vote of 666-624, although it would not have increased taxes.
The district said that $9.3 million would have been covered by state aid, $2.5 million by savings and the remainder by retiring debt.
At the elementary school, the funds would have been used to renovate the library and circa 1972 nurse’s suite, add playground equipment for K-2 students, complete the integration of geothermal heating and cooling and install new performing arts lights and controls.
At the middle school, the project included parking lot upgrades, small-group spaces, upgraded heat pumps and new performing arts lights and controls.
At the high school, the plans were to upgrade the parking lot, replace flat roofs installed in 2000, add solar panels to the Wellness Center roof, improve access to the courtyard and outdoor learning space and convert the weight room into a fitness center and dance studio.
Mount Kisco: Examiner Stops Publishing
The Examiner News, a 17-year-old weekly newspaper with four editions, including for Putnam County, stopped publishing this week.
Publisher Adam Stone, who dismissed most of his staff, cited rising printing costs and declining advertising. He said he would try to keep the publication going at theexaminernews.com.
“Beyond the closure of our longtime affordable printer in November and the proposed 25 percent White House tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods — most newsprint, including ours, comes from Canada — we’re grappling with a host of industry challenges, particularly in generating sufficient revenue from local ads,” Stone wrote on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
Founded in 2007, The Examiner News covered Mount Kisco and Pleasantville before expanding into Putnam in 2009, Yorktown in 2010 and White Plains in 2011.
Kingston: From The Rock to The G.O.A.T.
John Stote III, a Kingston native who in 1982 invented the basketball known as The Rock that was used by more than 70 colleges, has introduced a new ball called The G.O.A.T. (for Greatest of All Time) that is being used by local high schools.
The first shipment of 4,500 balls, made in China, has arrived at a warehouse in Kingston and Stote has a contract to provide balls to the Phenom Basketball camps. He said he sold 1,000 basketballs on Facebook in 10 days. See thegoatbasketball.com.
Wappingers Falls: Man Charged After Fire
Dutchess County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday (Jan. 27) reported the arrest of a 34-year-old man on suspicion he set fire to a home where a couple was found dead.
Robert J. Buda was charged with felony arson in connection with the fire at 78 Marlorville Road. Firefighters responded to an alarm at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and found the couple inside.
The sheriff identified the victims as Paul Hait, 63, and Jo-Ann Hait, 65. News 12 reported that Buda is the couple’s son-in-law. He was arrested in Hyde Park.
Buda was arraigned in the Town of Wappinger Court and sent to the Dutchess County jail on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond.
[Update: Buda, a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was charged on Friday (Jan. 31) with murder and aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly killing the couple and their dog and then setting fire to the house.]
