A letter written by former County Legislature Gary Bischoff is Totally False! If Gary just did a simple thing like look at what committees I am on he would notice that the article in the Daily Freeman was wrong. I am not Chairman of Public Safety! The quote was from Chairman Jack Hayes. I thank the Daily Freeman for retracting the article! (Please refer retraction dated March 4, 2010)

You see Gary I am not confused! I am hard at work. I ask the people of District 4 just to look at what I am doing. Look at the truth, not a bitter Gary Bischoff!

Walter G. Frey, Jr.
Ulster County Legislature, District 4

A crisis can bring out either the best, or the worst, in people. What we witnessed two weeks ago was by far the best of the best.

With the "storm of the century" bearing down on our Village and Town, bringing with it a declared State of Emergency, our ability to provide both emergent and non-emergent medical care for our patients had the potential to be severely compromised. However, with the help of so many of you, we were able to provide the quality of care to our community members that they have grown accustomed to.

There are so many people to thank for their assistance. Thank you to our first responders from the Ellenville, Napanoch and Kerhonkson Fire Departments and the Ellenville First Aid and Rescue Squad. And thank you to the crew and administration of the Village of Ellenville and the Town of Wawarsing for providing such a coordinated effort to the benefit of all of our residents.

Golden Builders must be acknowledged for keeping our parking lots cleared of snow for the emergency vehicles, patients and staff.

And we cannot forget our staff, who drove through the storm in order to report to work. Some stayed at the end of their shift and slept in a hospital bed so that they would already be at the hospital when their next shift started. Some came in early so that others could leave and get home safely. Others used their 4-wheel drive vehicles to pick up their coworkers so that they could report to work. They tirelessly kept the walkways and entrances cleared from snow (a daunting task!), as well as providing a warm place and a hot meal for those who could not be in their own home, and in their own bed, during this crisis.

The best of our community was on display during this critical time. We should all be proud.

Steve L. Kelley, President and CEO
Ellenville Regional Hospital

I would like to extend the appreciation of the Wawarsing Town Board and myself for the outstanding work that was performed by Central Hudson during this past week, both in house and in the field.

Central Hudson was very well organized. Yours teleconferences were appreciated so that all municipalities that were affected by the snowstorm could receive a detailed report of all power outages

. We hope that a storm of this magnitude will never occur again our lifetime.

On a daily basis I disseminated your information by means of our local radio station, WELV. The communication to our friends and neighbors helped relieve frustration. I believe that because of the emergency broadcasts that there was a decrease in the number of phone calls to the Ellenville Police Department and the Town of Wawarsing.

We would also like to thank you for the many deliveries of dry ice and bottled water. I am sure that it was a great help to many of our residents that were without electrical power during this time.

If you are ever in the area please feel free to stop by my office.

Leonard M. Distel, Supervisor
Town of Wawarsing

On Wednesday March 3, 2010, my office staff and I attended a CPR course held at Ellenville Regional Hospital. We want to thank all who were involved in offering the course. Karen, in the education department, was our contact for scheduling and John Gavaris was our CPR course instructor. Both were outstanding in their knowledge and professionalism.

We are so grateful that professional courses of this level are offered locally through Ellenville Regional Hospital. Our entire office has also taken their course in Spanish for the medical office, which has proven to be most helpful.

We should all be proud and thankful that our small community offers us the level of education and medical expertise afforded by our local hospital.

Paul Lonstein, DMD
Ellenville