HAMLET HAPPENINGS
by Kathleen Sullivan
August 2021
HURLEYVILLE-SULLIVAN FIRST
The members of Hurleyville-Sullivan First are busy this summer.
The historical kiosk at the Hurleyville Firemen’s Park is getting some needed repairs and maintenance. The signs at the entrances to Hurleyville and at the entrance to the Rails to Trails are getting a painting “refresh”. New larger weather-proof cabinets are being created for the Little Free Library at the Hurleyville Firemen’s Park.
The plants in the barrels on Main Street and in the planters at the entrances to Hurleyville and at the Hurleyville Firehouse are blooming. Send an email to izzysaunt@verizon.net if you’re interested in helping to keep them beautiful by weeding and watering.
Please visit www.hurleyvilleny.com for more information about Hurleyville-Sullivan First. You can also visit Hurleyville-Sullivan First on Facebook.
HURLEYVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
The Bread of Life Food Pantry has resumed choice distribution indoors at the Hurleyville United Methodist Church. The food pantry will be open on Thursday, August 19 and on Thursday, August 26 from 3 until 5 p.m. Anyone who is not vaccinated should wear a mask when visiting the food pantry.
Sunday services at the church begin at 9 a.m. The Bible study group meets in the sanctuary at the church every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fully vaccinated churchgoers do not have to wear a mask in the church.
Pastor Jorge is delivering sermons online on Facebook at 11 a.m. on Sundays.
You can pray with others over the phone on the church’s prayer line on Sundays from 7 – 8 p.m. The prayer line phone number is 605-472-5491 and the access code is 251678.
“MESSY CHURCH”, Youth Group meetings and the women’s group meetings are still cancelled for now.
Please call Katrina at 845-436-7942 for more information. You can also get updates from the church’s page on Facebook.
THE SULLIVAN COUNTY MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Good news! The Sullivan County Museum and Historical Society have re-opened.
Volunteers are busy refreshing the exhibits that have not been visited for the last year and a half.
Visitors are welcome to the museum. Group tours can be scheduled by contacting the museum office.
The reading room is open for research. Researchers must schedule an appointment.
Planning is underway for the Sullivan County Historical Society Annual Dinner and Meeting that will be held in October.
Plans for the “First Sunday” concerts have not been announced yet.
Anyone interested in genealogy and the history of life in Sullivan County can send an email to info@scnyhistory.org for information on volunteering at the museum.
Please call the museum at 845-434-8044 or email info@scnyhistory.org for more information or to schedule appointments and group tours.
Visit the Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum on Facebook or at www.scnyhistory.org.
The museum, located at 265 Main Street in Hurleyville, is open on Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
Per Sullivan County guidelines, visitors to the museum who have been vaccinated are not required to wear masks.
COLUMBIA HILL NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE (CHNA)
The CHNA steering committee continues to meet monthly to share information and to discuss strategy in preparation for when the 535-townhouse Gan Eden Estates project appears on the agenda of the Town of Thompson Planning Board again.
In August, 2020, a group of concerned homeowners on Huschke Road met with members of CHNA. They were seeking input on how to deal with the questionable and threatening building going on there. From that point on, the members of CHNA have monitored with alarm the ongoing building activity in that area and the possibility that the Town of Liberty Planning Board will fail to comply with SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) requirements.
The developer working on Huschke Road is now seeking site plan approval for a 4-lot subdivision with allegedly 3 single-family homes on a 57-acre parcel labeled Camp Breslev on East Mongaup Road. Plans for the subdivision include a long driveway leading to the back section of the property that may be a hint of more building on the parcel in the future.
This area is considered by the members of CHNA to be in the group’s sphere of interest. Irresponsible and unsustainable development there will drastically affect neighbors of the parcel and the entire community of Hurleyville. Approval of SEQRA non-compliant site plans sets a bad precedent that could lead developers in our community to try to take a similar path by presenting a series of developments for approval rather than presenting them as part of a larger development which requires a much more stringent environmental review.
Visit CHNA at www.columbiahill.org and on Facebook to learn how you can help to protect your environment and your community by demanding sustainable development.