An Early Autumn Barbecue and Party was held Tuesday, October 5th at the Town Park on Church Street. Attendees were treated to free hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, fired dough, cotton candy, hot popcorn and drinks. Hookie's delicious chicken bbq dinner was also offered. 

Kippy, Hookie, Doug, Mary Jeanne and Louie were all on hand to speak with residents. Lawn signs and other giveaways were available for attendees to take home. Sheriff Bartlett also attended and helped out serving food and drinks.

It was a terrific family-oriented event that drew almost 200 townspeople. Our thanks to all who attended and to those who volunteered to pull the event off. Great time!

This writing is in response to a recent letter submitted to the newspapers and a local blog, written by the Chairwoman of the Claverack Democratic Committee Stephanie Sussman, titled “The Arrogance of Power.” The following are some facts for those standing on the outside looking in, who perhaps don’t know the truth and may be inclined to believe the false or misleading information contained in Sussman’s letter.
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The late Anne Twaddle, longtime Columbia County Treasurer and member of our Claverack Town Board, always warned that it was important to be ready for disasters and unforeseen situations before they arise. This required safeguarding taxpayers’ dollars and always maintaining a good financial position in preparation for the worst. Fortunately, we’ve done that here in Claverack. We’ve kept spending low and adequate reserves set aside. When there are problems, the Town is ready and able to respond. 

In her letter, referring to the fiscal crisis caused by the pandemic, Sussman states that the Claverack Republican Team is claiming to have managed “a crisis that never happened.” A crisis that never happened? Because we were fiscally responsible in the years preceding the pandemic and because we took early action to avoid the anticipated effects, we were able to effectively respond to the situation in real time. A crisis that never happened? Maybe Chairwoman Sussman should have said, “a crisis that had minimal impacts on our town thanks to the strong leadership of Town Supervisor Weigelt and the bipartisan work of our Town Board.” That might have been more accurate.

For those unaware, the town began meeting to thwart the looming fiscal crisis early on in the pandemic. Working with the town’s accounting firm, our bookkeeper and county officials, we identified areas of expected revenue shortfalls (sales tax, park fees, interest earnings, fines, permits, state and federal funding, etc). Those projected shortfalls totaled more than $525,000. That might not be a lot of money in New York City, but that constitutes “a crisis” here in Claverack. We then got busy sharpening our pencil to cut spending and find savings to off-set the projected losses. We went line-by-line through the budget and made hard decisions to protect the taxpayers. We developed a plan to reduce payroll expenses by furloughing employees and public officials if needed (thankfully, we avoided most of that). We paused road projects funded by State grants and halted other projects that were planned for 2020 (painting the water tower, etc).

This Board – in bipartisan fashion – followed the COVID-19 guidelines received from State and Federal agencies and guidance from the Columbia County Health Department.  Events were held both in the hamlet and at the Town Office Building to distribute masks and hand sanitizer.  Businesses in the area were approached and given supplies whenever needed; the latest delivery being Monday, September 27, 2021. We distributed every mask the State provided to us and purchased cases more, over and above what was received from Columbia County.

Throughout the pandemic, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office conducted daily checks on the elderly and vulnerable residents who wished to receive the checks. Columbia County Meals on Wheels continued to deliver meals to shut-ins each day, which also provides a regular check on those receiving the meals. 

Regarding Sussman’s knock on the Mellenville-Philmont Food Pantry for not expanding hours of operation, the food pantry does not fall under the purview of the Town, but the Town does provide them space and all the amenities for their important program and work. The Food Pantry is run by an all-volunteer Board and group of many volunteers. Town Clerk Mary Jeanne Hoose is the volunteer Director of the program and is on the premises every day for calls and/or emergencies.  Social Services and other agencies have the number to call Mary Jeanne at home or at the office when needed.  Other volunteers are also available when needed.  The services are available all hours of the day and evening and work quite well. 

In closing, we’d just say that this is Claverack, not Brooklyn. We treat each other with respect here and we don’t attack our political opponents. The politicians in Albany and Washington are fair game, but on the local level we’re neighbors. We’ve always enjoyed good relationships with our democratic friends like the late Claverack Democratic Chairwoman Cyndy Hall. We work for progress, not politics. Ms. Sussman would do herself well to work to emulate Cyndy Hall and her predecessors who were from Claverack and understood Claverack. Cyndy would have celebrated the town’s successful response to the pandemic, not attacked it for blatant political gain. 

And thank you Anne Twaddle for your “words of wisdom” so many years ago. They have served us well.

CLAVERACK REPUBLICAN TEAM
Kippy Wiegelt
Stephen Hook
Brian Keeler
George Duntz
Doug Colwell
Mary J. Hoose
Lou Lamont

Lawn signs are now available! Fill out this form and a candidate or campaign volunteer will drop the signs off to your home in the coming days. Thanks so much for your support! Order here.

Our thanks to everyone who supported our 2021 chicken barbecue. It was our most successful ever... a sell out! A huge thanks to Steve (“Hookie”) Hook (Stephen Hook, Claverack Town Councilman) for his work preparing for the event and serving as “head chef.” Our thanks also to all of the volunteers and sponsors who made the event possible and to Kippy Weigelt, Claverack Town Supervisor, candidate for Town Council Doug Colwell, Town Clerk Mary Jeanne Hoose, George Duntz, Claverack Town Councilman, Brian Keeler, Claverack Town Councilman, and Sheriff David Bartlett for attending.