Crop circles, alien runways, now this...

These strange road markings visible to anyone appear on Hommelville Rd., Rt. 32 and Rt 212

A tale of two stories:
Were Saugerties casino plans even BIGGER?
What developer says and what you get could be two different projects
Press Release

The casino proposal
• 1.2 million square feet of "resort/casino"
• 20,000-seat (approximately 500,000-square foot) sports and entertainment arena
• 5 garages for a total number of approximately 23,000 vehicles
• One million square feet of retail space
• A PGA-level 27 hole golf course
• 18,000 visitors daily
• 1 million gallons of water used daily
 

The tribe is asking the state to designate all 840 acres of the Winston Farm as trust or sovereign land.
The tribe has said it would pay Ulster County $30 million per year for seven years in lieu of property taxes.

Whats not to like ?

Proposed Casino in Saugerties at Winston Farm 
"While some Indian tribes have benefited from the passage of IGRA, local communities in which casinos have been built have been profoundly impacted.
The quality of life in many local communities forced to host casino operations has seriously eroded, despite in many cases massive tribal contributions to the state coffers."
"The strain Indian casinos place on the surrounding communities is tremendous. For non-Indian casinos, it is estimated that for every dollar a community collects from gambling taxes, it must spend three dollars to cover new expenses, including police, infrastructure repairs, social welfare and counseling services.
Because local communities cannot tax Indian operations, the strain is even more acute."
FORK TONGUE
     The folks of Saugerties need to read the information at this web site, Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative, in an address to the NYS Assembly March 11, 2005, does not speak with "fork tongue".
     In April of 2003, Governor Pataki and Attorney General Spitzer, through their attorneys, wrote a letter to the federal government stating that permitting out-of-state tribes to be provided with governmental jurisdiction in New York would open a "Pandora's box."   They also noted that:
There are a number of out-of-state tribes that assert land claims in New York.  If each of those tribes was allowed to assert jurisdictional rights in New York, the potential for inter-tribal disputes and disruption in surrounding communities would increase exponentially.  As a matter of policy, a conclusion that the [Seneca-Cayuga] Oklahoma Tribe may exercise jurisdiction in New York is clearly undesirable.      
    Returning to the present, Ray Halbritter , March 11, 2005, states to the NYS Assembly; "And we were also astonished by the Governor's decision to invite Oklahoma and Wisconsin Indian tribes to establish (governments) and develop casinos in New York, something that is completely inconsistent with Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) traditions, federal law, and quite frankly, common sense."           The Oklahoma Seneca-Cayuga Tribe is a conglomeration of people from various Iroquois and non-Iroquois tribes, many of whom had relocated to Ohio before the American Revolution started.  Most of the ancestors of the Oklahoma Seneca-Cayugas were not even residing in New York when the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua was signed.  
     Both the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act and the written constitution of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe limit the governmental jurisdiction of the Tribe to its Oklahoma lands and its members residing in Oklahoma.  Historical records also show that the Oklahoma Seneca-Cayugas have very little justification for a land claims case and absolutely no justification for sovereignty rights or a governmental presence in New York.
     The Pataki Administration believes it can "contain" the sovereignty of the new tribes they wish to invite to New York. This is an exercise in self-delusion and is squarely at odds with 200 years of federal law and policy and the views of the out-of-state tribes.  The preceding few paragraphs are an example of the information contained within Mr. Halbritters address to the NYS Assembly.
     Locally, Democrats, Conservatives, the Council of Churches, individual sentiment of the townsfolk's, the Town Board of Woodstock, etc., all oppose the casino.  Mr. Wilbur (Woodstock Town Supervisor) I believe described the casino situation best; "the current approach of licensing Native American tribes to act as front groups for large gambling consortiums is "extremely dishonest".  A sober, honest and realistic view, of the pending situation we face, in regards to this potential casino.  Mr. Helsmoortel, you could learn a few things from this person.  To add to it all, we need to beware of the potential and probably imminent increase in drunken driving incidents, gambling addiction, bankruptcy, embezzlement and divorce. 
     George "fork tongue" Pataki and his local republican minions seem to be the only crew in favor of this potential casino site.  You know the line-up; Mr. Hooker, Mr. Bonisac, Mr. Roberti, Mr. Aiello, Mrs. Tipp, Mr. Helsmoortel, Mrs. Thornton, and Mr. Costello.  This is the self-serving, party first community second, local aristocracy.  We the people of Saugerties should demand a referendum vote, on this casino issue.
      Mr. Helsmoortel, it is unbelievable to read you are concerned for the local taxpayers and you think this casino is a solution to our tax problem. ""As a small municipality facing increased school and property tax burdens, we feel that it is our duty to at least examine all potential revenue sources". 
     How about an Assessor committed to excellence, an experienced professional individual or group, which will treat all the folks in Saugerties fairly.  When is our assessment amateur hour going to end?  
     Finally, why hasn't the League of Women Voters Grievance presentation not appeared on the Saugerties TV channel?  Maybe because it is contrary to the way assessments are done in Saugerties.  Want to bet! 
                                                                                                  Steven Haun, SAGA