LIVINGSTON—An Elizaville firefighter was charged with making three calls to Columbia County 911 to report smoke or fire where there was none.
Livingston State Police working with Livingston Fire Chief Jack Lasher and 911 Dispatcher Kevin Johnson investigated the fabricated reports—all within the Livingston Fire District, of which Elizaville is a part.
Their investigation resulted in the August 13 arrest of Christopher Brown, 21, of Manorton on three counts of second degree falsely reporting an incident, each a class E felony.
State Police Senior Investigator Gary Mazzacano reports in a press release that Mr. Brown allegedly made three 911 calls that resulted in the emergency dispatch and response of Livingston Fire District apparatus.
On July 15, he allegedly reported smoke near the Manorton Church; August 4, he allegedly reported smoke near the intersection of County Route 19 and White Oak Road; and August 12, he allegedly reported something burning in Blue Stores.
When making each report, police say, Mr. Brown used a fake name.
Arraigned in Livingston Court before Justice Robert Q. Moore, Mr. Brown was released in the custody of his father and directed to reappear in court August 20.
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Dredging project gives pond a fresh start
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
GREENVILLE — The dredging project at the pond at Veterans’ Memorial Park has been completed.
The town board at its Monday meeting approved a change order extending the project to include an additional 25 feet on the other side of Route 32.
“The DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) came down and gave us permission to go down by the real estate office and clean the other side of (Route) 32 out,” Town Supervisor Paul Macko said Monday. “A pocket over there would trap some of the debris before it comes into the pond, so that was an additional $7,500.”
The board unanimously approved the change order.
Work on the pond began Oct. 3, after the town drained it and Halsted Excavating, based in Earlton, dredged it to remove all the sludge at the bottom.
The last time the pond was dredged was in the late 1990s, Macko said.
“They started last Monday with the dredging — we drained the pond with pumps and it worked out really well,” Macko said Thursday. “The town of Athens donated their street sweeper to the cause and Halsted Excavating did the dredging.”
Dredging needs to be done periodically to remove debris and sediment that accumulates in a pond.
Trash and debris were also removed from beneath the overpass spanning Route 32 so it doesn’t wash right back into the pond.
Four contractors bid on the original project with Halsted’s coming in as the low bidder at $42,800. When the DEC issued a permit that allowed the town to expand the scope of the project, the funds allotted to the project were extended by an additional $7,500, Macko said.
“Halsted was the lowest bidder at $42,800,” Macko said. “There was a little bit of an additional cost to do the 25 or 30 feet on the other side of [Route] 32, which the board approved. That was an additional $7,500 to do that, so it was a little over $50,300 and we used COVID money from the county to do it.”
Each town in Greene County was allocated $100,000 by the Legislature from COVID-relief funds awarded by the federal government. The funds had to be used for specific purposes, and the pond project was a permitted use of the money.
The main section of the pond was dredged beginning Oct. 3 and then the other side was completed the following week. Work was finished last week and the water levels have returned to normal after being replenished by the town’s stream.
“The pond is now within 6 or 8 inches of being at a normal level,” Macko said Thursday. “With today’s anticipated rain, it is settling out nicely and you don’t see muddy water. We did a nice job.”
Next, the town is looking to possibly take on another dredging project in 2023.
“We are going to get some prices and see if we can do something in Norton Hill next year at Verplanck Park,” Macko said. “That is town property too and it also needs dredging.”
