Welcome.

The Afton Vision Group is a circle of concerned citizens whose mission is:
To remember Afton's past as we help build a livable future.
We meet monthly to discuss topics of interest and to organize local events. The Afton Vision newsletter is one of our current projects. 
The Afton Vision is sent free to all households, approximately 1400, in the 13730 zip code.
Pdf copies are sent to those who request it via email (aftonvision@gmail.com). Our growing subscriber list includes a number of people in the region who are interested but do not live within our designated mailing group as well as people who no longer live in the Afton area.
Each article of an issue will be posted separately on this blog to make it easier for readers to respond or to post questions.
The Afton Vision Group also plans to use this blog to update stories and publish information about our other projects and other community events.
Please send notices to aftonvision@gmail.com.

Forum on Gas Lease Issues

Informational Forum on Gas Lease Issues

to Take Place on March 14^th in Norwich

Oxford, NY—Concerned Residents of Oxford is holding FLEASED FORUM/Chenango County, an informational forum for Chenango County landowners regarding gas lease issues. Landowners in neighboring counties are also invited to attend. The forum will take place on Thursday, March 14^th, 6:30 pm, at United Church of Christ, 11 West Main Street, in Norwich. The event is free and open to the public. Note on parking: Please park on street, in public parking lots, or in County Office Building lots, not in Church parking lot.

Geologist Ellen Harrison and Attorney Joseph Heath, of Fleased.org, will present information on landowner’s rights concerning a range of topics including: the implications of gas leases on insurance coverage, property uses, and mortgages; whether it is possible to sign a “good lease”; how Norse’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing affects the leases that they currently hold; lease assignments such as overriding royalty interests and reciprocal capacity agreements and how they impact current leases; and what the recent force majeure decision in Binghamton means for expired or soon-to-expire leases in Chenango County.

Landowners wishing to terminate their gas leases will hear what they need to do to officially cancel a lease at the end of the primary term. Clearing the land records usually falls to the landowner. Landowners who are not in active gas leases are cautioned to check their deed papers to verify if there was ever a gas lease on their property. Even a decades-old lease remains a liability for the current landowner if not properly released by the gas company and filed as such with the County Clerk’s office. Forum attendees will hear what steps can be taken by a landowner in this situation.

Following their presentations, Harrison and Heath will take questions from the audience.

FLEASED FORUM/Chenango County is organized by Concerned Residents of Oxford, and co-sponsored with CDOG and C-CARE.

Contact: Concerned Residents of Oxford, PO Box 631, Oxford, NY 13830

email: concernedresidentsofoxford@gmail.com

tel: 607.226.6483 (Mina T

Animal Emergency Committee

-          Dona Davey and Pam Strurz

There’s a problem and I have to leave my home in a hurry.  What do I do? 

May I take my cat with me?  Where is the emergency animal shelter in Afton?  If nobody is at home, will someone rescue my dog?  Where can I take my horses when there are floods?   Who can I call for help?  The answers to these questions and more may be found in the Afton Emergency Plan-Animal Annex developed by the Animal Emergency Committee of Afton.  A copy of the plan may be found in the town clerk’s office and on the town of Afton website (https://sites.google.com/site/aftonanimaldisasterpreparation/).

The plan was developed in response to mandates from FEMA and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006. They require communities to establish procedures and resources to evacuate, house and care for animals, both large and small, during all types of disasters:  weather, geological and technological.  The Afton plan is activated when a state of emergency is declared and human population shelters are opened for evacuees. In Afton, the animal shelter is located in the Afton Central school bus garage.   This was strategically planned so the animal shelter would be close to the human shelter located in the Afton Central School.

In order to be better prepared to help the community in the event an emergency occurs, the Animal Emergency Committee is currently accepting donations of non-perishable supplies such as crates, feeding bowls, bedding and cleaning products as well as monetary donations.    Other fund raising efforts include raffles of quilts and pillows and applying for grant monies. Committee projects include Evac-Pacs, available at the town clerk’s office, to assist owners in preparing for evacuation with their pets or preparation for care at home, and educating the public about the need for emergency planning.

Animal owners are responsible for the safety of their animals. The best plan if you have to evacuate is to take your animals with you or, if you don’t evacuate, to stockpile enough food, water and medications for yourself and your pet for a two week period at home.   Work with friends and neighbors to have a plan for evacuating your animals if you are not home.  Listen to local radio stations for emergency information, or call the town office, town supervisor or police for updates on town emergency plans.

     BE PREPARED!

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THE FOLLOWING

Care of shelter animals

Clerical help in shelter

Evacuation of animals

Fund raising

Public information projects

Call Dona Davey to join -

607-639-2409

Tech Talk: Keeping Your Computer Safe – For Free

-  Don Gersch

Once upon a time, say in the late 1990s or early 2000s, if you had a virus on your computer you would probably know about it,  Your machine would slow down, or crash on a regular basis, or very unusual things would happen, such as graphics suddenly appearing on your screen.  Often in those days, viruses were created by 14 year olds trying to see what mischief they could make.  Now, in 2012, if you have a virus, or to use a more general term, malware, on your computer, it is unlikely that you will know about it immediately.  That's because it will now hide on your computer and attempt to give information about you to the people who created it – things like your credit card number or your bank account figures.  These days malware is usually created by people trying to steal from you.

One thing hasn't changed, although it may be even more important now – you need to have security programs to protect you, and they must be up to date and working.  Luckily, although there are many good protection programs that you can buy, there are also very adequate programs that you can get for free.  One good anti-virus program is AVG Free (http://free.avg.com).  AVG will update itself automatically and can be set up to run scans on any schedule that you choose.  Once it's set up it will pretty much take care of itself.  It's important to note that when you download and install a free program, you be sure that you are using the free or basic version.  If the web site or installation program suggests an upgrade or demonstration version, don't go for it.  There will either be an immediate charge, or the demo will only last for a set period of time, usually 30 or 90 days, and then ask that you buy it.  AVG Free will remain free, but will need updating as new versions come out.  If you decide for any reason that you don't like AVG Free, another good program to try is Avast Free (http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download). 

Anti-virus programs, including AVG Free, are good at blocking malware, but are not as good at removing it, if you allow it onto your system.  This often happens through no fault of your own.  An excellent program for removing malware from your computer is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free (http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytesfree).  However, it is important to install Malwarebytes Free before you have a problem.  Often malware, once on the computer, can block security programs from installing.  Unfortunately, unlike AVG, Malwarebytes, in its free version, does not run automatically, you must run it so it can update and scan on whatever schedule you wish.  Running it at least once per week would be recommended.

Whether you decide to use these free programs or one of the commercial security suites, it is essential that you not only have good security programs, but that you be sure they are updating and scanning your computer on a regular basis.

(This article appeared on page 11, Winter Issue 2013, The Afton Vision)

LOCAL CONSIGNMENT STORES

Some area consignments shops

All have additional information online

(via website and/or Facebook)

v  Rainbow’s End

o   37 Main St., Sidney

o   563-8911

v  House of Consignment

o   214 Main Street, Unadilla

o   369-2827

v  Green Giraffe

o   54 State Highway 357, Unadilla

o   369-3234,

  Exclusively Children’s Items

v  Snips and Snails

o   28 North Main St, Bainbridge

o   967-4393

AND

v  The Kid’s Rooms

o   78 Genesee St, Greene

o   656-7304

This list was on the back page of the Winter 2013 issue of The Afton Vision to accompany an article (below) about consignment. 

Interested in growing your own fruit?

Need to understand pruning?

Want to bring old trees back into production?

JOIN AFTON’S

FRUIT GROWING NETWORK

Starting in the late winter with a series of hands-on pruning workshops, continuing through spring nursery stock planting, growing season care and hopeful harvests, the Network’s aim is to increase the knowledge base necessary for personal and community self-sufficiency.  Whether you want to learn, teach or share, if you enjoy fruit and fruit growing , add yourself to the list of people to be notified about Network events this season.

Contact mikebernhard@frontiernet.net

SOLAR ENERGY IN OUR CLOUDY CLIMATE:

House Tour and Information Day - Free

Energy from the sun can be used to heat water, generate electricity and heat homes.

Come join us for a tour and see an example of each at some of our  neighbors’

solar energy installations.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2013, 1:00 to 5:00 PM.

Where: Tour begins at 40 High Street in Afton.

What: After an introductory talk, we will show you the nuts and bolts of solar heating of water.      We will then visit two other sites to see and hear about other uses of solar energy.  You will have an opportunity to ask questions of people actually using solar power, as well as get information about local solar companies.  We will wrap up with a discussion and dessert back at 40 High Street.

Please contact Alan Steinberg at 607-624-5124 or nalamg@aol.com with questions or to make a reservation.

What is Consignment, and How Can it Benefit You

           April Leggett

We all seem to accumulate “stuff” as time goes by and sooner or later we realize we no longer need or want some it.

There are, of course, various ways of clearing out the clutter.  Ebay and Craigslist are two online options. You could also donate everything to various churches, or to thrift stores like the Salvation Army stores in Oneonta or Binghamton. There is also the garage/lawn sale which does involve a lot of work including set-up, pricing, advertising, displaying, haggling over prices and the possibility of a wet weekend.

More and more people are turning to consignment shops as an easier alternative. Consignment allows you to turn your clutter into cash without all the work of eBay or garage sales.

The HOW-TO

Most consignment stores focus on clothing but others offer such things as home goods, CDs and DVDs, toys, décor, books, electronics and small appliances or furniture. All items you bring should be in good to excellent condition.

Begin by calling or stopping in the various consignment stores in the area to discuss their guidelines and policies. Ask if you need an appointment to bring in items and if there is a limit to how many things you can bring each time. Ask how long they will display your items and what percentage you receive when your items sell.

When you bring in your items your work is done. The experienced staff will price and attractively display the goods and will be available to help sell them for you. Periodic discounts and special sales will help generate more buyers.

There are two more benefits that consignment offers. The first is that the recycling of resources and goods indirectly helps us all, and the second is the benefit to others in our communities when unsold items are donated to various local charities.

Happy consigning!

(This article from pages 11-12, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Afton Community Theater

The Afton Community Theater (ACT) is celebrating 10 years of bringing live theater to Afton.  We welcome new actors, behind-the-scenes workers, administrative volunteers and sponsors.

Upcoming performances include:

• February 2 from 6-8 pm at Vincent's Restaurant.
  Cabaret-style presentation of songs from the upcoming musical "9 to 5", along with songs from other musicals. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit ACT.

·       March 8, 9 and 10 at the Afton Central School Auditorium.

The musical play " 9 to 5 " written by Dolly Parton with lots of great songs and fun (including a virtual appearance by Ms. Parton).  Ticket prices at the door are $12/Adults and $10/Seniors/Students. (Call Elana at 639-3824 for advance tickets, $10/Adults and $8/Seniors/Students.)

·       March 30 at 7:30 pm at Vincent's Restaurant (by reservation only).

ACT will launch its Murder Mystery Buffet series with the presentation of "Mafia Murders," a sure-to-delight comedy and multiple murder mystery that the audience will help solve as the evening unfolds. The wonderful buffet will feature appetizers, two main dishes, salad, beverages and dessert. Seating is limited.  Tickets: $34 per person/$60 per couple.

(This notice from pages 7 – 8, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

VILLAGE PLAYGROUND – VOLUNTEERS WANTED

The Pleasant Avenue park which once gave little children a safe place to play is in need of renovation. Mayor Sally Muller said the village does not have the funds to replace the deteriorated equipment that has become unsafe.

Volunteers are sought to create a fund-raising committee to raise funds to update the playground. If interested, contact the Mayor at 639-1022

(This notice from page 9, Winter 2013, The Afton Vision)

Preventive Medicine Article

DR Stephen Dygert  – Afton Family Health Center

If you want to live to be an old person and have good quality of life, you basically need three things: good genes, good health habits and good luck.   

You cannot do much about your genes and you cannot do much about luck but you can develop several habits that will improve the quality and the quantity of your life.  Below are some tips for a healthier lifestyle.  

1. Do not smoke.  The leading cause of death in the United States is vascular disease.  Smoking is one of the three major risk factors, along with hypertension and high cholesterol, for vascular disease.  Cancer is the second leading cause of death.  Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths.  Smoking causes 90% of all lung cancers and 1/3 of all cancer deaths.  If you smoke and you are lucky enough not to get cancer or heart disease, you frequently end up with severe emphysema and die an agonizing death with chronic shortness of breath.

2. Keep your weight under reasonable control which, (like) as we all know, is easier said than done.

3. Remain active.

4. Keep your blood pressure under good control.

5. Keep your cholesterol under good control.

6. Make sure you get your flu and pneumonia shot, and that your children get all of their childhood vaccinations.  

There are several screening tests that may be helpful. 

            1. A yearly mammogram after the age of 40.

2. Occasional check-ups, depending on your age.

3. For people who have smoked a lot, a low dose, non-contrast CT of the chest to look for an early lung cancer.

4. Screening for bone density to detect osteoporosis in older people.   

Not smoking is by far the most important factor in being healthy and living to an old age.  The other factors are important, but not as important as not smoking.  I suppose having a cheerful attitude may be of some benefit as well.  

(This article from page 6, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Resilient Food Gardening

- Mike Bernhard   

Succession Planting of Salad Vegetables: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. 

In the old days, when the weather was more stable, it was possible to plant a vegetable garden in one day at the end of May.  Occasionally a hot, dry spring would yield 20 feet of lettuce fit only for compost, or a cool, wet summer would produce a dozen giant pepper plants, with no peppers.  Yet every year, many, if not all crops would do well.  But these days, even green beans are at the mercy of wild weather and its attendant patterns of insects and disease.

There are many strategies that can reduce losses to wild weather:

            - season-extending techniques that create protected sites for heat- or shade-loving plants 

-   improvement of the water-storage capacity of soils by increasing their organic matter levels

- row covers, low tunnels and hoop houses that affect temperatures and moisture levels

My main strategy for coping with extreme weather is “succession planting”. Rather than planting my hardy vegetable seeds – salad and cooking greens, roots and scallions – all on one day, I now make much smaller plantings every three weeks between mid-March and the last of August.

Because I started my gardens (thirty years ago) on compacted, infertile, gravelly soil, I shoveled the soil out of 18” wide paths and onto 30” wide growing beds. But I still seeded in rows running the length of those beds.  Depending on the weather (mostly) I might end up with 25 feet of beautiful spinach plants all ready the same day or, worse, 25 feet of flowering spinach-gone-to-seed.

Gradually it dawned on me that the best outcome would be for my garden to yield a basket of “salad vegetables” every week from May to October: several lettuces, a few carrots, a handful of green beans, a couple of fennel bulbs, two bunches of radishes, three or four beets, some spinach.  So, to avoid having too much or too little of what I wanted to eat during the growing season, I began to plant rows of seeds across my 30” beds, and I began to plant those short rows more often.

Early in the season (last half of March), my first “succession bed” is seeded to veggies most likely to sprout and thrive in cool weather: spinach, radishes, beets, carrots, several kinds of lettuce, scallions.  This bed, 30” wide and 6’ long, has six or eight rows : a couple of rows of different larger, spreading  lettuces, alternate rows with faster-to-mature spinaches and more-upright carrots and beets.  Radishes might be sown on both sides of a band of scallion or pearl onion seeds. 

Three weeks later I seed the same crops – remember these are very short rows – plus a second bed of fennel, arugula, endives and radicchio. 

By the time the third set of two succession beds are planted, it’s already unlikely that spinaches will mature before the weather turns too hot, so spinach drops out of the plan, to return again in the mid-August succession beds.  Lettuce and radishes drop out in July, skipping one or two succession plantings.  They return in August, too.

Over the years, experience has shown which planting dates work for which crops. Not every seeding of every crop will yield; the point is to always push the boundaries at both the cold ends of the season, and in the hot middle.  It is the small amount of work that is committed to each succession bed that allows for a range of planting dates for each vegetable or variety.  It is that range that provides for resilience; you know some plantings of carrots will work well; some not so well.  But you aren’t overwhelmed by your successes or devastated by failure because you haven’t put all your eggs in one basket.

If you practice succession planting of salad vegetables the way I do, you will also notice that each vegetable type will also differ in their relation to plant pests and diseases.  Slugs and lettuce bottom rot have their season, as do carrot rust and spinach aphids. 

Next season, plant your salad vegetables in succession beds and see if you can’t replace the feast-or-famine pattern of gardens-gone-by with a steady supply of salad makings from May to October.

(This article from pages 9 - 10, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Impact on Afton Roads by Fracking Industry Truck Traffic

Here’s why New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) – the Town of Afton’s insurer – is concerned about the impact of hydrofracking on local roads:

“The cost of maintaining and reconstructing local roads and bridges is typically borne by the local government with jurisdiction over the road. Yet not all users of the roads benefit the same, and some uses are proven to be far more damaging to roadways than others. Heavy truck traffic generally causes more damage to roads because, by some estimates, each passing of a single large truck is the equivalent of approximately 9,000 passing automobiles.

“Municipal roads and bridges are not protected by insurance in the same way a Town hall, City park pavilion, County parking garage or a Village police station might be covered. Wear and tear to road surfaces caused by overweight vehicles and equipment are not insurable events. Instead, they are a direct cost to the municipality.

“With each horizontal well, it is estimated that approximately 3,950 heavy truck trips (round trips) will be made, along with approximately 2,840 light truck trips (round trips). If a single well pad includes multiple wells, then the number of trips stated above will be multiplied by the number of wells on the well pad.”

“According (to) the NYSDOT, the cost to repair damaged pavement on local roads varies from $70,000 - $150,000 per lane mile for low level maintenance such as a single course overlay, up to $500,000- $1.9 million per lane mile for full-depth reconstruction… A sampling of 147 local bridges in the counties of Broome, Chemung and Tioga resulted in an average replacement cost of $1.5 million per bridge.

http://www.nymir.org

(This article from page 9, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision) 

“Red Flag” Water Monitoring - Update

A team of Afton volunteers has been doing monthly water monitoring tests of five local stream areas.

The team was trained by the Community Science Institute (CSI), a group that maintains an independent laboratory certified by the NYS Department of Health. CSI has developed an online data base of tests from more than 125 stream and lake locations in the Susquehanna and Cayuga Lake watersheds. This information is especially helpful as the region considers hydo-fracking and its negative environmental effects.

One of CSI’s goals is to educate and empower citizens to become stewards of their local environment. The Afton Water Monitoring team performs field measurements of “red flag” indicators – basic qualities of our water in its healthy state. If any of these indicators change, it is a signal for CSI to do more extensive water testing. A priority of our volunteer team is to maintain the quality of our water sources. 

This article from page 7, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Below is the original article describing the Water Monitoring Efforts from the first issue of the Afton Vision group newsletter (tilted The New Afton Enterprise when it was published in October 2012)

“Red Flag” Water Monitoring

Keep Our Water Safe!

A group of concerned Afton citizens have joined other volunteers in a multi-county area to monitor water quality at stream and lake locations in our local watersheds. This is especially important as we live in one of the five counties that Governor Cuomo’s administration is considering to initially be permitted for the controversial drilling method of hydrofracking for natural gas.

Professionals and trained volunteers collect field data of waterways that may be threatened by natural gas drilling, pipelines, and other threats that come with this industrial practice. 

Because there have been water contamination issues due to hydrofracking reported in other states, it is important for us to get baseline information prior to any drilling or pipeline activity.

Our Afton volunteers have been trained by the Community Science Institute (CSI; online at www.communityscience.org), a group that maintains an independent laboratory certified by the NYS Department of Health as well as an online data archive of the tests from over 125 stream and lake locations in the Susquehanna River and Cayuga Lake watersheds.

Water monitors use portable kits and meters to perform field measurements of five "red flag" indicators of possible contamination from shale gas operations: Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and total hardness. Volunteers submit their results to CSI, and the quality of volunteer field data is evaluated by CSI staff based on calibration standards, duplicates and split samples. Although this water testing can be helpful, it is quite basic and does not test for specific harmful chemicals. (See below for more information about possible water contamination caused by hydrofracking).

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, whose goal is to “champion the rights of our communities to a Delaware River and tributary streams that are free-flowing, clean and healthy”, also trains volunteers to monitor water in their nearby geographic area.

Afton’s “Red Flaggers” began the testing of  waters in July. They plan to issue periodic updates of all testing results. 

AFTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

“Located in a house and barn on Afton’s Main Street, the Historical Society’s museum houses everything from military memorabilia to Burma Shave road signs to items connected to the Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith, who was for a time a resident of the area. Much of the collection tells a story of ordinary life in the community.” (Annual Report, Community Foundation of South Central NY, 2010)

The Afton Historical Society, chartered in 1986, maintains the Afton Museum at 116 Main St, which is open to the public by appointment and on Saturday mornings from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. Town Historian Charles Decker reports that, in addition to local people interested in the town’s history, the museum has attracted visitors from Oneonta to Australia, many specifically interested in Mormon history.

The Historical Society board meets monthly and presents programs for the community from April through November.

The society also publishes a yearly calendar with historical themes relating to our area.

The old photographs are wonderful. The 2013 calendar features Afton’s Disasters – and in addition to recent flooding, highlights events from “before our time” including  railroad accidents and the Great Fire of 1884. Previous calendar themes have included the Civil War, the Afton Fair, Tools of the Times, and Sports. The calendars are reasonably priced (only $6) and are available for purchase at the museum, the Town Clerk’s office, and the Afton Library.

In the recent past, The Afton Historical Society has received grant monies from the Community Foundation of SCNY  for the archival preservation of documents. The Chenango County Council on the Arts has funded the Historical Society’s annual Jazz Band Ball concert.

There are many ways to support the efforts of this organization. Volunteer help is needed and welcomed – from presenting a historical program or suggesting the topic of a presentation, greeting museum visitors, staffing the booth at the Afton Fair, or doing landscape work or minor repairs at the museum. You can join the Afton Historical Society . Send checks (seniors $5, adult $7, and family $10) to PO Box 142, Afton, NY 13730. For other questions, call Charles Decker (639-2720).

(This article from page 7, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Try “Goofy” Golf on March 16th

Are you sitting around the house wondering what to do on these cold winter days?  Itching to get out on the greens and hit the little white ball around?  Well, the answer to your cabin fever may be a round of “Goofy Golf” at the Afton Central School.  “Goofy Golf” is sponsored by the Afton Sertoma Club and is a great way to get the entire family involved in a fun winter activity.  The Sertoma Club will set up a course of fun and challenging holes that wends its way through the hallways, elevators and out of the way nooks and crannies of the Afton Central School.  No golfing skill is required; in fact it may be a hindrance.  

“Goofy Golf” will be held March 16^th from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Afton Central School.  The course has been set up for several years now by the Sertoma Club and all the funds raised during the day go to local charities and organizations.  Sertoma (SERvice TO MAnkind) is an international organization and was started in 1912.  The Afton club was formed in 1960 and, in the 53 years since, has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Afton charities, scholarships, organizations such as Girl and Boy Scouts, and anyone else in the community in need of a helping hand.  All funds raised by the Afton Sertoma Club are used locally.  The Afton Sertoma Club meets Tuesday evenings at 6:45 p.m. at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church.  If you are interested in joining a local club that is dedicated to helping the community, you can contact Ms. Helen Kittle at (607) 639-2065.

This article from page 6, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision

VILLAGE RECEIVES FEMA FLOOD AID

    Step one, of the many required, to remove the flood damaged home on Roberts Road has been approved by FEMA, according to Afton Village Mayor Sally Muller.

    The Roberts Road property is one of two that were severely enough damaged in the September 2011 flood to be condemned and requires removal. The mayor said a section of the house was pulled away making the home unsafe. She said while the process is long and involved, she hopes the buyout by FEMA will be finished by the end of next year.

    An application has been made to FEMA for buyout within the village, but it has not yet been approved. The flood damaged over 100 homes in the village and town of Afton. The village and town are working together to mitigate future possible flooding. (Also see Afton Flood Mitigation Report in this issue.)

   In the coming spring and summer season, the village will continue to add sidewalks with the aid of the $90,000 federal grant, Safe Routes to School. The next section of the village to receive sidewalks in the 2013 season will be High Street, the mayor said. Sidewalks have been completed on Caswell Street and on East Main Street, which included a pedestrian crossing on Route 41, making it safer.

(This article from page 5, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Afton Flood Mitigation Committee Report

Both the Village and Town of Afton have signed the applications our committee

presented for two programs available through the U.S. Corps. of Army Engineers.

If approved, these programs would fund:

- Securing the Susquehanna River bank from further erosion near and under

               the Route 41 bridge , preventing possible destruction of the homes and

               road in that area, and also protecting the foundation of the bridge itself.

- Removal of the three sizable gravel bars that are preventing the Afton

Fire Department from accessing the river to fill the fire trucks or launch their rescue boat from the boat launch area near the bridge. The gravel bars are     

               also causing erosion of the river banks in their vicinity, especially in the area of

               the Route 41 bridge foundation.

 These programs would fund almost all of the work and Afton would cover our required contribution through in-kind services. It will take several months to hear back on our

applications. A lengthy process entails a review before the work can begin.

 The next project is the biggest, most detailed and most challenging. The culvert that

runs under the I-88 on/off ramp is inadequate to drain flood waters that back up in times of high water levels. The 24 inch culvert has sunk into the ground and visual inspection

reveals that it is severely blocked. It was designed to drain water from the East Main Street area to behind the Afton Fair Grounds along an ancient river bed and then back to the Susquehanna River. Normally, this ancient river bed is a small stream, but during high water the culvert can’t drain the water fast enough and the on/off ramp acts as an earthen dam, causing water to back up and, as it continues to rise, flood homes in the East Main Street area and portions of other streets, homes and businesses in that vicinity.

The Flood Mitigation Committee feels that a 12 foot culvert is needed to correct the

problem and we are  working with the Chenango County Department of Soil and Water, U.S. Corps of Army Engineers, DEC Department of Water and others to get this done.

**********************************************************************

The committee has a list of 108 village homes that were heavily impacted by the 2011

flood. We are compiling a larger list of town and village residences/businesses that sustained damage in the 2006 and/or the 2011 floods. This data will be confidential and used only to strengthen our efforts to prevent or diminish future flooding. If you, or someone you know, sustained water damage in either flood, including ground water coming into your basement, please call April Leggett at 639-4849.

************************************************************************

(This article from pages 4-5, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

Exchange Students are Always Welcome

-  Tessa Cutting

            Afton Central School has been welcoming students of different nationalities into its halls for decades.  Both the exchange student and Afton’s young adults can learn from each other that children from other countries aren’t much different than themselves.  

            This year Afton is hosting three exchange students from three different continents.  The first student is Dorina who hails from a city with a half million people, Bremen, Germany.  Dorina participates in many of Afton’s athletic teams.  She started the year on the field hockey team, and is currently on the basketball team.  Jean is Afton’s exchange student from Loja, Ecuador which has a population of about 200,000.  He participates on the mock trial team in Afton.  The third student, Liyan, is from China. She is very active in our church community. 

            An exchange program CAN change people’s lives. It is hoped these kids will go home with marvelous stories about our little town of Afton.  I also hope that they will grow to love this town as much as we all do.    

(This article from page 4, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)  

AFTON WORKS: Afton Tent Rentals

Afton Tent Rental began in 2004 with one 20' x 30' tent.  Just eight years later they are able to provide a 40' x 140' tent, large enough for a wedding of 300 guests.  Tents of all size can be rented, and the customer can be assured that they will be set up in a professional manner using a ratchet strap anchoring system rather than ropes.  This guarantees the strength of the installation.  Tables and chairs are available to rent.  Afton Tent Rental can also provide a variety of inflatables, such as bounce houses, for parties.  To see some of the tents and inflatables available, check out their web site at http://www.aftontentrental.com.   Afton Tent Rental is located on Route 7 about 2 ½ miles from Afton on the way to Bainbridge at 1587 State Highway 7, Afton, NY 13730 .  For more information contact Larry at 607-639-1139 or email Larry@AftonTentRental.com .

(This article from page 3, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)

New Afton Assessor

Sue McIntyre became the new Afton Town Assessor on December 1, 2012, replacing outgoing assessor Jack Stafford. Sue is a state certified assessor and until recently, served Guilford in that capacity. She is also the full-time Solid Waste Director of Delaware County and a resident of Guilford.  Residents will find her very informed and helpful.

Sue feels strongly that being accessible is vitally important in her position.  Her regular office hours are Thursday evening, 5-7 pm, at the Town Hall, 169 Main St. Afton.  To help residents meet the March 1, 2013 deadline to file for exemptions through the two levels of the STAR program or the farm exemption, Sue will have extended office hours every Saturday during January and February from 9am – 12 noon.

You can also reach Sue McIntyre on her cell at (607) 316-4259, by email, semcintyre@stny.rr.com, or by leaving a message with the  town clerk, Rose Klatz, at 639-1071.

(This article from page 2, Winter 2103 issue, The Afton Vision)

Community Matters

TOWN HALL – RENOVATE OR RELOCATE?

Now that construction has begun on the new Town Garage, Aftonites continue discussing what to do about a Town Hall and Town Court. After Afton voters turned down a proposal in February 2012 to build a new Town Hall and Town Court attached to a new Town Garage, it left the future of the town offices in limbo. 

MAJORITY OF TOWN BOARD WANTS TO MOVE

The majority of the Town Board want to pair re-situating the Town Court with moving the

 town offices out of the existing Town Hall. As of this writing (mid-January 2013), there have been a number of possibilities explored that did not work out because of cost. Two solutions being considered now are renting space at the old IVCI site on Back River Road or carving out some space in the existing Town Garage on the same property that the new garage is being built.

CONDITION OF THE CURRENT TOWN HALL

Although Town Supervisor John Lawrence agrees that the building has not been well-maintained and stated that there has been no line item to pay for maintenance, he does not want to spend money on the Town Hall until after the new garage project is completed. Yet the building committee still continues the search for alternate places to rent or build.

MOLD PROBLEM

Some members of the Town Board contend that there is a mold problem in the existing Town Hall. In November 2012, they requested that a NYS Department of Labor Safety and Health Inspector/industrial hygienist inspect the building “to assess the potential for mold growth and to look for evidence of mold growth” in the building. He determined that there is no mold problem.  Like many buildings from that era, the floor in the basement is packed earth and is damp throughout. His report states, “Remarkably, there is no evidence of active mold growth on the first or second floor,” although there is high humidity throughout the building.  The inspector also said that “control of moisture in the building is key to improving the quality of the space,” and suggested various reasonably-priced means to address the problem. 

RECOMMENDATION TO PRESERVE AND CONTINUE USE OF THE PRESENT TOWN HALL

Preserving the existing Town Hall on Main Street in the village has been resisted by the majority of the Town Board. On one hand we are told that the building is in sorry shape and can’t affordably be updated. On the other hand, it is suggested that we sell the Town Hall to a private buyer, possibly to be used as a business or storefront. No effort has been made to have the building assessed in its present condition. It makes little sense that someone else would want to purchase a building that is being described as not worth renovating.

The Afton Vision Group believes that the Town Hall has been sorely neglected and the preservation and upkeep of this historic building should be a priority. The group has organized meetings with consultants and offered volunteer help. Some small steps have been made based on the group’s suggestions. The Town Board did hire a worker to fix the broken chimney and installed a carbon monoxide detector – both simple improvements addressing serious health and safety hazards.

Preserving the Town Hall enriches the downtown community and lessens the additional costs that building or renting another space would require. There are sufficient town funds to make some additional basic improvements in the building – especially ones suggested by the Health Inspector to mitigate humidity problems. If the Town Hall offices are moved out of this Main Street location, the building will continue to deteriorate; an empty building will become an eyesore.

It is now time to take the next steps to create a better, more useable space in our current Town Hall. Qualified community volunteers are ready to assist with the installation of a handicapped-accessible bathroom and the painting of the interior walls.

We ask the Town Board to commit to a plan of renovations of the existing Town Hall with a detailed list of the projects that need to done and allocating monies (available in the reserve-fund) to cover the costs. Ultimately, the maintenance of the building is in the town’s best interests financially and otherwise. 

This article from Pages 1-2, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision

Dear Afton Vision Readers,

We are so pleased to share the second issue of the Afton newsletter with you.

So why the Name Change?

Although we liked reviving the name of an old Afton newspaper, it was decided that to avoid any possible conflict with the Tri Town News (whose publisher actually bought the old Afton Enterprise in the 1960s) we would create an original name.

The Afton Vision group is a small group of concerned citizens whose mission is : To remember Afton's past as we help build a livable future." In order to meet this mission, we meet monthly to discuss topics of interest and to organize local events. This newsletter is one of our current projects. We enjoy each other’s company, lively discussions, and great snacks (chocolate chip cookies are our specialty).

In an era that many print newspapers and magazines are being discontinued and only offering their readers online editions, the Afton Vision group publishes and mails this newsletter so we are assured to reach as many of our neighbors as we can!

Subscriptions to the The Afton Vision are free to all in the 13730 zip code.  Each issue of the newsletter costs about $500 in materials and mailing fees (printing has been donated.) Funding is by individual contribution. If you would like to support our efforts, you can contribute by sending a check made out to the “The Afton Vision” to: The Afton Vision, PO Box 143, Afton, NY 13730.  Contributions will be applied directly to the newsletter costs.

Business card size ads are now excepted and cost $25.

For free online subscriptions, email your request to: AftonVision@gmail.com

For copies of individual articles, comments, and updates, visit us at TheAftonVision2013.blogspot.com

(This article from Page 1 of Winter 2013 issue The Afton Vision)

Winter 2013 Issue

The Winter 2013 issue of The Afton Vision was mailed to approximately 1400 households, all listed in the 13730 zip code.
For free online subscriptions, email your request to : aftonvision@gmail.com and you will receive a PDF version in your inbox.
We welcome your comments (feedback and constructive criticism) and suggestions.
Enjoy!