Carolyn`s Village Restaurant seized

Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
CHATHAM COURIER
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
VOL. 188, NO. 4, $100
THE ROUGH NOTES ESTABLISHED 1825
Community activist, public servant:
Nancy Knabbe remembered
By Karrie Allen
GHENT — Edna “Nancy”
Knabbe was involved in so
much that news of her death
sent ripples of sadness
throughout the entire county.
From the organizations she
worked with to the boards she
served on to even just community members who knew her,
her passing has left a hole in
the hearts of many. Nancy
died on Jan. 8 at the age of 84.
See obituary on page A6
Born to Elizabeth and John
Johns and raised in Chatham,
she was one of 13 children.
She graduated from Chatham
High School in 1946 and on
Aug. 19, 1950, married
Robert C. Knabbe, whom she
would spend the next 55 years
with; he died in 2005.
Together, they raised three
children, Susan, Bob and
Michael, and between the
three of them, there are seven
granddaughters, twin grandsons and twin great-granddaughters. Nancy also had
several nieces and nephews.
However, you could say
her family grew to include
many friends the more she
became involved in.
Her husband was a firefighter with the Ghent Fire
Company and so she became
a charter member of the Ghent
Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary in 1958, served as its second president. As a woman
involved in many community
affairs, she was awarded the
Auxiliary’s Nancy Alger
award for volunteerism.
Nancy Knabbe was also a
60-year-plus member of the
Ghent VFW Ladies Auxiliary
(her husband was a World War
II veteran), for which she also
served as president, secretary
and treasurer.
Jeanette Wilber, a fellow
Ghent Fire Co. Ladies Auxiliary member, said that Nancy
was very supportive of
CCSD board
talks safety,
Common Core
Standards
By Katie Kocijanski
CHATHAM
—
The
Chatham school board received
a school safety update and
reviewed of the Common Core
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy with
Superintendent Cheryl Nuciforo at the Jan. 8 workshop
meeting. There was also a presentation from Johnson Controls, the company that services
and maintains the heating and
cooling systems for the district,
as well as maintains the district’s energy management system.
The meeting began with
board President Melony Spock
asking for a moment of silence
for the passing of former
school board member Nancy
Knabbe. She had been a member of the school board for 25
years.
David Booth and Mark Conerty, both account executives
for Johnson Controls, then presented the board with an
overview of what their company does for the district and the
different improvements made
to the district’s buildings since
the inception of the original
performance contract between
Johnson Controls and the district in February 1998.
The district buildings are
inspected to see what can be
done to make them as energy
efficient as possible. Booth
emphasized how reducing energy and operating costs for the
district was a key goal for their
partnership. An example of an
improvement highlighted in the
presentation was the conversion
of the high school’s heating
system from electric to oil.
See CCSD on page 3
Carolyn’s Village Restaurant was seized during the breakfast hour Jan. 9 by the
New York state Department of Taxation and Finance. The restaurant will remain
closed until owner Carolyn Gregory’s back taxes are paid up. David Lee/HudsonCatskill Newspapers
Carolyn’s Village Restaurant seized
NYS Dept. of Taxation and
Finance seeking back taxes
Nancy Knabbe was honored by the fourth graders at
Mary E. Dardess Elementary School during their annual Arbor Day celebration last June. Chatham Courier
file photo
younger members and worked
extremely hard.
She mentioned that Nancy
would always be the one in
the kitchen at the Ghent VFW
cooking breakfast on Memorial Day to serve the veterans
when they returned from early
morning services; she was
doing this up until a few years
ago, added Wilber. Nancy also
started the annual St. Patrick’s
Day dinner at the VFW and
kept it going.
Cheryl Nuciforo, superintendent of Chatham Central,
emphasized that Nancy was
“absolutely involved” and
showed a great level of commitment — in everything she
was involved with, including
the school district. She had
been contributing all along,
noted Nuciforo, even up until
the week before she died.
See Knabbe on page 3
By Karrie Allen
CHATHAM VILLAGE — Carolyn’s Village
Restaurant was serving the breakfast crowd
Wednesday morning, when a representative from
the New York state Department of Taxation and
Finance, escorted by a Chatham Village police
officer, came in, closed down the restaurant and
slapped bright orange notices on the door and
windows indicating that the business had been
seized.
The seizure notice clearly states that the restaurant “is now in possession of the State of New
York” and that “any person who attempts to tamper or interfere with the property will be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law.”
A representative of the NYS Tax Department
did confirm the restaurant was seized for “failure
to pay back taxes due the State of New York.”
Six warrants are active against the business at
22 Main St. and owner Carolyn Gregory, stated
the representative. In total, six warrants, one for
withholding tax and the other five for failure to
pay sales tax, amount to $10,790.
According to the NYS Tax Department’s
online records, Carolyn’s Village Restaurant has
had 12 state tax lien notices dating back to
December 2003. Six of them have been satisfied.
While the restaurant will remain closed until
the six current warrants are satisfied, the representative said the NYS Tax Department is “always
eager to work with the taxpayer in an effort to
reach a resolution on a past-due tax bill.”
However, a Tax Compliance Agent’s Levy that
has also been posted on the door of the restaurant
indicates that the NYS Department of Taxation
and Finance can sell the business “unless the warrant is otherwise satisfied.”
The tax department representative did clarify
that the property could be sold at auction if the
taxes are not paid, but stressed that they try to
work with the taxpayer and have been in touch
with Gregory concerning this matter.
Mayor Tom Curran said he was saddened to
see this happen. “This restaurant serves as a warm
gathering place for the community. I hope that
they can resolve their issues and get back in the
running soon.”
Fellow Main Street business owner Kathy
Stumph said of Gregory, “Carolyn is one of the
most generous people that I know. … She worked
relentlessly in her business, always in a good
mood, always there for her customers and for anyone needing help.”
She added that “these fluorescent signs do not
represent Chatham’s Carolyn.”
This newspaper was unable to obtain contact
information for the owner; the only number available is the restaurant’s.
Village working on new
goals, potential solutions
By Katie Kocijanski
CHATHAM — The Village
Board met for the first time this
year on Jan. 10. On the agenda
were the monthly reports from
the village commissioners, as
well as discussion about the
CSX parking lot and snow
removal. There was also a brief
discussion on creating a new
village position.
The board delivered the
December reports from the
police, fire, wastewater/water,
streets and snow removal and
village administrator. Mayor
Tom Curran delivered first the
Police Commissioner report,
stating that a total of 93 complaints were investigated with
Giovanna Lepore of Canaan and Neil Smith of Ghent stood in the Village Green in 84 being cleared by investigaChatham Friday afternoon to show their support for the indigenous people of tion and two by arrest. One person was charged for unlawful
Canada and to call for a day of solidarity. Katie Kocijanski/Chatham Courier
possession of marijuana and
one for disorderly conduct.
Thirty-seven vehicle and traffic
tickets were issued and 29
assists were rendered, most of
them with the Chatham Rescue
Squad.
Fire Chief Paul Pratt delivered the report for the Chatham
Fire Department. Eight alarms
were answered for the month of
December and for 2012, a total
of 123 calls were answered.
He added that the department ladder truck is now out of
service until a replacement is
ordered. They spent $900 on an
evaluation of the truck to determine what was wrong; 94 total
findings need to be fixed. A
special informational meeting
about this issue was held on
Jan. 4 to discuss the financing
of purchasing a new ladder
truck.
See Village on page 3
By Katie Kocijanski
CHATHAM — A local gathering to support the Idle No More movement took place
at the Village Green in Chatham Friday. A
small group came together to bring awareness
to the cause of the indigenous people of
Canada.
“I was inspired to become involved by the
call of the indigenous people,” said Canaan
resident Giovanna Lepore. She, along with
three other supporters, stood outside the village gazebo in support of the movement’s call
for an international day of solidarity.
Lepore, who is also an environmentalist,
believes that the issues of these people are
directly connected to environmental issues all
over the world. For years, the aboriginal people lived off the land and respected the environment. Once their land was taken to be used
for various reasons, an ecological imbalance
was created. Now the movement is calling for
this environmental instability to be fixed.
The assemblage in Chatham was inspired
by the courageous hunger strike of
job last year caused a multitude
of complaints and creating yet
another position to do the work.
The board also debated
whether the apparent low bidder
on supplying the town’s fuel
needs was indeed the low bidder
or whether they were comparing
apples and oranges, as Town
Supervisor Mike Benson said.
“It’s as clear as mud,” he added.
HL Fuel, John Ray and Valley Oil had all submitted bids,
but Benson said that the board
should prepare bid forms so that
the comparisons would be identical in the future. After Town
Attorney Andy Howard said he
was “comfortable” with the
bids, they then voted to accept
HL Fuel’s bid, with Benson
opposed.
See Decisions on page 3
Local residents support Idle No More
decisions of new year:
movement, call for day of solidarity First
fuel provider, office cleaner
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence. She has
been protesting the dishonor of the different
treaties with the First Nations outside the
Canadian capital building in Ottawa. On Friday, it had been 34 days of her protest.
Thousands of additional protesters gathered in the Canadian capital and all over the
United States, including in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New York City, as well as from
London to New Zealand — all in support of
this solidarity.
The Idle No More movement began in
November as a response to the alleged abuses
of indigenous treaty rights by the current
Canadian federal government. Four native and
non-native women started the movement as a
way to show people the terrible ways that
environmental abuses impact indigenous people. The ongoing protest originated with the
Aboriginal people in Canada. It encompassed
the First Nations, Métis and Inuit tribes.
Other non-Aboriginal people have joined the
cause.
See Movement on page 3
Board redefines
position of park
superintendent
By Gail Heinsohn
For Chatham Courier
NEW LEBANON — The
Town Board saved a little
money by appointing a new
office cleaner, quibbled over
whether the person hired to
shovel snow actually spent five
hours doing it and spent $1,269
on a laptop computer without
examining any other proposals.
To climax its deliberations, the
board was asked to redefine the
position of park superintendent
by eliminating the work
involved, reappointing the person whose performance of the
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