By Matthew Saari Officials from the town and village of Whitehall met with the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company last Tuesday to discuss the possibility of forming a joint fire district. Mayor Phil Smith and trustee Dave Chaplin represented the village while board members Tim Kingsley and Chris Dudley were in attendance for the town. Conducting […]
Cemetery going bankrupt

By Matthew Saari Whitehall’s Sciota Cemetery is fast going bankrupt, which may force the Town of Whitehall to take it over. The matter was brought before the Town Board at its August meeting by Sciota Cemetery Association president George Armstrong and Richard Buske, a senior accountant with the state Division of Cemeteries. “The situation that […]
Changes approved to power line route through Whitehall

By Matthew Saari An alternative route for a proposed high voltage power line was approved by the Whitehall Town Board following discussion last week. Supervisor John Rozell brought the matter before the board last Wednesday after it was tabled during the February town board meeting. “Where do we stand on that project?” Rozell asked the […]
$34K solar PILOT negotiated

By Matthew Saari After nearly a year of negotiations, the final payment in lieu of taxes may be finalized. Assessor Bruce Caza informed the Whitehall Town Board during their February meeting that he had reached an agreement to the tune of $34,000 with Borrego Solar, the company developing the solar farms on Cemetery Lane and […]
Towns rally behind Codie

By Matthew Saari Town officials from Dresden and Whitehall want to ensure that the occupants of 10,000 vehicles traveling Route 4 know where Olympian Codie Bascue calls home. Just south of the village of Whitehall two banners have been hung, both wishing Bascue good fortune and declaring Whitehall and Dresden the official hometowns of the […]
Sand, salt free to town residents

By Matthew Saari and Krystle Morey As temperatures hover around freezing, the threat of slick, icy surfaces are an ever-looming threat to Whitehall residents. Fortunately, town residents are able to pick up loads of sand at the Whitehall town highway shed on Route 4 to help provide some much-needed traction on those icy surfaces. The […]
Towns crunching budgets

By Krystle S. Morey and Matthew Saari Granville Town Supervisor Matt Hicks said it best about budget season: “Every year you are trying to sharpen your pencil to try to target the number as best you can. A lot of them are still a bit of a moving target, but in general, it’s pretty straight […]
Village agrees to sell property to firemen

By Matthew Saari After months of back-and-forth, the village of Whitehall and the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company appears to have ended their disagreement about the land on which the fire company stands. During a special meeting Tuesday night which was attended by members of the fire company, the village trustees and town board members, the […]
Whitehall assessor solar power expert

By Matthew Saari As more and more solar projects crop up in Washington County and across the state, more often than not municipal officials find themselves turning to Whitehall assessor Bruce Caza for answers. Caza has been a town assessor for 19 years but has been involved in property assessment since 1985. As such, over […]
Smoking banned on town property

By Dan King Smoking has been banned on town property in Whitehall. The Town Board voted unanimously last week to ban “smoking of any kind” on all “real property controlled by the Town of Whitehall.” Town Attorney Erika Sellar-Ryan said the ordinance was originally going to ban smoking “within 50 feet of any town building,” […]