Couple sues over fall in Canajoharie High School

FONDA — A Canajoharie resident and his wife filed a suit against the Canajoharie Central School District last Tuesday because he reportedly fell last summer in the high school hallway that leads to the fitness center.

Donald and Pearl Mabbett are being represented by the Albany firm Martin, Harding and Mazzotti. The suit, filed Tuesday, August 28, seeks unspecified damages for Donald Mabbett’s “serious and permanent injuries.”

The suit says on Aug. 9, 2011, at 5:15 a.m. Mabett was on his way to the school’s fitness center, which is open to the public.

He reportedly fell “due to unsafe, hazardous and dangerous conditions” created by the district’s alleged failure to “remove construction debris not expected to be used by members of the public to access the fitness center,” and other furniture out of classrooms for the summer.

The suit says the district further failed to “offer a second entry to the fitness center to avoid the construction debris.”

The district’s website says the fitness center is open to the public, “thanks to the generous support of the Arkell Hall Foundation.”

In response to an e-mail Wednesday, Aug. 8, seeking comment on the suit, Superintendent Deborah Grimshaw wrote “this is an incident that occurred before my tenure in the district; I cannot comment.”

— Heather Nellis

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Village board considers law aimed at trespassing

CANAJOHARIE — The Village Board of Canajoharie, after being told that it’s not feasible to charge for the materials used during rescues at the Canajoharie gorge, discussed the option of enacting a local law aimed at trespassers.

After an active summer, with the Canajoharie Police Department making numerous trespassing arrests, and local rescue personnel making two trips into the gorge,  the Village Board decided to look into the option of charging for the materials used during a rescue. The material costs add up. For instance, one type of rope (which costs $2 per foot) may be used only once.

The New York State Office of Comptroller “made it very plain” said Mayor Francis Avery that the village cannot charge for rescues, an opinion also stated by the Conference of Mayors, who said the village cannot charge for rescues under general municipal law.

Avery noted that trespassers are currently charged under state law. Even though the charge is only a violation, there have been numerous people throughout the years hesitant to plead guilty because of the chance it would affect their employment. As a result, the District Attorney often converted the ticket to littering. The fine was the same, but as a local law, it had no effect on employment.

If the local trespassing law is adopted, the court would be allowed some flexibility, as the arresting officer or police chief can act as prosecutor, and could offer plea bargains instead of going to bench trial. That option would also provide relief at the District Attorney’s office, as Avery stated that this summer “we frankly kind of overwhelmed the District Attorney’s office” with the frequent trespass arrests.

Under the local law, the prosecutor could also ask for restitution for the rescue materials as part of a plea bargain. The DA is currently allowed to ask for restitution, but while Avery said “the DA is generally amenable in such things” they do not have to grant that request to the village.

Police Chief Bryan MacFadden suggested that the local law charge trespassers with “reckless trespassing”, as the offenders are endangering themselves, rescue workers and volunteers. That would gear the charge toward the falls, which is the problem area, said MacFadden, also noting that the village could define a point where people shouldn’t pass, even erecting a chain across the gorge as a clear line of delineation.

Avery said he’d have the village attorney write up a local law to present to the board for review.

— Joshua Thomas

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Montgomery County sued over condition of road

FONDA — A Fort Plain couple is suing Montgomery County for unspecified damages, alleging negligence in the maintenance of Stone Arabia Road in the town of Palatine.

The suit was filed Monday, August 27, at the county clerk’s office by the Albany law firm of Martin, Harding and Mazzotti on behalf of Brian and Beth Whitman.

The complaint says Brian Whitman was driving westbound on the road in a 2005 Chrysler on October 13, 2011 around 9:53 a.m. Whitman was “suddenly caused to lose control by the poorly maintained, defective roadway,” about 1.3 miles from Route 10, and the vehicle impacted a tree in a front yard of a residence.

The county was “negligent, careless and reckless,” the suit says, and allegedly “failed to implement a proper and adequate plan design” for the road, in “allowing a dangerous pavement edge drop, improper grading, allowing trees to remain and exist too close to that portion of the roadway.”

“The county was responsible for providing proper and sufficient warnings for motorists of the conditions,” but failed to do so, the suit says.

The complaint further alleges “the county had sufficient time to detect, correct and repair the defects,” but did not, and said “upon information and believe, the county had prior written notice” about the conditions.

The suit does not identify or attach any information about that prior written notice.

Whitman reportedly suffered “serious injuries” from the incident.

County Attorney Douglas Landon said Wednesday the county has not yet been served with the suit, but did receive a notice of claim when it was filed in late December.

“If and when the county is served, the county will take appropriate measures to defend itself against the allegations,” Landon said.

— Heather Nellis

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Aidable vs. non-aidable transport discussed

FORT PLAIN — On the eve of a new school year, Fort Plain School Board members met briefly Tuesday night to approve bus routes and to adopt 2012-2013 board goals reviewed during a late August meeting.

During his comments to the board, district Business Manager Carl Rockefeller noted that a number of unexpected “move-ins” to the district, particularly in the downtown area, necessitated a change and might require further modifications to the recommended bus routes.

In order to accommodate the additional riders, he said, “We’re going to send an extra bus to the Reformed Church.”

Tom Hajczewski, the district’s coordinator of all drivers and bus routes, noted the district on Tuesday had about 20 additions to the roster; “so it’s pushing the numbers. What we’d planned on doing was putting those numbers on with a country run.”

Last year, he said there were 12 to 15 riders at the Reformed Church stop. Currently, it appears there could be 37 riders.

Rockefeller noted that just because the students can ride doesn’t necessarily mean they all will, however the district has to be prepared for their transport.

Additionally, there was some discussion about aidable and non-aidable transport, a sore topic earlier this year when former board member Donald Yerdon expressed concern about the way the district allegedly documented “aided” and “non-aided” district busing in past reports to the state. In relation to that, he filed a complaint with the state Comptroller’s Office.

“What we’re trying to do is to get as many aidable pupil miles as we can,” Rockefeller said, noting that at least one student on the bus has to be transported over a mile and a half in order for the district to get some aid for the transport of not-aidable students. “You don’t lose as much money that way,” he said.

Rockefeller noted that the district is eligible for aidable pupil miles for students living more than a mile and a half from a district school building. Most of the downtown runs are less than one and a half miles from a school, he said.

It also was noted that the district is not eligible for transportation aid for pre-kindergarten students, regardless of their residence, unless the students’ transport can be combined with that of aidable students.

Superintendent Douglas Burton noted under legislation signed by the governor, the district is obligated to provide transport for pre-kindergarten students if the district has a pre-K program.

“We’re trying to balance this out within the guidelines of the state Education Department,” Rockefeller said.

School board members approved the bus routes with a provision to revisit them in the future, if needed.

— Linda Kellett

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Fort Plain teachers agree on new two-year contract

FORT PLAIN — The Fort Plain Teachers Association agreed to a new two-year contract in May where they agreed to switch to a lower-cost health care plan and forgo cost-of-living raises for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. Teachers will only receive salary increases under the current step schedule in both years of the contract.

District leaders estimate the change in the health care plan — which keeps the equivalent benefits of the old plan — will save the district more than $50,000.

“We are very pleased with this contract,” said Superintendent Douglas C. Burton. “The district will provide a 125 flex plan to all employees, which will translate into savings for the district and employees, as their portions of the premiums will be taken from pre-tax dollars.”

The district has been looking for ways to cut costs despite a 2.48 increase in spending for the 2012-13 school year. Like many districts, Fort Plain is facing higher costs for some expenses over which it has little control such as gasoline and diesel fuel, health insurance and New York State Retirement System contributions.

For the 2012-13 school year, the district avoided the deep staff and program cuts it had made in previous years to address funding shortfalls and increasing costs. Still, the district eliminated one elementary teaching position and one physical therapist position.

The teacher’s union and district also negotiated the details of the new teacher evaluation plan — the Annual Professional Performance Plan (or “APPR”) — in the new contract. The state mandated APPR outlines how teachers and administrators will be evaluated based on a 100-point scale. Districts without an approved plan in place by Jan. 17, 2013 risk losing state aid for the 2012-2013 school year.

A total of 80 percent of the evaluation specifics must be bargained collectively in each district, according to state guidelines.

“Our APPR plan has already been approved by the State Education Department,” Burton said. “That means everything is in place to start the new school year.”

A copy of the plan is in the district website at www.fortplain.org.