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C M Y K Price $1.50 The Daily Mail Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media All Rights Reserved Volume 229, No. 155 Region A3 Opinion A4 State/Nation A5 Obituaries A5 Sports B1 Classifed B7-B8 Comics/Advice B9-B10 n INDEX n SPORTS n WEATHER n THE SCENE Complete weather, A2 Howard III wins decathlon Hope Rocks Festival Taconic Hills’ Neil Howard III took first place and set a New York state freshman record in the decathalon PAGE B1 Saugerties music festival brings together folk, rock and gospel artists on August 14 and 15 PAGE A10 Facebook www.facebook.com/ CatskillDailyMail/ Twitter Follow: @CatskillDailyMail On the web www.HudsonValley360.com TODAY Mostly sunny and warmer TONIGHT Partly cloudy SAT Warm with clouds and sun 88 65 HIGH LOW 87 65 FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2021 Extreme heat Adaptation a necessity as summers broil Inside, A2 Serving Greene County since 1792 n THE SCENE Circus comes down to earth Bindlestiff Family Cirkus makes leap from the high wire to introduce the Flatbed Follies PAGE A9 By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media ATHENS — The Coxsackie- Athens Central School District held the first of several forums Tuesday to discuss the pro- posed regrouping of elementary school grades. Under the proposal, all dis- trict students in pre-kindergar- ten through second grade would attend E.J. Arthur Elementary School in Athens, and all third and fourth graders would attend Coxsackie Elementary School on the main campus in Cox- sackie. Among the reasons for re- grouping the schools are declin- ing enrollment, addition of a pre-kindergarten program and the desire of teachers to be un- der one roof at the same grade level, District Superintendent Randall Squier said in June. Reconfiguration of the elementary school classes was discussed in 2015, but the proposal did not receive sup- port from area parents and was tabled, Squier said. At the Tuesday forum at E.J. Arthur Elementary School, four tables were set up where teach- ers and administrators dis- cussed specific components of the proposed transition — aca- demics, transportation, social- emotional well-being and the reasons for reconfiguration. Forum participants rotated from table to table to explore the topics and ask questions. E.J. Arthur Elementary School principal Jim Martino said de- clining enrollment figures over several years was one reason for the proposal. When he began at the school nine years ago, there were three Parents air concerns at realignment forum MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA Elementary school principal Karen Miller, second from left, and high school principal Freya Mercer, third from left, listens to concerns of parents and officials during an elementary school forum Tuesday. See FORUM A8 By Sam Raudins Columbia-Greene Media Albany Medical Center af- filiates — including Columbia Memorial Health — can de- cide their own policy on re- quiring their employees to re- ceive a COVID-19 vaccine, the Capital Region hospital said in a statement Thursday. The Albany hospital an- nounced Monday that it would require all of its 10,000 employees, both clinical and non-clinical, to receive the vaccine as the delta variant of the virus spreads, according to a statement. Albany Medical Center spokesman Matt Markham said the mandate does not apply to its affiliate hospitals, which can decide whether to require vaccinations for em- ployees. Columbia Memorial Health spokesman Bill Van Slyke said the Hudson hospital is review- ing its data and policies in light of Albany Medical Center’s announcement. Columbia Memorial Health serves Co- lumbia, Greene and Dutchess counties with a 192-bed acute care hospital and 40 outlying care centers, according to its CMH to decide vaccine policy FILE PHOTO Columbia Memorial Hospital is affiliated with Albany Medical Center, which mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its employees Monday but will leave vaccine policy decisions to CMH and other affiliates. See CMH A8 FILE PHOTO Festivalgoers stroll past vendors at the annual event at Riverside Park in Coxsackie in a 2018 file photo. The festival will be back this weekend on a smaller scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Riverside Festival returns after COVID absence By Melanie Lekocevic Columbia-Greene Media COXSACKIE — Call it a come- back: The Riverside Festival is about to return. The one-day festival will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature more than 45 vendors, food, beverages, a rock- climbing wall, animal exhibits and more. A unique activity this year will be ax throwing — where festival visi- tors can try their hand at tossing axes. “Everybody can try it,” festival chairwoman Bonnie Ecker said Thursday. “It’s a new fad — every- body is into ax throwing. People can give it a try.” Another new exhibit this year will be “Car Smash.” “They bring a car in, you goggle up with safety glasses, they give you a sledgehammer and you take out your frustrations on a car,” Ecker said. For the younger set there will be puppet-making crafts, balloon artist Mr. Twisty, a magician and pony rides. Animal lovers can check out the petting zoo, reptile display and live birds. Festivalgoers can also snap photos with “Star Wars”-themed imperial storm troopers and the “Ghostbusters” character, who will be walking through the park during the afternoon. Three bands will provide live music during the festival, See FESTIVAL A8
