By Jillian NadiakBSP Reporter

On April 7, the Rondout Board of Educa-tion meeting had a turnout so big that some attendees didnt even have a seat, a pretty rare sight according to meeting regular Sondra Slonim.

The community was brought together, and divided, by a March 24 assembly during which students watched a student-made documentary, DREAMers Among Us, that featured interviews with undocu-mented immigrants who have attended and graduated high school in America but cannot receive financial aid towards higher education due to their undocu-mented status. According to the National Immigration Law Center website, the Dream Act is bipartisan legislation that ad-dresses this situation. A panel of students who wrote, shot, edited, and produced the film attended the showing.

During the BOEs public comment period, eight community members expressed support for the assembly and five expressed opposition. Supporters saw the assembly as a chance for youth to learn about our government and what is happening in our world, saying the event gave students the chance to make in-formed decisions based on what they have learned. Others spoke out on the issue of impressionable youth watching what they considered political propaganda.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding the assembly concerned handouts that students brought home giving information on the NY Dream Act and places to obtain further information if interested. Katia Chapman, assistant coor-dinator of youth empowerment for Rural and Migrant Ministry, a non for profit, attended the meeting to clear up some of the mystery behind the handouts.

At the middle school, a student came up to one of our students and asked them for more information about the NY Dream Act, she said. I told him I had some handouts in my bag. I took out the hand-outs and said Why dont you stand by the exit and see if anybody wants them? Chapman said that she only had about 50 copies, although there were about 800 stu-dents in attendance. They were not taped to the chairs. Students were invited to take them if they wanted them.

For some, the films content was the problem.

Annette Ludwig, a parent, called herself the voice of opposition. I dont disagree that we need to educate our children and bring the community in, she said. and Im not against the topic per se, but I am

against this one sided propaganda-type piece that was brought into the school. It did get my kids talking, because they all came home and said Mom, you wont believe what we saw in school today. I dont object to bringing the community in, to critical thinking and a learning experi-ence, but I cant sit by and allow a one-sided opinion.

RVHS English teacher Judith Schneller had a different view. An educational buzzword is authentic learning, she said. We are told to teach practical skills and address real life issues. I feel that the Dreamers documentary is authentic. It is the voice and reality of some students.

Parents divided over filmAssembly presents one side of immigration debate, say critics

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From left, standing, High Falls resident and film producer, Ilene Cutler with Mario Pineda, Coordinator for Rural Migrant & Ministry, Katia Chapman, Kim Fernandez and David Fernandez seated next to Ana Ortega all students from Hudson Valley high schools who participated in making the film. Photo by David Winograd.

Reservoir trail planHein, DEP intend to move forward with Ashokan rail trail plan

anne Pyburn CraigBSP Reporter

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein and DEP commissioner Emily Lloyd did some walking and talking alongside the Asho-kan on April 7, issued a joint statement of purpose, and offered the public an update on plans for the 11.5 mile stretch of railbed running along the north side the Ashokan Reservoir.

In 2013, the DEP committed $2.5 million to open and fund major public improvements along the entire 11.54 miles of the north shore of the Ashokan Reser-voir, transforming it into a world-class rail trail. The action will open these DEP lands without permit or fee for the first time in over 100 years.

Those funds, which can only be used for building the trail, are designated for projects that will meet or exceed water-shed protection standards and address localized erosion issues, such as washouts along some stretches of the corridor, said Lloyd in a press release. The DEP will build, operate and maintain a number of access points along the trail. Our commit-ment came after Ulster County deter-mined that a trail would be the highest and best use for that portion of the ease-ment in the future.

Hein is hoping he has found a win/win solution to what has been a heated argu-ment since 2012, when the county execu-tive announced his support for a trail-only plan. The volunteer Catskill Mountain Railroad Company, which operates popular tourist trains at both ends of the line, holds a lease on the right-of-way that expires in 2016. In 2013, the county began trying to evict the 100-member volunteer organization, claiming that the railroad was delinquent in making repairs and improvements; both the county and the railroad are currently suing one another.

In August 2014, the county adopted a resolution that called for the removal of track at the Kingston end of the line. In September, the railroads Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine event drew over 6,000 visitors. In December, Hein an-nounced that the trains in Kingston could

See dream, page 20

See Trails, page 20Bradford Graves (1939 1998). Photo by Verna Gillis.

'Warsaw Ghetto' by Bradford Graves dedication at Kerhonkson Synagogue

The Kerhonkson Synagogue will hold a dedication on Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m. for the recently gifted sculpture Warsaw Ghetto by Bradford Graves. Given by the estate of the late artist who maintained a local residence in Kerhonkson, the work is a powerful statement in bronze that will be on display in the synagogue.

The program will include a new work inspired by the sculpture, Warsaw Kad-dish, for bassoon and percussion writ-ten by local composer and bassoonist Eric Goldberg, who will perform it with

eminent percussionist Phil Nestor. Short comments will be delivered by Verna Gillis, wife of the sculptor, and by Nestor, who will recount some of his mother's memories of her time in Vienna leading up to the Second World War. The program is free and no tickets are required. The synagogue is located at 26 Minnewaska Trail, off Rt. 209 in Kerhonkson. For more information, visit kerhonksonsynagogue.org, email gaprefo1@gmail.com or call 626-7260.