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Tag: Catskill

  • Catskill community demands school reinstates suspended teacher

    Catskill community demands school reinstates suspended teacher

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    CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Both parents and students lined up outside Catskill Elementary to attend a board meeting and demand that Michelle Storrs’ suspension be revoked. The music teacher was put on leave along with Principal Junait Shah after an incident during rehearsals for the school musical of Cinderella led to an internal investigation.

    A student of Catskill High was alleged to have had tape forcibly put on her mouth by Mrs. Storrs. The student, Madison Mudge, previously spoke to NEWS10 and said this was false.

    “When my daughter was allegedly harmed, none of these things happened. My wife and I were not contacted by the superintendent nor was the child abuse hotline,” stated Madison’s father, Tommy Mudge.

    Educators at the board meeting say teachers have also felt mistreated in other incidents. They are calling for Superintendent Dan Wilson’s resignation.

    “Large numbers of people in the Catskill community fear that the superintendent has been unjustly targeting teachers; creating a hostile work environment by bullying and targeting teachers into resignations,” described Ron Chiminelli, a community member.

    The Catskill Teachers Association came up as a group to address their concerns over the direction of the district. Their president says her fellow educators are discouraged from teaching at Catskill as she says their climate is actively working against them. And those close to Mrs. Storrs say she is struggling to come to terms with what is happening.

    “She’s distraught over this. Look around and see this community showed up for her. Not only today, but since this whole thing happened,” explained Marcus McGregor, the Choreographer of Cinderella.

    The cast of Cinderella came to the meeting and screamed in protest to get a chance to speak. The play has been postponed to April.

    “We are a family and we will stand with each other. This includes our director and we cannot do this battle without her. We will not stop fighting until our battle is won and we refuse to lose. Thank you,” said a Catskill Junior who will play as Cinderella.

    The board meeting ended without any vote or plans concerning Mrs. Storrs returning to work. Mr. Shah returned to his position on Tuesday.

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    Anthony Krolikowski

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  • Billboard rewarding $10,000 for justice of shot dog

    Billboard rewarding $10,000 for justice of shot dog

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    CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) -A Great Pyrenees German Shepherd named Kolija was shot on a neighboring property of And-Hof Animal Sanctuary on New Year’s Day. A billboard off 9W in the village of Catskill is advertising a $10,000 reward for anyone who gives information leading to the arrest of the person who shot the rescue dog.

    The owner of Kolija and president of And-Hof, Kurt Andernach, says animal cruelty often goes unnoticed. “Whether it’s your little canary, or your horse, donkey, or dog, whatever. Animal abuse is not acceptable.”

    The dog sustained a severe injury to the right rear leg and a broken pelvis and femur from a gunshot wound. $14,000 was raised for Kolija’s surgery.

    The reward and billboard were put up with the help of Animal Nation, Humane Long Island, Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, and Hyer Ground Rescue. The founder of Hyer Ground, Jamie Mitchell, also works in healthcare and says there is a direct link between animal cruelty and human violence.

    “We need to be able to identify in our community who has propensity to violence and those at-risk who are the elderly, children, and animals,” said Mitchell.

    Andernach described his bond with Kolija has grown immensely since caring for him. Every day, Kurt has to change the wrapping to prevent infection with sprays and ointments.

    “I’m very happy to report that by now he’s actually putting weight on his hind leg and he’s able to take longer walks now,” stated Andernach.

    Kolija is one of more than 300 rescue animals at the sanctuary. Part of his stay includes venturing freely onto neighboring properties. The Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Police traced a trail of Kolija’s blood back to one of them. Andernach said that neighbor has had trespassers before and they now have a way to hold them accountable.

    “We all agreed that we need to install trail cameras. Meaning, that we can monitor the activities in the forest,” stated Andernach.

    Kolija still has another four to five months to recover. State Police are the lead agency for this ongoing investigation. The DEC has completed its investigation.

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    Anthony Krolikowski

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