Delaware County Newscast

July 17, 2026: 911 grants, Walton skate park, biodigester blues, and a railroad rebirth

Andrew Kantor Season 1 Episode 17

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0:00 | 3:02

This week we’ve got the county getting a nice chunk of change from the state for emergency responders, Walton’s got a skate park (for more than skateboards), a classic railroad reopens, and more.

Link from the ’cast: 

Past episodes and more: https://delconewscast.com

Remember: Keep up with (real) local news!

Written and produced in Sidney, NY, by Andrew Kantor.

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Past episodes and info: https://delconewscast.com

Remember: Keep up with (real) local news!

Written and produced in Sidney, NY, by Andrew Kantor.

SPEAKER_00

This is the Delaware County Newscast. I'm Andrew Cantor. Delaware County is about to receive money from a couple of state grant programs to upgrade its emergency communication systems. First, the county's getting more than $1.3 million to help ensure various emergency services can communicate with one another, even if they're from different towns and villages. The second grant, $320,000, will pay to upgrade 911 systems so callers can send texts, photos, and videos to dispatchers. That'll be helpful for younger people who forget that their phones can also be used for voice calls. Both the town of Sydney and the Village of Deposit were on their way to passing moratoria on giant data centers with a lot of support from residents who aren't keen on having to pay NISEG even more to upgrade the power grid. But turns out they won't be necessary. New York Governor Kathy Hokel has done the work for them with an executive order enacting a one-year moratorium statewide on those data centers. The idea is to give state officials a chance to put regulations in place to keep consumers from footing the bill for infrastructure upgrades. Fun fact: New York pays the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. Something cool is happening in Walton. Trustees in the village have just approved an all-wheels skate park for scooters, rollerblades, and skateboards too, just for the summer. All the equipment is light enough to not only be safe, but easy to remove once school starts. It's all the brainchild of one Richard Rogers, no, not that Richard Rogers, and he's doing most of the work. He just needed the trustee's blessing, and now he's got it. While we're in Walton, folks, there are a bit annoyed. Back in 2014, the village was looking at buying a $6 million biodigester to help process sewage and even generate some money, so it paid $500,000 for a detailed engineering and design study. Well, residents did not like what they heard, and in 2017 the whole project was nixed. Thing is, that half-mill study, it still needs to be paid off, and that's going to take till 2034, and that has people complaining, where else, on Facebook. There's nothing to be done, of course. The village owes the money. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad has resumed offering passenger excursions Saturdays from Arkville. Right now the rides are 45 minutes long and they parallel Route 28 towards Highmount. The plan is to have the line eventually reach all the way north to Roxbury. Tickets are $25 for adults and less for children, seniors, and veterans. And there you have it some of the most interesting news to come out of Delaware County this week. You can always find us at Delconewscast.com. I'm Andrew Cantor. See you next week.