Category: Whitehall

It’s the middle of the dead of winter, and what does the Whitehall school district decide to do?

If you guessed hold a special election, outside the normal budget process where “unreserved, unappropriated” funds (translated overcharged property taxes) are spent to buy more school buses, you are correct.

In all the years I’ve followed the machinations of the Whitehall school board, they have never held a vote to return overcharged property taxes to the taxpayers.

Legal Notice

by order of,
Martha Basque
Districk Clerk

A concept drawing of a renovated sanctuary at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Whitehall.

Recently, I received this letter from Fr. Michael Flannery, pastor of Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church in Whitehall and the Chapel of the Assumption in Huletts Landing. Fr. Flannery is proposing a renovation of Our Lady of Hope Church which will include painting the inside of the church, replacing the floor and re-finishing the pews. To undertake this work, he is proposing a special capital campaign.

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 27th, Fr. Flannery introduced interior designer, John Pierce, who presented his concept drawings of a renovated church to about 100 parishioners. Mr. Pierce has redesigned and renovated over 40 churches throughout the northeast.

“Our Lady of Hope Church is Classic American Gothic Revival architecture,” began Mr. Pierce. “It’s a beautiful church that needs its architecture brought out.” He presented two sets of drawings; side / flat view and perspective / 3D view. In the drawings, the pews and stain glass windows are not shown. “We’re not getting rid of the stain glass windows or pews. They’re just not shown in my sketches.”

Mr. Pierce started by explaining that the current sky blue color of the painted walls would be changed and a “framework” would be painted around the windows to accentuate the architecture. A marble floor would be put in place on the altar and the existing carpet would be removed and a tile floor would be installed in the church.

After Mr. Pierce presented his drawings and proposal, Fr. Flannery discussed the price tag. “The total for the entire work would be $250,000”, stated Fr. Flannery. “The painting of the walls and sanctuary is approximately $115,000, the tile floor is about $75,000, and the other things would make up the difference. The church will need to undertake a special capital campaign to raise the amount. The work would take about 4-6 weeks and the mass schedule would be moved downstairs to the parish center while work was being done.”

Fr. Flannery took questions before adjourning the meeting. He stated that he welcomes opinions, support and encouragement as he plans to present the ideas generated to the entire church community in the weeks ahead. He can be reached at:

Rev. Michael Flannery
Our Lady of Hope
9 Wheeler Avenue
Whitehall, NY 12887
518-499-1656

Because of the “issues” with our server this past week, I was not able to report on the final vote on the election of school board members.

Current incumbents Mark DeLuca and Theodore LaRose ran unopposed for reelection.

Mr. DeLuca received 243 votes and Mr. LaRose received 227 votes.

While I provided both candidates with questionnaires, I never received Mr. LaRose’s questionnaire back. I mailed the questionnaires to the addresses listed on each candidate’s nominating petition. I provided multiple ways in which the questionnaire could be returned (either through email or regular mail). I never heard anything from Mr. LaRose.

One of the things I hoped to accomplish with the creation of the Huletts Current was to inform residents and friends of Huletts Landing of ongoing issues that might be of interest. In this regard, the number of comments I have received have been overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, the number of unique pages views, of people reading and checking the site, have risen every month since the site came into existence. So while I am disappointed that I did not receive all the questionnaires back, and could not accurately share with you the views of all those running for the school board, it is ultimately you, the readers of the Huletts Current, who Mr. LaRose ignored.

I congratulate both candidates on their victories and service to the community. I would especially like to thank Mr. DeLuca for taking the time to answer my questionnaire and to inform you about his positions.

Budget Passes / Single Proposition Pulled from Ballot
No Tax Decrease Next Year

In one of the strangest occurrences in recent memory, the Proposition to fund $10,000 for the Whitehall Library was pulled from the ballot on Monday night.

The library raised a legal objection that only the library board can set the amount requested. Even though the proposition was announced in the legal section of the newspaper, the school board pulled the proposition at a special board meeting on Monday.

The district’s contribution will remain the same as last year at $15,000, even though it was not voted on this year.

The Whitehall School District will have an election Tuesday, May 18th between 12:00 noon and 9:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Junior/Senior High School on Buckley Road:

1.) To adopt next years budget.
2.) To elect two (2) members of the school board.
3.) To vote on one (1) proposition:

a.) To appropriate and grant the Whitehall library $10,000.

Please remember to vote!