NEWS
Blenheim Residents Respond to Cherrys Letter
Three weeks after Schoharie County Treasurer and Flood Recovery Coordinator Bill Cherry wrote a scathing letter to members of the Blenheim Long Term Recovery Committee and the Blenheim Town Board over what he described as, "damning and accusatory statements about me personally [by former Supervisor Robert Mann Jr and BLTRC Chairman Don Airey], and more specifically, about my delay in submitting the latest proposal to FEMA relating to the Blenheim Covered Bridge," citizens of the small municipality had the chance to speak out Monday evening, and did they ever.
After Supervisor Shawn Smith read aloud Mr. Cherry's letter to the assembled townsfolk, the overall response was unfriendly to say the least. Town Councilman Joe Ward kicked off a thirty minute discussion on the letter and the Blenheim Covered Bridge by calling the Treasurer's comments, " very vitriolic verbiage." One resident, who referred to the Flood Recovery Coordinator as, "Czar Cherry," accused Mr. Cherry of being, "an arrogant liar," that is the crux at the table.
Mr. Airey, who was referred to several times in Mr. Cherry's infamous letter, addressed the audience by listing several grievances and corrections, one being that he had, "no issue with Bill Cherry holding the submission," but that he wanted members of his committee and the town board to be afforded the opportunity to review its contents. He would later go on to condemn Mr. Cherry's selective list of Supervisors he sent the email to and its publication in the Schoharie News, while stating that his concerns stem only from being a resident of the Town of Blenheim.
At this point Mr. Smith, who allowed town residents to openly discuss their concerns and offer comments, spoke of Mr. Cherry's abilities in other flood impacted communities across the county and urged that, "If we can all get on the same page, we can work together." He would go on to describe his early relations with the Treasurer as good, although some residents still felt otherwise about Mr. Cherry's intentions, even suggesting that he recuse himself from further handling the Blenheim project and accusing him of, "thumbing his nose at the county Board of Supervisors."
At this point Mr. Smith, who allowed town residents to openly discuss their concerns and offer comments, spoke of Mr. Cherry's abilities in other flood impacted communities across the county and urged that, "If we can all get on the same page, we can work together." He would go on to describe his early relations with the Treasurer as good, although some residents still felt otherwise about Mr. Cherry's intentions, even suggesting that he recuse himself from further handling the Blenheim project and accusing him of, "thumbing his nose at the county Board of Supervisors."