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Image provided by: Guilderland Public Library
tKi GUfLDERLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY TO^^fejULWfe NEWS AWARDS New York stop tech kids Tli-» w.-*- * y - * ' „„ . r/ „, r r , P ANYTHING from newspapers l his i DO NOT CUP AH \n found doing this is defacing hbrary P\^™ ^ of the items defaced, will be held responsible for the' c °^*************** ~ SPORTS Dutch lax teams unbeaten Will UC ll<->\ • ~\ r \\\ ## + lM ,********* Thursday, April 13, 2006 Albany County's Independent Newspaper For 121 Years Number 38 and Albany County Post Here^s Another One! 'Unprecedented' in Bnrnell murder trial PI fei i, The Enterprise — Jim Gardner Oh my! Alexis VanAlstyne has just found an egg. Her discovery brings delight to everyone. The fun took place Saturday at Tawasentha Park during the annual Guilderland Elks Easter egg hunt. $79M proposed budget Tax-rate increase predicted at 4.2 percent By Melissa Hale-Spencer GUILDERLAND — After months of debate and public discussion, the school board unanimously adopted a $79 mil- lion budget proposal Tuesday night. The revised plan, if passed by voters on May 16, would mean an estimated tax-rate for Guild- erland residents of $19.12 per $1,000 of assessed value — 77 cents more than this year. While the proposal represents a 4.41-percent increase in spend- ing over this year, the tax-rate hike is 4.18 percent. \The budget presented is un- der the contingency cap,\ said Superintendent Gregory Aidala, (Continued on Page 19) By Jarrett Carroll GUILDERLAND — Hashim Burnell's trial for the murder of Todd Pianowski began last Tuesday in Albany County Court, and was then suspended by the judge on Monday in order to consider hew fingerprint evi- dence. Pianowski was shot to death in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend a t 1702 Western Ave. in Guilderland last May. On Monday, Albany County Judge Steven W. Herrick sent the jury home and adjourned the murder trial until May 1. Her- rick told the jury that the prose- cutors wanted to admit finger- prints given to them by police, which are believed to be Burnell's. The temporary suspension will allow hearings to take place to determine if this newly- discovered fingerprint evidence at the crime scene will be al- lowed in the trial. \This is unprecedented in my experience as a trial judge,\ Her- rick said about the three-week trial postponement. The unse- qnestered jury wa s strictly warned against rending or watching any new? coverage on 2.4% tax hike the murder, or speaking with anyone about the case during the unusually long dismissal. \You need to have someone else look through the local sec- tions of the newspapers,\ Her- rick told the jurors. \You're the finders of fact and need to hear the facts from the court and not the media.\ Herrick also told the jurors . that they were all equals in the case, saying, \I am the judge of the law and you are the judge of the facts.\ The trial The courtroom was a somber scene on Thursday morning as the jury members, made up of eight women and four men, en- tered. The .witnesses stood while the jurors took their seats and Judge Herrick called the pro- ceedings into session. The fam- ily and friends of Burnell sat on one side of the court while the Pianowskis and their friends sat on the other. Dressed in a shirt and tie, while handcuffed unci shackled, Burnell was quietly brought in and out of the court each day. He appeared humble, saying very little, an d occasionally (Continued on Page 22) BKW adopts $18.5M budget plan By Matt Cook BERNE — Thanks to a state aid figure that's higher than it's been in years, the increase in taxes for the Berne-Knox- Westerlo School District's pro- posed budget is lower than it's been in years. If the $18.5 million budget is approved by voters on May 16, it will represent a 5.9-percent in- crease in total appropriations over last year, but only a 2.4- percent increase in the tax levy, the amount to be raised by taxes. Last year's tax levy increase was 5 percent over the year before. \I'm very pleased to have one of the lowest tax-levy increases in the area,\ said Superinten- dent Steven Schrade. Schrade said h e expects the tax-rate increase—the amount to be charged to individual taxpay- ers—will be lower than 2.4 per- cent. The district is waiting for the state to se t equalization rates before determining the ex- act figures. The school board unanimously adopted the plan a t a meeting Monday. It's now in the hands of the voters. Last year, a. $17.5 million budget was voted down in May, partially because of Westerlo residents protesting the closing of the Westerlo Ele- mentary School. In June, a $50,000 slimmer version of the budget passed, 549 to 486. If a budget is voted down twice, a New York school district is forced into a state-set contin- gency budget cap. For the past couple of years, the state has been stingy with increasing its aid to schools. Not so this year, a t least for BKW. The legislature marked almost $7.6 million for the district, an increase of $757,000 over the 2005-06 budget. Although the state legislature has passed ISfew York's budget, ' the governor has the power to veto. When the district was plan- ning the budget, Schrade told The Enterprise, it was counting on receiving a state-aid amount similar to previous years and an- ticipating a tax-levy increase of 4,5 to 5 percent. (Continued on Page 28) Inside this week's edition starting on page... Opinion News 1 page Q | Community Calendsir |Pagei4| Classifieds N^l Sports N 6 ^ -\ T'*>I' »'»'- •-'- r' ^ i* * * 'V •* '•* '* '* '* '.'.».-.^'^.T^.^v>r.^r,T.T A ^-. > y,-.,.v < y.» > T.V,
