A Former County Legislature Chairman Dies

A former chairman of the Ulster County Legislature has died. The former chairman, Thomas Roach, was an Ulster County legislator from 1974 to 1983. He was majority leader in 1979, and legislature chairman from 1980-1983. He then served as the Commissioner of Social Services for the county, for 12 years, from 1984 to 1997. Democratic State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill of Kingston said, in a release, that Roach did not really retire after public service; that he dedicated himself to helping child victims of domestic violence across New York State as the longtime director of the William B. Hoyt Children and Family Trust Fund. Cahill credited Roach with transforming the county legislature, and building a social safety net.