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Women describe fear after January attack Police Chief Tom Figlia said this week that investigators have pored over "countless hours" of video as they try to identify the man who attacked a woman in Beacon five months ago. His comments revealed new details about an incident that many girls and women say has them living in fear. Police received a call from Dutchess County 911 on the morning of Jan. 14 to assist fire and emergency medical personnel with a report of an unconscious woman found near the intersection of Wolcott and Tioronda avenues. Figlia said it appeared to officers that the woman had been "seriously assaulted." Nearby Sargent Elementary School was placed on a lockout while officers searched the area. Police later told school officials that they believed the suspect had fled. The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was said at the time to be in stable condition at a local hospital. Police asked residents citywide to check doorbell or security cameras for footage of a white male wearing a black jacket or coat (not a puffy coat), a black knit hat and blue pants or jeans. The suspect was described as being in his 30s or 40s, about 5-foot-11, with a medium build and a "very close" brown beard. Breaking from protocol, Figlia issued updates in the weeks following the crime, explaining nuances of the investigation and addressing criticism that the department had not released enough information. "Crimes that appear to be sexually motivated, occurring in daylight hours, close to a busy street, where the perpetrator does not seem to be known to the victim, are rare to begin with," he said this week, confirming details that had previously been the subject of speculation. "That's one reason why it's rightly garnered so much concern from the public. I can't recall another incident like it in my time in the department," which he joined 20 years ago as a patrol officer. According to the department's 2024 annual report, the most recent available, Beacon police in 2022 responded to 21 reports of aggravated assault, defined as involving serious injury, use of a weapon or multiple perpetrators. Nine arrests were made. In 2023, there were 16 reports and 14 arrests. In 2024, there were 19 reports and 12 arrests. There was a rape reported in 2023, but no arrest was made. Most sexual assault cases are not solved by police, according to a study published in 2024 in the journal Trauma Violence Abuse, which found that only about 25 percent of reported sexual assaults over a 20-year period resulted in an arrest. Figlia said the department is waiting on responses to subpoenas for more video footage. Numerous items also have undergone DNA testing, and the police are working with outside agencies for assistance with digital forensic evidence. Nonetheless, every woman interviewed for this article said they remain fearful. Randi Keim, who travels into New York City several times a week, said she used to walk a 5-mile loop to the Metro-North station that took her near the area of the attack. "I have not done that walk since," she said. "I wouldn't walk it alone, even in daytime, now." Figlia advised that bulky headphones or other apparel that obstructs peripheral vision could make pedestrians vulnerable. "Being clear that you are looking around could be a deterrent," he said. Another resident, who asked not to be identified, said she, too, has changed her routine when taking the train. In the past, she walked home, sometimes late at night. Now, she schedules an Uber anytime her train arrives after sunset. Four other women, all mothers of teen daughters, declined to comment, even anonymously, for fear of saying something that could identify them or their children. Said one: "I don't even feel safe saying I feel unsafe."

Conflict TV produced in Philipstown "Conflict is inevitable, but combat is a choice." That's the message the Dispute Resolution Center, which serves four counties, including Putnam, wants to convey to residents of the Highlands through a new, locally produced television series, Conflict TV. The nonprofit provides mediation services, usually at no cost, to help those dealing with strife, from divorce or separation to disputes between landlords and tenants, co-workers, classmates, family members or neighbors. Conflict TV's first two, 28-minute episodes are posted at youtube.com/@ConflictTV and will be shown on cable Channel 22 in Philipstown and Channel 21 in Beacon. Juan Carlos Salcedo, president of the DRC board, is the senior producer. The show is hosted by James Rollins, the founder and senior pastor of The Tabernacle Church in Middletown, who has been a mediator for 16 years. Each episode features guests who share practical mediation techniques and case studies. "We showcase real-life stories, demonstrating how dialogue can lead to meaningful, lasting transformation," said Salcedo. He produces the series in his Philipstown studio, where he also hosts The DNA of the News, which is broadcast to Spanish-speaking countries. "Our target audience is intentionally broad because conflict touches every stage of life, from teenagers to senior citizens," Salcedo said of Conflict TV. Miriam Frankl, the DRC executive director, says that even when parties can't reach an agreement through mediation, "they often report reduced tension and greater understanding of the issues. And judges see less contention in cases that go to trial." Mediators come from a variety of backgrounds, including law, social work, education and human resources. "There are no background or career requirements to be an effective mediator," she said. "One of our mediators is a former postal worker." Last year, the DRC helped 1,700 residents of Putnam, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties mediate conflicts. The nonprofit is funded largely by the New York state court system and is part of a network created in 1981 that covers the entire state. Services are free except for divorce mediation and some large-group facilitations. The DRC that serves Putnam and the three other counties has 35 volunteer mediators who received months of training, Frankl said. The Dispute Resolution Center has an office in Carmel. For more information, see drcservices.org or call 845-372-8771. In Beacon, mediation is provided by the Mediation Center of Dutchess County (dutchessmediation.org).

Three hopefuls vie for Democratic line Beacon and Philipstown have not been represented by a Democratic state senator since 2015, and the party hopes this year to flip the seat, held by Rob Rolison, a Republican seeking his third 2-year term. First, there will be a primary on June 23 to decide which of three Democratic candidates will challenge him in November: Lisa Kaul, a Dutchess County legislator; Gay Lee, a former City of Newburgh council member; or Evan Menist, a member of the Poughkeepsie Common Council. Sue Serino, now the Dutchess County executive, represented Beacon and Philipstown in the state Senate for three terms. She took office in 2015 after defeating Terry Gipson, a Democrat who served one term. Rolison won the seat in 2022, defeating Julie Shiroishi, a Beacon resident who was then chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson, whose district includes Beacon. In 2024, Rolison defeated Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith, whose district includes part of Beacon. She now chairs the Legislature after Democrats flipped the majority in 2025. Kaul is a native of India and Rhodes Scholar who moved to the U.S. in 2004. She spent five years as an administrator at Vassar College and served on the Arlington school board before defeating Republican Marc Pfeifer in 2023 to win a seat in the Legislature representing part of the Town of Poughkeepsie. She ran unopposed in 2025 for her second term and chairs the Environment Committee. Lee served for four years on the Newburgh City Council. She is a longtime clinical social worker and therapist with a private practice whose career includes stints with nonprofits that provide services to people who are homeless and have mental illnesses. She previously ran for the state Senate seat in 2014. Questions for Candidates Ahead of the Democratic primary on June 23, we gave each candidate 500 words to answer three questions. The responses are posted at highlandscurrent.org/senate-primary-39. Menist holds a master's degree in public administration from Marist University, where he played on and coached the men's rugby team. His resume includes working as a planner and researcher for Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a policy organization based in the City of Newburgh, as a staffer for former state Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and as assistant deputy county executive for Ulster County. He first won election to the Common Council in 2019 and is now in his fourth 2-year term. He also works as co-executive director of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, which produces fruits and vegetables for purchase and donation and educates farmers. Kaul has earned endorsements from the Dutchess County and Beacon Democratic Committees, and Menist from the Working Families Party. The Putnam Democratic Committee did not endorse a candidate; Jennifer Colamonico, its chair said the representatives from the two towns in District 39, including Philipstown, considered both Kaul and Menist to be "outstanding candidates." As of May 29, Kaul had $227,000 on hand and Menist, $133,000. Lee has not filed campaign finance reports. Rolison reported having $7,000 on hand. As of Wednesday (June 10), Kaul has received $268,479 from the state's Public Campaign Finance Board, which matches small donations, and Menist, $234,017. Rolison has received $160,219.

Ambulance corps covers about half of town The Town of Fishkill is exploring a contract with Empress Emergency Medical Services to provide ambulances to residents in Chelsea, Dutchess Junction and Glenham because it will be cheaper than the Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Brett Lesniak, the deputy chief for BVAC, said it has been covering Chelsea, Dutchess Junction and Glenham without funding from Fishkill and when it has an ambulance available. But rising expenses, unchanged reimbursements from Medicaid, Medicare and other insurers and treating uninsured residents mean "the cost of operations is drastically different" for BVAC, he said. To guarantee dedicated coverage to the three areas — Chelsea is north of Beacon, Dutchess to the south and Glenham, northeast — would cost $1.1 million annually, with $500,000 paid by the town and the rest covered by insurance reimbursements, said Lesniak. Empress Emergency Medical Services, whose ambulances serve Fishkill residents in the Rombout fire district, estimates that it could cover the town for about $100,000 less. During its meeting on June 3, the Town Board agreed to work with Empress on expanding its coverage. Although BVAC's leaders say they "have no intention of not covering" the Beacon fire district, Supervisor Ozzy Albra said the corps told him it would discontinue service at the end of this year without an agreement. "I don't like being threatened that we're going to be abandoned," said Albra. "I'm not going to take public safety into risk, and I'm not going to let somebody have a heart attack or medical issue because an alleged not-for-profit is not going to service our three districts." In December, BVAC announced it had resumed advanced life support, which had been discontinued in 2018. Advanced life support is a higher level of service provided by full-time paid paramedics, compared to basic life support provided by part-time volunteer emergency medical technicians. BVAC officials met with Albra to discuss charging the town for covering Chelsea, Dutchess Junction and Glenham. They also discussed having BVAC cover Rombout, but since Empress provides ambulances there, getting a "certificate of need" from New York State would be difficult for the corps, Lesniak said. Albra said the bottom line is money. "BVAC priced themselves out of this," he said. Empress covers Rombout from a station at Fishkill Town Hall on Route 52. Robert Stuck, the company's executive director, said during the June 3 meeting that its ambulances received 2,325 requests from the district in 2025 and responded to 2,098 of the calls at a cost of about $187,000 to Fishkill. Most of the remaining calls were handled by an ambulance crew funded by Dutchess County as part of an initiative to fill service gaps. The county ambulance is stationed in Wappingers Falls, said Stuck. Empress would need an additional ambulance, costing another $200,000, to expand to Chelsea, Dutchess Junction and Glenham, where BVAC covered 1,327 calls in 2025, he said. Of those calls, 865 ended at a hospital. Billing for those transports is how ambulance providers generate revenue, he said. Both Empress ambulances would be staffed with paramedics skilled in advanced life support, said Stuck. The easiest way to fund the expansion would be to extend the Rombout ambulance district to the entire town, said Stuck. Doing so, said Albra, will require research, and finalizing the expansion may not be possible before the town completes its 2026-27 budget. But Stuck said Empress would be able to step in even if BVAC ended its service immediately. "We will work with you to make sure that if they turn off the spigot tomorrow, you have coverage for those three areas," he said.

Beacon council continues review of capital needs More than 60 percent of the sidewalks and 80 percent of crosswalks in Beacon are in "good" to "very good" condition, meaning they are at least generally accessible to people with disabilities and, for crosswalks, adequately visible with little damage, according to a recent Dutchess County study. Creighton Manning, a Poughkeepsie engineering firm, spent 124 hours in the field, noting 2,400 observation points, from last fall through the spring, to produce a report on the city's pedestrian facilities. A draft of the report, which was funded by the Dutchess Transportation Council, was shared with the City Council on Monday (June 1). The study cataloged Beacon's sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps and pedestrian signals, evaluating each on a scale from 1 (worst) to 4 (best). Seventeen percent of the city's 281,000 feet of sidewalks were considered "fair" (2); 19 percent were "poor" (1). There are 274 crosswalks; 11 percent were visible with some damage (2), but just 2 percent were extremely deteriorated (1). The city's 856 curb ramps, the sloped section of sidewalk leading into a curb, were ranked highly, with 82 percent "good" or "very good" (3 or 4), 12 percent "fair" (2) and 6 percent "poor" (1). There are pedestrian signals at about a dozen sites in Beacon, and all were said to function properly. Creighton Manning also created maps showing priority locations for sidewalk and curb ramp improvements, with each ranked for proximity to Main Street, schools and public parks. Needs were spread throughout the city and Mayor Lee Kyriacou said they mostly reflected his own observations. While not part of the report, Transportation Council data collected by volunteers in 2025 showed that Beacon's Main Street had the most pedestrian traffic in the county. The Creighton Manning study found the sidewalk on Main Street to be "very good," the highest of the four grades, although a number of sidewalks in the Main Street-adjacent Transitional Zone were graded "poor." Crosswalks on and around Main Street were largely given a 3 or 4 as "adequate" or "like new." The City Council will hold a public hearing on June 15 on nearly $10 million in spending on equipment and capital projects scheduled for 2027. Each year, the council must approve funding for the following year's capital plan by July 31. Of five funding streams for 2027 projects, the city expects to receive the most ($4.3 million) from state and federal aid, said Finance Director Susan Tucker. Most of that ($3.6 million) will be used to rehabilitate Beekman Street. Tucker said Beacon plans to borrow $3.1 million and allocate $1.9 million of it as additional funding to construct a water-storage tank at the Mount Beacon Reservoir. (The city budgeted $1.6 million on the project in 2026.) About $2.4 million of the city's savings will be used for other projects, the most expensive of which is the first phase of improvements to the southwest corner of Memorial Park ($308,000). The final two funding sources, grants and a recreation trust that developers pay into, will provide $55,000 and $92,000 next year, respectively. Two weeks ago, during the council's initial review of its five-year capital plan, there was some debate about when and how the city should move ahead with plans for a community or enhanced recreation center. On Monday, council members seemed to agree that the next step would be to dedicate funding in the 2027 operating budget for a feasibility report. The council has the option each year to set aside funding for planning studies; the 2026 budget includes $100,000 to be split between a study to create a biking master plan and housing resources. A study in 2027 would likely provide insight into programming needs. Further research would be needed to determine whether improvements to the Recreation Department building at 23 West Center St. could satisfy Beacon residents' desire for a "third space" where the community — particularly chi...

County called on to spend more of savings Putnam County has a good problem: how to best return $6.5 million from a swollen surplus to residents. Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, and other legislators weighed legality and logistics at the May 12 meeting of the Rules Committee as they volleyed ideas. Among the proposals: $200 rebate checks to homeowners; replicate a state program in which homeowners receive a property-tax credit or check; send funds to residents burdened by the cost of energy, childcare or other necessities. The debate is the progeny of a pandemic-era explosion in sales-tax revenue and federal and state aid. Incoming funds more than doubled the size of Putnam's "unassigned fund balance," an unrestricted pool that County Executive Kevin Byrne and legislators can choose how to spend. Forecasting is never precise, but between 2020 and 2024, sales-tax revenues exceeded estimates by $47.5 million. State and federal legislators also plied municipalities with pandemic aid. Over those four years, the unrestricted surplus ballooned from $29.9 million at the end of 2019 to $78.3 million by 2024. (The 2025 figures are being finalized.) That bounty sparked a clash between Byrne and some legislators and municipal officials who believe more of it needs to be spent. Some funds have been dedicated to capital projects to avoid "saddling taxpayers with unnecessary long-term debt and interest costs," said Byrne. "Putnam County's strong financial position is not money sitting idle." But Montgomery and other legislators say the county should use some funds on direct aid to residents. They voted last year to set aside $6.5 million for tax relief or another giveback. The debate over how to do that continues, but people "need relief now," said Montgomery. "A strong fund balance is good fiscal management, but ours is more than a rainy-day fund," she said. "We're holding public money while our residents are struggling. We should invest in housing, mental health services, childcare and transportation." While state law prohibits school districts from holding surpluses that exceed 4 percent of their budgets, municipalities (cities, counties, towns and villages) and fire districts are allowed to carry over a "reasonable" amount" each year. Putnam's surplus in 2024 represented 38 percent of its $205 million budget for 2025. By comparison, Dutchess County ended 2024 with $104.3 million in its unassigned fund, or 17 percent of its $630 million spending plan for 2025. One reason for Putnam's surplus is unexpected sales-tax growth. Putnam, Dutchess and other counties anticipated a financial hit when New York State ordered non-essential businesses to close in March 2020 due to COVID-19. But Putnam was too conservative: Its revenues in 2020 exceeded its projection by $5.7 million. As the state's economy recovered, Putnam's sales-tax revenues exceeded projections by $18.9 million in 2021, $17.4 million in 2022, $13.6 million in 2023 and $8.6 million in 2024. Nearly $28 million of the surplus has been spent since 2021. Byrne and the Legislature spent $13.2 million in the 2025 budget, including the $6.5 million sought by legislators for tax relief and $150,000 for food programs. This year is also the first in which Putnam is sharing sales-tax revenue with its towns and villages. Philipstown will receive $169,000, and Cold Spring and Nelsonville the minimum $50,000 each, from $2.3 million. The money, which is allocated based on population, is restricted to infrastructure projects. "This is funding that otherwise would have remained in the county's general fund," said Byrne, who also wants to use $2 million for mental-health services. "It is now helping our local partners invest in infrastructure, public works and taxpayer relief in their own communities." Former Legislator Paul Jonke, who proposed the homeowner rebate program before he left office in 2025, said during the Rules Committee meeting that the $6.5 ...

After arson, a dispute over rebuilding The former owner of a Beacon boardinghouse that burned down in 2023 has sued the city, accusing its Zoning Board and a former building inspector of causing him to lose money on his investment. The lawsuit, filed April 24 in federal court, alleges that the city illegally canceled a building permit for then-owner Yeshia Berger's property at 925 Wolcott Ave. Specifically, it says, the city "extinguished a vested, permit-backed, legal preexisting non-conforming, constitutionally protected use through an unreasonable interpretation of an ambiguous ordinance after affirmatively authorizing its continuation and reduction." Along with the city, the suit names the Zoning Board of Appeals and former Building Inspector Bruce Flower as defendants. The sequence of events that led to the lawsuit was unusual. On the morning of Jan. 3, 2023, a former tenant, Brian P. Atkinson, started a fire that destroyed the 4,136-square-foot, three-story structure. Atkinson had been due in court that morning to protest eviction proceedings; instead, he walked to the Beacon Police Department and turned himself in, authorities said. He pleaded guilty later that year to third-degree arson and was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison. The boardinghouse had been a longstanding "legal non-conforming use" allowed in an area zoned for single-family homes. Before the fire, Berger had received a permit to convert the 16 single-occupancy rooms into nine larger units. But in July 2023, the Zoning Board upheld Flower's determination that Berger must rebuild after the fire in accordance with the zoning code. Flower said he relied upon a provision requiring structures that have been more than 50 percent destroyed, such as by fire, to be rebuilt according to current standards — in this case, as a single-family home. Even the vote by the five-member Zoning Board was complex. Its members first reversed two of Flower's determinations: that the non-conforming use had been "removed" by the fire and that a non-conforming building cannot be "structurally altered during its life" if the alterations amount to more than 25 percent of its value. The board did agree that the structure should be rebuilt only under current regulations; Berger would have been allowed to proceed only if the Zoning Board had reversed all of Flower's determinations. In response, Berger asked the board to consider two types of variances, but withdrew his appeal before a decision was made. According to the lawsuit, he was forced to sell the parcel for "less than half" of the $650,000 he paid in 2022. He argues that the city code is "at best, ambiguous" and should have been "interpreted in a light most favorable to the property owner." Berger said he sold the property in February 2024 to Faust Design Build, "a luxury designing and building firm" that constructed a single-family home. Dutchess County records show that the parcel was last sold in October 2024 for $300,000. Many Beacon residents opposed Berger's rebuilding plans, speaking out at public hearings and submitting petitions to the Zoning Board. Some said fights and other disturbances had taken place at the site for years; others suggested that Berger planned to construct a "luxury building." In his 35-page complaint, Berger said that the proposed reduction in units would have decreased traffic "and any other impacts." The units would have continued to be single-room occupancies; all he "was trying to accomplish was to rebuild the building for affordable housing consistent with city code," he said. Instead, "it is clear that the city succumbed to generalized community opposition."

Former Cold Spring resident pleads guilty to minor charge The proverb that begins, "The wheels of justice turn slowly…" certainly could be applied to the prosecution of former Cold Spring resident Alexander Welsh, who was arrested in May 2023 but didn't see his case resolved for nearly three years. Just after noon on Friday, May 19, 2023, a Putnam County Sheriff's deputy stationed at the Haldane school reported hearing what sounded like gunshots. The sounds startled elementary students and staff on the playground and prompted a law enforcement response that included additional deputies and officers from the state police and the Cold Spring, Kent and Metro-North departments. School administrators locked down the campus for about 90 minutes. After a resident told police they had seen smoke outside a nearby home, police found what appeared to be recently exploded fireworks in the yard at 34 Mountain Ave. When the occupants were uncooperative, officers returned at 7 p.m. with a search warrant. Welsh, then 28, was arrested and charged with felony criminal possession of cannabis, misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor criminal nuisance. He was given a ticket to appear in the Town of Philipstown Court; the case was later transferred to the Cold Spring Justice Court. Two weeks later, on June 6, a Poughkeepsie-based attorney, Kevin MacKay, notified the court that he represented Welsh. The clerk sent MacKay the case documents, and a hearing was scheduled for June 14. What followed was 33 months of delays, frequently due to adjournments requested by MacKay, who said he had conflicting court dates in Dutchess County. Further delays were caused by procedural details and, most recently, the retirements last year of Justice Thomas Costello and clerk Cathy Costello. Welsh, who last appeared in person in court in May 2023, pleaded not guilty to all three charges. On March 11, MacKay submitted a signed affidavit in which Welsh pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Justice Luke Hilpert fined Welsh $250 plus a $125 fee. Under state law, the sentence could have included up to 15 days in jail. MacKay did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Putnam County district attorney, Robert Tendy, said he offered a plea deal because Welsh has stayed out of trouble since his arrest and that MacKay had kept his office apprised of his client's progress. "Mr. Welsh is now living in California and is leading a law-abiding life," Tendy said. "Given that he has no prior convictions, and is continuing to do well, I thought it appropriate to permit him to plead to a violation instead of holding him to a criminal conviction." Tendy said it appeared Welsh didn't intend to cause chaos when he lit fireworks near the school, "though it was certainly thoughtless and potentially dangerous."

Debt, new construction, inflation figure into calculation The Beacon City School District will be able to increase its property tax levy by as much as 4.47 percent, or $2.24 million, for the 2026-27 academic year under a state-mandated tax cap. District voters last year approved an $87.7 million budget with a $50.1 million levy, a 5.09 percent increase over the year before. There are three main factors that affect the levy, which is the amount the district can raise through property taxes. The first two — "allowable" and "tax-base" growth factors — are outside of the district's control. Since New York State established a tax cap in 2012, the allowable growth factor has permitted public school districts to raise their levies each year by 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. For 2026-27, it's 2 percent. A second factor measures the district's tax base, allowing schools to add revenue for new development. Beacon's tax-base growth factor has been the highest in Dutchess County in recent years and, while, at 1.7 percent, or $841,715, "it's still higher than the other school districts" in the county, "it is a little bit lower than it has been," said Deputy Superintendent Ann Marie Quartironi, who explained the formula to the school board on Feb. 19. The third factor that allows a district to increase its levy is debt on capital projects. This is under the district's control, and in 2026-27 state law will permit Beacon to collect an additional $1.83 million to absorb debt in its spending plan. The district last year applied debt for the first time on a $50 million capital project approved by voters in 2024. "That was the first step," Quartironi said. "The second step is trying to increase the debt every year in your budget," which allows the district to collect more taxes under the state formula to pay it down. The capital project will kick off this summer with the installation of secure entryways at five of six schools (one is already secure) and upgrades of the Beacon High School theater and athletic fields. The debt will be spread over the next three fiscal years, Quartironi said. Last year, the district did not include a proposition on the May ballot for school buses, but this year it will ask voters to approve the purchase (financed over five years) of one diesel bus and four vans, including two accessible for wheelchairs.School board members must approve the budget by the end of April. Administrators plan to share estimated tax bills with the board and community before voters make the final decision on May 19. The district anticipates receiving more than $500,000 in added funding from New York State in 2026-27 through Gov. Kathy Hochul's universal pre-K initiative. Beacon has offered a pre-K program at its four elementary schools since 2023, and this year contributed $450,000 that can now "go to other things in the general fund," Quartironi said. "The financial impact is huge for us." Ten percent of the state funding must be distributed to community partners. The announcement of the increased funding prompted Quartironi to issue a request for proposals last year for agencies within district boundaries to administer the program. The district, which serves about 120 pre-K students, partners with the Rose Hill Manor Day School, which is under Planning Board review to convert its preschool to a hotel, and New Covenant Learning Center. Mirbeau Inn & Spa, scheduled to open this spring, is not expected to receive its final certificate of occupancy from the city before Sunday (March 1), so it will likely remain on the tax rolls for 2025-26. Once up and running, Mirbeau will submit payments-in-lieu-of-taxes, which will be distributed to the school district, the city, the county and the Howland Public Library.

Snow and wind expected on Sunday and overnight The National Weather Service is predicting blizzard conditions in the Highlands on Sunday (Feb. 22) and overnight into Monday. A blizzard warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for Putnam County from 1 p.m. Sunday until 6 p.m. Monday and for Dutchess from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Monday. Forecasters expect winds of up to 45 mph to be accompanied by falling and/or blowing snow, resulting in reduced visibility. The NWS defines a blizzard as a storm that contains large amounts of snow or blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibility of less than a quarter-mile for at least three hours. Putnam is expected to receive 14 to 22 inches of snow, with rates reaching 2 inches per hour. Dutchess is expected to receive 10 to 20 inches. Temperatures will drop to feel as low as 14 degrees. Wind gusts could reach 45 mph, it said, and the wind and the weight of snow may bring down trees and power lines. Dutchess County has issued travel restrictions for all non-essential personnel starting at 9 p.m. Sunday at 9 p.m. through 4 p.m. Monday. County and Beacon city offices will open at 11 a.m. on Monday. Putnam County also restricted all non-essential travel from 9 p.m. Sunday to 10 a.m. Monday. Metro-North will operate on an hourly service schedule on Monday, with weekend schedules in place on the branch lines. The Hudson Rail Link connecting bus will be suspended. On Saturday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in 20 counties, including Putnam and Dutchess. Beginning Sunday, 100 members of the New York National Guard with 25 vehicles will be staged across the lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island to assist first responders, and the State Emergency Operations Center activated Sunday morning. The Village of Cold Spring has restricted parking from 5 p.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Tuesday. Alternative parking is available at the American Legion lot on Cedar Street (south end only; do not use the Ambulance Corps spaces); the Haldane ballfields lot on Route 9D (no permit is required during snow emergencies); the village lots on Kemble Avenue, The Boulevard and New Street; and the Fair Street municipal lot. For updates, call 845-747-7669. [Update: On Tuesday, temporary no parking signs will be placed throughout the village to allow crews to remove snow.] The Village of Nelsonville announced parking restrictions from noon Sunday through 4 p.m. Monday. Parking will be prohibited on village streets, including on Main Street/Route 301. Designated winter parking spots are available on Adams Avenue and the west side of the Secor Street lot. In Beacon, after the accumulation of 2 inches of snow, vehicles cannot be parked on public streets between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Vehicles can be moved to any city public parking lot, but vehicles must be moved from the lots 24 hours after the snow stops falling. See our online calendar for cancelations. For updates, see our Storm Resource Page.

Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing. 150 Years Ago (February 1876) Officer Stevenson of Fishkill Landing received a $200 reward [about $6,000 today] for his part in capturing the horse thief Jeremiah Storm. Four empty barges belonging to the Knickerbocker Ice Co. arrived at Dutchess Junction to be loaded with ice cut at LaGrange for shipment to New York City. The Bachelor's Social Club held a Leap Year party on Feb. 29 at Swift's Opera House in Fishkill Landing. After members of the Matteawan school board were criticized by parents for being out of touch, they visited the schoolhouse to see how the students were doing. The Matteawan Seamless Clothing Manufacturing Co. closed suddenly, putting 450 men, women and children out of work. The owner, Mr. Falconer, attributed the closure to $60,000 [$1.8 million] he had spent on a dam, machinery and buildings to produce the new patented Crossley carpets. Falconer also invested in French felt suits for women, which sold poorly, and spent $30,000 [$900,000] on a Methodist meeting ground on Long Island. The firm's chief creditor was Fred Butterfield, Falconer's son-in-law, who toured the shuttered plant and said he and others would continue to back it. James Member of Fishkill Landing planned to open a hotel in Philadelphia for Dutchess County residents visiting the Centennial Exhibition. But after a visit, he abandoned the plan, saying there were already many hotels, and real estate was being sold and rented at exorbitant prices. An arsonist set fire to the stable and wagon house of David Davis, a retired merchant. He lost a carriage and 50 bushels of oats, but his horse was saved. After Mrs. Hamlin refused to pay Dewitt Rogers for installing a pump in her home, he sued for damages. She testified that Rogers had installed three pumps in succession, but none worked, so she had the final one removed. A jury ruled in favor of Rogers, but an appeals court overturned the judgment. In 1867, a wealthy millwright in Boston introduced Milo Sage, president of the Fishkill Landing Machine Co., to Norman Wiard, who said he had invented a boiler attachment that would save fuel and prevent explosions. Sage paid Wiard for the exclusive rights, and Wiard began ordering dozens of "prototypes," for which he eventually owed Sage $15,000 [$450,000]. Sage later learned that Wiard was selling the attachments to the U.S. military. 100 Years Ago (February 1926) Theodore Moith resigned after 44 years with the Beacon Police Department and 13 years as chief. In return, Mayor Ernest Macomber agreed to drop charges that Moith, who also served as a deputy sheriff, had collected questionable fees. Benjamin Roosa, age 67, felt ill while on a walk and stepped into a store on Fishkill Avenue but died before Dr. Julius Hayt could arrive. Roosa had been a railroad station agent and general manager for many years. He was also a former village president. The Beacon High School basketball team lost at Poughkeepsie, 14-11, in a game that included four ejections and a fourth-quarter dustup in which spectators ran onto the court and threw punches. Referee Mike Palen banished two players from each team. In the first quarter, Palisi, the Beacon captain, was forced to the bench for a few minutes after he was kicked in the stomach. At a roast beef dinner, members of the St. Rocco Society made plans to build a two-story clubhouse at the corner of South Chestnut and Dewindt. John Pomarico, described as "a well-known local wrestler," sued the city for $10,000 [$180,000] after he slipped on an icy sidewalk on Beekman Street and broke several ribs. The Denning's Point Brick Co. was installing machinery that its owners said would increase production from 166,000 to 300,000 bricks a day and eliminate the need for manual labor. The Frander Motor Sales Co. planned to open a Studebaker dealership in the former Stafford garage at the intersection of Main and South Chestnut. A snow melter invented b...

Beacon cites lack of resources to compel compliance Nearly six years after Beacon legalized short-term rentals, most Airbnb listings are not registered with the city. According to Inside Airbnb, a data collection project based in Newburgh, 133 units in Beacon were listed on the booking site in July 2025. But files obtained by The Current under the Freedom of Information Law show only 33 are registered with the city, as the law requires. STR laws typically allow municipalities to limit the number of housing units being rented to visitors and ensure that rentals have safety features such as smoke detectors and don't disrupt neighborhoods. The 2020 Beacon law allows homeowners and tenants to rent or sublet their homes or apartments for up to 30 days at a time, for a maximum of 100 days per year. Rental spaces must be the host's primary residence, and accessory dwelling units cannot be rented. According to Inside Airbnb, which pulls its data from information posted by the platform, the hosts of 14 Beacon listings live in New York City and six live out of state. The 133 listings are more than triple the number (40) on the site a decade ago, but nearly the same as in June 2020 (126), when the council amended the zoning code. City Administrator Chris White said this week that Beacon does not have the staff to adequately enforce its STR regulations. Since Building Inspector Bryan Murphy was hired in March, the department has prioritized health and safety issues, including overdue fire inspections and enforcing sidewalk snow removal. White said enforcement of STRs has been mostly in response to complaints about noise or parking. New York State authorized Beacon to collect a 2 percent occupancy tax on hotel stays and STR rentals as of Jan. 1, 2025. The Roundhouse, Mirbeau Inn & Spa and other hotels are expected to generate the bulk of the $200,000 in tax revenue in 2026, White said. Airbnb will begin collecting the Beacon tax on its platform starting March 1. The City Council is likely to revisit its STR regulations this year. During a discussion of agenda priorities on Tuesday (Feb. 17), Mayor Lee Kyriacou noted that enforcing limits on short-term rentals could have the quickest impact on the "acute" need for housing. "The fundamental issue is rental costs are really high because there's not enough supply," he said. "Restricting short-term rentals would force them into the long-term rental stock immediately." According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, 41 percent of Beacon households are renter-occupied, and 185 units are listed as vacant, meaning they do not have long-term renters. "If some of those Airbnb units were returned to the market, it would make it easier to find housing," said Murray Cox, who founded the data project. A New York City law adopted in 2023 is stricter than Beacon's: It also requires hosts to register with the city before accepting rentals of 30 days or less. Property owners must reside (and remain) in the unit; bookings are limited to two guests; and booking platforms cannot process transactions for unregistered listings. The law had an immediate effect, with 50,000 listings falling off the services between 2019 and 2023. There are now about 5,000, Cox said. In 2024, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation authorizing counties to establish STR registries. Dutchess County officials have discussed creating a list; there has been no discussion in Putnam, a representative said. In Cold Spring, the Village Board enacted a law in 2021 to regulate STRs but began to review the measure three years later, saying the regulations were too cumbersome to enforce. Mayor Kathleen Foley says updating the STR code is a priority for 2026. The Philipstown Town Board this week discussed revisions to regulations it drafted in October that would require annual permits and inspections and ban parties. Critics say STRs need to be limited because they remove long-term housing from the market, drive up rents and negatively aff...

Former Dutchess executive leaves FTA job after six months Marc Molinaro, the former Dutchess County executive and U.S. congressman, will resign as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration on Friday (Feb. 20) to return to New York. He held the job for six months. According to Politico and the Times Union, each citing an anonymous source, Molinaro plans to campaign for a state Assembly seat being vacated by Chris Tague, who is running for the state Senate. The seat represents District 102, which covers Greene and Schoharie counties in the Catskills. In a post on X, Molinaro wrote, "I'm coming home to be closer to my family and get back into the fight." Before becoming Dutchess County executive in 2011, Molinaro served five years as a county legislator and two terms in the state Assembly. He was also the Republican candidate for governor in 2018. He was elected to the House in 2023 but lost his bid for re-election to Josh Riley. Before joining the FTA, Molinaro had been a senior advisor to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Agency buying facilities across U.S. to house detainees A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Times Union on Thursday (Feb. 12) that the agency has purchased a warehouse in the Hudson Valley to house detainees. The warehouse, located in Chester, is a former PepBoys auto parts distribution center. "These will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards," the ICE spokesperson told the paper. "Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase." ICE said the facility and its construction will create 1,246 jobs and contribute $153.4 million, plus $37.2 million in tax revenue but did not explain how the figures were calculated. At the same time, the Orange County clerk and the county attorney told the Times Union that no new deeds have been recorded or filed. The last sale on record was in 2021, when an LLC owned by former Trump adviser Carl Icahn bought the property. State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat whose district includes northern Dutchess County, said in a statement that she would support the town and village boards as they use "every legal, zoning, and environmental tool available" to block the facility. On Friday, a document released by federal immigration officials said that ICE to spend $38.3 billion to expand its detention capacity to 92,600 beds by purchasing warehouses. ICE has bought at least seven warehouses in the past few weeks in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas. Six other purchases were scuttled when buyers decided not to sell under pressure from activists. The Department of Homeland Security in January posted a notice announcing its intention to purchase the Chester warehouse for ICE operations. The agency said it would add a small guard building and an outdoor recreation area. The notice was required because the facility is in a 100-year floodplain. Legislation has been introduced in at least five states to ban state and local government contracts for ICE detention facilities. In New York, one proposal would prohibit governmental entities from entering into immigrant detention agreements (Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, and Dana Levenberg, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown, are co-sponsors), while another would prohibit the use of public funds or resources for new immigrant detention facilities without state legislative approval. ICE Detention Facilities There are 225 ICE detention facilities in the U.S., including eight in New York (below). Texas has the most facilities (28), followed by Florida (18). Allegany County Jail (Belmont) 5 females, non-criminal Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center 25 males, criminal; 86 males, non-criminal Broome County Jail (Binghamton) 3 males, criminal; 44 males, non-criminal Buffalo Service Processing Center (Batavia) 128 males, criminal; 610 males, non-criminal Clinton County Jail (Plattsburgh) 2 males, non-criminal; 2 females, non-criminal Nassau County Correctional Center (Long Island) 1 female, criminal; 11 females, non-criminal Niagara County Jail (Lockport) 12 females, non-criminal Orange County Jail (Goshen) 85 males, criminal; 81 males, non-criminal; 1 female, criminal Source: U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement In a little over a year, the number of detention facilities used by ICE has more than doubled, to 225 sites spread across 48 states and territories. Most of that growth came through existing contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service or deals to use empty beds at county jails. More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained nationwide by ICE as of mid-January, up from 40,000 when President Donald Trump took office a year ago, according to federal data. Just north of Richmond, Virginia, hundreds of people turned out in January for a tense public hearing before the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. "Yo...

Received campaign money from firm tied to ICE Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, said on Feb. 4 that he will donate campaign funds he received from employees of a company that supplies software for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Days earlier, For the Many, a Kingston nonprofit, called on Ryan to donate the funds to immigrant advocacy groups. They had come from employees of Palantir Technologies, a firm co-founded by conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, who also co-founded PayPal. Federal immigration officials contracted with Palantir to create software that uses artificial intelligence and data mining to identify, track and deport non-citizens. Palantir was scheduled to deliver a prototype of its ImmigrationOS platform to the agency by September 2025 as part of a two-year contract worth $30 million. Jonathan Bix, the executive director of For the Many, told the Daily Freeman that the organization had been alerted to the campaign funding via the website purgepalantir.com. He said the group was surprised to see Ryan listed, among all Democratic federal lawmakers, as receiving the most support from Palantir. According to the site, Ryan has received $134,600 from Palantir employees, including its top executives, since being elected in 2021. But a search of campaign finance disclosures at the Federal Election Commission shows a total of $93,300 in contributions from 17 individuals who said they were employed at Palantir in that period. Ryan received $36,500 from 11 Palantir employees in 2025, according to the FEC. As of Dec. 31, he had about $2.5 million on hand for his campaign. Rep. Josh Riley, a Democrat whose district includes northern Dutchess County, has received $76,601 from nine Palantir employees since 2021, when he first ran for Congress. He received $15,000 from five Palantir executives in 2025. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Philipstown, received $9,900 from two Palantir employees in 2024, according to FEC records. Purge Palantir said that the Denver-based company appears to be "cultivating relationships with promising, younger tech- and defense-friendly Democrats." Ryan serves on the House Armed Services Committee, and Riley is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Although For the Many posted online that it had "successfully pressured Pat Ryan to refuse future contributions from ICE contractors and to donate past ones to local immigrant defense," Ryan said his decision was not in response to pressure from the activist group. "This was something I've been thinking about for a while, even before these last two horrific instances, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which were straight up murder and in Alex's case … an execution," he told the Daily Freeman. "I've been thinking and working to find all the points of leverage and ways to push back and make clear where I stand, which is strongly against this abuse of power and dangerous and unconstitutional behavior." He said he did not believe that ICE should be abolished. "To me, the choice can't be between no border security and Trump's ICE murdering people in the street," he said. "That is not a choice any of my constituents want."

Carmel residents say they fear crime, drugs A proposal to open a 24-hour drop-in crisis program in an office building off Route 6 drew both love and hate from Town of Carmel residents in public hearings. Everyone seemed to love the idea behind People USA's Stabilization Center, an urgent care for behavioral health where children, teens or adults suffering a mental-health or substance-abuse emergency could be treated and linked with services. But some people hated its location near their businesses and residences. "I have no doubt that it will help those in crisis," said one woman, identifying herself as the person attacked in October by a homeless man on a trail in Carmel. "But adding another facility that serves people in crisis so close to homes, local businesses, senior communities and the rail trail is not appropriate." The Planning Board agreed. On Jan. 28, Carmel became the second Putnam County town after Brewster to reject the Stabilization Center, delivering what may be a fatal blow to an idea championed by County Executive Kevin Byrne. In a statement, Byrne said he would reappropriate $2.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the project. "We will continue working with providers, community partners and municipal leaders to increase public safety and expand access to care through evidence-based approaches, including but not limited to mobile crisis response and other prevention efforts," he said. Some of the people attending the Carmel Planning Board meeting applauded as Craig Paeprer, the board's chair, announced the 6-to-0 vote by its members to deny an application by People USA, which operates crisis centers in Dutchess and Ulster counties, to open one in an office building near the Putnam Plaza Shopping Center. People USA said the center would have been staffed with certified counselors, social workers and peer specialists, assisting up to eight people at a time, and would have had security trained in de-escalation techniques on-site from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. A public hearing in November began with a video shot at People USA's Stabilization Center in Poughkeepsie, which opened in 2017 as a collaboration with Dutchess County. The video showed a "hope room" where people are assessed, areas where those waiting to go home or be taken to another program can rest, read books or play games and a room for children and their families. A procession of speakers who followed the video presented different images — homeless people loitering in the nearby 24-hour McDonald's on Route 6, deputies dropping off inmates released from the Putnam County jail, discarded syringes and home invasions. The board's resolution rejecting the project cited multiple reasons, including the center's incompatibility with the area's other businesses and Carmel's "long experience with Arms Acres," a nearby residential substance-abuse treatment facility. Arms Acres and "similar programs" potentially "require a disproportionate commitment of community services, particularly police and emergency services," according to the Planning Board. Residents in Brewster invoked similar concerns as those in Carmel when they rallied in 2023 against People USA's plan to lease space above the Over the Rainbow Learning Center at a shopping center in the village, which is part of the Town of Southeast. The Town Board responded by approving in October 2023 a six-month moratorium on permits for medical and mental-health clinics, including a "mental health crisis or stabilization center." Twelve days later, residents attending a public forum on the center conjured images of intoxicated clients loitering outside, endangering children and littering the ground with drug paraphernalia. Byrne said in a letter to residents the following month that he directed People USA to abandon the Brewster location, setting off the search that led to Carmel. The organization, in its proposal to the Carmel Planning Board, said Southeast had "prejudged the application b...

Co-hosts Kathy Kruger and Jonah Triebwasser interview Andrew O'Grady of Mental Health America of Dutchess County about their work and their upcoming indoor gold tournament.

Expected to bring up to 13 inches of snow Bread was flying off the shelves, salt was being loaded into trucks and utility workers nervously watched forecasts on Thursday (Jan. 22) as a huge winter storm that could bring catastrophic damage, widespread power outages and bitterly cold weather barreled toward the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. The massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas through parts of the South, potentially around a foot of snow from Oklahoma through Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, and then a punch of bitterly cold air that could drop wind chills to minus-50 degrees in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota. In the Highlands, a winter storm warning is in effect from late Saturday through Monday afternoon, with a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain expected. According to the National Weather Service, the Highlands should receive about 7 inches of snow, or up to 13 inches at the high end. There is a 10 percent chance of more than 18 inches, it said. On Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency. Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino issued an emergency order restricting travel from 5 a.m. on Sunday to 5 p.m. on Monday and closing county offices on Monday. Serino's order restricts travel on roads except for emergency vehicles and essential personnel such as medical and health facility personnel; law enforcement and public safety personnel; first responders; utility, maintenance and public works personnel; snow removal, sanding, salting and clearing operations personnel; facility operations persons deemed necessary for plant operations by their employers; and public and government personnel involved in emergency operations. There will be no public bus service on Sunday or Monday, and parks will be closed. See dutchessny.gov/stormupdates for updates. Anyone in Dutchess County who needs emergency shelter should call 2-1-1 to receive assistance in finding a shelter. Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne declared a state of emergency effective 12:01 a.m. Sunday and asked people to "stay off the roads during the duration of the storm, allowing county, town and village highway crews, police and fire personnel and other essential service providers to do their jobs." Forecasters are warning the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. About 160 million people were under winter storm or cold weather watches or warnings — and in many places both. The storm was expected to begin Friday in New Mexico and Texas, with the worst weather moving east into the Deep South before heading up the coast and thumping New England with snow. Parking Restricted Ahead of Storm Cold air streaming down from Canada caused Chicago Public Schools and Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa to cancel classes Friday. Wind chills predicted to be as low as minus-35 degrees could cause frostbite within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus. The cold punch coming after means it will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect in places where ice and snow weighs down tree branches and power lines and cuts electricity, perhaps for days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy well into next week. Freezing temperatures are expected all the way to Florida, forecasters said. Advice from New York State Avoid travel if possible. Expect delays and closures. If you can't avoid traveling: Clean off your vehicle before driving, drive slow and don't use cruise control, leave extra distance between vehicles and don't crowd the plows. Roads can be slick even if they just look wet. Practice safe shoveling: dress warmly, stay hydrated, move only small amounts of snow and take frequent breaks. If you are stranded in a vehicle, avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by running the motor for 10 minutes every hour. While your car is running, open the windows slightly for fresh air. Keep your exhaust pipe clear of snow. Tips to operate generators safel...

Department seeks white male who attacked woman The Beacon Police Department on Thursday (Jan. 15) released a description of a suspect in the Wednesday assault of a woman near the intersection of Wolcott and Tioronda avenues. Police asked residents citywide to check doorbell or security cameras for footage taken Wednesday that captured a white male wearing a black jacket or coat (not a puffy coat), a black knit hat and blue pants or jeans. The suspect is described as possibly being in his 30s or 40s, approximately 5-foot-11 with a medium build and a "very close" brown beard. Anyone with footage of an individual fitting that description, or most of the description, should call the Beacon Police Department at 845-831-4111. The department received a call Wednesday morning from Dutchess County 911 to assist fire and EMS personnel that had responded to a report of an unconscious woman near Tioronda and Wolcott. Upon arrival, Police Chief Tom Figlia said that officers determined there was reason to believe the woman had been "seriously assaulted." Nearby Sargent Elementary School was placed on a lockout until the area could be searched. The area around the school was searched, but no suspect was found. By then, officers told school officials that they were confident the suspect had left the area. The victim, whose name was not released, is in stable condition, police said. In a statement on Thursday, Figlia addressed online criticism that the department had not previously released enough information. "We do not take the public's concerns lightly at all," he said. "Had it been appropriate to release this information earlier, we would have." He asked residents to understand that in the investigation of some traumatic assaults, "it is not even appropriate to fully take a statement from a victim until time has passed." "It would therefore be irresponsible for us to prematurely release information which we, objectively, could not rely on," Figlia said. Police must "balance the public's need to know with the victim's privacy and the potential to compromise an investigation and/or prosecution. The department is continuing to devote its full resources to this investigation and is receiving assistance from other agencies, as well."

District had considered police presence The Beacon City School District is not adding a police officer to its security detail, at least for now. Six of seven board members (two seats are vacant) said in a straw poll on Monday (Dec. 15) that they are satisfied with the district's security staffing. The board had discussed hiring a school resource officer, who is typically armed, after Board Member Eric Schetter suggested the position for Beacon High School and possibly Rombout Middle School. On Monday, Schetter, a former 25-year administrator in the Arlington district, was the only voice in favor. "I feel the SRO makes the high school and/or the middle school that much safer," he said. "That's where I've been from the start." The board mulled the idea for several months while hearing reports from Superintendent Matt Landahl on existing security and what a resource officer might do. There are unarmed security monitors at each of the district's six elementary schools, as well as four at Rombout and nine at the high school, including two who work at night. They are supervised by Mark Thomas, a retired Beacon officer hired in 2018 as the district's first director of security. The hire came the year after then-Police Chief Doug Solomon asked the board to let him assign an officer to the district. Thomas works with Altaris, a consulting firm that conducted security audits at each school and assists with emergency planning. Through Thomas, the district works closely with Beacon and Town of Fishkill police (Glenham Elementary is in Fishkill), who do security walkthroughs and provide support during lockdown drills. In 2014 and 2016, the Obama administration issued guidance emphasizing hiring school resource officers for safety and mentoring, rather than for discipline. It urged schools to create agreements that ban SROs from enforcing school rules, but ensure they are trained in child development and de-escalation techniques. In Cold Spring, the Haldane campus has had a Putnam County sheriff's deputy as a resource officer since 2015. Garrison discussed the issue in 2020 and, earlier this year, hired a special patrol officer (SPO), a retired police officer whose role is limited to security and who does not carry a weapon. Elsewhere in Dutchess County, Landahl said on Monday, each of five comparable high schools - Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Spackenkill, Arlington and Wappingers - has an SRO. The Poughkeepsie City School District is the only other district with a director of security. And Beacon has the highest security guard-to-student ratio in the county, "by a lot," Landahl said. If Beacon were to hire an SRO, the district would pay the officer's salary and benefits for 10 months out of the year - roughly $100,000, "so we would need to reduce somewhere to do it," Landahl said, noting "there's not a ton of enthusiasm" among building administrators to cut existing security staff. That led Board President Flora Stadler to call for the straw poll: Table the discussion or move ahead? "I would not want to lose that [security-to-student] ratio that we have," Stadler said. Others agreed. "I'm not convinced yet that it's effective, that it does make anything safer," said Catherine Buscemi. "I'm not convinced that there would be an acceptable comfort level for students having a police officer in the school." When the board began its discussion in September, Stadler cited a 2023 University at Albany study that showed SROs are associated with a decline in some forms of violence. At the same time, they were associated with an increase in firearm offenses, which researchers said might be attributed to increased detection. The study also concluded that having a police officer in school leads to an increase in "harsh" disciplinary actions, such as suspensions and arrests, particularly among Black students, male students and students with disabilities. Meredith Heuer, the board vice president, said the district will probably have to revisit the convers...

Council expected to hire consulting firm Beacon is wasting no time getting started on the first leg of a proposed 13-mile rail trail from the city to Hopewell Junction. The City Council is expected to vote on Monday (Dec. 15) to approve spending $350,000 to hire a Westchester County firm to design a 3.3-mile section from the Beacon waterfront to the Town of Fishkill line. The trail could eventually connect to the planned Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail and, in Hopewell, the Dutchess Rail Trail and 750-mile Empire State Trail. If the council approves the request, City Administrator Chris White said that Barton & Loguidice, which conducted a feasibility study on the trail for the Dutchess County Transportation Council, could begin design and engineering work as early as January. The city's goal is to put the project out to bid by November and construct the 12- to 14-foot-wide multi-use segment in 2027. "What we've been doing in the last couple of months is figuring out how we can start our piece and accelerate it and go forward," Mayor Lee Kyriacou said during the council's Monday (Dec. 8) meeting. In October, the Barton & Loguidice report recommended a "rail-to-trail" conversion of the abandoned line, which begins at the Hudson River. The line, which has not been active for 30 years, runs through Beacon and along the east end of Main Street before crossing back and forth over Fishkill Creek on its way through the Village of Fishkill and the towns of Fishkill and East Fishkill. The line is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In 2024, Metro-North, an MTA agency, "railbanked" the tracks, reserving its right to revive service, although an agency representative said it had no plans to do so. The Dutchess Transportation report estimated that it would cost $46 million to $56 million to construct the entire trail; Beacon officials anticipate the first segment will be $4.5 million. There are two bridges (near Dennings Avenue and at South and Tioronda avenues) and an overpass at Wolcott Avenue, but otherwise, the paved trail will be "basically a road project," White said. The city has requested a "sizeable" grant from the governor's office to link the project to a proposed development at the Beacon train station that is part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's housing agenda. It is also seeking funds from Dutchess County and two private organizations. In other business scheduled for Monday: The council is expected to vote on an update to the city's fee schedule. Beacon charges fees for dozens of services, including dog licenses, building inspections, record searches and permits for backyard chickens. Not all fees are increasing, and some that are no longer applicable, such as for junk dealers and amusement parks, will be removed. Some fees have not changed since 2010, White said. Council members will consider a request from the developer of the Edgewater apartment complex for a two-year extension to the special-use permit issued for the project in 2018. Phase 2 of the 246-unit development is underway; three of seven residential buildings have been completed. Ben Swanson, the mayor's assistant, will be appointed Beacon's deputy city administrator, a new position. Since he was hired in 2021, Swanson's duties "went from being primarily clerical to really being supervisory and much more executive," White said. His new responsibilities will include coordinating housing and food resources and filling in if White is unavailable. The council will vote on a 10-year renewal of the city's franchise agreement with Optimum, aka Cablevision of Wappingers Falls. The non-exclusive agreement allows Optimum to provide cable and internet service in Beacon in exchange for a franchise fee equal to 5 percent of its gross revenue from the previous year. In 2024, Optimum paid the city $172,393. As in years past, the council will consider $10,000 spending proposals from students in the Participation in Government class at Beacon High School. Emilio Guerra an...

Dutchess, Putnam clerks say they have new dates for next year Routine naturalization ceremonies scheduled for this month in Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster counties to welcome new U.S. citizens were abruptly canceled last week by the federal government, surprising local officials. Events planned for Wednesday (Dec. 3) in Putnam, Friday (Dec. 5) in Dutchess and Dec. 12 in Ulster were called off by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (USCIS), which approves applicants for citizenship. Brad Kendall, the Dutchess County clerk, said that USCIS told his office that it didn't have enough candidates for the Dec. 3 ceremony but confirmed dates for seven ceremonies in 2026. The agency gave the same reason - a lack of candidates - to Putnam County Clerk Michael Bartolotti, but confirmed dates for next year, with the first scheduled for Feb. 4. "To my recollection, we have never had a cancellation of this nature in the past," said Bartolotti. Last month, ceremonies scheduled in seven New York counties, including Ulster, Rockland and Westchester, were also canceled but rescheduled after Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Philipstown, intervened. USCIS said it canceled ceremonies because the county judges may not have the authority to conduct them. Lawler said on Nov. 20 that the agency wanted to end events in Rockland and Westchester altogether, requiring applicants to travel to New York City. In a Nov. 14 letter to USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, Lawler said making immigrants travel to New York City "would take multiple hours as well as cost these folks money due to bridge and road tolls, as well as gasoline," he said. In announcing the return of the ceremonies, Lawler described them as "among the most moving and patriotic events I attend." For his wife (a naturalized citizen from Moldova) and other immigrants, taking the oath "represents years of hard work, sacrifice and an unwavering belief in the American Dream," he said. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, said in a statement on Friday (Dec. 5) that he also has written Edlow to protest the cancellations and ask for more information. Civics Lesson The newly revised civics test for immigrants seeking naturalization has 128 questions. During the exam, a USCIS officer asks 20 questions, chosen at random, and the applicant must answer at least 12 correctly. See how you'd do with the practice test at dub.sh/128-questions, but note that, on the oral test, the multiple-choice answers are not provided. In the previous test, applicants had to answer 10 of 100 possible questions correctly. The USCIS said it revised the test in response to an executive order issued Jan. 20 by President Trump, "Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats." In an email sent this week to the clerks in Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster counties, the agency's Albany director, Gwynne Dinolfo, asked them to confirm in writing that their judges were authorized under federal law to oversee the ceremonies. She said that the judge must have jurisdiction over civil actions "in which the amount in controversy is unlimited. Because county courts in New York have a jurisdictional limit of $25,000 in civil cases, [the judge] may not be authorized to administer the naturalization ceremony." Taylor Bruck, the Ulster County clerk, told the Daily Freeman that the directive was confusing. "The law hasn't changed, so implying that the counties have been doing something unlawful for the last 15 years without anyone mentioning it doesn't make sense," he said on Tuesday. "No one said anything about this during the first Trump administration, so why now?" Naturalization ceremonies complete a process in which legal permanent residents (aka "green card" holders) have been vetted and passed English-language and civics tests. Naturalized citizens have full voting rights and are protected from deportation except in limited circumstance...

A woman from Middletown has been arrested after her toddler died in her car.The state has not confirmed if the federal government is releasing the 2025-2026 Home Energy Assistance Program money. A ginormous Xmas tree with, possibly more lights than the tree in Rockefeller Center can be seen​ in Dutchess County. The big Food Bank distribution across the state is this weekend. Jim Sebastian with Mid-Hudson news reports.     

City and Dutchess, Putnam counties allocate funds The Beacon City Council voted Monday (Nov. 3) to spend $50,000 to provide grocery gift cards to city residents who have lost federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. At the same time, the Trump administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, for November following two court orders. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had planned to freeze payments starting Nov. 1 because of the federal government shutdown. The program costs $8 billion monthly, but the White House said an emergency fund it will use has $4.65 billion, or enough to cover about half the normal benefits. It's not clear exactly how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly they will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy groceries. November payments have already been delayed for millions of people. In Dutchess County, 17,152 people rely on food stamps (including 640 households in Beacon); in Putnam County, it's 2,885 people. In Beacon, beginning Thursday (Nov. 6), $50 gift cards to either Key Food (268 Main St.) or the Beacon Natural Market (348 Main St.) or $60 in coupons for the Beacon Farmers' Market (Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 223 Main Street parking lot) will be distributed at the city's Recreation Center at 23 West Center St. Cards and coupons will be available Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beacon residents enrolled in the SNAP program must provide photo identification, proof of residency (such as mail) and their SNAP card. Options are limited to one per SNAP recipient. Additional times will be added as needed. The council has set no end date for the program; it will be determined based on demand for the cards, the use of funding, and the resumption of federal benefits or the implementation of a comparable state program. Updates will be posted at beaconny.gov. Mayor Lee Kyriacou asked city staff to develop the program last week, when it became apparent that federal benefits were at risk of lapsing. The grocery stores and the farmers' market, which is operated by Common Ground Farm, provided the cards to the city at a substantial discount, Kyriacou said. The city opted for a direct transfer of cash-like gift cards because it was the quickest and easiest program to control, given the tight deadline, he said. "We wanted to get assistance to people so that they could use and decide what they want," City Administrator Chris White said. The city will conduct online outreach and distribute flyers in both English and Spanish at low-income apartment complexes to inform residents about the program. Funding for the Beacon program was drawn from a $75,000 allotment in the 2025 budget for planning studies. White noted that "this is only a patch. The federal government needs to step up and maintain its commitment to people." Dutchess County announced it would commit $150,000 per week to support local food pantries, for up to 10 weeks, pending approval by the Legislature at its Tuesday (Nov. 6) meeting. The county said the amount was determined after consulting with Renee Fillette-Miccio, who chairs the Dutchess County Food Security Council. In Putnam, County Executive Kevin Byrne approved a request by legislators to provide $150,000 to fund food pantries. The Associated Press contributed reporting. Local Food Assistance Beacon's Backyard Kitchen The group serves a hot breakfast at 12 Hanna Lane in Beacon on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and a to-go lunch until 10:30 a.m. See instagram.com/beaconsbackyard. Beacon Farmers Market SNAP benefits are doubled through Greens4Greens, a partnership with Common Ground Farm in Wappingers Falls. To redeem benefits, visit the manager's tent, where the benefit card can be charged any amount in exchange for $1 tokens. For every $2 processed, customers will receive a $2 voucher, up to $50. As of Nov. 2, managers are distributing ...

Includes more sales-tax revenue for Beacon The budget proposed by the Dutchess County executive for 2026 would lower the property tax rate and provide more sales tax revenue to Beacon. Sue Serino's proposal to the Legislature includes $651 million in spending. Among its provisions, it would eliminate 10 vacant jobs and leave 17 unfilled. (See dutchessny.gov.) Despite those changes, spending would rise by 1.8 percent, Serino said on Oct. 29 in an address to the Legislature. She cited a $6.7 million increase in "state mandates," primarily for daycare, early intervention, and special-education programs, as well as higher costs for salaries and benefits. Revenues would come from $273.8 million in sales taxes, $106 million in property taxes and $23 million in general-fund reserves, or savings. The tax levy would be $224,000 below a state-mandated cap, and the rate assessed on property owners would fall from $2.17 to $2.10 per $1,000 of assessed value. Serino said she anticipates $5.4 million in additional sales tax revenue by allowing an exemption from Dutchess' portion of the sales tax (3.75 percent) for clothing and shoes costing less than $110 to lapse on March 1. (The 8.125 percent sales tax includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority). Beacon's share of sales taxes, which totaled $6.1 million, will rise from 2.35 percent to 2.45 percent in 2026, or an additional $268,000. According to Serino, ending the clothing and shoe exemption would yield an extra $133,000 for Beacon. Democrats criticized the decision to end the exemption, which took effect in 2022. Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith, who represents Ward 4 in Beacon and part of Fishkill and is the Legislature's minority leader, called it a "rash decision" that will hurt working families. "The Republican-led county government's mismanagement of funds - including a luxury clubhouse at the baseball stadium, mindboggling pay raises and failed litigation against New York State - has necessitated this tax increase," Valdés Smith said in a statement. Republicans, who hold 15 of 25 seats on the Legislature, faced criticism for funding upgrades at Heritage Financial Park in Wappingers Falls, the home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, the New York Yankees' High-A affiliate. They also authorized spending up to $100,000 to sue the state over a state law requiring most local elections to be held in even years, but no funds were spent, according to the county. The state Court of Appeals upheld the law in October, but a new lawsuit challenging its legality has been filed in federal court. Smith said the budget "fails to properly address the EMS [emergency medical services] crisis" and "contains no meaningful funds for our efforts to deal with the housing crisis." In her budget address, Serino highlighted $2 million in funding for supplemental ambulance service to address shortages that have led to long wait times, along with $2.5 million for youth programs and $1 million for the county's Housing Trust Fund, which supports affordable housing projects. Her budget would fund two school resource officers, a Drone as First Responder Program for the county's Real-Time Crime Center and a new Elder Justice Task Force. That collaboration with the Office for the Aging and the district attorney and sheriff's offices "will investigate, identify, pursue and prosecute those who exploit older adults through abuse, fraud or neglect," according to Serino.

Topics range from affordability to bikes and firefighters In a repeat of last year's budget deliberations, Beacon City Council members on Monday (Oct. 27) debated with Mayor Lee Kyriacou and City Administrator Chris White whether the city has done enough to advance affordable housing. Each year, after the mayor introduces his budget proposal in October, department heads present their spending plans. Their proposals typically review accomplishments, notable projects scheduled for the following year and any changes in spending. This week, after presentations on the highway, water and sewer and wastewater departments, the discussion turned to "council priorities." A year ago, council members sparred with Kyriacou and White over affordability before adding $75,000 to the 2025 budget for a communications plan and studies on affordable housing and non-vehicular transportation. The money had not been spent, Finance Director Susan Tucker said on Monday. This year's discussion centered around a proposal to create a director of housing solutions. Kingston and Hudson have hired similar staff, while Beacon officials have suggested that Ben Swanson, who has been Kyriacou's assistant for four years and will become the deputy city administrator in 2026, could work on housing. Kyriacou said on Monday that he believes Swanson, who has a law degree from New York University, has "far better qualifications" than anyone the city could hire. Instead of bringing in someone new, "I'd rather start with expertise," the mayor said. In addition, Beacon's planning consultant, Natalie Quinn, who worked for the Poughkeepsie Planning & Zoning Department from 2018 to 2022, could be a resource, he said. That led Paloma Wake, who, along with Amber Grant, will return to the council next year, to argue that housing has not gotten enough attention. "We've been stuck in the same place" on the city's requirement of 10 percent below-market rate units in new developments of 10 or more for four years, she said. "We've been hearing that the Housing Authority has the potential to build more [subsidized housing] for a while," Wake said. "There is a need to be even more proactive. What I really want to see out of this budget cycle is a clear commitment to resourcing this issue." The city's 10 percent affordable (or "inclusionary zoning") policy is an outlier in the region because it demands something of developers without a giveback, such as added density or reduced application fees, Kyriacou said. The council has been reluctant to consider a giveback for a higher affordable percentage, but "I am more than willing to go there," he said. He noted that Beacon accounts for 20 percent of the affordable housing stock in Dutchess, although the city comprises only 5 percent of the county's population. But with yearslong waiting lists at subsidized complexes in Beacon, we "still need to be doing everything we can to be ambitious enough to meet the need," Wake said. The council agreed to put inclusionary zoning and the effect of short-term rentals on the housing market on a workshop agenda. From there, Molly Rhodes, who is leaving the council to become a Dutchess County legislator, inquired about the cost of conducting a bike study. Earlier this month, members of the Beacon Bicycle Coalition presented the council with a petition signed by 1,000 people requesting a study on bike lanes and other infrastructure. Beacon does not have the resources to do that immediately, said White, but an agreement with the county Transportation Council for an inventory and gap analysis of sidewalks could lead to a report on bikes. Some council members appeared frustrated. "Every time we discuss [priorities]," the administration's response is: 'What do you not want to do? You're asking for too much,' " said Pam Wetherbee. "We know in our own lives that if we do one thing, it precludes us from doing another," said White, who added that the city has received funding commitments to repair sidewalks, ...

Nonprofits, weakened by funding cuts, brace for disaster Things were already getting worse, even before the prospect of funds running out on Saturday (Nov. 1) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. At the Philipstown Food Pantry, coordinator Kiko Lattu said the number of visitors during its Saturday morning hours has increased by 30 percent, including people who hadn't visited in years. "They were getting by for a while, but things have become more difficult," she said. In Beacon, Fareground said it has started getting more food requests at the same time it is revamping its community fridge program. Dutchess Outreach in Poughkeepsie, which had been serving around 250 people a month, saw over 2,000 in February. Second Chance Foods, based in Brewster, said more people are requesting their Wednesday distributions. "There's been an increased need, and we're already at capacity for that program," said Martha Elder, the executive director. Unless a resolution is reached soon, the cuts to SNAP - colloquially known as "food stamps" - threaten to transform a slow-moving emergency into a full-scale disaster as nonprofits and communities struggle to fill the gap. And the gap is sizable: In Putnam County, 2,885 people rely on food stamps. In Dutchess, it's 17,152, and across the river, in Orange County, it's 45,530. "Those are not numbers we will be able to support," said Jamie Levato, the executive director of Fareground. Renee Fillette-Miccio, the executive director of Dutchess Outreach, said about $3.4 million flows into the county each month for food benefits. "For every one meal provided by a food pantry, SNAP provides 12," she said. "There's just no way for the charitable food system to be able to keep up." Trickle-down After weeks of speculation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that federal food aid could cease on Nov. 1. The Trump administration said it could not legally tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds. Fillette-Miccio of Dutchess Outreach spent Tuesday in Washington, D.C., speaking with lawmakers from both parties, each of whom told her that President Trump could easily restore funding. "They all had the same thing to say, which was that it's just a matter of a phone call," she said. SNAP helps about 1 of every 8 Americans buy groceries, and nearly 80 percent of recipients are older adults, disabled or children, "which means that they don't really have the capacity to work to bring in money for food," said Dr. Hilary Seligman, a professor at the University of California who studies food insecurity and its health implications. A coalition of 25 state attorneys general, including from New York, is suing the federal government to restore SNAP, arguing that the pause is illegal. [Update: On Friday (Oct. 31), a federal judge ruled, in response to a lawsuit, that the suspension of SNAP was illegal and ordered the government to report on Monday its plan to distribute funding.] On Thursday (Oct. 30), Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, announcing $65 million in emergency food assistance and a website at bit.ly/SNAPaid that lists food banks and other social services. On Friday, Dutchess County announced it would commit $150,000 per week to support local food pantries. It said in a news release that the Legislature plans to hold an emergency meeting to authorize up to $1.5 million in spending. The potential pause comes at a time when many nonprofits have found their federal funding slashed or eliminated with little notice or explanation. Second Chance Foods learned in May, from a one-line email, that $70,000 of a $100,000 grant from the USDA had been terminated. Dutchess Outreach lost $15,000 in funding that it usually gets from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, the Local Food Purchasing Act, which allowed hunger relief groups to buy food directly from farmers, has been eliminated, and the Emergency ...

250 Years Ago (October 1775) The Committee of Safety for New York ordered repairs to the barracks and hospital at Albany in preparation for the arrival of colonial troops. The royal governor in New York City, William Tryon, took refuge on a British warship, the HMS Duchess of Gordon, in the harbor. Fearing a British attack, the Continental Congress ordered all sulfur and brimstone supplies taken from Manhattan and stored farther up the Hudson River. 150 Years Ago (October 1875) Seward Archer at Breakneck Hollow was closing the woodhouse at the Baxter-Pelton place when he spotted movement in a small upper window. Thinking it was a chicken, he climbed a ladder and groped around the loft until he caught hold of a man's leg. "What are you doing here?" he yelled. Retreating down the ladder, he went to retrieve a gun. The intruder followed and ran off with Archer firing after him. The man shot back with a pistol, but only after he was at a safe distance. A government bond belonging to George Haight that had been stolen from the foundry safe was redeemed with the U.S. Treasury by a bank in London. A large dog belonging to William Birdsall, while inside Boyd's drugstore, mistook the plate glass in the upper part of the door for open air and jumped through it. He was startled but not injured. William Lobdell narrowly missed serious injury when he lost his grip on a butcher knife and the point struck the bone of the nose at the corner of his left eye. An intoxicated miner who loudly claimed at a local barber shop that his pocket had been picked found the money in his other pocket. After several Dutchess County farmers complained about missing sheep, two Germans who owned a slaughterhouse in Poughkeepsie informed police that two young men had been selling them mutton and promised to bring them a fat cow. One suspect gave his name as William Smith, but two men from Cold Spring who visited the jail said that, in fact, his name was Spellman and he was known in the village for his thievery. George Purdy of Cold Spring won top prizes at the annual Newburgh Bay Horticultural Society fair for his Isabella grapes, greengages and quinces. The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad banned newsboys from throwing books, newspapers, prize packages or circulars into the laps of passengers. A double-decked canal barge carrying $2,000 worth of coal [about $59,000 today] sank in 100 feet of water near West Point. The crew escaped on smaller boats. Two railroad detectives arrested H. Freeman, a German peddler well-known in Cold Spring, with a huge pack stuffed with ladies' corsets. He said Isaac Levi had paid him $2 [$59] to retrieve the pack after it was thrown from a freight train near Stony Point. After being jailed on $1,000 [$29,000] bond, Freeman retracted his confession, saying he had found the corsets by happenstance. During a search of the Levi home, one of Levi's sons swung a pitcher and hit a detective in the back of the neck. When William Smith caught a thief stuffing cabbages into a bag on the Undercliff estate, the culprit asked for leniency, then stood up, punched Smith in the face and ran. Two preachers from Poughkeepsie spoke from the vacant lot at the corner of Main and Stone streets to what The Cold Spring Recorder called a "small and changing audience" about the need for a national ban on liquor sales. 100 Years Ago (October 1925) James Nastasi covered a home on Pine Street occupied by grocer John Sackal with Elastic Magnesite Stucco, which its manufacturer claimed was weatherproof, fireproof and crackproof. E.L. Post & Son offered home demonstrations of the Hoover vacuum cleaner, available on an installment plan with $6.25 [$115] down. The Playhouse in Nelsonville was screening The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil DeMille, and Circus Days, starring Jackie Coogan. A Columbus Day celebration at Loretto Hall included performances by soprano Rita Hamun of the Metropolitan Opera House and four rounds of sparring by boxer Joe Col...

In Dutchess comptroller race, incumbent faces challenge from legislative chair When Dan Aymar-Blair, the Dutchess County comptroller, first told his mother he was running for the position, she responded: "I'm so proud of you, honey. What is that?" The anecdote got a laugh from a dozen residents gathered at a Hyde Park library town hall last month, but it also captures the central challenge for Aymar-Blair, a Beacon resident and former City Council member, in winning re-election to a full term as comptroller: persuading voters to care about an office so little-understood that even his mother needed an explanation. His Republican opponent, Will Truitt, the 30-year-old chair of the Dutchess County Legislature, faces a different challenge. To win the race, he must mobilize a GOP political machine that has enabled Republicans to control Dutchess - the Legislature, the county executive's seat, the sheriff's office - for nearly all of the past three decades. The vote should be close. Although there are about 20,000 more registered Democrats in the county than Republicans (75,000 to 56,000), another 12,000 voters are enrolled in smaller parties and 60,000 have no declared party affiliation. Control of the office has repeatedly flipped between parties. But Republicans have historically been more effective at turning out voters in off-year elections like this one. In recent presidential years, Democratic turnout in the county is around 70 percent; in recent off-year local elections, that drops to below 45 percent, according to data from the county Board of Elections. "It's a truly purple county," said Michael Dupree, who chairs the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. Aymar-Blair won in November by fewer than 1,000 votes in a special election held during a presidential election year, a contest that occurred because Democrat Robin Lois resigned to become deputy comptroller of local government and school accountability in Albany. Gregg Pulver, a Republican who had chaired the Legislature but lost his seat, was appointed to the role. The narrow margin meant the outcome hinged on absentee ballots. When it comes to the question Aymar-Blair's mother asked, however, the two candidates have very different answers. "This office is an essential part of checks and balances," Aymar-Blair told the group in Hyde Park, part of a series of non-campaign events he has held in libraries to explain what his office does. The comptroller, he told the group, serves as an independent watchdog responsible for scrutinizing budgets, contracts and capital projects. Truitt, who was elected to the Legislature when he was 20, frames the job differently. To him, the comptroller is akin to a chief financial officer, someone who works in step with the county executive and Legislature, keeping the government "one united team." "Anyone here who's ever worked in small business knows if you have a CFO [chief financial officer] - a comptroller - who's working to undermine the rest of the team, you are going to fail," he told supporters at a fundraiser at a donor's home in Fishkill last month. A self-described "Energizer Bunny," Truitt bounded through the crowd of 170 supporters and more than two dozen Republican elected officials, giving hugs, shaking hands and pausing for quick huddles with campaign aides. The event, advertised as offering "$250 hot dogs, $500 burgers and $1,000 steaks," delivered on its promise of red meat on the grill and in speeches. Speakers at the fundraiser railed against the brainwashing of the young in academic institutions and warned of growing Christian religious persecution across the country. The crowd paused for a moment of silence for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, assassinated days earlier, and Truitt vowed to uphold the political firebrand's legacy. Dutchess GOP Vice Chair Doug McCool whipped up the crowd: "Truitt!" he called. "Will do it!" the crowd bellowed back. Truitt hopes these officials, donors and rank-and-file Republicans wi...

In todays show, Dr. Amy Novatt welcomes two remarkable guests, Kellyann Kostyal-Larrier, an advocate for victims of domestic violence, and Nikki Addimando, a criminalized survivor from Dutchess County. Together, they delve into the profound impacts of domestic violence on individuals and explore the complexities of navigating the judicial penal system, which often adds layers of trauma instead of providing justice and protection. Highlighting the staggering statistics provided by the CDC and the ACLU, the discussion sheds light on the broader crisis of intimate partner violence and the systemic failures that exacerbate victimization. Kellyann and Nikki candidly share their personal and professional experiences, emphasizing the importance of understanding each survivor's unique journey. Throughout the conversation, Kellyann discusses her extensive work with victims, addressing systemic gaps and supporting survivors through multidisciplinary teams. Nikki recounts her harrowing experience of being a criminalized survivor, the challenges she faced during her trial, and her resilience in advocating for the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA), which has played a crucial role in re-sentencing her case and offers hope for countless other survivors. The episode also underscores the significant role of voting in shaping the landscape of criminal justice, urging listeners to consider the impact of their choices on domestic violence survivors. Dr. Novatt and her guests advocate for electing informed and empathetic officials who can transform the systems that often fail victims. The discussion calls for continued education, professional accountability, and systemic change to ensure that survivors are protected and supported. FEARLESS! f/k/a Safe Homes, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Grace Smith House, Office for The Prevention of Domestic Violence

Send us a textDanielle and Jon are back from their podcast vacation and get right into things with their favorite Dutchess County Fair moments.sign up for Ringside's Repro on the Farm lap ai and AI clinic here!

Avello Asphalt offers Dutchess County property managers comprehensive parking lot safety upgrades including re-striping, pothole repair, and drainage correction to reduce liability risks while maintaining property value and minimizing business disruption. Avello Asphalt & Construction Corp City: Poughkeepsie Address: 141 Daley Road Website: https://www.avelloasphalt.com

Avello Asphalt & Construction launches specialized bid services for Dutchess County paving projects, offering quick quote turnaround, DOT-approved materials, and expertise in municipal bidding requirements for projects exceeding $20,000. Avello Asphalt & Construction Corp City: Poughkeepsie Address: 141 Daley Road Website: https://www.avelloasphalt.com

In todays show, Dr. Amy Novatt welcomes two remarkable guests, Kellyann Kostyal-Larrier, an advocate for victims of domestic violence, and Nikki Addimando, a criminalized survivor from Dutchess County. Together, they delve into the profound impacts of domestic violence on individuals and explore the complexities of navigating the judicial penal system, which often adds layers of trauma instead of providing justice and protection. Highlighting the staggering statistics provided by the CDC and the ACLU, the discussion sheds light on the broader crisis of intimate partner violence and the systemic failures that exacerbate victimization. Kellyann and Nikki candidly share their personal and professional experiences, emphasizing the importance of understanding each survivor's unique journey. Throughout the conversation, Kellyann discusses her extensive work with victims, addressing systemic gaps and supporting survivors through multidisciplinary teams. Nikki recounts her harrowing experience of being a criminalized survivor, the challenges she faced during her trial, and her resilience in advocating for the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA), which has played a crucial role in re-sentencing her case and offers hope for countless other survivors. The episode also underscores the significant role of voting in shaping the landscape of criminal justice, urging listeners to consider the impact of their choices on domestic violence survivors. Dr. Novatt and her guests advocate for electing informed and empathetic officials who can transform the systems that often fail victims. The discussion calls for continued education, professional accountability, and systemic change to ensure that survivors are protected and supported. FEARLESS! f/k/a Safe Homes, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Grace Smith House, Office for The Prevention of Domestic Violence

Join Michelle Barone and Ashleigh McPherson on RED as they sit down with the iconic Teresa Giudice from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. In this episode, Teresa opens up about her past, including her experiences in jail, her divorce, and the ups and downs of reality TV. The discussion also highlights the importance of mental health, with insights into Mental Health America of Dutchess County. Don't miss out on the exclusive details about the future of RHONJ and Teresa's personal journey.-----------------------------------------------------Support Our Sponsors!Mental Health America of Dutchess County: Dedicated to promoting mental health and providing comprehensive support services to individuals and families. Learn more and find resources at https://mhadutchess.org. WAVA Water: Discover how Wava Water goes beyond hydration to fuel your body and mind. Visit wavawater.com to find your focus and stay refreshed. Pixi Beauty: Discover the natural glow with Pixi Beauty products. Shop now at https://pixibeauty.com and let your skin shine. Derma Laser Center: Schedule your Consultation Now! https://www.dermalasercenterny.com/-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to the podcast now: https://www.youtube.com/@michellebaroneredpodcast Check out RED on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellebaronered?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== Follow Michelle Barone Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/michellebaroneonline/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michellebarone?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Follow Ashleigh McPhersonInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/ashhmcpherson/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashhmcpherson?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Ashmcpherson Check out RED for more: https://michellebaroneonline.com/ -----------------------------------------------------00:00 Introduction01:22 Teresa Giudice on Real Housewives04:28 Reflecting on Past Seasons10:37 Balancing Life and Fitness12:06 Skincare Secrets Revealed13:13 Discussing Divorce and Jail Time15:06 Life in Jail and Reflections18:22 Legal Battles and Lessons Learned

Representative Rob Wittman is a Republican representing Virginia's 1st Congressional district in the US House of Representatives. Representative Pat Ryan is a Democrat representing New York's 18th Congressional district, and is a former Army intelligence officer who deployed to Iraq.  Together, they formed the House Modernization Caucus, driving key policies in national security innovation. On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground, Representative Wittman and Representative Ryan discuss the launch of the bipartisan Defense Modernization Caucus and early wins from the caucus in the 2025 NDAA. They explain the challenges for the Pentagon to move from a hardware centric organization to a software centric one, and discuss opportunities for the caucus to drive impact in defense innovation.  This episode is hosted by Jeff Phaneuf and Helen Phillips.    Congressman Wittman:  Congressman Rob Wittman was first elected to the United States Congress to serve Virginia's First Congressional District in 2007. While in office, he has focused on strengthening our military and supporting our nation's veterans, promoting a flourishing economy through fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, increasing access to high-speed internet, and promoting workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs. In the U.S. Congress, Congressman Wittman serves as vice chairman of both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is well-positioned to represent the needs of Virginia's First District. He has earned a strong reputation for being an advocate for our men and women in uniform and for being a champion of the Chesapeake Bay. Congressman Wittman was re-elected for his ninth full term in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2024 and prior to that, he served in several levels of government. Congressman Wittman won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as mayor. In 1995, he was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007. Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as field director for the Virginia Health Department's Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier in his career, he worked as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia's Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.   Congressman Ryan:  Congressman Pat Ryan is a fifth-generation Hudson Valley native, proud Kingston High School alum, and the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan served two combat tours in Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars. Prior to his 2022 election to Congress, Ryan served the community that raised him as Ulster County Executive. There, Ryan led the County through the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded policies that delivered relief to working families while never raising taxes. He led the charge to revitalize the former IBM site, now known as iPark 87, helped put money back in small business owners and residents' pockets, took on corporate special interests, and delivered new investments in mental health services. In Congress, Ryan is focused on defending fundamental freedoms and delivering relief for Hudson Valley families. Serving on the House Armed Services Committee, Ryan is working on issues of military preparedness, countering the threat of a rising China, and investing in the United States Military Academy and the next generation of military leaders. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Ryan is committed to improving the daily lives of all residents in NY-18. Whether you commute to work on Metro North, travel Route 17 through Orange County, or need broadband access in Dutchess County, he will fight every day to improve our region's infrastructure. Ryan has also championed efforts to expand access to affordable health care, support local law enforcement, preserve Social Security and Medicare, prevent gun violence, and protect a woman's right to choose. Ryan lives in Gardiner, NY with his wife, Rebecca, and their two young sons, Theo and Cameron.

rWotD Episode 2839: Myers Corner, New York Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia’s vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Monday, 10 February 2025 is Myers Corner, New York.Myers Corner is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 6,790 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.Myers Corner is in the town of Wappinger on County Route 93 and County Route 94. Myers Corners School is also located here.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:33 UTC on Monday, 10 February 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Myers Corner, New York on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Gregory.

James & Jimmie bring you more crazy reviews, including an old school diner that may leave you with a concussion & stomach problems. A volcanic mountain in Japan that people are upset with... about the weather, and blame a "hostile" Japanese attitude. A home pizza maker with tech of a space heater, and a name that makes us crazy & much more!!Join comedians James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman as they explore the most opinionated part of the internet: The Reviews Section!Subscribe and we will see you every Monday with Your Stupid Opinions!!!Don't forget to rate & review!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A 16-year-old Dutchess County, NY girl rode a horse in pouring rain for 40 miles to rally area militia to come to the aid of Danbury, CT which was under siege by the British during the Revolutionary War. At least, that's the legend of Sybil Ludington. But, not all professional historians sign-off on the tale, due to scant written evidence. Now, a retired teacher says he has found proof that shows that Sybil made the ride. Hear the story with Vince Dacquino.

Andrew O'Grady has been the CEO of Mental Health America of Dutchess County (MHADC) since 2012, also overseeing Addiction Services (formerly MARC). He began his journey with MHA over 20 years ago, helping to transition case management services from Dutchess County. A dedicated social worker with a background in behavioral health and administration, he is proud to lead an agency that makes a significant impact. Andrew is also a sponsor for Season 4 of the RED podcast.Today, we sit down for an amazing interview with Andrew O'Grady, where he delves into the impactful work of Mental Health America (MHA) of Dutchess County. He shares insights on the importance of mental health advocacy and how MHA supports individuals through comprehensive mental health services and addiction programs. Andrew emphasizes the agency's role in community outreach, crisis intervention, and support systems, highlighting the growing need for mental health awareness in today's society. His passion for creating meaningful change is evident throughout the discussion.

Stephen Cohen, founder of Stephen Cohen Law, is one of the premier real estate attorneys in the restaurant and retail industries. An expert in strategic planning, leasing, financing and development, Stephen provides trusted counsel for real estate-driven brands of all sizes including STK Steakhouse, BJ's Restaurants, Einstein Bagels, Kona Grill, Hell's Kitchen and many others. Stephen has also served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Real Estate for Rainforest Café, where he led the company's national and international expansion. Stephen is a frequent speaker at national and regional real estate and commercial leasing conferences. He also serves on the board of Red Hook Responds, a not-for-profit organization that responds to food insecurity and supports agriculture, emergency relief and other community needs in Dutchess County, New York. Website: http://stephencohenlaw.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-cohen-0423724/

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universes. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is in talks to helm the fourth Spider-Man movie for Sony and Marvel Studios. While neither Sony or Marvel have provided a comment at this time, this is in line with previous reports and claims that a fourth Spider-Man film with Tom Holland was being fast-tracked to begin shooting next year. Though he only has one MCU feature under his belt, Cretton is already beginning to feel like a bit of an elder statesman within the Marvel Studios stable of filmmakers, having been previously attached to The Kang Dynasty before it became Avengers: Doomsday and creating the Wonderman series that is in production. Early reviews from Venice Film Festival screenings for Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to 2019's Joker, hit the internet last week, with the response to the musical follow-up decidedly mixed. Critics seem divided on the film's uneven tone, with criticisms citing a plodding narrative and underutilization of Lady Gaga. Positive takes celebrated the performances of Phoenix and Gaga, as well as Philips' direction. In a July 2024 interview, Kevin Fiege confirmed more Marvel Studios Special Presentations, like Werewolf By Night and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, were on the way, with one actively in production at the time– sounds like old news, but now, Marvel Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum, doubled down on the promise while speaking with Comicbook.com. Previously, Feige detailed that the Special Presentation wouldn't air in 2025, but 2026, though Winderbaum's answer seems to insinuate it could be sooner. James Earl Jones, the legendary actor known for his iconic baritone as Darth Vader in Star Wars, died Monday at his Dutchess County, N.Y. home. He was 93. Warner Brothers has released the trailer for A Minecraft Movie, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa and directed by Jared Hess. The game-based film premieres in theaters on April 4, 2025. Ahead of the main Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday, September 15, last weekend saw the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony held at downtown Los Angeles' Peacock Theater, where the FX network enjoyed an incredibly successful evening. With 14 wins, Shogun broke the record for a single season of television, while The Bear took home 7 awards as well. Notable wins include The Dark Knight's Nestor Carbonell as the best guest actor for his role as the Portuguese merchant Rodrigues, and Jamie Lee Curtis for best guest actress in a comedy series for her appearance in The Bear, her first Emmy win. Alison Brie has been cast as a key villain role of Evil-Lyn in Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films' live-action take on Masters of the Universe. Only Murders in the Building has been renewed for season five. Currently, season four is dropping weekly episodes on Hulu every Tuesday, leading up to the finale on October 29. Netflix has greenlit the long-rumored Twilight animated series, now in production. Based on Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun, it retells Twilight from Edward Cullen's perspective. In a deleted blog post, Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin criticized creative choices in House of the Dragon's second season, hinting at future posts addressing issues. HBO responded, citing the need for "difficult choices" due to the scope of Martin's work. A Reacher spinoff is in development at Amazon Prime, with showrunner Nick Santora writing. The series is expected to focus on Frances Neagley, played by Maria Sten. In a PEOPLE interview, Michael Keaton revealed his real name is Michael Douglas, but he had to change it when joining SAG-AFTRA in the 1970s. Now, he plans to use a hybrid name, Michael Keaton Douglas, for future projects.

TOPICS:James Earl Jones, the revered actor who voiced Star Wars villain Darth Vader, starred in Field of Dreams and many other films and Broadway shows and is an EGOT winner, died at his home in Dutchess County, NY. He was 93.Residents Of Springfield Ohio (population 60,000) Beg For Help After 20,000 Haitians Overwhelm City, Eat Local Wildlife and neighbors Pets...cars, school buses being flipped on their sides in the middle of the road. We are Chris, Dave, and Greg, hosts of The Last Americans Podcast, who discuss everything from aliens to politics. We are family men and also close friends who have had the privilege of growing up during what can be considered as the last true American generation. We are the last Americans. Support the Show! Merchandise► https://thelastamericanspodcast.creator-spring.com/Patreon► https://www.patreon.com/TheLastAmericansPodcastPayPal► https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YZJ83ZMQ379W4 Follow the Show! Rumble► https://rumble.com/c/TheLastAmericansPodcastInstagram► https://www.instagram.com/thelastamericanspodcast/YouTube► https://www.youtube.com/@TheLastAmericansPodcastX► https://twitter.com/LastAmericans_Apple Podcasts► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-last-americans-podcast/id1688603737Spotify► https://open.spotify.com/show/0exCepznsAE9fwOxGWmy7q?si=ec7aa9ffe5994d5fSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-last-americans-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

GDP Script/ Top Stories for September 10th Publish Date:  September 10th   From the BG AD Group Studio, Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Tuesday, September 10th and Happy heavenly Birthday to outfielder Roger Maris. ***09.10.24 – BIRTHDAY – ROGER MARIS*** I'm Keith Ippolito and here are your top stories presented by KIA Mall of Georgia Gwinnett County Launches Microtransit Pilot In Norcross Mill Creek Grad Jake Magahey Named to U.S. Men's National Team Roster James Earl Jones Dies: ‘Field of Dreams' Actor & Voice of ‘Star Wars' Darth Vader Was 93 Plus, the Striper Report with Tyler Matzek All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: KIA M.O.G.   STORY 1:    Gwinnett County Launches Microtransit Pilot In Norcross The Ride Gwinnett microtransit pilot program launched in Norcross on August 26, offering on-demand, shared-ride service to enhance mobility in the area. This initiative, a collaboration between Gwinnett County, Gateway85 Community Improvement District, and the city of Norcross, follows similar services in Snellville and Lawrenceville. The program operates Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., with rides costing $3. It aims to improve transportation access for residents and businesses, particularly for the 14,000 people in the Gateway85 CID without cars. The pilot will run for one year and is funded by Gwinnett County, Gateway85 CID, and Norcross. For more details, visit RideGwinnett.com. STORY 2: Mill Creek Grad Jake Magahey Named to U.S. Men's National Team Roster Jake Magahey, a Mill Creek High School graduate, has been named to the 2024-25 U.S. Men's National Swimming Team for the 400-meter freestyle. His time of 3:46.89 earned him a top-six spot nationally. Magahey, who trains with SwimAtlanta, was a standout at this year's NCAA Championships, earning first-team All-American honors in multiple events and holding several Georgia school records. His national team roster spot lasts from September 9, 2024, to September 8, 2025. STORY 3:    James Earl Jones Dies: ‘Field of Dreams' Actor & Voice of ‘Star Wars' Darth Vader Was 93 James Earl Jones, the acclaimed actor known for his iconic voice as Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" franchise, has died at age 93. His death was confirmed by representatives from Independent Artist Group. Jones, who passed away at his home in Dutchess County, New York, had a career spanning over five decades, also earning acclaim for his roles in "The Lion King," "Field of Dreams," and "Coming to America." A recipient of the EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), Jones made significant contributions to both film and television. The cause of death has not been disclosed. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We'll be right back Break 2: TOM WAGES   ***STRIPERS REPORT INTERVIEW*** Break: Gwinnett County Fair ***GUIDE HEALTH MINUTE*** Break 4: INGLES 1 Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.gwinnettdailypost.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network   Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com  www.wagesfuneralhome.com www.kiamallofga.com www.gwinnettcountyfair.com guideinc.org   #NewsPodcast #CurrentEvents #TopHeadlines #BreakingNews #PodcastDiscussion #PodcastNews #InDepthAnalysis #NewsAnalysis #PodcastTrending #WorldNews #LocalNews #GlobalNews #PodcastInsights #NewsBrief #PodcastUpdate #NewsRoundup #WeeklyNews #DailyNews #PodcastInterviews #HotTopics #PodcastOpinions #InvestigativeJournalism #BehindTheHeadlines #PodcastMedia #NewsStories #PodcastReports #JournalismMatters #PodcastPerspectives #NewsCommentary #PodcastListeners #NewsPodcastCommunity #NewsSource #PodcastCuration #WorldAffairs #PodcastUpdates #AudioNews #PodcastJournalism #EmergingStories #NewsFlash #PodcastConversationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Earl Jones, the iconic actor known for his commanding voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, passed away on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93 in his home in Dutchess County, New York. Jones had a career spanning over seven decades, earning EGOT status for his achievements in theater, film, and television. Overcoming a severe childhood stutter, his voice became one of the most recognizable in entertainment history. Jones' notable roles included performances in The Great White Hope, Field of Dreams, and Coming to America. While the cause of his death has not been revealed, his legacy as a trailblazer and an unforgettable performer endures​.

Mr. Michael Balles is a clinical social work practitioner and administrator. He is the Director of the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education (CAPE) of Dutchess County, New York. He has a record of significant accomplishments as an administrator in the the field of addictions treatment and has occupied major roles in several establishments. In this conversation, he provides an in-depth discussion of the etiology of addictions, the challenges and stigma associated with addiction.

Join us for a captivating conversation with Dr. Vishal Rekhala, a double board-certified interventional pain physician, as he unveils the cutting-edge advancements in pain management. Dr. Rekhala shares his expertise on innovative treatments like spinal cord stimulation, regenerative medicine injections, and ultrasound-guided injections, providing a thorough understanding of how these procedures are transforming patient care. We also tackle the pressing issue of chronic pain management in the wake of the opioid crisis and explore the potential of medical marijuana in offering new hope to patients in New York.   For our aspiring medical professionals, Dr. Rekhala offers invaluable insights into the financial and professional challenges faced by new doctors. He explains the industry dynamics that push many young physicians toward guaranteed contracts with large medical groups, rather than venturing into private practice. Discover a comprehensive support service designed to help doctors establish their own practices, covering everything from office setup to marketing and revenue management, ensuring they have the tools and confidence to succeed independently.   The episode takes an engaging turn as we highlight the pivotal role of medical representatives in healthcare. Dr. Rekhala discusses what makes a rep truly valuable, from keeping abreast of the latest technologies to integrating smoothly with healthcare teams. We also explore his personal life, including his favorite pastimes like reading "Harry Potter" with his daughter and dining at Manhattan's Nobu 57. Finally, we wrap up with Dr. Rekhala's reflections on his professional journey and his ongoing efforts to guide fellow physicians towards successful private practices. Don't miss this episode packed with insights and inspiration!   Meet the guest: Dr. Vishal Rekhala is a dedicated double board-certified physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Pain Management. He has a double fellowship training in interventional pain and palliative care, along with being certified in musculoskeletal ultrasound. He has over 15 years of experience in effectively treating patients with painful conditions, and he brings a wealth of expertise to every case. He is currently serving as a partner on the managing board at Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, specializing in pain management and sports medicine. Dr. Rekhala is deeply committed to providing comprehensive care and improving patient outcomes. Additionally, he proudly serves on the advisory board of Independent Practice Partners, where their mission is to empower physicians in reclaiming control of their professional careers by establishing their own private practices. He is passionate about delivering exceptional care, advancing healthcare and supporting fellow physicians.   Connect with him: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-p-rekhala-79a71069/   https://ipracticepartners.com/

You've all heard the term "cidiot", right? Well we're talking to the self-proclaimed "Cidiot" himself, Mat Zucker, the creator and host of the award-winning regional podcast Cidiot®, a show about learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley. Hear how Mat went from bright lights and big city to cows and small towns, from a trepidatious newcomer to a thriving certified tourism ambassador for Dutchess County. Plus this episode is half of the Valley Girls x Cidiot collaboration, so check out Cidiot wherever you get your podcasts and listen to episode 102, where we continue the conversation and Mat turns the tables and asks us the questions! You can find more Cidiot on Instagram and at cidiot.com! Follow Valley Girls Podcast from our show page, find us on our website valleygirlspodcast.com, and at instagram.com/ValleyGirlsNYpod. Episode music by Robert Burke Warren entitled Painting a Vast Blue Sky can be found at robertburkewarren.bandcamp.com/track/painting-a-vast-blue-sky.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. Fisher and David talk about the eclipse, and one in particular that occurred during the Revolutionary War that military leaders used to rally the troops. David then shares the remarkable story of the discovery of a uniform of a World War II vet and how it found its way into the hands of the vet's granddaughter. Then, another World War II story has had another chapter written. The ship involved in one of America's great naval disasters has been located. David then talks about the upcoming conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies in Pittsburgh and shares a blogger spotlight on Robin Lacey's spadeandthe grave.wordpress.com, where Robin talks about digging up a graveyard of ancestors. Then Fisher begins his two part visit with his first cousin, Joann (Fisher) Schmidt, of Dutchess County, New York. When Fisher and Joann began collaborating on their shared family history back in the 1980s, Joann also looked into her mother's side. There, she discovered a horrible family secret. Her grandfather's family had been decimated in a disaster on a steamboat in 1904 in which ten family members were killed. It is called the General Slocum disaster, and it took place in New York City. The tragedy marked the greatest single loss of life in New York City history prior to 9/11. In this two part interview, Joann shares her story of how she learned the details of her grandfather's greatest trial, and how he endured the aftermath. Then, Tom Perry checks in from the road as he continues his Preservation Tour, scanning genies' pictures for free at sites around the country. Where is he now and where will he be next? He will tell you. Tom then answers another listener question concerning the best way to be sure your material will still be around years from now. That's all this week on Extreme Genes, America's Family History Show!

In the deep shadows of Thanksgiving Day, 1930, a grim tale unfolded in Stanford, New York, one that seeped into the annals of true crime history. The Germond family, residing on their serene dairy farm, found themselves at the heart of a tragedy that would send ripples of horror through Dutchess County and beyond. The details of this case, as gruesome as they are perplexing, would attract the attention of none other than Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then-Governor of New York and a fellow resident of Dutchess County...Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!CALL 888-MURDERY, that's, 888-687-3379, to share YOUR Kinda Murdery story or your story of living with a disability or other challenges, and you could inspire an episode of the show!Sources:https://modernfarmer.com/2017/10/death-dairy-farm-family-murdered-1930-still-unsolved/https://poklib.org/a-murder-on-thanksgiving/This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5496890/advertisement