It's blueberry season in the Catskills, as this recent Delaware County crop can attest. Photo by the folks at Maple Shade Farm, who run stands in Margaretville and Franklin as well as on their 200-acre farm in Delhi.
Meet the Catskills' new favorite deputy: Osman "Ozzie" Steele, a 15-month-old German shepherd newly assigned to the Delaware County Sheriff's Department. The original Osman Steele, as all good Catskills historians know, was a local undersheriff who was shot and killed on Dingle Hill in Andes by protesting tenant farmers on August 7, 1845, the first and only fatality of the Anti-Rent War.
Kingston's most celebrated citizen: Hassel "Junior" Barber, a homeless man who got a grateful shoutout from Kingston police on Facebook after he turned in a wallet containing $485 in cash. The post went viral, and Barber is now something of a local celebrity; his good deed has made headlines in the Daily Freeman, the Times Herald-Record and even the Wall Street Journal.
Not so beloved of the authorities: The dogs of New Baltimore, where a spat is brewing between the town and its dog-owning citizenry over the banning of dogs from Cornell Park.
Several Colchester residents had pithy things to say about their town board's recent decision to cut back the hours of college-age seasonal cemetery workers, some of them unprintable in a family newspaper.
Another small step for local food: Elementary-school students in Greenville are growing their own vegetables at the school's new Lunch Tyme Garden.
Future of beer unclear: Butternuts Beer and Ale is still interested in buying the former Guilford Mills plant in Cobleskill, but Schoharie County still doesn't want to hold a second mortgage for the brewery. Last week, county supervisors again rejected a proposal to grant the mortgage, which the brewery is seeking to fund some much-needed repairs. Butternuts owners say they'll keep looking for financing.
Budget cuts did away with driver's-ed classes at the Cobleskill-Richmondville school a few years ago, but one determined mom is trying to bring them back.
The federal sequester is taking its toll on local Head Start programs: Sullivan County Head Start has cut seven jobs in the last few weeks, and is slashing 30 spots from the rolls at its Monticello site, which already has a waiting list of 400. Earlier this year, Ulster County Head Start was forced to close its Phoenicia program. Federal sequester-related cuts are affecting Head Start programs nationwide; the National Head Start Association is keeping track of media coverage of the issue.
An Accord man died this morning after being electrocuted by downed wires that electrified the metal frame of his camper.
Hurley is thinking about enacting a ban on fracking.
Middletown wants to know how its residents feel about fracking. A survey for town residents will be available on the town website by Thursday, or you can get a hard copy at town hall or at the library in Fleischmanns or Margaretville.
Davenport residents are mostly opposed to the proposed Constitution Pipeline -- at least the 24 percent of them who filled out a recent town-wide survey.
Opponents of a planned resort in Rosendale are upset with the state Department of Environmental Conservation; they say the agency is ignoring a pile of evidence that the resort will hurt local wetlands and groundwater.
Busted for Hurricane Sandy price-gouging: New Paltz-based gas station company CPD Energy Corp., who agreed to pay $50,000 in penalties for price-gouging at gas stations in Ulster, Westchester and Putnam counties. The company runs the Friendly Service Mobil at 409 Main Street in New Paltz -- where, according to state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, prices rose 47 cents after Sandy hit.
Arrested for DWI: A Delhi man who allegedly showed up drunk to the Margaretville state police station to give a ride to a friend who herself had just been arrested for DWI.
Arrested for felony heroin possession: A Franklin man who was investigated after getting into an accident on Route 357 in a car he was allegedly driving without the owner's permission.
Arrested for various traffic infractions: Four young Brooklynites who were allegedly involved in a high-speed motorcycle chase through several Sullivan County towns on Sunday.
Cleared of wrongdoing: Former congressional candidate Joel Tyner, who was under investigation by the Federal Election Commission for allegations of campaign finance law violations during his bid for the seat now held by Chris Gibson.
NewsShed, our snappy little weekday digest of news, weather and hot bloggy goodness from around the Catskills, is a new item here at the WP. Got a hot tip or a local photo for the NewsShed? Send it to editor@watershedpost.com.
