Above: Work begins in earnest at the Phoenicia Library this week, gutted by fire in March of 2011 and currently occupying a temporary space on Ava Maria Drive. According to a newsletter from library director Liz Potter, restoration work on the building is slated to take 8 to 10 months before the library can move back to its old digs. The library has raised $620,000 for the cause; they still have $180,000 to go. Give them a hand at phoenicialibraryfund.com.
It's Banned Books Week: A great time to head to your friendly neighborhood library and check out something seditious. The most frequently-banned books of 2012, according to a list from the folks at the American Library Association, were the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, about a couple of fourth-graders who hypnotize their mean principal, transforming him into the titular tighty-whitey-clad superhero.
Civil War artist Mark Maritato is fundraising for the production of a large oil painting of Colonel George Watson Pratt in battle, to be donated to the Zadock Pratt Museum in (you guessed it) Prattsville. The campaign has various rewards for donors, ranging from a grateful mention on Maritato's website ($5) to having your face painted into the work as one of the soldiers ($1,000).
The town of Hurley is missing a historical sign about famous local resident Sojourner Truth, presumed stolen from a rail trail along Route 209 in June. Supervisor Gary Bellows says there will be "no questions asked" if the sign is returned.
The Maetreum of Cybele, a tiny Pagan group in Palenville, was the target of some disturbing threats -- and a few lobbed rocks -- on Sunday evening. The group claims local authorities didn't take the threats seriously, and they're holding a vigil this Saturday night against hate crimes.
Wild West alert: A lone bandit reportedly held up the First National Bank of Jeffersonville in Eldred with a silver handgun on Tuesday afternoon.
The former Delaware Valley Central School has been sold to international private-school developer Emily Yu, for the princely sum of $1.16 million. (Compare that with the sale price on the Sidney Center Elementary School, which closed around the same time as Delaware Valley and sold in 2011: $50,000.)
Most locals know that rock snot, emerald ash borer and Japanese knotweed are destructive invaders. Less common knowledge: Earthworms are invasive species too, having been absent from Northeastern forests since the glaciers rolled through over 10,000 years ago. The Register-Star digs into the havoc imported European earthworms are wreaking on local forest ecology.
Headline of the day goes to the Daily Freeman: "New Paltz man accused of felony cruelty to elderly chihuahua." Everyone else go home.
Black belt in aikido at age 73? If Woodstocker Merle Cosgrove can do it, so can you.
Earlier this month, Fremont town councilman Paul Brustman died suddenly -- the second Fremont councilman to die in office this year. Brustman's son, Brian Brustman, has been appointed to serve until the November election; his appointment will ensure that the board, which was down to three members, can function.
Let the river run: SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake will host a public forum on the management of the Delaware River on October 1.
A parking-meter snafu is letting New Paltz drivers park for free while the village waits for the arrival of a device that can reprogram the meters -- and costing the village a whopping $45,000, the Times Herald-Record reports.
NewsShed, our snappy little digest of Catskills news, weather and hot bloggy goodness, generally comes out on weekdays, God willing and the creek don't rise. Got a hot tip or a photo for the NewsShed? Send it to editor@watershedpost.com.
