Dog Note
The Woodstock Dog Park will be closed this Saturday, June 16, from 10 a.m.-Noon for maintenance.
Teri Reynolds
Woodstock Dog Park Task Force
Beacons Of Light
How are we to celebrate Father’s Day in a society where more than half of children spend at least a part of their childhoods living apart from their fathers?
I had a good father, and even though he was gone a lot, I knew he loved me. He set firm boundaries and taught me to love and respect my mother. He was a leader and a role model. I believed he could do anything he set his mind to.
From earliest times, men have been expected to lead their families, and we men should be proud of bearing this responsibility. Today, however, too many men do not lead, and often they are not even present.
We men need to be fathers, not only to our own children, but to all the children whose lives we touch. Even men without children of their own can embody the best attributes of fatherhood. Over the years I have known many coaches and teachers in high schools and elementary schools who were the only father figures many of their students knew.
Men, let’s encourage one another to become true fathers again. In an age when fear dominates every relationship, we need real fathers more than ever — men who are beacons of light, and who provide companionship, love and hope in a world filled with loneliness, pain and despair.
If you are fortunate enough have such a father, take a moment to thank him this Father’s Day.
Johann Christoph Arnold
Rifton
Kids Together, Discover Together
My family has just finished another successful year participating in the Kids Together Program and Discovering Together Program which are run by the Ulster County Department of Mental Health and housed at the YMCA in Kingston. Many other agencies in the County, including Mental Health Association of Ulster County, Department of Social Services, Coordinated Children’s Services and the YMCA, are involved in making this program as successful as it is.
I want to thank everyone who is involved in making Kids Together and Discovering Together as successful as it is. From the social workers who run the kids and parents groups down to the secretaries and people behind the scenes who make sure everything is done and in order before and after KT and DT starts and ends. I also want to thank the YMCA for allowing these programs to continue in their facility for the past 18 years and for years to come.
Join the family! 
