Rejecting despair: A conversation with Joe Defino of Hope Rocks in Saugerties

January 22, 2021·0 comments·

Without saying anything, music activates and potentiates causes, social purpose, and all modes of human connection. This mysterious power lies at the heart of Hope Rocks, the Saugerties-based organization that for half a decade has used the catharsis and joy of rock music to combat addiction and suicide among young populations, hosting a yearly festival that draws thousand and conducting year-round outreach and education.

Community

Ulster County Women’s Network goes virtual

January 22, 2021·0 comments·

Local institutions of various kinds are adapting to the restrictions on live gatherings necessitated by a pandemic. How is life different now, and how will it be different afterwards? These are questions that arise over and over again.

Community

Gardiner volunteer honed her skills on national park issues

January 15, 2021·0 comments·

Toni Benevento is a new Parks & Recreation Committee member in Gardiner. She’s relatively new to the community and has a background working for state and national parks in Utah.

Community, Local History

Historic Holsted House donated to Unison Arts Center

January 15, 2021·0 comments·

Daniel Getman and Janice Pickering have gifted 9 Paradies Lane in New Paltz to Unison, allowing Unison to have a second campus that is dedicated to following the Unison tradition of art offerings and also addressing current and vital issues of social and environmental change through the arts.

Community

Community mourns Hudson Valley Repair Café founder John Wackman

January 13, 2021·2 comments·

Widely known in Ulster County and beyond as the prime pioneer of the Repair Café movement in the Hudson Valley, Wackman, age 69, died suddenly on Friday at his home in Kingston of an apparent heart attack.

Community

County exec announces additional funding to support youth programs

January 12, 2021·0 comments·

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan has announced an additional round of child-care funds to support school-aged, full-day programs in Ulster County. Project Resilience, with the assistance of United Way, allocated $72,000 in funding to the Center for Creative Education, The Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA, directly supporting scholarships to 218 youths throughout the winter. The scholarships include access to the internet and computers and support for remote learning.

Community

The Woodstock Library board seeks to understand bond result

January 12, 2021·0 comments·

The Woodstock Library board voted on December 17 to have a dialogue with the community during the next few months. The intention of these dialogues is to hear from new voices and to understand why people voted either yes or no on the bond.

Community

Saugerties Lions Club makes food bank donation

January 12, 2021·0 comments·

Community

Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center taps Peter Criswell as executive director

January 8, 2021·1 comment·

Native to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Criswell first came to live in the Hudson Valley in the late 1980s, when he was studying theater and anthropology at Bard College, pursuing a fascination with “ritual theater.” He credits his liberal-arts education at Bard with providing him a toolbox for “problem-solving and figuring out how to make things happen.

Community, Sports

Tracy Patterson named to Alabama Boxing Hall of Fame

January 8, 2021·0 comments·

Local boxing legend Tracy Harris Patterson has been named to the Alabama Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 in the Pro Boxer category. Patterson was adopted by former world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson and moved to New Paltz, where he trained as a boxer and became a two-time world champion himself.