They stand, our elected officials, in the middle of the streets in the heart of their communities. There’s an eerie silence in the air. You can hear the songbirds twittering on semi-deserted roadways usually filled with the sounds of passing traffic. Not today.
In these fearful months of corona, it’s important to celebrate the many good things about life in Woodstock, one of which is the 33 year history of videographer David Menzies filming hundreds of events in Woodstock and the area. In addition he keeps them in order, dated, and ready to use!
For more than 20 years, a 32-acre tract of alluvial land on the banks of the Wallkill River on Plains Road in New Paltz was maintained as a CSA by Sylvester (“Pete”) and Robin Taliaferro. Despite all their years of hard work, the Taliaferros never quite recovered from the financial setbacks caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. By 2018, the handwriting was on the wall: It was time to find a new tenant to lease the farm and retire. That search has now ended.
“It’s like Woodstock 99 for four months….” says Michael Berg, Executive Director of Family of Woodstock, which began its mission back in 1970 with the goal of helping its communities with “any problem under the sun…” And now, a new one, the Corona virus pandemic which has the non-profit organization, which runs shelters, provides emergency food pantries, domestic violence services, court advocates, counseling, hotlines and child care supports, up and running around the clock.
Neighbors responding to the pandemic with ingenuity.
I’m not the only one who loved Eric Weissberg. There are legions of us, many who were enraptured by the musical cut of the man, many who teed it up onstage beside this giant and were privileged to go along for the ride as his splendid banjo picking drove a band headlong into wild uncharted territory.
Over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, Highland High School is hosting local leaders for a series of “Lunch and Learn with a Leader” events. The series is designed to provide real-life skills education for students on important topics. On March 11, students gathered for a session featuring local first responders.
While life in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic has come to a grinding halt, and every imaginable event has been canceled, closed or postponed until further notice, the one thing that remains constant and steady and available is the outdoors. Spring has not been canceled.
With all the chaos going on in the world right now, it was refreshing to write Faces Of Kingston this week and get to share a normal, light-hearted conversation with an artistic local. Kate Cristiani is a tattoo artist with Ink Inc. who lives in Kingston and it was nice to get to know her better.
While many local restaurants are still open for delivery, others have decided to close. Meanwhile, professionals of all kinds are seeking online community.
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