TOP LOCAL News
By DIANE VALDEN
May 6, 2026
GREENPORT—The Greenport Fire Department (GFD) credits “the swift thinking of two 11-year-old girls on a bike ride, Juliana and Kollette, and the swift response of Deputy Andrew Horst” for helping save a Greenport residence from being destroyed by fire, the evening of April 27, according to a GFD ...
HUDSON—City of Hudson Police are investigating a child abuse allegation involving an incident that occurred April 1 at the Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School, 102 Harry Howard Avenue, according to an April 27 press release from HPD.A child abuse hotline referral was received and forwarded to ...
KINDERHOOK—The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets now to help hospitals and transfusion centers stay prepared to help all patients. Donors of all bloodtypes and those looking to give for the first time are encouraged to book an appointment in the coming days or weeks ...
HUDSON--May 30 and 31 are fast approaching and bringing with them an exciting opportunity to be part of the Columbia County Players’ (CCP) free to all community production of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” to be performed at the Churchtown Dairy Round Barn this August.Whether you're an ...
BINGHAMTON—New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) are encouraging customers who may need extra support to explore financial assistance programs available at this time as winter heating protections conclude. Customers who need help with unpaid bills are ...
COPAKE FALLS—Our Lady of Hope Parish, 8074 State Route 22, offers free food distribution through a mobile food pantry, Friday, May 8, noon to 3 p.m. Pre-registration is available and will guarantee there is food for everyone who comes. Visit www.ourladyofhopecopakefalls.org, the cabinet by the ...
PITTSFIELD, MA–Greylock Federal Credit Union has announced the hiring of Senior Vice President Charles Robertson, who joins the Retail Services team.“Charles is a fantastic addition to Greylock’s Retail Services. He has more than 25 years of banking experience and a proven track-record of leading ...
HUDSON—Three Columbia Memorial Health (CMH) facilities—Chatham/Ghent Family Care, Callan Family Care in Copake, and Valatie Family Care—have received Rural Health Center (RHC) designation from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.RHC designation allows these facilities to better ...
NEW LEBANON—On Saturday, May 9, the Lebanon Valley Woman’s Club will have a bake sale in front of the Family Dollar, 500 State Route 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until sold out. There will be a delicious assortment of homemade baked goods including cakes decorated for Mother’s Day, cookies, ...
CHATHAM—The Columbia County Historical Society announces the first-ever Ghent–Chatham Trivia Night at Chatham Brewing, 59 Main Street, May 7 at 7 p.m. Join Ghent Town Historian Gregg Berninger for a spirited evening of questions exploring the shared past and present of the two towns.Participants ...
To the Editor:The shadow docket, or emergency docket, is a way the Supreme Court can agree with Trump’s policies without extensive examination. The number of policies decided this way have increased alarmingly since 2024.As a local concerned citizen I am requesting that The Columbia Paper publish a ...
GHENT--Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School (HVS) announces that Gail Ann Dorsey has joined the lineup for Light Up the Night, a benefit concert on Saturday, May 30, in collaboration with Basilica Hudson.The evening features performances by Melissa Auf Der Maur (The Smashing Pumpkins and Hole), Joachim ...
CANAAN—Town residents have been on pins and needles since Together for Youth announced its planned sale of the 1,004 acres of the historic Berkshire Farm and its buildings on both sides of Route 22. Concerns focused on potential uses for the property, impact on the watershed, and Queechy Lake ...
ALBANY--New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton has announced that $1.35 million is now available through the fifth round of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts (FCELT) Grant ...
HILLSDALE—The town of Hillsdale’s popular flea market returns May 23, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, with dozens of vendors offering a broad array of items.Items expected to be on sale range from the practical—kitchenware, furniture, toys, garden tools and clothing—to unique hand-made items, ...
CLAVERACK—The Columbia-Greene Humane Society, 111 Humane Society Road, announces a special two-day sale on heartworm testing, as well as canine and feline SNAP tests. This limited-time offer is designed to help pet owners prepare for warmer weather, when the risk of vector-borne diseases, spread by ...
LIVINGSTON—It’s time for the annual Spring Ham Shoot at the Kalicoontie Rod & Gun Club, 333 Schneider Road, Sunday May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No hogs will be harmed at this event, they’re a frozen prize!Competitions held using .12g and .20g birdshot, slugs, center fire rifle, .22cal rim fire ...
STEPHENTOWN—Caitlin Sheldon will give a talk and demonstration on “Dressing the Revolutionary Lady” at the Stephentown Heritage Center, 4 Staples Road, Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. This gathering of the Stephentown Historical Society is free and open to the public. For information or directions, call ...
VALATIE—The Valatie Village Board approved a $352,429 two-year contract for trash and recycling pick-up at their regular meeting on April 14. The villages of Valatie and Kinderhook have for many years bid for their refuse contracts together, trading off every two years which board puts out the bids ...
ANCRAM--Ancram Center for the Arts, 1330 County Route 7, announced its 2026 season with five ambitious works that explore the themes of our times: polarization but yearning for de-escalation, finding love in an age of anxiety, art’s capacity to hold grief and remembrance, the human ethics of ...
THERE COMES a point, if you spend enough time watching the natural world closely, when you realize that not every story is meant to circle back.Some continue on without you.Georgie, a young porcupine, had begun to move more independently through our landscape. We saw him on his own more often, no ...
W. TAGHKANIC—The Taghkanic Senior Network presents its first annual Recipe Swap & Share at the Taghkanic firehouse, 631 Old Route 82, Sunday, May 3 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. This event is the first step in gathering recipes for a future Town of Taghkanic cookbook.Attendees can spend the afternoon ...
AUSTERLITZ—Sunday, May 3, Eric Schnitzer, the historian at Saratoga National Historical Park, talks at the Austerlitz Historical Society about the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, one of the most important battles of the Revolution. The event will take place at 2 p.m. in the historic church building at ...
CLERMONT--The annual Chancellor's Sheep and Wool Showcase was held on Saturday, April 25 at Clermont State Historic Site, 1 Clermont Avenue. Despite drizzly cool weather, people turned out for vendors' displays, music, food and demonstrations. It is billed as a family friendly event with ...
COPAKE—Copake Grange #935, 628 Empire Road, presents Cabaret Night: “Stories in Song,” May 16, 7 to 9 p.m.Join vocalist Ilana Meredith and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Rutkowski (piano/accordion) for an immersive evening where music meets history. Guided by renowned local historian Jim Mackin, the ...
PITTSFIELD, MA–With food insecurity continuing to rise, Greylock Federal Credit Union has allocated a special $50,000 donation to support local food pantries.Recipients include Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire Food Project, Berkshire Community College (BCC) Campus Cupboard, Berkshire Dream Center, ...
CHATHAM--The Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC), the 40-year-old countywide land trust, has just issued its Plan to Conserve Columbia County, after gathering input from experts and individual and community stakeholders. CLC has already conserved more than 30,000 acres of land in the county through a ...
GREENPORT—The Olana Partnership invites the public to celebrate the 200th birthday of Frederic Church with a free afternoon of art, music, and nature activities at the Olana State Historic Site, 5720 State Route 9G, Saturday, May 2 from 1 to 6 p.m.The event will kick off at the Frederic Church ...
CLERMONT—Craft up something spring-inspired at Crafty Kids Family Crafting Day: Welcome Spring! at the Clermont State Historic Site Visitor Center, 1 Clermont Avenue, Saturday, May 2, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.At this free event, make a bouquet of paper flowers for someone you love or try your hand at ...
HARD TO BELIEVE, but we do have small rodents related to lemmings. One of the abundant members of this group is the vole. I threw a handful of corn onto the lawn for the birds and saw some movement near a rock feature. A small mouse-like animal shot out to grab a kernel of corn and disappeared back ...