Above: The sign outside SALT's offices in the Schoharie County village of Schoharie. Photo by Timothy Knight.
When Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee shattered communities in the Catskills in August 2011, the flood recovery group Schoharie Area Long Term Recovery (SALT), which serves the Schoharie Valley, sprang up to help in one of the areas hit hardest by the storms.
Above: A tour bus picked up stranded Delaware & Ulster Railroad passengers in Halcottsville on Friday, July 29. Photo by Rebecca Andre.
A locomotive pulling a private charter for the Delaware & Ulster Railroad broke down around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29, stranding its passengers in the Delaware County hamlet of Halcottsville.
The incident was the latest in a string of mechanical failures that have sidetracked DURR’s 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Above: The Anomalia Festival. Photo by Drew Harty.
The Anomalia Festival, which brings a diverse crowd of bands, artists and avant-garde art exhibits to the Delaware County town of Andes on Saturday, July 30, is a somewhat anarchic DIY event.
Back in 2009, when it was founded, it had a much more risqué name: Cockstock.
Above: Photos from the Bramley Mountain Trail via the NYC DEP's Flickr page.
A long-awaited new hiking trail will open in the Delaware County towns of Delhi and Bovina on Friday, July 29.
The four-mile Bramley Mountain Trail is multi-part loop that leads to the 2,817-foot summit of Bramley Mountain, where the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower once stood.
Above: Environmental Conservation Officer Myles Schillinger and Nuisance Wildlife Agent Roy Lane removing a three-foot Eastern Timber rattlesnake from a Mount Tremper home on July 1. Photo via the NYS DEC.
An environmental conservation officer and a snake wrangler were called in to remove a rattlesnake from the yard of a home in the Ulster County hamlet of Mount Tremper on Friday, July 1, according to a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Weekly newspapers in the Catskills region have had a bad month. One local weekly quit publishing entirely, while two more that are part of a regional chain laid off veteran reporters.
The Delaware County Times, a newspaper that traces its lineage back to 1839 in Delhi, published its last issue on Friday, July 8.
The paper employed three people in its Delhi office on a part-time basis and relied on a cadre of freelance journalists, including the author of this article, to cover local news. Contributors were notified on July 8 that the paper would cease publication.
Above: New York State Sen. James Seward on the floor of the New York State Senate. Photo via the Seward re-election campaign.
New York State Sen. James Seward announced on Monday, July 11, that he will be seeking his 16th term in office this November. The Republican state senator, who represents a portion of the Catskills, will face two Democrats who are gunning for his seat.
Seward made the announcement just months after successfully battling bladder cancer.
Seward hails from the Otsego County town of Milford, where he once served as town justice.
Left: Audrey Dunning, a Democrat running against Seward for New York's 51st Senate District seat. Photo via the Dunning campaign website.
First elected in 1986, for 29 years Seward has represented New York’s expansive 51st Senate District, which contains portions of nine counties (including all of Cortland, Schoharie and Otsego counties) and is roughly the geographic size of Connecticut.
Seward submitted nearly 3,800 signatures on nominating petitions for his re-election, and will appear on the GOP, Conservative Party, Independence Party and Reform Party lines against his eventual challenger.
In a official statement announcing his candidacy issued last week, Seward said that he would focus on key issues for his constituents in his re-election bid.
"My focus is on the concerns I hear from people every day—property tax relief, economic development, aid for our neediest schools, resources for our local roads and bridges, and the crushing heroin epidemic," Seward said.
“It takes a combination of experience and vision to meet the challenges we face—my record of service coupled with my proposals for future growth fulfill those requirements,” Seward’s statement said.
Above: The Esopus Creek. Photo by Flickr user ScubaBear68.
A 78-year-old retired doctor from New Jersey had a heart attack and died while fishing the Esopus Creek near the hamlet of Phoenicia on Thursday, July 14, according to a press release from the Shandaken Police Department.
An explosion that was accidentally set off by a man attempting to light a propane water heater destroyed a Masonville home on Route 206 on Wednesday night, leaving three people injured.
Masonville firefighters responded to a 911 call made at 9:26 pm on Wednesday, July 13, according to a press release issued by Delaware County Emergency Services. When firefighters arrived on the scene minutes later, the house was already destroyed and engulfed in flames.
