Above: The view west from Split Rock, a hike on the Finger Lakes Trail. Photo by Lisa M. Lyons.

Outdoors groups around the Catskills are hosting hikes, walks and lectures to celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 6.

In the Greene County village of Tannersville, the Mountain Top Historical Society is hosting a day of hiking, lunch, and history at the historic Deer Mountain Inn. A hike along the inn's trails begins at 9 a.m., followed by a gourmet bag lunch and a lecture about the19th-century naturalist John Burroughs by Paul Misko and Burroughs' granddaughter, Joan. A "Burroughs Trivia Quiz" is planned. Reservations are required. Call 518-589-6657 or email [email protected].

Above: Eight Catskills towns, villages and nonprofits received grant money from the DEC this week. From left: Hunter Town Councilman David Kukle, Neversink Town Supervisor Mark McCarthy, CWC planner Peter Manning, Lexington Town Supervisor Dixie Baldrey, Windham Town Councilman Robert Pelham, MARK Project Deputy Director Kent Brown, Andes Town Supervisor Marty Donnelly, Cairo Town Supervisor Ted Banta and DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens. In front is Dylan Walrath, the contracts coordinator for the Division of Lands and Forests at the DEC, who coordinated the grants. Photo by Julia Reischel.

Elected officials from communities across the Catskills gathered in the Delaware County village of Margaretville to accept grant funds and accolades from Joseph Martens, the head of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, on Tuesday, June 2.

Above: A photo of Aron Thomas posted on a GoFundMe page dedicated to a fund drive for his wife and children. Photo used with permission.

After just two hours of deliberations, on Tuesday, June 2, an Ulster County Court jury convicted David Reese of murdering his co-worker Aron Thomas at the Kingston offices of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in February of 2014, according to the Daily Freeman and theTimes Herald-Record.

Thomas was fatally shot at the DEP's Kingston office early in the morning of Monday, February 3, 2014. Police and prosecutors say the Reese, a 55-year-old stationary engineer at the department who lived in Gilboa, shot and killed 33-year-old Thomas, who was a watershed maintainer from Olivebridge.

Left: David Reese in his booking photo from 2014. 

The trial, which began on Wednesday, May 27, hinged on the question of whether Reese had plotted to kill Thomas or whether it was an accident.

Reese, who pled not guilty and who took the stand in his own defense yesterday, described the incident as an accident, according to the Freeman:

Above: A mural in the Delhi post office that depicts a scene from the Anti-Rent Wars of the mid-19th century. The mural was painted by Mary Earley in the 1940s and was funded by the Section of Fine Arts of the U.S. Treasury Department. Photo of mural by Jimmy Emerson, via Flickr. 

Many historical societies of the Catskills -- it seems that there's one for each town -- are teaming up for the next two weekends to offer a smorgasbord of historical events, exhibits, tours and lectures about the history of the central Catskills called "Headwaters History Days."