On Tuesday, May 19, the Ulster County Legislature voted 17 to 6 to endorse a deal between the county and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to build an 11.5-mile hiking, walking and biking trail along the northern shore of the Ashokan Reservoir. The vote begins the process of funding and planning the trail -- and dashes the hopes of railroad enthusiasts who want to preserve the tracks along the route.

The Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR), which operates a tourist railroad on other portions of the old Delaware & Ulster rail corridor that runs from Kingston to Boiceville, holds a lease on the right-of-way that expires in 2016. The CMRR has not run trains on the 11.5-mile Ashokan portion of the tracks for many years, but has still lobbied fiercely to keep the possibility open.

The CMRR, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein and the Friends of the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail have been involved in a public battle over rails v. trails since 2012. 

Above: Woodstock resident Joe Ali, third from right, was saved by first responders from Woodstock Fire Department Companies 4 and 5 after he went into cardiac arrest in December 2014. Ali was reunited with the people who worked to save him at Ulster County’s EMS Recognition Dinner on Friday, May 15 in Kingston. Photo by Bob Baker of the Woodstock Fire Department.

It’s National Emergency Medical Services Week, and communities across the Catskills are celebrating memorable “saves” by their first responders from the past year.

Left: Joe Ali at the Ulster County EMS Recognition Ceremony on May 15. Photo by Bob Baker. 

In Kingston on Friday, May 15, Joe Ali of Woodstock credited the quick reaction of first responders with saving his life when he went into cardiac arrest in December 2014.

From February to April of this year, Robert R. Doggart, a 63-year-old Tennessee man who ran for U.S. Congress in 2014, was hatching an elaborate plan to massacre the inhabitants of Islamberg, a Muslim community in the Catskills mountains of New York, according to the FBI and federal prosecutors.

Doggart was arrested on April 10, just before he was scheduled to travel to Islamberg, which is located in the Delaware County town of Tompkins, near the village of Hancock, to conduct reconnaissance for the attack, according to court documents.

Left: Robert R. Doggart in a campaign photograph, via Heavy.com.

On Saturday, the Catskill Mill on Main Street Catskill is hosting a dance performance (and a pre-performance auction and a post-performance dance party) as a benefit for the Greene County Council on the Arts.

The evening is planned with young, impecunious types in mind: tickets are on a sliding scale, and a DJ will turn the Mill into a club for the after party. (If you only come for the dance, you can get in for just $5.) Food is being provided by the Catskill Mill Food Truck. 

The centerpiece of the evening is a collaborative dance performance choreographed by a group of local dancers and accompanied by live music: 

The highlight of the evening is a collaborative dance performance inspired by sketches drawn especially for the event by Kiki Smith, and featuring live music by Michael Moss and Billy Stein. Nine dancers, a collection of seasoned pros from the area including Jean Churchill, Peggy Gould, Sondra Loring, Judith Moss, Donald Mouton, Nancey Rosensweig, Maria Simpson and Todd Whitley, will be creating and performing the piece.

Due to a rash of wildfires across the state, including many in the Catskills, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday, May 13 that a ban on residential brush burning will be extended until May 21.

The ban, which goes into effect every year for the dry spring period of March 16 through May 14, was scheduled to expire this week. 

In his proclamation, the governor said that there have been 110 wildfires across New York state in 2015, which have burned 3,589.4 acres of land, destroyed one structure and threatened 91 homes.