Background: Last week, after the Town of Hurley voted to withdraw from the Catskill Scenic Byway project, the Watershed Post ran a letter to the editor from Melinda McKnight blasting the town board for their decision. McKnight is Hurley's representative to the Central Catskills Collaborative, a group that represents five towns and two villages, and that is spearheading the byway project.

McKnight's letter refers to Olive resident Glenda McGee, a prominent opponent of the byway, citing McGee's "irrational arguments." The letter below is McGee's response.

Dear Editor,

Melinda McKnight's emotional reaction to Hurley's meticulous assessment of the Byway Plan's pitfalls and expenses warrants a response.

The Town of Hurley has saved their taxpayers untold sums of money and unforeseen consequences by saying no to the Byway Plan. It included no cost analysis, doesn’t grandfather in pre-existing non conforming homes and businesses, and suggests a stunning array of infrastructure projects that are urban-styled, exorbitant and often far- fetched.

The Daily Freeman announced this morning that Jan Dewey, formerly the advertising director for the Poughkeepsie Journal, has been named the publisher of the newspaper. Dewey will also be in charge of overseeing operations at all of the Journal-Register Company's New York State newspapers.

Longtime Freeman publisher Ira Fusfeld is stepping down, but not retiring completely. Fusfeld says he'll stay on as emeritus publisher for at least a year:

"I am pleased to welcome Jan to Kingston," said Fusfeld. "I look forward to working with her during the transition and beyond. She will fit in perfectly with our company’s ‘digital first’ philosophy. And, on a personal note, with her arrival, the company has helped me construct a perfect bridge to retirement over the next year or so."

Above: Video from the scene of the fire that destroyed the Rainbow Diner on Route 209 in Kerhonkson yesterday, from the Daily Freeman.

A local landmark went up in flames Monday afternoon: The Rainbow Diner, a seedy but beloved greasy spoon on Route 209 in Kerhonkson.

During lunch service, a grease fire ignited and spread to the roof through the ceiling vents. The Freeman spoke with the diner's owner:

Dylan Smith, a 14-year-old from South Fallsburg, drowned in a pond near the Neversink River on Monday afternoon. The Times Herald-Record reports:

Fallsburg Police say Dylan Smith was swimming in a small, man-made pond fed by a spring near Route 42. According to reports, the teens were swimming when one got into trouble. Another teen tried to help the victim, but couldn't.

Catskill Scoop, a Sullivan County news blog that gets information from local first responders and is often at the scene of an accident early, was the first to report yesterday that emergency personnel were searching the pond. Their blog post has photos of the search.

People of Ulster County, are you tempted to set off illegal fireworks this week? Be warned: That plan didn't go so well for this watermelon.

This morning, the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center hosted an explosive demonstration, shown in the 7-second video clip above, to highlight the dangers of illegal fireworks. (No word on whether members of the New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit, who thoroughly exploded an innocent melon in the name of public safety, enjoyed getting to make things go boom.)

County executive Mike Hein also sent out a press release packed with statistics about firework-related injuries, and encouraged people to go to public fireworks displays instead of holding their own.

The release quoted a slew of county officials, but the most sobering one came from Richard Parris, Ulster County EMS coordinator, who doesn't want to have to respond to any fireworks-injury calls this year: