Highlands Current Audio Stories

Putnam Republicans seize party line

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne failed to get the support of the Putnam & Westchester Libertarian Party but succeeded in becoming its candidate.

On Tuesday (May 26), Byrne and three other Republican incumbents — Clerk Michael Bartolotti and coroners John Bourges and Michael Nesheiwat — submitted petitions to the county Board of Elections with about 2,500 signatures, 1,000 more than needed to appear as Libertarian candidates on the November ballot.

Unless someone successfully challenges the validity of their petitions before today's (May 29) deadline, they will be the first Putnam candidates to carry the Libertarian line since 2020. They will do so over the objections of the party, which said it endorsed Byrne's Democratic opponent, Brett Yarris, and never met with Bartolotti, Bourges or Nesheiwat.

For Byrne, the benefit is clear. He earned an endorsement from Putnam's Conservative Party when he first ran for county executive in 2022. But this year, the party nominated its chair, William Spain, leaving Byrne with the prospect of appearing solely on the Republican line.

In a triumphant Facebook post on Tuesday, he declared "broad support" from "Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives and unaffiliated voters all coming together around a positive vision for Putnam County."

In 2020, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacted a law restricting the ballot to parties whose candidate for president or governor received at least 2 percent (or 130,000, whichever is greater) of votes cast in the preceding election. That change cost the Libertarian and Green parties their guaranteed place on the ballot.

Today, only four parties qualify: Conservative, Democratic, Republican and Working Families . Their candidates often file nominating petitions for independent parties, so they will appear on more than one line on the ballot, believing this will win votes from people registered with that minor party or those unhappy with the two major parties.

Six years ago, Putnam Judge Anthony Mole, Carmel Justice Daniel Miller and then-Justice Camille Linson of Philipstown were the most recent local candidates to run as Libertarians. That year, the state reported 155 active Libertarian voters in Putnam, the last time it collected registration data for non-major parties.

Byrne isn't a Libertarian, the Putnam/Westchester chapter said in a statement on May 18, adding that Bartolotti, Bourges and Nesheiwat had not asked for the party's endorsement. Yarris won the endorsement because "he's way more libertarian, and seems to be a straight shooter," according to the party, but did not file a nominating petition to appear on its ballot line. Instead, he will appear on the Democratic, Working Families and For the People lines.

The Libertarian chapter's vice-chair, Bill O'Donnell, called Byrne's petitioning "despicable" in a post at Hudson Valley Digger, a Substack newsletter by David McKay Wilson. "He's trying to imply that he is Libertarian," said O'Donnell, who lives in Philipstown. "He's not at all a Libertarian. He is trying to trade on our name. It's very underhanded."

But another Libertarian, Jeffrey Chang of Carmel, said in a letter circulated to news organizations that he backed Byrne. As a party that supports small government, Yarris' "big government ideas turn true Libertarians, such as myself, off," said Chang. "If someone wants the Libertarian Party line on the ballot, and the support of the party, you do the work to earn it. Byrne did it, and his tax-cutting record backs it up."

Several other Republicans in Putnam filed petitions to run as Libertarians: Christian Russo, who hopes to replace Bill Gouldman as the District 2 legislator representing most of Putnam Valley; Gouldman, who is seeking the Putnam Valley supervisor seat; and Robert Nachamie, who is running for Putnam Valley town justice.

Several Democratic candidates also beat the Tuesday deadline to submit nominating petitions for an independent line. ...

For 11 years, she navigated village forestry

Jennifer Zwarich has had a thing for trees for a long time.

"I've always been a tree person, although I'm not a tree hugger, exactly," she said. "I was a tree climber as a kid and trees always made me feel small in a good way."

On Arbor Day (April 25), Zwarich stepped down as chair of the Cold Spring Tree Advisory Board, a role she took on before the panel was created 11 years ago.

In 2012, a handful of volunteers formed the Shady Lane Campaign to tend to village-owned trees. A year later, the Village Board appointed an ad hoc committee to investigate whether a tree board and local tree law were needed.

When Zwarich wrote Mary Saari, then the village clerk, to volunteer, Saari replied, "Would you like to chair the committee?"

Zwarich soon learned that even tree care can become political. What was supposed to be four quick meetings and a recommendation to the Village Board became much more. A session at Butterfield library drew a passionate crowd. Some vehemently opposed forming a committee. "It was baffling to me," Zwarich recalled.

A subsequent meeting at Village Hall also got boisterous. "About 30 people fought for almost an hour over whether to call it a board, a committee or a commission," Zwarich said. (She says now that "board" was the right choice because it carries weight and helped her secure nearly $100,000 in grants.)

Looking back, she feels some who opposed the committee felt it would be another layer of government, taking money from the budget. There was also concern that a tree law could infringe on private property rights, although the board only deals with village-owned trees.

After the dust settled in 2015, the board added "Chapter 122: Trees" to the Village Code, and a Tree Advisory Board was established, with Zwarich as chair.

An initial survey found the village owned about 500 trees, she said. "Our goal was to plant many more trees than we were losing," she said. Since the board was created, volunteers and Highway Department staff have planted about 230 trees, and 592 have been inventoried by species (72) and condition.

Zwarich said that while residents seem to love them or hate them, the Main Street tree pits were her favorite project. "They have improved the health of a lot of trees," she said, although some need weeding. She views that as "an invitation for volunteer-minded people and businesses to get involved."

Village-Owned Trees

Norway maple (50)*

Callery pear (48)

Black oak (32)

Red maple (32)

Honey locust (30)

Zelkova (22)

Cherry (21)

Serviceberry (20)

Black gum (19)

Oak (16)

Pin oak (16)

Black locust (15)*

Sugar maple (15)

Plum (14)

Gingko (13)

Linden (13)

Japanese tree (12)

Silver maple (11)

Sweetgum (11)

Eastern red (10)

London (10)

*New York invasive species

Urban forestry can be challenging. "The sidewalk strip is not a place for trees; they're growing in awful conditions most of the time and getting peed on," she said. In addition, many side streets lack tree cover because there's no space to plant on village property. "The oldest trees are all on private property, where they have more rooting space," she said.

Zwarich noted that in some places, such as Rhinebeck, the municipality donates and maintains trees near sidewalks that are on private property. "I don't know if it would fly here, but that's the next frontier," she said.

She believes most people know trees are good for the environment, giving off oxygen, taking in carbon dioxide and reducing pollution. But she said the economic benefits are overlooked. "Shading your house can reduce your summer electrical bill, and the increase in property values by having trees around your house or in your neighborhood is huge."

She said that when the tree committee was created, the village forest lacked diversity, including an overabundance of Norway maples, which grow fast. "They ended up being a real problem," Zwarich said. "They're weak-wooded and brittle and shed branches during storms," creating ...

Latest Beacon venue hosts its first shows

Around 25 years ago, as gentrification creeped in, stickers and graffiti emerged in Texas urging people to "Keep Austin Weird."

Going for a punk aesthetic, an early version of the poster promoting the triple bill on Saturday (May 30) at The Cafeteria, a new venue in Beacon, shows a singer with a mohawk wearing a Dead Boys shirt.

Two slogans adorn the bottom quadrant: "Keep Beacon Weird" echoes the call in Austin and "Hot Lunch Lives" nods to the space's former role as a high school cafeteria. It's now occupied by Clutter Gallery, which manufactures collectible designer toys and recently moved from Main Street.

The old high school is home to the KuBe Art Center, and the event is homegrown. Happy Valley Arcade Bar brings food and drink. Gavin Hecker booked the bands under the new Prophecy Lab brand that differentiates his live music arm from Prophecy Hall, the former church on the west side of town.

The Cafeteria holds 150 people and will host music shows twice a month, says Clutter co-owner Josh Kimberg. On May 30, alt-rock combo Monski opens for guitarist Jeffrey Lewis, coming from New York City. A veteran of the Austin music scene, he crossed paths with Ed Hamell, who is playing at Lucky Dog in Beacon today (May 29). The troubadours convey clever lyrics with simple but emphatic chords.

Lewis also hobnobbed with Daniel Johnston, an influential Austin musician who received a modicum of fame after someone photographed Kurt Cobain wearing a shirt depicting the cover of his 1983 album Hi, How Are You. It featured an abstract drawing of a frog, dubbed Jeremiah the Innocent.

Johnston, who died in 2019, was a friend of Ron English, another local designer-toy artist. Kimberg is working with Johnston's estate to create works related to the figure.

Also on the Saturday bill is Nick Yulman and the Bricolo Mechanical Band, housed in his basement at the foot of Mount Beacon. Active in the automated music circuit, he's played gigs at the New York Botanical Garden, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Composer Angelica Negron has written several pieces that incorporate his contraptions for the Sö Percussion ensemble, which has performed twice for the Howland Chamber Music Circle.

Yulman's works are heavy on thuds, chimes and disembodied vocals. Sounds emanating from a modified keyboard — along with an analog vibraphone and percussion instruments — are triggered by a computer program that operates jury-rigged solenoids (valves with plungers).

One rig can play every key on his modified reed organ; other controllers manipulate drumsticks and pedals on command.

At the show, Yulman will sing and play guitar to accompany the robots. The set-up includes wooden boxes that he hangs around the room, adding an element "that alters the sound depending on where you stand," he says. "You can mix your own experience by moving around."

Tracks are layered so thick that he laughs when asked how many a typical composition contains. Onscreen, the MIDI keyboard's programming panel looks like the paper rolls with cutouts from player pianos of the early 1900s.

"Mechanical music isn't new," he says. "But triggering weird sounds on my laptop didn't move me. This is a lot more fun."

The Cafeteria is located at the Clutter Gallery, 20 Kent St., in Beacon. Tickets for the May 30 show are $20 ($25 door). See dub.sh/cafeteria-5-30.

Changes cover debris, snow removal, vegetation

The Nelsonville Board of Trustees, which is rewriting the Village Code, on May 20 reviewed rules governing how residents must maintain their properties.

At the monthly meeting, Trustees Alan Potts and Maria Zhynovitch summarized proposed revisions that combine sections on exterior maintenance; litter, snow and ice removal; and vegetation upkeep into a single chapter. "That was part of the goal — to put them all in one area you could easily find and reference," said Potts.

The height of grass, brush and weeds would still be limited to 10 inches, but the draft code exempts crops, flowers, native plantings, ornamental grasses, pollinator gardens and other "lawfully cultivated" gardens. In those cases, residents will be prohibited from allowing vegetation to spread to public rights-of-way or neighboring properties, or obstruct the view for motorists and pedestrians, especially at intersections.

Snow and ice removal from gutters and sidewalks, which is currently required in a "reasonable time" after a storm, would have to take place within 24 hours under the new regulations. The revised code also mandates that property owners create sidewalk paths that are at least 36 inches wide without discarding snow onto sidewalks and streets or blocking drains and fire hydrants.

Properties must be free of "litter, debris, garbage, refuse, rubbish, combustible materials or other waste materials," but compost, mulch, manure and materials used for agriculture, gardening and landscaping are exempted.

"We're trying to bring a lot of clarity and avoid situations where, let's say, someone has a bunch of lumber in front of their yard because they're doing an addition," said Zhynovitch. "It's not going to be done in a day, but if it's there for a couple of months, they're technically in violation."

Mayor Chris Winward recommended that fines be capped at $250. As drafted, a property owner could be penalized up to $250 for a first offense, up to $500 for a second offense within a year and up to $1,000 for a third violation within a year.

"They're a little high," said Winward. "In addition to the fine, depending on whether the village had to act and remedy the situation ourselves, there's also a reimbursement for that remedy."

Zhynovitch said she will review Cold Spring and Philipstown's rules for boat and vehicle storage before crafting similar guidelines for the property-maintenance code, and look into adding a section on the removal of garbage cans from sidewalks after trash pickup.

The code rewrite began with revised guidelines for animals, including bees and chickens. All the changes will remain in draft form until they are voted on, which Winward said she hopes will happen in December.

The board voted to renew a contract with its village attorney, Keane & Beane. The contract runs from June 1 through May 31, 2027, and will pay the firm $230 per hour for general services such as preparing resolutions, providing legal opinions and advising the trustees and the planning and zoning boards.

A separate contract approved May 20 retains Kevin Irwin as the village prosecutor for violations and misdemeanors under state vehicle and traffic laws. Irwin's contract pays him $150 an hour and continues through May 15, 2027.

1866 painting depicts forging of Parrott rifle

In 1866, John Ferguson Weir painted "The Gun Foundry," depicting workers pouring molten iron into a casting pit at the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring to create a Parrott gun.

The painting, which lives at the Putnam History Museum, was last cleaned 50 years ago. Kara Mattsen, the director of curation, said the staff noticed "it had gotten a little foggy."

It was "dirty, very dirty," said conservator Nadia Ghannam, who on Friday (May 29) will reveal the results of her thorough cleaning, funded by state grants. Ghannam has worked in the conservation departments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Guggenheim, among other museums. At Dia Beacon, she worked on the 102-piece Andy Warhol collection.

As you might expect, refreshing a 160-year-old oil on canvas entails far more than a toothbrush and a bottle of Mr. Clean.

"In 1973, it underwent a very aggressive treatment," Ghannam said, including a coating of acrylic varnish. "I did tests to see what I could do to improve that synthetic coating, because it was a little thick and gray-looking. It's a small window to find the right combination of materials so you can safely remove a discolored coating without removing paint." She concluded the 1973 layer wasn't discolored enough to take the risk.

Ghannam noted that Weir painted "The Gun Foundry" during the Industrial Revolution, a period when artists started using mass-produced materials. "They were using a lot of crazy stuff in the paint," she said. "Some of it's difficult to take off now. For this surface cleaning, I used water with diammonium citrate, a mild chelating agent [which is gentler than acids]. Then I used a mild solvent to deal with the acrylic layer."

She laughed while explaining that organic chemistry "nearly killed" her while earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Cornell University and a master's degree in art restoration at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. "You have to understand paint chemistry and have a knowledge of artist materials and art history," she said. "My specialty became 19th- and early 20th-century American paintings."

She noted that her work on "The Gun Foundry" was not a restoration, which involves repainting, a practice that conservators don't tend to use. "My approach is more minimal," she said. "I did some retouching, but only where there's something missing." On Weir's painting, the damage was limited to the bottom edge and perimeter. There, she used a watercolor formulated for conservators that mimics oil paint.

Ghannam also refurbished the wood frame, which she described as "original and beautiful. It has interesting techniques like burnished gold, then matte gold, then textured gold leaf, which was popular in the 19th century."

She found no major problems, such as a tear. "It's in good condition, a pretty solid painting — a sign of the painter's good technique," she said.

Her work enabled details in Weir's painting to re-emerge. Before the cleaning, even Ghannam didn't notice a dog in the lower part of the painting.

Weir's art bucked a 19th-century trend, Mattsen noted. "Much the art at that time reflected the Hudson River School approach of sweeping landscapes and beautiful scenery," she said. "Weir departs from that, focusing on this industrial scene with everyday workers at the forefront."

Weir (1841-1926) grew up at West Point, where his father was a professor of drawing and provided much of his formal training. He had 15 siblings. He was fond of visiting the gun factory in Cold Spring, referring to it in his journal as "the dear old foundry."

Mattsen said the painting also portrays a who's who of the foundry elite, including founder Gouverneur Kemble and Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point grad who designed a rifled cannon that was mass produced during the Civil War. (A replica is displayed on the Cold Spring waterfront.)

Weir started sketching inside the foundry in 1864 and some of his early drawi...

County called on to spend more of savings

Putnam County has a good problem: how to best return $6.5 million from a swollen surplus to residents.

Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, and other legislators weighed legality and logistics at the May 12 meeting of the Rules Committee as they volleyed ideas. Among the proposals: $200 rebate checks to homeowners; replicate a state program in which homeowners receive a property-tax credit or check; send funds to residents burdened by the cost of energy, childcare or other necessities.

The debate is the progeny of a pandemic-era explosion in sales-tax revenue and federal and state aid. Incoming funds more than doubled the size of Putnam's "unassigned fund balance," an unrestricted pool that County Executive Kevin Byrne and legislators can choose how to spend.

Forecasting is never precise, but between 2020 and 2024, sales-tax revenues exceeded estimates by $47.5 million. State and federal legislators also plied municipalities with pandemic aid. Over those four years, the unrestricted surplus ballooned from $29.9 million at the end of 2019 to $78.3 million by 2024. (The 2025 figures are being finalized.)

That bounty sparked a clash between Byrne and some legislators and municipal officials who believe more of it needs to be spent. Some funds have been dedicated to capital projects to avoid "saddling taxpayers with unnecessary long-term debt and interest costs," said Byrne. "Putnam County's strong financial position is not money sitting idle."

But Montgomery and other legislators say the county should use some funds on direct aid to residents. They voted last year to set aside $6.5 million for tax relief or another giveback. The debate over how to do that continues, but people "need relief now," said Montgomery.

"A strong fund balance is good fiscal management, but ours is more than a rainy-day fund," she said. "We're holding public money while our residents are struggling. We should invest in housing, mental health services, childcare and transportation."

While state law prohibits school districts from holding surpluses that exceed 4 percent of their budgets, municipalities (cities, counties, towns and villages) and fire districts are allowed to carry over a "reasonable" amount" each year. Putnam's surplus in 2024 represented 38 percent of its $205 million budget for 2025. By comparison, Dutchess County ended 2024 with $104.3 million in its unassigned fund, or 17 percent of its $630 million spending plan for 2025.

One reason for Putnam's surplus is unexpected sales-tax growth. Putnam, Dutchess and other counties anticipated a financial hit when New York State ordered non-essential businesses to close in March 2020 due to COVID-19. But Putnam was too conservative: Its revenues in 2020 exceeded its projection by $5.7 million. As the state's economy recovered, Putnam's sales-tax revenues exceeded projections by $18.9 million in 2021, $17.4 million in 2022, $13.6 million in 2023 and $8.6 million in 2024.

Nearly $28 million of the surplus has been spent since 2021. Byrne and the Legislature spent $13.2 million in the 2025 budget, including the $6.5 million sought by legislators for tax relief and $150,000 for food programs.

This year is also the first in which Putnam is sharing sales-tax revenue with its towns and villages. Philipstown will receive $169,000, and Cold Spring and Nelsonville the minimum $50,000 each, from $2.3 million. The money, which is allocated based on population, is restricted to infrastructure projects.

"This is funding that otherwise would have remained in the county's general fund," said Byrne, who also wants to use $2 million for mental-health services. "It is now helping our local partners invest in infrastructure, public works and taxpayer relief in their own communities."

Former Legislator Paul Jonke, who proposed the homeowner rebate program before he left office in 2025, said during the Rules Committee meeting that the $6.5 ...

Olana (Hudson)

Olana is less than 50 miles north on Route 9 or the Taconic Parkway. Now is the perfect time to visit the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Hudson River School of Art painter, Frederic Edwin Church, in the home he designed with architect Calvert Vaux and on the grounds that were his visual embodiment of a bucolic landscape.

The current exhibit, Global Artist, which runs through Oct. 25, portrays the multitude of landscape paintings from distant lands. The exhibit is on the second floor of Church's home, which was inspired by his trips to Persia in the 19th century. You will see works on loan from many museums and private collections that depict the Parthenon, an iceberg off Newfoundland, Petra in Jordan, the Andes in South America, and yes, the sunsets over the Hudson River.

Church's own iconic paintings adorn every part of his living space, with European masters in the dining room. There is also fascinating ephemera throughout his sitting rooms, library and studio. Large windows highlight the landscape.

The home is surrounded by 250 acres, now a state park, that was thoughtfully planned by Church. Apparently, he was fond of collecting seeds during his travels. As you stand on the grounds, you may feel like part of one of his paintings.

Within 10 minutes is Hudson, another gem of a bygone era, where whaling vessels had safe harbor. Hudson is home to upscale boutiques of house furnishings and clothing by makers and designers, food markets and antique stores.

For simple, affordable fare, try Baba Louie. Another local stronghold on Warren Street is Red Dot. Or pack a picnic basket, weather permitting, and dine at Olana.

Olana, at 5720 Route 9G in Hudson, is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Home tours take place daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. except Monday and start at $20 (children ages 16 and younger are free). You can explore the house on your own on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for $25. Picnics and dogs on leashes are allowed on the grounds. See olana.org.

Campus Art Tour

Two college campuses within an hour of the Highlands have well-kept secrets. The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, at SUNY-New Paltz, is housed in a nondescript building that is also home to the Parker Theater. There are three areas in the main exhibit area to explore, which is across from a studio that features local artists (e.g., the annual Hudson Valley Artists Show) and contemporary themes (e.g., language, society and power).

In the Main Hall, A Living Collection highlights the museum's assortment of permanent acquisitions or commissions. The art includes paintings by American masters (e.g., Milton Avery, George Inness, Joel Meyerowitz) and contemporary sculpture and collectible objects of great distinction.

One featured exhibit and program hang from four to six months and is frequently curated by a member of the art faculty. Recent exhibits highlighted the artistic heritage of New Paltz faculty and global connections amongst international artists that had all crossed paths with a teacher in New York.

There is also a dedicated space to sit for a while where creative experimentation is encouraged with art materials provided in a hands-on activity room. It is a chance to ponder the impact of what was viewed during the walk through the gallery. Conversation with museum staff — university students who share artistic interests — is welcomed. Overall, the hallmark of the visit is having a self-paced tour, without rush or crowds.

The low-key art adventure continues by traveling across the Mid-Hudson Bridge to Vassar. Take a lunch break at Meyer's Olde Dutch on Collegeview Avenue in Poughkeepsie, a recent expansion from Beacon.

After lunch, a walk across the campus, which is an arboretum, takes you to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center near the South Gate. The Loeb is double the size and packs more into its galleries than the Dorsky. It will take twice the amount of time to wander and absorb the art treasures.

Starting with the Founding G...

Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing.

Divers hired by an insurance company searched the river just south of Newburgh for a canal boat that sank with a cargo of marble valued at $8,000 [about $250,000 today].

According to The Cold Spring Recorder, "some fiend in human shape" broke into the Newburgh Telegraph and stole several cases of type.

The First National Bank of Fishkill Landing installed a chronometer [timer] lock on its safe.

John Hannon, a switchman at Dutchess Junction, mangled his hand while coupling cars.

The Hudson River Railroad Co. began construction on a brick-and-iron depot at Fishkill Landing that measured 28 feet wide by 85 feet long.

William Thompson of Matteawan invented a rubber saddle pad.

John Schlosser, principal of the Fishkill Landing school, was admitted to the bar.

Several gentlemen, "highly distinguished in their professions in New York," according to a news account, offered to give an entertainment at Fishkill Landing to benefit the Howland library.

Seventeen cows on their way to Orange County via the Newburgh ferry plunged into the river at Long Dock, but all were rescued.

According to the Newburgh Telegraph, William Daly, while drifting for shad, caught a sturgeon weighing 310 pounds.

Sixty-four iron columns arrived for the first story of a weaving mill at Glenham to support an iron girder running the length of the building.

A young man named Timothy Ryan fell from the Glenham bridge while drunk and was not expected to live.

In its annual report, Highland Hospital in Matteawan said that it had treated 15 boys and men for a total of 671 days. Two remained in the hospital. No one had died. Its receipts were $4,400 [$137,000], of which $555 [$17,000] was collected by 20 churches on Hospital Sunday. Each patient cost $1.26 [$39] per day, including food and medicine.

Burglars broke into Mrs. Newlin's house on the road to Poughkeepsie, about 1½ miles from Fishkill Landing, but found nothing to steal.

H.N. Barton, who owned a gun shop at the rear of Raizell's market, was showing a customer a pistol with a safety cap on the nipple when he pulled the trigger, unaware it was loaded with shot and slugs. The charge passed through the shop door into the market, hitting James Phillips in the arm and Charles Livington in the chest, mortally wounding him.

J.W. Spaight, editor of The Fishkill Standard, purchased a photograph gallery at Fishkill Landing.

William Holton announced he would operate a 6:30 a.m. coach from Fishkill that stopped at two hotels on its way to the Fishkill Landing depot.

After a state court released a list of 42 people seeking U.S. citizenship, Mayor Ernest Macomber objected to the petitions of Stanley and John Kishkiel, owners of the New Haven House, because they had been accused of disorderly conduct. Their bar had been raided by federal liquor authorities, and the brothers, immigrants from Russia/Poland, and a patron resisted. After being arrested, the men put the bar up for sale and returned to their previous trades as a shoemaker and a paper hanger.

Frederick Futterer, the director of physical education and athletic coach for the Beacon public schools, was hired as director of recreation for the City of Albany.

While driving four members of his family to a Baptist church conference in Washington, D.C., Robert Doughty slid off the road in Port Jervis and hit a telephone pole. His wife and sister-in-law were hospitalized.

Sherwood Robinson of the Mahwenawasigh Tribe in Beacon was elected deputy grand sachem of the 11th district of the Hudson Valley region of the Improved Order of the Red Men, a fraternal organization.

Robert Jones, a one-armed laborer at the Nicholson brickyard in Dutchess Junction, attacked Thomas Powers with an ax during a craps game, cutting him a dozen times. Dr. Charles Keating said Powers was expected to recover unless the wounds became infected.

Frank Knapp purchased the Melzingah Hotel and the Beacon Stadium, which was...

Speaks in Rockland County to boost Rep. Lawler

President Donald Trump, while visiting Rockland County on Friday (May 22) to appear with Rep. Mike Lawler, began testing his midterm message that was ostensibly on the economy.

Lawler's district, which includes Philipstown, will be one of the most closely watched House races this November. The event at Rockland Community College in Suffern was meant to promote the tax law Trump signed last year, particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes, which is critical in a high-tax state like New York.

Trump called Lawler "fantastic" and mused about how the congressman was a "pain in the ass" as he badgered the administration on expanding the deduction.

He pulled Lawler onstage during the event, and the congressman thanked the president "for working with me to deliver a big win" for the people in his district. He said that more than 90 percent of the people in District 17 were able to fully deduct their state and local taxes.

During his remarks, the president veered away from the economy from the start, going off on tangents about voter identification, crime in cities, transgender women in sports and "Dumocrats," his new chosen moniker for the opposition party. He complained that toiletries are locked up in pharmacies, making them harder to buy, and polled the audience on what he should call his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

Eventually, he landed on the topic of the speech, telling the crowd that he and his party worked to slash taxes and increase take-home pay, while Democrats opposed the effort at every turn.

"I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state," Trump said. Listing off the provisions of the tax law, the president said: "These are all Republican tax cuts. The Democrats voted against every one of these tax cuts."

Also appearing with the president at the event Friday was Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for governor. Trump said, "Guys like Mike Lawler, guys like Bruce Blakeman, you put them in, they'll turn it around."

The White House has been looking for more opportunities to highlight Trump's economic accomplishments as his approval rating on the economy has slumped. About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to a new AP-NORC poll, down slightly from 40 percent at the start of his second term. Trump had promised to bring prices down, but gas prices have surged this year due to the war in Iran.

Lawler is just one of three House Republicans who represent a district won by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024. Unlike the other two — retiring Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who's been a critic of Trump policies — Lawler has chosen to embrace the polarizing president in hopes of not alienating Republican voters who support the party's leader.

"Look, the people who hate the president — and that's their sole basis for their vote — are likely never voting for me, and you know, obviously, you need to turn out your base, and you need people energized," Lawler told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the White House congressional picnic earlier this week. "Moreover, I have a record in my district that is one I'm very proud of, and a record that appeals to a broad middle."

Lawler, wearing a red ball cap emblazoned with "Mr. SALT," the acronym for the state and local tax deduction he fought to include in the bill, added, "I am confident that I will be reelected on my own merits and my own record."

Trump established a SALT cap in 2017 through his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Last year's law expanded the SALT deduction to $40,000 from $10,000 after arduous negotiations with Republicans, including Lawler, whose district has high local taxes. The law also raised the average tax refund for New Yorkers to more than $3,800, according to data provi...

Public schools face many challenges. In this, the first part of an ongoing series, we examine the effects of declining enrollments.

For the last two decades, public schools in the Highlands have been losing enrollment. It's the same story across much of the country, thanks to declining birthrates and the rise of homeschooling and charter schools. In New York, the problem has been exacerbated by people leaving the state.

The Beacon district, which includes four elementary schools, a middle school and high school, had 3,600 students in 2004 but fewer than 2,500 today, a drop of 31 percent. Haldane had 846 students and 774 today, a 9 percent drop. Garrison had nearly 300 students; now the K-8 district has fewer than 200, a 34 percent drop. Overall, New York state has lost 17 percent of its student population.

At the same time, the cost of educating each student has risen faster than inflation over the past 20 years because of the rising costs of special education, English language learners, health care, energy, school security and social and emotional support staff, according to Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer of the New York State School Boards Association.

In 2004, the cost per pupil in Garrison was the equivalent of $32,000 when adjusted for inflation; today it is about $40,000, an increase of 24 percent. For Haldane, the cost grew from $29,000 to $35,700, or 23 percent. In Beacon, it rose from $22,600 to $32,700, a 45 percent increase. Statewide, the cost per student went from $25,000 to $34,000, or 38 percent.

Declining enrollment, rising costs and a tax-levy cap formula that ties rates to inflation or 2 percent, whichever is lower, has created a crisis for some districts. In January, the state comptroller identified 31 of New York's 675 districts — none from the Highlands — in "fiscal stress," up from 22 in 2024. In Yonkers, the public schools face a $100 million deficit for 2026-27 and have discussed major layoffs. In New York City, public schools have been consolidating due to the loss of 100,000 students in the last five years.

In the Highlands, the gradual loss of students, rising costs and the rate cap have created staffing and financial challenges. Haldane, Garrison and Beacon each proposed the maximum tax-levy increases allowed for 2026-27, ranging from 2.27 to 5.53 percent, which voters approved on Tuesday (May 19).

Beginning in the fall, Haldane will expand its middle school to include fifth grade to avoid layoffs due to declining enrollment, said MaryAnn Seelke, the principal. Seelke projects that enrollment in sixth, seventh and eighth grades will decline over the next four years from 185 to 150, or by 21 percent.

The district would normally have four teachers per grade, plus a special educator, depending on need. "As enrollment declines, that's a lot of teaching power for a small number of students," said Seelke. Bringing the fifth grade into middle school will add two teachers, bringing the total to six for the fifth and sixth grades. The district is losing a fifth-grade teacher through retirement, Seelke said.

Haldane began planning for declining enrollment three years ago by aligning the elementary and middle school schedules. "This is the last step," Seelke said. "It is designed to better utilize faculty so that we don't have to put people on the furlough list."

There are also pedagogical reasons for placing fifth graders in middle school, she said. Other Hudson Valley schools have expanded their middle schools to give 10- and 11-year-olds more support as they mature (see below).

When Haldane expands its middle school to include fifth grade in the fall, it won't only be to address declining enrollment. The district will also follow an approach to nurturing adolescents adopted by districts across the country.

Fifth graders — typically ages 10 and 11 — are experiencing "exponential growth, physically, socially and emotionally," said MaryAnn Seelke, Haldane's middle school principal. With that growth ...