Bard College has completed an extensive overhaul of its donation-acceptance policies, adding more stringent restrictions on whose money it will accept following revelations about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with the college’s former president, Leon Botstein. Bard College has completed an extensive overhaul of its policies for accepting donations, adding more stringent restrictions on who it can take money from. (Photo by Athan Yanos) Botstein’s connections with Epstein triggered an uproar on campus and among alumni last school year that ended with the long-standing president announcing his retirement at the end of June, after 51 years of running the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/bard-sets-new-donation-policy-in-wake-of-epstein-scandal-botstein-to-take-sabbatical-for-upcoming-year/

Paulene Anne Reynolds died July 30, 2026. She was born May 6, 1939, in Manchester, U.K., where she attended Royal Northern College of Music and performed with The Manchester Library Theatre.  Paulene emigrated to Toronto, Canada, before traveling to New York City, where she joined the Morris Repertory Theatre Company and debuted as Juliet in Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet.” There, she met Howard Green and played opposite him in seven productions. They were married in 1966 and moved to Michigan to join the Meadowbrook Theatre. Howard and Paulene returned to New York and co-founded the Off-Off Broadway Counterpoint Theatre Company....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/paulene-a-reynolds-theater-and-hospice-professional-dies-at-87/

There’s a song to be heard at the livestock auction at the Dutchess County Fair.  The annual livestock auction at the Dutchess County Fair drew hundreds to the show ring Saturday, where bidders purchased animals in support of young farmers. (Photo by Tony Adamis) There’s the rise and fall of the auctioneer’s rattling call. The bid spotters’ yelps and bellows at each raised hand. The gravelly grunts of the hogs. A child’s cry. The audience’s cheers. It is a song of passion and fervor, of pride and hard work, and of sadness, too. Saturday’s livestock auction, an annual fair tradition...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/high-bids-and-hard-goodbyes-as-child-farmers-sell-the-animals-they-raised-at-dutchess-fair-auction/

Francis “Frank” Peter Juranic of Edgewater, Fla., died Aug. 25, 2026. He was born Oct. 17, 1946, in Rhinebeck.   Frank grew up in Red Hook and graduated from Red Hook High School. He served as a missile systems specialist in the U.S. Air Force from 1964-68 in Okinawa, Japan, and worked as a technician at IBM.  Frank enjoyed fishing, sailing, and traveling across the U.S. and Canada. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Juranic Jr. and Mary Juranic. Frank is survived by his spouse, Kathy; daughter Michelle (Amanda); son Danny (Anna); granddaughter Cayla; and brothers John (Kathleen)...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/francis-frank-peter-juranic-veteran-and-ibm-technician-dies-at-79/

Bard President Jonathan Becker Argues for Student Voting Rights in NYT Op-EdBard College’s Acting President Jonathan Becker raised concerns about the Trump Administration's efforts to curtail student voting in an opinion piece published in The New York Times this week. Bard’s Acting President Jonathan Becker has long been an advocate for student voting rights. (Photo by Rachel L. Crittenden) Becker, who took over from longtime Bard President Leon Botstein in July, argued that new guidelines issued by the Department of Education prohibiting the use of federal work-study funding for voter registration, voting hotlines, and voting assistance contradicted established federal and...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/the-short-catch-bard-president-on-student-voting-kaatsbaans-new-artistic-advisor-bards-incoming-visiting-writer-and-olanas-big-digital-move/

A man wanted for nearly two decades on a felony sex abuse charge was taken into custody Thursday after Red Hook police stopped him for speeding on South Broadway, police said. Village police stopped the vehicle at approximately 12:50 p.m. and determined during their roadside investigation that its driver, Jose Tacuri, 50, of Wappingers Falls, was the subject of a felony warrant issued by the White Plains Police Department, according to police. The warrant charged Tacuri with first-degree sexual abuse and dated to 2007. Police said Tacuri had posted cash bail following his arrest that year and then fled the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/speeding-stop-in-red-hook-leads-to-arrest-of-man-wanted-since-2007-on-sex-abuse-charge/

Emergency responders revived an unresponsive person at the Dutchess County Fair on Friday afternoon after administering CPR and multiple defibrillations inside one of the fairgrounds’ barns, according to the Rhinebeck Fire Department. The medical emergency occurred inside Barn 30. Rhinebeck Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician Erik Stroka and Skylar Jackson, an Albany Med registered nurse and former EMT, were in the barn at the time and immediately joined Dutchess County Fair EMS personnel in treating the patient. Additional Rhinebeck firefighters responded, including Firefighter/EMT Thomas Beichert, who participated directly in the resuscitation effort. Stroka also serves as a firefighter/EMT with the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/cpr-multiple-defibrillations-revive-unresponsive-patient-at-dutchess-county-fair/

Five-year-old Adeline McEnroe dyed her hair purple, pulled on silver boots striped with rainbows, and led her calf, Daisy, into the show arena at the Dutchess County Fair. Adeline McEnroe dressed up as Rumi from the KPop Demon Hunters' band HUNTR/X, and her cow, Daisy, was adorned as a member of the fictional music group at Saturday's Cow Costume class contest. (Photo by Tony Adamis) McEnroe was dressed as Rumi, the lead vocalist from KPop Demon Hunters' band HUNTR/X, and Daisy was dressed as an accompanying member of the fictional music group in a purple robe with gold interlocking chains...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/at-one-fair-costume-contest-cows-become-a-kpop-star-a-lobster-and-a-giant-kfc-chicken/

Editor’s Note: As the Dutchess County Fair wraps up this weekend, Daily Catch reporters continue on-site from dawn to dark, bringing you our special feature, Faces of the Fair, showcasing the people behind the vendor halls, contests, rides, and fabulous food. To read our full coverage of the 2026 fair, click here. Our Dutchess County Fair coverage for 2026 is proudly sponsored by Foster’s at the Fair. She Quit Her Corporate Job and Put Her Dream Bookstore on WheelsBy Matt MomentLast year, Eliza Jones quit her job as a Woodstock accountant to pursue her dream of becoming a bookseller. Rather than establishing a brick-and-mortar location,...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/faces-of-the-fair-day-5-a-roving-bookstore-an-80-year-pickle-tradition/

Local comedian, producer and actor Patrick Grizzard is planning to launch a new live-music venue in the heart of the Village of Red Hook.  Local comedian, producer, and actor Patrick Grizzard is planning to launch a new live-music venue in the heart of the Village of Red Hook. (Photo courtesy of Patrick Grizzard) The venue, named Big Rock Candy Mountain after the humorous 1920s folk song by Harry McClintock, will take over the former site of The Locavore Market at 29 W. Market St. Grizzard plans to build a bar and cafe in addition to a stage that will host...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/new-live-music-venue-takes-shape-on-former-locavore-spot-in-red-hook/