Northern Dutchess County is in a state called "abnormally dry," one step before drought conditions. (Source: https://www.drought.gov/states/new-york) The grass is crispy. Lakes and streams are running low. Leaves are falling without showing their usual burst of color. People across Red Hook and Rhinebeck are noticing these changes — and it isn’t by chance. Dutchess County is currently classified as “abnormally dry” by the National Integrated Drought Information System. A drought occurs when there’s a prolonged lack of rainfall, leading to a shortage of surface and groundwater. The classification “abnormally dry” means that an area is either heading into or emerging...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/dry-days-in-dutchess-whats-behind-the-lack-of-rain/

A Handcrafted Octoberfest in Rhinebeck concluded its sixth run Sunday with dozens of makers, from pumpkin carvers to jewelry makers, displaying their wares to a crowd of several thousand. Fairgoers at the Rhinebeck Handcrafted Octoberbest could sit for Henna tattooing. (photo courtesy Handcrafted Octoberfest) More than 100 juried exhibitors showcased work across 10 categories, from fine art and crafts to craft brews, regional wine and spirits to specialty foods. Witches Along the Hudson, a joyful and spirited volunteer dance troupe raising funds for the Greene County Animal Alliance performed for the second year. The group hopes to open an animal...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/master-pumpkin-carvers-horse-drawn-carriages-and-jewelers-highlight-rhinebeck-octoberfest-craft-competition-with-video/

Mrs. Lovett (Emily Woolever) and Sweeney Todd (Duane Joseph Olson) plan for their future as a baker-murderer duo. (photo by Olivia Michaels Bogert) Sweeney Todd appears as a gaunt, hollow-eyed runaway convict in threadbare Victorian garb, his wild hair and pale face betraying years of grief and rage. Every movement carries the weight of obsession, and in his hand, a gleaming straight razor is not just a tool of the barbering trade but a murder weapon to slash the throats of trusting customers. Todd becomes the essence of vengeance incarnate, a man with only one thought: to expiate his suffering...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/vengeance-infuses-meat-pies-as-rhinebeck-theater-serves-up-sondheims-grisly-classic-sweeney-todd/

A Friday fire at Budds Corners Road led to the arrest of the property owner (photo by Red Hook Police). In the midst of a state burn ban, two fires over the weekend were battled by local firefighters. One led to tickets issued to a local man for starting a fire against the law. And the other, during an air show at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome, kept crews on the scene for three hours.  On Friday, Oct. 3, Department of Environmental Conservation officers charged the 56-year-old Red Hook resident with unlawful disposal of solid waste at his Budds Corners Road property...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/firefighters-battle-two-weekend-red-hook-fires-one-at-the-aerodrome-and-another-resulting-in-tickets/

Following a fire at its building on Mill Street in early September, the American Legion Post 429 in the Village of Rhinebeck is raising money to support its repair efforts because the veteran group’s insurance claim was denied.  Commander John Imperato, who manages the Legion, could not provide details on why the claim was rejected but told The Daily Catch on Wednesday that the group hopes its appeal will be successful. “We have our attorneys working on it,” he said.  Damage from the fire has cut off the organization from important revenue sources—renting out its banquet hall and collecting sales...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/rhinebeck-american-legion-post-429-launches-gofundme-campaign-after-insurance-denies-fire-claim/

Empress Emergency Medical Services has acquired Northern Dutchess Paramedics and will assume primary EMS services in northern Dutchess County, the company announced Wednesday. Empress, the much larger company in terms of number of calls and staff, said it expected to improve response times, which have been a perennial problem for years in Red Hook and Rhinebeck. County Legislator Chris Drago (D-19th), an expert on the topic, told The Daily Catch he is worried the merger will increase response times.  “I worry that now having just one sole private provider of EMS, without any competition, could impact and potentially increase response...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/empress-ems-acquires-northern-dutchess-paramedics-pledges-faster-response-times-but-one-expert-is-skeptical/

On a Saturday morning in August, 15 volunteers gathered in the tall grasses of a recently acquired 140-acre Winnakee Land Trust preserve in the Town of Clermont. Working inside a one-acre deer enclosure, a fenced plot designed to protect saplings from hungry animals, the volunteers removed buckthorn, a stubborn invasive that had spread thickly through the understory. Every invasive they pulled opened space for young native trees.  The effort reflects a new mission for Winnakee: restoring land it acquires in ways the conservancy hopes can serve as a model for the Hudson Valley, at a time when much of the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/beyond-easements-winnakee-builds-a-new-model-for-active-land-management-in-the-hudson-valley/

Hudson Valley rush hour commuters will have options for faster rides between New York City and Poughkeepsie starting Monday, as Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced that the “super-express” trains, at less than 90 minutes, are ready to launch four months ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates Metro-North, announced a 4.5% increase on monthly and weekly tickets, as well as an 8% increase on all other ticket types, effective in January. That means a one-way peak ticket between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central will increase from to roughly . The faster train runs affect three morning trains...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/super-express-metro-north-trains-between-poughkeepsie-and-city-to-start-monday-ahead-of-schedule/

After officials thought they had resolved the problems plaguing Red Hook’s wastewater treatment plant, the facility once again fell out of compliance this past summer, Village officials informed residents at a community meeting on Tuesday.  “We discovered that, due to simple human error, the wrong parameters were tested from June through August,” said Les Coon, the plant’s lead operator and senior area manager of H2O Innovation. The issue surfaced when H2O Innovation reviewed lab data and discovered that, from June through August, staff had tested for CBOD, or Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand, instead of BOD, or Biochemical Oxygen Demand, as the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/red-hook-wastewater-plant-back-on-track-after-summer-mix-up-pushes-it-out-of-compliance/

A Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health employee was arrested on a felony charge of physically abusing a resident during a transportation detail on Monday. The arrest took place Tuesday and the staff member, Samuel I. Ezechukwu, 49, of Red Hook, was charged with Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree, a class E felony. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to four years in prison, along with a potential term of five years of probation and a substantial fine.  The Rhinebeck Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), part of the State Police, handled...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/devereux-employee-arrested-on-felony-charge-of-hitting-resident-during-transportation-detail/