On a November afternoon at Northern Dutchess Hospital, Red Hook High School juniors Bailey Scheider and Colton Roszco pulled their hair back into scrub caps, tied masks behind their ears, and squeezed their hands into latex gloves. Then, standing inside an operating room, they observed their first gastric surgery. Elsewhere in the hospital, high school senior Briseida Ortega-Gutierrez pored over brain scans, learning from a radiologist how to identify the signs of a stroke. Meanwhile, another student, Jade Zhang, shadowed doctors in the emergency room, witnessing how they comforted patients in times of crisis. For a month last fall, 12...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/heartbeats-hospital-rounds-red-hook-teens-get-a-crash-course-in-medicine-at-northern-dutchess-hospital/

Drones patrolling the skies, tracking fleeing suspects and assisting search and rescue operations. Cameras on every school campus in the county uploading footage to a centralized computer system. Artificial intelligence checking the license plates of each vehicle that enters or leaves the region. This isn’t science fiction - it’s what policing in Dutchess County could look like as soon as this spring.  Spearheaded by District Attorney Anthony Parisi and County Sheriff Kirk Imperati, this innovative approach to law enforcement has the unwieldy name of The Dutchess County Advanced Real-Time Crime and Intelligence Center, although most refer to it by its...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/eyes-everywhere-new-crime-center-brings-high-tech-surveillance-to-policing-in-dutchess-county/

Jack Costello had seen too many students slip through the cracks. As Director of Pupil Services at Red Hook Central School District, he watched teenagers cycle in and out of crisis care, often missing weeks of school and falling behind. Parents, teachers, and counselors were all stretched thin, struggling to support the growing number of students trying to manage anxiety and depression. In Northern Dutchess County, where resources are particularly scarce, the care they needed simply wasn’t there. “Schools have been caught in the position of having to make up where there aren’t other resources,” Costello told The Daily Catch....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/can-school-based-therapy-help-at-risk-students-red-hook-is-finding-out/

Arthur S. Hill, 72, died on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at his home in Milan. Arthur was born on July 30, 1952, in Queens. He received degrees in philosophy and French from Adelphi University. While maintaining his successful A.S. Hill Contracting business, he returned to school and earned a nursing degree. Arthur married Jeanette Sargent on July 14, 1979, and they raised two daughters together. His passions were his family, reading, and travel. He coached his daughters’ softball teams and cherished family summer vacations in Maine. Arthur is survived by Jeanette; daughters Laura Hill (James Bennett) and Amanda Hill-Buchholz (Nate);...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/arthur-s-hill-scholar-contractor-and-nurse-dies-at-72/

Dr. Bertram “Bob” Henry Bernstein, 87, died at Vassar Brothers Medical Center on February 27, 2025.  Born on April 14, 1937, in Nyack, Bob attended Bard College and earned his medical degree from New York Medical College. He completed his residency at Lenox Hill Hospital while serving in the Army Medical Corps. Bob served as an attending physician at Lenox Hill and had a successful private practice in New York City, where he counted among his patients athletes from the New York Rangers, Yankees, and Mets.  He met Linda, a nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital, and they married in 1977,...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/dr-bertram-bernstein-physician-dies-at-87/

In a rare moment of civic electoral competition in the Village of Red Hook, five candidates are vying Tuesday for two seats on the Village Board. The open seats are held by Deputy Mayor Melkorka Kjarval, who is running for reelection, and by Charles Laing, who is not. Another trustee, Steve Appenzeller, has announced his resignation, but because his seat is not up until 2027 and because he did not resign in sufficient time to meet the deadline to make the ballot for the upcoming election, Mayor Karen Smythe will appoint a replacement when his departure is official. A special...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/meet-the-candidates-five-vie-for-two-spots-in-unusual-contested-race-for-red-hook-village-board/

Gina (Miller) Hedges, 69, a longtime resident of Elizaville, died on Feb. 25, 2025. Born on September 2, 1955, in Manhattan, Gina was a graduate of Marymount Academy in Park Terrace and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, both in Manhattan. Gina spent much of her career working for the United States Postal Service, with a particular dedication to the Letter Carriers Union as its representative During her retirement, Gina and her husband, Arthur, traveled throughout the United States, visiting various National Parks, seeing old friends and making new ones along the way. Gina was devoted to her family and...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/gina-m-hedges-dies-at-69/

Ryan Jay Meagher, 43, a lifelong area resident, died on Feb. 19, 2025, at his home in Elizaville. Born on Aug. 1, 1981, in Poughkeepsie, Ryan graduated from Red Hook High School in 2001. Ryan was deeply dedicated to his country and community. He served in the United States Marine Corps as a Lance Corporal, including a deployment to Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning several medals. He received his Associate's Degree in Fire Science from Schenectady College and served as a firefighter and EMT in East Glenville, NY. Ryan is survived by his loving fiancé, Ashleigh Hogan of Elizaville; his...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/ryan-jay-meagher-decorated-marine-and-emt-dies-at-43/

The Elizaville Diner, which reopened in November 2023 with plans to be a destination for events, great food, and stylish cocktails, has suddenly shuttered amid operational and pricing challenges that have played out in a vitriolic volley of name-calling on social media. The restaurant is now for sale – again. It was listed on BizBuySell.com in December for [post_excerpt].3 million after being sold in 2023 for just under [post_excerpt] million. Efforts by The Daily Catch to reach diner owners Katrin Redfern and Andrew Stern were not successful by phone or in person at the restaurant or in a private message...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/recriminations-and-misunderstandings-and-a-clash-of-expectations-elizaville-diner-shutters-in-a-war-of-words/

The federal government is going through a rapid transformation. The Daily Catch, a non-partisan newspaper, seeks to chronicle the local impact of cuts and actions taken by the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE and others. We want to hear from you if you’ve been furloughed or fired by the federal government, if you’ve received communications that concerned you, if you work on a program — federal, state, or local — that you fear is in jeopardy, or if you have missed any payments owed by the federal government. Please send your story to the Editor: [email protected] If you are...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/have-you-been-affected-by-the-actions-of-elon-musks-doge/