Meet the Candidates: Michele Frazier on Healthcare, Climate Change, and the Ashokan Watershed
The Overlook is conducting a series of interviews with candidates running in the Nov. 3 election, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to shape their communities. In this installment, reporter Connor Greco interviewed Michele Frazier, Democratic nominee for New York’s 51st Senate District. The district includes parts of Ulster, Broome, and…
Olive Addresses Shokan Sewer Project Miscommunication
The Town of Olive took responsibility for some of the community frustration surrounding construction of a $90 million sewer project in Shokan. “Initially, there was a lot of miscommunication,” Olive Supervisor Jim Sofranko said…
Good Friend Cafe Opens in West Shokan
Good Friend Cafe in West Shokan has opened its doors, giving Olive residents a new place to grab a morning coffee, a breakfast sandwich or burrito, a midday hot dog, some candy, or just…
Boiceville’s Sun Mountain Studio Draws Musicians From Near and Far
David Baron was sitting in the audience at Bearsville Theater last October when U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. gave him an unexpected shoutout from the stage. “I normally sit at the back and I…
Ashokan Center Gets $145,000 State Grant for Arts and Education Lodge
The Ashokan Center has received a $145,000 state grant to help design a new arts and education lodge at its 385-acre campus in Olivebridge. The grant was awarded June 2 through the New York…
Olive Updates ADU Rules to Close Housing Code Gap
The Olive Town Board voted unanimously June 9 to fix a gap in its zoning code that had prevented residents from building accessory apartments between 400 and 600 square feet. The change allows accessory…
Boiceville Bridge, Trailhead Project May Take Months Longer to Complete
A $33 million infrastructure project in Boiceville that began in 2021 and includes road, bridge, and trailhead upgrades near the Ashokan Reservoir may not be completed until this fall, about a year after New…
Writers of the Catskills: In Conversation with Julie Fogliano
Julie Fogliano’s first picture book began as a late-night thought sent to a friend: “First, you have brown.” Fogliano, a New York Times bestselling children’s author who has lived in West Shokan for 20…
Olive Library Swap Draws Bargain Hunters and Full Tote Bags
Why pay full price when you can swap for free or buy secondhand from neighbors? That was the sentiment at the Olive Free Library on Saturday, May 2, as dozens of bargain hunters scoured…
Does Tetta’s Market in Samsonville Have New York’s Cheapest Gas?
Primo Stropoli, the fourth-generation owner of Tetta’s Market in the hamlet of Samsonville, keeps gas prices low because “quantity is more important than profit margin.” As the national average hit $4.081 this week, prompting…
Ethnoecologist Justin Wexler Traces Lost Wildlife of the Catskills
The Catskills once held passenger pigeons in such vast numbers that their flocks darkened the sky, along with wolves, cougars, martens, elk and other wildlife no longer found here. That vanished world was the…
‘Smell Something, Say Something’: Second Home Propane Accident in a Year Prompts Safety Warnings
For the second time in a year, a residential propane explosion is prompting officials to urge residents to inspect their systems and install gas detectors in homes heated by propane, a fuel used by…
Olive Free Library Nears Sustainability Certification
The Olive Free Library is nearing the final step toward official certification as a Sustainable Library, an effort Library Director Melissa McHugh took on soon after starting the job in 2023. If approved in…
Olive Home Explodes, Leaving One Resident Hurt, Minimal Fire
A separate building on the property of a one-bedroom home at 16 Mulrooney Road in West Shokan exploded on Monday, injuring a person who was inside at the time, local firefighters said. The person’s…
Close Encounters with Birds of Prey at the Olive Library
More than 80 people came to the Olive Free Library on Saturday morning, and it wasn’t to check out books. The intergenerational crowd packed into the community room to see birds of prey up…
DEC Seeks Public Input on Sundown Wild Forest Expansion in Olive
Residents gathered at the Town of Olive Meeting Hall in Shokan on Feb. 24 as the state Department of Environmental Conservation began the process of incorporating a newly acquired 900-acre parcel in Olive into…
Olive Board Rejects Plan That Could Clear Path for Shokan Affordable Housing
In a surprise move Tuesday, the Olive Town Board voted unanimously against a resolution that could have eased restrictions on workforce housing development in the hamlet of Shokan. The proposal would have withdrawn the…
Olive Warns Residents of Planning-Fee Email Scam
Officials in the Town of Olive are warning residents about a scam involving emails sent in the name of the town’s planning division requesting payment of exorbitant, fictitious fees. Supervisor Jim Sofranko said his…
Despite Scathing Report, State Says Hurdles Remain to Replace Hudson Valley Water Company
The New York State Department of Public Service said Hudson Valley Water Company was “unwilling or unable” to provide safe and reliable service, citing years of water outages and repeated failures to notify customers…
Henry Sapoznik On Keeping Yiddish Culture Alive
Ask Olivebridge musician and Yiddish scholar Henry Sapoznik where to find a good pastrami on rye nearby, and he’s at a loss. “I’d probably have to bring it back,” he said, referring to New…
Suspended Olive Police Officer Put Back on Town’s Payroll
Jason Huppert, an Olive police officer who had been on unpaid administrative leave since May while facing disciplinary hearings for allegedly waving a gun at construction workers, was placed back on the town’s payroll.…
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