Shandaken received a $60,000 grant to continue its participation in a federal program that reduces flood insurance costs for property owners, officials announced at the town’s board meeting on Monday. The town will use the money to climb the Community Rating System, a tiered system that rewards communities for good floodplain management, said Deputy Town […]
Kyle Bredberg
Posted inNews
Hurley
Hurley’s 24-Hour Ambulance Service Cuts Response Time to 3 Minutes
Hurley Ambulance Service, a 24-hour paid operation rolled out in November after months of delays to augment volunteers, has cut emergency response times to under three minutes, according to service President Mathew Sirni. “It was not at all uncommon that people were waiting 15 minutes, 20 minutes, just to find out that there was an […]
Posted inCulture
Shandaken
Big Indian Cultural Festival Holds Final Celebration of Unity and Tradition
The Pine Hill Community Center was filled with movement, music and color on Saturday, celebrating unity and Native American and African heritage as the cultural center behind the event prepares to dissolve after more than two decades with the retirement of its founder. Organized by the Big Indian Native American Cultural Center and sponsored by […]
Posted inNews
Olive
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 in an interview. “A lot of things that could have been done better, that have been resolved.” Sharon and Ralph Vankleeck, […]
Posted inNews
Olive
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 a place to hang out. Located next to the West Shokan Post Office, the cafe held its grand opening on July […]
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Overlook
Catskill Watershed Corporation Highlights More Than $25 Million in Grants and Loans
Assemblymember Chris Tague, whose 102nd Assembly District includes all of Greene and Schoharie counties and parts of Albany, Delaware, Otsego, and Ulster counties, said he had not realized the extent of the funding available through the Catskill Watershed Corporation until he attended the group’s annual meeting this week. “Until today I didn’t know the scope […]
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Saugerties
Saugerties Officials Weigh Combining Town and Village Governments
The possibility of combining Saugerties’ town and village governments drew cautious interest at a packed forum on Monday, July 13, as local officials and residents raised questions about taxes, services, and whether village residents would lose political influence. ShoutOut Saugerties, a volunteer-run community group, hosted the discussion at the Orpheum Theatre. The event focused on […]
Posted inCulture
Shandaken
Pine Hill Pride Parade Highlights LGBTQ+ Visibility in Rural Catskills
About 30 people, including motorcyclists and a stilt walker, marched alongside a pink decommissioned hearse down Pine Hill’s historic Main Street on Saturday, July 11, in a Pride celebration intended to increase LGBTQ+ visibility in rural Catskills communities. Pride flags and banners hung from the Pine Hill Community Center and buildings along Main Street as […]
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Shandaken
Shandaken Planning Board Approves Big Indian Wireless Tower
Shandaken’s Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a 50-foot wireless tower at the Big Indian-Oliverea Fire Department, addressing a service gap in the area. The tower will provide Verizon service within 0.4 miles of the firehouse at 8 Firehouse Rd. Customers of other carriers will be able to use the network for emergency 911 […]
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Shandaken
Shandaken Ambulance Chief Muellerleile Retires After Nearly 15 Years
Shandaken Chief of Ambulance Services Richard Muellerleile is retiring after nearly 15 years in the role to focus on his family and family business, Star Gas Products. Deputy Chief Mike Williams will serve as interim chief. Muellerleile, who also served as a town firefighter and worked as an EMS coordinator for Ulster County, announced his […]
Posted inEnvironment
Overlook
Know What You Breathe: 17 Devices to Monitor Ulster County Air Quality
Ulster County and Bard College have installed 17 street-level air quality monitors at libraries, town halls, and other community hubs, creating a countywide network intended to give residents more localized information about the air they breathe. Most air quality measurements come from rooftop EPA monitors in densely populated areas. The project seeks to fill gaps […]
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Olive
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 State Council on the Arts’ Capital Projects Fund, which distributed $82.2 million to 132 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across New […]
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Overlook
Cooling Centers Open Across Catskills During Extreme Heat Warning
Communities across The Overlook region are opening cooling centers and pointing residents to air-conditioned libraries as dangerously hot conditions settle over the Catskills this week. An Extreme Heat Warning is in effect until 8 p.m. Friday, with heat index values of 105 to 110 expected, according to the National Weather Service. In Woodstock, temperatures are […]
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Hurley
Hurley Adds its Opposition to Long-Delayed Route 28 Gas Station
The Hurley Town Board unanimously passed a resolution opposing a Route 28 gas station and convenience store first proposed seven years ago and already blocked by Woodstock because of potential traffic hazards. While Tuesday’s vote lacks legal force, it’s a show of support for the Woodstock Planning Board, which was sued in February by the […]
Posted inArt
Shandaken
Shuttered Phoenicia Hardware Store Becomes Upstate Art Showcase
Phoenicia’s late, lamented hardware store is taking on new life – if only briefly – as “Building Light,” an installation by female-identifying art collective Studio Hinterland that incorporates sound, smells and unique lighting techniques as part of Upstate Art Weekend. The storefront at 52 Main St. showcases the talents of 13 Hinterland artists using materials […]
Posted inNews
Overlook
Primary Results: Drake Beats Nolan in District 22 as Results Are Tallied
Shandaken Deputy Supervisor Robert Drake secured the Democratic nomination for District 22 of the Ulster County Legislature on Tuesday, beating incumbent Kathy Nolan with 59.64% of the vote compared with Nolan’s 40.36%. District 22 encompasses the towns of Shandaken, Olive, Denning and Hardenburgh. Some 847 of the district’s 3,183 registered Democrats voted in the primary, […]
Posted inNews
Shandaken
Shandaken ZBA Approves Variances for Verizon Wireless Pole in Big Indian
Shandaken’s Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted to approve four variances for Verizon’s proposed 50-foot wireless pole near the Big Indian-Oliverea Fire Department, allowing it to move to the Planning Board for a public hearing and potential approval. Two variances alter how far a pole is set from property lines, one allows it to be […]
Posted inPolitics
Overlook
Democrats Nolan, Drake, Tout Views for District 22 Leadership
Incumbent county legislator Kathy Nolan, 71, and challenger Robert Drake, 39, offered different visions about how to tackle housing affordability, taxes and cellphone towers, three critical issues for local residents, even as they offered similar views of how they’d represent Democratic voters in the 22nd District. The two candidates, vying for the Democratic nomination to […]
Posted inCommunity
Shandaken
Phoenicia Food Pantry to Provide Free Breakfast, Lunch for Summer Rec Kids
The Phoenicia Food Pantry, a community resource since the 1980s that provides food and goods with no questions asked, is tackling food insecurity for the next generation by working with local groups to provide free lunches to Shandaken’s Summer Recreation Program. Workers at the summer program began to notice that campers were showing up with […]
Posted inNews
Olive
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 apartments, commonly known as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to range from 400 to 1,000 square feet. The law defines them […]
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Shandaken
Shandaken Moves Toward Natural Resources Inventory
Shandaken took another step toward developing a natural resources inventory, a collection of maps and information that could help guide decisions on planning, zoning, and development while helping the town meet its climate goals. Residents met this week with local decision-makers, the project’s steering committee, and a consulting agency to learn about the inventory and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Overlook
Where Does Your Trash and Recycling Go?
It doesn’t sound like much. Each day, Ulster County residents generate about four pounds of waste—the weight of a laptop computer. Combine that with trash from businesses and municipalities, though, and the figure rises to 5.97 million pounds. A year after the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency bowed to community opposition and halted efforts to […]
Posted inSports
Overlook
Where to Watch the NBA Finals
The New York Knicks are playing in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. If they win, it will be the team’s first championship since 1973, closing a 53-year championship drought. The Knicks, who led the San Antonio Spurs 1-0 in the seven-game series as of June 4, are three wins away from […]
Posted inNews
Shandaken
Shandaken Receives $18,420 Donation From Former Mount Tremper Church
Shandaken received an $18,420 donation from the former Shandaken Reform Church of Mount Tremper at the Town Board’s Monday, June 1, meeting, with money intended to support parks and recreation projects. The gift nearly matches the town’s Parks and Recreation Committee’s $22,000 annual budget and could help fund improvements at several town parks, said Samantha […]
Posted inQ&A
Overlook
What to Know During Tick Season in Ulster and Greene Counties
Tick densities rose last year in Ulster and Greene counties, just as residents are heading back into the woods, brush, and tall grass where bites are more likely. State public health data from 2025, the most recent available, showed adult blacklegged tick density more than tripled in Ulster County, rising to 37.57 ticks per 1,000 […]
