Opera house plan aims to revive old home

by DIANE VALDEN

ANCRAM—The Stiehle house is a building on the edge in many ways.

The 250+year-old, two-story building is situated on the south side of Route 82, within inches of the highway, and just east of the firehouse at the County Route 7 crossroads. The highway is its front yard and its backyard is steep. The house also does not have an adequate septic system.

The place is not suitable for a full-time residence, but Ancram Opera House proprietors Jeff Mousseau and Paul Ricciardi believe the old place might be perfect as an administrative office and intern housing for the opera house. Read more…

Coach pitches plan for safer softball field

by JEANETTE WOLFBERG

HUDSON–Before building dugouts for the high school’s varsity softball field, the Hudson City School District (HCSD) should relocate the field, said Don Conte, coach for the high school’s girls varsity softball team in phone interviews late last month.

In its current location, the field has space for neither safe practicing nor comfortable game-watching, he said. In addition, it is “too close” to a drainage ditch. Increasing the field’s safety and functionality requires moving it, he said. And that can happen only before the installation of a new dugout makes the field’s position permanent. The field should get dugouts only after it’s established in a better location.

The district recently gave football and soccer a new field and now plans to give baseball new facilities. “They have to do it for softball too,” said Mr. Conte. “They can’t leave the girls behind.” Read more…

ReEntry Columbia finds the arts may reduce recidivism

by JEANETTE WOLFBERG

Andrea Chrisjohn is the new program director/case manager for ReEntry Columbia, which helps people who have been in prison or jail readjust to liberty and lead productive lives. Photo by Jeanette Wolfberg

HUDSON–Staff changes at ReEntry Columbia and art classes in jail highlighted the ReEntry Task Force meeting July 10. ReEntry Columbia helps people transition from prison to liberty.

Andrea Chrisjohn, a graduate of Columbia Greene Community College, has joined ReEntry Columbia as its new program director/case manager. She replaces Carolyn Polikarpus, who retired after six years. Ms. Chrisjohn majored in Criminal Justice at Columbia-Greene and received a BA in organizational leadership and communication from Marist College, she said at the meeting. She has a paralegal certificate and court advocacy experience.

In 2010, she started a non-profit ReEntry organization in Poughkeepsie, but two years later she had a car accident after which her organization could not continue. She has also been involved with People, Inc. She said she is three-eighths Iroquois. Read more…

CMH will move deliveries to Albany Med

by STAFF

HUDSON – Columbia Memorial Health (CMH) is changing its maternity program. Effective later this year deliveries will be moved to Albany Medical Center. Pre- and post-natal care for mother and baby services will continue at CMH’s two locations in Hudson and Catskill.

News of the changes is posted on the CMH website and Facebook page Wednesday afternoon, July 17.

The change will begin September 30, with deliveries taking place at The Birth Place at Albany Med. Read more…

K’hook new website has dated data

by EMILIA TEASDALE

VALATIE–The Town of Kinderhook has a new website. It was one of the topics discussed at the Town Board meeting July 8.

In November 2017 the board hired the company Revize to update the town’s website. Former board member Peter Bujanow, who volunteered to created the bid package to find a company to do the update and then reviewed the bids for the board, said at that time that a new town website should be launched in nine-to-twelve weeks. The board approved the bid for an initial cost of about $12,000.

The new website was launched June 26, 2019. The new website can be found at the same address as the old website: http://www.kinderhook-ny.gov. Read more…