Orange County, NY, Middletown | featured news

CENTRAL VALLEY – Visitors heading to old and new attractions in the Route 17 corridor will discover this summer what local people already know: There is simply no skirting the construction at Exit 131.Now in its second year, the state Department of Transportation’s $150 million reconstruction of the Route 17 exit at Route 32 and the Thruway remains a constantly moving tableau of men and machines in every direction, with shifting traffic patterns and lane closings. [...]

TOWN OF WALLKILL – Long-stalled plans to build a Town of Wallkill medical marijuana manufacturing facility are back on track and expanding, which will give Orange County three medicinal cannabis producers.A spokesman for Purchase-based Valley Agriceuticals confirmed on Friday that construction recently resumed at the company’s 139-acre property at 173 Dosen Road in the town's Fair Oaks section.The project was hung up because it initially lacked a state license and [...]

KINGSTON - A 36-year-old New Paltz man was sentenced to seven years in state prison on Friday after pleading guilty to second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.Ulrich Alrt admitted in December 2018 to engaging in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13 between Aug. 1, 2015 and Nov. 16, 2017, according to a press release.Ulster County Court, immediately prior to Friday's sentencing, declined a request to allow Arlt to withdraw [...]

Two men have been arrested after a five-month investigation by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Gang Intelligence and Narcotics Unit into the sale of crack cocaine in the greater Monticello area.Sheriff's deputies arrested Desiree "Dez" White, 19, and Bashir "Bash" Diallo, 23, on Friday after executing a search warrant of their home at 22 Cottage St. in the village of Monticello. Deputies found 3 grams of crack cocaine, packaging material and marijuana.The two men [...]

A 36-year-old New Paltz man was sentenced Friday to seven years in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree sexual conduct against a child.Ulrich Arlt, formerly of South Ohioville Road, admitted in December that he engaged in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13 between Aug. 1, 2015, and Nov. 16, 2017, according to a press release.Prior to sentencing, Ulster County Court declined a request to allow Arlt to withdraw his guilty [...]

WEST POINT — Megan Gagnon and Spencer Pavia have been friends since fifth grade.They met as teammates on a travel soccer team, often carpooling to events. In school they were competitors on the soccer and track fields, Gagnon for Cornwall and Pavia for Monroe-Woodbury, but still remained friends.And when they both were accepted to West Point, their friendship became even stronger as they served as part of each other’s support system at the physically and [...]

At least four bills already were pending in Albany to increase by varying amounts the $200 credit that volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers currently can claim to lower their state income taxes.But a group of Republican lawmakers, most of whom had sponsored one or more of those credit-hiking bills, went for broke this month by proposing instead to simply eliminate state income taxes altogether for those unpaid emergency responders. Their new bill would extend that full tax [...]

Michael Acevedo, president of the Orange County Landlords Association, found himself the target of criticism from senators at a state hearing in Newburgh on Thursday.The hearing by the Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee and the Housing Committee solicited testimony about housing conditions and code enforcement problems.Acevedo was among those asked to testify.However, Acevedo, who complained about selective enforcement and said he’s [...]

When you meet with an elder law estate planning lawyer, honesty is the best policy even though it may be difficult to disclose the personal information requested. However, the questions and answers are necessary for good planning.If the lawyer does not have all the necessary facts, the plan may have to be revised or created anew, the inheritance may go to unintended people, and family conflicts over the inheritance may ensue.Elder law is about disability planning, including [...]

NARROWSBURG — In their day — and we’re talking 17th, 18th century here — they were an instrument of humiliation. Stocks and pillories, of course. If you did something untoward in your town, or maybe even followed the “wrong” religion, in you went, hands and head (pillories) or hands and legs (stocks). Locked in, left outside for all to see.In our day — and let’s talk baby boomers on up — those same [...]