Orange County, NY, Middletown | featured news

For more than a year, an Albany think tank has been studying the opioid crisis in Sullivan County and its ripple effect across the community.In a part dedicated to foster care released in August, the Rockefeller Institute of Government called it the "other family separation crisis," comparing it with President Donald Trump's immigration policy at the United States' border with Mexico at the time.The researchers called children the "greatest collateral damage" of the crisis. [...]

GRAHAMSVILLE — Judy Graham-Baisley always felt she was born to be a mother.Since 2010, she's been a mother to more than 50 kids.Just not in the way you were thinking.That year, she and her husband, John, became foster parents in Sullivan County. In addition to four biological children, they adopted two kids they fostered and hosted 48 foster kids.And that doesn't include any emergency placements or respite care, which involves temporarily taking care [...]

GOSHEN — The structure flew through the air with the greatest of ease — appropriate for the carnival theme. It arced high (extra points for good air) but curved left, plunged inexorably toward earth and splintered into sticks of balsa wood.There was a collective “ohhh,” a beat of defeat from the crowd in Room 218 of the Emanuel Axelrod Education Center at Orange-Ulster BOCES. Then the show went on.And though the mothers, the grandparents, [...]

TodayPartly sunny, with a high near 35. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.TonightMostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 19. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.SaturdaySunny, with a high near 43. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Light and variable wind.Saturday NightFreezing rain and sleet likely between 11pm and 3am, [...]

ALBANY — The state is kicking in another $128 million to help local governments across New York repave roads damaged by harsh winter weather.Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that the funding will support 91 paving projects and the renewal of 1,000 lane miles of pavement across the state. The Democrat says the latest round of funding will pay for at least one project in every county and New York City.The state had earlier this year committed $100 million for [...]

WEST POINT — Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney is urging the Defense Department to reopen a unit at Keller Army Community Hospital that was delivering more than 100 babies a year until it closed last year for what was supposed to be a temporary shutdown.The Cold Spring Democrat released a letter on Wednesday telling acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan that he recently learned the closure of the labor and delivery unit would be permanent and asking the department to [...]

GOSHEN — A local economic development agency’s hesitancy to grant tax breaks might drive a Town of Goshen business to expand outside the county, the company’s leaders said Thursday.On Wednesday, Remee Products withdrew its application to the Orange County Industrial Development Agency for a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement and $311,500 in sales tax exemptions for construction costs. A PILOT amount would've been determined after the project was [...]

NEW WINDSOR — BioHiTech America has withdrawn its proposal to build a plant on town-owned land at New York Stewart International Airport that would turn garbage into fuel for factories making cement.The Town Board approved a resolution Wednesday night rescinding and canceling the agreement for the purchase of the land and refunding the $66,000 in option payments already received from BioHiTech.The company was due to go before the Planning Board again next week, this [...]

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has ordered a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to report to prison next week.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied Joseph Percoco bail Thursday pending his appeal.Percoco, who ran Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign, was sentenced to six years after his conviction last year on charges he accepted more than $300,000 from companies seeking to influence Cuomo's administration, including Competitive Power Ventures, [...]

NEW YORK — Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says the wait is almost over regarding performers for Woodstock 50 in Watkins Glen, despite media reports claiming Jay-Z, Black Keys and others will perform at the event in August."We are thrilled with all the excitement about Woodstock 50, but we have an obligation to our fans, artists and partners to do things the right way," Lang said in a statement on Thursday. "We are in the final stages of laying the groundwork and can't wait [...]