North Country Community College launched its spring semester, achieving its seventh consecutive term of enrollment growth.

Student numbers are up 10% compared to the start of the spring 2025 semester. Classes began Tuesday, Jan. 27, after a snow-day closure on Monday, with both online and in-person courses underway.

Serving the communities of Essex and Franklin counties, NCCC operates campuses in Malone, Saranac Lake and Ticonderoga, and offers an array of online programs. Part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, the college has 30 degree and certificate programs designed to equip students with skills to enter the workforce directly or transfer to a four-year institution.

NCCC continues to see notable enrollment growth in several programs of interest to students and the region, particularly those included under the SUNY Reconnect initiative, which provides free tuition to adult students ages 25-55 without a college degree in select programs. These include addictions counseling, radiologic technology, cybersecurity and digital forensics and health sciences. Additional programs experiencing strong enrollment trends this semester include digital arts and design, massage therapy, business: sports and events management and the practical nursing certificate program.

“SUNY Reconnect continues to have a positive impact on our enrollment, as does the availability of a host of scholarship opportunities, many the result of the generous philanthropic support from members of our community,” said college president Joe Keegan. “We are grateful to our community partners, Gov. Hochul and the legislature for their continued investment in our institution and students.”

In addition to its academic programming, the college has a host of noncredit offerings this semester that are designed to meet community and workforce training needs. These include advanced EMT training, pottery classes, a welcoming and belonging course offered by the Adirondack North Country Association and a cybersecurity training program provided by UpNCoding and sponsored by SUNY. More information on these noncredit classes is available at nccc.edu/shorts.

READ MORE: North Country Community College launches celebrations for first-generation students across three campuses

NCCC’s commitment to student success is further supported by two new grants secured by the Office of Student Affairs. A $15,000 grant will be used to address increased demand for food and basic needs assistance while expanding access across all three campuses. In addition, a $22,000 grant from the Gates Foundation will strengthen the college’s Emergency Needs Fund, which provides crucial support to students facing financial crises as they work toward completing their degrees.

The college also continues to enhance its digital student support tools through its “Bernie” initiative, an integrated web chat and text support system named after the college’s St. Bernard mascot. The second and third phases of the project are now underway, aimed at improving student retention and enrollment.

On the athletics front, the nationally ranked Saints men’s basketball team is enjoying another remarkable season. As of Feb. 2, the team holds a 17-2 record, remains undefeated at home and currently ranks 11th in the NJCAA.

Bard’s faculty leaders met earlier this week to discuss a collective faculty response on new revelations about the relationship between Bard President Leon Botstein and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but they were unable to reach a consensus on how and whether to respond, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The meeting between the chair of the Bard College Faculty Senate and the president of the Bard chapter of the American Association of University Professors resulted in the Faculty Senate ultimately deciding not to collectively condemn or defend Botstein.

The lack of unanimity on how to respond to Botstein’s relationship with Epstein was also evident in Daily Catch interviews with half a dozen faculty members this week. None of them wished to be quoted by name to protect sensitive discussions. 

At least one faculty member, who asked to remain anonymous over concerns about retaliation, said the recently released Department of Justice files documenting Botstein’s extensive communication with Epstein should result in the Bard President’s resignation.

“I just don’t think he’s fit to lead,” the faculty member said. “He’s in charge of raising money. He’s in charge of people’s children. He’s in charge of underage children through the early colleges. I just don’t see how this isn’t invalidating immediately.”

The faculty member said he had previously been aware of communication between Botstein and Epstein but was “alarmed” by the volume of contact revealed in the recent document release, as well as reports that Botstein had visited Epstein’s private island in 2012. While other faculty members may share this view, he said that many staff are concerned about the consequences of speaking out against Botstein. 

“It is virtually impossible for people who are not tenured to say anything because the hiring and firing decisions ultimately are up to Leon,” he said.

Another faculty member echoed that concern, explaining that, unlike institutions where faculty hiring is handled by individual departments, all faculty appointments at Bard must be approved by Botstein. This, she said, creates a culture in which many believe their job is tied to their loyalty to the president.

“For a lot of people, their own security depends on Leon,” she said.

Other faculty members told The Daily Catch that they believe Botstein’s relationship with Epstein was strictly professional and solely related to fundraising.

“I can’t imagine that he has done anything other than trying to get to know the other billionaires,” one elderly faculty member said, commenting on Botstein’s effort to leverage his relationship with Epstein to solicit donations from other big donors such as Leon Black, who gave $250,000 to the college after he and Botstein were flown to Epstein’s private island. “I think that he was trying to get money for the college and he’s totally dedicated to that.” 

A younger faculty member similarly said she does not believe Botstein participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. One need only look at Bard’s financial condition relative to other larger universities to see that the college did not benefit particularly from Epstein or his wealthy associates, she said.

“We’re too poor to have profited. The doorways and the buildings are rusting, no one would let that happen on a college campus that was well-heeled, “ she said. “Look elsewhere if you want to see the complicit presidents.”

Another young male faculty member said he believes Botstein did not do anything wrong. 

“I trust our president, and hopefully everything will be clear,” he said. 

Others say the recent revelations of numerous new interactions between the convicted sex offender and the college president have changed their perception of Botstein. 

“The totality of these details reflects a disturbing lack of judgment,” one faculty member said. “At best, it diminishes my confidence in his ability to lead.”

The Daily Catch has reached out to both the Chair of the Faculty Senate and the President of the AAUP Bard Chapter for further details, but has not received a response. 

The post No Consensus Among Bard Faculty on Response to New Details of Botstein–Epstein Relationship first appeared on The Daily Catch.

Sarah Kingzack raises grass-fed beef near Westport. She also teaches high school English. “I’ve always had an off-farm job,” she said. “I don’t know anyone who has a small farm who doesn’t also have another job.”

Kingzack knows firsthand how hard it is to make ends meet as a small farmer. Market complexities, economies of scale and conventional food systems don’t support farmers like Kingzack, who raises 20 head of cattle per year and sells halves, quarters and cuts.

“The price of fuel went up, so the price of hay goes up,” she said. “Our butchering fees have essentially gone up every year for the past four years.”

Inflation makes life harder for her neighbors in the region who already grapple with poverty. And climate change intensifies those challenges by bringing persistent heat, drought and intermittent flooding to Westport. “There is a squeeze from all sides,” Kingzack said.

With Essex Food Hub, Kingzack’s KZ Farm has found a partner that is building out food systems that work for small and medium-sized farms.

“For me, the hub is this critical organization that is trying to cushion the really negative impacts of all of these things so that farms can still be viable,” she said.

Federal investment has been a valuable tool in North Country food system build-outs, but sudden funding cuts destabilize markets and undermine efforts. “It feels like a lot of the systems in our country that we need to survive are not being invested in enough,” Kingzack said. “Once a farm field is lost, or once a farm goes out of business, it’s hard to reverse that trend, unless we have a very serious investment in organizations like the hub that enable local farms or a diversified region of farms to survive.”

For Kingzack, the hub offers wholesale aggregation and distribution through New York’s North Country and as far as New York City.

“It’s huge because we are a very small farm,” Kingzack said. “We wouldn’t be able to wholesale otherwise.”

Through Essex Food Hub, schools, restaurants, grocery stores and hospitals can order online from more than 50 local producers. “They are able to market our products alongside a bunch of other products, they aggregate my products along with other local farm products and then they deliver,” Kingzack said.

Through federal Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA), the hub also purchased more than half a million dollars of local food for distribution. LFPA has now been eliminated, part of more than a billion dollars in federal funding cuts to local food purchasing in schools and pantries. This loss had the biggest impact on producers, but it also affected the hub’s capacity.

The Essex Food Hub started out as the Hub on the Hill in Essex before converting to a nonprofit and building out a permanent home with a larger retail space in neighboring Westport. Now, they’re building out a commercial kitchen, production space and cold and dry storage to support start-up caterers, bakers and cheesemakers.

Kingzack understands the value of this project: KZ Farm stored meat in the hub’s small commercial freezer until she could build out her own on-farm storage.

Essex Food Hub’s build-out is supported by an $860,000 Resilient Food System Infrastructure (RFSI) award from the federal government and a half-million-dollar grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership serving the most distressed counties of New York, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The commission has been defunded, though the grant is still proceeding. The RFSI funding had been frozen but was released in June.

“The program is proceeding in New York, but also feels uncertain,” said Essex Food Hub director of outreach Kim La Reau.

The delay shortened the timeline for construction by a year—a year in which building material prices increased and tariffs jostled markets for food production equipment. RFSI grantees are scrambling to catch up and meet project budgets in a new reality.

Kingzack said some long-time farmers are wondering if it’s time to get out. But she holds tight to a vision in which she’s a small but vital component in a rich local and regional food network that benefits all her neighbors.

“What I envision for this 50 acres of land is that we fit into a much bigger tapestry of farms in our region,” she said. “That we just add in the few thousand pounds of meat that we produce every year to the pot of what our region is producing, adding to the overall resilience of this place.”

With Kingzack’s beef as one of many ingredients, these regional food producers are starting to cook up a pretty tasty—and resilient—recipe.

On Feb. 3, a large section of ice pack covering Lake Champlain began to drift north, resulting in groups of skaters needing to be rescued. Below is an account from Evan Perkins and Jess Stevens, skaters who witnessed the incident and sent messages to ensure all parties were accounted for.

‘We were uniquely positioned’

At around 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 3, a couple miles north of the bouquet river on the New York side of Lake Champlain, we noticed an open lead forming in front of us that looked like it was going to become lake wide. At that point, I immediately texted someone who was in another large group that I knew was on the ice. We then proceeded to skate directly to shore, having to go a little bit south to get around some patches of 2-inch ice that I thought was a greater risk of peeling off the main sheet that we were on which was 5 inches thick.

When we arrived near shore, we noticed a small open crack, which we were able to cross easily, but we could see was widening. Once we got to shore and turned around, we could see that the whole bay was just starting to move northward. It was moving very slowly at that point but picked up speed in the next couple of minutes. There was still plenty of ice that was firmly attached to the shore, but it was clear that the whole ice sheet was moving.

At this point, I put a notification on Listserve and then also made phone calls to a couple different folks who I knew to be on the ice and let them know what was occurring. Jesse and I proceeded to then skate south on shoreline ice. We estimated that this ice sheet was moving for probably about 20-30 minutes before it stopped.

The whole time we had been skating, we’d been searching for a place where it was possible to cross off of the main ice sheet for the group that was out there. When we found a spot, we called them. We could also see the group out on the ice and directed them toward our location.

When they got off the ice, we had thought that all groups were accounted for because we had received a text from a member of the party that they had gotten rescued and were about to get off the ice and hadn’t heard anything since. They had also been fully informed that they were on a moving plate.

The plate had stopped moving right about the time we called the group that was out on the ice and directed them toward our location, which turned a dynamic situation into a static one which was far safer and easier to manage in terms of crossing from the main ice sheet onto shoreline ice. From there, we all proceeded back to Essex. Since my group had all parked on the Vermont side and had no idea that a rescue was occurring at this point, we proceeded south following the shoreline on safe ice, crossing the old, thick rubble ice near Split Rock to the Vermont side. Our plan from there was to head up the Vermont shore, only skating shoreline ice, obviously not getting back on the main sheet, and calling an Uber if we got stopped at any point.

There, we stopped for a break and checked our texts where we realized that a rescue was going on, and so we headed back over to Essex where the fire chief was waiting because our names had been given by somebody in the rescue party as people who have been out on the ice and they needed to account for us. 

Much thanks to all the rescue services involved and all the people who went out of their way to make sure those skaters got safely back to shore.

Reading, writing and rutabagas aren’t part of the classic curriculum that most educators signed up for, but teachers who have added food to their coursework have seen results that are both surprising and rewarding. And sometimes more than a little eye-opening.

Melissa Niquette is a second grade teacher at Boquet Valley Central School’s Lakeview Campus whose students participate in the Rooted in Learning Farm to School program. She noticed that children tend to be familiar with locally grown apples and pumpkins due to parents’ autumnal traditions. But beyond that, there is scant knowledge of where food comes from, or what goes into a healthy diet.

And that matters, for both their short and long-term health.

“Most children are not exposed to whole foods, or foods their parents dislike, and that leaves an imprint on them,” Niquette said. “As an adult, I tend to go to the foods I had as a child. Giving kids healthy, locally grown foods now will hopefully help them make better choices later.”

Local roots, lifelong habits

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County helps teachers introduce a world of fresh foods to kids through the Rooted in Learning Farm to School program that promotes food-related activities throughout the 2025-2026 school year. Rooted in Learning is funded through a Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY grant, and is being taught in elementary schools in AuSable Forks, Boquet Valley and Ticonderoga.

Changing the taste of a generation

While children are famously pegged as vegetable-haters, intolerant of any unprocessed whole food that wasn’t raised in the supermarket freezer aisle, teachers say this may be less an issue of taste than it is an issue of exposure.

READ MORE: Agriculture in the classroom grows roots in Essex County

Kids eat what their parents eat, and processed foods have become generational, having exploded in popularity in the 1970s and ’80s. Massive advertising campaigns focused on children, and parents—often tired from a hard day at work—found it easy to oblige with microwave-ready fish sticks and tater tots.

These processed foods are, as Niquette says, being imprinted on young palates with health implications both today and down the road. But that pattern can be changed with education.

Rooted in Learning provides classroom instruction and facilitates farm visits where kids see foods in their natural state. That makes them curious and more likely to try fresh foods that were previously unfamiliar to them.

From reluctant eaters to food adventurers

Michelle Eggleston, a fourth grade teacher at Ticonderoga Elementary School, said she’s noticed a change in children’s eating behavior since agricultural instruction has entered the classroom. She’s noticed kids are not only (voluntarily) eating more vegetables, but having a better understanding of whole foods and nutrition in general.

“I see them get excited when they are learning about and preparing new foods,” she said.

Along with nourishment, Eggleston said children are, at a young age, receptive to the message that wholesome foods will make you grow stronger, think more clearly and have (parents, avert your eyes) more energy.

“I enjoy teaching food because it helps to shape lifelong eating habits in my students,” she said. “I’m helping to influence how students feel about their bodies, whether they fear or enjoy trying new foods, and how confident they feel making food choices later in life.”

Lessons that nourish the whole child

Teachers have also discovered that bringing agriculture into the classroom can impart lessons that go beyond nutrition and health. There are few parts of daily and academic life that can’t in some way be linked to food production. 

Food is a natural for, say, teaching science. “We use food in STEM activities when we can fit it into the schedule,” Niquette said. “I bring enough to use for the lesson and then to eat fresh.”

Growing connections between food, culture and community

“I’m always looking for ways to connect our learning to our community,” said Ines Chapela, a third grade teacher at Boquet Valley Central School’s Lakeview campus. “I love that the AITC lessons teach students about local food and use maps to show the students where the food is being grown. It’s important for kids to feel connected to their food systems and for them to understand the bigger picture of agriculture.”

Chapela believes food is a natural way to teach about other cultures as well, and plans to add those lessons in as time allows.

Food can be exciting for children, particularly when it’s something new—and what gets children excited gets teachers excited too. “Agriculture in the Classroom has been an empowering and rewarding experience for the students and the teachers,” Niquette said.

This story was originally published by Adirondack Harvest.

Despite temperatures of just 17 degrees, more than one-third of the Red Hook High School student body walked out of school at 1 p.m. Friday, joining a nationwide day of protest in response to two killings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis.

The students said their participation was important on a national day of protest. “We want to make sure that Red Hook says its piece, that we are not okay with ICE in our neighborhoods, we are not okay with a fascist country that will hurt our friends, that will kill our family,” said Leopold Pflaum, a senior who was credited with being the brainchild of the protests. 

“We want to make sure that our school knows that and that we have ways to warn kids if they’re in danger of being kidnapped by ICE,” he added.

The students passed out a flier with two demands of the Red Hook Central School District. One is that ICE officers not be permitted on school property and that Red Hook Police not cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

“For the safety of the students and staff, we demand an affirmative declaration from the administration and school board of non-cooperation. Ban DHS,” the flier states.

A second demand is that an early-warning system be installed inside the high school if school personnel learn that DHS or ICE agents are within the vicinity of the building. Red Hook High enrolls 567 students. 

District spokesman Mike Benischek responded to the students’ demand note and the protest action Friday. “We appreciate the passion our students showed today, exercising their rights to assemble and be heard,” he said. “As is always the case within our buildings when students raise concerns, we will engage in constructive, reflective conversation directly with the student body.” He also noted the district’s January 2025 statement that outlines District and State of New York policies and guidance related to student privacy in light of actions by the Federal government.

The students issued other demands to elected leaders, local Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) and New York’s two senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats. Among those demands is no funding for ICE, accountability and transparency by all federal agents, and the cutting of personal and political ties with Palantir Technologies (PLTR), a data analytics firm used by ICE.

“We are hoping to create a good relationship between our school and the organizations that protect immigrants in our community, and we are hoping to encourage our school [will] … make an additional statement that ICE will never be allowed on school premises,“ said senior Cairo, 17, who asked that her last name not be used.

Another of the lead organizers said it’s critical for students to support their classmates, some of whom are immigrants or whose parents may be undocumented. “I know people who have not wanted to come to practice, who haven’t wanted to go places because their parents don’t want to leave their homes,” said Danny Cashen, 18. “We need to establish that there is support for them, that we will be doing what they’re doing in Minneapolis.”

Another student, Illa DeFraites Scott, 18, said it was time to speak out. “For a lot of us, it’s just felt like our voice isn’t being heard at all, and this was a way for us to be heard,” said Illa, a senior and one of 15 students who helped organize the protest. 

She said the idea surfaced about a week about by Leopold, who helped start a group chat after a recent “No Kings” protest. That group then invited others to the message thread and students began making posters.

Danny said students would also be protesting outside of local businesses and taking other actions. “We’re going to be driving them to their games,” he said of classmates whose parents don’t want to leave home. “That is sad to say that that needs to happen, but without that, where are we?”

Several students remarked on their gratitude that bitter temperatures didn’t suppress attendance. “I didn’t expect that we would have such a turnout, especially because it’s so cold,” said Illa. “We were shuffling through the snow at one point, and I even heard whispers like, ‘Why don’t we just sit in the lobby?’ But that doesn’t do much. We might be warm, but it’s not doing anything.”

The students left from a side entrance of the high school just after the 1 p.m. bell, marched around to the back of the Linden Avenue Middle School, then down a path that meets up with Phillips Street at Market Street. They then headed along Market Street on sidewalks on both sides of the street and into the Four Corners. 

There were no speeches. Instead, students held signs aloft and chanted, “No Justice, No Peace,” “ICE Out for Good,” “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now,” and “Immigrants are welcome here. No hate. No fear.” As they walked into the Four Corners, the students loudly sang the 1940 Woodie Guthrie folk song, “This Land is Your Land.” Students also held aloft signs, “We prefer crushed ICE,” said one. “All lCE melts,” said another.

At one point, the students walked to Red Hook Village Hall before returning to the Four Corners. They did not disrupt traffic.

Late Friday morning, Red Hook High Principal Dr. Kyle Roddey alerted parents to the walkout, of which district officials were informed by several of the student organizers on Thursday. Stacie Fenn Smith, principal of the Linden Avenue Middle School, did as well. Both largely used the same verbiage in their communications.

Roddey noted that it is a violation of district policy, as stated in the district’s Student Handbook and the Code of Conduct, for students to leave campus during the school day. But he also noted the value of protest, and Fenn Smith did the same.

“While the school does not encourage students to miss instructional time, we want to be clear that we respect student voices and are often impressed by those who feel strongly enough about an issue to advocate for their beliefs,” Roddey wrote. “Civic engagement and thoughtful advocacy are important elements of personal growth and democratic participation.”

He also noted that students retain certain First Amendment rights and protections during the school day, including the right to assemble and express their views, provided, he said, “this occurs in a manner that does not substantially disrupt the educational environment.”

Several parents whose students participated said they were pleased. “I love it. Kids should learn about what’s going on in our world and how they can step up and make a difference. Best classroom is in the field,” said Amy Kotler of Red Hook, whose ninth-grade daughter, Jess, participated with her mom’s blessing.

The walkout began just after the bell rang at 1 p.m., Kotler said. Students exited the front entrance of the high school, dropped their backpacks on the ground, and proceeded to walk down the sidewalks along Market Street on both sides of the street. They gathered on all four corners of the Village, holding signs aloft and chanting.

District officials said disciplinary action may be levied on the students. “The level of discipline would be impacted by the amount of disruption,” said spokesman Mike Benischek. However, details of any discipline would not be announced by the school as students are covered by federal privacy statutes, Benischek said.

The student-led effort stems from a national shutdown campaign calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” to protest immigration enforcement and the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, with organizers earlier this week urging coordinated walkouts and after-school protests nationwide.

The Red Hook action follows a student protest in Rhinebeck on Tuesday, Jan. 20 in which more than 100 students participated. Also, the Red Hook Village protest project that has occurred at the Four Corners intersection for multiple Saturdays since Pres. Donald Trump took office a year ago focused on ICE actions at its Jan. 11 event. It was one of the most widely attended weekend protest events.

Note: Claire Greenburger contributed reporting.

The post In Biting Cold, More than 150 Red Hook Students Walk Out of School to Protest ICE Actions first appeared on The Daily Catch.

For two decades, Rhinebeck resident Eric Spiegel, president of Rhinebeck at Home, served as caregiver for three loved ones—his father, his stepmother, and his close friend, Henry—as each experienced cognitive decline. “Coming to terms with the needs of my loved ones meant putting large parts of my life on hold,” he said, “dropping my own needs and interests for others.” 

Each situation demanded constant vigilance, as both of his parents were deteriorating at the same time. They insisted they were fine and needed no help. But his father, he said, “kept doing things that had to be undone when and if you found out about them.” His stepmother, meanwhile, “stopped doing anything, including basic self-care. Everything, that is, except buying and consuming alcohol.” Living 125 miles away, Spiegel created a small bedroom in their home so he could stay several nights a week, and petitioned the courts to declare his parents legally incapacitated so he could serve as their guardian, while managing finances, medical care, and basic safety.

“Most of the time, I would just toughen up and take care of what I needed to,” Spiegel said. “Every now and then, though, I allowed myself to break down. A few times, I left my parents’ house for a few days, feeling like I might never go back.” But after three or four days, duty called, and he would return. 

With Henry, the warning signs surfaced as a medley of missed medical appointments, burnt food left on the stove, unchecked spending, skipped medications, growing disorientation, and an insistence on driving when it was no longer safe. Spiegel took over finances, coordinated doctor visits, hired and supervised aides, and eventually moved Henry into a care facility—decisions that were emotionally wrenching and financially daunting.

Henry had limited savings and Social Security, and Spiegel managed every penny. “As time went on, it was always a question of which would go first—him or his money,” he said. By the time Henry died in late 2024 at the age of 79, the timing of his passing spared Spiegel from covering the cost of his care. “If he had lived one month longer, there would have been nothing,” he said. By the end, “whatever sadness existed was by then dwarfed by a sense of great relief.” 

Spiegel’s experience is far from rare. In New York State, roughly 13% of adults aged 65 and older, some 426,500 adults, are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Coalition of New York State Alzheimer’s Association Chapters. Nearly 656,000 family members provide care to people with cognitive loss, contributing hundreds of millions of hours of care each year.

“The difficulty of family caregiving cannot be overstated,” Joan Friedman told The Daily Catch. She is the co-founder of The Being Together Project, a nonprofit that supports people caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia through counseling, education, and peer support. “They are on duty 24/7. Many caregivers feel sad, scared, lonely, resentful, and angry. One person cannot do the job for long without help.” 

Behind the statistics are intimate lives shaped by love, responsibility, and the legacy of deep connection. The Daily Catch identified three couples from Northern Dutchess who are grappling with the challenges of memory loss, each at a different stage of the journey. These case studies examine how memory loss reshapes relationships and daily life and how partners adapt as someone they love begins to slip away.

Adapting with Grace

At their request, the names of Steve and Barbara Cal are pseudonyms used to protect their identities. They agreed to be photographed, provided their faces were not shown.

Winter for Steve Cal means skiing at Belleayre and chopping firewood for the stove. Spring brings the yard and vegetable garden back to life. Every week, there’s a crockpot meal, portioned into leftovers. From the outside, little appears out of order. But Steve notices the small adjustments he is now making to accommodate his wife of 42 years, Barbara, who was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s in 2024.

Both 71, the couple has lived in their Red Hook home since 1986. They raised two children there, retired in 2016, and built a life rich in routine: attending church, volunteering at food pantries, traveling, enjoying music, and pursuing lifelong learning. When Barbara was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in 2022, those routines remained. “We continue with an emphasis on doing activities that matter most to Barbara and enhance her feelings of wellness and inclusion,” Steve said.

Most mornings, Barbara walks several miles on familiar routes. She takes classes at IXL Health and Fitness and reads library books, sometimes finishing one in a day or two. Together, they attend courses at the Lifetime Learning Institute at Bard College. Music and art, Steve said, are essential—sometimes a summer concert at the Eat n Go in Red Hook, or dancing together in the kitchen. 

Barbara still cooks, though now Steve sets out ingredients in advance and stays nearby. Some days, she bakes cookies on her own. Other days, he watches closely, tracking down misplaced utensils or ingredients. When they shop, he steps in at checkout. He makes sure her phone is charged, her keys are accounted for, and the rhythms of the day stay intact. “There is a new balance,” he said. “It puts additional burdens on me that I can grow into.” 

Steve tries to live in Barbara’s reality, sharing information when she asks for it and sometimes offering small white lies when the truth would only cause distress. When she misplaces an item, Steve tells her that it was he who lost it. “I try my best to protect her,” he said. It’s a lesson he learned years ago, watching Barbara’s mother struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Knowing her family history, Barbara had long worried she might develop the disease. When Steve realized they would need to adapt, he began reading articles and books on the early stages of Alzheimer’s. “The reading gave me insight into the progression and possible accommodations,” he said. They attended a conference on Alzheimer’s, dementia, and memory loss at the Franklin D. Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park. Steve also began attending a twice-monthly care partners’ support group at The Center for Healthy Aging, Nuvance Health Medical Practice, which was recommended to him by an LLI peer. “Many participants are dealing with more advanced cases,” he said, “but I pick up tips and hints.”

After a neurologist told them they had caught the disease early, they decided to join a clinical study in August 2024 at the Alzheimer’s Research Center in Albany to test a new Alzheimer’s drug. The study is demanding: monthly infusions, regular MRIs and PET scans, and ongoing assessments. It requires two participants—one to receive the drug or placebo, and one to observe and report. “I chose to join the clinical study because it offered me hope,” Barbara said, “and a way to be instrumental in helping to find a cure.” 

Barbara’s deepest fear isn’t the disease itself; it’s being abandoned by her life partner. “I fear at some point my husband will have had enough of what I am going through and want to leave,” she said. “I am human, and I would be dishonest if I said I didn’t feel grief, fear, and frustration from time to time.” 

Steve responds to that fear with presence. He manages and attends every medical appointment and estimates he spends about two hours a day on tasks related to Barbara’s memory loss: scheduling, organizing, and observing. “I accept that this is the same person I married,” he said. “Something is causing a problem, but we will deal with it.”

For now, they plan to keep Barbara at home as long as possible. A nurse once told them they were the happiest couple she knew—a comment Steve took as the highest compliment. “We are in a new normal, one that will continue to change,” he said. “I chose my life partner 46 years ago, and I choose her again every day.”

Labor of Love

Betty and Peter Olson still live in the house they constructed together more than four decades ago on a hill in Clinton. They bought the 13 acres of land six months before their wedding in 1978 and moved into the unfinished house in 1980. “Well, he says we built it,” Betty, 82, said, “but the truth is that he pulled out almost every nail I attempted, to put it in straight.” She carried shingles up the ladder while Peter was tied to the chimney for safety. She painted and insulated. He wired the house himself, and an inspector told him it was the best job he’d seen. 

They met in a scuba-diving class at the Poughkeepsie YMCA. Peter assisted the instructor. Betty was a beginner who struggled to stay underwater. “Peter attributes our relationship to the fact that I needed so much help,” she said.

That dynamic—Peter as the capable fixer, Betty asking for help—defined much of their marriage. Peter built radio towers on their property, one rising 110 feet into the air. Radios were both his lifelong hobby and career. He worked for a local radio station while a student at Dutchess Community College, then spent 45 years with New York Communications as the chief designer and trouble-shooter of radio communication systems for many Hudson Valley police and fire departments and commercial enterprises. Every winter, after storms, he plowed their long, steep driveway himself. Now, at 84, Peter is living with Alzheimer’s, and their roles have largely reversed.

Looking back, Betty can see early signs she didn’t recognize. “He’s always had a quirky personality,” she said. “Now I see that many of the times I thought he was joking, he might not have been understanding.”

Peter’s kidney transplant in July 2023 brought everything into sharper focus, she said. After years of polycystic kidney disease and a difficult stretch on dialysis, the transplant proved to be lifesaving, but the five-hour procedure and anesthesia took a toll. “For the first month afterward, I was told his confusion and memory loss would subside,” Betty said. “But it became evident that there were serious continuing deficits.” In 2024, MRI and PET scans confirmed Alzheimer’s. 

Their days are quiet. Peter sleeps late. Betty wakes him to take medications, checks his vital signs, and coaxes him to eat. He spends hours watching old television shows, nodding off, and repeatedly asking if it’s time for his evening medications. His social life has narrowed to doctor’s appointments, occasional visits with an old friend from high school, and their daughter, Ann Elizabeth, 44, who lives in Boston and visits a few times a year.

In some ways, Peter’s memory appears intact. He accurately reminds his wife about practical necessities, like getting gas or buying milk. But cognitive testing tells another story. His most recent score dropped to 20 out of 30, placing him in the moderate stage of decline. More than forgetting, Betty has noticed a growing inability to follow basic instructions.

Peter wears a medication patch that must be changed daily and kept dry. Betty wakes Peter, removes the patch, helps him into the shower, then applies a new one. One morning, she woke at 6:30 a.m. to find Peter showering, patch still on. When she asks him to help fold laundry, he is unsure how to complete the task. Once, after badly cutting her fingers and rushing to an urgent care center, she asked him to zip a bag holding her insurance cards. “He pulled the bag wide open,” she said. “No amount of coaching helped.”

The loss of practical skills has been especially painful. After his transplant, Peter couldn’t operate the FoodSaver vacuum sealer, a machine they’d used for years to preserve vegetables from their garden. Betty eventually figured it out herself. “Peter was always so adept,” she said. “Now even the simplest task baffles him.” They find humor where they can. Peter will call out that his “jacket is acting up again,” meaning he needs help dressing.

Peter has always loved doing a Donald Duck impression, originally to amuse others at the right moments. As his dementia has progressed, the voice now surfaced at unusual times, like during doctor’s appointments, when he slips into Donald Duck talk instead of answering questions. After a recent procedure to relieve his back pain, a nurse stepped into the packed waiting room to explain his aftercare to Betty. Unsure of her name, the nurse called out, “Is there a Daisy Duck here?” Betty stood and replied, “That would be me,” as heads turned across the room. Even then, the two of them found a way to laugh.

As Peter’s sole caregiver, Betty is determined to preserve her own life alongside his. She is discovering what she can do on her own after relying for years on her husband’s help. Recently, Betty, for the first time, put air in her tires. “I felt very proud of myself,” she said. She sings in church and community choirs, attends Vassar Lifelong Learning classes, and participates in book groups. Signs by the stove and sink reminding Peter to turn off the burners and faucets make it possible to leave him home alone for short periods. 

“I am more comfortable leaving him alone for a few hours than I had been,” she said, “because he has become much more inactive, very often still sitting in the same chair in front of the TV as when I left him, or lying in bed, even during the day.” As long as she has provided for his needs, he isn’t likely to leave burners on or water overflowing anymore.

Betty knows the disease will progress. But “for the moment,” she said, “I am comfortable with the life we are living.”

A Partner’s Rebirth

On a flight to California three years ago, Gina Fox, 68, watched as her husband, Michael Katz, 78, stood from his seat. He began walking, normally it seemed, heading to the lavatory. But then he kept walking past it to the plane’s rear galley. The flight attendants were working at the front of the plane. By the time Fox realized something might be wrong, Katz was reaching for the emergency exit door—an action that, at cruising altitude, could have turned deadly in seconds. 

“I lunged and grabbed his arm,” Fox said. She redirected him back toward the lavatory and did not let him out of her sight for the remainder of the flight. “You just don’t know when the dementia is going to make an appearance.” 

Fox and Katz had been together for nearly a decade. They met when Katz, a highly regarded trust and estates lawyer and partner in a small New York City firm, chose Fox as his realtor to sell a family property in Rhinebeck. “We were both single, enjoyed each other’s company, and fell in love,” Fox said. 

They were each other’s second spouses and settled together in Katz’s home in Milan while Fox retained her home in the Village of Rhinebeck. Dementia ran in Katz’s family, but the early signs were subtle. One Thanksgiving, about six years ago, Katz handed off his signature stuffing recipe, clipped from Saveur magazine, and asked Fox to make it instead. “It was a multi-step processing issue,” she said. “If a task had many steps, he couldn’t do it.” 

Soon, even small requests became difficult. If Fox asked him to complete two tasks in succession – say, carry something out to the car and then get the mail — he would forget the second task. A neurologist confirmed a dementia diagnosis in 2019 and warned that the condition would worsen. Physically, Katz remained in excellent shape, a mismatch Fox found difficult to understand. “In one respect, he was super healthy, but the mental functioning part was not,” she said. 

When Fox understood the dementia was progressive, she made a decision. “Do I stay with him, or do I leave him?” she asked herself. She had seen a friend abandoned after a dementia diagnosis. “It was very simple,” Fox said. “I love him. I can’t just leave.” They married soon after, not for romance, but for legal authority. Fox wanted to ensure she could make medical decisions for Katz and care for him as his condition progressed. “If you’re not married, you don’t have any say,” she said.

For seven years, Fox carefully structured Katz’s days. He volunteered at a food pantry, bagging pet food with a friend. He exercised, took pottery classes, hiked, and attended concerts and theaters. “He was super active,” said Fox, formerly an elected member of both the Rhinebeck Town Board and the Village Board. “I think that kept him out of a home for at least two years.” 

She learned to work creatively with his changing mind. She distracted him with long trips to a local dollar store, letting him fill a cart while she quietly returned items to the shelves. “We’d get out for under $20,” she said. “He was always thrilled.”

As his needs increased, Fox hired part-time help, an option she knows many families can’t afford. “People my age have lost their homes,” she said. “It’s outrageous.” Even with help, the strain mounted. Last September, after weeks of travel in the Midwest for her mother’s death and burial, Fox returned home exhausted. That night, after Katz had a severe incontinence accident in bed, he was disoriented and unable to help himself. By morning, Fox knew she had reached her limit. “I thought, ‘This is the end for me,’ ” she said.

That day, Fox called Katz’s three grown children in California. They found a memory care facility in Berkeley and placed him on a waitlist. Two weeks later, a bed opened—the first in almost a year. Fox assembled medical records, arranged tests, packed his belongings, ordered furniture, and, in 14 days, coordinated the moves.

With Fox at his side for the journey west, Katz moved to California last October. He is close to his children now; one rides her bike past his residence on her way to work every day. Katz still remembers Fox, who has returned to her home in Northern Dutchess, though sometimes he calls her by the wrong name when they speak by phone. They are no longer together physically, but they remain married and speak to each other often. He invents elaborate stories—that he went to Yale with Barack Obama and wrote songs with Bob Dylan. “You just go with it,” Fox said.

Three months after Katz’s move, Fox is recouping and reevaluating her life. Friends call this her “rebirth year.” She is reading “Flesh” by David Szalay, watching complex movies, has joined a book club, and is traveling again. “I didn’t realize how physically and emotionally exhausting the last five years have been,” she said. “In this time of great sorrow, I’m learning it’s okay to give myself permission to feel joy.”

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Memory Loss Resources

1. Early warning signs — Doctors and experts note these signs that an evaluation may be in order: repeated forgetfulness, missed appointments, trouble managing bills or medications, confusion in familiar places, changes in judgment, personality, or self-care. Many people experiencing cognitive decline believe they are functioning better than they are. 
2. Diagnosis — Begin with a primary care provider. Patients may be referred to a neurologist, geriatrician, or memory clinic for cognitive testing, medical review, and imaging. Early evaluation helps families plan before safety or legal crises emerge. 
3. Local caregiver support — Caregivers can access support groups, respite care, adult day programs, and benefits navigation through NY Connects (1-800-342-9871), New York State’s aging and disability resource network.
4. The Being Together Project (BTP)— BTP, based at Starr Library in Rhinebeck, was “created as a space for seniors with cognitive loss to share good times with their loved ones,” said co-founder Erika Murphy. Activities include movement classes with Marist College physical therapy students, music programs with Bard Conservatory musicians, and community outings. Reach them at thebeingtogetherproject@gmail.com. 
5. 24/7 dementia helpline — The Alzheimer’s Association Helpline (1-800-272-3900) offers round-the-clock guidance for caregivers and families. 
6. Plan early — Legal authority, finances, driving, and care preferences are far easier to address before memory loss becomes a crisis.

The post What Happens to a Marriage When Memory Goes? Three Local Couples Share Their Stories first appeared on The Daily Catch.

In our region of northern New York, access to local food is often limited by remoteness, transportation costs, a short growing season and other challenges. A new food hub will help bridge that gap between local farms and consumers. The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) has been awarded a grant to build a processing and retail facility that will expand local food access.

Led by Cherie and Dan Whitten of Whitten Family Farm in Winthrop and the ADK Food Hub in Tupper Lake, the project will create a NY 20-C–licensed retail store and processing kitchen in Winthrop, called the Real Food Hub. The $520,640 project is supported by a $468,576 grant from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Food Access Expansion Program, with construction slated to begin this spring.

“We are thrilled to be establishing this new food hub with the Whittens, who are an indispensable force in our local food system,” said Jon Ignatowski, ANCA’s manager of food systems business. “The Real Food Hub is going to catalyze the local food economy in the northwest corner of our region, resulting in more market opportunities for small farms and increased food access for residents in four counties. 

Located close to dozens of small farms and businesses, the new facility will reduce transportation costs and allow producers to process and store large quantities of vegetables that can be sold throughout the year. The Real Food Hub will support a variety of raw and value-added local foods to be sold across the region. The goal is to make it easier for North Country residents, including underserved and disadvantaged households, to purchase fresh local foods at an affordable price. 

“By streamlining processing, storage and delivery systems, this facility will expand markets for farmers and increase the availability of local products in stores,” Cherie Whitten said. “It will ultimately make local food more affordable and accessible for all residents, including those who are shopping on a tight budget or through nutrition assistance programs.” 

Founded by the Whittens in 2017, the ADK Food Hub in Tupper Lake is a local food aggregation site, market and eatery that carries products from more than 40 area farms. Whitten Family Farm supplies the Hub and offers vegetable and meat community supported agriculture (CSA) shares that can be picked up at the farm or at locations in Potsdam, Massena, Lake Clear, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. 

A proposed ICE facility in Chester, NY, has raised concerns among immigrant families and community advocates in the mid-Hudson Valley.

Reverend Richard Witt, executive director of Rural and Migrant Ministry, said the proposal has heightened fear among immigrant families.

“They’re already living in great fear of separation from their parents, of their children, and having such a facility just adds to that environment of fear,” he explained.

If built, it would become Orange County’s second immigration detention center, joining the existing facility at the Orange County Jail.

Community members have voiced concerns at local board meetings, highlighting potential impacts on quality of life, local reputation, and the economy. “When they’ve built facilities like this in other communities… people don’t think of Batavia anymore as a beautiful town; they think of it as a repressive detention facility,” Witt said.

The nonprofit has also seen a surge in volunteer efforts to support immigrant families. “We recently had a volunteer donate 15,000 meals that could be delivered to folks,” Witt noted, citing increased need amid fears of raids and reduced social services.

Local leaders, including Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Congressmember Pat Ryan, have expressed opposition to the facility, reflecting a broader community concern. Witt emphasized the importance of public engagement: “People need to let their legislators know their feelings… the overwhelming majority of the people don’t want to be living in a community that’s based on oppression and fear, and economic ruin.”

Image: A joint press conference and rally on Sept. 19, 2025, in Fulton, NY, in support of immigrants was held by Rural and Migrant Ministry, Workers Center of CNY, Finger Lakes Rapid Response, Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network, New York Immigration Coalition, and Organize Oswego. (RMM)

The post Proposed Orange County ICE Facility Sparks Fear Among Immigrant Families in Hudson Valley appeared first on Radio Catskill.

In the wake of the first time hosting downhill and cross-country mountain bike races, a state authority managing the Olympic facilities is still working out the pros and cons of such an event.

After spending more than $860,000 to put on three days of mountain biking races in fall of 2025, the Olympic Regional Development Authority brought in less than $300,000 in revenue from ticket sales and parking from the downhill and cross-country cycling competitions, records show.

Public records provided by ORDA show the authority collected $272,400 in ticket, lift and gondola sales and $21,501 in parking fees, a total of $293,901 for the 2025 races. The revenues do not include any beverage or food sales.

Data from the authority, (ORDA), provided after a Freedom of Information Law request, show 16,864 tickets were distributed, almost a third of which were free. Most of the free tickets went to children less than 13 and those who went on Friday.

A breakdown of costs

The financial results do not include the cost of ancillary costs or for state employees working to stage the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series or to file a report required by a sister agency when the racetrack was built in violation of environmental regulations.

The authority contracted to pay at least $420,000 to the organizers in each of the three years for the rights to host the event. The fee could be as high as $500,000 under terms of the contract. ORDA would not say the exact amounts it paid when asked.

Records show it paid a total of $287,421 to two contractors in 2025 to build the first-ever downhill bike racetrack on Whiteface.

The original contractor, Global Action Sports Solutions of Wisconsin, was paid $128,921 but left the job last summer before completing the track. 

The firm was under contract to receive $189,000, $40,000 of it for the track designer —mountain bike racer Aaron Gwin. 

But Global Action Sports’ owner and trail builder Jeremy Witek said he pulled his workers and heavy equipment off the site after disagreements with ORDA, including discomfort with being asked to do work without a state-approved work plan. ORDA was later served a notice of violation from DEC for working without a work plan and cutting trees without authorization. The Adirondack Explorer has asked both DEC and ORDA for the final report, which was due Nov. 7, 2025. DEC said the report is “under review.”

Backslope Trail Building LLC, of Morrisville, Vermont, the contractor that built the Mount Van Hoevenberg cross-country bike racing track, received $162,838 from ORDA for its work plus another $158,500 later last summer to finish the Whiteface racetrack.

Both the Mount Van Hoevenberg and Whiteface bike tracks were temporary and were taken down for the ski season. Another set of temporary tracks are expected to be built for this fall’s ORDA-hosted UCI biking event.

ORDA CEO and President Ashley Walden declined to provide an assessment of the financial results.

Positive impacts from the event

Betty Little, an ORDA board member, said she attended last October’s bike competitions and noticed people from outside the region. Asked to respond to the financial results, she referred to the Warner Brothers Discovery airing of parts of the races.

“I’m not sure it was something people locally would go to, but the TV coverage, that counts. I don’t know how you put a number on that,” she said.

Warner Brothers Discovery aired some of the event on some of its channels. Warner Brothers Discovery and ORDA declined to provide ratings data.

The Olympic authority received some marketing, promotion and sponsorship rights from Warner Brothers Discovery Sports Events Limited through a media promotion package with a listed value of up to $500,000, according to the resolution adopted by the ORDA board in 2023.

ORDA Chairman Joe Martens said he saw more people at Whiteface during the event than he can recall seeing there and heard that hotels booked race-related guests

Martens said he thinks the event was “enormously successful.” Told the data received by the Explorer, he said he awaits a management presentation before interpreting the financials.

Economic impacts

Martens said the authority’s objective is to stimulate the region’s economy and he believes that happened with the bike races. 

A report by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) in Lake Placid, using data from the Smith Travel Report, said occupancy was up 3.6% in October in Essex County to 62.1% compared with the same month of 2024. That was the highest occupancy of last fall, although some of that could be attributable to the National Guard taking rooms to help with prison staffing shortages.

Average room rates were up 4% to $222.80, and revenues per average room was at $138 that month, up 7.8%. However, numbers for the full year were weaker.

“We definitely saw an impact from UCI,” said MaryJane Lawrence, ROOST’s chief operating officer. She said ROOST estimates that spending in Essex County rose by $647,000 year-to-year in October based on her organization’s calculations of tourism costs.

Marc Galvin, owner of Bookstore Plus and president of the Lake Placid Business Association, said he is unsure of how much business the races drew although his store saw a “little bump” in sales that weekend. He said there were signs that people other than hikers and leaf-peepers were drawn to Lake Placid.

“Obviously there were a lot more bicycles in town,” he said.

Plans for 2026 and beyond

The UCI World Cup cycling contests, which ORDA presents amid the fall foliage season, are set to return to Mount Van Hoevenberg on the outskirts of Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington this Oct. 2-4. 

It will mark the third year of the three-year agreement between the event owners and the Olympic authority to present the races. The first year involved only cross-country racing.

Martens said he is unsure if ORDA will attempt to extend the bike series contract beyond 2026 because it is important to see the results of hosting for three years first.

UCI, which has run World Cup bike races for 30 years at Mont-Sainte-Anne, typically in mid-October, dropped the Quebec venue this year from its calendar. That makes Lake Placid/Wilmington the last site on the 14-stop international series in 2026.