Chamber Unification Has Been Tried Before—and Failed



The effort to combine the various Chambers of Commerce in Putnam County is not entirely novel. From 1994-1996, a similar effort managed to create an organization called The Putnam Association of Chambers. The association still exists, legally, and has a tiny bank account overseen by Adam Wilson, a CPA from Patterson. Just as with today’s attempt at a countywide chamber, […]

CAP Gears Up for Record Christmas



After experiencing its busiest Thanksgiving season ever, officials at the Putnam Community Action Program (CAP) are preparing for what promises to be an extremely hectic Christmas. During a visit to CAP in Brewster, Executive Director Judy Callahan reported a 20 percent increase in Thanksgiving baskets distributed from 2008 to 2009: “If those numbers hold true with the Christmas toy drive, […]

Store Cares for Stranded Drivers



When winter covered Putnam’s roads with ice last Sunday, leaving highway departments scrambling and roads closed, The Animal Kingdom, a pet store in the Route 312 shopping center, made stranded shoppers feel at home. “Around noon they closed I-84, and they closed Route 312 as well,” said Lisa Acton, the manager on duty at Animal Kingdom. “Everyone was locked into […]

Police News



Juiced Judge The case against a Pawling judge accused of driving while intoxicated will be brought to court by a special prosecutor from either Putnam or Ulster counties, since assistant district attorneys from Dutchess County appear before the magistrate on a regular basis. Judge Robert Apple was arrested for aggravated DWI, driving while intoxicated, and for following too closely after […]

Putnam Health Center’s Campaign for Tomorrow Gets a Boost



At Putnam Hospital Center’s volunteer recognition luncheon PHC Auxiliary President Beverley Seader (left) presented PHC Foundation Executive Director Jeffrey D. Kellogg with a check for over $40,000, as PHC Director of Volunteer and Pastoral Services Michelle Piazza looked on. The money is part of the PHC’s Auxiliary’s pledge to The Campaign for Tomorrow for the hospital’s new building project. The […]

Putnam Humane Society Benefits at Christmas



Santa arrived a little early at the Putnam Humane Society shelter in Carmel, but no one was complaining. Managers from the Hannaford Supermarket in Carmel played Santa last Thursday when delivering a truckload of pet food and supplies to the animal shelter on Old Route 6 in Carmel. Tom McFall, the store’s manager, and Jennifer Veronesi, the Hannaford customer service […]

BOCES Students Learn Fingerprinting



Watch out CSI! BOCES students from Putnam and northern Westchester enrolled at the Learning Center High School are preparing to take over your job. Teens enrolled in a forensics class had the opportunity last week to participate in a day-long fingerprinting workshop instructed by Denis Clute and Michael Hanley, identification specialists with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. After […]

BOCES Students Build Solar Powered Vehicles, Race Them



Engineering can become a sink or swim profession! Just ask students at the Putnam- Northern Westchester BOCES enrolled in a New Visions Engineering class, who last week completed their first look into mechanical engineering by building solar-powered amphibious vehicles. Once the vehicles were constructed from a kit and modified, they were raced on a 20-foot-long swimming pool, which the young […]

Italian Family Finds Hope in Mahopac



It’s a long way from Taranto, Italy, to Putnam County, but the Italian-American community of greater Mahopac has taken in a family in need of special medical services for a three-year-old little girl after physicians in their native Italy gave up hope of finding a way to assist the small child. Serena Quaranta was born by cesarean section but according […]

BOCES Recognizes Putnam Students



Four students from Brewster, one from Carmel, and two others from Mahopac and Lake Peekskill are among 10 young standouts at the Putnam- Northern Westchester BOCES who have been honored as Students of Distinction. Last week’s recognition ceremony on the BOCES campus in Yorktown Heights was attended by more than 100 faculty members, as well as friends and families of […]