Fire Dept. Open House on Sunday



Sunday’s Open House at Carmel Fire Department headquarters will offer something for everyone. Firefighters have been busy this week preparing for the event that takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the firehouse on Gleneida Avenue. In addition to learning about home and business fire safety tips, attendees will have the opportunity to have their children fingerprinted for […]

FEMA Opens in Putnam



A FEMA disaster recovery center opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday in Philipstown, the hardest-hit town in Putnam County when Hurrican Irene’s rain and winds swept through the region last month. The center then shifts to Mahopac this weekend. The Federal Emergency Management Agency center includes a mobile trailer and a tent where those who suffered damage can seek personal assistance […]

Cops Make Huge Pot Bust in Mahopac After Package Delivery



It’s being called Putnam’s largest marijuana bust ever: Carmel Police arrested a California woman Friday and seized 60 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $250,000. Lt. Brian Karst said members of the department’s Special Conditions Unit in conjunction with the CPD Detective Division developed information that a large quantity of marijuana was to have been shipped to a […]

Fire Forces Evacuation of Carmel Senior Center



A report of a fire at the Putnam Senior Center in Carmel Monday forced the evacuation of 100 seniors but thanks to the quick response of emergency providers damage was kept to a minimum. At 11:30 a.m. a strong smell of electrical burning emanated throughout the meeting place located at the Donald Smith Governmental Campus off Old Route 6. As […]

The Tax Cap Challenge – Examining Reality With Pattern For Progress




“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is…” Yogi Berra Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap legislation had the blessings of virtually every major business organization and interest group in the state. Our tax burden, among the highest in the nation, had finally reached the breaking point for far too many businesses. But now […]

Pataki Blasts President Obama



Former Governor George Pataki is not at all enamored of President Obama. In fact, the three-term chief elected official and resident of Garrison who served New Yorkers from 1995 through 2006 called the President a “disaster” last weekend at a rally in Mahopac. “The man has led our country in the wrong direction. We need change and that change must […]

Odell Feted at Victory Party



One of Putnam’s most scenic treasures was the backdrop Saturday for MaryEllen Odell’s victory celebration. Odell defeated Democrat Alan Schneider by a wide margin on Primary Day to keep the Conservative line in her political war chest. The 20-acre Prado estate atop a mountain overlooking the Croton Falls Reservoir in the southernmost portion of the Town of Carmel welcomed 125 […]

Mahopac’s Unintentional Confectioner



Each morning Michele Kim mixes butter, sugar, molasses, a pinch of salt and plenty of water topped with dark chocolate and freshly crushed pecans and creates some of the most mouth watering toffee found anywhere. Kim has opened a business “La Petite Occasion” in the kitchen of the 17th century home she shares with her husband, Douglas, and 6-year-old son […]

Croton Lawyer to Challenge Greg Ball Next November



Democrat Justin Wagner realizes he faces an uphill battle in the predominantly Republic lower Hudson Valley, yet the 30-year-old Croton resident has tossed his hat into the ring to oppose state Senator Greg Ball a year from now. The married father of a two-monthold daughter told the Courier Wednesday he decided to run because “fresh blood is needed in the […]

Tamagna: From Maverick to Veteran in Legislature



Two books in his Carmel office outline the changes Vincent Tamagna has seen in the Putnam County Legislature since joining it in 1994. One is the Book of Proceedings from 1994, the beginning of Tamagna’s time, and it’s maybe an inch thick. The other is the two-volume 2009 version, more than twice as thick. Tamagna is busier, much busier. Looked […]