On a recent afternoon, Yana Lahoda sat in a corner office at Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement surrounded by papers. But it wasn’t just schoolwork for the 22-year-old economics major: she was working on ways to expand Language and Thinking Kyiv, a writing workshop for Ukrainian high school students built around a signature program at Bard. Yana Lahoda, a senior at Bard College, launched a program over the summer that sought to bring a specialized curriculum to Ukrainian students. (Photo courtesy of Yana Lahoda) The idea is to transport a slice of academic life from Bard’s bucolic campus in Annandale-on-Hudson...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/amid-air-raids-ukrainian-bard-student-brings-writing-and-hope-to-teens-in-kyiv/

Bard College announced Friday that it was extending Acting President Jonathan Becker’s term through the end of the academic year. Jonathan Becker became Bard’s acting president in July and was initially supposed to be replaced by an interim president at the end of December. He will now remain in the job until the end of the academic year. (Photo by Athan Yanos) Becker’s appointment was initially scheduled to end at the end of December, but the college’s Board of Trustees said they had decided to have him remain in place until May because they were happy with the work he...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/bard-extends-acting-president-jonathan-beckers-term-through-end-of-school-year/

Matilda Delfino, lovingly known as “Nonny,” died Sept. 30, 2026. She was born June 19, 1935, in Brooklyn, to Henry Anselmo Acosta and Margaret Pagnozzi-Acosta. Matilda met Paul Delfino on the beach in Coney Island. They married April 1, 1956, and eventually settled in Rhinebeck, where they raised their family. They were together until Paul’s death in 2016. A devoted homemaker, Matilda was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, remembered for her wonderful cooking, kindness, and wisdom. Matilda was deeply involved in the community, serving as president of the Northern Dutchess Mothers Club, volunteering at the Astor Home and Rhinebeck...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/matilda-rose-delfino-rhinebeck-volunteer-and-beloved-great-grandmother-dies-at-91/

Jane Hough Ferguson of Red Hook died of cancer Sept. 28, 2026, in Poughkeepsie. She was born Dec. 19, 1946, in Cumberland, Wisconsin, daughter of the late Albert and Lois Malone Hough. After graduating from Brown University and the Yale School of Medicine, Jane settled in the Hudson Valley and became a founding partner of Pine Street Pediatrics in Kingston and Red Hook. She practiced in the area for 40 years, eventually working with Mid Hudson Medical Group's pediatric practice, which is now a part of Optum in Rhinebeck. She is remembered for her practical, confident, levelheaded recommendations and her...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/jane-h-ferguson-m-d-founder-of-pine-street-pediatrics-dies-at-79/

In this week’s episode of The Catch-Up, Editor Emily Sachar and reporter Athan Yanos explore the widespread concern and swift action taken against the presence of Flock surveillance cameras across Dutchess County. Last Wednesday's forum on the matter drew a packed room, with roughly 30 residents speaking out against the County's network of cameras. By Friday of last week, the sheriff and district attorney had withdrawn their support for the surveillance program they had initially supported. It's a striking change that happened in just two days, driven in large part by people who showed up and made their concerns heard....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/flock-cameras-get-the-boot-in-dutchess-county-but-why-listen%e2%96%b6/

John Leslie Burk of Millbrook, formerly of Clinton Corners, died Sept. 21, 2026. John was born Feb. 24, 1938, in Coldwater, Michigan, to the late Leslie J. Burk and Ruth E. Burk. He graduated with honors from Athens Agricultural Schools in 1956. While there, he played football and basketball, performed in the school band, and sang in the glee club. He attended Michigan State University on a scholarship for academics, leadership, and character. At MSU, he joined the Triangle Fraternity and graduated in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. John spent his career as an electrical engineer at...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/john-leslie-burk-ibm-electrical-engineer-dies-at-88/

State environmental regulators have approved a temporary system to contain toxic coal tar that periodically bubbles to the surface of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, forming oily sheens that can threaten nearby drinking-water supplies, including in Rhinebeck. The Hudson River provides drinking water to more than 100,000 residents in Dutchess and Ulster counties. (Photo courtesy of Hudson 7) The contamination comes from a coal tar field roughly the size of seven football fields buried in the riverbed beneath the Walkway Over the Hudson, a legacy of a manufactured gas plant that operated on the waterfront from 1911 until the 1950s....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/containment-plan-to-reduce-risk-to-local-water-supplies-from-hudson-river-coal-tar-pollution-approved/

The Village of Red Hook moved forward with the purchase of a new police car on Monday to help the Police Department replace its aging fleet and address a shortage of working vehicles. The Village of Red Hook moved forward with the purchase of a new police car on Monday to help the Police Department replace its aging fleet. (Photo by Tony Adamis) Red Hook Police Department Lt. Patrick Hildenbrand said the Department had been working with just four fully operating vehicles out of its usual six, since one recently suffered a blown engine and another was in such poor...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/village-of-red-hook-approves-purchase-of-new-60000-police-car/