In Rosendale –
The town board here finally okayed a new police contract after four years, while also finding a means to not only double its water system efficiency by finding and repairing leaks, but also get around a stalemate on sewer system repair funding with a legal wording change. Talk about government working together well!

In Wawarsing –
Mike Wendel's sentencing in the Town of Shawangunk for his guilty charge in ignoring an order of protection has been pushed off a couple of months for the judge's "pre-sentence investigation." A dozen people showed up in Wendel's support. On a whole other front, Danielle Kearney-Freer was named the Ellenville Elks Lodge's Citizen of the Year, adding to a year in which the Hot Shotz owner showed how far community involvement can go!

In Orange County –
While former Orange County Executive Ed Diana has announced his intention to run for Town of Wallkill supervisor in November, there's some job hurt going on in the area as First Student Bus Company lays off 238 as it copes with two huge school districts changing contractors.

In Ulster County –
The county finally got its long-debated "Pet Sellers Law" signed last week. Kudos to our own columnist Lucy Muller and those who read her Pet Sounds for helping push through greater awareness of our responsibilities to our pets! Also, after two hours of public comment mostly for memorializing resolutions, the county legislature voted 12-10, mostly by party, to ban the practice of addressing larger concerns from the local level.

In The Region –
Look for outside interest in the upcoming trial of "The Wawayanda Six," a group of environmental activists arrested in late 2015 for protesting the construction of a fracked gas power plant in the region that's involved local politicians and last fall's heated races. Events are being planned around the area, with many seeing what the local reaction is as a key to whether similar activism can be used to draw attention to other environmental concerns elsewhere in our readership area. More after the trial this Thursday and Friday.