Most encounters with an ambulance are quite pedestrian: the flashing lights and wailing siren signal it’s time to pull the car over and let the members of the rescue squad pass. What’s a momentary pause in the lives of those New Paltz residents might represent a critical moment in the life of someone else, as that ambulance is bringing to their door a crew of professionals with sufficient equipment to do anything that might otherwise happen in a hospital emergency room.

After several years of work, plans are coming together to replace the aging community-built playground with another community-built playground in the same location.

Built on the rich history of a farmer’s market which was located on Main Street until construction left that site unavailable, this will be the third year that a market is held weekly on Church Street.

The volunteer model, which supports nearly 90 percent of departments in New York State, is no longer providing enough firefighters. A switch to paid fire departments could cost an estimated $3 billion, and require a property tax increase of at least 25 percent.