When Che Spiotta was eleven years old, his mom found an announcement on her email feed about tryouts for the cooking show MasterChef Junior. “My mom asked me, ‘Do you want to do this?’” he says. “We debated for a week or so. I thought it would be awesome but, like, I’d be missing school, and what happens if this goes further? Then we were just like, why not? Why not do it and see what happens. If it’s fun, we’ll keep doing it. If it’s not…? Then when I was on the show, it was fun.”

What happens if and when there’s a closing on the West Hurley School between the Onteora Central School District and Cedar Development East II, which has talked up plans for creating market-rate condominium apartments at the long-closed site in the midst of a quiet residential area?

For every dollar spent on the library, a $5.95 value is returned in services.

Woodstock Library trustees postponed signing a proposed $585,000 contract with architect Stephen Tilly of Dobbs Ferry as they begin planning a fundraising campaign. The board also heard a mixture of public comments ranging from calls to step back, urging more transparency and encouragement to start the building project.

In a move to bring its employees closer to a living wage, Woodstock Library trustees voted unanimously to increase the clerk starting pay to $15 per hour and included across-the-board raises for existing staff with no budget increase.