Citizens have had a big hand in making the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District the professional operation it is. In fact, a voter referendum in 1993 created the district from three entities: Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District, Woodstock City Fire Department, and Woodstock Rescue Squad. As demands on the district have increased since – more than 5,000 […]
In a previous lifetime, I was editor of a daily newspaper whose telephone records were secretly obtained by police as they tried to find out who talked to a reporter about how they had lost a murder investigation file. That episode came to mind recently as I read about the police raid on the newspaper […]
Other ideas on marketing what Woodstock can be I am prompted to write, having read Cheryl Wormley’s [column, “The water is heating up”] in the Aug. 16 issue of The Woodstock Independent. I can understand why the city’s “marketing department” needs to raise funds; after all, they need to cover the cost of their salaries […]
As people in the news business have seen, seldom does ignoring tough questions make them go away. And people have reason to want answers on difficult issues facing Woodstock’s Hearthstone Communities and its parent company, Heritage Ministries of Gerry, N.Y. As writer Susan W. Murray reported last week in The Independent, multiple phone calls and […]
By Cheryl Wormley Imagine, or for some of us remember, Main Street with a theater with just two screens instead of eight and a parking lot instead of the pedway enlivened by the Woodstock on Stage and Screen mural. That’s the way it was when Willis and Shirley Johnson bought the Woodstock Theater in the […]
From local VFW Post 5040 to our community, families The rumors of our demise are somewhat exaggerated. On Aug. 31, Woodstock VFW Post 5040 will cease to operate our bar/canteen operation at 240 Throop St. In addition, we will vacate this location. Understandably, this is a disappointment to many. This operation was a distraction […]
“Obvious: ‘scuse me, is that your nose or did a bus park on your face? Meteorological: everybody take cover, she’s going to blow! Fashionable: you know, you could de-emphasize your nose if you wore something larger, like … Wyoming.” – “C.D. Bales” (Steve Martin) in “Roxanne” responding to a “big nose” comment with three of […]
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, with a clear day and a dry road ahead of him, a 66-year-old motorcyclist nearly died after losing control of his bike on Route 47 north of Woodstock. He was lucky. He survived. In the first half of August, at least three Woodstock-area residents died in accidents involving motorcycles, […]
By Cheryl Wormley Think of the barrage of news you dealt with this past week. What news would you say was most important to you? For me it was the first day of fall classes for our young people. Students and teachers in Woodstock District 200 schools had their first day of classes for the […]
By Maxwell Parrish From Niagara Falls to Tanzania, St. Louis to Michigan, Woodstock’s high schoolers traveled and enjoyed many things this summer – before classes resumed last week. So, I asked around and compiled the happiest and wackiest highlights of the 2023 high school summer experience. Malaika Parpart, Woodstock North – “I traveled to Tanzania […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
