By Jay Braman Jr.
A Buffalo man has been charged with second-degree murder after being captured by a quick-thinking Shandaken Police detective last week.
An Erie County medical examiner’s autopsy of Constance A. Shepherd, 42, revealed the cause of death to be a deep laceration to her neck, leading police to rule the death a homicide. Chief Anthony Palombo said the cut was caused by a “sword-sized knife” that was located in another room of the Shepherd’s house in the Town of Tonawanda, a suburb of Buffalo.

By Matthew J. Perry
Five regional Stock Building stores, including the location in Roxbury, will close in mid-June.
Katie Cralle, a spokeswoman for Stock Building, confirmed that stores in Roxbury, Walton, Oneonta, Sidney and Richmondsville will either be sold off or closed.
“Stock will be exiting or closing stores in select under-performing markets in order to focus on those markets with the strongest prospects for growth,” reads an official statement from the company.

By Jay Braman Jr.
It might be the economy, or perhaps fuel prices, or even the lure of the region or all of the above, but one thing is for sure: there will be more visitors to the Catskills this summer.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced an increase in reservations for campsite space statewide, both in the number of campers and the length of stay planned.

By Julia Green
What they asked for, they got.
All three area school budgets that were proposed for the 2009-2010 school year were approved in Tuesday's vote, in which all propositions were given the green light and all unopposed candidates for Board of Education seats were elected.

Delhi — When the Delaware County Democratic Comm-ittee holds its annual dinner on Saturday, June 20 at the SUNY Delhi Hospitality Center, it will present its “Peg Pandick Woman of the Year” award to Pandick’s current successor as the county election commissioner.

By Julia Green
The newly christened Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards dinner last Wednesday at The Andes Hotel to honor a number of its members for their accomplishments and commitment to local business.
“Each one of our businesses make up the fabric of our community,” said Carol O’Beirne, executive director of the chamber. “We have been able to grow our chamber at a time when other chambers are shrinking.”

By Brian Sweeney
The Auxiliary of Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center has completed a whirlwind of events to commemorate Wellness Week. The auxiliary has the goal of promoting spiritual, social and emotional wellness through an ongoing series of community events.
This year featured almost daily activities as the auxiliary continued to work in cooperation with a growing number of organizations that has similar goals.
John Riedl, who chairs the auxiliary’s wellness committee, said his group was very pleased with the Wellness Week programming.

By Julia Green
Ninety-eight riders turned out for Saturday’s first-ever Catskill Scenic Ride-n-Peak event in Margaretville, a bike event to benefit the Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care Association.
“It went very well,” said Carol O’Beirne, executive director of the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was one of the collaborators for the event, along with the MARK Project, the KAATS Foundation, The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Plattekill Mountain and Delaware County Tourism.
“Feedback was extremely positive and people wanted to see more of the same kind of event,” O’Beirne added.

Matthew J. Perry
Delaware County unveiled a completed environmental impact study last Wednesday that may well figure into negotiations with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and other downstate interests for years to come.

By Julia Green
Cycling enthusiasts and leisurely bike riders won’t have to go far to find something to do this weekend, when the inaugural Catskill Scenic Ride-n-Peak cycling event takes place in and around Margaretville on Saturday, starting at 8 a.m.
“A bicycling event had been simmering for quite awhile,” said Lucci Kelly, one of the event organizers. “At the very beginning I was sitting in then-executive director Joan Lawrence-Bauer’s office at MARK and we were saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a professional bike race here?’” Kelly learned that Lawrence-Bauer had had a similar conversation with Christine DuBois, and that other people had been having similar conversations. “A lot of people were thinking the same thing,” she said.