Students on the Simon's Rock campus gather at the library in preparation for the Bard Queer Leadership Project. Press photo courtesy of Bard College at Simon's Rock

News

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s news articles, listed from newest to oldest. The Hill Country Observer covers town events, local government, community stories and more — from public health to housing to education and freedom of mind in New York, Vermont and Western Massachusetts.

  • Issue:

    Buzz of the back yard

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    By TELLY HALKIASContributing writer WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. When Alethea Morrison started her journey into the world of beekeeping five years ago, she and her husband kept a journal to document the experience.Last year, the journal became a book – “Homegrown Honey Bees: Beekeeping Your First Year, from Hiving to Honey Harvest” – put out by Storey read more

    Buzz of the back yard
  • Issue:

    Breeder of grass-fed cattle challenges conventions

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    Breeder of grass-fed cattle earns respect while challenging conventions By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer BERLIN, N.Y. On a cold drizzly day in late April, a few dozen area farmers showed up for a pasture walk at Black Queen Angus Farm to learn about Morgan Hartman’s unconventional approach to calving and just about everything else. Hartman’s farm read more

    Breeder of grass-fed cattle challenges conventions
  • Issue:

    Drugged by court order — Patients, advocates seek alternatives to forced psychiatric medication

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    Patients, advocates seek alternatives to forced psychiatric medication By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   For Sarah Launderville, the idea of forced drugging brings back horrific memories. Launderville, the executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, told a legislative panel earlier this year how she was subjected to years of sexual violence by her stepfather read more

    Drugged by court order — Patients, advocates seek alternatives to forced psychiatric medication
  • Issue:

    New hope for bats

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    Researchers find improved survival among one species, after long decline By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer DORSET, Vt. Biologists have documented the first hopeful sign that the region’s bat populations may eventually recover from the devastation of white nose syndrome. The numbers of one species of bat affected by the deadly disease appear to be stabilizing, with read more

    New hope for bats
  • Issue:

    Clark Art Institute — A museum transformed

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    By TELLY HALKIASContributing writer WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Clark Center, a new visitors center, and the Manton Research Center are seen from across a new 1-acre reflecting pool at the redesigned campus of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. For lovers of fine art, it’s an occasion worthy of fireworks: On the Fourth read more

    Clark Art Institute — A museum transformed
  • Issue:

    A woman and a mountain

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    Event planner develops low-impact retreat center at edge of Adirondacks By STACEY MORRISContributing writer LAKE LUZERNE, N.Y. In this small town in the foothills of the Adirondacks, there’s one looming feature that’s both a landmark and a destination: Potash Mountain.The 1,750-foot-high mountain, popular for its easy climb, is owned by the state and protected as read more

    A woman and a mountain
  • Issue:

    In Saratoga Springs, a construction boom keeps going

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    By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.   Long before the Saratoga battles of the Revolutionary War, before the grand hotels of the Victorian era or the opening of the horse-racing track that would draw thousands of visitors to the region every summer, the 28 square miles that would become the city of Saratoga Springs read more

    In Saratoga Springs, a construction boom keeps going
  • Issue:

    Couple’s efforts lead to new arts center for Pittsfield

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    By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass. Over the past two years, a Pittsfield native’s desire to give something back to her hometown has resulted in the creation of a new arts center in a converted mansion in the city center.The Whitney Center for the Arts began hosting performances and exhibitions last summer in a sprawling read more

    Couple’s efforts lead to new arts center for Pittsfield
  • Issue:

    Long wait for PCB cleanup

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    EPA offers draft proposal for Housatonic, drawing new criticism By DAVID SCRIBNERContributing writer LENOX, Mass. Woods Pond in Lenox, Mass., is among the stretches of the Housatonic River most heavily contaminated with PCBs. Dredging to remove the pollution wouldn’t be completed until 2029 under a cleanup plan released last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection read more

    Long wait for PCB cleanup
  • Issue:

    Village governments face elimination in N.Y. push for consolidation

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    Village governments face elimination in N.Y. push for consolidation By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer GREENWICH, N.Y. The two buildings sit about 20 yards apart across a parking lot: The red brick structure houses the municipal offices of the village of Greenwich, while the white-columned building next door is home to offices of the town of Greenwich.But read more

    Village governments face elimination in N.Y. push for consolidation