A planned walking-and-biking path stretching 7.5-miles along the Hudson River from Cold Spring to Beacon, the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail project has divided the Highlands community.
A proposed 7.5-mile linear park to connect Cold Spring and Beacon has met resistance from some locals concerned about visitation, cost and construction.
Zoom-bomber spews racist language
The Desmond-Fish Public Library in Garrison said it was a victim of a racist “Zoom-bombing” during a virtual event for children on Saturday (Jan. 2).
An interloper gained access to the video-conference and immediately changed his or her screen name to match existing participants to avoid detection, said library Director Jen McCreery. After an indecipherable rant, the user was identified and removed but managed to return to interrupt the event with racist, sexist and lewd language, she said. The user was again identified and removed but returned to post in the written chat.
The gathering was the culmination of a “bake-off” contest for children and teenagers ages 4 to 14. It was co-hosted by Justice McCray, a librarian who has been outspoken in the Black Lives Matter movement, but McCreery said it was unclear if McCray was a target of the abuse.
December 22, 2020
Joe Etta on the day he received the French Liberty Medal in 2009. (Photo by Ande Merante)
Veteran fought in three WWII invasions
Joseph C. “Joe” Etta, 102, a lifelong resident of Cold Spring and World War II veteran who fought in three major invasions, including at Normandy, died Tuesday (Dec. 22) at the Castle Point VA Medical Center in Wappingers Falls.
Etta was born in Cold Spring on April 22, 1918, the son of Giuseppe and Francesca (Botta) Etta. He graduated from Haldane High School in 1938 and enlisted in 1941 in the U.S. Army. In 35 months of service during World War II, he participated in three major Allied invasions in North Africa in 1942, Sicily in 1943 and Normandy in the D-Day invasion of June 1944 and rose from private first class to sergeant.