UPPER DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY, NY & PA — It’s January, and that means we’re breaking open the seal on a brand new year!

2025 brought with it changes, challenges and a host of interesting stories to follow. From soaring energy rates in Sullivan to flooding in Honesdale, from changes in the federal budget to the demolition of the Skinners Falls Bridge, the River Reporter followed the news of the year wherever it led, up and down the Upper Delaware River Valley. Here are some of the highlights to remember as we leave 2025 in the rearview mirror and look ahead to the open road before us in 2026. 

January

The year opened with the River Reporter breaking the story about a significant oil spill which had occurred in November 2024. The spill, which took place when a Cochecton Oil truck overturned at the base of Shortcut Road in Cochecton, NY, released between 1,000 and 1,500 gallons of fuel oil into the road and adjacent wetlands. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the spill remained isolated in the wetlands where it occurred, with booms being deployed to contain and remove the oil. 

Hawley Borough received accreditation for its levee system, ensuring that residents would be protected from flooding along the Lackawaxen River and making sure they won’t have to pay for costly flood insurance. 

The Highland Town Board made a series of changes to its rules of conduct, following a public hearing during which a sheriff’s deputy intervened to cool tempers between town leaders’ feuding family members. 

Correctional staff from Woodbourne Correctional stood on strike on Main Street, Fallsburg in February.

RR photo by Ruby Rayner-Haselkorn

February

In February, the River Reporter released the results of a long-term investigation into the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Two officers, who served in the office, accused longtime sheriff Mike Schiff and undersheriff Eric Chaboty of ordering an accident report to be falsified and of running a hostile work environment, and alleged that the office is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following the article, the sheriff’s office suspended one of the sources quoted in that story, Detective Jack Harb; Chaboty called the story a “hit piece” in a follow-up letter to the editor. Staff at Woodbourne Correctional Facility joined prisons across New York State in a wildcat strike (one not authorized by their union) on February 18, demanding better working conditions and the repeal of the HALT act (which limits the use of solitary confinement). 

On February 19, a Frito Lay Pepsico plant in Liberty announced that it would lay off its 287 employees and close operations, raising concerns among county leaders for the workers who would be impacted. 

Representative Rob Bresnahan, left, speaks with the media following a March press conference, with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin looking on.

RR photo by Liam Mayo

March

PA-08 Rep. Rob Bresnahan reopened a conversation about fracking in the Upper Delaware in March, when he brought EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to meet with local pro-fracking advocates. Fracking is currently prohibited throughout the Delaware River corridor by the Delaware River Basin Commission; while not committing to a specific plan, Zeldin emphasized President Donald Trump’s focus on unleashing energy dominance, and highlighted Pennsylvania as a possible center for artificial intelligence infrastructure. 

On March 19, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carried out a raid on Elegante’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in Honesdale, PA, taking one of the restaurant’s employees. ICE took three additional employees in a follow-up raid in May; according to Elegante, all employees had legal status in the United States.

In Sullivan County, in February and March, residents and leaders met to interrogating rising energy bills from New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), with NYSEG pointing to a combination of rate increases and higher winter supply prices for the bills being double or triple the norm. The county legislature passed a resolution urging the state’s Public Service Commission to scrutinize proposed rate increases going forward. 

Cranes pick through the rubble of the New York span of the Skinners Falls Bridge, demolished in April.

RR photo by Liam Mayo

April

April saw the demolition of the Skinners Falls Bridge, a historic crossing over the Delaware River that had been declared unsalvageable late in 2024. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation toppled its New York span on April 17; the Pennsylvania span followed on April 21. Advocates for the bridge’s preservation had launched a series of last-ditch efforts to preserve it, which ultimately proved unsuccessful. 

Sullivan County’s long-considered plans to build a dedicated emergency housing shelter fell through in April, with legislators failing to approve a proposed location in Thompson during an April 24 session. The county currently houses people in need of shelter with a makeshift motel system, which health and human services officials have warned is unsustainable. 

Emergency services closed off the flooded intersection between 4th Street and Main Street on Tuesday, May 6., following flooding in Honesdale.

RR photo by Liam Mayo

May

Honesdale, PA faced major flood damage after a May 6 storm caused a pipe to burst under the sidewalk of St. John’s Church. The borough needs to make significant renovations to its outdated stormwater management system to prevent future damage. 

In Highland, NY, the town board released a draft review of the town clerk’s office, which found significant record-keeping discrepancies and shortcomings within the town clerk’s office; the review ultimately found $5.4 million in the town’s accounts without documentation to establish from whence it came. 

Additionally, the Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation voted to dissolve on May 14. Sullivan County had transferred ownership of the county’s adult care center to the LDC in preparation for a sale; the sale never occurred, and criticism has dogged Infinite Care (the care center’s managing company and the intended recipient of a sale) for the quality of care at the facility. 

Demonstrators gathered for a No Kings protest in Monticello in June.

RR photo by Jonathan Charles Fox

June

Archtop Fiber, a startup internet service provider headquartered in the Hudson Valley, announced the timeline and details of its Sullivan County expansion at a Bethel Woods press conference on June 12. The company plans to connect Sullivan County’s 12 public safety radio broadcast towers with fiber optic internet cables, and use these towers to broadcast wireless internet signals to receiver boxes in customers’ businesses, homes and more. Archtop plans to conclude construction by the end of 2026. 

A proposed Wayne-Pike Career and Technical Center took shape at a June meeting of the Wallenpaupack Board of Education. The building will serve students throughout the Wayne-Pike area, providing a dedicated space for career and technical education programs for multiple school districts, and could open for students as early as August 2027. Wayne and Pike are the only counties in Pennsylvania not to have a dedicated career and technical center. 

Additionally, protests against the actions of the Trump administration lit up across the river valley, with June 14 labeled as “No Kings Day.” 

The Gorge Trail in Hawley winds through lush, green forests. (At least, it did in July, at the time this picture was taken.)

RR photo by Liam Mayo

July

On July 15, federal and state representatives and business leaders gathered in Pittsburgh to announce billions of dollars in natural gas and artificial intelligence infrastructure developments. These investments included $25 billion specifically aimed at Northeast PA, with regional utility PPL joining with Blackstone Infrastructure to build, own and operate new power stations supplied by natural gas. PPL estimated that, if all the planned data center developments come online, it will face a six gigawatt shortfall in power generation within the next five to six years. 

Dignitaries from around the region cut the ribbon on Hawley’s Gorge Trail on July 24. The Pennsylvania trail completes a connected series of walking paths that stretch from Lake Wallenpaupack to Hawley, PA, all the way on to the D&H Canal Park at Lock 31. It is part of a series of projects undertaken as part of Lackawaxen River Trails, an effort to create outdoor spaces along the Lackawaxen River. 

August

August marked the start of a new school year, and with it came new rules around cell phone use in New York State, with students required to store personal devices during the school day except for medical, educational or safety uses. According to local and state school officials, the policy aims to create distraction-free learning environments. 

Throughout the summer, hospitals and healthcare systems struggled to come to terms with the anticipated impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill, a federal budget bill that stripped almost $1 trillion out of the healthcare system. At a late June press conference, Pennsylvania state representatives and Wayne Memorial Hospital officials highlighted the bill’s potential impacts on healthcare. Wayne Memorial CEO Jim Pettinato said the incoming cuts would likely force the hospital to reduce services over time. On August 14, NY Sen. Chuck Schumer came to Garnet Health Medical Center in Harris, NY to push for a bill to reverse the cuts to Medicaid and other assistance programs. Garnet Health CEO Jonathan Schiller said the cuts will directly impact the hospital’s ability to keep essential services running, warning that the impact would be “devastating.”

September

The Tusten Planning Board met September 11 and rescinded a permit for the rooftop deck at Narrowsburg, NY business Bar Veloce. The town’s code enforcement officer closed the business on August 28, following the revelation that a key structural integrity document had been forged. The team behind the project claimed it had been the victim of an internet scam leading to the forgery. 

The ReThink Route 17 Alliance released a report proposing alternate ways to spend $1.4 billion earmarked for an expansion of New York State Route 17. Several alternatives for construction along Route 17 as it passes through Sullivan and Orange counties are being considered by New York State, with business leaders putting their weight behind a proposal that includes expanding the highway with a third lane. 

The alliance, representing environmental and community interests, has offered that the money could be better spent on other initiatives, and expressed concerns about the impacts of increased traffic along Route 17. 

The newly-renovated terminal at the Sullivan County International Airport welcomes visitors to the county in style.

RR photo by Liam Mayo

October

On October 5, Sullivan County cut the ribbon on a new terminal building at the Sullivan County International Airport. The $24 million terminal aims to position Sullivan County as a prime destination for business aviation, with the county hoping to target the sector of the corporate aviation world that had been priced out or spaced out of other airports. 

On October 20, another public space along the Lackawaxen River in PA received a ribbon cutting, with a river access point at Indian Orchard opening for public use. 

On the New York side, Garnet Health Medical Services announced an affiliation with Montefiore Health System. The affiliation will allow Garnet Health to benefit from Montefiore’s resources and recruitment opportunities, while preserving a high quality of care for patients at Garnet Health facilities, according to Garnet Health officials. 

Excavators chew through the soil in a Damascus Township field on Wednesday, November 19, working to construct the Sunnybrook Mitigation Bank.

RR photo by Liam Mayo

November

In PA, the Honesdale Borough Council considered and ultimately rejected the imposition of an earned income tax, which would have placed a 1-percent levy on all income earned within the borough. Honesdale businesses showed up in force to protest the EIT, seeing it as a needless imposition and calling upon the borough to get its own finances in order. 

Northwell Health unveiled its plans for a partnership with Pike County at a November 20 press conference. Northwell planned to open two primary care centers in Pike, one in Dingmans Ferry and one in Hawley, and plans to work with the county on the creation of a micro hospital. 

Construction started on a wetlands mitigation project in Damascus Township, one that will be used to offset the destruction of wetlands associated with the expansion of I-80 in Stroudsburg. Community leaders in Stroudsburg have raised concerns about the propriety of using a mitigation bank outside the narrow watershed of Stroudsburg to offset harms done to that watershed. 

December

In December, the Sullivan County Legislature deliberated on and passed the final version of its budget. While initial drafts of the budget included conservative estimates of upcoming sales tax revenues and a 9.1 percent property tax increase, outcry from the public led the legislature to reconsider that course of action, using optimistic estimates and other adjustments to bring the budget home with a two percent property tax increase. 

Elsewhere in Sullivan County, the Tusten Town Board held a public hearing on the adoption of its Open Space Plan and the Natural Resources Inventory, documents that will help the town plan for the future preservation and development of its outdoor spaces. 

Down in Mount Pocono, PA, President Donald Trump visited the region to discuss national issues including affordability, and was met with local protesters who stood around the route taken by the presidential motorcade.