Hundreds of people were up early Sunday for Putnam's annual Out of the Darkness Walk in Carmel, the local edition of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's community walks held across the country this fall. The walks raise money for suicide prevention education, research and advocacy, and for families who have lost someone, it is the one morning a year the whole county shows up beside them. Putnam's own stood at the microphone: Social Services and Mental Health Commissioner Sara Servadio called the walk an important opportunity to stand together and reinforce that help and hope are available, and County Executive Kevin Byrne told the crowd that asking for help is a sign of strength.
If Sunday morning passed you by, the part worth keeping is smaller than a walk. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline answers by call or text at any hour, and the county's Mental Health and Social Services offices take calls on weekdays. Walk season is also flu season, and the county's last posted flu clinic is this afternoon in Carmel.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
When does early voting start in Putnam?
Saturday, October 24, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at two sites: the Board of Elections at 25 Old Route 6 in Carmel and the American Legion at 10 Cedar St. in Cold Spring. Any registered county voter can use either one. Nine days run through Sunday, November 1; most go 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and two go noon to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 27 and Thursday, October 29. Vote early and you are done, because early voters do not vote again on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at your regular polling place. Not registered yet? October 24 is also the registration deadline, so a first ballot has to start with a form at the Board of Elections this week.
The county flu clinic runs this afternoon, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Carmel Fire Department, ages 18 and up. It is $30 cash or credit, free with a Medicare card, walk-ins welcome, and the county offers in-car vaccination if you flag the need when you register. Check the county's flu clinic page before you drive: this is the last clinic on its posted schedule, and the page is where a new date would land first. If you have questions, the health department line is 845-808-1332.
Three are left. Kent's town board takes comment on a local law to exceed the property tax levy for the 2027 budget tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the town offices, 25 Sybil's Crossing; the notice reserves 15 minutes for the hearing before the regular meeting, so arrive at the top of the hour. The county legislature's hearing on the 2027 tentative budget is Monday, October 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse in Carmel. And Thursday, October 29, the county executive hears comment at 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. in Room 102 of the County Office Building on the accessory dwelling unit tax exemption, the charter amendment on budget-veto votes, and a third measure posted as Reso #247. Sign in when you arrive and speak when your name is called.
The frost advisory that covered Putnam ends at 8:00 this morning, so tender plants that came indoors for the weekend can go back out after that. Today turns sunny with a high near 63 after patchy morning fog, and tonight stays partly cloudy around 43. The pattern for the week is dry: 63 Tuesday with gusts to 20 mph, 60 Wednesday, 62 Thursday, 57 Friday, and sun carrying straight through Saturday's first day of early voting. No watches or warnings are posted for the zone beyond this morning's advisory. The civic item to hold onto: Kent's tax-cap hearing is tomorrow at 7:00 p.m., covered above.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: reading the county budget PDF alongside an AI chat.
The legislature's 2027 tentative budget hearing is a week from tonight, and the budget itself is a PDF long enough to qualify as fall reading. Two browsers open well here: in the first, load the county's budget page and download the document; in the second, open an AI chat and attach the same file. Then ask for the parts that touch your town and your tax bill: the tax levy total, what it changes from this year, and any line that names your town. Chats are good at pulling those lines out of a long table, and they can also invent a number that was never in the file. Keep the PDF open and spot-check every figure the chat quotes against the page it cites, because the chat can be the reader while the county document stays the record.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corners.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
Brewster Fire Department fire prevention open house, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.; this year's theme is safe charging, on preventing battery-related fires from rechargeable devices
BFD headquarters, 501 N. Main St., Brewster · pcvfa.org
County flu clinic, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., ages 18 and up, $30 cash or credit, free with a Medicare card, walk-ins welcome; in-car vaccination offered on request during registration
Carmel Fire Department · putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic
Kent Town Board public hearing on exceeding the property tax levy for the 2027 budget, 7:00 p.m., followed by the regular Town Board meeting
Kent Town Hall, 25 Sybils Crossing, Kent Lakes · townofkentny.gov calendar
Last day to register to vote in the November 3 general election, and first day of early voting, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; both sites take any registered county voter
Board of Elections, 25 Old Route 6, Carmel, or American Legion, 10 Cedar St., Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
Opening reception for the Arts Council's Annual Juried Fine Art Show, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., with awards presented at 3:00; the show hangs through Sunday, November 8
A. Eric Arctander Gallery, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac · putnamartscouncil.com
Putnam County Legislature public hearing on the 2027 tentative budget, 7:00 p.m.
County executive public hearings, 3:30 and 5:00 p.m.: the accessory dwelling unit tax exemption, the charter amendment on budget-veto votes, and Reso #247
