Issue #038 · LatestThursday, October 22, 2026 · Carmel · Cold Spring · Mahopac · Nelsonville
State Police say a Taconic chase ended in Brewster with 5,455 grams of fentanyl, early voting starts Saturday, and hazardous waste day takes appointments
Free local email · written by Catherine Rosado · 4-minute read
A traffic stop on the Taconic State Parkway in East Fishkill turned into a 15-mile pursuit Tuesday, and it ended in Brewster with 5,455 grams of fentanyl in the car. State Police say 36-year-old Tyrike Gibbs of Brooklyn failed to comply with a trooper, the chase ran eastbound on Interstate 84 until a tire failed, and the Nissan came to rest on Route 6 near Simpson Road. A K9 named Wild alerted on the vehicle from the outside, and the search turned up the fentanyl.
Gibbs is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, and unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, and the top count carries up to 25 years to life. He was arraigned in Southeast Court and sent to the Putnam County Jail without bail. The charges are accusations at this point.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
What happened on North Brewster Road in Southeast last night?
A single-car crash shortly after midnight, and the driver walked away from a burning car. State Police say 27-year-old Joselin Delcid of Ridgefield, Connecticut drove off North Brewster Road, hit a metal signpost and the car caught fire. The 911 calls came in around midnight and brought Brewster State Police and the Brewster Fire Department; firefighters found the vehicle empty, and a search of the area turned up the driver talking with a group of bystanders nearby. Delcid is charged with DWI and operating above the .08 percent blood alcohol limit. She was arraigned and released to a family member pending further court proceedings, and the car was destroyed. The charges are accusations at this stage, and the court dates will do the rest.
Saturday, October 24, and the sites are the Board of Elections at 25 Old Route 6 in Carmel and the American Legion at 10 Cedar St. in Cold Spring. All nine early-voting days run at both sites, and any registered county voter can use either one. Most days run 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; two run noon to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 27 and Thursday, October 29. Vote early and you are done: anyone who casts an early ballot does not vote again on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at your regular polling place. One thing to check before Saturday: October 24 is also the last day to register for this election, so an unregistered neighbor starts with a registration form at the Board of Elections this week, not with a ballot.
Can I still get an absentee ballot for November 3?
Yes, and the request is its own step, separate from registering. Applications for early mail and absentee ballots are accepted right up to the days before the election, and the Board of Elections processes them all year. If you will be away on November 3, the county page on early mail and absentee voting walks through the request, and the status checker in AI Corner then tracks the ballot after you send it back.
Where can I recycle paint, pesticides or old gasoline in Putnam?
The next county Household Hazardous Waste collection day is Friday, November 6, at the Topio Crushed Stone and Topsoil facility on Route 312 in Southeast, and the county runs it by appointment only. Set an appointment online at the county recycling page or by phone at (845) 808-1600, extension 0. The material list is long, and it is easier to check than to guess: pesticides, paint thinner, oil-based paint, rechargeable batteries, gasoline from a stalled lawn mower and most automotive fluids all belong there. Latex paint is the one that stays home, because dried latex goes out with regular trash.
What are the new playgrounds at the Carmel schools?
Two elementary schools got equipment built for kids of different abilities, paid for in part by a $100,000 state grant to the Carmel Central School District. At Matthew Paterson Elementary, the additions are a play structure with a slide, climbing ropes at two heights and a canvas platform. Kent Primary received an interactive play station with a large xylophone and maze, plus a low-to-the-ground circular spinning platform with protective netting to help prevent falls. Senator Pete Harckham visited both schools last week, and Superintendent Michael Plotkin put the districts reasoning plainly: outdoor space and playgrounds are part of the larger instructional setting. Both principals called this a first step, with more planned.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: answering a parks survey so your answers count.
New York tracks every early mail and absentee ballot through a Board of Elections status checker, and the same page carries the polling place lookup, so before early voting starts Saturday you can settle two things in one stop: where your assigned poll site is for November 3, and where your mailed ballot stands.
The catch is timing. Applications for early mail and absentee ballots are accepted and processed all year, but a ballot that was never requested never appears in the checker. If you already applied, run your name through it this week, while a rejected signature or a missed step can still be fixed, and call the Board of Elections at (845) 808-1300 or email boe@putnamcountyny.gov when a result looks wrong.
The same office posts a sample ballot for every election district. The November 3 ballot carries county races, including coroner, and a Putnam County Charter amendment question, and reading yours before you vote early takes about two minutes.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corners.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
First day of early voting, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the last day to register to vote in the November 3 general election; 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
Early voting continues, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at both county sites
Board of Elections, Carmel, or American Legion, Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
Putnam County Legislature public hearing on the 2027 tentative budget, 7:00 p.m.; the proposed 29 million plan includes a .5 million property tax levy cut
Early voting runs noon to 8:00 p.m. today, the first of the two evening sessions this week
Board of Elections, Carmel, or American Legion, Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
Early voting runs noon to 8:00 p.m. today; the county executive also holds public hearings at 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. on a proposed Charter amendment about overriding budget vetoes (Reso #262)
