Our journalism made a difference in 2023. These stories brought awareness, change
In the past year, residents of Middletown and Orange County have banded together through tragedy, persevered through hard times and shined bright with new opportunities.
Our reporters at the Times Herald-Record and recordonline.com, as well as our USA TODAY Network New York colleagues, have highlighted high school champions, dug deep through court records to publish investigative reports, and told firsthand stories about topics that matter most in the community.
Here are some of the stories that made a difference in 2023, told by Middletown journalists and our New York State Team:
Calls for crash gate in wake of I-84 bus crash
When a bus from Farmingdale on Long Island bringing high school students to a band camp in Pennsylvania crashed on Interstate 84 in Orange County in September, killing two people, it brought a local need back into focus: the lack of a crash gate to give local first responders quick access to a specific section of the highway.
Now politicians have joined first responders and municipal officials in renewing a call to get such a gate to the top of the state's priority list again.
Read the story: Fatal bus crash renews calls for long-sought access gate for emergency vehicles on I-84
NY EMS crews facing mounting pressure as volunteers drop, calls rise
Workforce shortages, skyrocketing costs, supply chain disruptions and reduced insurance reimbursement levels have combined to put many emergency medical services across the nation in dire shape.
In the mid-Hudson region, the vast majority of those services have traditionally been provided mostly by so-called "volunteer" ambulance services. Many of those are now a hybrid of traditional volunteers and paid staffers, including paramedics and emergency medical technicians. We took a look at how those services are coping with this new environment.
Read the story: Volunteer losses, calls spike puts mounting pressure on these first responders
Inside New York's first cannabis growers market in New Paltz
New York was to begin allowing the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes this year. But then some legal challenges to the permitting process delayed the licensing of many dispensaries. That created a problem, as farmers had an increasing backlog of product they had grown in anticipation of the new law.
To prevent waste and unload that product, the first cannabis growers market in the state opened in August, in the village of New Paltz in Ulster County. It was a roadside, farmers market style alternative to the standard dispensary in a store.
Read the story: New York's first cannabis growers market has opened in New Paltz
Middletown student competes on Food Network show
One Orange County preteen’s dreams came true this year when she was selected as one of a dozen kids to compete on a Food Network reality series.
We spoke with Madison Lendor, a 12-year-old from Monroe who is set to appear on the upcoming season of Kids Baking Championship in January. She auditioned alongside her twin sister and business partner, Hailee, and is cheered on at home by two younger sisters who are themselves budding bakers.
More: This Monroe-Woodbury 7th grader is competing on the Food Network: How to watch
Army, Navy unveil uniforms for annual clash
There’s an adage that if you look good, you feel good. The same holds true, sports reporter Ken McMillan discovered, for sports uniforms.
In recent years, the Army and Navy football teams have worn specially designed uniforms for their annual clash. In all cases, the designs were chosen to represent a segment of U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.
In the case of the recent 2023 game, the Black Knights chose to recognize the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and its Dogface Soldiers for the 20th anniversary year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Midshipmen honored the Silent Service, the U.S. Submarine Force.
Read the story: Army, Navy unveil special uniforms, helmets for annual college football clash next month
Wrestling champ steps away from senior season
The Section 9 region in New York state, and namely Minisink Valley High School, has produced scores of state championship medalists and dual-meet titles.
Zack Ryder is no different, only he has chosen a different path toward championship glory.
Ryder decided to skip his senior season at Minisink Valley to join an elite wrestling club in preparation for his freshman season at Penn State in 2024-25. The move shocked local coaches and admirers but seemed well received.
Read the story: Wrestling champ Zack Ryder leaving Minisink Valley for elite club program near Penn State
Some NY hospitals nixed medical debt lawsuits. Others sued 1,600 patients for $9M
A USA TODAY Network investigation by New York State Team reporter David Robinson found a group of 17 hospitals and health systems sued about 1,600 New Yorkers to collect medical debts totaling $9 million since early 2022, despite a push to end the controversial practice.
When questioned about the lawsuits listed in court records, some hospital systems denied they filed lawsuits or pointed to the charity care they deliver each year. Others said they were phasing out the practice of suing patients over medical debt.
One health system, WMC Health, also appeared to have halted its debt lawsuits following the USA TODAY Network reporting in 2019 on its connections to a debt-collection law firm under federal investigation.
A $345 utility bill became $68,000 as NYSEG, RG&E confront billing fiasco. What happened?
Utility billing issues plagued New Yorkers all over the state in early 2023, with hundreds saying they were being inaccurately billed, sometimes by exorbitant amounts, wrote New York State Team and local reporters Tom Zambito, Patrick Harney and Chris Potter.
A call for readers to tell us about their billing experiences brought in 118 comments, one of which was from Carl Popp, of Poughkeepsie, who told us he religiously read his own meter to keep from being overbilled after bad experiences in the past.
We followed up with Popp, featuring him in a how-to story. Popp later wrote in an email: “I hope (the story) will help all the other people with high estimated bills and enlighten them on what they can do themselves to lessen the problem.”
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: 2023 Times Herald-Record stories that made a difference in Middletown
