What an eventful year it was in Sullivan County. Before saying good riddance to 2021, though, The SullivanTimes offers a look back on some of the most significant stories that got our attention and that garnered high readership.
Since this media outlet was launched in the summer of 2018, I have strived to deliver exclusive stories. Our website analytics from the past year show that there's a strong connection between our exclusives and very high readership. (That's also true from our stories that were published only to our Facebook page).
For now, though, let's look at the stories that appeared at www.sullivantimes.com in 2021.
The most widely-read article was from January 12 when Narrowsburg native Edward Jacob Lang posted video of himself on social media participating in the January 6 riots at the Capitol. The New York Times and other media outlets linked to our story.
The second most popular piece in 2021 was from December 21 about the federal criminal complaint filed against local entrepreneur Daniel Resnick after an FBI undercover operation.
Our exclusive article about the arrest of Tri-Valley Superintendent Michael Williams on June 29 had the third highest readership of the year -and that was followed directly by our exclusive coverage of the May 10 arrest by the New York State Police of Town of Thompson Council Member Scott Mace, a story published on May 14.
Some other exclusive pieces also garnered much attention. They include a Monticello Police Officer was facing arrest following an excessive use of force incident (October 1); pending terminations of employees at Garnet Health who did not want to get vaccinated (September 22); a second article about Michael Williams on June 30 reporting that he invited school staff to join him at bar on the day of his DWI accident; a video interview (January 22) with Legislator Luis Alvarez and his attorney MIchael Sussman regarding a lawsuit filed against Legislature Chair Rob Doherty; a second child sex abuse lawsuit filed against former Tri-Valley teacher Donald Wales and the district (February 24), news that Steve Vegliante's ballot challenge in the Fallsburg supervisor race was rejected by a judge (December 10) , an October 26 story revealing strong opposition to a warehouse project in Rock Hill led by Robert Berman and a massive 'cabin' project for Smallwood.
There were also multiple stories and editorials about the dysfunctional County Legislature, the culmination of the Isaac Kantrowitz case, various lawsuits and court decisions, the sudden fall of Governor Andrew Cuomo, and, of course, too many sad stories about COVID-19.
In 2021, The SullivanTimes produced some podcasts that included news and editorial content.
In 2022, I expect to create more of those, with some that may function as mini radio shows, and also hope to produce more live and recorded video content, including Zoom interviews on some county-wide issues.
Have a safe, happy and healthy New Year and thank you for including The SullivanTimes in your consumption of local news and editorial content.
-Editor Rich Klein
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