Easter is next Sunday and in addition to heralding in Springtime (supposedly), it is a time for some great Easter food and when I think of delicious food-I think of Konrad and Judit Kovacs and their family-owned business, The Yulan Country Store-and admit it to yourself Konrad can cook some fantastic food and his holiday menus are always a community favorite - as if any of us have forgotten his legendary holiday buffets in years past.

For Easter Konrad is making some of my favorite traditional meals, Virginia Ham in a Honey Bourbon Apple glaze, Roast Pork Tenderloin Marsala, Herb Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb with Fresh Mint Chimichurri, and a half of Roasted Duck in a Garlic Herb Sauce. As always there are a lot of menu choices with a cooked to perfection Sirloin Steak in Madeira Sauce, Cornbread and Walnut Stuffed Chicken in Brandy Sauce, several fresh fish entrees, and a vegetarian option.

Konrad now has fresh baked goods available, and the Kovacs do an excellent job of catering as well which is a huge help during family events. As always, the prices are very reasonable and the Easter menu is take out only and the pick-up time is on Saturday, April 3rd from 3:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.

To ensure you can get the special Easter entrees you will need to place your orders early and the Kovacs will be taking your orders daily from 7:00a.m. to 7:00p.m. at 845-557-0425. The Yulan Country Store is located at 218 Airport Road in Yulan. I am having the glazed ham dinner for sure and maybe a few chocolate chip cookies!

For more information and to see Konrad's full Easter Menu go to the Yulan Country Store's Facebook page.

For the second year in a row due to Covid-19, the Easter Bunny has wisely “booked on down” the bunny trail and there are no sightings planned for the Town of Highland that I have been able to unearth.

But for the local kiddos I am happy to report St. Ann Catholic Church located at 123 Richardson Avenue in Shohola right across the bridge will be holding a socially distanced Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3rd at 11:00a.m. sharp-rain or shine.

There will be games and prizes and lots of activities. So get those bunny ears working and BOYB-bring your own basket and the family and have some Easter fun.

The United States Department of Agriculture has a food giveaway program called “Farmers to Families Food Boxes” which will be filled with thirty pounds of poultry, dairy, vegetables and fresh fruit.

The Farmers to Families has 1,300 food boxes to give away for free and it's open to anyone in the tri-state area. The Food Box distribution will be held on Saturday, April 10th starting at 9:00a.m. The event will be a drive-thru pick up and pop your trunk and a volunteer will load up your food box for you.

The location for the Food Box distribution will be the American Legion Post#139 at 103 County Route 2001 in Milford, Pennsylvania. This is a very nice program and a good opportunity for those who could use a little boost going into the springtime and the drive from Barryville over the Shohola Bridge to the site of the distribution is about twenty-five minutes.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has begun to enforce their annual Spring Burn Ban which began on March 16th and will end on May 14th. The burn ban is important even now with everything so wet as it still lessens the chance of wildfires or forest fires as fallen brush, leaves and branches dry out and are exposed.

In New York State wildfires are started 95% of the time by human error and 5% by lightning strikes destroying thousands of acres of natural woodland every year. Small cooking fires are allowed but any fire cannot be left unattended (burn ban or not) and must be fully extinguished.

The open burning of household trash in burn barrels is prohibited during the burn ban and open burning is the single greatest cause of wildfires in New York State. Burn barrels are disastrous for the environment as the burning trash releases many dangerous toxins including lead, arsenic, and benzene all carcinogens into the air which is less than advised and the DEC recommends recycling all appropriate materials which is free of charge at all Transfer Stations in the State.

For more information you can go to dec.ny.gov and the Forest Ranger Emergency number is 518-408-5850.

Happy Easter everyone!