Diane Walden is reporting for The Columbia Paper the historic Stiehle House, on Route 82 in the hamlet of Ancram, suffered significant damage when a vehicle plowed through its north side and exited through the structure's other side. The building may have to be taken down as a result. The state police "handled the crash," in the early morning hours of Sat., July 18. The house is owned by the Ancram Preservation Group and had just days earlier started renovation work on the building. Some shoring up of the building was done just the morning before the crash and “was probably the thing that kept it from collapsing. We were due to pour a new rear foundation wall [July 20], but that obviously will not happen until we get beyond this immediate situation,” Ancram Preservation Group President Christopher White said this week. The Stiehle house is thought to be one of the oldest homes in Ancram, and stands as a gate post to the entry of the town. The crash does not change the preservation group’s plans to renovate the building, but White said town building inspector Ed Ferratto “has determined that nothing can be done until an engineer has determined its viability.” Ferratto later reported speaking with an engineer from Taconic Engineering who deemed the house structurally unsafe. The building inspector said he was going to advise White that the building must be demolished as soon as possible. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.