The Amenia Historical Society presented Certificates of Appreciation at its annual meeting on Sunday, Oct. 20 to representatives of the Amenia Fire Company and Wassaic Fire Company. Town Historian Betsy Strauss presented the certificates to Robert Boyles, Jr., Captain of the Wassaic Fire Company, at left, and Andy Murphy, Captain of the Amenia Fire Company.
AMENIA — The commitment of members of the two local fire companies is measured not only in decades but in generations, and that dedication was honored by the Amenia Historical Society at its annual meeting on Sunday, Oct. 20, held at the Town Hall.
Following a presentation and display of historic images and artifacts reflecting the history of the two organizations, representatives of the fire companies of District 1 and District 2 accepted certificates of appreciation given by current society president Carol Lee.
The Amenia Fire Company, District 1, has been serving the community since its founding in 1895. Andy Murphy, Captain of the Amenia Fire Company, chronicled the history as he recalled the earliest apparatus, the company membership, the buildings and some of the historic local fires, along with the celebrations, parades and community fundraising events.
Captain Murphy, a long-term member himself, recounted that his father, James, had served the Amenia Fire Company for 50 years and his mother, Charlotte, was a charter member of the Auxiliary.
He said that the historical society has a treasure trove of historical documents and memorabilia collected over the years. That information was assembled into a book published in 1995 detailing the Fire Company’s history, but not much history has been assembled and recorded since then.
“It all began in 1895,” Murphy said, when there had been a fire in Millerton and a realization dawned that Amenia should have its own fire company.
Early records kept in the old firehouse were destroyed in 1941 by a devastating fire, and today, the only records remaining came from the homes of members and residents who had items that were not kept at the firehouse.
The earliest piece of equipment in Amenia was a length of 1,000 feet of hose donated by the local water company, along with nozzles, to be used in conjunction with the existing hydrants, Murphy said. About 20 people met at Taylor Hall, the old movie theatre in village center, to form Amenia Hose Company No. 1.
Later they would meet at a local clothing store near the post office. By 1898, they had acquired a two-wheel hose cart. By 1899, they had their first firehouse and a fire wagon to go with the hose cart. The company then moved to its present site on Mechanic Street.
The relationship between the town and the fire company began around 1900, Murphy explained, whereby the town would own the firehouse building and the fire company would pay rent to the town. A “new” firehouse was built on the site in 1948 and still stands today.
Ambulance service had its beginnings in 1950 with the purchase of the first vehicle to be named “Lulubell.” Formation of a Women’s Auxiliary came along in 1953.
Barn fires were the most usual types of fire calls, Murphy said.
But especially dangerous and disastrous were the 1974 fires that destroyed the movie theater and the Delavergne Farms Hotel in the town center, Murphy noted.
“We are pretty well-equipped today,” Murphy said, “but most of our trucks are going out driver-only.”
“People are not volunteering,” Murphy explained, adding that the company has only three or four young people.
“Back in the 1970s, people could not wait to join the fire company,” Murphy recalled.
Reviewing the chronology of the Wassaic Fire Company, former Chief Bob Bergfels indicated that the fire company was organized in 1931, building its first firehouse in 1937, with the present firehouse coming along in 1966. The Ladies’ Auxiliary began its service in 1955, and the Rescue Squad in 1977.
Seeking to clarify a point of confusion for residents, Murphy explained the difference between the two Fire Districts and the two Fire Companies. Fire Districts, he said, are governed by five local commissioners who sit on a Fire District Board. They develop the annual budget and function as the entity in charge of the equipment purchase and repair. The Fire District is in charge, Murphy said.
The Fire Company, he explained, is a separate organization headed by the Fire Chief. The Fire Company goes to the fires. Proceeds from the regularly scheduled pancake breakfasts go to the Fire Company to cover operational expenses.
Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.
The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.
Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, started the game strong, scoring six points for the Bombers in the first few minutes. Tuckahoe responed in kind by promptly running up the score, sending Cara Doherty, no. 5, to the backboard for four field goals before the end of the first quarter.
Tuckahoe's runaway lead started in the first quarter. Going into the second that team led the Bombers 19-8.
The lead was further cemented in the second quarter, when Tuckahoe sank another nine field goals — one a three-pointer from Grace Kern, no. 15 — adding up to an additional 19 points and putting the score at 38-13 going into the half.
Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, attempts to drive a layup through a group of Tuckahoe defenders during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
"Tuckahoe's a great team, they've got everything," girls varsity coach Les Funk said. "They're in shape, they run. Those kids out there didn't even look like they were breaking a sweat. That was a tough matchup for us."
The Bombers tried their hardest, but Tuckahoe's precision in defense was too much for the Pine Plains girls. Tuckahoe's fouls only sent Pine Plains players to the free throw line on five occasions. The Bombers couldn't make those free throw attempts count, with the team racking up a free-throw make percentage of just 20%.
Coach Funk is setting his sights on next season and another chance at the regional title. "They've got a taste of it now," Funk said. "I think if they work in the off-season they've got a chance."
The Bombers held their heads high after their loss to Tuckahoe in the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
Dan Aymar-Blair
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.
According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.
In addition to federal-to-county funding, Aymar-Blair noted an additional $1.9 billion annually is directly distributed to Dutchess residents from the U.S. government via Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. These entities are clearly not immune to the impact from the Trump administration as the Social Security office in Poughkeepsie, for example, has been poised for a reduction in office services. Whether Social Security benefits to individuals are reduced or cut entirely remains to be seen.
While data pertaining to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid recipients particular to Northeastern Dutchess was not readily available, data from the Social Security Administration provides some clues as to the number of individuals in Dutchess County who could potentially be impacted by benefit cuts. According to 2023 figures from the SSA, 4,730 Dutchess residents received Social Security benefits, 4,232 persons were categorized as blind/disabled and 2,904 persons were listed between the ages of 18 through 64. For adults 65 and over, 1,261 received Social Security benefits. The number of persons under the age of 18 receiving SSA benefits was listed at 565.
While cuts to Medicare and Medicaid have not been announced, it is possible under the circumstances. According to a Feb. 27 statement from Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association, any disruption to these benefits, particularly Medicaid, would worsen an already challenging situation.” The Medicaid program is a lifeline for rural hospitals, providers and patients,” Morgan said. “Any cuts to the Medicaid program will disproportionately affect rural communities. Rural Americans rely on Medicaid coverage more so than their urban counterparts with about 20% of adults and 40% of children living in rural areas enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP,” the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Aymar-Blair agreed with the impact assessment as well as its potential outlier results, saying, “Dutchess County relies heavily upon this ... Cuts to Dutchess County’s federal funding could impact life-saving programs, and reduced consumer spending would be a likely side effect of reduced federal assistance like Medicaid.”
Aymar-Blair’s report does not include information on federal awards to businesses or municipalities, nor does it address the controversies attached to impacted in-county federal entities such as the Castle Point Veterans Hospital in Wappingers Falls, New York, which — as with the Poughkeepsie Social Security office — is also reducing its services with the closing of its E2 Acute Inpatient Care Unit, which eliminated 20 inpatient beds. While calls have gone out from local officials and residents to sustain the offerings provided by the Poughkeepsie Social Security office and the Castle Point VA hospital, no action has been taken just yet on the part of the federal government.
While Aymar-Blair concedes there has been no disruption from the federal level at this time to Dutchess funding, he has received a sufficient number of phone calls and emails from constituents to spur him to continuously monitor the situation. He is also working in collaboration with county departments to determine any impacts future actions from the Trump administration could have on funding for Dutchess County agencies, services and programs with the situation remaining very fluid.
For more information or to read the comptroller’s report in its entirety, visit: www.dutchessny.gov, navigate to “Government,” click “County Comptroller”, and click on “News and Announcements”.
The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.
PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.
“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”
Every seat in the large coffeehouse-style auditorium was filled, and the crowd was engaged. “For a 3 p.m. audience, you guys are amazing!” exclaimed Eisenberg.
Actor David Straithairn took the stage first, reading a short story by Pulitzer Prize winning author Steven Millhauser titled “Green.” Straithairn’s classic, almost antique delivery suited the small-town American ethos of the story well. A somewhat detached but observant narrator recounts the story of a sort of anti-plant mania that started “innocently enough” in his town, stripping public and private property alike of all greenery. Eventually, a few intrepid neighbors add shrubbery back to their yards, prompting a swing back in the other direction: “After a brief diversion, a playful experiment, things had returned to normal in our quiet town — or had they?”
Straithharn’s reading was followed by an animated performance from actor Lauren Ambrose, whose long resumé is most recently punctuated by her role in the popular television series “Yellowjackets.” Ambrose read “Quantum Voicemail” by novelist and short-story writer Kristen Iskandrian, a woozy tale from a particular and slightly neurotic narrator who describes voicemail in probably the most poetic language ever put to page about the messaging format. Voicemail is “a stirring three minute soliloquy,” and “like a photograph, it capture[s] a moment of attention,” says the rapt narrator.
A brief intermission enabled patrons to refuel with drinks or popcorn from the bar, or head outside to enjoy the early spring weather. For those who remained in the theater, the sunken lounge-like space in the center of the room facilitated easy conservation between neighbors as they reflected on the performances.
Eisenberg herself recited the third story, “Squirrels” by Israeli writer Etgar Kenet. The action opens with a description of a family myth — or was it? — about a grandfather being reincarnated as a giant squirrel after a battle with cancer, and which subsequently halts his widow’s next wedding by biting the groom-to-be’s thumb. The story does get sentimental, which Eisenberg’s mostly comic oration accented well.
The final performance was of New York City-raised writer Jamel Brinkley’s “Blessed Deliverance,” a coming-of-age story about a group of college-bound teenagers growing up and growing apart in gentrifying Brooklyn. New York stage and screen actor Teagle F. Bougere handled the tension and confusion of late childhood/young adulthood well in his recitation. The plot reaches a high point when an unhoused man releases a pack of rabbits from an animal rescue shelter into the street while the group of teens looks on, cheering but not entirely sure what for.
After a few closing remarks from Eisenberg, the show was complete. Satisfied attendees made their way back to their cars and released the streets of Pine Plains into Sunday quietude once again.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong visits with former State Rep. Roberta Willis of Salisbury before his talk on immigration at Trinity Lime Rock Church Thursday.
LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Attorney General William Tong knows firsthand about the plight of immigrants.
He spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at Trinity Lime Rock Church March 6, which together with those on Zoom totaled 225. The event was hosted by Vecinos Seguros 2, a grassroots organization that works to make sure those without legal status know their rights.
Tong has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and is part of a group of attorneys general around the country who are banding together to take legal action against his actions.
He stirred the audience with his personal story. Growing up in West Hartford, where he remembered kids showing up at his school from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam after he was the first Asian student enrolled, he thought “they were refugees and I was the son of immigrants. I thought I was better than them. In fullness of time, I realized what we were all doing here. My parents and grandparents ran for their lives in China. I am nothing but the son of refugees. There was no daylight between those kids and the immigrants showing up today.”
Tong related how his parents met while both were working in a restaurant in Hartford. One day, in the 1970s, a representative from the Immigration and Naturalization Service showed up and because his father was undocumented, was threatened with deportation. After much thought, the senior Tong was resigned to the fact he would have to leave. But shortly before the deadline, while driving along the Berlin Turnpike, he decided to make a last-ditch effort. He went home and wrote a six-page handwritten letter to then-President Richard Nixon explaining his case. The INS agent returned later and said the president had read the letter and sent the message that the country welcomed him and urged him to stay.
Tong said he’s often asked what brings him hope during these times. “In one generation, I went from that Chinese restaurant to attorney general of this state. There are kids out there now; families living with that dream. We need to help them keep it.”
The attorney general said that when Trump talks about denaturalizing citizens and then about anchor babies, he is talking about him. “Banning birthright citizens is utterly and brazenly unconstitutional.” Audience members, as they did several times during the presentation, applauded loudly.
Speaking on the importance of immigration for moral and economic structural reasons, Tong noted, “America runs on Dunkin’ and immigrant workers. There would be no economy without immigrants.” Half of all farm workers are undocumented, as are half of those working in the meat packing industry he said.
Touching on Connecticut’s Trust Act that was passed in 2013, Tong explained that it limits how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration officials to protect the rights of undocumented immigrants. He called efforts to repeal the act “ridiculous,” saying “the federal government does its job and we here do ours.” He said if anyone tries to get rid of the act, he will fight it and believes he’ll win, emphasizing several times that Connecticut is a sovereign state. The federal government has a lot of power, but can’t come to Connecticut to tell its citizens what to do.
When asked what people can do to help those without legal status, Tong advised not to put anyone at risk and make sure they have a plan if ICE shows up. Agents must have a judicial warrant to come on private property. He also recommended they seek people who will provide pro-bono legal advice. He said those holding green cards have legal status and should be respected by ICE. He also recommended not using the word “sanctuary” since it has no legal meaning and can be inflammatory. He was also forthright in saying not everyone can be protected from deportation.
He added there is no evidence to support the claims that immigrants create crime more than American citizens and stressed the Trust Act does not protect violent criminals.
At the outset, Tong said he and his colleagues had sued the federal government when Trump and the Office of Policy and Management tried to freeze all federal funding for a variety of grants, especially those dealing with medical research. “We now have an injunction to stop him from breaking the law. Remembering we have checks and balances, we’re serving as the only check since there is so much disinformation out there.”
Coming to the end of his message, Tong’s tone was foreboding. “We’re not on the precipice of a constitutional crisis, we’re in one. Trump is already not in compliance with federal court orders. If he doesn’t follow Supreme Court rulings, we’re in a dark place. We all have the responsibility to take to the streets and speak out.”
