AMENIA — Actually, there are two Erics in this story, as well as a canine hero, Brooklyn, a handsome black dog who is gentle, friendly and close to 2 years old. He came to Animal Farm Foundation (AFF) from a southern shelter, and began training soon afterward.
Brooklyn now belongs to a man named Eric Guss, who is deaf, and Brooklyn has become his friend, his protector and his ears. He has been taught to react to different sounds, and he lets Guss know when a sound needs to be brought to his attention, such as a microwave, a telephone, a doorbell, and if needed, a fire or smoke alarm. This is all done with nudges to the knee, or other body parts; if it is an emergency, Brooklyn knows how to react to that as well, with more excitement and force.
“He is a wonderful dog,” said Guss, “the best dog I could ever have.”
Guss notes that they are individuals, but he credits Brooklyn with saving his life as a deaf man. He hopes that in the future more dogs will be trained to help those who cannot hear. Thanks to Brooklyn, there are things that Guss can do now that he couldn’t before he acquired Brooklyn. They lead a relatively active life on the other side of the county, in Hyde Park.
Brooklyn was trained by Erich Steffensen, AFF special projects manager; Guss is Brooklyn’s handler. They built a special relationship, to the extent that Guss can often sense something is going on by watching Brooklyn’s ears. Once at Home Depot, Guss noticed a twitching of Brooklyn’s ears, and discovered that a forklift was backing up in the next aisle.
Brooklyn gives Eric a kiss every time they get in the car, and before they get out, possibly as reaffirmation of love and dedication. What makes the union even more perfect is that Brooklyn’s bark is pitched perfectly so that Guss can hear it. Guss is much more comfortable in his daily comings and goings since acquiring Brooklyn.
Other dogs are being trained for the same type of duty at AFF, to help the disabled or veterans and others suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In fact, the nonprofit helps in so many ways; the dogs are generally saved from high-kill shelters. Once trained, they are given, free of charge, to those who need them most.
Some of the dogs are trained to work with the physically handicapped, and can work with those who are wheelchair bound as well as those who need emotional support.
There are six trainers at AFF; they work with the animals as well as the person who will be getting the dog and be the handler. The training is also free.
Another dog, Gadget, is going with his handler, Milton; another, Mallard, is awaiting a person he can help and guide, as either a PTSD or a hearing alert dog.
Helping both people and dogs, AFF also has a program with prisoners who train dogs in New York City and one in which dogs are trained at a center in Texas to be K-9 police dogs.
Go to AFF’s website, www.animalfarmfoundation.org, or call 845-868-7559 for details.
Nathan Miller
Caroline Farr-Killmer has been leading the effort to rebuild Millerton’s fire-ravaged Water Department building since last February.
MILLERTON — Village officials expect a rebuild of the fire-ravaged Water Department building to begin soon, with the aim of completing it before the end of summer.
Fire project manager Caroline Farr-Killmer has been managing the effort to demolish and rebuild the village’s Public Works Department building since a fire destroyed it and all the equipment inside last winter. She said that Dutchess County Department of Health approval is the last hurdle for a new Water Department building before construction can start.
Millerton Mayor Jenn Najdek said she expects construction to start as soon as the designs get approval from the health department.
Officials described the new Water Department building as an urgent need. Farr-Killmer explained the village’s water system has been operating with just one operational well, causing concerns about potential water shortages at that wellhead and its longevity. The village cannot operate the second well until it is enclosed in a structure, Farr-Killmer said.
Najdek doesn’t expect Millerton’s upcoming 175th anniversary celebration to impact the construction. She said health department approval should be arriving within the week, and the 400-square-foot building likely wouldn’t take long to construct. She clarified that there is no clear timeline at this moment, but expects to get work started as soon as approvals come in.
Millerton’s Water and Highway building caught fire last February, destroying the structure and all of the village’s road maintenance and police equipment. Since then, property restoration firm BELFOR has been working to clear and prep the site for a brand new set of buildings.
Farr-Killmer explained the Water Department building, which will house one of Millerton’s municipal wells, must now be a separate structure from the Highway Department building due to environmental and health regulations. Municipal wells require up to a 200-foot buffer from other structures to prevent drinking water contamination.
Millerton News
CANAAN — Anita L. (King) Gochey, 85, of 77 South Canaan Rd. died June 5, 2026, at Geer Village. She was the wife of the late Lester Gochey. Anita was born July 16, 1940,in Winsted, daughter of the late Ivan and Irene (Dulude) King.
Anita was well known throughout the Northwest Corner. She worked for many local businesses and organizations. Anita worked at the Rexall Drug Store, C.A. Lindell and Sons, Bob’s Clothing, Brooks Pharmacy, and the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in the cafeteria.She used her skills in calligraphy to complete the record books for the North Canaan Congregational Church.Anita’s daughter remembers her as being very creative with cardboard, and a loving mom.
Anita is survived by her son Raymond Gochey and his fiancee’ Chris Filkins of Hinsdale, Massachusetts; and her daughter Michele O’Brien of Sharon. She is also survived by her sister Denise Warner of Torrington and her brother Arthur King of Danbury. Her three grandchildren, Kyle Gochey of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Cody O’Brien of Georgia, and Sabrina O’Brien of Falls Village. Anita was predeceased by her brother, Martin King.
A Celebration of Anita’s life will be held on Saturday June 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018.
Nathan Miller
Carol Kneeland, left, Cyndhia Valle, center, and Irene Banning knit together on North East Community Center’s back porch during the first “Community Porch Party” on Wednesday, June 3.
MILLERTON — A new pilot program at the North East Community Center aims to bring in community members for chill hangs at the nonprofit’s office on South Center Street this summer.
The weekly “Community Porch Party” is an evolution of senior administrative assistant Ash Baldwin’s “Craft Collective,” which invited community members to enjoy a group crafting session where participants were encouraged to bring individual projects, swap tips and be together. The gathering on Wednesday, June 3, and the preceding “Craft Collective” meetings are part of a broader effort to provide accessible, community-building programming.
The pilot program is set to run every Wednesday through the end of July.
NECC board chair and interim Executive Director Irene Banning joined Baldwin along with Millerton resident Carol Kneeland and Pine Plains resident Cyndhia Valle at the program’s opening night. Kneeland brought enough knitting needles and yarn to go around, and taught Valle how to get started making a knitted square.
“She’s a total pro of 40 minutes,” Kneeland said, knitting needles in hand.
Banning said the community center is working to return to a former status as a community hub. She remembered the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for the organization, when it shifted to providing crisis management programs such as its food pantry and housing assistance.
While those programs are still important to NECC’s mission, Banning said, community building is equally so.
She recalled needing an outlet for social interaction when her son moved away from her home, prompting her to find a knitting group based out of Pine Plains.
“One day I just picked up my knitting and I decided to go,” Banning said. “It’s been a fabulous thing.”
The “Community Porch Party” is less focused on the crafting, and instead on just providing an opportunity for people to enjoy a nice yard and a chat with fellow community members. Baldwin and Banning assembled sweet treats and snacks for people to eat, and crafters are encouraged to bring a project but it’s not required.
The effort stems from a recognition that social interaction can be difficult to come by in northeast Dutchess County.
“It’s so hostile out there, and you always have to be careful about what you say or what you don’t say,” Banning said. “Just to have a place where that doesn’t matter is really nice.”
NECC’s “Community Porch Party” is set for Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 through July 29.
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Graham Corrigan
PINE PLAINS — Community Day returns to Pine Plains on June 13, reviving a tradition last celebrated in 2023 during the town’s bicentennial celebration.
The event’s return has been spearheaded by an ad hoc group of residents led by Lenora Champagne, Jeanne Valentine-Chase, Lisa Agnelli, Joan Taylor, Helene Marsh and others.
Champagne and Valentine-Chase, who are on the town’s Beautification Committee, said they recruited volunteers to help organize it, realizing that Community Day is a big undertaking. “It was clearly a bigger project than what that committee could take on,” said Champagne. “So we turned to people who’d been involved in previous Community Days.”
The community was up to the task. Some of the entertainment will be familiar: live music will fill the air, local businesses and nonprofits will set up booths along Main Street, and the Graham-Brush House will host fiddlers and reenactments.
New additions to Community Day abound, too: a 31-vendor market will set up shop by the Catholic church on Poplar and Church Street. The market will host makers offering sourdough bread, artisanal jewelry, and everything in between. The Pines, a historic Victorian inn on Maple Street, will open its doors for tours as well.
This year’s Community Day is also offering an eye-popping amount of complimentary experiences, for kids and adults alike. First there’s a free breakfast hosted by Pine Plains Fire Company. Free raffle tickets are on offer, with the chance to win prizes like gift certificates to local businesses like Chaseholm Farm and Factory Lane Automotive — or fruit trees donated by Full Circus Farm. There’s a free scavenger hunt to work up an appetite, and free lunch from local restaurants to sate it — all chased down with a postprandial stroll through the free corn maze.
“There ought to be something of interest for everyone,” Champagne said. “We’re really curious to see what people enjoy.”
Town Councilwoman Jeanine Sisco is the group’s liaison to the town. She’ll also be the one “collecting garbage and schlepping benches.”
“We did Community Day for years,” Sisco said. “But sometimes people just didn’t step up. We’re hoping this will be the start of doing it every year.”
The goal, Sisco says, is to bring people in to town. All the people: generational locals and weekenders alike. “We want to bring all those folks into a united venue to get to know what’s going on in town, and revitalize the spirit of community.”
Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Water Committee is exploring options to allow municipal water customers to pay their bills online and by credit card.
Responding to customer interest in additional payment options, the committee discussed potential billing software upgrades during its regular meeting Wednesday, June 3.
Town Billing Clerk Nancy Nowak presented information from Muni-Link of Bellwood, Pennsylvania, a cloud-based billing company that serves municipal utilities.
“This software is so much better,” Nowak said. “It is similar to what we have now, but it’s easier.”She added that the company works with four credit card processors.
Initial set-up cost for the system is estimated at $12,000, Nowak said, with an additional monthly charge of $650. Current administration costs for billing stands at $138 monthly for the town.
“But you would be getting twice as much service,” said Water Committee chairman Bill Flood, comparing the proposed streamlined billing system to the present one.
Nowak had explained that the current system provides limited account management capability, leaving much input to be done by hand. She reported also that over the years, customers have asked for the convenience of emailed billing and on-line payment.
For those water district customers who lack computer capability or who prefer to pay in person, there would still be the option for mailed billing.
The committee agreed to continue to explore the option, gathering additional information, before presenting a proposal to the Town Board.
In other discussion, Flood announced that the prefabricated pump house building is expected to be installed at the Lavelle Road site in the fall. The foundation is ready to accept the new structure.
A program to replace non-working water meters is progressing with VRI Environmental Services, the town’s water operator, having sent out 20 postcard notices. In response so far, 13 meters have been replaced.
In final action, the Water Committee agreed to meet quarterly, rather than the current monthly schedule. Special meetings will be scheduled as needed.
Millerton News
SHARON — Susanne Cecilia Berberoglu, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on May 14 surrounded by the love of her family.
Born on Fe 13, 1951, in New Milford, Susanne lived a life filled with warmth, adventure, compassion, and dedication to those she loved.
A graduate of Brookfield High School, Susanne went on to work as a travel agent, a career perfectly suited to her adventurous spirit and love of discovering the world. She especially cherished her travels to Australia, London, and Hawaii, creating memories that she carried throughout her life.
Susanne had a lifelong passion for antiques and found joy in collecting and appreciating beautiful pieces filled with history and character. She was also deeply devoted to her beloved Boston Terriers, whom she lovingly raised and cared for over many years. Her home was always filled with warmth, laughter, and the companionship of the dogs she adored.
Above all else, Susanne treasured her family. She is survived by her devoted husband of 54 years, Tayfun Berberoglu Sr.; her loving daughter, Jennifer; her son, Tayfun Berberoglu Jr.; and her cherished granddaughters, Faora and Sybella. Her love, kindness, strength, and gentle spirit will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew her.
Susanne will be remembered for her caring nature, adventurous soul, and unwavering love for her family, friends, and animals. Her memory will continue to inspire all whose lives she touched.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
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