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.
Millerton News
The annual Millerton Fire Company Easter egg hunt returned to Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Saturday, April 4.
Tyler Dehoff discovers a piece of chocolate in a plastic egg at the zero to two-year-old egg hunt area.Nathan Miller
Families crowd into hay wagons for a parade down Main Street to the park before the egg hunt.Nathan Miller
Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Town Board approved two resolutions by unanimous vote at its Wednesday, April 1, meeting, including one authorizing herbicide use at Troutbeck’s spa and hotel facility.
The second resolution awarded a contract to paint the stage area in the Town Hall auditorium.
The herbicide approval follows a recommendation from the Housatonic Valley Association, which advised allowing controlled spot spraying and removal of small patches of invasive plant growth within the property’s conservation easement area. The organization assists the town by monitoring activities within Troutbeck’s easement acreage.
Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, based in Glenside, Pennsylvania, will perform the spot spraying work.
The painting project, initially suggested by resident George Bistransin, will apply black paint to the walls and ceiling surrounding the auditorium stage, enhancing the flexibility of the space to accommodate the needs of stage productions or other performances. Invitations to bid resulted in one bidder, Jaybird Painting of Wassaic, providing an estimate of $1,685 to complete the work.
The project will cover approximately 1,264 square feet and includes surface preparation, patching, application of matte black paint, protective masking and final cleanup.
During public comment, resident Ken Topolsky said his research into fair housing laws suggests the legislation may allow municipalities to prioritize local families for future affordable housing opportunities. He cited several regulations governing priority selection systems and urged the Town Board to review those provisions.
Topolsky said families of local workers could qualify for priority status under certain guidelines.
“All code elements have provisions for a point system as long as the system is not discriminatory,” Topolsky said.
People eligible to receive points are local volunteers in fire departments or EMTs, municipal or school employees and families with children in the local public school system.
“Unless it’s codified, it cannot happen,” Topolsky told the town board, urging them to study the legal citations and continue active discussion.
In other business, the board continued discussing how to allocate revenue generated from leasing its tower space to communication service providers.
“It should be used for a specific purpose,” said resident Judy Moran, urging that the revenue not be deposited into general funds.
The board agreed to discuss the issue further at its next meeting, allowing time for more research into how it has been used in the past and any restrictions on its use.
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The Board of Trustees approved the coming year’s budget Monday, April 6, following no public comment.
The village’s expenses increased 15.8% over last year’s adopted budget. Board members attributed those increased costs to unavoidable spikes in health insurance rates and retirement payments.
Mayor Jenn Najdek said property assessments are slated to increase, which would provide the village with additional revenue. Najdek estimated tax increases of about $11.48 per $250,000 of assessed property value.
Tentative budget documents available on the village’s website reflect that wage increases and newly filled staffing positions further drove increases to the budget. Expenses for the Clerk and Treasurer’s office, along with the building department, each increased by more than 40% over last year. Deputy Mayor Matt Hartzog emphasized the board’s desire to provide raises to village staff.
“We have not given ourselves a raise,” Hartzog said. “But we would like to give all of our employees a raise, so that they can keep up with inflation.”
Hartzog called attention to rising medical insurance rates. Medical insurance expenses rose 15% to $38,300, representing roughly 4% of the total budget.
“Health insurance has just gone through the roof,” he said. “Nobody’s going to be happy about that.”
The Village Clerk budget increased by more than $21,000, driven by the separation of the Clerk and Treasurer line items, with both receiving hikes. The 15.9% rise, bringing the total to $70,240, represents the largest share of this year’s overall budget increase.
A similar additional line item in the Building Department expenses drove the 44% increase in that department’s budget. In addition to the “Building sec salary” line receiving a small increase, a “Building sec” line lists $11,700, contributing much of the total $11,852 increase to that department’s overall budget.
Police salaries increased by a total of $5,000. Highway crew salaries increased by $4,210 total.
Overall, the village expects to spend $975,156 this year, an increase of $132,836 over last year’s budgeted expenses.
Increases to expenses are partially offset by a $70,000 increase in expected non-tax revenue. That’s 22% higher than in 2025, but not quite enough to make up for the increased costs.
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Millerton News
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to host a free repair café on Saturday, April 25, in the library’s annex on Century Boulevard.
Fixers will offer free repairs for small electronics, clothing and textiles, and minor bicycle repairs among other things such as lamps and knife sharpening.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Repairs are limited to two items per person. Five knives count as one item.
The Millbrook Library will also be hosting a repair café on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. That event coincides with Millbrook’s community-wide yard sale.
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The North East Town Board will add a workshop meeting to its regular monthly schedule after members said an additional meeting could help advance projects more efficiently.
Councilwoman Rachele Grieco Cole first proposed holding two meetings per month at the board’s March meeting. The discussion was continued at a workshop meeting on Wednesday, April 1, with council members agreeing to regularly hold a workshop meeting on the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.
The additional meeting will provide time for discussion and planning, while the regular business meeting will continue on the second Thursday of each month. Council members supported the change, citing major projects and grant opportunities that would benefit from additional discussion.
Natalia Zukerman
Blues musician James Montgomery
When the Rock n’ Roll Circus rolls into Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk on Saturday, April 11, it will bring together an all-star lineup of musicians and a mission that reaches far beyond the stage.
Presented by Rockin’ 4 Vets, this concert will benefit the United Way of Northwest Connecticut’s “Stock the Shelves” program, which supports food pantries across the region. The United Way, part of a national network founded in the late 19th century, has long worked to mobilize communities in support of local health, education and financial stability initiatives, efforts that continue today through programs like Stock the Shelves, which helps ensure families have access to essential food resources.
It’s a dual mission that founder of Rockin’ 4 Vets Jim Tirabassi described simply: “We put on the show for a dual purpose — to make people happy and to support local causes.”
What began in 2015 as V is for Veterans has evolved into Rockin’ 4 Vets, a production company built around benefit concerts supporting veterans and community needs. Tirabassi, a former rock tour manager, said the work is less about music than mission. “I love building things and I love the idea of building these shows for a purpose.”
This year’s purpose has shifted a bit. “We are seeing that veterans and non-veterans have the same issues in terms of food access,” Tirabassi said. “So, we figured we’d make it a broad-based thing and do it for the food pantries throughout New England.”
The show itself promises to deliver on its “house party” promise with high-energy, high-octane rock and blues featuring Grammy-nominated guitarist Jon Butcher, former Epic Records artist Steve Gaspár and New England blues legend James Montgomery, along with a horn section and a rotating cast of accomplished players.
“It’s a bunch of people who actually like each other which is always a good starting point,” Montgomery said. “In the case of me and Jon Butcher, we’ve been playing together for something like 50 years.”
That chemistry extends beyond the stage. “We get together a few times a year and brush up,” Montgomery said. “We’ve been doing this long enough to understand how to put something together in sound check that’s actually gonna really gel.”
For Montgomery, who has performed with everyone from B.B. King to The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and James Brown, the spirit of the event is as important as the music. “We have a superstar lineup and then the added feature is we raise money to put food on the shelves.”
The collaboration has a long history. Montgomery was an early supporter of Tirabassi’s effort to assist veterans; an effort rooted in Tirabassi’s own service. “I was in the Army in the early ’70s,” Tirabassi said, adding that his organization now focuses on issues like PTSD, addiction and homelessness.
“I am a very fortunate person,” Tirabassi said. “My wife and I live fairly well and don’t have to worry about where our next meal’s coming from, but we were on a trip through New England last fall and we saw so many food banks with police directing traffic. People just trying to get some food. It was so bad and it broke both our hearts,” he continued. That moment of clarity became a driving force for this year’s show.
“What we’re trying to do is help society in general,” he said. “And when people come to the show, they’re part of that.”
Montgomery, a lifelong road warrior and harmonica player known for his work with artists from Muddy Waters to Gregg Allman, still lights up when talking about the energy of live performance and the connection it creates.
“It’s a really, really great place to play,” he said of Infinity Hall. “It feels really intimate when you play there.”
And in that intimate setting, the Rock n’ Roll Circus aims to do what it does best: bring people together through music while helping make sure more families have food on their tables.
Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at infinityhall.com.
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