AMENIA — Despite the looming bad weather on Saturday morning, Feb. 25, the Webutuck STEAM fair was a resounding success. The Eugene Brooks Intermediate School (EBIS) gymnasium was the site of about 40 projects presented with titles ranging from the whimsical to the thoughtful.
Co-chairs and middle-school science teachers Danielle Fridstrom and Christine Gillette were gratified to see the results. “We were happy with the turnout this year and learned much from the enthusiastic participants,” Gillette noted, adding, “I think the key piece for getting students to participate is to encourage them to pick something that interests them. Whether it be dairy farms to corgis or Jolly Rancher candies, it is important to choose something they are excited about. This then makes the project fun and not a tedious task.”
As to differences in fairs from year to year and ongoing similarities, Fridstrom continued: “It was terrific to see the creativity this year — even jokes were added to ‘This Project is Bananas’! We always struggle getting seventh- to 12th-grade participants so we are thrilled to see any of them show up and present.”
That latter group was represented by 11 students with projects ranging from top winner “Gummy Bear Osmosis” to technical explorations like “Archery Science,” “What Puts the Pop in Popcorn?”, survey studies (“Jolly Rancher Preferences”), keen observations from real life in “Digestive System of a Cow” and the sobering “We Destroyed: The Oceans.”
On the value of the yearly fair, Fridstrom said, “It’s a great opportunity to practice doing science …While we certainly do lots of hands-on things in class, we’re always amazed at the kind of things students come up [with] to investigate, and it’s always exciting to see the investigations into things we don’t know answers to.”
The spirit of youthful playfulness was in evidence in projects with titles like “Tiny Dancers — Homopolar Motor,” MacGyver Award winner “Elephant Toothpaste,” and the hilarious and informative “This Project is Bananas!” by the ebullient Schultz sisters, Charlotte and Alivia.
The role of older student “listeners” was touching to observe. One was Gillette’s daughter Zoe, who reflected, “We get them to open up and reveal more than they thought they knew,” adding that it seemed wise that participation in the fair is a voluntary effort based on students’ deep interests.
Exploring our region’s natural resources with a family angle, two Lawrence siblings with firsthand knowledge explored dairy cows, one with the use of a drawing previously made by their mother and overlaid with anatomical terms relating to the bovine digestive system.
In terms of environmentally focused work, two projects took a broad view toward solving a problem that may seem intractable: plastic waste, particularly in our oceans. In “We Destroyed: The Oceans,” Lyla Kern and Andy Mersand, both seventh-graders, looked at the decomposition rate of plastic and paperlike materials in three conditions: plain water, water over time, and water containing enzymes. Though some materials may be labeled “flushable,” their investigations showed that those claims may be less than accurate.
Taking off from one of science history’s great serendipities, fourth-grader Zoe Gellweiler’s project, “Milk Plastic/Bioplastic! The Single Use Plastic Solution,” explained how, in 1897, German scientist Adolf Spitteler’s rather clumsy cat was responsible for the invention of casein. Pronounced “kay-seen,” the word refers both to the protein in milk that provides its white color as well as a type of plastic made from it. An overnight spill of formaldehyde into the feline’s milk bowl resulted in a hard, horn-like substance that was eventually used to make combs, buttons, buckles, beads, handles for various implements, pens, game pieces and even bowls until the 1930s.
Zoe’s project suggests that food wrap films made from casein could help to solve the problem of single-use plastics, since casein plastic is stronger and biodegradable under home composting conditions, without the toxicity of petroleum-based plastics. Whether our habits can revert to pre-petroleum practices or the deep links between the plastics and petrochemical industries can be undone are issues for adults to ponder.
The program ended with all participants receiving gift bags, some students getting book vouchers from Oblong, and winners in various categories claiming their prizes and certificates of participation. As adults helped to pack away projects destined for the County Science Fair at Dutchess Community College in late March, or the district’s upcoming Math and Science Night, several young scientists dashed around the cavernous gym, seeming to enact some basic principles of kinetic energy.
More information, and pictures of winners in all categories, are available on the Webutuck Central School District website -www.-webutuckschools.org
Second-grader Lois Musgrove indicates one of her favorite parts in her investigation of fossils. Photo by Deborah Maier
In 2025, the historic weigh station on South Main Street was approved for reuse as Pine Plains’ first retail cannabis dispensary.
Representatives from LaBella Associates, an architectural firm that frequently works with municipalities, presented draft drawings of the proposed Town Hall in October.
Eastern Region Vice President Pasquale Marchese led the presentation, sharing proposed floor plans and a conceptual sketch of the building’s exterior.
Marchese proposed a single-story structure with a basement for additional storage. Under the current concept, each department of town government would have its own office, arranged in a horseshoe-like configuration around a large central room that would serve as both a courtroom and a board meeting space.
The building and zoning departments would be clustered in one corner of the building, with a dedicated entrance designed to shorten the distance the public must walk to conduct business with those offices.
The proposed design encompasses approximately 6,000 square feet, significantly larger than the existing Town Hall, which contains 2,468 square feet of floor area. The current Town Hall, located at 3284 Route 199, was built in 1970 and houses town government offices, including the courthouse and police department.
LaBella Associates representative Pasquale Marchese said designers aimed to ensure the proposed new Town Hall would fit the character of downtown Pine Plains. Photo provided
The plans presented by LaBella AssociatesSource: The Town of Pine Plains
Town officials also undertook a sidewalk safety audit in 2025, which identified 385 hazards. In September, Town Board members indicated they would work with a grant writer to seek funding for repairs.
Meanwhile, the Pine Plains Planning Board spent much of the year reviewing two major development proposals: a 50,000-square-foot lumber mill proposed by The Hudson Company and the town’s first retail cannabis dispensary.
The Hudson Company has operated for years in a rented Pine Plains location, but representatives said the business had outgrown its current space and sought to build a new facility to accommodate construction operations, a showroom and office space.
After eight months of site plan review and public hearings, the Planning Board approved the mill at its December meeting. The new facility will be located at 2246 Route 83 along South Main Street, south of the Stewart’s Shops gas station.
And Upstate Pines — a dispensary based in Red Hook, New York — also received approval to open a cannabis shop at 7723 S. Main St.
The dispensary will be located at the site of the historic weigh station building, where farmers used to gather to weigh their crops and livestock for sale. The proposal includes tentative plans to adapt other aging buildings on the property for future uses, such as a grocery store or an ice cream parlor.
A grocery store may soon be sorely needed in Pine Plains, as Peck’s Market all but closed over the past year.
Shelves grew increasingly bare, hours became inconsistent and sparse, and the store quietly shuttered in late September, with no public comment from owners Don and Charlene Peck.
Concerns have since emerged about the impact the loss may have on nearby businesses.
Source: Dutchess County Board of Elections
Pine Plains also saw an exceptionally close race for town supervisor. Incumbent Republican Brian Walsh was re-elected after the contest triggered a recount.
The Dutchess County Board of Elections later certified the results, confirming that Walsh defeated Democratic challenger Kevin Walsh by a margin of eight votes.
Max Amsterdam reaches out to pet a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Millbrook School’s campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam is a senior at Millbrook School and serves as the zoo’s head student curator.
Stahl said the zoo has been engaged in a long-range master planning process for several years as part of preparing for its next Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation review in 2027. “We knew we had to make a plan and look toward the future,” Stahl said. “We had to think about what more we could be doing for the animals, for students and for the community.”
Construction is nearing completion on a new animal holding barn, the first step toward housing off-exhibit animals. Funded by philanthropist Barbara Tober — whom Stahl described as the project’s “catalyst” — the facility is required under AZA accreditation standards. The holding barn will serve as a first stop for new animals required to quarantine before entering an exhibit. It will also safely house animals when enclosures are being repaired or when they need rehabilitation.
The new animal hospital, which zoo staff are referring to as an animal wellness center, is poised to be four times larger than the existing space. Stahl said the team is looking forward to dramatically expanding the zoo’s ability to treat animals on campus, eliminating the need to transport them off-site for procedures like X-rays or ultrasounds.
Max Amsterdam feeds a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on the Millbrook School campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam said he became interested in the school's zoo in his freshman year when he watched an older student perform a biopsy on a wolf that had passed away at the zoo.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said a primary goal of the master plan and the animal wellness center is to “bring the outside in.” The public will be allowed to watch certain procedures and operations to learn more about the veterinary work that goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to the zoo’s around-the-clock staff, rotating veterinarians visit the zoo each week to check on the animals and perform routine procedures. The current space is limited, and zoo staff are eager to have an expanded footprint.
“Right now we’re very limited space-wise,” Stahl said. “This new facility will let us have more space, more vets and more learning happening.”
Max Amsterdam has lived at the Millbrook School as a boarding student for four years and has held a working role at the zoo throughout that time. Today, in his senior year, he serves as the zoo’s head student curator — a coveted leadership role that requires a formal application and selection process.
When Amsterdam first applied to Millbrook School, the zoo was not front-of-mind. Although he wanted to become a veterinarian as a young child, the desire dissipated until he set foot in the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo as a freshman.
“I watched a senior perform a biopsy on a red wolf that had passed away from a uterine tumor,” Amsterdam said. “I didn’t even know that students could do that. I realized right then how incredible this place was and the zoo became my thing.”
Over his four years at Millbrook, Amsterdam has assisted veterinarians, shadowed medical procedures, conducted necropsies and even traveled with staff to national AZA conferences. “As you grow, you gain a relationship with the staff and vets, and when they know you can handle it, they let you do more,” he said.
With graduation on the horizon and plans to study biology at Bucknell, Amsterdam admits he’s a little jealous of the future students that will benefit from the new zoo facilities.
At the end of the day, he is grateful for the hands-on experience he has received in his leadership roles at the zoo. Millbrook School is the only high school in the country with an AZA-accredited zoo on its campus.
“I’m jealous, but I’m also so grateful that the zoo got that donation because it’s needed,” Amsterdam smiled. “We deserve it, too. It’s a lot of hard work by the staff and students — it’s 200% effort seven days a week, and not many people see that.”
