By the community, for the community

When Robert and Mary Lou Estabrook purchased The Lakeville Journal in 1970 and The Millerton News in 1972, they set out to “publish the best newspaper of which [they] were capable.” They taught us that the role of the newspaper wasn’t just to report on the day-to-day, but to hold up a mirror, provide a record, and to help our community understand itself. But beyond that, Bob and Mary Lou took that sense of community responsibility and personally lived it.

This past weekend at the Jubilee Country Luncheon, we at The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News presented the inaugural Estabrook Community Leadership Award to The Harney Family, a family that has given so much to the Northwest Corner of Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York (see story and photos here). The award, named for Bob and Mary Lou Estabrook, recognizes an individual, family or organization for community leadership and the nurturing of community spirit.

The Harneys, too, embody that sense of responsibility. They are champions of local institutions, not just as employers and businesspeople, but as active and prominent supporters of a wide range of community organizations that provide essential services throughout the region.

This weekend, Elyse Harney reminded us to get involved. If you can give your time, money, or talents to a local organization working for a cause important to you, do it. If such an organization doesn’t exist, start it — and it doesn’t take much to begin.

The Jubilee was also an occasion to celebrate and support The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News, now a nonprofit news organization. In an era when local news — news of your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your communities — is dwindling, we are grateful to be not only surviving but thriving. And that is only thanks to you ... our readers, our donors, and our advertisers.

Covering the goings-on of the region week-in and week-out is a duty we perform with great pride. After all, your community is our community.

Thank you.

Latest News

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Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.

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STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.

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Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.

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MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.

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