Can you hear me now?

This cell tower by the Falls Village Fire Department on the side of Route 7 is disguised like a tree to better fit in among the rural, forested landscape of the Connecticut's Litchfield hills.
Photo by Caitlin Hanlon
This cell tower by the Falls Village Fire Department on the side of Route 7 is disguised like a tree to better fit in among the rural, forested landscape of the Connecticut's Litchfield hills.
Drivers and residents across Northeast Dutchess County, New York, and Connecticut’s Northwest Corner are well aware of the area’s spotty cell phone coverage.
“Cell phones suck,” Amenia Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Howard said. He echoed the feelings of many residents and visitors to the area who contend with dropped calls and failed text messages on a regular basis.
Spotty cell service is annoying for drivers relying on GPS for directions and it creates problems for Howard and his department. Howard said the truck’s computer-assisted routing uses the T-Mobile network. When trucks have to travel north of the traffic light in the middle of downtown Amenia, their cell service drops out and crews could lose those directions. Usually, Howard said, this isn’t a huge setback for his crew, but that’s not the only challenge emergency responders face because of spotty, slow service.
Hikers hitting the hills often travel through dead zones. The region’s rugged terrain — while scenic and inviting to hikers — hurts coverage. Hills block signals from distant towers, so if hikers have an accident in a remote area they may have trouble getting in touch with emergency services. Howard said Amenia’s rope crew will ask for coordinates, but sometimes the hiker can’t provide good information. “Then they’re hiking blind,” Howard said.
Cell phone tower construction is slow in rural areas across the United States, but several key factors contribute to subpar service in Northeast Dutchess County and the Litchfield Hills. Chief among them are the challenges presented by rugged, undeveloped land. Regions with lots of hills, few people and less power and telecommunications infrastructure are more difficult and costly to service than suburban or urban areas, according to a 2019 New York Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force report.
John Emra, AT&T’s Atlantic region president, said cell towers require power and fiber optic connections, and many rural sites don’t already have that infrastructure. Another consideration is access. Towers can’t be too remote, otherwise emergency repairs are too difficult. However, they can’t be too close to large groups of people. Often, service roads have to be built to sites on remote ridgelines and hilltops. All this drives up the cost of cell tower construction, and the 2019 cell coverage task force report says the higher cost disincentivizes rural investment.
That report also cites local zoning codes as a potential hurdle for construction, but Emra said regulations don’t completely halt progress. In his 24 years with AT&T, he said rural communities have become increasingly open to cell tower construction and upgrades. Building codes in Northeast Dutchess County and the Litchfield Hills still present unique challenges for cell towers. Special attention is paid to ridgelines and scenic views in the area, so tall towers on high hills are discouraged through local laws. However, cell towers constructed in valleys or on the sides of ridges are less effective, covering much smaller areas because of the hills blocking the signal.
“Even 10 years ago if you proposed a new site — particularly in Litchfield County, Connecticut — you would likely meet some fairly fierce community resistance,” Emra said. “I’ve seen the change where we now have communities asking us to build.” He said AT&T recently finished a project at a site near Stanfordville, New York, and there’s a site near Salisbury, Connecticut, which should be online by the end of the year. Additionally, AT&T has built cell antennas across Dutchess County called “small cell nodes,” which are installed on utility poles but provide coverage over shorter distances than a full-size tower.
Representatives from Verizon did not respond to requests for comment.
AMENIA — Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44.
On Wednesday, August 20, the crew was checking excavation lines.
Work is expected to continue for the next three to four weeks. Residents should anticipate minor traffic delays.
Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44. On Wednesday, August 20, excavation began. Project Manager Don D. was at the controls of the excavation equipment.Photo by Leila Hawken
In light of rising local interest in the centuries-old game of Backgammon, Wednesday afternoon backgammon instruction and play sessions are being offered at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. The first such session was held on Wednesday, Aug. 13, attracting two enthusiastic participants, both of whom resolved to return for the weekly sessions.
Expert player and instructor Roger Lourie of Sharon, along with his equally expert wife, Claude, led the session, jumping right into the action of playing the game. Claude chose to pair with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury, a moderately experienced player looking to improve her skills, while Lourie teamed himself with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, who was new to the game.
In 2023, Lourie formed Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut with two objectives: to promote the game in the northwest corner of the state and to teach it to children and adults interested in learning. In addition to the Wednesday sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, an informal, casual group meets at Le Gamin in Sharon every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.
Acting as co-chairman is Ed Corey who leads the Le Gamin sessions, offering advice and instruction. Both Corey and Lourie play competitively and have distinguished themselves by winning tournaments. There are no fees for participation at either Hotchkiss or Le Gamin. Children, ages 8 and up, are welcome to come and learn the game, along with adults of any experience level.
Lourie says that he can teach a person to play competitively in three lessons.
Sessions at The Hotchkiss Library will continue until the end of the year and perhaps beyond, depending on interest. Lourie will be the instructor until mid-November, when expert player Ed Corey will assume responsibility for the sessions at the Hotchkiss Library.
“We’re hoping for more people and also to see youngsters participating and learning the game,” Lourie said.
“The beginner can be the expert with the right dice,” said Lourie, explaining that it is a game combining chance and strategy. An understanding of mathematics and probability can be helpful.
Lourie summarized the randomness of dice and the strategy of poker. “I want to know the proper etiquette,” Kaufman offered, intent on knowing more about the proper moves, although her play indicated a credible level of skill.
Stopping in to observe the Hotchkiss session, executive director of the library, Gretchen Hachmeister said, “We know that people come to library game sessions. People love games, getting together to learn something new.”
Lourie learned the game under extremely unusual circumstances — as a detainee in a Soviet prison during the1960s missile crisis, while working in Naval Engineering to decipher code for the U.S. Office of Technological Security.
Imprisonment was not terrible, he said. There was predictable questioning by day when he repeated daily the details of his cover story. But at night, the guards — many the same age as the detainees — had finished their shifts and of interrogation.They unplugged the cameras to brew tea and the backgammon games would begin. That was how Lourie learned the game and became an expert.
Board games date back 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Modern backgammon goes back to 17th-century England, having evolved from a 16th-century game called “Irish.”It grew in popularity in the 1960s, leading to formation of a World Backgammon Club in Manhattan. And then in 2023, Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut came to be.
To learn more about the Backgammon sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, visit: www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org or contact Lourie directly at Rlourie@gmail.com.
Pantry essentials at Dugazon
You are invited to celebrate the opening of Dugazon, a home and lifestyle shop located in a clapboard cottage at 19 West Main Street, the former site of The Edward in Sharon. The opening is Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.
After careers in the world of fashion, Salisbury residents Bobby Graham and his husband, Matt Marden, have curated a collection of beautiful items that reflect their sense of design, love of hospitality, and Graham’s deep Southern roots. Dugazon is his maternal family name.
“My Louisiana roots come from my mother’s family in Baton Rouge via New Orleans where many of my memories of cooking, food, antiquing, flea markets, hospitality, entertaining, originate,” Graham said.“Being raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, enhanced the importance of community, family, friends and regional cultures, forming the essence of Dugazon.”
Graham and Marden sat on the front porch telling the story of their shop’s evolution. With its wicker loveseats and geraniums in bloom, the old porch invites visitors to linger.
Matt Marden and Bobby Graham open Dugazonat 19 West Main St.in Sharon on Aug 27. Jennifer Almquist
“Bobby has been talking about Dugazon ever since our first date 21 years ago,” Marden said smiling. “I could not be more thrilled that his dream has finally become our reality.”
Graham laughed, then shared their hope that Dugazon embodies the spirit of lagniappe, a French concept of “adding a little extra to bring unexpected kindness, generosity and delight into everyday life.”
Marden worked at Staley-Wise Gallery in New York City. “Town & Country” recruited him to cover men’s fashion. He became fashion director of “Details” magazine and later style director for “Esquire” magazine.
Graham spent 24 years at Condé Nast as a Fashion and luxury advertising sales executive for “Vogue,” “GQ,” “Vanity Fair,” “AD,” and “The New Yorker.”
Within their light-filled shop, unique antiques and vintage cookbooks mix with kitchen necessities such as wooden spoons and cutting boards. Dugazon is bursting with elegant and functional items ranging from designer John Derian treasures to Louisiana hot sauce, luxurious table linens from Milan-based La Double J, and pantry essentials including Café Du Monde beignet mix, Mam Papaul’s jambalaya fixings, and various jams.
Scandinavian 19-inch tapered candles from creators ester & erik are available in 30 colors. Other offerings include vivid naïve paintings by New Orleans-born artist Alvin Batiste, who now works out of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and paper goods designed by Marden’s first cousin, Carey Marden Shaulus.
Alvin Batiste paintings and ester& erik candles on display at Dugazon.Jeff Holt
“Dugazon becoming a reality has been a lifelong dream that comes from deep in my creative soul,” Graham said.“My experiences and memories from my roots, family and friends is what Dugazon is all about. Being able to share this with the world means everything to us.”
Dugazon opens Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.and will be open Wednesdays through Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Phone: 860-397-5196
Instagram:@dugazonshop
Website:www.dugazonshop.com