Latest News
Let's hear it — September 17, 2026
Millerton News
Sep 16, 2026
This Week
As summer comes to an end and the days begin to get a little cooler, signs of fall are starting to appear all around us. The leaves are beginning to change, the evenings are getting shorter, and a new season of activities and traditions is just around the corner.
What fall activities are you looking forward to?
Send your responses to social@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
Last Week’s Question
How will Eddie Collins Memorial Park’s temporary closure impact you and your family?
“We visit the playground daily. We bring our picnic lunch and play until nap time. I don’t know where to go and we miss the park very much!!!”
— Diane Nelson Selino
“I hope they will be adding an area where we can take our dogs while it’s closed.”
— Gregory Lanphear
“Amenia has a great park for the kids. Our grandchildren enjoy it.”
— Jennifer McRoberts
Keep ReadingShow less
Letters to the editor — Thursday, September 17
Millerton News
Sep 16, 2026
Thank you for reminder of how friends should treat each other
The Sharon Playhouse production of Come From Away is timely not only for the 25th anniversary of September 11 but also as a reminder of the special relationship between Canadians and Americans. When Newfoundlanders welcomed thousands of stranded Americans and others headed to the United States in 2001, they were not just acting as gracious small town folk living their Rock values; they were also enacting the relationship that Canadians and Americans have built by crossing our shared border — the longest undefended border in the world. The heart of the U.S.-Canada relationship is, as the historians Marcus Lee Hansen and John Bartlet Brebner put it in 1941, the mingling of the Canadian and American peoples.
It is that relationship — not to mention the story of Gander or the shared sacrifices made by Canadian and American soldiers in both World Wars and Afghanistan — that Donald Trump is now tearing asunder. He tosses out random national insults on social media and purports to rename Great Lakes. Worse, in the name of a quixotic and pointless trade war, Trump is attacking Canadian sovereignty. He and his negotiators attempted to strong arm Canada into sacrificing its language policy, forego its sovereign right to make trade pacts with third countries without American approval, and dismantle its unionized automobile industry. Meanwhile, he leaves the very Canadians celebrated in Come From Away wondering how literally to take his repeated threats to annex their country.
Leaving the theater, I could not help but feel ashamed and embarrassed that my country is repaying the kindness of our neighbors with such ugly attacks. Thank you to the Sharon Playhouse for the reminder of how friends and neighbors should treat each other — and for a reminder of how Canadians and Americans acted before Donald Trump.
Jacob Remes
Sharon
Keep ReadingShow less
State hears testimony on Copake solar project
John Coston
Sep 16, 2026
Residents opposed to the proposed 42-megawatt solar project in Craryville line up in front of the Copake Town Hall on Monday, Sept. 14 ahead of a state-held adjudicatory hearing.
Photo by John Coston
COPAKE – The nearly 9-year saga of a utility-scale solar farm plan for this rural hamlet continued on Monday, Sept. 14 with an adjudicatory hearing held by two New York State judges who heard testimony for and against the project.
It was standing room only in the Copake Town Hall as more than 100 people attended a hearing on the merits of a 42-megawatt solar installation proposed by Chicago-based Hecate Energy LLC.
“How are you?” came the comment from one woman who entered the room. “Here we go again,” a remark referring to the numerous times the public has gathered to hear about Hecate’s plans. The company first came to Copake in 2017.
Maureen F. Leary and Dawn MacKillop-Soller, administrative law judges at the New York State Department of Public Service’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES), conducted the hearing. The focus was twofold: flood plain compliance and meeting the requirements of the town’s wetlands laws.
At the start, Judge Leary commended the townspeople on their “engagement in the community.”
Hecate, the state’s ORES office, the New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Copake were present to examine and cross-examine expert witnesses with the goal of establishing facts for the judges to consider. In addition to the expert testimony given at the hearing, more than 100 documents were filed ahead of time, nearly all opposing the project.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-41) wrote: “I have previously written to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting regarding potential negative impacts on farmlands and forests, water supply, and tourism, as well as the developer’s potentially insecure financing as reported in the press and legal filings.”
The clock is running on the project. The judges will issue a ruling on the matter, after which the ORES executive director is required by law to make a decision on the project by Oct. 19 to either grant or deny a permit. If Hecate receives a go-ahead from ORES, it then will have to come to the town for a permit.
At Monday’s hearing, a senior engineer from Hecate, Kip Smith, was questioned by Copake’s attorney, Benjamin Wisniewski, about parts of the project that will be located in a flood zone. Smith said that several solar arrays would be partially located in a flood zone.
Smith said Hecate plans to install arrays that can be raised in the event of flooding, and noted that one important component, an inverter, would be moved from its current planned location because it is in a flood zone. In response to a question from Judge MacKillop-Soller, Smith said that 9 or 10% of the project is located in an inundation zone.
The inundation model used by Hecate presumes the impact of a 100-year flood. With flooding estimates ranging from two feet to seven feet, MacKillop-Soller questioned how first responders would be able to enter the site. “First responders must have or need to have access,” she said.
Smith responded that the access roads would not be affected by flooding, adding that no one should be on the site anyway. MacKillop-Soller then asked about the road construction, and Smith said it would be a gravel base.
Judge Leary asked Smith if he had any reason to second-guess his assumptions. “I have no concerns about our ability to meet the guidelines,” he said. “Or to rethink the model.”
Hecate has been interested in developing a utility-scale solar farm in Copake for almost 10 years.
The application process has dragged out and the company’s first application was denied by the state.
The current application was submitted in December 2024. Late in 2025, the state began a hearing and public comment process, holding four public hearings in Copake in late January.
Overall, more than 1,000 public comments were received and posted in the state’s project management system. By June of this year, the two administrative law judges who oversaw the hearings issued a ruling on issues related to the project, and subsequently in August the state called for an adjudicatory hearing to develop a factual record, notably on the impact to wetlands and floodzones.
Keep ReadingShow less
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Norfolk sculptor’s raven lands at The Mount
Patricia Platt
Sep 16, 2026
Bronze sculpture “Tierra y Cielo” by Jon Riedeman.
Barry Webber
A bronze sculpture by Norfolk artist Jon Riedeman is on view through Oct. 24 at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Massachusetts. The work is one of two dozen large-scale sculptures selected for this year’s juried exhibition, which carries the theme “Flourish” and celebrates connection, growth, hope and resilience. The exhibition is free and open to the public daily from dawn to dusk.
Riedeman’s sculpture, titled “Tierra y Cielo” (Earth and Sky), depicts a raven balancing two ideas at once.
“Across cultures, the raven represents survival, transformation and wisdom,” explained Riedeman. “The raven is neither in flight nor at rest, balancing strength and vulnerability as it reaches outward. Its extended wings suggest growth and possibility, while its firm grip on the branch reflects stability, grounding and connection to place.”
Riedeman built the original in microcrystalline wax over an aluminum armature, and it was cast in bronze at Argos foundry in Brewster, New York. It recently received a fresh patina from WellSculpt, a foundry in Albany, New York.
Barry Webber, director of the Norfolk Historical Society and Museum, commented on having local work featured at the show.
“I love visiting the annual sculpture show at The Mount, and this year especially, knowing that Jon had a piece in the exhibition,” he said. “It’s so wonderful having such a talented sculptor in Norfolk.”
Sculpture at The Mount is a fixture of the Berkshire cultural season, drawing thousands of visitors over its summer-to-fall run. Selection is competitive: Guest juror Jess Wilcox reviewed the 2026 submissions from an open call alongside Mount staff, trustees and professional artists. Because the grounds are expansive, large-scale work is favored, and all materials must withstand outdoor conditions, including extreme heat, direct sun, heavy rain and high winds.
Many of the sculptures are available for purchase. When a piece sells, the artist receives 70% of the sale price and The Mount keeps 30% to support the program. Not every work is for sale; that decision rests with each artist. Visitors interested in a specific sculpture can inquire about availability and pricing.
For more information on “Sculpture at The Mount,” visit edithwharton.org.
Keep ReadingShow less
Bobby’s Chicken Provençal
Bobby Graham & Matthew Marden
Sep 16, 2026
A taste of late summer, with tomatoes, herbs and plenty of good sauce.
Bobby Graham
September is one of our favorite times of year in the kitchen.Summer isn’t quite over, fall is beginning to make itself known, and gardens and local farm stands are overflowing with some of the best tomatoes of the season.
That’s when we make this Chicken Provençal. It’s one of those recipes that feels special enough to serve to friends but easy enough for a weeknight dinner for two.That’s how we like to cook: simple, generous food that brings people to the table without keeping you in the kitchen all evening.
The tomatoes are really the star here. They cook down with garlic, shallots, Herbes de Provence, white wine and capers into a rustic sauce. The chicken cooks right alongside everything, soaking up all those wonderful juices.
Serve it straight from the pot with couscous or rice to catch the sauce, a simple green salad and perhaps a crisp, cold white wine.Put it all on the table and let everyone help themselves.
Easy, delicious and made for sharing. Our kind of dinner.
Bobby’s Chicken Provençal
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced o 5 ripe medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1 bay leaf
• Fresh parsley or basil, roughly chopped, for serving
• Lemon wedges, for serving
Preparation
• Pat the chicken dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until deeply golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Lower the heat to medium. Add the shallots to the same pot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, being careful not to let it brown.
• Pour in the white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, Herbes de Provence, capers and bay leaf. Season with a little salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Nestle the chicken back into the pot, skin-side up, along with any juices that have collected on the plate. Spoon a little of the tomato mixture around the chicken, leaving the crispy skin exposed.
• Transfer the uncovered pot to a 375-degree oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes have softened into a rich, rustic sauce.
• Remove the bay leaf, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Scatter fresh parsley or basil over the top and serve straight from the pot with lemon wedges alongside.
NOTE: Don’t worry about making this too perfect.Use the tomatoes you have, add a little more garlic if you love garlic, throw in a few more capers if that’s your thing.Put the pot in the middle of the table, open the wine and enjoy.
Each month, Bobby Graham and Matthew Marden, owners of Dugazon in Sharon, share a recipe inspired by the traditions, stories and a sense of welcome.
Keep ReadingShow less
NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night at Innisfree Garden
D.H. Callahan
Sep 16, 2026
Visitors gather at Innisfree Garden for the 2025 moon-observation event. This year’s event will be on Sept. 19.
Photo provided
There are hundreds of moons orbiting the planets of our solar system. Jupiter has more than 100, and Saturn has even more. In 1975, the International Astronomical Union created an official process for naming the moons of Jupiter after the lovers and descendants of the ancient Roman God, Jupiter. Only one moon in our solar system is called “The Moon”: ours.
The Moon is more thoroughly explored than the bottom of the Earth’s ocean. It’s the source of countless fables and stories throughout human history. It’s Earth’s closest neighbor. But how often do we nonscientists take the time to really look at it?
On Saturday, Sept. 19, Innisfree Garden in Millbrook will host a special event in celebration of International Observe the Moon Night. The annual event, started by NASA in 2010, invites people around the world to observe, appreciate and learn about the Moon. Inspired by the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, the event has sparked hundreds of official and unofficial gatherings of scientists, amateur astronomers and curious folks looking for a clear view of that celestial body.
The event at Innisfree is more than just looking up at the sky, though that certainly is part of it. It’s hosted in conjunction with the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Society, a nonprofit group of amateur astronomy enthusiasts in the area. NASA, however, is the principal organization responsible for such events. Each year, it designates a Saturday evening in autumn, which aligns with a waxing gibbous moon-phase. It aims for a perfect half-moon, as the shadows and level of illumination during that phase make viewing easier and more dramatic, but the Moon has yet to comply with requests to accommodate our earthly calendar.
The Mid-Hudson Astronomical Society will place telescopes throughout Innisfree, allowing attendees to view the Moon from slightly different angles using a variety of equipment. Visitors are encouraged to bring binoculars, as even a little extra magnification can really enhance the view.
As the sun sets and the Moon takes the night’s stage, award-winning science writer Corey S. Powell will give an informal talk about the Moon’s history and importance to humanity. Powell has served as editor-in-chief of Discover and American Scientist magazines. He has worked with famed science educator Bill Nye on the television programs “Bill Nye Saves the World” and “The End is Nye,” as well as his “Science Rules” podcast.
While the event is open to everyone, a little personal restraint is required to be part of the program. Attendees will be asked to keep their phone screens on low and use only red-light flashlights so as not to ruin other visitors’ night vision.
The event is also an opportunity to explore Innisfree at night, when the gardens are usually closed to everyone but opportunistic wildlife. Will they be observing the moon as well? To find out, make your reservation at innisfreegarden.org.
Keep ReadingShow less
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
loading
