Adam Scott and Jen Tullock in “Severance.” Image from imdb of severance
Latest News
Clued in
Apr 02, 2025
The first play in four years returned to the Webutuck Auditorium Friday, March 28. The production of Clue was put on entirely by students from the Webutuck Middle School and starred an ensemble cast of, from left to right, Jacob Dean as Mr. Green, Caroline Eschbach as Mrs. White, Brooke Bozydaj as Yvette, Liam Diaz as Wadsworth, Nolan Howard as Colonel Mustard, Mariah Bradley as Miss Scarlett and Lois Musgrave as Mrs. Peacock who is pictured on the floor of the stage.
Photo by Nathan Miller
County closes book on ARPA funding
Apr 02, 2025
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair has issued a final report on the $57.1 million distributed to the county under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, concluding that the funding made a positive impact despite shortcomings in planning for the way money was spent.
The federal ARPA funding was a COVID-19 relief initiative, allocating $1.9 trillion for pandemic relief that included $350 billion for state and local governments.
Dutchess County began receiving the funds in 2021 and 2022. All $57.1 million needed to be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, and expended by Dec. 31, 2026.
Aymar-Blair’s report, released March 24, is the final of 12 that have been issued since March 2022. The Comptroller noted that there were three different County Executives over the course of the disbursement time frame.
“With any set of expenditures as large and far-reaching as these, there can be disagreement over the merits, timing, and prioritization of certain projects over others,” Aymar-Blair wrote in his summary.
“However, it is in the opinion of the Comptroller that the planning in relation to the allocation and spending of these funds could have been more rigorous,” he added.
William F.X. O’Neil served as County Executive beginning in January 2023 when he was appointed to complete the third term of Marc Molinaro, who was elected to Congress in the 19th District. Sue Serino took office in January 2024.
As of June 30, 2024, the county had spent a little over $31 million in ARPA funds. In that month, Dutchess County Executives updated the ARPA fund spending plan, choosing to allocate all remaining funds to education in the county, focusing mainly on Dutchess County Community College. The county chose to use the remaining $25 million to fund its contribution to the community college, chargeback costs paid to other community colleges and costs paid toward the New York State-mandated pre-school education program.
“The allocation to the college was a standard obligation that the county makes every year,” Aymar-Blair said in an interview. “What was a tax levy just became ARPA.”
“Reallocating ARPA funds for the Dutchess Community College and Pre-School Special Education costs resulted in a positive impact to the general fund balance in the amount of $15 million,” he said in the report.
Aymar-Blair said positive impacts of the funding included: retaining and hiring new staff, keeping non-profit partners afloat, supporting some of our most vulnerable populations, and generally mitigating the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Dutchess County.
A wide variety of grants were distributed through the program.
In Millerton, $328,000 was allocated under the ARPA program for Phase I of Eddie Collins Memorial Park revitalization.
The North East Fire District received $73,283 for protective equipment for fire rescue.
The Amenia Free Library Association received a $2,467 grant for future youth programming.
The Town of Pine Plains received grants for all-terrain wheelchairs, town parks and trails, and to make Stissing Lake Beach Park wheelchair accessible.
ARPA investments were made in several categories: community, county parks, youth services, education, food security, seniors, mental health and emergency medical services.
A plan to spend $11.6 million in ARPA funds for improvements to Heritage Financial Park, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades in Wappingers Falls, was reduced to spend funds for other projects, bringing the total cost of upgrades to the park to $1.4 million. Initial spending plans were changed as other funding plans surfaced, such as in the case of $10 million planned for a Youth Opportunity Center in Poughkeepsie that was reduced to $4.5 million.
States, counties and municipalities won’t receive funding for recurring program expenses with ARPA and Aymar-Blair said he didn’t see a problem with ongoing financial commitments now that the federal relief program has ended.
“I don’t see a burden on upcoming budgets,” he said.
Keep ReadingShow less
Patti Lynch-VandeBogard
Photo provided
MILLERTON — Village trustees on Monday, March 24, voted to appoint Patti Lynch-VandeBogard to serve as chair of the Planning Board, filling a vacancy created by the recent resignation of Lance Middlebrook.
Lynch-VandeBogard was elected to the Planning Board in July 2023 for a five-year term that ends in 2028.
“I thanked Lance for his 17 years of volunteer service on the Board,” Mayor Jenn Najdek told the Village Board.
Najdek said that she spoke with Lynch-VandeBogard about assuming the chair at the Planning Board following Middlebrook’s resignation.
Middlebrook, who has been chair for more than a decade, made his surprise exit at a regular meeting of the Planning Board on March 12.
He cited frustration about the large sign on Route 22 which displays the message “Community + Kindness” as in violation of village code.
“That should have gone to us. They just took it upon themselves. That was it for me,” he said.
The sign went up in December with the support of the Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights and Townscape, a volunteer group focused on revitalization of the Village.
Wastewater grants
Mayor Najdek informed Village trustees that federal-funding earmarks for Millerton’s proposed wastewater system were removed from the Congressional continuing resolution, and she recommended that the Village resubmit its application for funding.
“It’s the exact same application,” Najdek said.
Trustees voted unanimously to reapply for the funding.
The Village of Millerton and the Town of North East had been anticipating the earmarked funds that weresupported by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY. U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-18, had secured $1 million, a grant that remains intact, Najdek said.
Fire update
The Village has received two payments to date from its insurance company related to the costs of the early February fire at the Water Department building, which remains off-limits.
A third payment is anticipated, Najdek said, noting costs the Village will incur as it moves some operations into the Town of North East’s old town garage on South Center Street as a temporary storage and operations center.
The trustees approved an agreement with North East to lease the facility at a cost of $500 per month to be covered by insurance.
Summer Camp canceled
Due to planned construction for the pool at Eddie Collins Memorial Park starting in August, Village trustees concluded that holding a summer camp would be problematic out of concern for the safety of the children.
This past December, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation awarded the village a matching grant of up to $675,000 in support of the project. With these monies, funding for Phase II, which stems largely from a NY SWIMS capital grant, is now at $7.56 million.
Trustees gave preliminary approval to Oblong Books to hold a 50th anniversary block party on South Center Street in August.
The March 24 meeting also focused on the upcoming budget, and trustees worked through a line-item examination of budget items. Plans call for a special Village Trustees meeting to be held April 3 at 6 p.m. to continue the budget workshop that will lead to an eventual public hearing sometime in mid-April.
Keep ReadingShow less
Provided
On Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m., The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and Jacob’s Pillow, the dance festival in Becket, Massachusetts, are presenting a special benefit screening of the cinematic masterpiece, “The Red Shoes,” followed by a discussion and Q&A. Featuring guest speakers Norton Owen, director of preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, and dance historian Lynn Garafola, the event is a fundraiser for The Triplex.
“We’re pitching in, as it were, because we like to help our neighbors,” said Norton. “They (The Triplex) approached us with the idea, wanting some input if they were going to do a dance film. I thought of Lynn as the perfect person also to include in this because of her knowledge of The Ballets Russes and the book that she wrote about Diaghilev. There is so much in this film, even though it’s fictional, that derives from the Ballets Russes.” Garafola, the leading expert on the Ballets Russes under Serge Diaghilev, 1909–1929, the most influential company in twentieth-century theatrical dance, said, “We see glimpses of that Russian émigré tradition, performances we don’t see much of today. The film captures the artifice of ballet, from the behind-the-scenes world of dressers and conductors to the sheer passion of the audience.”
Hailed as one of the greatest films about ballet, “The Red Shoes,” 1948, is a dazzling fusion of dance and cinema, featuring a mesmerizing 17-minute ballet sequence performed by Scottish ballet dancer and actress, Moira Shearer. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film’s breathtaking use of Technicolor and evocative storytelling continues to captivate audiences, including legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Steven Spielberg all of whom have cited the film as an influence on their work.
Garafola recalled seeing the film as a young dancer. “I remember being more taken with the plot then, but seeing it again recently, it was the color, the fantasy, and the glamour that struck me. Given how gray England was after the war, the film’s vibrant costumes and settings create an almost dreamlike escape.”
Owen echoed Garafola’s sentiment. “It’s magical. Color was their thing, and this latest restoration makes it even more breathtaking.”
The film underwent an extensive digital restoration at the UCLA Film and Television archive between 2006 and 2008 and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. This is the version of the film which will be screened at the Triplex.
Owen said, “I love the depiction of young ballet audiences racing to their seats. That kind of enthusiasm is contagious. It’s what draws young dancers in.” Both Owen and Garafola epressed hope that young dancers will attend the event, sharing in the film’s enduring inspiration.
Owen and Garafola’s Q&A is sure to be lively and educational as they delve into the film’s legacy in both dance and cinema. “It’s not just a film for dance lovers. It’s a filmmaker’s film, too,” Owen added.
Join The Triplex and Jacob’s Pillow for this rare opportunity to experience “The Red Shoes” on the big screen, a film that continues to enchant, inspire, and ignite artistic passion.
Tickets are available for $75 at www.thetriplex.org.
Keep ReadingShow less
loading
