Approximately 100 citizens and representatives of citizen groups for and against the Shepherd’s Run solar project in Copake attended a public hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Copake Town Hall where more than 50 people signed up to testify. Online hearings will be on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Matt Murell, chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, was the first speaker among approximately 50 who testified on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at a public hearing on the Shepherd’s Run solar project application that was held in the Copake Town Hall. Approximately 100 residents and citizen groups attended and 50 testified at the first session held by Administrative Law Judges, from left, Dawn MacKillop-Soller and Maureen Leary. At center, Executive Director of New York State’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, Zeryai Hagos, came from Albany to hear testimony. Murell said the project was inconsistent with Copake’s local laws and should not proceed.Photo by John Coston
Gabriella Coons, 14, stands in front of the veterans’ memorial prayer garden she built at Our Lady of Hope parish in Copake Falls, New York, on Monday, Jan. 19. Coons completed the project as part of the requirements to earn the rank of Eagle Scout in Scouting America, the organization formerly known as Boy Scouts of America.
COPAKE — Gabriella Coons, 14, was out to beat her older brother when she became the first girl in Columbia County, New York, to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
Coons said her brother’s merit badge sash hung on the wall at her home. “I would look at it and say ‘I want to do that, and I want to beat my brother,’” she said. “So, I did.”
The Copake native got into Scouting America, the organization formerly known as Boy Scouts of America, immediately after the group opened membership to girls in 2018.
Coons joined the Cub Scouts then, working through the ranks to join Scouts BSA just two years ago at 12 years old. In that time, she’s earned 81 merit badges and reached the top of the ranks with plans to earn all 141 badges.
To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, scouts are required to conceive and direct a community service project. The efforts have to be large-scale, and they usually require a long timeline. Coons said her project fit that trend.
Coons decided to lead the construction of a memorial gazebo in honor of U.S. veterans. Originally, she planned to build the structure on an empty lot in Copake, but she hit an obstacle when town officials said the plan required New York Department of Environmental Conservation review due to its proximity to a nearby stream.
Coons had to seek more money to cover the costs of the environmental review, but that wasn’t the final hurdle.
The approval was further delayed because town zoning code classifies a gazebo as an “auxiliary structure.”
“Someone said ‘There’s no primary structure,’” Coons said. “To have an auxiliary structure you need to have a primary structure.”
So Coons went in search of another location, leading her to Our Lady of Hope parish in Copake Falls on Route 22. She said she’s satisfied with the final result, despite the months of meetings and surprise obstacles.
“It’s a prayer garden for fallen soldiers,” Coons said. “So I feel it’s a good placement.”
Scouting is just one of Coons’s pursuits. She’s also a member of her local FFA chapter and a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian arm of the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary that, among other things, teaches leadership and piloting skills to students K-12.
Coons’s mom, Natasha, said her daughter’s enterprising attitude made her proud.
“We sign up for one thing, she signs up for ten,” Natasha said. “She’s very impressive.”
A sign that once marked the location of Daisey Hill stands empty and broken just over a year after the popular destination closed permanently at the end of the 2024 growing season.
MILLERTON — For years, James “Jimmy” Cookingham was a familiar figure at Daisey Hill Farm, where he worked the fields and assisted customers during the growing season. He died Jan. 19 at his home in Millerton at age 51.
Born in Sharon, Cookingham remained closely tied to the region throughout his life. He was drawn to farming at a young age and eventually became a central figure at Daisey Hill, which he operated with his wife, Jessica, for several years.
The farm, which closed at the end of 2024 due to financial hardship, was known for its pumpkins, sweet corn and flowers, and served as a seasonal gathering point during the fall. Many customers returned year after year, and over time the operation developed a loyal following.
Dana Scarpa, owner of Designer Finds on Main Street in Millerton and co-chair of the Millerton Business Alliance, said the farm stood out for both its affordability and the quality of what it offered. Speaking earlier this month, she said, “When you would go there, you’d know five other families — everyone knew everyone, and it brought people together across state lines.”
Cathy Fenn, co-founder of the volunteer-led Townscape organization, said she regularly purchased flowers from the farm and admired the way the Cookingham family ran the operation. “They were diligent, honest and always on time,” she said earlier this month. “And they grew the flowers themselves — they did a great job.”
Away from the fields, Cookingham was known as an outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting, and riding four-wheelers.
The farm itself, however, faced growing challenges in its final years, as financial pressures mounted and uncertainty grew around the property’s future. Although Cookingham and his wife operated Daisey Hill Farm, they did not own the land.
In January 2024, as losses accumulated and before the farm’s lease was formally nonrenewed, Cookingham’s daughter Hailey launched a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to keep the business operating. The fundraiser raised just over $20,000 from approximately 175 donors.
Later in 2024, the family was notified that the lease would not be renewed, setting in motion a wind-down period that ultimately led to the farm’s closure.
In the months following the farm’s closure, a dispute related to the property became the subject of a criminal complaint. In December 2025, Cookingham was arrested on grand and petit larceny charges in connection with the alleged removal and sale of farm equipment belonging to the property owner. He was scheduled to appear in North East Town Court at the time of his death.
Additional reporting provided by Millerton News Staff.
The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.
The Millerton Fire Department was called out to battle a stubborn chimney fire in a tenant house on the Seth Merwin farm two miles north of Millerton at 1:30 o’clock Monday morning. Starting from a flue in one wing of the building, erected a number of years ago, the fire flared up between the plank walls. The firemen found it necessary to chop through the walls in order to get at the flames. The damage caused by the fire was estimated at between two and three hundred dollars by Fire Chief Oliver W. Valentine.
Miss Lila Kaye has returned to work at the Dutchess Auto and Supply Co., Inc., after four weeks absence because of injuries sustained in a sleigh riding accident.
It is still uncertain whether the Village of Millerton can get Federal grants to help finance a water tower to prevent pollution in the Village’s water system.
In September 1974, the New York State Department of Health ordered the Village of Millerton to take immediate action regarding the open storage distribution reservoir, west of the Village on Winchell Mountain.
Advised by a consulting engineer, the Village seeks to build a 300,000 gallon steel standpipe on ground near the reservoir. The engineer estimated the cost to be $240,000.
MILLERTON — The memory of a recent instructional session on calling 9ll was still fresh when two Millerton kids summoned emergency personnel to rescue their unresponsive grandmother.
Last Thursday evening, Jan. 18, Betsy Murphy, a fifth-grader at Webutuck Elementary School (WES), went to check on her grandmother, Rosanna Robert.
“They hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway when she stopped breathing,”said Jane Murphy, Betsy’s mother “My mother’s eyes rolled back in her head.”
Unsure of what to do, Betsy went inside her grandmother’s house and called home, where 14-year-old brother Bobby answered the phone. The youth immediately called 911, as did Betsy herself — a situation that briefly confused emergency personnel.
From her hospital bed, Ms. Robert pronounced her granddaughter a hero.
“Betsy’s first reaction was, ‘If I’m a hero, I don’t have to go to school today, right?”” Ms. Murphy recalled.
