MILLBROOK — In addition to the personable Village Mayor Tim Collopy being on hand to chat with residents as part of the Community Tea series sponsored by the Millbrook Library on Saturday, May 18, there was the excitement of a pet adoption fair featuring cautious kittens, boisterous puppies and even chinchillas hoping to find suitable homes.
Those activities, combined with regular Saturday morning library users, made for a busy Saturday at the local library.
Social connection was the goal.
Participating in the second of a series of community teas hosted by the Millbrook Library on Saturday, May 18, was Village Mayor Tim Collopy who began by greeting residents on the porch and later moved inside to be near the indoor action for the library’s pet adoption event.Leila Hawken
Collopy spoke of current projects underway throughout the village including the most major of projects, an upgrade for the present wastewater treatment plant, projected to take three years to complete at a cost of $10 million. Village Trustees are beginning the supplemental infrastructure funding process that requires detailed engineering studies to be completed in the coming months.
Another project, now well underway and visible to residents, is the planting of trees in the village. It has been a four-phase project, Collopy said. Five new trees were recently planted along the south side of Franklin Avenue.
The final phase will see the crosswalk redone where Franklin and Front Streets meet, Collopy noted. As Franklin is a state highway, the work will be done when it can be scheduled.
“It’s a good opportunity to highlight the good work these organizations do,” said Library Director Courtney Tsahalis, pleased with both events as they unfolded.
Chinchillas were a favorite at the pet adoption event held at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, May 18. This as yet unnamed youngster is held by Deana Matero of “My Hope’s in You” Small Animal Rescue of LaGrangeville, one of the participating nonprofit rescue organizations.Provided
Chinchillas, young and very young, were shown off by My Hope’s in You Small Animal Rescue of LaGrangeville. Also showing pets up for adoption were Compassionate Animal Rescue of Dutchess County, Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary of Poughkeepsie, and the Stray Cat Network of Red Hook.
“We’re here to check out the kittens,” one young couple was overheard saying as they headed for the display by the Stray Cat Network. Camryn Lauffer, president of that organization, said that the Millbrook Library event was her first-ever adoption event, since she began her tenure in 2020.
While no one could go home on Saturday with a pet, there were inquiries about the necessary application process and lots of bonding with potential pets loaded with charm.
Bashful young chinchillas drew admiring gazes from kids and parents at the pet adoption event at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, May 18. Freya Hersey, 9, and her sister, Akicita, 6 (almost 7), paused to have a look at the popular display of My Hope’s in You Small Animal Rescue of LaGrangeville.Leila Hawken
“Once Upon a Time in America” features ten portraits by artist Katro Storm.
Part of what became a capstone project for Wolgemuth, she left behind a comprehensive guide to help future student interns manage the gallery effectively. “Everything from who we should contact, the steps to take for everything, our donors,” Wilbur said. “It’s really extensive and it’s been a huge help.”
Art teacher Lilly Rand Barnett first met Storm a few years ago through his ICEHOUSE Project Space exhibition in Sharon, “Will It Grow in Sharon?” in which he planted cotton and tobacco as part of an exploration of ancestral heritage.
“And the plants did grow,” said Barnett. She asked Storm if her students could use them, and the resulting work became a project for that year’s Troutbeck Symposium, the annual student-led event in Amenia that uncovers little-known or under-told histories of marginalized communities, particularly BIPOC histories.
Last spring, Rand emailed to ask if Storm would consider a solo show at HVRHS. He agreed.
And just a few weeks ago, he arrived — paints, brushes and canvases in tow.
“When Katro came to start hanging everything, he took up a mini art residency in Ms. Rand’s room,” Wilbur said. “All her students were able to see his process and talk to him. It was great working with him.”
Perhaps more unexpected was his openness. “He really trusted us as curators and visionaries,” Wilbur said. “He said, ‘Do with it what you will.’”
Artist Katro StormNatalia Zukerman
Storm’s artistic training began at New Haven’s Educational Center for the Arts. His talent earned him a full scholarship to the Arts Institute of Boston, then Boston’s Museum School, where he painted seven oversized portraits of influential Black figures — in seven days — for his final project. Those works became the backbone of his early exhibitions, including at Howard University’s National Council for the Arts.
Storm has created several community murals like the 2009 READ Mural featuring local heroes, and several literacy and wellness murals at the Stetson Branch Library in New Haven. Today, he teaches and works, he said, “wherever I set up shop. Sometimes I go outside. Sometimes I’m on top of roofs. Wherever it is, I get the job done.”
His deep ties to education made a high school gallery an especially meaningful stop. “No one really knew who these people were except maybe John Lennon,” Storm said of the portraits in the show. “It’s really important for them to know James Baldwin and Shirley Chisholm. And now they do.”
The exhibition includes a wide list of subjects: James Baldwin, Shirley Chisholm, Redd Foxx, Jasper Johns, Marilyn Manson, William F. Buckley, Harold Hunter, John Lennon, as well as two deeply personal works — a portrait of Tracy Sherrod (“She’s a friend of mine… She had an interesting hairdo”) and a tribute to his late friend Nes Rivera. “Most of the time I choose my subjects because there are things I want to see,” Storm said.
Storm’s paintings, which he describes as “full frontal figuratism,” rely on drips, tonal shifts, and what feels like emerging depth. His process moves quickly. “It depends on how fast it needs to get done,” he said. “Sometimes I like to take the long way up the mountain. Instead of doing an outline, I just start coloring, blocking things off with light and dark until it starts to take shape.”
He’s currently in a black-and-white phase. “Right now, I’m inspired by black and white, the way I can really get contrast and depth.”
Work happens on multiple canvases at once. “Sometimes I’ll have five paintings going on at one time because I go through different moods, and then there’s the way the light hits,” he said. “It’s kind of like cooking. You’ve got a couple things going at once, a couple things cooking, and you just try to reach that deadline.”
For Wilbur, who has studied studio arts “ever since I was really young” and recently applied early decision to Vassar, the experience has been transformative. For Storm — an artist who built an early career painting seven portraits in seven days and has turned New York’s subway corridors into a makeshift museum — it has been another chance to merge artmaking with education, and to pass a torch to a new generation of curators.
Le Petit Ranch offers animal-assisted therapy and learning programs for children and seniors in Sheffield.
Le Petit Ranch operates out of two small structures next to the family’s home: a one-room schoolhouse for animal-assisted learning sessions and a compact stable for the three miniature horses, Mini Mac, Rocket and Miso. Other partner animals include two rescued Spanish greyhounds, Yayi and Ronya; four guinea pigs and a flock of chickens.
Borreda offers programs at the Scoville Library in Salisbury, at Salisbury Central School and surrounding towns to support those who benefit from non-traditional learning environments.
“Animal-assisted education partners with animals to support learning in math, reading, writing, language and physical education,” she said. One activity, equimotricité, has children lead miniature horses through obstacle courses to build autonomy, confidence and motor skills.
Child working with a miniature horse at Le Petit RanchMarjorie Borreda
She also brings her greyhounds into schools for a “min vet clinic,” a workshop that turns lessons on dog biology and measuring skills into hands-on, movement-based learning. A separate dog-bite prevention workshop teaches children how to read canine body language and respond calmly.
Parents and teachers report strong results. More than 90% of parents observed greater empathy, reduced anxiety, increased self-confidence and improved communication and cooperation in their children, and every parent said animal-assisted education made school more enjoyable — with many calling it “the highlight of their week.”
Weekly small-group sessions with seniors at Le Petit Ranch stimulates cognitive function and improves motor skills.Marjorie Borreda
Le Petit Ranch also serves seniors, including nursing home residents experiencing depression, social withdrawal or reduced physical activity. Weekly small-group sessions with animals can stimulate cognitive function and improve motor skills, balance and mobility.
Families can visit Le Petit Ranch for animal- assisted afterschool sessions, Frech immersion or family walks. She also offers programs for schools, libraries, community centers, churches, senior centers and nursing homes.
For more information, email info@lepetitranch.com, visit lepetitranch.com, follow @le.petit.ranch on Instagram or call 413-200-8081.
