Heavy snow blanketed Dutchess County on Sunday, Jan. 25, triggering a county-wide travel ban and a state of emergency.
Parts of the northeast corner of the county saw as many as 18 inches of snow. Temperatures are projected to remain below freezing well into next week.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency leading up to the storm, as did Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino.
Snowfall totals exceeded forecasts across northeast Dutchess County, with heavy, persistent bands producing more than a foot and a half of accumulation. Schools, municipal offices, churches and numerous community events were canceled or postponed through Monday as plowing operations continued and temperatures dropped into the single digits overnight.
Shawn Milton, an employee of the Stanford highway crew, assesses a plow truck on Friday, Jan. 23, in anticipation of the weekend's winter storm. He and his colleague Zach Zampko said Stanford's equipment was in good working order ahead of the storm.Photo by Nathan Miller
Road crews across the region said they felt prepared heading into the storm. While storms of this magnitude are relatively rare, crews expressed confidence that the cold temperatures would keep the snow lighter and easier to manage.
Visits to North East, Amenia, Washington, Stanford and Pine Plains found salt supplies well stocked and equipment in good working order ahead of the snowfall.
In Stanford, Highway Superintendent Jim Myers and his crew were strapping plows to trucks in the town garage on Friday morning, Jan. 23. Myers said the town was as ready as it could be — a sentiment echoed by highway departments throughout the region.
"You just got to stay on top of it," Myers said. "Keep going."
Labor shortages remain a concern during major storms, crew members said, noting that county and state resources can be stretched thin in more remote areas. In many towns, local road crews are only responsible for town-owned roads, with county and state crews often responsible for the numbered highways and routes.
Roads were covered with snow much of the day on Sunday, Jan. 25, as highway crews worked to keep up with snowfall rates of up to 3 inches per hour during the most intense parts of the storm. Photo by Nathan Miller
Some weather models are predicting that another winter storm may hit the Northeast on Sunday, Feb. 1, and Monday, Feb. 2. Predictions are still early, but they suggest more snow is coming.
Dutchess County operates a warming center assistance program through its Department of Child and Family Services. Residents in need of a safe, warm place to stay may call 845-486-3300 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or 211 after 5 p.m. for assistance in finding shelter.
Additional reporting by Christian Murray
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Growing up in the Bronx, Hearn was captivated whenever she saw horses. Her grandfather, a Korean War veteran, had cared for military horses during the war. After returning home, he struggled with addiction, and the invisible wounds of military service. Through every difficult chapter of his life, however, one thing consistently brought him peace.
“Horses bring peace,” he told his granddaughter.
When Hearn was 11, after years apart, Hearn and her grandfather began spending weekends riding together. Less than a year later, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Before he died, he asked family members to help buy Hearn’s first horse — a stubborn paint horse that bit, kicked and frequently threw her off. She wanted to sell him. Her father refused.
“Every life has value,” he told her.
Looking back, Hearn says that lesson became the foundation of everything she would later build.
What began as a boarding stable in 2003 took a different direction after the Dutchess County SPCA asked Hearn to care for horses seized in cruelty cases. She soon realized that although Dutchess County had one of New York’s largest horse populations, there was no dedicated nonprofit equipped to care for neglected and abused horses. Lucky Orphans officially became a nonprofit in 2008.
Some of the more than 40 horses at Lucky OrphansProvided
Today, Hearn is quick to point out that Lucky Orphans is not simply a rescue.
“We’re a sanctuary,” she said.
Many of the more than 40 horses living there arrive with broken bones, chronic illnesses, heart conditions, missing eyes or other injuries that make them unsuitable for riding or adoption. Rather than rehabilitating and rehoming them, Lucky Orphans makes a lifetime commitment to every horse.
In 2013, Hearn became certified in equine-assisted psychotherapy, combining her lifelong relationship with horses and the lessons she learned from her grandfather to create programs for veterans, trauma survivors, children and families facing emotional challenges. The transformations she witnesses continue to surprise her. She recalls one woman who arrived convinced she would not fit in with a group of strangers. During the session, a horse quietly chose to follow her without a rope or commands. For the first time in years, the woman said she felt truly seen.
Another memory has stayed with Hearn ever since. A teenager in a juvenile probation program, wearing an ankle monitor and struggling with anger, entered a round pen with a horse. As his frustration grew, the horse moved farther away. When he finally calmed himself, the horse walked directly toward him and rested its head against his chest.
“I told him, ‘If you can control your energy, you can control the world around you,’” Hearn said.
Stories like these sustain her through the difficult realities of running a nonprofit. Operating the sanctuary costs roughly $52,000 each month, and Hearn lives on the property, where the work never truly ends. Veterinary bills, staffing, fundraising and the daily care of dozens of horses are constant concerns. Then someone returns years later and tells her that the horses changed their child’s life.
“That’s why I keep going,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hearn hopes more people discover what makes Lucky Orphans unique. The organization is expanding its community programming with educational visits, yoga sessions, horse encounters, volunteer opportunities and family events designed to reconnect people with horses and with one another.
Her vision is simple: to create a place where people slow down, reconnect and remember something modern life often makes us forget. If horses could speak, Hearn believes they would offer just one piece of advice.
“They’d tell us to slow down,” she said.
After spending an afternoon at Lucky Orphans, it’s hard to disagree.
For more information or to plan a visit, go to luckyorphans.org
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