Future journalists

Our summer experience with journalism interns is coming to a close as high school and college schedules summon a return to the classroom. The assignments from our editors have sent these budding journalists right back into the community where many of them have lived most of their lives — but in some cases not really knowing what goes on in town.

The resulting stories from all our interns has greatly exceeded our expectations. Last year, The Millerton News and The Lakeville Journal hosted four interns. This year, the number grew to nine. The big screen TV in our newsroom that we use for weekly story conferences (for those in the office and others Zooming in) almost wasn’t big enough to suitably fit everyone.

We wondered whether it would be too much to handle nine interns, but we decided that we just couldn’t turn anyone away. Last year, in an effort to attract interns, we cast a net, attending workshops at the University of Connecticut in Storrs and reaching out to the journalism department at Marist College in Poughkeepsie where we found Colleen Flynn, a Marist intern last year who upon graduation in May became a full-time staff reporter for The News covering Millertion and North East.

The student interns this year, who are paid, include high school students from public and private schools and college undergraduates. We are proud to have hosted four high school students and even more proud of the work they have produced this summer. Simon Markow from Cornwall is a rising junior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Copey Rollins, from Sharon, is a rising junior at The Hotchkiss School. Ira Buch, also at Hotchkiss who previously attended public schools in Kyiv, Ukraine, will enter her senior year. Kayla Jacquier of East Canaan graduated from HVRHS in June and is headed for Northwestern Connecticut Community College. Gavin Marr, from Millbrook, attends Boston University. Josie Duggan, also from Millbrook, is a rising junior at Bucknell University. Ruby Citrin, from Great Barrington, will be a sophomore at California Polytechnic State University. Chloe Kolakowski, a summer resident of Norfolk and a rising senior at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., joined the intern team in August after spending the first half of her summer interning for Sen. Charles Grassley in Washington. Mia Barnes of Sharon, a Housy grad, is a rising junior at Skidmore College.

Each year Salisbury’s Rotary Club presents a Lakeville Journal intern with the Bob Estabrook Intern Award in honor of our late editor and publisher. On July 16, Simon Markow received the award for his accomplishments over the summer. Past recipients have included Sadie Leite of Simsbury, who will attend graduate school at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in the fall, and Emma Benardete, from Amenia, a student at Oberlin College who was Opinions Editor and Editor-in-Chief at The Oberlin Review. Sadie and Emma are also back this summer, making a reprise covering the news for our readers — not as interns but as young professionals —until academia calls them back.

When the interns started, we advised them that there was a lot to learn. We also said we expected to learn from them, and we have. Most of all we draw inspiration from their energy and desire to be witness to history — and write about it. Whether they pursue a career in the field or not, their experience will benefit journalism overall. We salute them — and thank them.

Latest News

Webutuck defeats Housatonic softball team on the road in Falls Village

Webutuck's Olivia Lopane-Wickwire, no. 2, eyeing a pitch as she steps off first base.

Photo by Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. — Webutuck High School softball defeated Housatonic Valley Regional High School 14-9 on Thursday, May 15.

The non-league game was played in Falls Village, Connecticut, in what is a becoming an interstate rivalry. When these teams met last year, Housatonic won 16-3.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillsdale flea market returns May 24
to Hamlet Park

The annual Columbia County event draws hundreds of bargain hunters to Hillsdale’s Hamlet Park.

Provided

HILLSDALE —The town of Hillsdale’s flea market returns Saturday, May 24.

Dozens of vendors will be selling things at Hillsdale Hamlet Park, southwest of the intersection of routes 22 and 23 in Columbia County.

Keep ReadingShow less
Webutuck Community Day — indoor and outdoor fun festival

Producing a blizzard of bubbles, the Bubble Bus delighted visitors to the annual Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17.

Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — Outdoor and indoor fun activities awaited area families who attended the Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17. The popular annual event was co-sponsored by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the Webutuck PTA.

In addition to outdoor displays including a car show, large trucks, a helicopter, a state police water rescue vehicle and a bubble bus producing blizzards of bubbles, the indoor displays numbered more than 60 local and area organizations, vendors, demonstrations and volunteer opportunities, nearly all giving things away for free.

Keep ReadingShow less
$125K grant funds NorthEast-Millerton Library repairs

Funding for repairs to the NorthEast-Millerton Library were secured Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106).

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to receive a facelift thanks to a $125,000 grant to support overdue repairs and necessary upgrades to the library’s Annex.

NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said the repairs are scheduled to begin around mid-June and conclude in early August. The grant will be used to repair structural and cosmetic damage, including rotting wood, chipping paint and damaged siding. Leo-Jameson said if there is any budget remaining, the library will replace an exterior door and window.

Keep ReadingShow less