Hot sun + hot cars equals golden trophies

A lineup of vintage classics at Sunday’s Amenia Lions Classic Car Show with hoods up, showing off the power plants within.
Photo by John Coston

A lineup of vintage classics at Sunday’s Amenia Lions Classic Car Show with hoods up, showing off the power plants within.
AMENIA — The sun was high and bright at the Four Brothers Drive-in Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 17, beating down on 76 show cars competing in the Amenia Lions Club annual Classic Car Show.
Three judges walked the lines of entries, deciding winners in categories that spanned years from 1942 and earlier and up to the present. There also was a category for trucks and a People’s Choice.
Alex Dumond of Gardiner, New York, won the People’s Choice trophy for his 1979 Chevy C10 pickup, which was hauling a 1980 Yamaha GT80 bike in the truck bed and was fitted with a hitch-mounted two-seater hanging chair stand.

Car shows can draw the whole family and Sunday’s event at the Four Brothers Drive In was no exception. The intergenerational parade of car buffs ranged from babes in strollers to seniors with walkers.
The generation that grew up yearning for an Edelbrock manifold for their V8 could be overheard explaining how it could make a difference in performance to an unsure onlooker. Same with MAG wheels, a common treatment for Sixties muscle cars.
“You know you’re old when you go to a car show and you see a 40-year old car that you sold to someone when it was brand new,” Al Benson of Pine Plains said, pointing to a vintage Cadillac convertible.
Troy Brazee, 17, a Webutuck High School senior from Amenia, entered his 2005 Chevrolet Corvette in the show. Troy couldn’t be at the beginning of the show because he had to work at Daisy Hill Farm in Millerton.
His Corvette drew attention because it appeared to sit right on the ground, due to an air suspension he had installed. General Motor came up with the name Corvette to liken it to a small warship, and Troy’s ride — squatted on the ground — did look lethal.
The judges awarded him Second Place in the 2001-2023 category, and he arrived in time to receive his trophy.
For Troy, the day started picking crops on a 80-degree Sunday and culminated as he received his trophy to everyone’s applause. A victory lunch followed with his family at Four Brothers.
In 2023, the Club raised $3,500 from the car show that benefited our local fire companies and expects to do as well this year thanks to community support from car enthusiasts and sponsors like Associated Lightning Rod, Jack’s Auto Service, GK Electric, Wes’ Autobody, Maplebrook School, Interstate Batteries, BCI Generator Sales & Service, Boardman Generators, J. Andrighetti Remodeling, Welsh Sanitation, Car Quest, Hufcut Funeral Home and Four Brothers Drive-in and Pizza

1942 & earlier: 1st - Mark Thomas from LaGrangeville with his 1934 Ford Model 40 Roadster; 2nd - Arthur Coleman from Hillsdale with his 1933 Pontiac 2;
1943 - 1960: 1st - Tony D. Gian from Wappingers Falls with his 1955 Studebaker President Speedster; 2nd - Richard Taylor from Sharon, with his 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air;
1961 - 1980: 1st - Megan Chamberlin from Amenia with her 1971 Dodge Demon 340; 2nd - Walter Robinson from Pawling with his 1965 Ford Mustang;
1981 - 2000: 1st - Gary Nielsen from Hillsdale with his Ford Bronco; 2nd Terry Dunne from Lime Rock, CT with her 1990 Mosler Consulier GTP;
2001 - Present: 1st - Denny Smith from Pleasant Valley with his 2002 Chevy Impala LS Sport; 2nd - Troy Brazee from Millerton with his 2005 Chevy Corvette.
Trucks: 1st - Alex Dumond from Gardiner with his 1979 Chevrolet C-10; 2nd - Tony Lasko from Poughkeepsie with his 1936 Chevy Pick up;
Motorcycles: - Tommy Alexander from Poughkeepsie with his 1939 Ural Patrol
Best Car Club Representation: Harlem Valley Car Club
Best in Show: Russell McRoberts from Amenia with his 1969 Ford F-100
Mark Dedaj, 34, pleaded guilty in Dutchess County Court to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2021 death of his sister at a Millbrook residence.
MILLBROOK — A Millbrook man has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2021 killing of his teenage sister inside their family home, Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi announced Thursday.
Mark Dedaj, 34, pleaded guilty in Dutchess County Court to a Class B felony, admitting that he caused the death of his 17-year-old sister, Maureen Nelson-Lanzi, by holding her face down into a pillow on a bed until she suffocated.
The incident occurred on Sept. 4, 2021, at their residence on Harts Village Road.
“This was a brutal and heartbreaking act of violence within a family,” Parisi said in a statement. “Our office made the deliberate decision to take action, because the loss of this victim’s life demanded accountability. This plea holds the defendant responsible for his actions, ensures a measure of justice, and spares the victim’s loved ones the pain of reliving this tragedy through a trial.”
Dedaj is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2026. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he will receive 25 years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Members of the North East Town Board discuss proposed zoning code revisions during a meeting at North East Town Hall in Millerton on Monday, Jan. 19.
MILLERTON — The North East Town Board on Monday, Jan. 19, adopted a series of detailed revisions to its proposed zoning code overhaul, incorporating feedback from county and local agencies as well as public comments.
Zoning Review Commission Chair Edie Greenwood and the town’s zoning consultant, Will Agresta, participated in the meeting as board members reviewed comments submitted by Dutchess County Planning, the North East Planning Board, the town’s Conservation Advisory Council, and residents who spoke or submitted written remarks during the initial public hearing on Jan. 8.
Board members addressed the comments line by line, approving changes that Greenwood described as largely technical in nature, including revisions to definitions that did not align with state regulations and clarifications intended to improve readability and consistency.
Greenwood said a red-line draft showing the approved changes alongside the original text will be prepared.
Among the more substantive revisions was the decision to impose an overall size cap on accessory dwelling units. The board voted to limit ADUs to a maximum of 1,200 square feet and specified that they must be accessed from an existing driveway on the property. Board members also discussed adding language to clarify how ownership through an LLC or trust would comply with the requirement that the property owner reside in the principal dwelling.
The board also approved allowing retail businesses and restaurants in the so-called Irondale District, a small commercial area encompassing seven parcels along Route 22 near Winchell Mountain Road and Irondale Road.
Other changes included:
– Replacing the term “farm” with “farm operation” for consistency with state law.
— Revising drive-through regulations to allow additional lanes for banks.
— Tying requirements for landscaped islands in parking lots to the size of the lot.
— Adding expiration dates for site plan approvals.
— Removing references to “cage-type poultry farms.”
— Requiring 10% of parking spaces in lots with 30 or more spaces to be “EV-ready,” meaning the necessary infrastructure must be installed, but not necessarily a charger itself.
— Standardizing safety and maintenance requirements across all parking regulations.
— Clarifying that parking structures may be built above or below grade.
— Allowing farm machinery sales and rentals.
Greenwood told The News she expects the red-line draft to be completed and submitted before the end of next week. The Town Board is set to continue the public hearing on the proposed zoning changes on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. at North East Town Hall.
The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.
January 24, 1935
About Millerton
Mayor and Mrs. William J. Brewer and Mr. and Mrs. Miles Jenks left on Monday for a month’s vacation in Florida.
Mr. Roy Ganung and daughter, Jane, spent Tuesday afternoon In Poughkeepsie.
Jean Silvernale is confined to home by illness.
Miss Blanche Bates is spending several weeks at the home of her brother, Edward Bates, at Pittsfield, Mass.
George Wooding of Thornewood spent Sunday at the home of his sister, Mrs. Harry Card.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Decker and family moved to Lakeville on Sunday.
January 22, 1976
Snowmobiles Tresspassing[sic], Officer Says
Trespassing and riding on public roads are the major offenses committed by area snowmobilers this winter, New York State Conservation Officer Harry Wheeler stated this week.
He asserted that a number of snowmobile riders have been sighted traveling on public roads and soaring across private property without permission, both illegal acts.
January 18, 2001
Local Homes Added to Historic Register
COLEMAN STATION — Three houses in the town of North East were recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Oliver Barrett House, the Dakin-Coleman Farm and the Thomas Wheeler Farm, all located in the Coleman Station area, were selected by the New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be listed individually on the register, though the entire Coleman Station Valley was considered for the recognition in 1993.
Millerton Sees Some Business Changes; Shops Move, Expand
MILLERTON- Two stores on Main Street in Millerton have interior changes in the works.
Leslie Hoss Flood has recently relocated her Amenia-based store to the basement of the Millerton Antiques Center. Ms. Flood’s shop had been in Amenia for about 15 years, where, in addition to selling used and antique furniture, Ms. Flood also ran an upholstery shop.
After removing several partitions and installing new lights, the basement store looks entirely new. Ms. Flood is pleased with the space, which offers more room in which to showcase her wares. She is also taking advantage of the additional area by creating a separate reupholstery room and a section to display in-stock fabrics.
Pasta-At-Large Expands
After acquiring the empty space, owner Sofia Okołowicz has expanded her business to provide “a little more elbow room inside.”
The front portion has been open since late November and, in recent days, Ms. Okolowicz has removed a wall and had electricity installed in the new area.