James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.
Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.
James attended Millbrook School, Ripon College, and the Culinary Institute of America in New Haven, Connecticut.
He proudly served in the Navy and his dedication to his craft led him to later own several restaurants, including the renowned Fox & Fox in Gaylordsville, and most recently, Panini Cafe in Kent. He went on to become a staple at the Cornwall Farmer’s Market, known for his delicious soups.
James lived in Sharon, for 20 years, where he cherished the serenity tending to the gardens and property. Perpetually in motion, he filled his days with gardening, tending his property, and engaging in hobbies such as collecting model cars, woodworking, and perfecting his culinary creations.He never hesitated to take on a new project, no matter the scope.Not many 82-year-olds can say they fully remodeled a bathroom single handedly.After a full day of work, one of his greatest joys was relaxing at the end of the day in front of the fireplace.
James is survived by his constant companion of 22 years, Kathie Dolan; his two sons; Adam Fox of Montpelier, Vermont and Emmett Fox of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; his brother, Tom Fox of Phoenix, Arizona; his brother-in-law, Gary Sarachan of St. Louis; and several nieces, including Sydney Fox Sarachan of St. Louis, Carrie Fox of Phoenix, and Amanda Fox of Columbus, Ohio. He also leaves behind his grandson, Aidan Fox of New Hampshire, extended family, Erin Dolan, Megan Mollica, Rory Dolan, his dog, Django, and his cat, William.
James will be deeply missed by all who knew him. His unique sense of humor and culinary excellence will live on in the hearts of his family and friends.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
All services are private.
Groundbreaking of the new pool planned for Eddie Collins Park has been delayed after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation intervened to determine the status of wetlands in the proposed building site.
MILLERTON — The long-awaited groundbreaking for a new community pool at Eddie Collins Memorial Park — once expected this past April — now faces significant delays with no definitive timeline in sight, Mayor Jenn Najdek said.
The primary setback stems from a still-pending permitting process, as the village awaits final approvals from the Dutchess County Board of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding septic placement and wetland buffers. A patch of wetlands on the site — roughly five feet by five feet, Najdek said — requires a protective buffer, which could range anywhere from 5 to 100 feet. That determination will dictate whether the current pool design needs to be altered or moved altogether.
“We’re still working to understand what’s acceptable,” Najdek said, “but we have several backup plans ready.” She and members of the park’s revitalization committee have been working closely with lead engineer Kevin Hasselwander of LaBella Associates to explore those alternatives.
A meeting with regulators is expected in early July. Stephen Waite, chair of the Millerton Community Park Committee and a former village trustee, is hopeful that approvals will come soon to avoid further delay. “We’ve been advocating for this and planning for a long time,” said Waite. Nostalgic for his childhood summers at the park, he says he hopes to bring the same experience to a new generation soon.
Additional delays have stemmed from the February fire at the nearby Village Water and Highway building, as well as a prolonged contract process with NY SWIMS — a $150 million state initiative aimed at expanding public access to swimming statewide. Finalizing that contract triggered a new State Environmental Quality Review, requiring a public comment period that further pushed back the timeline.
Despite the hurdles, Najdek remains optimistic. The project is now “99% funded,” she said, with $7.56 million secured from three separate New York State grants.
An official Request for Proposals was originally scheduled for release in April but is now on hold until the wetlands and septic system designs are finalized. “We’re waiting for final approval from the county Board of Health and the DEC,” Najdek said. “Once we have that, we can finalize the design and put the project out to bid.”
Current plans and renderings call for a five-lane swimming pool and a 3,600-square-foot pool house featuring locker rooms, offices and a community room with a commercial kitchen. While the original goal was to align the opening with Millerton’s 175th anniversary, that timeline could now be out of reach.
Still, village leaders say they’re committed to seeing the project through — however long it takes.
Chris Virtuoso reorganized parcel records in the North East Town Hall basement by parcel number during the process of scanning and digitizing the documents.
MILLERTON — Within the walls of the two-story Victorian housing the North East Town Hall lies a room-full of town records dating back to the late 19th century. Stored in labeled cardboard boxes and protected by dehumidifiers, the records are in the process of being dated, organized, and scanned into categorized online programs.
As the Town Hall works to relocate to 5603 Route 22 at the former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, the consolidation and digitalization of records, as well as the disposal of those unneeded, is a time-sensitive project. Marcy Wheatley, the Deputy Town Clerk, emphasized their current heavy focus on organizing and scanning. “Now, when we move, we can get rid of a lot,” Wheatley stated.
The digitalization process in North East began in November of 2015, when the program LaserFiche was selected due to a grant shared with the nearby towns of Amenia, Dover Plains and Beekman. The program was shared until 2024 and now each town scans documents separately to their individual clouds.
The organization and scanning process is a daunting one because the Town Hall keeps historic, business, judicial and assessors records. Town Clerk Elizabeth “Tilly” Strauss explained that it is a learning process to go through the records, organize and keep or destroy based on retention schedules of certain items.
There are two forms of scanning and storing documents that the town has utilized. The Town Clerk’s office uses the system BAS for scanning vital records, minutes, invoices and resolutions. This system is updated constantly as new information comes in, but Wheatley, along with other offices in the Town Hall, has been working backwards to digitize all of the old files as well. Wheatley scans documents for about an hour every afternoon. “That’s what it takes to keep up to date,” she said. There are currently 3324 files in the system.
The other mode of scanning and storing documents is through the IPS system, which gets records from planning, zoning, building and assessors. Chris Virtuoso, who started as a tax collector in 2021, stepped up to lead this half of the process beginning in 2022.
“He had a big task. He had boxes all over the place. He was spread out, he was intense and focused,” Wheatley said of Virtuoso. According to Wheatley and Strauss, the project did not only include scanning and reordering, but a complete reorganization.
“What happened was, a lot of files were under the names of farmers, but they then either got sold or were subdivided,” said Strauss. “Chris has been scanning and organizing into and by parcel number instead of name.”
Virtuoso first began this project by finding parcel locations on the assessors map and looking through files of names and addresses. He then sorted through boxes to find the parcel numbers, organizing them into new boxes based on zone and ordered by parcel number.
“If somebody buys a parcel now and they want to know the history, they can go down there with the number for the parcel and those folders are in there,” stated Virtuoso. “That was the end goal, to get everything from alphabetical order into parcel number order.”
Virtuoso had also found a log tracking all cases by number, which went back until 2005, and added blank pages for all of the newly-scanned files dating back to 1968. This book is now up to date, and current cases and pages are added every year.
“You become like Sherlock Holmes,” said Virtuoso. “What I always kept in mind was, when I’m not here anymore, will someone be able to figure this out?”
From his start in 2022 to March 2023 when both planning and zoning were completely up to date, Virtuoso would come to the Town Hall every morning to scan for two or three hours, five days a week, while still maintaining his career as a realtor.
As of March 2023, when Virtuoso wrote a report on his progress, 361 case files were scanned for the Zoning Board of Appeals. He had also deleted and destroyed any duplicates, removed any metal that may damage the documents, resecured the folders, and organized everything by parcel number with room for additional files.
“He went above and beyond,” Wheatley stated.
Virtuoso — and the Town Clerks — are eager to move to the new Town Hall property. “Look, this is an old home, it’s charming, but we need room for all those files, we need more space and offices,” said Virtuoso.
“I can’t wait,” Strauss stated. “We’re going to have new shelves and everything organized by departments. It’s going to be beautiful.” After condensing, destroying duplicates and scanning, all records will be brought to the new location, however, the digitized copies will serve as backup and for convenience.
Although the process is viewed as an overall success, there are still a few remaining hopes for the future. Virtuoso hopes for collaboration with other towns to buy or lease a large-format scanner for large-scale maps, blueprints, and other important documents that have yet to be scanned.
Virtuoso also hopes to make the Historical Society aware of the rich and unique history that he found within the basement boxes, opening the possibility for deeper understanding of the local area. “The files are important because they do have a certain chunk of history.”
Nora Garcia, 6, of Millerton, bottom right, gets a face painting treatment from Maddy Rowe, a Webutuck High School senior. Nora’s sister, Juliana, 8, top right, is decorated by Giana Kall, a Webutuck senior. The program was sponsored by the Webutuck PTA.
Locals and visitors packed into downtown Millerton Saturday, June 28, for the first ever Millerton Street Fair hosted by the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and Townscape. Representatives from local nonprofits, businesses along Main Street, Bee Bee the Clown and face painters from Webutuck High School drew in crowds all afternoon.
Festivities officially opened at 10 a.m., and a steady stream of visitors soon followed. Volunteer firefighters hosted a bouncy castle, a duck pool, a “put out the fire” ring toss game, and the “touch a truck” event at the fire department’s garage.
Bee Bee the Clown offered everyone attending the Millerton Street Fair balloon figures, jokes and musical sleight-of-hand. “I can make 50 types of balloon animals without thinking and probably around 100 if I concentrate,” the most complex being a rabbit in a top hat made from balloons, Bee Bee said. The clown, who also bills herself as Jackie the Magician, merged her two disciplines of clowning and magic to entertain visitors for the length of the fair.Bee Bee’s commitment to her craft appears beyond her performance, as reflected in her brightly-colored outfit and carefully-applied makeup. “The control exercised over the line work detail” of her eye makeup and the proper choice of footwear — no smaller than the size-16 shoes Bee Bee wore — are two of the aspects of clown dress which Bee Bee noted as being most important to her costume.Photo by Charlie Greenberg
The NorthEast-Millerton Library joined in the fun, hosting a book sale inside and a cookie bake-off on the front lawn.
Live music on the lawn of the Millerton Methodist Church supplied good vibes to those within earshot. The John Stey Band started the morning with classic country, western and bluegrass tunes. The afternoon wrapped up with a few hours of Afro-Cuban jazz from the Berkshire Resilience Brass Band.
Townscape and the North East Community Center joined in participating as non-profit organizations in the Millerton News Street Fair, coinciding with the regular weekly Millerton Farmers’ Market that attracts more than a dozen vendors to sell fresh produce, baked goods and more.
Eloise Gerstle, 2 and a half, posed with her balloon animal and her mother, Aimee Couture, both of Sharon, enjoying the fun of the Millerton News Street Fair on Saturday, June 28.Photo by Leila Hawken
Lisa Cope, Village of Millerton Town Clerk, was there to hand out “Save the Date” cards for next year’s 175th Anniversary of Millerton.
“I know it’s early,” she said. “but it’s coming.”
Amanda Coppola, the Webutuck Elementary School principal, was on hand to discuss after school programs, and mentioned a new pre-K program for three-year-olds that is the first in Dutchess County.
And Century Boulevard was packed with cars. License plates from across the Northeast could be spotted lining the wide street, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and even Pennsylvania.
Reporting and photography from Leila Hawken, Charlie Greenberg, Nathan Miller and John Coston contributed to this article.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Brody Reyes of Millerton, left, and Aaliyah Velie of Millerton, right, run and play with a beach ball in the parking lot of the Millerton Firehouse on Century Boulevard.
The Millerton Fire Company was a popular destination with its hot food — dogs and burgers and homemade french fries. The volunteer firemen ran the concession. Patti Lynch-VandeBogart was also on hand with popcorn and flavored ices.Kelly Roger, treasurer and a fire police captain of the department had pulled together the fire department’s food court.
A touch-a-truck event for children was popular, leading occasionally to a loud blast of a fire truck horn from an excited youngster.
The historic old Village Hall building sold on June 20 for $255,000 to a private owner.
MILLERTON -— After sitting dormant for nearly six years, Millerton’s “Old Village Hall” has a new owner. Sold on June 20 for $255,000 — more than $5,000 above the original listing price — the transaction marks a new chapter for a building steeped in local history.
The property, listed in February by Arleen Shepley of Elyse Harney Real Estate, had previously been managed by the Village without an agent. According to Millerton Mayor Jenn Najdek, that approach proved time-consuming and generated little interest. With a professional listing in place, the sale closed in just under five months for the vacant property located at 21 Dutchess Ave.
Having worked in the building before the COVID-19 pandemic, Najdek said it had significantly deteriorated over the years. She noted that after the heating system broke, the estimated cost of repairs was steep — even with a grant to help make the building ADA-compliant.
“The interior renovations alone were going to cost around half a million dollars — and that didn’t even include the roof, windows or chimney,” said Najdek. After careful discussion, the Village decided the best path forward was to sell the building and relocate to a rental space on North Elm Avenue, where the Village Offices and Police Department currently reside.
Mayor Najdek expressed enthusiasm for the recent sale, noting that the formerly tax-exempt, village-owned building will now contribute to the local tax base and generate revenue for Millerton. “We’ll place the proceeds from the sale into a reserve account and wait until we find a property that truly makes sense for our offices to invest in,” she added.
Built in 1904 as Millerton’s first firehouse, the shingle-style structure originally housed the E.H. Thompson Hose Company — named after Edward H. Thompson, president of the Millerton Bank and a key figure in founding the village’s fire department.
According to a written history of the Millerton Fire Department — produced in 1992 to commemorate its centennial — the Village purchased the land for the firehouse in 1902, broke ground in the spring of 1904, and later named the company in honor of Thompson.
The document also notes that in 1892, “the Village Trustees adopted the bell of the old Presbyterian Church as the official fire alarm.” That same year, the Village purchased its first hose cart at a cost of $49.50 with a $3.98 bell. The growing inventory of equipment prompted the need for a building.
Edward Downey, President of the North East Historical Society, said the original hose cart was restored in 1990 and is now on display at the Firefighting Museum of Dutchess County, located at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck. And, according to documentation provided by the Main Street Walking Tour, “the fire whistle, once in the tower of this village hall, has been moved to the Millerton Fire Company’s location on Century Boulevard.”
The written history of the Millerton Fire Department also states that in the early 1900s, the E.H. Thompson Hose Company became a founding member of the Harlem Valley Fireman’s Association, along with departments from Dover Plains, Amenia, Sharon, Lakeville, Pawling, Philmont and Pine Plains.
In October 1924, the company officially became the Millerton Fire Department. By 1962, the department had outgrown its original space, prompting the construction of a new firehouse on Century Boulevard. According to historian Edward Downey, the former firehouse was repurposed as a library after the move. When the NorthEast-Millerton Library later opened, the building transitioned once again — this time into Village Hall.
With the sale of the original firehouse now complete, the 121-year-old structure stands ready for a new chapter — whatever its future holds, its place in Millerton’s history remains unchanged.