
Katie Cariello is cross endorsed by Democrats and Republicans in the June 17 election.
Photo by Aly Morrissey
Katie Cariello is cross endorsed by Democrats and Republicans in the June 17 election.
MILLERTON — Katie Cariello, the uncontested Democratic candidate for one of two open seats on the Village Board, is becoming a familiar face around town. As the food programs coordinator for the North East Community Center, she helps lead the Millerton Farmers Market, which kicked off its 2025 outdoor season on May 17.
“I’m realizing I need to have something on me that says I’m staff,” Cariello jokes of her new role at the helm of the market. “I want people to know I’m there to help and not just peering into their bags asking what they’re getting.”
Jokes aside, Cariello says she has a big vision for the market — one that supports both vendors and shoppers. “I want to focus on the growth of the market,” she says. “And not only growing our vendors, but growing our audience.”
Raising awareness is her first order of business. “We see a lot of folks come in for the weekend, but we want to make sure that people who live here know it’s accessible to them, too.”
She emphasizes that prices at the Millerton Farmers Market are often comparable to — or even more affordable than — those at local grocery stores. The market also accepts SNAP benefits and credit cards. “Not only are you getting local, fresh food that’s coming from 20 minutes down the road,” she adds, “you’re supporting your neighbors.”
Cariello and her husband were among the many who relocated to Millerton during the pandemic. Arriving in 2022, they quickly decided to put down roots and bought a home in the Village the following year. A Long Island native, Cariello has lived and worked in New York City and Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, with experience spanning education, youth programming and food insecurity.
Her interest in food justice began with a chance encounter outside a Queens coffee shop. “There was a small farm stand outside, and I happened to start talking to these folks from Hellgate Farm in Astoria,” Cariello recalls, remembering how she bought figs grown in someone’s backyard. “I started volunteering with them, and that opened my eyes to urban farming, food insecurity, and what other professional and volunteer opportunities could look like.”
Later, while living in Pittsburgh, Cariello worked on youth initiatives at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. One program, “Weekend Meals,” provided pre-packaged food for students who relied on school lunches. “We would pack small bags that were discreetly placed in their lockers,” she says, noting how she also worked to reduce stigma by using inclusive language and ensuring easy access.
Her career also includes several roles in New York City government. She worked for a city council member, fundraised for the Queens Borough president, and helped launch the Department of Education’s Pre-K for All initiative in 2014.
Through those experiences, the concept of growing your own food became increasingly important to her. “It’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to be working for the NECC farmers market right here in Millerton,” she says.
Outside of work, Cariello brings that passion home. She tends to both a vegetable garden and a native garden designed to support the local ecosystem. “We’ve got pepper plants — Shishito, which I’m really excited about — winter squash, pepprocha, basil and radishes.”
As Cariello looks to shape Millerton’s future as a Village Trustee, her garden feels like a fitting metaphor for her political aspirations: bringing together local and outside elements in thoughtful harmony.
“I like to see the bigger picture,” she says. Her goal, she explains, is to make residents with diverse viewpoints feel heard. “I want to bring people back to politics. I know this is a little corny, but I do believe it: It takes a village. I believe in the idea that we need each other to survive and to grow. You have to learn things to grow. You have to change to grow. And it can be prickly, it can be uncomfortable, maybe. But at the end of the day, at least you can say you tried.”
In addition to her work at NECC, Cariello serves as secretary for the North East Planning Board and sits on the Dutchess County Youth Council Board — roles that helped spark her interest in running for office. She has received endorsements from both the Democratic and Republican caucuses.
Current Trustee David Sherman is also seeking reelection as he completes his second two-year term. Sherman is a Millerton native. “I grew up in Millerton and I’ve lived my adult life here,” he says, reflecting on how the village has evolved, especially on the commercial side.
Sherman points to infrastructure work, such as improving sidewalks on Main Street, as accomplishments he’s proud of. “Those of us at the local level are the ones who have to bang on the doors of the bigger agencies to get things done — things that can have a dramatic effect on our community,” he says.
He also emphasized the importance of participation, regardless of whether a race is contested. “I’m always appreciative of the support of residents in our community who come out and vote,” Sherman says. “Whether they think it’s a competitive race or not, it matters.”
Elections will take place on June 17. In addition to Cariello and Sherman’s uncontested bids for Village Board seats, current Mayor Jenn Najdek is also running unopposed for a third term after first being elected in 2021.
Sherman and Najdek also are endorsed by Democratic and Republican caucuses.
SHARON — Angela Derrick Carabine, 74, died May 17, 2025, at Vasser Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was the wife of Michael Carabine and mother of Caitlin Carabine McLean.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Katri (St Bernards Church) Church. Burial will follow at St. Bernards Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found on the website of the Kenny Funeral home kennyfuneralhomes.com.
Sam Waterston
On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.
The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.
“This came out of the blue,” Waterston said of the Triplex invitation, “but I love the town, I love this area. We raised our kids here in the Northwest Corner and it’s been good for them and good for us.”
Waterston hasn’t seen the film in decades but its impact has always remained present.
“It was a major event in my life at the time,” Waterston said of filming “The Killing Fields,” “and it had a big influence on me and my life ever after.” He remembers the shoot vividly. “My adrenaline was running high and the part of Sydney Schanberg was so complicated, so interesting.”
Waterston lobbied for the role of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for years, tracing his early interest to a serendipitous connection while filming in England. Even before Joffé’s production was greenlit, he had his sights set on playing the role. “I knew I wanted the part for years even before it was a movie that was being produced.”
What followed was not just critical acclaim, but also a political awakening. “The film gave all of us an intimate acquaintance with refugees, what it is to be a refugee, how the world forgets them and what a terrible crime that is.”
In Boston, at a press stop for the film, two women asked Waterston a pointed question: now that he knew what he knew, what was he going to do about it? “I said, ‘Well, you know, I’m an actor, so I thought I’d go on acting.’ And they said, ‘No, that’s not what you need to do. You need to join Refugees International.’” And join he did, serving on the organization’s board for 25 years.
Both Schanberg and Dith Pran, whose life the film also chronicles, were “cooperative and helpful … in a million ways,” Waterston said. Upon first meeting Pran, Waterston recalled, “He came up to me, made a fist, and pounded on my chest really hard and said, ‘You must understand that Sydney is very strong here.’ He was trying to plant something in me.”
There were more tender gestures, too. Schanberg used the New York Times wire to relay that Waterston’s wife had just given birth while he was filming in Thailand, adding to the personal and emotional connection to the production.
Though “The Killing Fields” is a historical document, its truths still resonate deeply today. “Corruption is a real thing,” Waterston warned. “Journalism is an absolutely essential part of our democracy that is as under siege today as it was then. It’s different now but it’s the same thing of ‘Don’t tell the stories we don’t want heard.’ Without journalists, we are dust in the wind.” Waterston added, “Democracy is built on the consent of the governed but the other thing it’s built on is participation of the governed and without full participation, democracy really doesn’t stand much of a chance. It’s kind of a dead man walking.”
When asked what he hopes the audience will take away from the screening, Waterston didn’t hesitate. “This is the story that puts the victims of war at the center of the story and breaks your heart. I think that does people a world of good to have their hearts broken about something that’s true. So, I hope that’s what the impact will be now.”
Tickets for the benefit screening are available at www.thetriplex.org. Proceeds support Triplex Cinema, a nonprofit home for film and community programming in the Berkshires.
Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).
Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.
Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”
He added, “When I moved to New York City, I continued that exploration of cartography, and my work eventually caught the attention of the New York Times, where I went to work as a Graphics Editor, making maps and data visualizations for a number of years.”At the New York Times, his work contributed to a number of Pulitzer Prize winning efforts.
In his work, Reinhard takes complex data and turns it into intriguing visualizations the viewer can begin to comprehend immediately and will want to continue to look into and explore more deeply.
One method Reinhard uses combines historic United States Geological survey maps with “current elevation data (height above sea level for a point on earth) to create 3-D looking maps, combining old and new,” he explained.
For the show at Hunt Library Reinhard said, “I knew that I wanted to incorporate the place into the show itself. A place can be many things.The exhibition portrays the exact spot visitors are from four vantage points: the solar system, the earth, the Northwest Corner, and the library itself.” Hence the name, “Here, Here, Here, Here.”
He continued, “The largest installation, the Northwest Corner, is a mosaic of high-resolution color prints and hand-printed cyanotypes — one of the earliest forms of photography. They use elevation data to portray the landscape in a variety of ways, from highly abstract to the highly detailed.”
This sixteen-foot-wide installation covers the area of Millerton to Barkhamsted Reservoir and from North Canaan down to Cornwall for a total of about 445 square miles.
For subjects, he chooses places he’s visited and feels deeply connected to, like the Northwest Corner.“This show is a thank you to the community for the richness that it has brought to my life. I love it here,” he said.
The opening reception for the show is on June 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. On Thursday, June 12, Reinhard will give a talk about his work from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the library.“Here, Here, Here, Here” will be on display until July 3.
Scott Reinhard’s 16-foot-wide piece of the Northwest Corner is laid out on the floor prior to being hung for the show. L. Tomaino
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