MILLBROOK — The annual Millbrook Engine, Hook & Ladder Company No. 1 dinner is a serious event, with people singled out and praised for their service to the company and the residents of Millbrook, the Town of Washington and the surrounding area.
This was the 115th anniversary of the Millbrook Fire Department, and the 45th anniversary of the fire department auxiliary, so there was much to celebrate.
But the event also seems like the social event of the season, as it always draws a huge crowd, and when Fire Company President Matt Rochfort announces the dignitaries in the room, he announces just about everyone who serves the town or village in any capacity.
Mayor Tim Collopy was unable to attend but his wife, Ceil, was there, as was Deputy Mayor Vicky Contino, who took over the mayoral introductions and remarks for Collopy.
Also present were members of the village of board of trustees; village clerk Sarah Witt; Town of Washington Supervisor Gary Ciferri; councilmembers of the town board; and Deirdre Houston, Dutchess Countyounty legislator for District 25, with her husband, Brian. Witt was on hand as members officially signed in at the end of the evening.
Ted Bownas, who just stepped down as fire chief after having served in that office from April 2012 to April 2023, was feted for his 30 years of service. The Augustine Rotunno Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Michael Masserone.
The Lynn Karn Memorial Award went to Kelly Tomasulo. The Shawn Fimbel Rookie of the Year Award went to Trevor Gruntler, and the Bert Roberts Memorial Award was presented to Peggy Mulligan.
Other recognition went to Lynn Swart for 45 years of active service in the auxiliary. She is a charter and lifetime member.
Tributes were paid to past presidents and chiefs; service awards were presented to members who responded to 100 or more calls in the past year. Special mention was made of those who had passed in the last year: Reb Powell, Tim Russell, John Evangelista and Lew Keenher, as well as Donald Cady and Don Howe from the Pleasant Valley Fire Department.
An especially poignant mention was made by Rochfort of Bob Myers, who passed in January 2023 and his wife, Kathy, who died in January 2022. He said that they had always been together, and in the passing of Bob, were reunited. He presented to their family members a joint plaque, for their combined 89 years of service.
Outgoing officers were thanked: directors Allen Meyer and Robin Horan, and acting secretary Kara Granger.
Current officers are Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Kevin Granger, Assistant Chief Ken Walsh, Capt. Tim Race Jr. and First Lt. Roland Burlingame.
The current civil officers, along with President Rochfort, are Vice President Kara Granger, treasurer Shelley Hollingsworth and acting secretary Kelly Tomasulo.
Rescue squad officers are Assistant Chief Laurie Olson, Capt. Kim Bownas, First Lt. Kevin Duncan, treasurer Shelley Hollingsworth and secretary Kim Bownas.
Auxiliary officers are President Jodi Swart, Vice President Debbie Wheeler, secretary Lynn Swart and treasurer Allison Hults.
The board of directors are Chairperson Peggy Mulligan, Deputy Chair Jodi Swart, and Leo Arruza, Brian Hicks, Terry Donoghue and Rick Seaman.
The food was prepared by Millbrook Deli, and the nearly 200 people attending seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening. The volunteers are a vital part of the community, and enjoyed a lively night of thanks and praise.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
