MILLBROOK — On Thursday, Sept. 9, New York Diocese Auxiliary Bishop Geraldo Colacicco, former rector of St. Joseph’s-Immaculate Conception Church in Millbrook, oversaw the installation of Father Hartley Bancroft III as the pastor of the parish.
Father Bancroft came to the church on Jan. 1, 2020, and is already much beloved by the parishioners, having managed adroitly over the church during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 200 parishioners attended the evening installation during Mass for the 33-year-old priest, including his father, mother and godfather.
-— Judith O’Hara Balfe
Olivia Montoya
Dutchess County Sheriff's Report — Thursday, June 25
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity report June 12 to June 18
June 12 — Deputies responded to Baxter Road in Pawling for a neighbor dispute. Both parties were served with trespass notices advising them to stay off of each other’s property.
June 12 — Deputies responded to the Wassaic Train station in the Town of Amenia and took custody of Tai Chopping, age 54, who was wanted by the Columbia County, New York, Sheriff’s Office on an active Bench Warrant for failing to appear in court in that jurisdiction. Chopping turned over to Deputies of Columbia County Sheriff’s Office for further.
June 12 — Deputies arrested William Ball, age 35, for driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree as a result of traffic enforcement on Winchell Mountain Road in the Town of North East. Ball to appear in the Town of North East Court at a later date.
June 15 — Deputies responded to High Meadows Trailer Park in the Town of Dover to investigate a domestic dispute at that location. Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE: All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845 605 CLUE (2583) or email dcsotips@gmail.com. All information will be kept confidential.
Nathan Miller
Jessica Williams leads a talk on “re-wilding” garden beds at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, June 20.
MILLBROOK — A crowd of about a dozen gardening enthusiasts from across Dutchess County took a free lesson in wild gardening on Saturday, June 20.
Jessica Williams of Odd Duck Farm in Highland, New York, led a talk on “re-wilding” garden spaces in the Millbrook Library’s basement as part of an ongoing series of talks organized by the Millbrook Garden Club.
Williams, an avid gardener and florist, has been focusing on native, pollinator-friendly plants in her gardening efforts to promote biodiversity on her property and ecological health in general. She said she’s driven by an appreciation for bugs and allowing nature to take its course — even if that means letting plants die when a typical gardener might fight harder for life.
“I believe in survival of the fittest in the garden,” Williams said.
Williams advocates for gardeners to change their perspective and stop seeking to eradicate bugs and critters from gardens. She described the food chain as a delicate balance, where insects and the plants they eat form a base that all other life sits on top of.
“They can live without us, but we need them,” Williams said.
As an example, Williams produced an oak twig she grabbed from a tree in her yard the morning of the talk. Leaves were tattered and chewed on, evidence of an insect feast that Williams said should be seen as a beautiful sign of an active ecosystem.
Part of building an appealing ecosystem for local bugs is planting local plants. Williams told the crowd that 70-80% of biomass should be native plants. She suggested planting an oak tree to meet that quota, saying one tree would then allow gardeners to plant whatever other flowers they wanted without worrying about exceeding their foreign plant ratio.
Maintaining a 70-80% ratio of native plant biomass helps to ensure that local bugs have plenty of food to eat. And well-fed bugs make for well-fed birds, Williams said.
Williams also encourages variety in a garden. She said that a mix of flowers, shrubs and trees both improve aesthetic value and provide a variety of good food and habitat for bugs and birds.
“It’s important to keep the neighbors happy, too,” Williams said.
Another unorthodox tip was to embrace decay. Williams explained that soil is composed of broken down biological matter and letting plant trimmings and leaves return to that soil will only improve garden health.
“It just disappears,” Williams said.
One technique she supports is the “chop and drop” method. It’s intended for gardeners that may not have room for a dedicated compost pile, and advocates for dropping plant trimmings directly into the garden bed and leaving it there to rot and decay into the soil.
That strategy actually serves multiple purposes. Decaying plant matter will return useful nutrients for plant health to the soil and the sticks and leaves provide habitat for bugs.
Williams specifically called out fallen leaves during the fall as especially beneficial. She supports letting leaves lay where they fall whenever possible, but said that collecting leaves and spreading them in places like garden beds and compost piles can also be a good use.
But, with all things gardening, Williams said nature should be a guide in the proper way of doing things. A layer of leaves that’s too thick can essentially strangle a plant. Instead, gardeners using the material as makeshift mulch in their garden beds should apply the leaves in a thin layer that mimics a naturally windswept covering.
Williams maintains that 100% native gardening is not necessary as long as gardeners make an effort to plant as many native plants as possible. Many annuals and bulbs are beneficial to pollinators and bugs despite being foreign. She recommended alliums, cosmos, salvia, sunflowers and herbs such as basil, thyme and lavender.
Leila Hawken
Tiffany Zezula, deputy director of the Pace Land Use Law Center of White Plains, presents early results of a survey of Amenia residents on their desires for local parks and recreation during a forum at Webutuck High School on Saturday, June 13. Residents were invited to hear a preliminary report on the ongoing study sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Commission to assist with charting the future of recreation and parks in Amenia.
AMENIA — Residents would like to see more amenities, programming and access at Amenia’s parks and recreational sites, according to preliminary results from a town recreation survey presented Saturday, June 13.
A status report was presented at the Webutuck High School auditorium on Saturday, June 13, by Engaging Amenia planning consultants from Pace Land Use Law Center of White Plains.
Reviewing highlights from the survey, Tiffany Zezula, deputy director of the Pace program, said 116 residents — about 3% of Amenia’s population — have completed the questionnaire to date. Full-time residents accounted for 88% of respondents, while 32% were age 65 or older.
Among respondents, 77% reported traveling to one of the town’s 12 recreational sites by car.
The most frequently visited destination was the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, prompting discussion about the need for additional parking. Residents also said that they would like to see the addition of benches along the rail trail.
Respondents also said they would also favor community gardens, more picnic areas, and provision for waterway access and even swimming throughout the area.
There are low-cost programs that might be easily implemented, such as birdwatching groups, historic walking tours, or walking/hiking clubs, Zezula said.
“This is going to facilitate the conversation,” said town councilmember Nicole Ahearn about the survey’s outcomes.
Zezula said the survey is intended to complement work already underway by the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee as it evaluates the future of parks and recreation in Amenia.
Residents can still participate in the survey through June 30. Judy Moran, chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, has arranged a display at the Amenia Library where residents can review planning materials and submit comments.
A final report is expected in July, Zezula said.
Preliminary results of the study can be viewed at www.engagingamenia.com.
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Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — Plans for new apartments on South Center Street are facing uncertainty over parking regulations in the Village of Millerton.
The buildings have a total of four apartments located at 26-32 South Center St, though only three have been occupied in recent years. Owner Alex Magalhaes described plans to renovate the interior of the building and utilize the empty unit.
Planning Board members raised a concern over available parking. They noted that village code requires 1.5 off-street spaces per residential unit. The property currently has no off-street parking and owner Magalhaes said there’s no room to install additional parking.
Magalhaes explained that apartment residents would use the municipal parking lot across South Center Street.
“When we first purchased, it had in the lease that we can use the parking,” Magalhaes said.
Dutchess County owns that lot, prompting questions from Planning Board members about whether that’s permissible and under whose authority.
Board Chair Andrew Rebillard, along with board member Kevin Webb, doubted the Planning Board had the authority to permit parking in that lot.
“I would propose that we get guidance from counsel,” Webb said. “To see what our ability is here.”
Webb asked if the property could fit additional off-street spaces. Magalhaes said the property has space for a small driveway in the northwest corner, but there was not any additional space for cars.
Despite the uncertainty, board members voted to set a public hearing on the plans for their next meeting on Wednesday, July 8. That meeting is expected to happen barring news from the county that the lot can’t be used for residential parking.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s something that’s going to stop this project,” Rebillard said. “Rather just make it take longer.”
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The North East/Millerton Climate Smart Task Force is seeking participants for a community-wide flea market set to coincide with Millerton’s 175th celebration.
The community-wide flea market will run throughout Millerton, with Eddie Collins Memorial Park serving as a central hub. Spaces at the park are available or sellers can run a sale at their own homes.
The market effort is set to run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the week-long celebration’s first day on Saturday, July 11.
Task force member Kathy Chow described the flea market as an opportunity to rehome old possessions without sending them to a landfill, reducing waste and building a sense of community. She said the group is in need of interested sellers.
“The Climate Smart purpose for doing this is to help people repurpose stuff that they already have,” Chow said. “To cut down on waste and all the stuff that we throw away, and even the unnecessary storage that we have.”
For a $10 registration fee, sellers that sign up by June 30 either get a space at Eddie Collins Memorial Park to set up a display or a marker on the map of flea market vendors across town.
A third option is to give items away for free. Residents that aren’t interested in running a tag sale at home or a flea market space at the park are encouraged to place free items at the end of their driveways for passersby to take.
More information on the town-wide flea market is available online at villageofmillerton.gov/175th.
“It’s a terrific, feel-good activity,” Chow said. “Everybody loves getting rid of their stuff and finding new homes for it.”
Graham Corrigan
PINE PLAINS — The Planning Board unanimously approved the environmental review for a proposed storage facility expansion and farm stand at 2818 Church St. during its meeting Wednesday, June 10.
The property, located across from the high school, would expand the neighboring Stissing Storage business. Steve Hobson of HTWO Properties presented updated site plans that include additional storage units at the rear of the lot and a free-standing farm stand near the road.
Since first presenting the project in January, Hobson has made several revisions to the proposal. A row of Green Giant Arborvitae have been planted on the property’s north side to screen the additional storage units. A fence will be replaced along the south side, and a right-of-way for pedestrian traffic to the school has been added from the dead end at Nine Partners Lane.
More parking spaces were also added to Hobson’s plans. The next phase will include the demolition of an existing structure on the property, which will be replaced by storage units. Hobson says pending final approval from the county and a site visit from the New York Department of Transportation, he hopes to have the demolition done and new concrete laid before year’s end.
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