MILLBROOK — In the throes of catastrophe, what can people do? Well, a number of things. In the beginning of the health crisis, many people were panic-driven, fearful of catching COVID-19. But then, some asked themselves, “How can I help make things better?” Different people came up with different solutions.
Millbrook resident Judith Muir was scrolling through social media one day asking herself that very question: “How can I help?” Something she saw on the news feed struck close to home: a request for urgently needed foster homes for kittens and cats that were rescued from a hoarder/abandonment situation.
An animal lover and former cat owner, Muir decided to foster a cat. She said she was a little surprised that she was not given a choice, but was handed a black and white cat named Percival. She took him home, prepared to foster him for as long as needed, but knew within 24 hours that Percival wasn’t going anywhere.
Foster homes and permanent homes for animals are especially needed right now because there is a lack of available volunteers to help out in animal shelters due to the health crisis, and, due to the economic toll of the pandemic, donations are also down. This leaves many animal rescuers and animal shelters in dire need of help.
Helping is part of Muir’s nature. She’s both a musician and an educator, having earned degrees while studying in the SUNY school system, the Manhattan School of Music and The Royal Academy. Aside from teaching private students, she is an instructor at The Fountains in Millbrook, where often she and some of her students volunteer to get seniors at The Fountains active through music and song. She finds great power in music and is herself a world-class clarinetist. The Fountains residents especially like older songs, ones that 100 years ago might have been sung in the parlor and sing-a-longs. That type of music promoted connectivity, Muir said, it soothed and healed, which is why she plays it today.
Trips to The Fountains have been postponed until further notice because of COVID-19, but Muir still teaches virtually and is offering free online sessions to the children of her students and first responders who may be in need of the healing sound of music.
“How do you explain to a child of 4 about quarantine?” she asked. “About illness and death?”
So Muir continues to reach out to those who love music, as she said it has the power to heal the soul. In times of great stress, she said, the arts can heal, whether it’s through painting or drawing, reading or writing, composing or playing music or simply appreciating the arts. Art is said to “soothe the wild beast.”
Percival, the rescue cat, agrees. Very often he sits and listens as his musical mother plays; he is now finally living the good life.
To learn more about local animal shelters in need of support, call the Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary in Poughkeepsie at 845-392-4849; the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DCSPCA) in Hyde Park at 845-452-7722; or Collaborative Cats in Ancramdale at 518-305-2910.
Graham Corrigan
Jennifer Burgen, right, and Michael Burgen now own Babette’s Kitchen on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook. The duo have worked at the shop since 2024.
MILLBROOK — A local eatery that has operated on Millbrook’s Franklin Avenue for more than 20 years is changing ownership.
The new owners at Babette’s Kitchen are two longtime employees. Jennifer Burgen, who has worked at Babette’s for the last three years, and Michael Burgen, who joined the kitchen in December 2024, took over earlier this month. Michael had previously been a general manager at Fern in Lakeville.
The couple has long dreamed of running their own restaurant, so when Babette’s co-founders Buffy Arbogast and Beth Daidone expressed a desire to find new owners, the Burgens jumped at the chance.
“We’re excited to continue the legacy that Beth and Buffy started,” said Jennifer Burgen. “We like to say that they kept it in the family.”
For 22 years, Babette’s Kitchen has been a Millbrook staple for coffee, breakfast, lunch and catering. With an emphasis on local produce and a menu sourced from nearby farms, Babette’s has gained regional acclaim for its inventive menu and extensive pastry offerings. Their buttermilk biscuits, frittatas, and seasonal rotations have made the 20-seat café a weekend favorite for locals and weekenders alike.
Like Babette’s founders, the Burgens graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, a culinary school based in Hyde Park. When Babette’s founder Arbogast attended in 2004, she was at the forefront of a gastronomic migration.
The Burgens are part of the second wave, and are committed to keeping Babette’s core menu intact. “We’re not doing any changes for the first couple of years, but in the long term, we’d love to bring some family recipes out,” Burgen said. “My grandmother was a great cook, and Mike’s grandmother was an amazing baker.”
Michael Burgen was raised in the Buffalo area, and he’s looking forward to bringing some of the flavors of Western New York to Babette’s. “There’s a great little food scene up there,” Michael Burgen said. “But a lot of the items are very regional. You don’t really see them in other parts of the state. It’ll be fun to see people experience that.” That will eventually include Buffalo wings during football season, and Beef on Weck, a Buffalo classic that features thinly sliced roast beef on a kummelweck roll with horseradish and caraway seeds.
In the meantime, however, the Burgens are running the kitchen Beth and Buffy have perfected over two decades with little change.
“They’ve built such a great place,” says Michael Burgen, “and it has such a loyal following.” Michael has spent much of the last 18 months learning the ins and outs at Beth’s elbow: her flavors, her systems, and her kitchen space. “Every kitchen is different,” he said. “So her showing me her ways of operating with the equipment was a big part of the production. It takes a lot of the guesswork out.”
For their part, the now-previous owners of Babette’s feel like they’ve found the right team to continue their legacy. In a message posted earlier this week, Arbogast said the Burgens “are the perfect pair to keep Babette’s true to its roots, but to move it forward with fresh bright ideas.”
Millerton News
CANAAN — Anita L. (King) Gochey, 85, of 77 South Canaan Rd. died June 5, 2026, at Geer Village. She was the wife of the late Lester Gochey. Anita was born July 16, 1940,in Winsted, daughter of the late Ivan and Irene (Dulude) King.
Anita was well known throughout the Northwest Corner. She worked for many local businesses and organizations. Anita worked at the Rexall Drug Store, C.A. Lindell and Sons, Bob’s Clothing, Brooks Pharmacy, and the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in the cafeteria.She used her skills in calligraphy to complete the record books for the North Canaan Congregational Church.Anita’s daughter remembers her as being very creative with cardboard, and a loving mom.
Anita is survived by her son Raymond Gochey and his fiancee’ Chris Filkins of Hinsdale, Massachusetts; and her daughter Michele O’Brien of Sharon. She is also survived by her sister Denise Warner of Torrington and her brother Arthur King of Danbury. Her three grandchildren, Kyle Gochey of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Cody O’Brien of Georgia, and Sabrina O’Brien of Falls Village. Anita was predeceased by her brother, Martin King.
A Celebration of Anita’s life will be held on Saturday June 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018.
Nathan Miller
Carol Kneeland, left, Cyndhia Valle, center, and Irene Banning knit together on North East Community Center’s back porch during the first “Community Porch Party” on Wednesday, June 3.
MILLERTON — A new pilot program at the North East Community Center aims to bring in community members for chill hangs at the nonprofit’s office on South Center Street this summer.
The weekly “Community Porch Party” is an evolution of senior administrative assistant Ash Baldwin’s “Craft Collective,” which invited community members to enjoy a group crafting session where participants were encouraged to bring individual projects, swap tips and be together. The gathering on Wednesday, June 3, and the preceding “Craft Collective” meetings are part of a broader effort to provide accessible, community-building programming.
The pilot program is set to run every Wednesday through the end of July.
NECC board chair and interim Executive Director Irene Banning joined Baldwin along with Millerton resident Carol Kneeland and Pine Plains resident Cyndhia Valle at the program’s opening night. Kneeland brought enough knitting needles and yarn to go around, and taught Valle how to get started making a knitted square.
“She’s a total pro of 40 minutes,” Kneeland said, knitting needles in hand.
Banning said the community center is working to return to a former status as a community hub. She remembered the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for the organization, when it shifted to providing crisis management programs such as its food pantry and housing assistance.
While those programs are still important to NECC’s mission, Banning said, community building is equally so.
She recalled needing an outlet for social interaction when her son moved away from her home, prompting her to find a knitting group based out of Pine Plains.
“One day I just picked up my knitting and I decided to go,” Banning said. “It’s been a fabulous thing.”
The “Community Porch Party” is less focused on the crafting, and instead on just providing an opportunity for people to enjoy a nice yard and a chat with fellow community members. Baldwin and Banning assembled sweet treats and snacks for people to eat, and crafters are encouraged to bring a project but it’s not required.
The effort stems from a recognition that social interaction can be difficult to come by in northeast Dutchess County.
“It’s so hostile out there, and you always have to be careful about what you say or what you don’t say,” Banning said. “Just to have a place where that doesn’t matter is really nice.”
NECC’s “Community Porch Party” is set for Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 through July 29.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Graham Corrigan
PINE PLAINS — Community Day returns to Pine Plains on June 13, reviving a tradition last celebrated in 2023 during the town’s bicentennial celebration.
The event’s return has been spearheaded by an ad hoc group of residents led by Lenora Champagne, Jeanne Valentine-Chase, Lisa Agnelli, Joan Taylor, Helene Marsh and others.
Champagne and Valentine-Chase, who are on the town’s Beautification Committee, said they recruited volunteers to help organize it, realizing that Community Day is a big undertaking. “It was clearly a bigger project than what that committee could take on,” said Champagne. “So we turned to people who’d been involved in previous Community Days.”
The community was up to the task. Some of the entertainment will be familiar: live music will fill the air, local businesses and nonprofits will set up booths along Main Street, and the Graham-Brush House will host fiddlers and reenactments.
New additions to Community Day abound, too: a 31-vendor market will set up shop by the Catholic church on Poplar and Church Street. The market will host makers offering sourdough bread, artisanal jewelry, and everything in between. The Pines, a historic Victorian inn on Maple Street, will open its doors for tours as well.
This year’s Community Day is also offering an eye-popping amount of complimentary experiences, for kids and adults alike. First there’s a free breakfast hosted by Pine Plains Fire Company. Free raffle tickets are on offer, with the chance to win prizes like gift certificates to local businesses like Chaseholm Farm and Factory Lane Automotive — or fruit trees donated by Full Circus Farm. There’s a free scavenger hunt to work up an appetite, and free lunch from local restaurants to sate it — all chased down with a postprandial stroll through the free corn maze.
“There ought to be something of interest for everyone,” Champagne said. “We’re really curious to see what people enjoy.”
Town Councilwoman Jeanine Sisco is the group’s liaison to the town. She’ll also be the one “collecting garbage and schlepping benches.”
“We did Community Day for years,” Sisco said. “But sometimes people just didn’t step up. We’re hoping this will be the start of doing it every year.”
The goal, Sisco says, is to bring people in to town. All the people: generational locals and weekenders alike. “We want to bring all those folks into a united venue to get to know what’s going on in town, and revitalize the spirit of community.”
Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Water Committee is exploring options to allow municipal water customers to pay their bills online and by credit card.
Responding to customer interest in additional payment options, the committee discussed potential billing software upgrades during its regular meeting Wednesday, June 3.
Town Billing Clerk Nancy Nowak presented information from Muni-Link of Bellwood, Pennsylvania, a cloud-based billing company that serves municipal utilities.
“This software is so much better,” Nowak said. “It is similar to what we have now, but it’s easier.”She added that the company works with four credit card processors.
Initial set-up cost for the system is estimated at $12,000, Nowak said, with an additional monthly charge of $650. Current administration costs for billing stands at $138 monthly for the town.
“But you would be getting twice as much service,” said Water Committee chairman Bill Flood, comparing the proposed streamlined billing system to the present one.
Nowak had explained that the current system provides limited account management capability, leaving much input to be done by hand. She reported also that over the years, customers have asked for the convenience of emailed billing and on-line payment.
For those water district customers who lack computer capability or who prefer to pay in person, there would still be the option for mailed billing.
The committee agreed to continue to explore the option, gathering additional information, before presenting a proposal to the Town Board.
In other discussion, Flood announced that the prefabricated pump house building is expected to be installed at the Lavelle Road site in the fall. The foundation is ready to accept the new structure.
A program to replace non-working water meters is progressing with VRI Environmental Services, the town’s water operator, having sent out 20 postcard notices. In response so far, 13 meters have been replaced.
In final action, the Water Committee agreed to meet quarterly, rather than the current monthly schedule. Special meetings will be scheduled as needed.
Millerton News
SHARON — Susanne Cecilia Berberoglu, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on May 14 surrounded by the love of her family.
Born on Fe 13, 1951, in New Milford, Susanne lived a life filled with warmth, adventure, compassion, and dedication to those she loved.
A graduate of Brookfield High School, Susanne went on to work as a travel agent, a career perfectly suited to her adventurous spirit and love of discovering the world. She especially cherished her travels to Australia, London, and Hawaii, creating memories that she carried throughout her life.
Susanne had a lifelong passion for antiques and found joy in collecting and appreciating beautiful pieces filled with history and character. She was also deeply devoted to her beloved Boston Terriers, whom she lovingly raised and cared for over many years. Her home was always filled with warmth, laughter, and the companionship of the dogs she adored.
Above all else, Susanne treasured her family. She is survived by her devoted husband of 54 years, Tayfun Berberoglu Sr.; her loving daughter, Jennifer; her son, Tayfun Berberoglu Jr.; and her cherished granddaughters, Faora and Sybella. Her love, kindness, strength, and gentle spirit will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew her.
Susanne will be remembered for her caring nature, adventurous soul, and unwavering love for her family, friends, and animals. Her memory will continue to inspire all whose lives she touched.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
