MILLBROOK — More than 225 peaceful protesters lined the part of Franklin Avenue that curves from the bus stop and goes along the Tribute Garden property on Sunday, June 7. This included men, women and children of all ages, mostly local residents, holding signs, wearing masks and enjoying the beautiful weather. The event, in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM), which had its existence fraught with controversy at the start, turned out to be a friendly and fruitful happening, with no trouble reported.
Although social distancing was largely non-existent, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, masks were worn and several elbow bumps took place, while others agreed, “We’ll hug later,” when it is safe to do so.
Protest signs ranged from very large to very small, and from elaborate tie-dyed signs to smaller signs done on cardboard with magic marker. What they had in common was their message: Black Lives Matter, and that people are looking for changes in the criminal justice system and of systemic racial bias. The death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man killed by a White ex-cop, was not taken lightly here, mirroring feelings from around the country and around the world.
The protest was put together by Larissa Nordone, a five-year resident of Millbrook who has some experience organizing protests. Nordone reports that she suffered a great deal of resistance from the town and village before the rally got off the ground.
While many found out about the event via social media, originally it was meant to be a small gathering of roughly 50 people responding via private messaging.
Some Millbrook teenagers had planned a protest for Monday, June 8, but another teen reportedly sabotaged it. A counter protest focusing on All Lives Matter was announced, but later postponed. Those organizers asked if they could attend Sunday’s protest.
As Sunday neared, the event grew larger and organizers worried about people coming from out of town starting trouble; organizers and officials wanted to know about permits and law enforcement. It was noted that permits are required for marches that may block traffic or pedestrian walkways, require sound amplifying devices, are especially large or cause street closures.
Nordone was told she might be given an appearance ticket by the Village Police at the close of the event if she violated any of the village’s ordinances. That did not occur, she said, as she helped disperse attendees at the end of the event and she and friends made sure the Village Green was free of debris and garbage.
Nordone said all of her fears were put to rest on Sunday as the gathering began, grew and remained peaceful. Millbrook Police Officer Jared Witt moved easily among the crowd, greeting protesters and being greeted by those present. Although there was a “Defund the Police” sign, few signs were anti-police, though they did state the country should do better in its police practices. At least two village trustees were among the crowd, making sure it remained a peaceful event. The demonstration began at 1 p.m. and by 2 p.m. the crowd started to disburse.
Many families attended, using the event as a teaching moment; some were multi-generational. Some of the signs the youngsters clearly made themselves, while others were more sophisticated. Many families were passionate about the cause, and it was an opportunity for some to witness first hand for the first time how America works, and why the First Amendment is so important.
Early on, a Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office car went past, as did a New York State Trooper’s vehicle, but mostly there were cars and trucks passing by, waving and beeping their horns in support. Afterward, protesters said they felt that their message got out, that Millbrook held a peaceful protest while taking an important stance on improving the criminal justice system, the need to address racial inequality, about Black Lives Matter, about how the country must move forward, and, not to be forgotten, about the importance of caring for one another.
Sabrina Jaar Marzouka led the Oct. 2 Department of Community and Family Services Forum.
POUGHKEEPSIE — On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Dutchess County Department of Community and Family Services (DCFS) held an open forum at the Department of Mental Health to discuss a five-year Child and Family Services (CFS) Plan.
Fiscal and staffing challenges aside, the focus of DCFS remains on refining the five-year plan, meeting its targets and serving the county’s most vulnerable residents, many of whom depend on these supports simply to survive.
The forum, which provided residents with detailed information on county services and programs for the domestic, physical and emotional wellbeing of children and adults in the county, also gave attendees the opportunity to weigh in on the plan, which runs from 2024 through 2029.
Dutchess County is obliged to provide a plan detailing social services offerings to New York State every five years, DCFS Commissioner Sabrina Jaar Marzouka said. The county works in conjunction with the state to identify programs for further development and improvement.
“We do not choose our goals,” Marzouka said. “They are prescribed by the state. So they give us a handful to choose from, based on what we determine to be our needs and from our data.”
The county can adjust goals as needed but must meet state requirements. These goals and their associated strategies are determined by research, data, and stakeholder meetings with companies, agencies, and individuals.
While DCFS team members tackled various components of the proposal’s planning stages, the end-result is expected to be a cohesive plan created by the state, county, and residents following public comment.
While programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), fall under the DCFS umbrella, the public session focused on three specific offerings — Child Protective Services, Preventive Services, and Adult Services.
Child Protective Services (CPS) seeks to ensure the safety of vulnerable children from suspected abuse, neglect or trafficking of minors. If confirmed, CPS may remove a child from the home. Its preference is for placement with relatives as opposed to foster care provided by strangers to maintain familial, environmental, and cultural ties.
“You don’t want the child to lose that connection,” Marzouka said. “Because that is their world.”
To prevent family ties from being cut, even temporarily, Preventive Services strives to strengthen affected families through domestic monitoring, motivational interviews, parental training/retraining, and family team meetings — strategies designed to expedite foster care discharge or circumvent foster care altogether.
Adult Services supports people in need of supervision (PINS) with a goal of preserving adult dignity. Currently, there are 30 adult guardian cases overseen by DCFS, a number which continues to climb.
Obstacles to the continuity of certain services remain.
Funding is a constant challenge. For example, childcare programs, the eligibility for which now includes working- and middle-class families, may run dry by 2025 unless the state provides relief.
Caseworker shortages present yet another challenge. To this end, the state has eased civil service requirements for positions such as social workers and case managers via NY HELPS, a program which may or may not be temporary.
According to Dutchess County’s Human Resources Commissioner Steven Rector, while specific data on caseworker shortages hasn’t been made available to his department yet, he concurs with Marzouka, who conveyed staff retention concerns.
“[These] titles are considered challenging to recruit for [and] with higher than average turnover,” Rector said.
On a cloudy Wednesday at the start of October, my girlfriend, Taylor, and I decided to enjoy the autumn afternoon by getting off our laptops and into the woods for some much needed movement. Having just moved to Norfolk as a new reporter for the Lakeville Journal, I was on the hunt for panoramic views of the landscape I now call home, accessible with the hour and a half of daylight left to us. Haystack Tower it was.
I’m not entirely unfamiliar with the landscapes of the Northwest Corner: I visited family and friends in the region as a child and would drive up on high school joyrides from my home in Westchester County. But calling somewhere home brings new meaning to a place, and I was eager to see a familiar view with a new sense of belonging.
To extend the walk a bit, we chose the yellow trail loop, starting from the bottom of the road leading up the hill off North Street. Our journey began on a neatly mowed path through a gently sloping meadow, with stands of purple-white New England asters poking out from a mosaic of green and red leaves and grasses on either side of the trail.
Our trail took us into a forest sporting half-autumn colors: some maple stands blazed gold and orange while others remained dark green. The occasional fiery swamp maple glowed bright red below the overstory, catching the glints of sunlight that managed to penetrate the cloud layer and canopy.
As we trudged up the forested hillside, my field of vision was so washed in texture — a chaos of rocks, roots, bark, and leaves of every shade — that my eyes almost started to ache.
The trail plateaued after a short climb into a new type of forest: three-story oaks underscored with hickory saplings. With a new composition, the forest assumed a browner and yellower hue than that of the maple-dominated lower hillside.
We eventually reached the imposing stone tower at Haystack Mountain’s summit, and we quickly climbed the winding stairs to find what we came for: 360-degree views of forested hills folding over one another as they spread into the distance, interspersed by patches of valley farmland. A copse of orange maples framed Route 44 as it passed through Norfolk below. This was the beautiful patchwork landscape I am lucky to now call home.
A relaxed jaunt down a wide carriage road took us around the mountain’s northeastern flank as eastern hemlocks leaned overhead and clung to the steep slope below. Reaching the car with daylight to spare, we decided to prolong the outing with an evening pint.
At Norbrook Farm Brewery, we were asked if we wanted to join a game of jukebox bingo. It looked like fun, but we couldn’t get enough of the October evening air, so we headed outside instead to sit fireside on the patio. Settling into an Adirondack chair, I sipped the brewery’s brown ale (the “Beckley Furnace Ale”). It was malty and crisp, and certainly one of the better in the style I’ve had recently. Taylor is partial to seasonal beers and opted for their pumpkin ale, joyously titled the “Gourdo.” I’m usually not a fan of pumpkin-flavored anything, but I agreed that this was a nicely balanced beer and enjoyed the few sips I took.
As the light faded on the hills, we noted that the foliage across the fields looked to be nearly peaking in the soft glow of the evening. A chill settled in and I huddled closer to the fire, eager to lean into the swiftly changing season in my new home.
Chilly rain sprinkles did not keep area art lovers away from the opening of the Kent Art Association’s Fall Juried Art Show on Sunday, Oct. 13. Judges for the event were association members Liz Maynard and Conrad Levenson. The show will continue until Saturday, Nov. 2, during the association's open hours.
Kent artist and long-term resident Carolyn Millstein (above) paused for a photo next to her piece, “Near Oakdale."
