Meet school board write-in winner Chris LaBelle

Chris LaBelle will join the Millbrook Central School District Board of Education on July 1. Photo submitted
MILLBROOK — Chris LaBelle will be joining David Lavarnway on the Millbrook Central School District (MCSD) Board of Education (BOE) as one of its two newest members. Lavarnway was profiled in The Millerton News before the election; LaBelle was not, because she won as a write-in candidate, with 101 voters penning her name on their ballots.
Asked why she decided to run so late in the game, LaBelle stated that she had been attending more and more BOE meetings via Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic, and up until May 4, she thought there was only one vacancy. When she realized that both John Rudy and Claudia Heunis were leaving the BOE, she decided to throw her hat into the race, but by that time it was too late to file a formal petition.
Using mostly word of mouth and making an enormous amount of phone calls and follow-up calls, she launched a write-in campaign. As the board was seeking two new members and only had one candidate running, it’s a good thing she did. The result is that LaBelle is now one of two new members on the school board.
“I have devoted my life to positively impacting the lives of children and their families in my local community,” she said. “Serving on the Millbrook School District BOE seemed natural given the board’s needs, paired with my depth and breadth of experience in child development and special education. I look forward to serving as an advocate for families who are not able to advocate for themselves.”
A native of Florida, LaBelle majored in psychology in college, moving to Claremont, Calif., to earn her graduate degree. She worked in academia for several years, and admits there are times when she misses the academic life, although she also likes clinical work. She has stayed busy doing consulting work both privately and with schools in teacher training for youth, in grades pre-k up through young adulthood.
“In my field of expertise, decisions regarding treatment are required to be based on objectivity, be data driven and based on empirical research,” she said. “I believe I can aid the BOE in setting objective and measurable goals, as well as making educational decisions that are based on empirical research within the fields of psychology, child development, education and special education.”
LaBelle said that public service and volunteering run in her blood.
“I may be new to public office, but not to public service,” she said. “I am passionate about community service, especially involving children. I served as a PTO vice president from 2017 thru 2020. I currently serve as a trustee on the Millbrook Educational Foundation. I am a local Girl Scout Troop leader and a Faith Formation teacher at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church.”
Her husband, Jason Rowland, began working at the Fishkill IBM plant in 2011, when they moved to this area. They have two children in the MCSD, Daphne, 9, and Luke, who is 7.
Over the past year and a half, LaBelle has curtailed her consulting business, helping her children with their remote learning during the pandemic, adding to her knowledge of the school system in Millbrook.
On July 1, LaBelle begins her duties on the BOE; she’s anxious to get started and lend her expertise to the Millbrook district, joining a group that is passionate about always doing what’s best for local students. Her term runs through June 20, 2024.
Habitat for Humanity assisted in the construction and sale of this house at 14 Rudd Pond Road for $392,000.
MILLERTON — Official Dutchess County property transfers for the four months ending in May are fascinating from the sale of the former Presbyterian Church on Main Street for $420,000 to the $300,000 sale of 8.3 acres of the historic Perotti farm for $300,000 where major barn restoration is now underway.
Actively listed properties at the end of July include 14 parcels of land ranging in price from $60,000 for a five-acre lot to six parcels over a million dollars. 15 single family homes are on the market including an $11,750,000 estate on Moadock Road and four village homes for under $500,000.
Residential
14 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .64 acres sale recorded in March for $392,000 to Anthony M. Macagnone.
81 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .45 acres recorded in April for $360,300 to Sara Whitney Laser.
926 Smithfield Road — Historic house and barns on 8.31 acres sale recorded in May for $300,000 to Colonial House & Barn LLC.
5408 Route 22 — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 5.38 acres sale recorded in May for $465,000 to Erich McEnroe.
The former Presbyterian Church on Main Street in the Village of Millerton was purchased in May for $420,000 and then pained grey.Christine Bates
Commercial
1 Smith Court, Village of Millerton — Office building sale recorded in March for $825,000 to OneJohnStreet LLC.
58 Main Street, Village of Millerton — Sale of former church recorded in May for $420,000 to 58 Main Street LLC.
5546 Route 22 — Sale of former restaurant on 2 acres recorded in May for $70,000 to Haithem Oueslati Trustee.
Land
State Line Road (#789358) — Sale recorded of 20.82 acres of vacant residential land in March for $150,000 to Elliott Squared LLC.
148 Morse Hill — Sale recorded of 30.03 acres of vacant productive farm land in 5 parcels in March for $800,000 to Thorne Water LLC.
*Town of North East and Village of Millerton property transfers from March through May not previously reported as sales in The Millerton News are sourced from Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly reports for March through May. Details on property from Dutchess Parcel Access. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Mariah Orms and her horse Shanaclough Quality Clover tore through the water jumps.
AMENIA — Competitors and spectators endured through high heat, rain and a smoky haze for the 40th annual Millbrook Horse Trials at Coole Park.
Four hours of dressage on Thursday, July 24, opened up the competition that puts riders and their horses through a triathlon of equestrian sports. Cross country jumping began on Friday, followed by stadium jumping on Saturday.
Over the last 40 years, the Millbrook Horse Trials has built a reputation that draws athletes and visitors from great distances. Numbering among the competitors were riders at the highest level of the sport of evening, including Olympian Boyd Martin. Martin finished the weekend with a win in the advanced division after a clean run around the showjumping ring on the horse Miss LuLu Herself on Sunday.
That was during a light drizzle that hung in the air over the event grounds on Amenia-Bangall Road. The weekend started with high heat on Thursday and Friday and towering thunder clouds threatening rain for much of Friday afternoon. Partly cloudy skies made way for a smoky haze on Saturday that triggered an air quality alert for the region.
Volunteer parking monitor Alexander King didn’t let the erratic weather keep him down, and he said he didn’t see a drop in numbers either. “Yesterday we probably had, give or take, 300 to 400 people,” he said on Sunday, the final day of the competition.
King travelled from Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife to attend the event.