
Millbrook Mayor Rodney Brown resigned at a June Village Board meeting, effective July 31. He gave no reason for his decision to leave office just months before his term ends. Photo courtesy Village of Millbrook website
MILLBROOK — “I’m resigning.”
This surprise announcement came from Republican Mayor Rodney Brown at the end of a long — two hour and 57-minute — Village Board virtual meeting on Tuesday, June 9. He added that he would submit his official letter of resignation at the next meeting with a date effective as of Friday, July 31. Brown added that he was not giving any specific reason, and will not furnish any further information about his decision to step down from office just months before his term was set to end, aside from the fact that he had discussed it with his wife, Linda, and the rest of his family. He also noted that he will be on vacation the week prior to his official resignation date, but that he gave the board seven weeks’ notice.
“It’s been a pleasure,” he said. “We got a lot of stuff done.”
Looking back over Brown’s time as mayor, he accomplished much, including the painting of the water tower and the formation the Thorne Building Committee. Brown has also enhanced the Millbrook Police Department, adding more officers to the roster, and through the Village Board, updating both the department’s communications and equipment.
Having served as village treasure under former Mayor Laura Hurley before becoming mayor at the start of 2017, Brown’s financial acumen helped him create reserve funds for numerous budget items and allowed him to tighten the overall budget process. Under his direction, the village was able to enhance its software and computer training has brought Village Hall into the 21st century.
Brown formalized Village Board meetings, acknowledging doing so was not always to the pleasure of participants. He streamlined the meetings while asking that department heads report at the first meeting of each month; he also limited questions/remarks from the public to three minutes each.
Communications and technology are the things Brown will most likely be remembered for; he got the village of Millbrook its own cable channel, Channel 22. He requested grant money and raised donations for the technological equipment that has allowed the village to tape not only the official meetings, but also the show. “Kevin at 11,” with Village Trustee Kevin McGrane, which airs on Fridays at 11 a.m. and delivers business and village news. The cable channel has also allowed local houses of worship to televise their services during the COVID-19 pandemic while their buildings have been shut down to prevent the spread of the virus.
Brown mentioned that between being mayor, treasurer and before that a village trustee, he has spent the last seven years serving the village of Millbrook. He had announced previously that he was not going to run for re-election in November, but his resignation last month came as a surprise to most.
The next step for the Village Board will be to appoint an interim mayor, to serve the remainder of Brown’s term until the election. In November a new mayor will be elected, who will take office in January 2021.
To escape the cruelties of war, Katya finds solace in her imagination in “Sunflower Field”.
‘I can sum up the last year in three words: fear, love, hope,” said Oleksandr Hranyk, a Ukrainian school director in Kharkiv, in a February 2023 interview with the Associated Press. Fast forward to 2025, and not much has changed in his homeland. Even young children in Ukraine are echoing these same sentiments, as illustrated in two short films screened at The Moviehouse in Millerton on April 5, “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine” and “Sunflower Field.”
“Sunflower Field,” an animated short from Ukrainian filmmaker Polina Buchak, begins with a young girl, Katya, who embroiders as her world becomes unstitched with the progression of the war. To cope, Katya retreats into a vivid fantasy world, shielding herself from the brutal realities surrounding her life, all while desperately wanting her family to remain intact as she awaits a phone call from her father, one that may never come.
“Once Upon a Time in Ukraine,” a short documentary from directors Tetiana Khodakivska, Betsy West and Richard Blanshard, shares the stories of four children navigating war. Ivanna, a young girl in the Kherson region, reads from her a book as drawings of vegetables, which she has thoughtfully named, animatedly come to life on. As the film proceeds, Ivanna’s animated vegetables eventually go into defense mode against their Russian attackers.
Still from “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine” depicting a coffin designed for a child being lowered into the ground.Krista A. Briggs
Young Rusland from Moschun tells his story with an emotion not usually seen in school-age boys. He resides in a temporary home not far from his house, which was destroyed in a bombing. He speaks of time in the cellar, keeping busy canning food while his neighborhood was under attack. He misses his cat, Tima, another casualty of the conflict, and stays close to his dog throughout his time on camera while taking viewers on a tour of his neighbor’s former home, now a ruin from the devastation of the area. As Ruslan sadly observes, “It used to be a beauty.”
In Dnipro, eight year old Myroslava, likely a budding gymnast, is exhibiting her limberness. She speaks of formerly smooth roads in her hometown of Mariupol, which eventually caught fire. She explains, “Ukraine and Russia used to be friends until Russia got crazy.” Myroslava’s father has, in fact, perished in the conflict, but she remains in denial – or, as her mother explains, “She has gone into herself.” Myroslava finds comfort from multiple hugs from her mother, but continues to maintain her father is alive. “He will return,” she says. “He’s coming back.”
In Bucha, Maksym, 10, relates stories of explosions and bombings, as well as close encounters with missiles, which forced him and his family to evacuate. As with Myroslava, Maksym finds solace in his family, particularly his older brother. He can’t sleep in the dark and stays close to his favorite toy – a present from his mother. A pianist and a dancer, Maksym says, “I dream of peace so they don’t have to take up arms.”
Children are resilient, but the young people of Ukraine are clearly being tested to their emotional limits. When the internet cooperates, the children of war-torn Ukraine have, for the most part, been receiving educational instruction online for the past five years and despite their circumstances, are academically persevering with a strong academic focus on STEM and the arts.
But education, pets, toys and loving families are for those children who have not been killed since the war began. More than 2,000 young people have been injured or killed as a result of the conflict. Observed filmmaker Buchak, “We’re losing such a young generation now.”
The number of children who suffer from mental health challenges is much higher. Untold numbers of children are in need of psychological intervention. All of Ukraine’s children need to know the war is coming to an end, but until that day, they remain awake in a nightmare.
Anastasia Rab of Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit advocacy organization, fields questions from the audience alongside filmmaker Polina Buchak. Anastasia and Polina are both Ukrainian natives now living and working in the United States.Krista A. Briggs
After the films, a Q&A featured Buchak, Anastasia Rab, chief advancement officer at the nonprofit, Razom for Ukraine, and Joshua Zeman, whose vocal talents were featured in the documentary, “Cropsey.”
“What’s going on in Ukraine is a travesty and truly undemocratic,” said Zeman, who reminded the audience that their participation in viewing these films is a form of protest against the Russian invasion, most appropriate on a day marked by protests by the Hands Off movement in support of American democracy.
Rab, whose organization supports a physically, politically and economically secure Ukraine, noted the trauma in young Ukrainians whose existence and identities are under attack. “This war is about erasing Ukraine,” said Rab, who pointed out another atrocity of war – the kidnapping, trafficking and forced illegal adoptions of young Ukrainians by Russian forces. In some instances, the young victims are “deprogrammed” by Russian forces and forced to fight against their own country – a war crime.
Despite the atrocities of war and its terrible consequences, Polina Buchak, while grounded firmly in the awful realities of the ongoing battle, remained optimistic for change. “My hope is for a peaceful sky over Ukraine without the fear of being invaded.”
Sam Tanenhaus, when speaking about William F. Buckley, Jr., said he was drawn to the man by the size of his personality, generosity and great temperament. That observation was among the reasons that led Tanenhaus to spend nearly 20 years working on his book, “Buckley: The Life and Revolution That Changed America,” which is due out in June. Buckley and his family had deep roots in Sharon, living in the house called Great Elm on South Main Street, which was built in 1812 and bought by Buckley’s father in 1923.
The author will give a talk on “The Buckleys of Sharon” at the Sharon Historical Society on Saturday, April 12, at 11 a.m. following the group’s annual meeting. The book has details on the family’s life in Sharon, which will, no doubt, be of interest to local residents.
Buckley, who came from a family of 10 children, including his brother Sen. James Buckley and his sister Priscilla Buckley, who were familiar faces in Sharon during their lifetimes, was a well-known conservative writer and political commentator.
“He was a true intellectual,” Tanenhaus said during a recent phone interview. “He would even talk to his dogs in that way.”
Buckley’s name was synonymous with the conservative movement back in the middle of the last century. He was the founder of the National Review magazine in 1955 and host of the public affairs television program, “Firing Line” that ran from 1966 to 1999. The key aspect of Buckley’s conservatism was a push against the tide of liberalism, said Tanenhaus. “It was more a negative than positive movement. He lived as a conservative, being highly patriotic, family-oriented and practicing civility and order.”
Tanenhaus said Bill Buckley was the first political writer/thinker to understand political controversy was really cultural controversy. When he was waging a cultural war, the stakes were about such things as the communists winning and Jim Crow.”
Tanenhaus relates his subject’s relationship with a variety of individuals, including the explosive encounters he had with writer Gore Vidal. “There are indications he had a large capacity and never held a grudge. He didn’t disparage Vidal as a writer and didn’t say he was a bad person. Nowadays that approach is really uncommon.”
Buckley was always interested in other people’s lives, including such figures as Huey Newton of the Black Panthers and Jesse Jackson, of whom he was very fond.
Tanenhaus spends time in the book delving into Buckley’s personality, noting he could talk with anyone and was always interested in those he met. “He wanted to maintain friendships. He never wanted politics to supersede relationships. He was just such an exciting person to be with.”
What he couldn’t tolerate, said Tanenhaus, was being bored. He enjoyed being in the company of others and was a great listener; not so great a talker. He was a great publicist and promoter of ideas and arguments.
Often asked what Buckley would think of today’s political scene, Tanenhaus said he really couldn’t say, but he said he did have lots to say about Donald Trump back in the 1990s. “He might say different things now. He never did have him on ‘Firing Line.’” They had one friend in common; attorney Roy Cohn.
Tanenhaus revealed his political leanings do not mirror those of Buckley’s, but took on the project to see how the world thinks of him.
Janet Marlow recording Pet Acoustics.
Does your pet suffer from anxiety and stress? Musician, pet owner, and animal lover Janet Marlow may have sound solutions. With a background in classical music and a profound interest in the auditory world of animals, Marlow has dedicated her career to understanding how sound impacts emotional and physiological states in pets.
“I’ve always been deeply connected to music. It’s in my DNA as a fifth-generation musician. But it wasn’t until 1994, after moving from New York City to Connecticut, that I discovered how music could impact animals.” Marlow said, “I decided to live in Litchfield County because of the extraordinary beauty of nature that inspired so many compositions.” It was when Marlow adopted a black-and-white cat named Osborn that something remarkable happened. “Every time I played the guitar, Osborn would come to my side and relax. It was clear that the music was affecting him, and this sparked my curiosity,” she said. This sparked Marlow to start investigating how animals perceive sound and whether music could be used to improve their well-being.
Driven by these questions, Marlow began extensive research into animal hearing and their responses to sound. For three years, she immersed herself in veterinary medical literature and consulted with experts in animal hearing. By 1997, she had formulated the concept of species-specific music and learned that animals have different hearing ranges. Marlow then designed Pet Acoustics, music created specifically within the comfort ranges of dogs, cats, horses, and birds to promote calm and balanced behavior.
“The results were astonishing. I observed that by eliminating alert-triggering frequencies, animals became noticeably calmer,” Marlow said.
Marlow founded Pet Acoustics in 2009, which has since grown into a global leader in pet wellness for dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits and small animals. They have developed a range of products, including music compositions and speakers designed for pets. Today, Pet Acoustics has co-branding partnerships with Nestlé, Purina, Friskies, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Nationwide Pet Insurance.
“One of the biggest hurdles was convincing people that music could truly influence their pets’ well-being. Educating pet owners about the benefits of species-specific music took time and persistence. But through continuous research, product development, and dedication, we’ve built trust and established Pet Acoustics as a trailblazer in the field,” Marlow said.
Pet Acoustics offers a range of scientifically designed products aimed at enhancing pet wellness through sound. These include Bluetooth-enabled speakers, portable music devices, and species-specific soundtracks tailored to reduce stress and promote relaxation in dogs, cats, horses, and birds. Each product is developed using bioacoustic research to ensure compatibility with the unique auditory sensitivities of different animals.
Additionally, Pet Acoustics provides a specialized free pet hearing test, designed to assess an animal’s auditory range and responsiveness. This test ensures that soundscapes are optimally suited to each pet’s hearing profile, offering an effective and personalized approach to auditory wellness.
For more information, visit www.petacoustics.com