Porch Party for Save the Gazebo welcomes 52 guests

Porch Party for Save the Gazebo welcomes 52 guests
Center on left is Michelle Dell Valle, president of the Millbrook Rotary Club talking with Millbrook Trustee Vicky Contino at the home of Wayne and Joan Lempka of Millbrook during the 2023 Porch Party to save the Elm Drive Gazebo. 
Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe

MILLBROOK — At this year’s Porch Party for Save the Gazebo, four homes welcomed participants with drinks, canapes and desserts, sparking conversations, cementing friendships and inviting people to get to know each other to help a cause.

Save the Gazebo founder Ashley Lempka and others, along with the Millbrook Historical Society have been working to raise funds to preserve the Gazebo on Elm Drive, owned by the Millbrook Central School District, which has fallen into disrepair over the years. It is currently marked off-limits with orange tape.

Check-in began at 42 Merrit Ave., the home of Wayne and Joan Lempka, featuring Aperol Spritzes, and with prosciutto & melon, tomato, mozzarella and basil bites. From there, the invite was at 46 Maple Ave., the home of Kari and Tim Kapowski, for gazpacho, Mario’s Brick Oven Olive Breads and a choice of Gin con Limone, rose or Estrella. Maps were given out for the rest of the tour.

Christina Dimitriades and John Calahan, at 57 Maple Ave., welcomed guests with spanakopita, dolmades, tiropita, pita and tzatziki, and Greek wine. The final stop was a variety of finger desserts with coffee or tea at the home of Maureen and Earl Meyers, 56 Maple Ave. 

All of these houses have fragrant gardens, and the timing of between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. allowed for the temperature to have dropped a bit, making the air comfortable. Lempka reported that she had 52 reservations for this second year of Porch Party. The organization is still negotiating with the school system, which owns the gazebo but is hopeful that, by next spring, a solution will have been worked out. 

The Elm Drive Gazebo has both historical and sentimental significance to many from this area, and the effort to save it, by the Friends of the Gazebo under the Millbrook Historical Society, has been well-received. Initially the cost was estimated to be around $56,000, but with inflation, the cost has gone up.

Latest News

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

The borrowed Pine Plains cruiser parked on Main Street in front of the Millerton Inn during the Millerton Street Fair on Saturday, June 28.

Photo by Aly Morrissy

MILLERTON — After receiving substantial state grant funding in July 2024 and beginning to roll out new equipment that fall, the Millerton Police Department suffered a setback when the February fire at the Village Water and Highway Department building destroyed much of its newly acquired gear — including patrol vehicles outfitted with cutting-edge technology.

Thanks to full-value insurance coverage and swift support from the Town of Pine Plains — which loaned the department a vehicle — Millerton officers were able to remain active in the community. Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik said two custom-built, four-wheel-drive Ford Interceptor cruisers are now in production and are expected to arrive by the end of the summer.

Keep ReadingShow less

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Groundbreaking of the new pool planned for Eddie Collins Park has been delayed after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation intervened to determine the status of wetlands in the proposed building site.

Archive photo

MILLERTON — The long-awaited groundbreaking for a new community pool at Eddie Collins Memorial Park — once expected this past April — now faces significant delays with no definitive timeline in sight, Mayor Jenn Najdek said.

The primary setback stems from a still-pending permitting process, as the village awaits final approvals from the Dutchess County Board of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding septic placement and wetland buffers. A patch of wetlands on the site — roughly five feet by five feet, Najdek said — requires a protective buffer, which could range anywhere from 5 to 100 feet. That determination will dictate whether the current pool design needs to be altered or moved altogether.

Keep ReadingShow less

North East town records brought into the digital age

North East town records brought into the digital age

Chris Virtuoso reorganized parcel records in the North East Town Hall basement by parcel number during the process of scanning and digitizing the documents.

Photo by Grace DeMarco

MILLERTON — Within the walls of the two-story Victorian housing the North East Town Hall lies a room-full of town records dating back to the late 19th century. Stored in labeled cardboard boxes and protected by dehumidifiers, the records are in the process of being dated, organized, and scanned into categorized online programs.

As the Town Hall works to relocate to 5603 Route 22 at the former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, the consolidation and digitalization of records, as well as the disposal of those unneeded, is a time-sensitive project. Marcy Wheatley, the Deputy Town Clerk, emphasized their current heavy focus on organizing and scanning. “Now, when we move, we can get rid of a lot,” Wheatley stated.

Keep ReadingShow less

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Nora Garcia, 6, of Millerton, bottom right, gets a face painting treatment from Maddy Rowe, a Webutuck High School senior. Nora’s sister, Juliana, 8, top right, is decorated by Giana Kall, a Webutuck senior. The program was sponsored by the Webutuck PTA.

Photo by John Coston

Locals and visitors packed into downtown Millerton Saturday, June 28, for the first ever Millerton Street Fair hosted by the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and Townscape. Representatives from local nonprofits, businesses along Main Street, Bee Bee the Clown and face painters from Webutuck High School drew in crowds all afternoon.

Festivities officially opened at 10 a.m., and a steady stream of visitors soon followed. Volunteer firefighters hosted a bouncy castle, a duck pool, a “put out the fire” ring toss game, and the “touch a truck” event at the fire department’s garage.

Keep ReadingShow less