Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

‘Thrive’ newsletter goes live

The Fall 2023 issue of OFA’s quarterly THRIVE60+ newsletter is now available at www.dutchessny.gov/aging, and will soon be distributed throughout the county. You’ll find it at public libraries, and postal mail subscribers should see their copies arrive this month.

If you’re on the postal mailing list and your address has changed, please contact bjones@dutchessny.gov or call 845-486-2544. That’s also the contact information you can use if you’d like to have the newsletter emailed or can view it online rather than receive a physical copy.

Snowbirds who’ll be away from home during the winter months can also contact OFA to have deliveries suspended or changed to email.

2023 Summer Picnics a Success

The 2023 OFA Summer Picnic season is now complete, just like we drew it up. It was an adventure at times with a few picnics needing to be rescheduled because of unusually wet weather and even smoke from far-off wildfires in Canada. Still, thousands of Dutchess County older adults joined us for a nutritious lunch, live music with Bob Martinson, and plenty of useful information from area elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and other service providers. Our thanks to The Pines at Poughkeepsie, AccentCare and The Landing of Poughkeepsie for their support of the picnic program.

We’re already receiving inquiries about next year’s picnics, and we expect to have a schedule ready by April or May 2024.

Haven’t been to a picnic yet? There are 12 of them every summer, dedicated to every community in Dutchess County, held between Memorial Day and Labor Day, usually on Wednesdays. Each picnic serves between 200 and 500 older adults. You can get a look by checking out www.dutchessny.gov/OFApicnics.

MATH AND PHYSICS EXPLORATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

Many older adults may recall having “math anxiety” during their younger years; but even so, wouldn’t it be fun to help your grandchildren learn, love and enjoy math?

We may not have had the time to learn and practice math when we were younger, but there’s an opportunity to catch up. Math and Physics Exploration provides a course for older adults that will not only help them overcome anxieties but will also enable them to become exponentially better grandparents. You’ll learn why math works and how to use patterns to make math easier and faster to use. On a practical level, you may be able to help children who fell behind in mastering basic computational skills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After that, you’ll learn how to teach math to your own grandkids, and master math along with them. Dutchess County’s Dr. Irvin Miller is looking for volunteers to take the course and perhaps teach other children. Reach him by email at immiller1@juno.com.

 

Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, Todd N. Tancredi, director. Email him at ofa@dutchessny.gov.

Latest News

Crowds fill downtown Millerton for Fine Art Festival

Crowds went undeterred by scattered showers during the final day of Millerton’s Fine Art Festival on Sunday, Sept. 6.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Main Street turned into an open-air artisans’ market Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, for the Voice of Art’s Fine Art Festival, drawing crowds from across the tri-state region to downtown Millerton.

The Fine Art Festival drew artists from across New York and Connecticut, selling paintings, photographs, jewelry and other fine art goods. Artists had tents set up along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and in the front yard of the Millerton Inn on Main Street, providing two hubs for visitors to meet artists and shop.

Keep ReadingShow less
Muanjai Tea brings Thai tea staples to Millerton’s Main Street

A line of customers approaches the service window at Muanjai Tea in Millerton on Sunday, Sept. 6.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Muanjai Tea opened for business on Main Street for the first time last Saturday, Sept. 5.

Owners John Schildbach and Kanchisar Jaradhanaiphat plan to operate the Thai-inspired tea shop at 32 Main St. Thursday to Monday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The current menu offers classic Thai coffee and tea drinks that the owners say recreate Bangkok tea shop staples.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eddie Collins Park closed as construction ramps up

Temporary fencing blocks the entrance to Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The park is closed until July 31, 2027.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Village officials have closed Eddie Collins Memorial Park until July 31, 2027, as construction ramps up on multiple projects.

Two construction projects are currently underway at the park — a new pumphouse for the village’s second drinking well and a new public pool and poolhouse. The park closed on Aug. 31 and will remain entirely closed until construction is complete, Mayor Jenn Najdek said.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Amenia to hear public comment on proposed smoking ban

AMENIA — Town officials are seeking public comment on a proposed ban on smoking and vaping on town-owned property.
The Amenia Town Board will host its first public hearing on the proposed local law at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Town Hall on Route 22. Town Board members voted unanimously to move forward with the regulation in August.

The proposed law would prohibit smoking or vaping tobacco — as well as cannabis products — in town-owned parks and other public recreational areas. The ban would apply to Town Hall and its surrounding grounds and parking lots, the basketball court, Beekman Park, Fountain Square, the Mygatt, Leedsville and Bangall-Amenia Road cemeteries, and the town highway garage and salt shed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harlem Valley Rail Trail bridge placed over Route 22

A long-awaited bridge over Route 22 now connects the 25-mile Harlem Valley Rail Trail to a shorter section that runs through Copake into Hillsdale after crane operators dropped the structure into place in the final week of August.

Photo by Alec Linden

A long-awaited bridge over Route 22 now connects the 25-mile Harlem Valley Rail Trail to a shorter section that runs through Copake into Hillsdale after crane operators dropped the structure into place in the final week of August.

Historic Festival parade brings vintage cars, racing legends to Northwest Corner

Stilt walkers Cynthia Rauschert and Timothy J. Walsh wave vintage cars into downtown Falls Village during the Historic Festival Parade on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Photo by Madi Long

FALLS VILLAGE — Millerton resident Rob Cooper was among hundreds of spectators who turned out Thursday, Sept. 3, to watch more than 130 vintage cars parade through the Northwest Corner at the start of Lime Rock Park’s Historic Festival 44.
Cooper, a vintage-car enthusiast, called the annual parade and the festival that followed quintessential events for the region’s automobile community.

“It’s the most amazing parade,” Cooper said.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.