Letters to the Editor - The Millerton News - 5-25-23

Backing Jenn Najdek

I’ve always thought hat’s off to anybody willing to run for public office, having served myself, I am aware of the time and devotion these positions require. I know both candidates for Mayor and both candidates are good people, however, I must put my support behind the current Mayor Jenn Najdek.

Jenn is currently spearheading two of the largest projects this village has ever seen, a new handicap accessible community swimming pool and a waste water treatment infrastructure system. Jenn has both of these projects underway; she has developed contacts and built a rapport with state and federal politicians to help fund these projects, now is not the time to change Mayors.

Jenn needs our encouragement and support to see these long-needed projects through, another term makes perfect sense.

John Scutieri

Former Millerton Mayor

Millerton

 

Supporting Lisa Erdner

In the years that I have been on the Townscape board, Townscape has expanded from an organization which put up holiday decorations and did plantings in the Village to an organization which has participated in, and in some cases spearheaded, major civic projects.

When I joined Townscape in 2014 we had under $5,000 per year in donations, we now receive about $50,000 a year. In the last several years Townscape has raised money to pay for the engineering and maintenance of the Rail Trail composting toilets, we have assisted with the planning and fundraising for Eddie Collins Memorial Park and paid consultants to write grants for the Park.

We have also contributed substantially to the Village to pay for the engineering fees for the wastewater project. Recently, Townscape paid for the replacement of the trees on Main Street and for the installation of electrical outlets in each tree wells when the new sidewalks were installed.

I give this information about Townscape because I want to highlight the fact that Townscape has become an important force in our community and it is therefore important that our next president has the capacity and will to continue what it has taken years to build. Specifically, it is important the next president support the completion of the Eddie Collins Memorial Park and the wastewater project, two projects which will transform our community, the first to bring back a community pool and bathhouse, and the second to allow for economic growth and a grocery store.

Lisa Erdner supports both of these projects and she is an unusually well qualified person to take over the leadership of Townscape and to be a Village Trustee. Lisa has been an engaged Village citizen since she moved to Millerton. She attends most Village Board meetings to stay informed about local issues.

Since she has become a Townscape member, she has worked tirelessly to advance community projects. She is extremely organized, unfailingly discerning, and personable. Lisa will provide Townscape with the leadership it needs to continue to do its valuable community work and she will be the kind of forward Village trustee who will help bring to fruition our two important civic projects. I strongly encourage Village residents to vote for Lisa a Trustee on June 20th.

Jeanne Vanecko

Townscape, President

Millerton

 

Thank you, local EMS providers

In recognition of National Emergency Medical Services Week (May 21 – 27), I would like to celebrate the work carried out by our team of dedicated EMS practitioners and the crucial services they provide each day within our region.

In my role as EMS Coordinator at Sharon Hospital, I interact regularly with the EMS providers in the hospital’s service area. Many members of our local EMS Rescue Squads and Fire Department Ambulance Corps., volunteer their time and skills for the sake of others and to serve as a pillar of support in our community.

We thank them for everything they do to provide highest quality of prehospital care for patients, helping them reach Sharon Hospital and our neighboring healthcare facilities safely and quickly. Working together with our hospital-based staff, particularly those in the Emergency Department, our EMS teams and the Sharon Hospital staff provide life-saving care to patients in the Northwest Corner.

As a paramedic myself, I am proud to work alongside this team of professionals that each dedicate themselves to caring for others. Our EMS practitioners are often called upon during high-stress situations and are required to manage the care needs of the patients, while also ensuring families, loved ones, or witnesses are tended to as well.

This EMS Week, I kindly ask the members of our community to join me in honoring members of the EMS community who regularly go above and beyond the call of duty and treat each patient like family. As our frontline workers deliver these lifesaving services and care during a patients’ and families’ ultimate time of need, and often go unrecognized. Thank you for all that you do for our community!

David Jensen,

EMT-Paramedic

EMS Coordinator

Sharon Hospital

Sharon, Conn.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Fallen trees injure man, destroy fences at dog shelter

Two uprooted locust trees still lie in the yard in front of Animal Farm Foundation’s original kennels where they fell on a fence during a storm on Thursday, June 19.

Nathan Miller

AMENIA — Fallen trees, uprooted and splintered during a thunderstorm, injured a man, destroyed fences and damaged a dog kennel at the Animal Farm Foundation facilities in Bangall.

Isaias Nunez was cleaning along a road on the property with Marco Ortiz, another employee of the dog shelter, when the storm rolled in on the afternoon of Thursday, June 19.

Keep ReadingShow less
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit millertonnews.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less