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

Letters to the Editor - The Millerton News - 7-21-22

Save 10% on electricity, help Amenia earn $5K

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has given Amenia the green light to launch a Community Solar Campaign. 

The initiative is designed to help Amenia residents who get an electric bill from New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) save an average 10% on their monthly electric bill.

If you pay a NYSEG bill, you’re eligible to receive part of your electricity from a clean, renewable resource and save money in the process.  

There is no cost to subscribe or cancel and no solar panels to install.  

Once 10 residents sign up, Amenia will be on its way to qualify for a $5,000 grant from the New York State Department of Energy Conservation. This grant can be used to support future climate smart projects that Amenia can pursue. 

We hope more than 10 residents will take advantage of this opportunity. Spots will fill quickly.  

For more information on Community Solar, how it works and to sign up, go too Community Solar for Your Home — NYSERDA,https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/all-programs/ny-sun/solar-for-your-home/commu....

Please contact me at smantel@ameniany.gov to assist with this process. 

And please help Amenia qualify for the grant by letting us know once you’ve successfully signed up for a community solar program. One company is offering a gift card as an incentive.

Stacy Mantel

Conservation Advisory
Council member

Amenia

 

Ten Trees

A stand of ten trees mingle casually together

Congregating in a western corner overlook

Where a vast valley view unfolds and the Webutuck Creek

Winds its way south, then east, then south again.

Long summer sun filtrates into their peaceful domain

Splashing shadows and shimmerings of light

That pirouette on a pallet of charcoal grey, taupe, and teal brown barks.  

Bright green stalks hosting  orange  striped day lilies contrast those conservative hues,

As they frolic in the breeze near  the  top of the descending hillside.

A troubled locust, partially fallen and bent,

Propped up by another strong solid sibling,

Rubs branches with a slender maple,

Flanked by a twisty cherry that slightly mimics her curvy locust cousins.

She sunbathes her etched black and charcoal skin in generous patches of warm sunshine.

A rare, healthy ash, shoots up through this menagerie,

Complimenting a delicious deciduous bouquet of boughs and branches.

This roosting paradise is occasionally visited

By a dozen or so large black turkey vultures

Who swoop in  to rest and observe the  glorious Oblong Valley

From this sacred corner of the Berkshire Mountains.

— David Capellaro

July 2022 

 

Tender hearted beware

The latest email scam circulating in the area involves a supposedly internet-challenged friend asking tender-hearted people for help to send a $250 Amazon birthday gift card in the friend’s name to a young woman who is dying of cancer.  

They, of course, say they will reimburse you. 

It’s a great sob story — but please don’t fall for it! 

Instead, make sure to alert your real friend that they’ve been hacked.  

Carol Kneeland

Millerton

 

The NYSERDA link in the Stacy Mantel's letter above has been updated with the correct website address, as this newspaper mistakenly published the wrong address in the original version. We regret the error.

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

Lelah M. Somers

Lelah M. Somers

DOVER PLAINS — Lelah M. Somers, 97, a longtime Dover Plains, New York, resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, New York. Lelah was born on July 3, 1929, in Pawling, New York, to the late Byron and Lelah (Watts) Brill. Lelah grew up in Pawling and on Nov. 22, 1946, in Pleasant Valley, New York, she married James F. Somers, Sr. Mr. Somers passed away on Sept. 3, 1970. Lelah worked for New York State as a therapy aide for thirty-years and as a senior companion for New York State for thirty-two-years, with specific care provided to the mentally disabled.

She enjoyed taking care of the mentally disabled, was a wonderful mother to her four children, always putting her family first. She is survived by her son, James F. Somers, Jr. and his wife Donna of Dover Plains; two daughters, Doreen Monica of Wingdale, and Frances “Fran” Horton of Dover Plains, who was also her caregiver for many years; seven grandchildren, Debbie, Margie, Leah, Stephanie, Deirdra, Benji and Jimmy and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, and her step-son, Kenny Elliott. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelah was predeceased by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol “DeeDee” Maile and Gil Maile, her son-in-law, Stephen Monica, and her son-in-law, Benny Horton as well as her companion of over forty-years, Andrew “Mac” McAlravey and her siblings, Ferris Brill, Eleanor Barryann, Richard Brill, William Brill and Barney Brill.

Keep ReadingShow less

The art of getting into art school

The art of getting into art school

Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day returns to Poughkeepsie.

Provided

For a young artist considering college, the question isn’t simply whether the work is good enough. It’s which work to show, which school might be the right fit and even whether a creative life can lead to a sustainable career.

On Friday, Oct. 16, hundreds of aspiring artists will have the opportunity to explore those questions at Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day, presented by The Art Effect at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

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

A colorful life together at Atelier Valla

Textile designer Justine Valla sits in her father’s chair, which she painted, alongside her husband, illustrator and muralist Victor Valla, in their Atelier Valla studio.

L. Tomaino
I lost the ability to paint after the accident. I struggled to paint again.
— Justine Valla

Husband and wife Victor and Justine Valla share a lavender and pink studio, Atelier Valla, across the driveway from their pink house, nestled into a hillside in Salisbury. The colors, said Justine, “were inspired by Monet’s house at Giverny.”

Creating art has been a lifelong pursuit for both.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Ruchman’s “Acquired Taste”

Filmmaker David Ruchman

Bleacher and Everard Photography

In a region known for its vibrant but geographically scattered arts community, discovering something new can require a little effort. The same might be said for finding a new place for an extraordinary meal. While the Northwest Corner, Berkshires and Hudson Valley have no shortage of creative talent, opportunities to experience it — whether on a stage, in a gallery or on a plate — aren’t always just around the corner.

In David Ruchman’s short film “Acquired Taste,” that challenge becomes the premise for an unlikely friendship between Nick, an aspiring young food critic living in an area with limited dining options, and a gruff New York City master chef.

Keep ReadingShow less
A new home for the unexpected at Kent Fine Art

CAMERON (1922-1995) is on view at Kent Fine Art in Pine Plains through Nov. 14.

Provided

Where can one find the work of an artist associated with occult rituals, surrealist visions and the underground California art scene? In a beautifully renovated former carriage house in Pine Plains, of course.

Unexpected discoveries are, after all, part of what Doug Walla has spent his career making possible. The longtime New York City art dealer and founder of Kent Fine Art, has brought the work of Marjorie Cameron Parsons Kimmel, known simply as Cameron, to his new gallery space. The exhibition, on view through Nov. 14, introduces visitors to an artist whose life and work moved between mysticism, poetry, film and the avant-garde.

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.