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William Searby Leicht
Nov 05, 2025
William Searby Leicht
William Searby Leicht
GREAT BARRINGTON — William (“Bill”) Searby Leicht passed away on Oct. 1, 2025, at the age of 89, surrounded by his loving family.
Bill’s life encompassed science, art, and Quaker activism. Born in Winona, Minnesota to Margaret and Robert Leicht, he attended the University of Chicago at the age of 16. After serving in the Army, he earned an MA in Fine Arts Education through Teachers College at Columbia University. Following an early career in neurochemistry, Bill taught ceramics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Hunter College, and Bronx Community College. He dedicated many years to sculpting, and in 1968 Audubon Artists awarded him a national medal of honor for one of his sculptures.
Bill’s passion for social activism took form during the Civil Rights Movement, when he heard Dr. Martin Luther King preach peaceful resistance at a church in Baltimore. The next day, King delivered his “Dream” speech at the Washington Monument. Bill, his wife, and his baby daughter joined the desegregation protest at Gwynn Oaks Amusement Park in Baltimore. He later supported the South Bronx community through his peacemaking work with the United Bronx Parents, The Phoenix School, and Logos. Bill participated in the evolution of the Ghetto Brothers as they changed from a street gang to community leaders and musical innovators during the early days of Hip-Hop. During those years he founded Urban Visions, a non-profit helping young people obtain arts industry apprenticeships and careers in graphic design.
He also became involved in the Alternatives to Violence Project, a program training ex-cons and prisoners in conflict resolution skills. Inspired by AVP, his decades-long practice of Aikido (a non-violent Japanese martial art), and Quaker principles, Bill created Aiki Workshops, a conflict resolution training technique he brought to schools and community groups. A passionate peacemaker, Bill remained an activist into his elder years, supporting peace-seeking groups around the U.S.A., Ecuador, Colombia, and Palestine.
After many years in New York City, Bill relocated to Ancramdale New York, and later, Great Barrington, Massachusettes.
Bill is survived by his children, Cara Marie Vera of Lynchburg, Virginia and Paul Leicht of New York City. Their mother, his former wife, Carol “Carrie” Leicht, passed away in 2009. He is also survived by his stepchildren Sarah Getz of Sharon and Kurt Gubrud of Canaan, whose mother and Bill’s wife, Winifred “Anne” Carriere, passed away in March 2025. Bill is also survived by his sister Morgan and his brother John.
His family wishes to thank the East Mountain House Hospice in Lakeville, where Bill spent his final days. Their compassionate, professional staff offered kind support not only for Bill, but also for his family and many devoted friends. Donations to East Mountain House in Bill’s honor would be warmly appreciated.
A memorial service will be held this spring at Bull’s Head - Oswego Friends Meeting House in Clinton Corners, New York, date TBA.
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People leaving the voting booth at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex expressed support for the library's budget increase. “I wanted to come out and support the library,” said Leslie Farhangi of North East, referencing a NorthEast-Millerton Library budget increase on the ballot. “It’s always heartwarming to see the community come out to vote, and the poll workers are great, I’m always grateful for them.”
Photo by Aly Morrissey
Democrats had a strong showing across northeast Dutchess County, with democratic candidates winning both seats in the Washington and Pine Plains Town Council races and an upset victory in the race to represent District 25 in the County Legislature.
Voters also overwhelmingly supported local libraries. Ballot questions to increase the budgets of the NorthEast-Millerton Library, Amenia Free Library, Pine Plains Free Library and Stanford Free Library all passed.
“I wanted to come out and support the library,” said Leslie Farhangi of North East, referencing a NorthEast-Millerton Library budget increase on the ballot. “It’s always heartwarming to see the community come out to vote, and the poll workers are great, I’m always grateful for them.”
Poll workers and voters said turnout was higher than usual early in the afternoon. In Amenia, 404 votes had been cast by 1:30 p.m. when The News checked in.
“I think it’s always important to vote,” said Ed Downey, President of the North East Historical Society. “At the town level, the races can be uncontested but it’s still important to vote. And there are certainly contested races at the county level. The library budget is very important. It looks like a good turnout. I was pleasantly surprised to see so much participation, especially this early.”
Here's a breakdown of the results:
North East
Incumbent Republican Chris Mayville and Democrat Rachele Grieco Cole will each serve a two-year term on the Town Council following uncontested races.
Katherine Johnson ran unopposed for re-election as Town Assessor and will serve an additional six-year term.
Casey McCabe also ran unopposed for re-election as Town Justice. She will serve a four-year term on the bench.
The proposition to increase the NorthEast-Millerton LIbrary's operating budget by $50,000 to a total of $225,000 passed with 587 yes votes and 169 no votes.
Amenia
Democrat Rosanna Hamm won the Town Supervisor race with 686 votes. Republican Terrence McCauley had 402 votes. Hamm currently serves on the Town Council as Deputy Supervisor.
Republican Nicole Ahearn with 574 votes and Democrat Walter Dietrich with 527 votes will serve two-year terms on the Amenia Town Council. Democrat Charlie Miller came in a close third with 525 votes and Republican Brad Rebillard trails the race with 464 votes.
Democrat Vicki Doyle will serve the remaining year of an unexpired term on the Town Council, winning 625 votes to beat Republican Jamie Deines's 446 votes.
Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner, Highway Superintendent Megan Chamberlin and Town Justice Christopher Klingner will all retain their seats after uncontested races.
The local proposal to increase the Amenia Free Library's operating budget by $20,000 passed with 690 yes votes and 394 no votes.
The local proposition to opt-in to retail cannabis sales failed with 515 yes votes and 560 no votes.
And the third local proposition to increase the term length of the Town Supervisor to four years failed with 446 yes votes and 631 no votes.
Washington
Republican Gary Ciferri will continue to serve as Town Supervisor following an uncontested election.
Democrats Maxine Verne and Susan Mancuso will each serve two-year terms on the Town Council following their victory over Republicans Nicholas Galente and Douglas Giles.
Theodore Briggs will serve on the Village of Millbrook Board of Trustees following an uncontested race.
Pine Plains
Incumbent Republican candidate Brian Walsh holds a narrow lead in the race for Town Supervisor with 423 votes to Democrat challenger Kevin Walsh's 414 votes. That's a margin of only nine votes. The New York State Election Law requires a recount for races with a margin of 20 votes or less.
Democrats Trevor Roush and Murphy Birdsall will each serve on the Town Council, winning 447 and 406 votes respectively to beat Republicans Robert Ambrose and David Prentice. Prentice trailed Birdsallby just 20 votes with 386 total.
The proposition to increase the Pine Plains Free Library's operating budget to $220,000 passed with 572 yes votes — a staggering 68.7% — and 261 no votes.
Stanford
Democrat Julia Descouteaux won the Town Supervisor seat with 798 votes. Republican Michael Roche claimed 575 votes.
Democrats Teddy Secor and Charlie Cunningham secured seats on the Town Council, beating Republican opponents Durga Taylor and Frank Marcin for two-year terms on the board.
Ritamary Bell will continue to serve as Town Clerk following an uncontested election. James Myers was also re-elected as Highway Superintendent — and Town Justice Dennis Smith will serve another term — after uncontested races.
The proposition to increase the Stanford Free Library's budget to $200,400 passed with 1,053 yes votes and 283 no votes.
County races
Incumbent Chris Drago, D-19, won his re-election bid to the Dutchess County Legislature. He accumulated 2,359 votes to Republican challenger Tonya Pulver's 1,584 votes. He will serve a second two-year term representing the towns of North East, Pine Plains, Stanford and Milan.
Democrat Eric Alexander won a slim upset victory against incumbent Republican Deirdre Houston in the race for the district 25 county legislature seat. Alexander leads with 1,746 votes — about 50.6% — to Houston's 1,705 votes — 49.4%. Alexander will serve a two-year term representing the towns of Amenia, Washington and southeast Pleasant Valley.
Democratic incumbent Dan Aymar-Blair is in the lead for the county comptroller race. Preliminary results from the Dutchess County Board of Elections show Aymar-Blair won 55% of the vote to defeat Republican challenger Will Truitt. Aymar-Blair won a total of 40,159 votes and Truitt secured 32,814 votes.
Democrat Kara Gerry is ahead in the county court judge race, marking an upset defeat of incumbent Republican Ned McLoughlin. Gerry leads with 56% of the vote — a total of 40,745 votes — to McLoughlin's 44% — a total of 32,047.
Tracy MacKenzie, who ran unopposed for Dutchess County Family Court Judge, will retain her seat. She's served on that bench since 2015 and will serve another 10 year term.
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AMENIA — The concept of “rewilding” the environment will be the focus of a discussion at Troutbeck in Amenia on Saturday, Nov. 8, featuring environmentalist Ben Goldsmith and Dr. Joshua R. Ginsberg, president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. The program begins at 3 p.m.
Admission is free, but registration is requested. Troutbeck encourages attendees to arrive early for lunch or stay afterward for dinner in its dining room.
Goldsmith, a prominent advocate for environmental restoration, views nature as a source of spiritual renewal. His work focuses on helping landscapes regain their natural balance and biodiversity through organic processes rather than human intervention.
He is involved with initiatives such as Nattergal, a British nature recovery company, and the Conservation Collective, a network of local environmental foundations.
Ginsberg, a conservation scientist and former senior vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Global Program, will join Goldsmith to explore the intersection of science, policy, and ethics in environmental restoration.
To learn more, visit www.troutbeck.com
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Water from the damaged pipe has bubbled up to the surface of Route 44 near Park Avenue in Millerton on Monday, Nov. 3. Water department crews are expected to repair the leak between 5 p.m. and midnight.
Photo by Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — Drivers passing through Millerton should expect delays on Main Street/Route 44 around Park Avenue as a Water Department crew works to repair a leak under the westbound lane.
Interim Superintendent of Public Works Joe Olenik said the work will begin around 5 p.m. tonight, Nov. 3, and he expects repairs to be finished by midnight. “There’s concrete under that, so it’s going to take a little longer,” Olenik said, pointing to a picture of the puddle that has accumulated on Route 44 because of the leak. “It’s not just blacktop and dirt.”
The crew will close one lane of traffic on Route 44 to complete the repair.
Residents and businesses in the area of Park Avenue and Main Street/Route 44 should expect water outages while the repair is being made.
Village officials sent out a notice of the repair work around noon today, Nov. 3.
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