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The Millbrook girls varsity basketball squad put up a solid fight against Rondout in the first three quarters of the Wednesday, Feb. 19, game at Millbrook High School. The score was close until the last quarter when Rondout put up 18 points to win 37-23.
MILLBROOK — The Millbrook varsity girls basketball squad hosted Rondout High School Wednesday, Feb. 19, for the final home game of the regular basketball season.
The at-once competitive match ended in a Rondout blowout of 37-23 after the Rondout girls went on an impressive scoring run in the final quarter.
Millbrook held their own against the visiting squad for the first half, putting up 12 points against Roundout’s 14. Abby McEnroe, no. 1, and Makenna Freeswick, no. 5, led scoring for the Millbrook Blazers with 6 points each. McEnroe’s 6 points came from two three-pointers, one in the first quarter and the second in the third quarter.
Millbrook's Abby McEnroe, no. 1, put up six points to be one of the Blazers' top scorers for the night.Photo by Nathan Miller
At the end of the third quarter, the Blazers led Rondout 20-19, setting the stage for an epic battle in the final quarter.
Rondout met the challenge readily, nearly doubling their score in just eight minutes and denying much of Millbrook’s attempts at the net.
Donna Aakjar
CANAAN — Donna Aakjar passed away peacefully on Feb. 20, 2025 at Noble Horizons. Born on Dec. 14, 1941, at Geer Hospital in Canaan to Maybelle Voorhees and Louis Peder Aakjar, Donna’s life was a testament to education, service and a deep love of the arts.
She attended North Canaan Elementary School and the Housatonic Valley Regional high before graduating from Southern Connecticut State College. Donna began her career teaching fifth grade at Sharon CenterSchool. While teaching, she earned a master’s degree in Library Science and became the first librarian in the newly renovated basement library. Later, the library was relocated upstairs and, several yearsthereafter, was completely redesigned under her guidance.
After retirement, Donna continued to nurture her passion for reading by working in the children’s department at Oblong Books. Throughout her career, she touched countless lives, and in her later years, many came forward to express their gratitude and admiration for her contributions. She also served on the board of NCCC and was president of a chapter of the NEA. An avid lover of the arts, Donna’s legacy is further enriched by the joy she shared with others-so much so that for her epitaph she requested the words of a former student: “She read to us with such joy.”
Later in life, Donna became a devoted animal lover, cherishing her poodle Honey Bun and her cats Gracie and Rosie. She is survived by her sisters; Nancy Perry, Sheffield Massachusetts and Maryann Aakjar of Boston; her nieces, Donna Perry of San Antonio, Texas and Linda Snyder of Hiram, Georgia, and her grandniece, Madison Snyder of Powder Spring, Georgia.
A beloved sister and aunt, Donna was cherished by all her knew her. Our heartfelt thanks go to the staff at Geer Lodger-especially those on the Hillside Unit for their compassionate care. Memorial services will be held in the spring.
MILLERTON — On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Town of North East held a special meeting with Town Board members and Zoning Board of Appeals chair Edith Greenwood to discuss some definition adjustments on the drafted zoning amendments.
The board members went through a handful of the defined terms to be changed, added or fully eliminated. A few examples of changes that were made varied from swapping out the expression “maid” to “housekeeping” and deleting “sanitarium” and “sanatorium.”
“Senior housing is a general term, so that might be what we want to use,” said board member Chris Mayville. “Elder housing or assisted living, memory care facilities, those are all licensed, as opposed to senior housing.”
The goal of the drafted vocabulary for the new zoning amendments is to ensure the town will have clear and precise definitions to prevent future confusion. “I think this is progress,” town supervisor Chris Kennan said. “We are moving forward through different pieces of this.”
The more than 150 page draft the Zoning Review Committee proposed to the board is available to view on the Town of North East’s website under the committee’s tab.
The board briefly mentioned various ways future sidewalk issues may be addressed. “The Zoning Review Committee has given us language which requires that a new development on the Boulevard for a substantial renovation or expansion exceeding $250,000,” Kennan said. “Either of those would require putting in a sidewalk on that parcel.”
According to the board, it is not the most preferable method of sidewalk development as it relies on selling every parcel to avoid gaps. “There are other ways of getting sidewalks going. One of them is through getting the state involved, which would look like to state funding – or the town doing it’s the town taking on some part of that,” Kennan said. “That would be the quickest way to get it. A uniform sidewalk would look the same all the way out.”
Kennan mentioned the possibility of partnering with a business improvement district to finance and construct sidewalks.
Greenwood also raised the recommendation of having sidewalks on both sides of the street to promote safety for pedestrians in town. The town board may revisit this idea as sidewalk development plans continue to take shape.
Amenia weighs water district project
AMENIA — Well along in the process of planning for upgrades and repairs to the town’s water district infrastructure, the Town Board heard a report from the project engineers at its regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20.
A public hearing will be held on Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m. to hear comments on the Map, Plan and Report engineering phase. Following the public hearing, the Town Board will discuss the comments heard and could vote to approve the plan report that same night, clearing the way for grant funding applications to be submitted.
The engineering report is available for viewing on the Town of Amenia website.
Representing the project’s engineering firm, Delaware Engineering of Albany, were Tracey Ledder, Senior Environmental Scientist, and Kelsey Butera, Engineer.
Scope of the project was reviewed by Butera who described highlights of the work to be done, noting that the town’s water district has two water plants and 15 miles of water mains serving the district’s water customers. Daily water usage measures about 60,000 gallons.
The total projected cost for the upgrade is $3.9 million, to cover infrastructure upgrade and quality improvement, as outlined by Ledder.
Replacing the Lavelle Road pump house is estimated at $830,000. Storage tank rehabilitation will incur costs of $230,000 and $1.73 million, exterior and interior, respectively. Upgrading water mains and fire hydrants is estimated at $1.07 million.
Some funding sources have been identified as part of Delaware’s services, Ledder explained, and a new water usage rate structure would be devised for district customers, based on benefit, whether one-family residential or commercial usage.
Councilmember Rosanna Hamm asked about assistance with grant funding applications, learning that Delaware provides that help.
“This is a good time to seek funding for water projects, as opposed to wastewater projects,” Town Supervisor Leo Blackman said.
Hamm expressed her concern about the town’s aging infrastructure, including fire hydrants that suffer from low pressure.
Butera noted that most of the town’s fire hydrants are in good working order. Blackman added that valve replacement is included in the project scope, where necessary.
“I feel much better about the water system, now that it is being looked at in such detail,” Blackman said.
