PAWLING — Monday, Aug. 15, was a beautiful summer day, perfect for the 15th Annual Grace Golf and Dinner Benefit for Grace Church Millbrook. This year, the event was held at the Quaker Hill Country Club in Pawling.
Following a day of golf, croquet and other games (for more on the day’s athletic events, see Grace Church Millbrook deems 15th Annual Golf Outing a hit), the gala was held in the rustic clubhouse, full of historic mementos. With a gourmet dinner that included dishes such as a savory short rib gnocchi, salmon, chicken or a vegetarian selection, the meal was rounded out with a delectable strawberry shortcake. Music was provided by local musician Peter Muir — a crowd favorite. Capping off the event was the presentation of the Pillar of Grace Honorees.
The Pillar of Grace award went to John Byron, a 95-year-old Navy veteran who served in both World War II and Korea. He then spent 30 years serving in the NYC Police Department, retiring as a sergeant. Byron has been a supporting presence at Grace Church for many years. He shared a few stories about his life and his time serving the church.
The Community Builder award was presented to Kate Kerin and Innisfree Garden; Kerin is the garden’s landscape curator. Innisfree, recognized around the world as a top garden, has hosted the annual Blessing of Sacred Places ecumenical service for the past several years.
Kerin has worked with The Rev. Matthew Calkins and others in the community to gather people of all faiths together to pray in the garden, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The dinner also offered a raffle drawing, a 50/50 drawing and a silent auction, as the event was part fundraiser. Close to 60 donors contributed to the auction with special donations. Local businesses that donated included Adams Fairacre Farms, Orvis Sandanona and J.McLaughlin. Some not-so-local contributions came from Mystic Seaport, the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Paramount Theater.
Co-chairs for the golf and dinner event were Pamela Freeman and Linda Boissey.
“The tournament and dinner went fabulously,” said Freeman. “We had a beautiful sunny day and everyone had a good time. Our honorees John Byron and Innisfree Garden [Kate Kerin] received the accolades they so deserve and our family of parishioners gathered in thankfulness and with grace.”
All in all, 17 sponsors, a mass of devoted parishioners and many others helped make this year’s fundraiser a special time for everyone, said Freeman. The pleasant day, peppered with food and fun throughout, has and will continue to help fund many of the programs Grace Church offers to the community throughout the year.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
