Honoring sacrifice
Photo by Kaitlin Lyle
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Repair cafés set for April 25 in Millerton, Millbrook
Millerton News
Apr 08, 2026
The NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex on Century Boulevard in the Village of Millerton.
Photo by Aly Morrissey
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to host a free repair café on Saturday, April 25, in the library’s annex on Century Boulevard.
Fixers will offer free repairs for small electronics, clothing and textiles, and minor bicycle repairs among other things such as lamps and knife sharpening.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Repairs are limited to two items per person. Five knives count as one item.
The Millbrook Library will also be hosting a repair café on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. That event coincides with Millbrook’s community-wide yard sale.
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North East Town Board adds extra meeting to monthly schedule
Nathan Miller
Apr 08, 2026
North East Town Hall on Maple Avenue in Millerton.
Photo by John Coston
MILLERTON — The North East Town Board will add a workshop meeting to its regular monthly schedule after members said an additional meeting could help advance projects more efficiently.
Councilwoman Rachele Grieco Cole first proposed holding two meetings per month at the board’s March meeting. The discussion was continued at a workshop meeting on Wednesday, April 1, with council members agreeing to regularly hold a workshop meeting on the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.
The additional meeting will provide time for discussion and planning, while the regular business meeting will continue on the second Thursday of each month. Council members supported the change, citing major projects and grant opportunities that would benefit from additional discussion.
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Rocking for a cause at Infinity Hall
Natalia Zukerman
Apr 08, 2026
Blues musician James Montgomery
Provided
When the Rock n’ Roll Circus rolls into Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk on Saturday, April 11, it will bring together an all-star lineup of musicians and a mission that reaches far beyond the stage.
Presented by Rockin’ 4 Vets, this concert will benefit the United Way of Northwest Connecticut’s “Stock the Shelves” program, which supports food pantries across the region. The United Way, part of a national network founded in the late 19th century, has long worked to mobilize communities in support of local health, education and financial stability initiatives, efforts that continue today through programs like Stock the Shelves, which helps ensure families have access to essential food resources.
It’s a dual mission that founder of Rockin’ 4 Vets Jim Tirabassi described simply: “We put on the show for a dual purpose — to make people happy and to support local causes.”
What began in 2015 as V is for Veterans has evolved into Rockin’ 4 Vets, a production company built around benefit concerts supporting veterans and community needs. Tirabassi, a former rock tour manager, said the work is less about music than mission. “I love building things and I love the idea of building these shows for a purpose.”
This year’s purpose has shifted a bit. “We are seeing that veterans and non-veterans have the same issues in terms of food access,” Tirabassi said. “So, we figured we’d make it a broad-based thing and do it for the food pantries throughout New England.”
The show itself promises to deliver on its “house party” promise with high-energy, high-octane rock and blues featuring Grammy-nominated guitarist Jon Butcher, former Epic Records artist Steve Gaspár and New England blues legend James Montgomery, along with a horn section and a rotating cast of accomplished players.
“It’s a bunch of people who actually like each other which is always a good starting point,” Montgomery said. “In the case of me and Jon Butcher, we’ve been playing together for something like 50 years.”
That chemistry extends beyond the stage. “We get together a few times a year and brush up,” Montgomery said. “We’ve been doing this long enough to understand how to put something together in sound check that’s actually gonna really gel.”
For Montgomery, who has performed with everyone from B.B. King to The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and James Brown, the spirit of the event is as important as the music. “We have a superstar lineup and then the added feature is we raise money to put food on the shelves.”
The collaboration has a long history. Montgomery was an early supporter of Tirabassi’s effort to assist veterans; an effort rooted in Tirabassi’s own service. “I was in the Army in the early ’70s,” Tirabassi said, adding that his organization now focuses on issues like PTSD, addiction and homelessness.
“I am a very fortunate person,” Tirabassi said. “My wife and I live fairly well and don’t have to worry about where our next meal’s coming from, but we were on a trip through New England last fall and we saw so many food banks with police directing traffic. People just trying to get some food. It was so bad and it broke both our hearts,” he continued. That moment of clarity became a driving force for this year’s show.
“What we’re trying to do is help society in general,” he said. “And when people come to the show, they’re part of that.”
Montgomery, a lifelong road warrior and harmonica player known for his work with artists from Muddy Waters to Gregg Allman, still lights up when talking about the energy of live performance and the connection it creates.
“It’s a really, really great place to play,” he said of Infinity Hall. “It feels really intimate when you play there.”
And in that intimate setting, the Rock n’ Roll Circus aims to do what it does best: bring people together through music while helping make sure more families have food on their tables.
Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at infinityhall.com.
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Robert Donald Stevens
Millerton News
Apr 08, 2026
MILLERTON — Robert Donald “Bob” Stevens, 63, a lifelong area resident died unexpectedly on Monday evening, March 30, 2026, at his home in Millerton, New York. Bob had a 40-year career with the Town of North East Highway Department where he currently served as the Town of North East Highway Superintendent for nearly two decades. One of Bob’s proudest accomplishments was seeing the completion of the new Town of North East Highway Department Facility on Route 22 in Millerton.
Born Dec. 20, 1962, in Sharon, he was the son of the late Kenneth W. and Roberta K. (Briggs) Stevens. Bob was a 1981 graduate ofWebutuck High School in Amenia, he also attended BOCES Technical School in Salt Point, New York, while enrolled at Webutuck. Bob served his community for many years as an active member of the Millerton Fire Company and was a longtime member of the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, Inc., where he always enjoyed attending highway training school in Lake Placid. Bob really enjoyed traversing the local roadways in Millerton in his iconic orange pick-up truck, and could often be seen at all hours of the day and night making sure that the main roads and side roads were in the best possible condition for his friends and neighbors. Bob loved the Town of North East and he will be dearly missed by those he served throughout his decades long career. In his spare time, he enjoyed texting with his son Robert, time on the Hudson River and rebuilding engines for many friends in his younger years.
Bob is survived by his son, Robert Donald Stevens, Jr., and his partner Elizabeth Gillett of Austin, Texas; his sister, Donna M. Archer of Rockledge, Pennsylvania; his nephew Josh Archer and his wife, Ashley Archer Monteiro of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; his aunt, Annette Shaffer; his uncle, Frederick G. Briggs and many good friends. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his aunt, June Briggs.
At Bob’s request there will be no calling hours. Private entombment in The Community Mausoleum will take place at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, 342 South Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY.
Special stories, reflections of Bob and condolence offerings can be sent to Bob’s son at Robert.Stevens.Jr@gmail.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the Millerton Fire Company, P.O. Box 733, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family or to plant a tree in Bob’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
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Lucille A. Mikesell
Millerton News
Apr 08, 2026
CANAAN — Lucille A. Mikesell passed away peacefully on April 3 with family at her home in Canaan Valley, Connecticut. She was 106.
Born on Sept. 5, 1919 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she was the daughter of William Harvey Cohea, of Mason, Illinois, and Lillian Amanda Williams of Morley, Iowa. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Cedar Rapids in 1937, and married her husband, Ralph J. Mikesell in 1938.
Lucille lived through over a century of dramatic change including a childhood interrupted by the Great Depression. During World War II she was employed at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids while her husband served in the Army Corp of Engineers in the South Pacific. Later she worked for and retired from American States Insurance Company as a claims specialist
Lucille was very active in volunteer work after her retirement. She was an original member of the R.S.V.P. Golden Warblers Chorus for 20 years in Cedar Rapids and volunteered at Truman Elementary, also in Cedar Rapids, for 14 years in the reading program.
With her lovely soprano voice she found great joy in singing. She participated in the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale and spent over 50 years as a devoted member of the Christ Church Presbyterian choir in Cedar Rapids. At the spry age of 95, when she moved to live with her daughter, Lillie Mikesell in Canaan Valley, she joined the St. John’s Episcopal Church choir in Salisbury where her daughter was Music Director.
Her lifelong love affair with all things Iowa included a deep engagement with Iowa sports. Even after her move to Connecticut she avidly followed all the Iowa teams.
Lucille’s living family members include her daughter, Lillie and spouse Karen Byers of Canaan Valley, grandsons Blake Mikesell of Lincoln, Nebraska, Jeffrey David Mikesell of Boulder City, Nevada, granddaughters Suzi Wojciechowski of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nicole Pollock (Marc) of Amana, Iowa, and great granddaughters, Ellah Mikesell of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Hailey Pollock of Amana, Iowa.
She was predeceased by her husband, Ralph J. Mikesell of Council Bluffs, Iowa, her son, Jonathan David Mikesell, also of Cedar Rapids, and her beloved little brother, William Harvey Cohea, Jr., late of Columcille in Bangor, Pennsylvania.
The family thanks Sally Strano, CNA and longtime friend Teri Miller for their unflagging friendship and support of Lucille, and Eilene Rydel, R.N. for her gentle home hospice care.
Memorial donations can be made in her name to a favorite place: The Douglas Library, 108 Main Street, North Canaan. CT, 06018.
A private service will be held.
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