MILLERTON — Shoppers will have an opportunity to find some special treasures at the 12th annual craft fair on the lawn of the NorthEast- Millerton Library 75 Main St., on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
All items have been handcrafted and donated by local artisans with proceeds going to support the library’s general fund. Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said: “We are fortunate to be supported through tax revenue, but we do have a deficit at the end of each year. The craft fair is one way we are able to fill the gap and provide services.”
While sending appreciation to all contributors, Leo-Jameson gave a special nod to perennial contributor Carol Loper, who has donated hundreds of knit and crochet items over the years.
This year, her contributions have again led the way, with yarn crafters offering everything from hand-worked warm head gear, mittens and sweaters to blankets, toys and gifts for pets.
Decorations for the upcoming holiday season add variety, with many having been created by members of the senior citizen friendship group, which meets Monday though Thursday at the Annex.
Finely crafted wooden toys and kitchen items from the skilled hands of retired shop teacher John Roccanova will give a small sneak preview of the wide variety of items he will be selling at the Irondale Schoolhouse in November. Items sold there will help him and his wife, Jean, continue to also support the needs of school children and other residents through Grow Against Poverty’s Kenya program, which they began aiding years ago.
Homemade jelly will be on sale, and residents are invited to drop off homemade baked goods any time Friday or Saturday morning.
The day will also include the annual all free homemade Cookie Cook-Off competition. Entries should be dropped off Friday or Saturday starting at 11 a.m. Shoppers will taste and vote for their favorites between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from the local merchant of their choice.
A highlight of the sale will be the raffle of items generously donated by Amenia Yoga, Demitasse, Designer Finds, The Farm Store at Willowbrook, Gilded Moon Framing, North Elm Home, Kiki Nail Salon, Oblong Books, Mane Street Salon, Millerton Service Center, Relief Chiropractic Wellness Center, Paley’s Farm Market, T-Shirt Farm, Studio 343, and Tree Fort Toys.
The sale, scheduled for the Memorial Garden in front of the library, will move to the Annex at 28 Century Blvd. in case of rain.
For more information including rules for the Cookie Cook-Off go to nemillertonlibrary.org or call 518-789-3340.
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.
