Seated together at the NECC Brunch on Sunday, July 20, were some of the village and town staff honored at this year’s North EastCommunity Center Brunch. Left to right Christopher Kennan, Town of North East Supervisor, standing; Lisa Cope, Village of Millerton Clerk; Lorna Sherman, Town of North East Budget Officer and MarcyWheatley, Town of North East Deputy Clerk.
MILLERTON — The North East Community Center’s 2025 Chef and Farmer’s Brunch was a sellout on a sweltering July 20 under white tents looking over the Village of Millerton.
With food supplied by local farmers and made by local chefs, volunteers served brunch to hundreds of supporters of the 35-year-old social services nonprofit that serves the North East corner of Dutchess County and the surrounding area.
Mayor of the Village of Millerton Jenn Najdek and Town of North East Supervisor Chris Kennan and their staff were celebrated as this year’s honorees and spoke about the partnership between the town, village and NECC.
Returning auctioneer CK Swett started off the fundraising with a live auction of two jars of locally made jam and a Hudson River Cruise with champagne and caviar from Pointy Snout.
The brunch is the NECC’s primary fundraiser and between the silent auction, the live auction and the paddle bidding, more than $450,000 was raised with donations ranging from $50,000 to $100.
MILLERTON — In the short time that Rev. Dr. Anna Crews Camphouse has called Sharon, Connecticut, “home,” she has taken on an abundance of leadership roles in the area in hopes to grow and connect the community and people of faith.
Camphouse has been in pastoral ministry for almost 25 years. “Up until here, I’ve done a lot of things,” she said. Now, she leads four Methodist churches in the area.
After learning that the Lakeville United Methodist Church was without a pastor, Camphouse told to the district superintendent that she was interested and open to consideration for appointment. It was then that she was asked to take on Lakeville, along with the Sharon church.
Six months later, a year and a half ago, Camphouse got the call that Millerton had lost their pastor. In the first two years of her appointment, Camphouse took to running three local churches.
The next year, this past December, Camphouse was called to the Canaan United Methodist Church, as their pastor was retiring. Along with her current placements at the four churches, Camphouse is also “the convener of the Ministerial Association for the whole northwest corner,” she said.
Camphouse succeeds in carrying the impressive responsibility of four churches through a mix of organization and devotion. “There’s the technicality of how you do worship services, that’s more the science,” Camphouse said. “Then there is the art of it, which is ‘where is God calling me in this moment and how do I empower all of these people to be the best they can be, to serve God in the community?’”
With a staggered and rotating schedule, Camphouse said, “I just try to get to as many things as I can as soon as I can.” She also hopes to build a strong and cooperative parish model. “There are certain things that only I can do as the pastor, but there’s other things that a lot of people can do, and so I’m trying to make it more manageable in that way.”
“For somebody who hasn’t been here very long, I’ve somehow gotten super connected and involved. I think that is both the joy and the challenge of small towns. When you come into them, you have an option to be involved or not be involved,” Camphouse said. Her main goal and calling is to “connect communities, whether they are my churches or people of faith in general, toward being heaven bringers,” she said, hoping to spread the qualities of love, peace, grace, gentleness, and patience.
Growing up in a rural community in Alabama and living in other similar settings, Camphouse has noticed differences in the rural life of her new home. “This is a place that is rural, but it has resources, education and creativity. It has a mix of people who are interesting and curious and have incredible backgrounds,” she said. “People have been really willing to engage with me, I’ve had really positive experiences.”
“Apple pies are fabulous here. They’re the best things ever,” Camphouse added to the list of positives.
She has also been keeping an eye out for attendance patterns in each of her churches. “I think slowly the word is getting out as I connect with people, and more people are coming in to visit or to try out different things,” she said. The church aims to envision ways to interact and strengthen community engagement.
“When people walk into my church, I want them to feel the unconditional love of God,” Camphouse emphasized. “That is my goal. When they leave, I want them to feel uplifted and empowered to do things to make a positive difference in the world around them.”
Camphouse is excited and hopeful, as the Methodist church is becoming more inclusive and eager to love, which she says will strengthen the Methodist movement as a whole. “We have been on a journey of learning how to love better and consequently becoming more inclusive of who gets to come to the table officially. Some of us have thought everybody belonged at the table in the first place.”
“I want to make it clear that everybody is welcome at our church,” she declared.
Camphouse urges the community as a whole to “be as spiritually whole and vibrant with as much goodness, love and joy as possible,” and to “come out of fear and into faith and empowerment.”
“We need every person to remember who they are and shine. That is my point,” Camphouse said. “And if you want to do that with us, you are more than welcome. But if not, know that we are praying for you and that we will come alongside you as we do good works together.”
Central Hudson has filed with the New York State Public Service Commission for a three-year rate increase to deliver electricity and in May 2025 the PSC Staff and Central Hudson reached an agreement which has been passed along to the commissioners for their approval as the final step in the “rate case.”
The complex pages-long proposal does not involve the actual cost of producing electricity, but the expense of the infrastructure to deliver it including maintaining the electricity grid, reading electric meters, billing customers, etc.
The projected increases over the next three years will increase the Basic Service Charge, a flat amount regardless of the amount of electricity used, by 21% from $21.50 currently to $26 in year three.
The Delivery Service Charge, which is the largest part of the delivery portion of the bill, is scheduled to increase 17% over the three-year period. On what Central Hudson deems average usage of 630 kilowatt-hours per month this would add approximately $8.00 to the average bill in year one — that’s before the cost of energy and other miscellaneous charges.
In a typical month these delivery charges make up over 50% of the total bill with the remainder calculated based on the market rate of the actual energy that Central Hudson or other companies may provide.
Central Hudson’s “Net Metering” plan for homes with solar panels still charges the Basic service charge and a Customer Benefit charge even if no electricity is consumed with no credit for extra energy pumped back into the grid.
Current basic service charges for Central Hudson customers compared to NYSEG, which supplies electricity to customers in the lower Hudson Valley including Amenia, are now 13% higher and delivery charges are 31% greater than NYSEG’s before the rate increase.
No one knows when or how the seven commissioners who are appointed by the governor will rule but public comment remains open until the end of the July. Anyone can post their views publicly and read other comments on the website maintained by the PSC: documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=24-E-0461.
Or you could write to your county legislator, State Senator Michelle Hinchey, Congressman Pat Ryan or Sue Serino, Dutchess County Executive. In a May press release Serino called the proposed rate increases, “Unfair, unbalanced, and out of step with reality.” Congressman Pat Ryan has called the increases “adding insult to injury.”
Opposition briefs filed with the PSC focus on affordability with nearly 16% of Central Hudson’s 315,000 residential customers already behind on utility payments — significantly higher than Con Edison or NYSEG customers according to Sarahana Shrestha, who represents Kingston in the New York State Assembly. Annual 4% salary increases for nonunion and management executives are also facing criticism.
The return on equity that Central Hudson anticipates to be 9% in order to preserve its bond rating has also been raised as a concern in public comments.
The entrance to the private Silo Ridge Field Club on Route 22 in Amenia.
AMENIA — The Housing Board has considered an application from Silo Ridge and issued its recommendation to the Planning Board at a regular meeting on Thursday, July 17, to require that workforce housing regulations are met.
Because Silo Ridge is seeking to amend its Master Development Plan through an application to the Planning Board, and because the Silo Ridge Development consists of more than 10 dwelling units, workforce housing requirements must be accommodated either through construction of designated workforce housing units or through payment of a fee to the town to substitute for those units. Administration of workforce housing requirements is the responsibility of the Housing Board.
The Housing Board voted 3-0 to approve its recommendation. Housing Board member Juan Torres recused because he serves on the board of Silo Ridge Ventures, and Housing Board member Mark Hussey, Silo Ridge employee, abstained because he felt that the number of units total of 220 was inaccurate as stated in the recommendation.
“We’re taking information given to us by the Planning Board engineer, stating 220 approved units in connection with an application to change the site plan, reducing the number of units from 13 townhouse units to 10 condominium units,” explained Housing Board chairman Charlie Miller.
“We need to base our recommendation on what the Planning Board gave us,” Miller added.
Reviewing the status of Certificates of Occupancy, Miller noted that 114 COs had been issued as of the end of April, and there have been two COs issued since for a total of 116. In addition, six building permits are active.
A workshop session with the Planning Board, requested by Silo Ventures Consultant Patrick O’Leary, has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, expected to provide clarity on the numbers of units completed and planned. The public hearing on the change from 13 townhouse units to ten condominium units will then continue at the Wednesday, Aug. 13, meeting of the Planning Board.
“We’re saying that they have already reached the 50%,” Miller said, referring to the point at which the workforce housing regulations come into effect.
“This board’s responsibility is to apply the law as it is,” Miller added.
