Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Pine Plains Bomber Boosters to host ‘Music Bingo’ Jan. 18

PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains Bomber Boosters will be hosting a “Music Bingo” fundraiser at the Grove Restaurant at Red Hook Golf Course Saturday, Jan. 18, as part of a more robust fundraising strategy.

Booster club president Nina Osofsky said the success of last June’s golf tournament inspired the club to plan more community events.

“We had 123 participants in 100 degree weather,” Osofsky said of the Juneteenth golf tournament. “It was an amazing success.”
Strong community ties keep each of the seven active boosters club officers committed to the group, Osofsky said. All of them are moms with athlete students, but they do it for more than just their own kids.

Osofsky said the booster club started in a time when school budgets didn’t support basic equipment and transportation costs for athletics programs. Parents, mostly stay-at-home moms at the time, stepped up to source money so students could have sports. Now, she said, schools provide for the necessities for basic safety and facilities to practice and competition. So the booster club focuses on making sport more affordable for parents and providing opportunities for special trips and clinics.

The boosters sent the Pine Plains baseball and softball teams to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Spring training and they’re sending the basketball team to a cancer awareness tournament at Union College this December.

Among the big expenses are several “regular” things the booster club does for Pine Plains sports, Osofsky said. At every game the club staffs a concession stand with peppy students to cheer on their classmates. They also make snack bags for athletes embarking on long trips.

To help the boosters and Pine Plains athletes, Osofsky said parents don’t have to show up to every boosters club meeting. “Just take on the role of being a liaison and promoting your child’s sport,” Osofsky said. “And we always take donations.”

More information on the Bomber Boosters can be found on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ppbomberboosters.

Latest News

State denies Shepherd's Run solar farm

New York State's Office of Renewable Energy Siting denied an application from Chicago-based Hecate Energy LLC that would have resulted in a 42-megawatt solar farm across 700 acres in Craryville, a hamlet in the Town of Copake.

Photo by Nathan Miller

COPAKE — New York State denied Hecate Energy LLC’s application for a more than 700-acre solar project, pointing to two factors: floodplain and community protection issues, and identification of and protection of wetland resources in this rural hamlet.

Jason Zehr, interim executive director of the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, issued the decision on Wednesday, Oct. 14, five days before the clock was to run out for the state to approve or deny the Chicago-based company’s application.

Keep ReadingShow less

Lelah M. Somers

Lelah M. Somers

DOVER PLAINS — Lelah M. Somers, 97, a longtime Dover Plains, New York, resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, New York. Lelah was born on July 3, 1929, in Pawling, New York, to the late Byron and Lelah (Watts) Brill. Lelah grew up in Pawling and on Nov. 22, 1946, in Pleasant Valley, New York, she married James F. Somers, Sr. Mr. Somers passed away on Sept. 3, 1970. Lelah worked for New York State as a therapy aide for thirty-years and as a senior companion for New York State for thirty-two-years, with specific care provided to the mentally disabled.

She enjoyed taking care of the mentally disabled, was a wonderful mother to her four children, always putting her family first. She is survived by her son, James F. Somers, Jr. and his wife Donna of Dover Plains; two daughters, Doreen Monica of Wingdale, and Frances “Fran” Horton of Dover Plains, who was also her caregiver for many years; seven grandchildren, Debbie, Margie, Leah, Stephanie, Deirdra, Benji and Jimmy and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, and her step-son, Kenny Elliott. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelah was predeceased by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol “DeeDee” Maile and Gil Maile, her son-in-law, Stephen Monica, and her son-in-law, Benny Horton as well as her companion of over forty-years, Andrew “Mac” McAlravey and her siblings, Ferris Brill, Eleanor Barryann, Richard Brill, William Brill and Barney Brill.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

The art of getting into art school

The art of getting into art school

Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day returns to Poughkeepsie.

Provided

For a young artist considering college, the question isn’t simply whether the work is good enough. It’s which work to show, which school might be the right fit and even whether a creative life can lead to a sustainable career.

On Friday, Oct. 16, hundreds of aspiring artists will have the opportunity to explore those questions at Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day, presented by The Art Effect at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie.

Keep ReadingShow less
A colorful life together at Atelier Valla

Textile designer Justine Valla sits in her father’s chair, which she painted, alongside her husband, illustrator and muralist Victor Valla, in their Atelier Valla studio.

L. Tomaino
I lost the ability to paint after the accident. I struggled to paint again.
— Justine Valla

Husband and wife Victor and Justine Valla share a lavender and pink studio, Atelier Valla, across the driveway from their pink house, nestled into a hillside in Salisbury. The colors, said Justine, “were inspired by Monet’s house at Giverny.”

Creating art has been a lifelong pursuit for both.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Ruchman’s “Acquired Taste”

Filmmaker David Ruchman

Bleacher and Everard Photography

In a region known for its vibrant but geographically scattered arts community, discovering something new can require a little effort. The same might be said for finding a new place for an extraordinary meal. While the Northwest Corner, Berkshires and Hudson Valley have no shortage of creative talent, opportunities to experience it — whether on a stage, in a gallery or on a plate — aren’t always just around the corner.

In David Ruchman’s short film “Acquired Taste,” that challenge becomes the premise for an unlikely friendship between Nick, an aspiring young food critic living in an area with limited dining options, and a gruff New York City master chef.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.