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

Democratic and Republican committees caucus for 2021 election

PINE PLAINS — With the 2021 General Election just a few months away, the Pine Plains Democratic and Republican committees organized their respective caucuses this summer to nominate candidates for office.

Among the positions up for election, local voters will have the opportunity to elect their town supervisor, town justice, town assessor, town clerk and two seats on the Pine Plains Town Board. The election is on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The town supervisor will serve a two-year term while all of the remaining positions are for four-year terms.

Democrats

The Pine Plains Democratic Committee held its caucus on Sunday afternoon, June 13, while the Pine Plains Republican Committee held its caucus on Monday evening, July 19. Both caucuses were held at the Pine Plains Lions Club Pavilion on Beach Road.

Because long-time and much-loved Town Clerk Judy Harpp had not announced her plans to retire after 30 years of service at the time of the June Democratic caucus, the Democrats did not nominate a candidate for that position. 

However, the Democratic Committee did nominate current town Supervisor Darrah Cloud to run for re-election. Having previously campaigned for town supervisor under the Independent party line, Cloud, a registered Democrat, has decided to run on the Democratic party line this year. 

The committee also nominated Diana Woolis, a registered Democrat, and current Councilman Matthew Zick, who is registered with No Official Party (NOP), to run for the two seats that will be open on the Town Board. 

It also cross-endorsed current Town Justice David Humeston, a Republican, to run for another term; and current Assessor Lynda Wisdo (NOP) to run for another term in the Assessors’ Office.

Republicans

Meanwhile, the Pine Plains Republican Committee nominated Brian Walsh for town supervisor; Zick and Robert Ambrose for the Town Board; Humeston for town justice; Wisdo for assessor; and Madelin Chase for town clerk. 

Like Wisdo and Zick, Chase is registered as NOP, while Humeston, Walsh and Ambrose are all registered Republicans.

Kaitlin Lyle

Latest News

Tri-Corner Real Estate - November 2026

Tri-Corner Real Estate - November 2026

Download directly

The Millerton News - October 29, 2026

The Millerton News - October 29, 2026

Download directly

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

D.H. Callahan

On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

As a member of the seventh generation of his family to master the art of pottery, Malikzada had done things the way his family had for over a century. Istalif, the village where his family has lived for generations, was known throughout Afghanistan for its pottery, with wares sent across the country for use as everyday cups, bowls, plates and other vessels. The pottery-making families of Istalif gathered clay from the same mountain, about 30 to 45 minutes away by donkey. Every July, they would head north toward the Uzbekistan border to gather ishkar, a plant they processed by hand to make their signature glazes.

Keep ReadingShow less
film
google preferred source

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

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.

L. Tomaino

When Meg Sher came to Falls Village in 2006 from Old Lyme, Connecticut, where she grew up, she never imagined she’d someday be the executive director of the David M. Hunt Library.

Although, in hindsight, perhaps it makes sense.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

Steve Potter

For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music’s 35th season opens with “Saluting the Clarinet” featuring clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Provided

For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

This year, Close Encounters celebrates its 35th season with “Celebration & Discovery,” a seven-concert series that opens Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

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