PINE PLAINS — Rising to the challenge of producing an unforgettable night of talent from a distance, The Stissing Center successfully entertained the community with the Summer Variety Show virtual benefit on Saturday night, Aug. 29.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Brian Keeler, executive director of The Stissing Center (TSC), said they originally planned an entire series of events to be held inside before TSC was forced to close in response to the pandemic. After examining their options, he said it became clear that “going virtual and videoing performances inside the building was the way to go.”
Between The Chair Series and the Live! From The Stissing Center! series, Keeler said the performing arts center decided to forge a path forward that ultimately led to Saturday’s show.
“It soon became clear that the variety show format was the best way to present some of the talent that was supposed to appear at The Stissing Center,” he said, “and it was also a way to engage our board and the local community.”
Yet the TSC team had much to accomplish before it could get the variety show on the road, from gathering video footage of performances from across the country and filming inside the center in the midst of the pandemic to handling the editing, sound, lighting and other production details. By Saturday night, TSC invited viewers to witness a show that featured more than a dozen performances from artists across the U.S., from music and vocals to dances and spoken word presentations.
Starting at 5 p.m., the show was live-streamed to its website at www.thestissingcenter.org/variety2020. Playing host to the summer variety show, Emmy Award-winning actress Margo Martindale (“Justified,” “The Good Fight”) was delighted to welcome everyone to the show.
“This has been a difficult time for everyone, and The Stissing Center is no exception,” Martindale said. “However, they’ve changed course by going virtual.”
Kicking off the night with a spellbinding rendition of “My Favorite Things,” jazz harpist Edmar Castañeda and jazz harmonica artist Grégoire Maret transported their music as contralto Andrea Tierra provided the vocals. No matter their artistry, the performers held their audiences’ attention throughout the course of the night, delighting them with their talent.
“We were very proud of the amazing talent that appeared,” Keeler said. “We will be asking these people to come back to Pine Plains and perform for the public once we are allowed to open. It should be something that we all can look forward to.”
Between the performances, the show streamed well-wishes spoken by various board members and community members — all of whom spoke highly about TSC’s mission to positively impact the community “by partnering with arts, individuals and organizations to create meaningful programs, events and opportunities as a center for diversity, culture and civic life in a small town.”
All donations received from the Summer Variety Show will be matched dollar for dollar. The show itself can be viewed online at www.thestissingcenter.org/variety2020.
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.
