Stissing Mountain grads urged to hone and hew to their beliefs

Stissing Mountain grads urged to hone and hew to their beliefs
Clockwise from left: Janine Mizgier, Bella Watz and Lilly Tagg celebrate their graduation from Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains on Saturday, June 24. 
Photo by Deborah Maier

PINE PLAINS —  Midmorning rain and the threat of more did nothing to dampen the spirits of graduates and attendees at Stissing Mountain High School’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 24. The school’s large auditorium was packed, with standing room at the back filled.

All stood for the processional, aided in its timing by personal messages spoken to each graduate by class advisor and special education teacher Carol Stracher, accompanied by band and choir renditions of traditional ceremonial tunes led by Erin Marlow and Alec Sisco, arranged with harmonies.

After a brief welcome by Principal Christopher Boyd, remarks by Pine Plains Central School District (PPCSD) Board of Education President Anne Arent began by recognizing a milestone in board history: the service of class of ‘23 President John Bopp III as a nonvoting student member.

Arent also noted that this particular class of 67 graduates had all been schooled together since their earliest days at Cold Spring Elementary, and are thus known to each other and to administrators as a cohesive group that served to unite the northern and southern portions of the Pine Plains district. Arent’s own youngest child received her diploma from her proudly emotional mom and Boyd as well as PPCSD Superintendent Brian Timm.

Addressing the class of ’23, Arent noted, “You are artists, engineers, volunteers,” and as she continued, lights went out on the assembled members onstage, as well as in the auditorium, when a standee at the back apparently leaned on a lightswitch. Arent handled it with aplomb and ended by urging students to “stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone.”

In his remarks, Timm noted a recent New York state award given to PPCSD for its “scholar athletes,” those who maintained at least a 90% score in their academics. He urged all the graduates not to fear failure but to embrace it as a means of learning how to be better.  Be great at what you pursue, he said, by first consistently being good.

Student essays by Sidney Neil Stracher and Autumn Rae Prezzano urged fellow graduates to keep the cohesiveness they have experienced as they venture out to the wider world, and to trust in themselves to achieve their dreams.  “Your life is your life; know it while you have it” and live it to the fullest, both essayists urged.

The awareness of the preciousness of each life was echoed in salutatorian Gina Marie Kirk’s request for a moment of silence for the passing of Noah Thompson, felt by his Pine Plains friends though he was to have graduated from Webutuck High School last week. Valedictorian Amanda Dillinger praised her classmates’ robust response to the community service requirements that showed their awareness and empathy for those less fortunate.

Diploma presentations elicited hoots and shouts of joy and encouragement from friends and family members, and the recessional was marked with fist bumps, hip bumps, and other brief duos as each pair of graduates found novel ways to mark their coming separation from their 13-year cocoon.

As rain held off for a time, graduates, friends and family members gathered in the school’s front courtyard.  The tossing of mortarboards had been forbidden, but many of those grad hats were collaged, painted and inscribed with wry or inspiring messages, each as unique as its graduate.

From left: Raegan Marie Smith and Arely Soria, both National Honor Society members and two of 14 graduates with the Seal of Biliteracy, with their personal caps at the Stissing Mountain High School graduation on Saturday, June 24. Soria’s cap translates to: ‘To my parents, who arrived with nothing and gave me everything.” Photo by Deborah Maier

From left: Raegan Marie Smith and Arely Soria, both National Honor Society members and two of 14 graduates with the Seal of Biliteracy, with their personal caps at the Stissing Mountain High School graduation on Saturday, June 24. Soria’s cap translates to: ‘To my parents, who arrived with nothing and gave me everything.” Photo by Deborah Maier

Latest News

Public debate on North East’s zoning rewrite to continue March 20
The Town of North East’s Boulevard District — a stretch of Route 44 between Millerton and the New York State border — is the town’s largest commercial zone. The proposed zoning rewrite would allow mixed-use buildings with residential apartments above ground-floor retail.
Photo by Aly Morrisey

MILLERTON — Town Board members voted last week to continue the public hearing on the town’s proposed zoning overhaul, setting a new date of Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m.

The North East Town Board also scheduled a special workshop for Tuesday, March 3, at 5 p.m. to review public comments and concerns raised during February hearings, including calls for clearer explanations of the new code’s intent and requests to expand permitted uses in commercial districts. Board members set those dates at their regular meeting Thursday, Feb. 12, which included a public hearing on the zoning rewrite along with routine department reports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former church building approved for multimedia academy

The former Presbyterian church on Main Street in Millerton will soon become the second location of Caffeine Academy, a multimedia education center originally founded in West Babylon, New York.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — The long-vacant Presbyterian church on Main Street is poised for a new life after the Millerton Planning Board granted approval to a new education business Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Caffeine Academy, founded by Alex That in West Babylon, New York, plans to transform the prominent building into a center for multimedia production training, offering instruction in digital music, video production and related arts.

Keep ReadingShow less

Be my Valentine

Be my Valentine
Photo by Leila Hawken

Ashlyn Price, 7, designs a festive Valentine’s crown with sticky hearts and pipe cleaners during a craft session at Amenia Town Hall on Saturday, Feb. 14. Children and parents created red-and-pink heart headpieces and other holiday crafts at the event, organized by the Amenia Recreation Commission. Recreation Leader Cassidy Howard said she was pleased with both the turnout and the enthusiasm.

google preferred source

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

Kathleen Rosier

Kathleen Rosier

CANAAN — Kathleen Rosier, 92, of Ashley Falls Massachusetts, passed away peacefully with her children at her bedside on Feb. 5, at Fairview Commons Nursing Home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Kathleen was born on Oct. 31,1933, in East Canaan to Carlton and Carrie Nott.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ronald Ray Dirck

Ronald Ray Dirck

SHARON — Ronald Ray Dirck, affectionately known as Ron, passed away peacefully with his family at his side on Jan. 17, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 85. Born on Jan. 31, 1940, in Sedalia, Missouri, Ron lived a life filled with warmth, laughter, and deep devotion to his family.

Ron shared an extraordinary 62-year marriage with his high school sweetheart and beloved wife, Jackie. Their enduring partnership was a shining example of living life to the fullest.

Keep ReadingShow less

Linda Lyles Goodyear

Linda Lyles Goodyear

CANAAN — Linda Lyles Goodyear was born in Bronxville, New York, on June 17, 1936, to Molly Gayer Lyles and James Adam Lyles. She died peacefully in her sleep on Feb. 4, 2026, of complications from dementia. As a child she spent her summers with her parents and sister, Sally, in Canaan at the family’s home along the Blackberry River that was built in 1751 by her relative, Isaac Lawrence. Linda met the love of her life, Charles (Charlie) W. Goodyear, during her Bennett College years, and after graduating they married on Aug. 4, 1956.

The two lived a busy life, raising three children and moving to 10 different states over the course of Charlie’s 43 year career with Exxon Mobil. Every two years Linda was setting up a new home, navigating new school systems with her kids and getting involved in volunteer activities.

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.