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Gabrielle Tessler, of Copake, writes on a large sheet of paper expressing her opposition to the project as speakers address more than 100 attendees at a community meeting Saturday, Jan. 10, at Copake’s Memorial Park Building.
Photo by John Coston
COPAKE — There was standing room only on Saturday, Jan. 10, when more than 100residents attended a community meeting to hear experts and ask questions about the proposed 42-megawatt Shepherd’s Run solar project that has been given draft approval by New York State.
The parking lot at the Copake Memorial Park Building was filled, and inside Sensible Solar for Rural New York and Arcadian Alliance, two citizen groups, presented a program that included speeches, Q&A, videos and workshop-like setups.
Speakers urged everyone to attend public hearings on the Hecate Energy LLC plan that are scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21, and Thursday, Jan. 22, in person at the Copake Town Hall, and in a virtual setting on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
There were representatives from local, state and county government on hand, including from State Sen. Michelle Hinchey’s, D-41, office. Hinchey has expressed concerns about the project. Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, D-106, plans to attend one of the in-person hearings. Sam Hodge, chair of the Columbia County Democratic Party and a potential primary challenger to Barrett, was also present, as were Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner and Copake Town Supervisor Richard Wolf.
“The vast majority of Copakians don’t want this project,” Wolf said as he began to talk, arguing that the local environment would be damaged, no permanent jobs would be created and the electricity generated would be transmitted downstate.
The state has overridden 16 of the town’s zoning regulations, he said.
“I encourage people to come to the hearings,” he said. “Make your opinions and voices heard.”
Wolf has been frustrated in dealing with the Chicago-based solar developer from the start and asserts that Hecate has “no interest in Copake.”
“I haven’t heard from anybody at Hecate in 20 months,” he said.
Lindsay LeBrecht, a Copake Lake resident, spoke as a member of a panel and questioned why prime farm land is being taken for this so-called solar farm. “It’s not a farm,” she said. “It’s an industrial site.”
One concern cited by the project’s opponents is the adjacency to Taconic Hills Central School in Craryville and the prospect of fire risk. William Murphy, a retired Battalion Chief with the New York City Fire Department, spoke about the fire threats, and said there isn’t enough fire-fighting capacity in the Craryville, Copake and Hillsdale area to adequately respond in the event of a fire. In New York in 2023, he said, there were three large solar facility fires. He also said they are increasing in number and often are unreported.
When he was asked by the school to develop an evacuation plan, he said he declined.
“No plan is fast enough to keep the students safe,” Murphy said.
Animal expert Nick Jacinto, who is based on Long Island and who brought two live owls and a falcon to the community meeting, expressed concern about probable breeding pairs of peregrine falcons and bald eagles that could be threatened by the project.
“Will solar panels become this generation’s DDT,” he said, in a reference to the pesticide that nearly devastated bald eagle populations in the U.S. in the 1960s.
Questions from attendees focused on ways to stop the project, such as banding together to raise funds that could be used to buy out the lease options on the land, or having the town bring a lawsuit. Supervisor Wolf said there is a contingency plan that could bring this into court, but he didn’t believe the lease options can be touched at this point.
There was a lot of community spirit to go around. After the two-hours elapsed, people clustered together to continue discussing the project that has been in the wind in the agricultural hamlet since 2017.
Vicki Sander, a member of Sensible Solar who helped organize the meeting, said she invited Hecate to come. But “I didn’t hear back.”
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Millerton’s North East Community Center was among 27 nonprofit organizations awarded funding through the 2026 Dutchess County Agency Partner Grant program, receiving $128,822 to support three programs. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County also received county funding, with four grants totaling $278,064.
In a statement shared with The News, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino said the NECC and CCE Dutchess County are “tremendous partners in the community, and Dutchess County is proud to support their work addressing priority community needs with funding through our Agency Partner Grants.”
The NECC grants will support the organization’s teen jobs program, food access initiatives and out-of-school-time programming.
“We are so grateful to Sue Serino and the Dutchess County Legislature for once again funding these important NECC programs,” said Christine Sergent, executive director of NECC. “The County’s support is important to our work in this rural community, where resources are limited.” Sergent added that the funding will help meet the increasing need in NECC’s service area.
NECC’s Teen Jobs program places youth ages 14 to 18 in paid internships with local businesses, with NECC covering wages while employers provide on-the-job training. Participating businesses have included Agway of Millerton, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Four Brothers Pizza, The Moviehouse, Oblong Books, Pine Plains Barber Shop, Rock Steady Farm and the Wassaic Project.
The organization’s after-school program serves students at Webutuck Elementary School, providing an environment focused on social-emotional learning, recreation, community service and crafts. During the summer, the Summer Enrichment Program offers day camp programming for children entering grades 1 through 6.
NECC’s food access efforts include a weekly food pantry and the Community Food Access Hub, which distributes fresh, culturally responsive food throughout northern Dutchess County in partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, TriCorner FEED and Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley. The organization also operates a “Food Futures” paid summer internship for teens.
Cornell Cooperative Extension’s funding will support four programs focused on youth development, environmental education, parenting education and support for relatives raising children.
“Dutchess County’s investment in Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County is an investment in people, families, and the future of our community,” said Jessica Canale, Interim Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. “These four grants allow us to reach youth, parents, caregivers, farmers and educators in meaningful, hands-on ways.”
The APG program is a competitive grant process run by the county Department of Planning & Development for local 501(c)(3) non-profits. For 2026, $1.5 million in grants have been awarded under the traditional APG program, with an additional $502,583 coming from the Department of Community & Family Services and the Department of Mental Health.
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Richard Charles Paddock
Jan 14, 2026
TACONIC — Richard Charles Paddock, 78, passed away Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.
He was born in Hartford on April 12, 1947 to the late Elizabeth M. Paddock (Trust) and the late Charles D. Paddock. He grew up in East Hartford but maintained a strong connection to the Taconic part of Salisbury where his paternal grandfather, Charlie Paddock, worked for Herbert and Orleana Scoville. The whole family enjoyed summers and weekends on a plot of land in Taconic gifted to Charlie by the Scovilles for his many years of service as a chauffeur.
Dick graduated from East Hartford High School in June of 1965 and went on to join the Class of 1969 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He graduated from MIT with a degree in Electrical Engineering and followed in his father’s footsteps by accepting a job with IBM in 1969. His career at IBM spanned 31 years and involved everything from supercomputers to single chip microcomputers.
He formally retired from IBM in 2000 but stayed on at IBM as a contract employee for the IBM Executive Briefing Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. His work at the briefing center ended in July 2002 and he finally had time to pursue other interests. Those interests included the iron industry of the Northwest Corner and the Central New England Railroad which passed through Taconic from 1871 until 1965.
Dick joined the Friends of Beckley Furnace in 2003 where he helped develop educational programs with the late Ed Kirby and designed and produced interpretive signs to explain the site to visitors, spending most summer Saturdays as a docent at the site. He also joined the Historical Society branch of the Salisbury Association where he assisted in the preparation of numerous books, the oral history and interpretive signs for the Salisbury area. He also served several terms as a Trustee for the Association. Other activities included teaching courses for the Taconic Learning Center and The Bard Lifetime Learning Center and being a frequent speaker in the area on various topics such as the railroads, the iron industry and the industrial heritage of the area.
He leaves behind his wife and best friend, Frances Paddock of Taconic, two stepchildren; David Rosell of Greenville, New York, his son, Sterling of Tivoli, New York; Alicia Rosell of Dalton, Georgia, her daughters, Mary Rosell and Paula Gordon, also of Dalton, and his very large family of in-laws and many friends.
There will be no funeral services at this time. Ryan Funeral Home, 255 Main St., Lakeville, is in care of arrangements.
If you would like to remember Dick, please contribute to Friends of Beckley Furnace, P.O. Box 383, East Canaan, CT 06024, or the Salisbury Association (https://salisburyassociation.org/ways-to-support/donate/)
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com
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In Appreciation: Richard Paddock
Jan 14, 2026
SALISBURY — Richard Paddock, a longtime Salisbury resident whose deep curiosity and generosity of spirit helped preserve and share the town’s history, died last week. He was 78.
Paddock was widely known as a gifted storyteller and local historian, equally comfortable leading bus tours, researching railroads or patiently helping others navigate new technology. His passion for learning — and for passing that knowledge along — made him a central figure in the Salisbury Association’s Historical Society and other preservation efforts throughout the Northwest Corner.
“He was an incredible storyteller,” said Salisbury Association Executive Assistant and Historian Lou Bucceri, who co-chaired the association’s historical society with Paddock. He remembered the bus tour of Twin Lakes that Paddock led that was so popular a second one had to be scheduled. He also was instrumental, along with Bill Morrill, in obtaining a Revolutionary War cannon for the association.
The Twin Lakes neighborhood was central to Paddock’s life, where he spent summers as a young boy. His family’s ties to the area stretched back generations. His grandfather, Charles Paddock, lost his wife and three of his four children during the influenza epidemic of 1917, leaving him to raise an 8-year-old son — Paddock’s father.
Charles Paddock later found work as a chauffeur for the family of Herbert Scoville Jr., who maintained a mansion in Taconic. Scoville, a trained scientist, spent years working for the CIA before serving with the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and became a tireless advocate for nuclear disarmament in the latter part of his life.
In a 2016 interview with Jean McMillen, who recorded more than 400 oral histories of Salisbury residents, Paddock reflected on the Scoville family’s generosity, noting that several longtime employees — including his grandfather — were granted an acre of land after 25 years of service.
“You hear a lot of stories about brutality between the householder and the employees. That is just not the way it was here with the Scoville family. I have done some research. I know several of the current generation of the Scoville family. I got interested in the family and they played a big role in my grandfather’s life and my father’s life and certainly I live now on that piece of land that they gave my grandfather, so they steered my life as well,” Paddock said.
Peter Wick, a longtime friend of Paddock, said their relationship began when they were both young boys — Paddock visiting his grandfather in Twin Lakes and Wick visiting his own family in the area. Both of their grandfathers worked for wealthy residents in Taconic.
Wick, now of Granby, called his friend “an inspiration. He was definitely one of my best friends. I think I need to ask Dick something and then realize he’s not there. He was so smart, especially when it came to technology.”
Paddock’s family lived winters in East Hartford and he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering. He spent his career at IBM, where he developed a deep interest in computers and became highly proficient in the field.
McMillen, who became close with Paddock and his wife, Fran, said he was so very helpful in teaching her how to use computers for her oral histories.
“He was so knowledgeable and gifted; he never made me feel dumb. He always showed kindness and generosity.” McMillen said.
She added that Paddock had wide-ranging interests, including history and railroads.
Paddock’s passion for history led him to become active in the Salisbury Association’s Historical Society, and, later, the Friends of Beckley Furnace. The East Canaan furnace produced iron ore back in the 1800s, bringing a flourishing industry to the Northwest Corner. In his oral history, Paddock explained the members decided to help the state make some use of the furnace, which it had purchased in 1945. Spearheaded by the late Ed Kirby and Fred Hall, the committee was able to get some money to stabilize the structure.
“They wanted to turn it into a real asset in the park system,” he told McMillan. “Times have not changed much; the state of Connecticut had the inclination but not the resources to really operate that. We formed a non-profit and a bunch of us old gray-haired guys take care of that site.”
For many years, Paddock and several others spent Saturday mornings at the site, interpreting its history for visitors and often surprising them by explaining that railroad car wheels were made from iron produced at the furnace.
“Think about the time frame between 1830 and 1900,” he said in the oral history. “Westward expansion is being carried out on top of wheels made in Connecticut. Certainly not exclusively, but the best wheels that went the farthest were made here in northwest Connecticut. This silly little town had a lot of impact on the development of the country.”
Christian Allyn joined the group as a young docent, working alongside the older volunteers on those Saturday mornings. He recalls many fond memories from that time, including a surprise visit from former First Lady Laura Bush in 2014 and selling iron ingot paperweights to visitors.
Allyn said he learned a great deal from the men “who would dive deep into both the business and personality sides of the iron industry. Those lessons were foundational in establishing my life in the Northwest hills.”
Railroads were another of Paddock’s passions. He was particularly interested in the long-gone Central New England line since, as a child, he discovered tracks that crossed a causeway at Twin Lakes. As he did with every subject of interest, he did extensive research on local trains and would present programs on the topic.
Bucceri echoed the sentiments of many: “If you didn’t know Dick, I’m sorry. I miss him so much.”
— Ruth Epstein
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