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The Millbrook Library on Franklin Avenue is accepting personal care items for a drive until the end of January.
Photo by Nathan Miller
MILLBROOK — Throughout the month of January, the Millbrook Library is collecting personal care items as part of a donation drive sponsored by the United Way in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Service Week.
Among items suggested for donation are hair care products including shampoo and hairbrushes, soap, alcohol-free mouthwash, dental care products, women’s products, deodorant and shaving needs.
On Sunday, Jan. 26, the Millerton Fire Company will be hosting a pancake breakfast at the fire house on Century Boulevard in the Village of Millerton.
Photo by Krista A. Briggs
MILLERTON — On Sunday, Jan. 26, the Millerton Fire Company will be hosting a pancake breakfast at the firehouse. Breakfast will be served starting at 7 a.m. Guests can indulge in eggs made to order, home fries, bacon and sausage, toast and — of course — pancakes. Breakfast is served until 11 a.m., and tickets cost $12 for adults and $8 for seniors. Children 12 and under will dine for free.
Pancakes will be available in blueberry and chocolate varieties.
Becton Dickinson’s North Canaan plant opened in 1961 with eight employees and a 25,000 square foot facility. Today the operation employs more than 540 people and encompasses 385,000 square feet.
Provided
NORTH CANAAN — New production lines installed in 2024 at Becton, Dickinson and Company’s Connecticut and Nebraska plants are now pumping out critical medical devices — including syringes, needles and IV catheters — to meet the burgeoning needs of the nation’s health care system.
One syringe production line is already fully operational at the vaccine manufacturer’s 385,000 square foot North Canaan plant, with additional lines expected to start up in the coming months, the leading global medical technology company announced on Jan. 15.
The new production lines will boost BD’s capacity for safety-engineered injection devices by more than 40% and conventional syringes by more than 50%, adding millions of units annually to support hospital procedures, vaccinations, medication preparation and drug delivery to patients, company officials said.
The Connecticut plant manufactures small-size syringes and syringe and needle combination products. Operations take place around the clock and are sold in every region worldwide.
“Domestic manufacturing is crucial for ensuring a resilient supply of essential healthcare devices,” said Eric Borin, president of Medication Delivery Solutions at BD.
“By expanding our production capacity, we are not only meeting the critical needs of patients and providers, but we also are reinforcing our commitment to the nation’s health care infrastructure,” Borin said.
To support this production, the vaccine manufacturer has hired more than 215 full-time employees at its facilities in Nebraska and Connecticut, with more than 145 of those jobs based in North Canaan, boosting that plant’s employee roster to more than 540.
The North Canaan plant, which opened in 1961 with eight employees and a 25,000 square foot facility, is Northwest Connecticut’s largest employer.
In 2024, the company invested more than $10 million to expand its manufacturing capacity at its Connecticut and Nebraska facilities in response to quality issues with plastic syringes imported from China that were uncovered in late 2023 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In late November 2023, the FDA announced its probe into reports of leaks, breakages and other quality problems with China-made plastic syringes not cleared by the FDA, and in August 2024 recommended that healthcare providers “use syringes not manufactured in China, if possible.”
At that time, Fallon McLoughlin, director of public relations and corporate communications for the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based company, announced that production lines and production staff were being relocated to North Canaan from other BD plants as part of the expansion.
Becton, Dickinson and Company, which operates more than 30 manufacturing and distribution facilities around the country, announced plans last week to invest more than $30 million in 2025 to expand manufacturing capacity for IV lines at its plant in Utah. That facility, said officials, is the largest producer of IV catheter lines in the world.
The company’s Connecticut, Nebraska and Utah plants alone have collectively 200 years of experience in manufacturing critical medical devices, company officials said, and are the only remaining large-scale manufacturing sites in the country.
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Town clerk Tilly Strauss shows off the dogs of the Town of North East at her desk in North East Town Hall on Maple Avenue in Millerton.
Photo by Krista A. Briggs
MILLERTON — A stack of letters destined for the outgoing mail sat on Marcy Wheatley’s desk at Town Hall. Wheatley, the North East deputy town clerk, said the correspondence was related to pet licensing, which has been in decline in recent years, despite being a New York State requirement.
“Renewal numbers have gone down, down, down,” observed town clerk Elizabeth “Tilly” Strauss, who is currently undertaking a dog census in North East as part of a campaign that began on Jan. 1 to determine the number of canines in town and their licensing status. Strauss is a dog-lover who is mystified by the drop in the numbers of licenses issued in the Town of North East. According to Strauss, 407 pet licenses were issued in 2017. By the following year, the number had dropped to 331. The trend downward, which has not been attributed to any particular cause, has continued, and the number of current licenses is around 200 – less than half of what was issued eight years ago.
In New York State, pet licensing is a legal requirement, but there are very practical reasons for obtaining a license. In 1992, as infected animals presented themselves in the region, Dutchess County was designated as a rabies county. As a result and for everyone’s protection, all dogs and cats must receive a rabies vaccination.
Vaccination is a requirement for licensing, and the license serves as proof of a pet’s vaccination status. Licenses must be renewed annually and rabies vaccinations must remain up-to-date. According to the New York State Department of Health, a pet should receive its first vaccination by around four months of age with a second vaccination to follow a year later. Subsequent booster shots should take place either annually or every three years, depending on the type of vaccine administered.
Once the vaccine has been administered, a license can be issued to the pet owner. Ideally, licenses are issued to owners when a pet is four months old and renewed each year. In the Town of North East, license fees are $10 for spayed and neutered animals and $20 for those that are not. Strauss is strongly encouraging pet licensing as failure to do so may result in the issuance of court appearance tickets and fines for pet owners. Additionally, the town’s dog control officer will be conducting random checks to ensure compliance.
Applications and additional information on pet licensing can be found at Town Hall in Millerton. Renewal requests can be submitted online by going to: townofnortheastny.gov, clicking on “Forms,” and navigating to the “Dog License Application.”
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