In her March 11 address to county residents, the focus was on the fiscal health and wellbeing of Dutchess, but some officials felt county executive Sue Serino missed the mark by avoiding such topics as funding cuts and other concerns.
HOPEWELL JUNCTION — On Tuesday, March 11, Republican county executive Sue Serino took to the stage at John Jay High School to deliver commentary on Dutchess in her State of the County address.
The evening began with a welcome by Wappingers Central School District superintendent Dwight Bonk and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance led by Dutchess County sheriff Kirk Imperati. Ava Dvorak, a senior at John Jay, offered her rendition of the national anthem followed by an invocation from Reverend Dr. Edward L. Hunt of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. The Evergreen Chapter of Sweet Adeline’s International performed “God Bless the USA (Proud to be an American)” with the Roy C. Ketcham High School Step Team closing out the pre-speech segment of the evening with their “Formation” demonstration.
Sophia Puglia, a John Jay junior, then introduced the county executive whom she described as “a role model for women.” Serino then began her presentation, “The Lives We Touch,” by thanking her family, colleagues and those assembled. She pinpointed Dutchess residents as her focus, saying “Tonight is about more than policies and programs. It is about people. Because — at the heart of every decision we make, every dollar we invest, and every initiative we launch — there is a life we are striving to improve.”
Serino’s speech highlighted the expansion of county undertakings for seniors, youths and veterans as well as initiatives in public safety, emergency medical and mental health services, agriculture, housing and childcare. Hoarding, crime and scams impacting seniors were also topics of discussion during her address.She noted the reorganization of the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, which has been separated into health, mental health, and veterans’ affairs — an approach which Serino believes has enabled these departments to serve residents in a more productive fashion.
Serino pointed out the county’s Silver Certification from the state via its New York Climate Smart Communities program, and emphasized its position of fiscal strength with its AA+ bond rating status as confirmed by Standard and Poors — the highest rating for any county in New York State.Additionally, Serino noted transit ridership is up with over 880,000 Dutchess residents utilizing public transport services.
She maintained that strategic planning and conservative economics have benefitted Dutchess homeowners and county employees.“I’m so proud that our 2025 budget continues the tradition of fiscal responsibility, cutting the property tax rate for the 10th year while ensuring that there were zero layoffs within county government,” Serino said, pointing out that the county will continue to actively monitor its spending while continuing to steadily grow initiatives.
Serino said she is prioritizing programs to benefit the 55-plus set. She shared the news of the creation of the OFA Ambassador title, a role expected to connect seniors and their families with programs and services offered by the Office for the Aging. “It’s so important that they have the support they need to stay active, connected, and live the lives they deserve,” said Serino, who also announced the Older Adult Skills Fair which will enable older workers to keep their skills sharp and remain connected to their communities.
Enriching the lives of veterans is another area Serino is tackling with the April launch of the first “Honor-A-Veteran” ceremony in recognition of Vietnam veteran and First Lieutenant Andrew Doro. She reminded the audience of Veterans One-Stop, which connects former military members to services and benefits such as housing guidance, healthcare options or financial assistance. Serino also announced another new title — a Veterans Outreach role, which will serve as information provider to veterans in need of guidance for supports they may need. Additionally, a transportation initiative, “Go Go Veterans,” has been launched, which provides vets with transport to appointments and gatherings.
More specifically to Northeastern Dutchess, Serino spoke of housing initiatives, pointing out the Habitat for Humanity dwelling recently erected in the Town of North East. At press time, the dwelling remained empty, pending necessary revisions to the property which will enable the owners, the Macagnone family, to finally occupy the premises. Serino also spoke of the need to grow locally owned business, saying, “Our small businesses are the heart of our local economy, and we’ve recently launched our Small Business Roundtables to provide a space for business owners to connect, share challenges, and access resources to help them grow and succeed. Our first two roundtables, in the Village of Millerton and the Arlington Business District, were huge successes.”
One item of discussion undoubtedly of interest to residents of Northeastern Dutchess was EMS services. Extended ambulance service wait times and coverage gaps have long been an issue throughout the region which lacks a hospital. Serino touted the implementation of supplemental EMS coverage, but then segued into a discussion regarding EMS needs related to senior citizen accidents without returning to the topic at hand.
North East town supervisor Chris Kennan, who was in the audience, felt the issue should have been further addressed. “While I was interested to hear what the county executive had to say on a number of subjects, my main interest in being there was to speak with her about EMS services in the Town of North East,” Kennan said. “We probably pay more on a per capita basis for EMS services than any other town in the County... The town is committed to making sure our residents have access to emergency medical services, but it is also my job to look for a less costly way to do it.We need the county’s help on this.”
Throughout the evening, Serino remained upbeat, an approach which, while accentuating the positive, may not necessarily address the fiscal worries of Dutchess residents. While Republican politicos in the audience supported Serino throughout the evening, some Democratic officials had a different take. “The county executive’s address struck an optimistic tone but felt out of touch, given the struggles many Dutchess County residents face, especially as federal funding cuts have started to hit our community,” observed Chris Drago, D-19. “Nearly $3 million in funding has been cut or frozen at Rock Steady Farm in North East, $600,000 at Ronnybrook Farm in Pine Plains and the Cary Institute in Millbrook has already faced layoffs. We’ve heard of individual agricultural grants disappearing, hurting local businesses, workers, and our broader economy … These cuts are happening now, and we need leadership that will fight for our fair share.”
In a March 12 email to the News, county comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair conveyed his own concerns that greater advocacy and more action on behalf of the county executive is needed. “I appreciate that Sue focused on the people we serve. It reflects what I’ve come to know of her,” said Aymar-Blair. “In my conversations with people, non-profits, and businesses, I do not hear a sentiment of hope that was the theme of the speech. There is anxiety everywhere about federal funding being cut off, and what lower federal spending will mean for our local economy. We are heading into choppy waters and people are always asking me, ‘What’s the plan if we lose grants? What’s the plan if sales tax revenue drops off?’”
Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.
In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.
Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”
Houston has shared the stage with stars ranging from Barbra Streisand to Motown great Mary Wells. “I have had the honor of portraying Elizabeth Freeman for three years in “Meet Elizabeth Freeman” by Teresa Miller. Our first reading of “1781” is in celebration of Juneteenth, which is wonderfully symbolic and poignant.” Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery. Two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, word of their freedom finally reached slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865.
Tombstone of Elizabeth Freeman in the “Sedgewick Pie” family burial ground in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Lonnie carter
MumBet, born in 1742 to African enslaved parents, was purchased at age six months by Colonel John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, for whom she worked until her thirties. Ashley helped write the 1773 Sheffield Declaration which stated, “Mankind in a state of nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty and property.” Rumor has it that MumBet overheard a reading of the document. After a traumatic household experience, MumBet left the Ashley home in Bartholomew’s Cobble, walked four miles to Sheffield, and asked attorney and abolitionist Theodore Sedgwick to help her gain her freedom.
Houston shared, “I live in Sheffield near where she was enslaved, in a house she would have passed on her walk from Ashley Falls to Sheffield. I am humbled by the fortitude and inner strength it must have taken for this woman to defy norms and take a stand for her own freedom.We Americans must still stand and fight for our rights to live free.”
Elizabeth Freeman spent her years as a free woman working for wages in the Sedgewick household, saving money to buy her own home in Stockbridge, where she was a midwife and healer. She died in 1829 and is buried in “Sedgewick Pie,” the family burial plot in Stockbridge. One of her great-grandchildren, W.E.B. DuBois, born in Great Barrington, was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. DuBois founded the NAACP.
Her tombstone reads: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper, and the tenderest friend. Good mother, farewell.”
The performance of “1781” will take place Thursday, June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main (103 Main St., Falls Village).Admission is free, donations gratefully accepted.
The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.
Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.
The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.
“When Susan and Gerald brought this to me, I immediately saw it as a chance for my students to make something meaningful and lasting,” said Martinelli. “It wasn’t just about painting a wall, it was about teaching kids to serve their community through their art.”
Martinelli introduced the project as an after-school club for grades four through eight. “I wanted students who were truly committed,” she explained. Interest was so high that she had to divide participants into rotating grade-level groups, with occasional full-team days for collaboration. The mural became a long-term endeavor, stretching across a school year and a half.
The painting was created on canvas, a nearly 4’ x 27’ roll, donated by Incandela. The paint came courtesy of school principal Ed Goad. With materials secured, the students dove into research, studying maps, landmarks, and city history to inform their designs. “They worked to capture the spirit of Torrington,” Martinelli said. “But also, to match the whimsy of a candy shop.”
The result is a mural that features a playful “candyland” version of the city, where important buildings and landmarks are sized according to their importance to both the client and the community. “They created this hierarchy of bubbles and buildings, this joyful visual story,” Martinelli said. “It’s full of life.”
Beyond art skills, Martinelli witnessed her students develop qualities often harder to teach: teamwork, communication, resilience. “They learned to scale up sketches, mix large batches of paint for consistency, and adapt their work when it overlapped with someone else’s. They really respected each other’s contributions.”
The project also reflected the Academy’s Catholic STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math) approach to education. “This was STREAM in action,” Martinelli explained. “They used technology to scale and transfer designs, applied math for proportions and spacing, and worked collaboratively to problem-solve. But they also lived their faith — through service, solidarity, and joy.”
Martinelli believes the mural speaks as much to the process as it does to the final product. “Some of the kids who worked on it have already graduated, but they’re coming back for the unveiling. That says something.”
The unveiling of the mural will take place at The Nutmeg Fudge Company on June 11, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., where families, friends, and community members are invited to celebrate the students’ achievement.
Asked what stood out most from the experience, Martinelli said, “For me, the most rewarding part was watching a diverse group of kids work together — different grades, different friend groups — all collaborating with respect, flexibility, and positivity. They created something beautiful, together.”
Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute
For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.
Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”
Curator and owner Klimowicz and both artists spoke of the physicality of making art, revealing an abounding intimacy with their materials. Podmore recounted seeking the perfect bare branches to use in her “Fall,” the piece that dominates the center of the space.She would find those that most suggested figures slipping into a fall, and mimic them herself, as animators do for accuracy, before admitting them into the crew now lying on the floor.Each isunique, but all are united by their red-socked feet, which, though tiny, are touchingly rendered in adult proportions. For art professor Podmore, they signal how “failing in public” is a phenomenon today’s students must learn to navigate.
For Varadi, whose background is Rusyn-Carpathian, the main medium is Karakul sheep’s wool, a particularly robust variety used in Persian carpets. Her process of felting the fiber involves extremely hard labor; she wryly expressed hope that technology would ease the burden of this long-term project, best seen in her huge wall piece, “With Their Backs to the Mountains.” The title refers to the staunch resilience of her ancestors — stateless but proud, subject to historical violence.
In Varadi’s video “Hunia-Permission to Be,” the color red amid the chiaroscuro of snowy winter forests offers a mesmerizing counterpart to Podmore’s floorpiece.Wearing the traditional, oversized red felted coat called the Hunia, the artist silently plods through the lovely scene, suggesting cycles of effort, disappearing and reappearing.
Podmore’s video adds the aural element, with the creaking of trees rubbing against each other at various tilts.The title “Fifteen Degrees” indicates a tree’s maximum safe angle from vertical. Reflecting this, two silhouetted jointed figures lean against each other — by turns intimate and aggressive — a shockingly apt metaphor for current society.
“As a younger artist,” Podmore observed, “I was very serious about the human condition; now I see that it is just bizarre.”
Another of Podmore’s works, “Audience” — now on view at Mass MoCA — gives a nod and a wink to our strange time.Hundreds of unique plaster-cast baskets mounted along an 85-foot wall, some fitted with single mechanical eyes, offer viewers the experience of being viewed, to the quiet cacophony of eyes popping open.A must-see through Nov. 30.
The Re Institute exhibition can be seen through July 5, with hours Saturdays 1 to 4 p.m. and by appointment.More information at the reinstitute.com.
