Shirley Edgerton, local activist and NAACP Berkshires Board Member, leads a discussion with students from area middle schools after a screening of the film “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students from W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School, Mount Everett Junior High School, Berkshire Country Day School and Richmond Consolidated School attended a screening of the movie “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington Jan. 20.
The screening was held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was sponsored in part by the Great Barrington, Monterey, Stockbridge, and New Marlborough Cultural Councils.
“Selma” was released in 2015, 50 years after the marches from Selma to Montgomery. It recounts the struggles of African Americans to exercise their right to vote in spite of resistance from registrars of voters in Selma, Alabama. It shows the brutality encountered by activists and marchers and those just wanting to vote. The participants of the first march were met with tear gas, police armed with clubs and on horseback as they marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many among the marchers suffered injuries. After the first March, King called for clergy and others to join the next march.
Moderator of the question-and-answer period after the movie was Shirley Edgerton, a local activist and NAACP Berkshires board member. She asked the students, “Why do you think you were allowed to come here today?”
Answers included:
“History repeats itself.”
“To learn about the civil rights movement.”
“So, it doesn’t happen again.”
“It is a reminder of issues that are happening today.”
“What did you think about the movie?” Edgerton asked next.
“It was emotionally heavy when it got into what actually happened.”
“It was not just the story of Dr. King, but of Malcom X and John Lewis.”
“Your schools want you to understand history,” Edgerton said. She explained that she is a member of the NAACP which was founded in 1909 by a group including Great Barrington resident and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois. The NAACP is composed of “All folks who believe in addressing and disarming hate,” Edgerton said.
“All of us have biases,” Edgerton said to the crowd. The way to combat bias, she said, is to “Address issues and ensure that these issues don’t continue.”
She asked the students what issues they are facing today. “Abortion” said one, another said “Only two genders now.” “Human trafficking,” said another.
“What can you do as eighth graders about these issues?” asked Edgerton.
“We can grow up smarter and fix these issues.”
“Stop making fun of people who ID as gay, straight, non-binary.”
“Be kinder.”
“Support peers and take the knowledge of what we learned today and put it into our day-to-day base.”
In conclusion, Shirley Edgerton told the students, “You have to decide if you want to be part of change or not.”
People leaving the voting booth at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex expressed support for the library's budget increase. “I wanted to come out and support the library,” said Leslie Farhangi of North East, referencing a NorthEast-Millerton Library budget increase on the ballot. “It’s always heartwarming to see the community come out to vote, and the poll workers are great, I’m always grateful for them.”
Democrats had a strong showing across northeast Dutchess County, with democratic candidates winning both seats in the Washington and Pine Plains Town Council races and an upset victory in the race to represent District 25 in the County Legislature.
Voters also overwhelmingly supported local libraries. Ballot questions to increase the budgets of the NorthEast-Millerton Library, Amenia Free Library, Pine Plains Free Library and Stanford Free Library all passed.
“I wanted to come out and support the library,” said Leslie Farhangi of North East, referencing a NorthEast-Millerton Library budget increase on the ballot. “It’s always heartwarming to see the community come out to vote, and the poll workers are great, I’m always grateful for them.”
Poll workers and voters said turnout was higher than usual early in the afternoon. In Amenia, 404 votes had been cast by 1:30 p.m. when The News checked in.
“I think it’s always important to vote,” said Ed Downey, President of the North East Historical Society. “At the town level, the races can be uncontested but it’s still important to vote. And there are certainly contested races at the county level. The library budget is very important. It looks like a good turnout. I was pleasantly surprised to see so much participation, especially this early.”
Here's a breakdown of the results:
Incumbent Republican Chris Mayville and Democrat Rachele Grieco Cole will each serve a two-year term on the Town Council following uncontested races.
Katherine Johnson ran unopposed for re-election as Town Assessor and will serve an additional six-year term.
Casey McCabe also ran unopposed for re-election as Town Justice. She will serve a four-year term on the bench.
The proposition to increase the NorthEast-Millerton LIbrary's operating budget by $50,000 to a total of $225,000 passed with 587 yes votes and 169 no votes.
Democrat Rosanna Hamm won the Town Supervisor race with 686 votes. Republican Terrence McCauley had 402 votes. Hamm currently serves on the Town Council as Deputy Supervisor.
Republican Nicole Ahearn with 574 votes and Democrat Walter Dietrich with 527 votes will serve two-year terms on the Amenia Town Council. Democrat Charlie Miller came in a close third with 525 votes and Republican Brad Rebillard trails the race with 464 votes.
Democrat Vicki Doyle will serve the remaining year of an unexpired term on the Town Council, winning 625 votes to beat Republican Jamie Deines's 446 votes.
Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner, Highway Superintendent Megan Chamberlin and Town Justice Christopher Klingner will all retain their seats after uncontested races.
The local proposal to increase the Amenia Free Library's operating budget by $20,000 passed with 690 yes votes and 394 no votes.
The local proposition to opt-in to retail cannabis sales failed with 515 yes votes and 560 no votes.
And the third local proposition to increase the term length of the Town Supervisor to four years failed with 446 yes votes and 631 no votes.
Republican Gary Ciferri will continue to serve as Town Supervisor following an uncontested election.
Democrats Maxine Verne and Susan Mancuso will each serve two-year terms on the Town Council following their victory over Republicans Nicholas Galente and Douglas Giles.
Theodore Briggs will serve on the Village of Millbrook Board of Trustees following an uncontested race.
Incumbent Republican candidate Brian Walsh holds a narrow lead in the race for Town Supervisor with 423 votes to Democrat challenger Kevin Walsh's 414 votes. That's a margin of only nine votes. The New York State Election Law requires a recount for races with a margin of 20 votes or less.
Democrats Trevor Roush and Murphy Birdsall will each serve on the Town Council, winning 447 and 406 votes respectively to beat Republicans Robert Ambrose and David Prentice. Prentice trailed Birdsallby just 20 votes with 386 total.
The proposition to increase the Pine Plains Free Library's operating budget to $220,000 passed with 572 yes votes — a staggering 68.7% — and 261 no votes.
Democrat Julia Descouteaux won the Town Supervisor seat with 798 votes. Republican Michael Roche claimed 575 votes.
Democrats Teddy Secor and Charlie Cunningham secured seats on the Town Council, beating Republican opponents Durga Taylor and Frank Marcin for two-year terms on the board.
Ritamary Bell will continue to serve as Town Clerk following an uncontested election. James Myers was also re-elected as Highway Superintendent — and Town Justice Dennis Smith will serve another term — after uncontested races.
The proposition to increase the Stanford Free Library's budget to $200,400 passed with 1,053 yes votes and 283 no votes.
Incumbent Chris Drago, D-19, won his re-election bid to the Dutchess County Legislature. He accumulated 2,359 votes to Republican challenger Tonya Pulver's 1,584 votes. He will serve a second two-year term representing the towns of North East, Pine Plains, Stanford and Milan.
Democrat Eric Alexander won a slim upset victory against incumbent Republican Deirdre Houston in the race for the district 25 county legislature seat. Alexander leads with 1,746 votes — about 50.6% — to Houston's 1,705 votes — 49.4%. Alexander will serve a two-year term representing the towns of Amenia, Washington and southeast Pleasant Valley.
Democratic incumbent Dan Aymar-Blair is in the lead for the county comptroller race. Preliminary results from the Dutchess County Board of Elections show Aymar-Blair won 55% of the vote to defeat Republican challenger Will Truitt. Aymar-Blair won a total of 40,159 votes and Truitt secured 32,814 votes.
Democrat Kara Gerry is ahead in the county court judge race, marking an upset defeat of incumbent Republican Ned McLoughlin. Gerry leads with 56% of the vote — a total of 40,745 votes — to McLoughlin's 44% — a total of 32,047.
Tracy MacKenzie, who ran unopposed for Dutchess County Family Court Judge, will retain her seat. She's served on that bench since 2015 and will serve another 10 year term.
AMENIA — The concept of “rewilding” the environment will be the focus of a discussion at Troutbeck in Amenia on Saturday, Nov. 8, featuring environmentalist Ben Goldsmith and Dr. Joshua R. Ginsberg, president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. The program begins at 3 p.m.
Admission is free, but registration is requested. Troutbeck encourages attendees to arrive early for lunch or stay afterward for dinner in its dining room.
Goldsmith, a prominent advocate for environmental restoration, views nature as a source of spiritual renewal. His work focuses on helping landscapes regain their natural balance and biodiversity through organic processes rather than human intervention.
He is involved with initiatives such as Nattergal, a British nature recovery company, and the Conservation Collective, a network of local environmental foundations.
Ginsberg, a conservation scientist and former senior vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Global Program, will join Goldsmith to explore the intersection of science, policy, and ethics in environmental restoration.
To learn more, visit www.troutbeck.com
Water from the damaged pipe has bubbled up to the surface of Route 44 near Park Avenue in Millerton on Monday, Nov. 3. Water department crews are expected to repair the leak between 5 p.m. and midnight.
MILLERTON — Drivers passing through Millerton should expect delays on Main Street/Route 44 around Park Avenue as a Water Department crew works to repair a leak under the westbound lane.
Interim Superintendent of Public Works Joe Olenik said the work will begin around 5 p.m. tonight, Nov. 3, and he expects repairs to be finished by midnight. “There’s concrete under that, so it’s going to take a little longer,” Olenik said, pointing to a picture of the puddle that has accumulated on Route 44 because of the leak. “It’s not just blacktop and dirt.”
The crew will close one lane of traffic on Route 44 to complete the repair.
Residents and businesses in the area of Park Avenue and Main Street/Route 44 should expect water outages while the repair is being made.
Village officials sent out a notice of the repair work around noon today, Nov. 3.
Demolition crews from BELFOR Property Restoration began demolishing the fire-ravaged Water and Highway Department building in the Village of Millerton on Monday, Oct. 27
MILLERTON — The long-awaited demolition of Millerton’s Highway and Water Department building began Monday, Oct. 27, marking a major milestone in the village’s recovery from the February fire that destroyed the facility.
The demolition, handled by BELFOR Property Restoration, is now underway. Eddie Collins Park, located next to the site, remains open to the public, though visitors are asked to steer clear of the demolition area.
One village official is particularly invested in seeing the process move forward. Caroline Farr-Killmer, the village’s fire project manager, has been working closely with Mayor Jenn Najdek and the Board of Trustees to oversee every phase of the recovery. She has coordinated contractors and engineers, tracked inventory losses, and ensured compliance with building codes.
Mayor Jenn Najdek noted in a Monday, Oct. 27, meeting of the village's Board of Trustees that air quality management is one of the aspects of demolition that contributes to the price tag.Photo by Aly Morrissey
“This milestone is a significant one,” Farr-Killmer said. “It has been a work in progress that individuals have poured a lot of their time and effort into.” She acknowledged that while it may have seemed like progress was slow, this process required thoughtful and thorough management. “It is not something that can be accomplished overnight. I am grateful for the team effort put in by all of those involved.”
In the weeks after the fire, Farr-Killmer visited the charred building almost daily and documented damage to the structure and inventory. She said the fire itself was only the beginning, and pointed out that navigating insurance, rebuilding plans and deadlines have been hidden challenges.
The demolition marks the first physical step toward rebuilding. Farr-Killmer and Village leaders are developing plans for two replacement facilities — one for the Highway Department and another for the Water Department, designed to meet modern building codes and accommodate future needs.
“For the Village, it means we are starting from scratch, but things will continue to run smoothly, efficiently and effectively,” Farr-Killmer said.
With demolition underway, the Village of Millerton will begin a new chapter — one that will be complemented by the upcoming renovations that are planned at Eddie Collins Memorial Park. Construction for that major project, which will include a short-course Olympic pool and pool house, is scheduled to begin in July 2026 after the 175th celebration.
