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Prehistoric party
Leila Hawken
Jun 30, 2026
Photo By Leila Hawken
Cristian Canmano presented an engaging Dinosaurs Rock program complete with genuine prehistoric artifacts, educational and entertainment for both kids and adults at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, June 27.
Lakeville Journal, Millerton News welcome new board members
Millerton News
Jun 30, 2026
FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. — LJMN Media, Inc., publisher of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News, has announced the addition of three new members to its board of directors: Elyse Harney Morris, Thomas Trowbridge III and Karsten Moller. The appointments reflect the organization’s continued commitment to strong local journalism and community engagement.
Harney Morris, of Salisbury, is the co-owner of a leading regional real estate firm and comes from a family with deep roots in the Northwest Corner. She has served on the boards of numerous local organizations, including Indian Mountain School, the Salisbury Grove Committee, and the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service, and has long been active in conservation and community initiatives throughout the region, including Project SAGE and the Dutchess and Columbia Land Conservancies.
Trowbridge, of Sharon, is an attorney, civic leader, and author who served for many years on the board of the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, including as its president during the restoration and expansion of the library’s historic building. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan Law School, he spent much of his legal career with prominent New York law firms.
Moller, of Salisbury, has held senior leadership positions in international finance, investment banking and asset management, including roles with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan-affiliated Highbridge Principal Strategies and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. He currently advises organizations on investor relations, fundraising and strategic partnerships and has been an active supporter of regional nonprofit organizations.
“Elyse, Tom and Karsten each bring valuable experience, strong community ties and a commitment to the future of local journalism,” said CEO and Publisher James H. Clark. “We are grateful for the knowledge and perspective they bring to our mission.”
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Automotive service center gets new life after change of ownership
Graham Corrigan
Jun 30, 2026
Giacomo Meccariello and his son Emmett in the newly renovated garage at Talus Automotive in Pine Plains.
Photo By Graham Corrigan
PINE PLAINS — A new auto shop has opened in Pine Plains, picking up right where the old one left off.
The former home of Pine Plains Truck & Auto is now Talus Automotive, a family-run venture with deep roots in Pine Plains.
The new shop offers a variety of services, from oil changes to brake jobs, for hot rods and everyday vehicles alike. Giacomo Meccariello, a Pine Plains native, is running the shop with the help of his wife, Megan, and son, Emmett.
Megan is originally from Alabama, but spent summers at her mother’s childhood home in Poland, New York. That’s how she met Giacomo, and the couple later worked together at Sugar Hill Farm’s Cut Facility.
When word reached the cut facility that Sugar Hill was buying the auto shop and looking for partners, Giacomo and Megan leapt at the chance. Giacomo is multi-talented — “I like doing things,” he professed — and had worked on cars since childhood. Megan runs the front office and billing, and Emmett helps out wherever he can.
They have big shoes to fill. The shop’s previous owner, Bruce Near, “is a really good guy who enjoys helping people,” Meccariello said. “I want to contribute and follow in his footsteps in terms of helping the town out. Everybody’s in need of a mechanic.”
The Meccariellos worked with the property’s new owner to make a number of renovations to the building. They raised the roof, added trusses, and installed guillotine doors. They also built a new waiting room and added bathrooms. A fresh coat of paint and new signage completed the makeover.
Meccariello says Talus is sourcing locally in order to lower costs for his customers. “There are a lot of local shops that we use for parts,” he said, “and they’ve been extremely good to work with. They provide us with decent pricing, so we can pass that along to the customer.”
An oil change at Talus, while dependent on make and model, will run about $80. They’re also making specials a priority: a recent Father’s Day special meant a 15% discount, and Meccariello says there’s more to come in the months ahead. The overarching message, he says, is to welcome people in.
“We want people to know that we’re here to provide a service for them. A lot of people lost their go-to guy when the previous owner left, so this will provide another option and opportunity for them and us. Plus it’s nice to spend time together as a family.”
Talus Automotive is located at 2700 NY-199 in Pine Plains. They’re open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Zoning measures delayed after county review
Graham Corrigan
Jun 30, 2026
PINE PLAINS — Two proposed laws that seek to amend portions of Pine Plains’s zoning code have been delayed after pushback from the Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development.
The first concerns the split property at the former site of Lia’s Mountain View restaurant. The lot lies in two separate zones, which the new owners have called on the town to combine into one. Plans for the space include a music venue and restaurant.
The county contends the proposed zoning change amounts to a use variance, which means the property will be used for a purpose other than what’s typically allowed in the zone it sits in. As it stands, the property owners have applied for an area variance. That entails modifying where they’re able to build, as opposed to what they’re building.
If they choose to follow the county’s recommendation, the future owners would be able to rezone the entire parcel — rather than simply build a different kind of structure on the bifurcated area.
The second law concerns the distinction between a “farm stand” and a “farm market.” In Pine Plains, a farm stand is seasonal. It’s currently defined in the town code as “an accessory structure used for the display and sale of farm products grown on a farm’s premises, and uses its proximity to a roadway to attract potential customers.”
A farm market, conversely, requires the available products to simply be grown in the larger Hudson Valley area. It’s not required to be seasonal. The application in question, which pertains to the storage property at 2316 Church Street, requests a farm stand. Councilwoman Jeanine Sisco suggested the applicant revise the language to request a farm market instead.
The Pine Plains Town Board decided to send both applications back to the Pine Plains Planning Board for further discussion.
The meeting then turned to other news. The success of last week’s Community Day was noted by Sisco. Councilman Trevor Roush proposed a workshop on potential uses for the new Town Hall site.
During public comment, resident George Keeler spoke against the potential creation of the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act, which is co-sponsored by State Senator Michelle Hinchey. The act would replace Central Hudson Gas & Electric with a publicly-owned utility company, which supporters claim would result in lower energy bills for residents. It also calls for the eventual transition to 100% renewable energy. Keeler claimed doing so would be costly and result in job loss for the area.
The board also passed a motion allowing the library to program events in their basement without scheduling through the town every time. The basement has become a popular space for an after school Kids Club from 3:30 - 5 p.m.
The next Town Board meeting for Pine Plains is scheduled for July 16.
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Amenia delays environmental review for Keane Stud subdivision
Leila Hawken
Jun 30, 2026
AMENIA — A formal environmental impact determination for a proposed luxury housing subdivision is facing further delays as consultants and Planning Board members work to finalize material for a comprehensive impact study.
Planning Board members, consultants and representatives of the applicant have been discussing a formal environmental impact study since September 2025 with the goal of outlining worst-case scenario impacts to water tables, scenic views and community character. The center of discussion at the board’s Wednesday, June 24, meeting was a “scope analysis” meant to identify key issues for study in the formal environmental impact statement.
Developers and owners of Keane Stud, a horse farm on Depot Hill Road in Amenia, call for 605 acres to be divided into 23 large agricultural lots near Depot Hill Road. Brothers Juan and Pedro Torres, who are behind the plans to subdivide the farm that sits on a prominent ridge overlooking the hamlet of Amenia, originally submitted their proposal to the Planning Board in August 2023.
Since submitting a draft scope analysis in September 2025, the developers have worked with Amenia’s visual consultant, George Janes, to produce materials for the board’s review.
The environmental impact study is seen as the first step toward completing the environmental review requirements under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act.
Representing the Keane Stud developers at last week’s meeting and throughout the process was attorney Diana Kolev, Partner of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise Wiederkehr, LLP, of White Plains.
Since last year, the developers have sought to understand the steps necessary to define environmental and visual impacts of the proposed subdivision. That process comprises the scope analysis, which is meant to identify environmental concerns that would then be further investigated in a formal environmental impact statement.
Planning Board engineer John Andrews reported that he had reviewed all the submissions, but the planning board would need to determine whether the materials submitted by the developer and Janes provide enough information to proceed.
Key aspects to be focused upon, Andrews suggested, were the community-based issues and the developers’ vision.
Reporting on a recent meeting he had with the developers, Janes said that the intent is to submit a memorandum in the coming week offering recommendations.
“The goal,” Andrews told the board, “is to determine completeness, not whether you agree or disagree. It’s not critical now to bog down in minutiae.”
Current board attorney Victoria Polidoro explained that no immediate board decision was called for, but that the board should review the submitted documents to see if the information is sufficient to begin the public review process.
“Keep ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’ out of your mind,” Andrews added.
Board attorney Cassandra Britton advised that community character could be an incomplete section.
Board member Ken Topolsky mentioned two concerns, the proposed subdivision’s effects on community character and encroachment on scenic views. He said he would like to see a conceptual view of what the site would look like when developed.
Whether the planning board would ever see a likely scenario, rather than the mandated “worst case scenario” was an environmental perspective question asked by board member Jamie Vitiello.
“The worst-case scenario takes into account all of the existing rules,” Janes explained. “These are not actual development proposals,” he added.
Anticipating continued discussion at their next meeting on July 8, the board agreed that the attorney would prepare a resolution that would declare that the submitted report is sufficient at the present time. In the meantime, the board will provide comments to the attorney.
A public hearing process will begin once the submissions are deemed complete.
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Anna Mae Kupferer
Millerton News
Jun 30, 2026
MILLERTON — Anna Mae Kupferer was born May 10,1937, and died May 3, 2026. She grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey where she and her older sister, Dorothea, worked in their father’s ice cream parlor on a life-long obsession with ice cream. As a young woman, Anna Mae attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, receiving her Actor’s Equity card and appearing in summer stock theater productions with the likes of Eartha Kitt and Charlton Heston. In 1961 Anna Mae married Andrew Bruce Kupferer and settled down in West Orange, New Jersey to raise her family of three boys. In the mid-seventies, the family moved to Millerton, New York, an idyllic small town in the Hudson Valley. Anna Mae made friends quickly in her new community and soon found a job at the Lakeville Journal, working her way up from collating the newspaper to advertising manager. Anna Mae loved meeting the area’s business owners and helping them increase their sales. She was a straight shooter with an incredible sense of humor which she put to good use writing her weekly column in the Journal, Keep Your Sunny Side Up, poking fun at herself and her family, and the travails of country living.
For nearly fifty years, Anna Mae was a hardworking, vital force in Millerton. In 2023, she moved from her beloved saltbox house with the “tomahawk door” on Rudd Pond Road to be closer to family. While she missed her friends and neighbors -- particularly her “adopted family” the Elliotts, she was lucky to land at Hartwell Place, an assisted living home in Chicago. She once again made friends quickly becoming an integral part of their caring and compassionate community.
Anna Mae was a devoted wife, loving mother, and doting, generous grandmother.
She is survived by her sons Keith (Tara Mallen) and Kurt (Jolanta), and her granddaughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer. She is preceded in death by her husband, Bruce, and her oldest son, Christopher.
A celebration of Anna Mae’s life will be held (TBD) in Millerton, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Anna Mae’s memory to Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (www.RivendellTheatre.org)--a professional theater she loved to attend that her son Keith and daughter-in-law Tara founded in Chicago in 1996.
Calling hours will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2026 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. A prayer service will take place at 6:30 p.m. during visitation. To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Anna Mae’s honor, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com.
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