A large group of Millerton and North East residents turned out for the Tuesday, July 29, meeting, causing a last-minute venue change to the NorthEast-Millerton Library annex on Century Boulevard.
MILLERTON — At their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 29, the Village Board of Trustees addressed two key issues that could affect village governance and planning. The meeting drew a crowd of more than 50 people, prompting a last-minute venue change to the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex to accommodate the turnout.
While much of the evening focused on public feedback regarding a proposal from village and Town of North East residents concerning cooperation between the Millerton Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, trustees also discussed several additional items with long-term implications.
One of those was a public hearing on “Local Law X,” a proposal that would allow members of the village’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to reside anywhere in Dutchess County rather than within the village limits. The goal, according to board members, is to widen the pool of qualified candidates at a time when interest in these volunteer roles has been low.
Both boards have had vacancies for over six months. Mayor Najdek noted that with the village’s small population, there’s a limited number of potential applicants. She also clarified that, per legal counsel, the board could not limit eligibility to just the Town of North East. “It is not legal to only open it up to the town,” Najdek said. “You have to open it up to the entire county.”
Newly appointed Zoning Board Chair Kelly Kilmer addressed public concerns during the hearing, citing confusion circulating on Facebook. “This does not apply to the village board,” she said, explaining that the change would affect only appointed members of the planning and zoning boards. “It is very crucial that we get people on these boards.”
Kilmer acknowledged concerns about non-residents having influence over village matters but emphasized that limited participation has forced the board’s hand. “Unless village residents step up to the plate and want to have a say in what’s happening, this law has to go into effect,” she said. “Currently we only have four members on our zoning board. So we could have a tie at any point in a vote, and that’s not good. When people are trying to plan things to upgrade the village — whether it be their home, their business, or whatever — we need people who are going to be here and engaged in the village.”
One resident was in favor, urging people to think of the town and village as one community working toward the same goals, rather than separate entities. “We have to think that even though we might live in the town, we might also have businesses in the village, and we have to work together.”
Not everyone was in favor of the change. Ray Nelson, a village resident and architect, expressed skepticism. “It’s a shame we can’t get someone in the village to step up,” he said, adding, “I’m not particularly excited about this idea. Someone from outside might not understand the issues in the village or the nuances of our community.”
As of now, the Zoning Board of Appeals has one open seat. The Planning Board has one vacancy and is expected to have a second seat open in September 2025. Those interested in learning more or applying should contact Village Clerk Lisa Cope at clerk@villageofmillerton-ny.gov
While Local Law X will open up the pool of applicants, the appointments are made by the mayor’s office and candidates would be fairly vetted prior to being invited to join a board.
A motion to adopt Local Law X passed unanimously by roll‑call vote.
In other business, the board unanimously voted to pursue a state designation as a Pro-Housing Community, following in the Town of North East’s footsteps. The certification, granted by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, recognizes municipalities that actively support housing growth and reduce development barriers. Trustees authorized Mayor Najdek to submit a letter of intent — the first formal step in the application process.
The board also voted unanimously in a roll-call vote to finalize two inter-municipal agreements with the Town of North East. The first was for a shared court officer, which the town approved with a 3% increase over last year. The second was for the joint parks and recreation program. While the village had requested a 3% increase for that contract as well, the town approved it with no increase, citing the cancellation of this year’s summer camp due to projected construction of the new community park. Both agreements will be revisited in September to allow more time for negotiation ahead of next year.
In other routine business, the board approved meeting minutes, voted on vouchers and village bills, and heard department and mayoral updates. During public comment, members of Townscape raised the issue of moving forward with tree replacements along South Center Street and Main Street.
Patrick L. Sullivan
Publisher James Clark, left, and Executive Editor Christian Murray speak at Scoville Memorial Library March 7.
SALISBURY — What makes or breaks a local newspaper is its reputation, Lakeville Journal Executive Editor Christian Murray said at the Scoville Memorial Library Saturday, March 7.
Murray and publisher James Clark led a discussion at the library that was originally scheduled for January, but the weather intervened.
Karen Vrotsos, the head of adult programming for the library, introduced Clark and Murray, and noted that thousands of American newspapers have closed in recent decades, creating regional “news deserts.”
Clark said the news business is under “tremendous pressure even as local news remains the most trusted source.”
Clark said there are many ideas being discussed for the future of newspapers, including the possibility of going fully digital and eliminating print. He was quick to add that going all digital is not the plan for the Journal and The Millerton News.
“We all enjoy a print product,” Clark said. “But we’re also strongly focused on reaching readers on whatever platform they prefer — particularly online.”
He also noted that while the Connecticut and New York legislatures have introduced bills designed to support news organizations, including funding journalism jobs, they have also considered bills to remove requirements that legal notices be published in local newspapers.
While legal notices are a source of revenue, Clark said they also provide a valuable public service. “All the recent Wake Robin decisions were in our legals section,” which complemented the paper’s reporting.
Clark said long-term success in local news comes down to three essentials: adequate funding, enough reporters and, as he put it, “simply doing the reporting.”
“It’s challenging,” he continued. He said LJMN Media, the organization that publishes the two papers, is in its fifth year as a non-profit.
He thanked the community for the financial support, which has allowed for the hiring of new reporters and editors and expanded coverage.
One of those hires was Murray.
The native New Zealander used to be based in Queens, N.Y. and worked for outlets such as amNewYork, Newsday and Reuters.
When Clark was looking for a new executive editor and sorting through resumes, Murray’s experience with the Queens Post — a local news service he founded that reported on neighborhoods in that borough — caught his attention.
In Queens, Murray had a large urban readership. Here in northwest Connecticut and eastern Dutchess County, the population is markedly different.
“But the nuts and bolts of reporting are the same,” Murray said. “Communities of any size want to know about affordable housing, healthcare, new businesses and public safety.”
In Queens, “the scale is bigger, but it’s the same board meetings. The machinations are pretty much the same.”
Murray, who moved to northwest Connecticut five years ago, said local news is often more meaningful than national news for readers. “I want to know about the restaurant down the street, or the property up the road.”
He said bigger publications are often content rewriting press releases. “Quality journalism is at the local level. Our reporters are out there talking to people.”
Murray said he chatted recently with a friend who works for Fox Digital.
“He’s covering Iran from his apartment in Long Island City!”
Asked about how the two local papers cover national issues, Clark said “We cover how they affect our communities and what they’re doing about it.”
“We’ll continue providing news as we see it and keeping it balanced,” Murray added.
Asked about using Facebook and other social media, Clark said “we see Facebook as one platform of many. We want to get our news to people where they are.”
The questioner followed up, asking how Facebook comments are moderated.
Clark said that “in general we use as light a touch as possible” for comments.
“We’ll delete or hide comments that are simply inflammatory or profane.”
Clark mentioned “HVRHS Today,” the student publication from Housatonic Valley Regional High School that is a collaboration between The Lakeville Journal and the high school.
“That’s their newspaper. They’re not writing for The Lakeville Journal.”
Clark said there are three high schools in The Millerton News’ coverage area, and he hopes to expand the program.
Both Clark and Murray kept reiterating the importance of local newspapers being accurate and fair.
“Reputation matters so much in local news,” Murray said. “We’re much more accountable to our communities” than larger newspapers.
“When we ship the papers, we know we’re going to see the people we’re writing about in the checkout line at LaBonne’s,” said Clark.
“It gives us that little extra ‘oomph’ to get it right.”
Nathan Miller
The Millerton fire crew watches a pump hose carry water from the NorthEast-Millerton Library’s basement on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
MILLERTON — Library officials expect the NorthEast-Millerton Library to be fully open the weekend of March 14-15, a full month after a burst pipe forced librarians to move operations to the annex building on Century Boulevard.
Executive Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said the temporary relocation has been stressful, but library patrons have been understanding and using the library to the fullest extent possible.
A pipe in the wall of a private apartment above the library burst on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 10, sending water into the walls and flooding the basement.
Leo-Jameson reported that at its height, the water settled about five inches above the basement floor. Though the furnace was at risk, the water did not rise high enough to cause damage.
The basement did not contain any stored materials, and damage was contained to the walls surrounding the fireplace in the building’s rear.The leak required the building’s water to be shut off, forcing the library to close until service could be restored.
Leo-Jameson said the plumber is expected to fix the broken pipe on Wednesday, March 11. She said the plumber’s arrival was delayed because the building’s walls, floors and carpet had to be assessed for damage, mold and asbestos.
“Much to the surprise of everybody, it was the original flooring to the building,” Leo-Jameson said. She said current reports indicate the damage was limited to the single burst pipe and the sheetrock adjacent to the burst.
“The force of the water burst through the sheetrock,” Leo-Jameson said.
The library continues to operate during its normal hours of operation from a temporary station in the annex. Patrons can check out requested books and make returns, and daytime programming is ongoing. Leo-Jameson said she was thankful to have the annex after the pipe burst.
“If you’re ever going to have a burst pipe in the library, this was pretty ideal,” Leo-Jameson said.
Millerton News
SALISBURY — Alfred Lyon Ivry, a long-time resident of Salisbury, and son of Belle (Malamud) and Morris Ivry, died in Bergen County, New Jersey, on Feb. 12 at the age of 91, surrounded by family members. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he was a graduate ofAbraham Lincoln High School and Brooklyn College, where he earned a B.A. in English literature and Philosophy and served as drama critic for the school paper.
Alfred earned a PhD in Medieval Jewish Philosophy from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1963 and in 1971 was awarded a D. Phil in Medieval Islamic Philosophy from Oxford University, Linacre College.
He enjoyed a long career as a professor of Jewish and Islamic philosophy, with appointments at Cornell, Ohio State, Brandeis, and New York University. Alfred wrote more than one hundred scholarly articles and book reviews, and was the author or editor of nine books, including Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide, published in 2016.
Alfred and Joann, his wife of 67 years, moved to the Berkshire area in the early 1990s, splitting their time between the Twin Lakes and New York City until their respective retirements. After that, they lived in Salisbury full time, availing themselves of the region’s many cultural offerings. They relocated in late 2020 to Noble Horizons for two years before moving to New Jersey to be closer to their children.
In their many years together, Alfred and Joann traveled regularly, frequenting museums, national parks, and other destinations. Alfred was an avid reader of the newspaper, fiction, and poetry, and possessed both a sharp wit and an estimable sense of humor. Throughout his life, he enjoyed outdoor activities including swimming, camping, hiking, ice skating on Twin Lakes, and tennis. Like many Brooklyn boys of his era, he followed the Dodgers, but happily took his children to Red Sox games at Fenway Park and later his grandchildren to see the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
In Salisbury, Alfred became a successful gentleman farmer, and embarked on canoe trips and fishing expeditions on Twin Lakes and beyond.He took up birding, among other hobbies, and with Joann developed and enjoyed the friendships he made in Salisbury and environs, and especially amongst members of the Great Barrington-based Berkshire Minyan, of which they were founding members.
Above all, Alfred was committed to the Jewish tradition and people, and to his family. He is survived by his wife, Joann (nee Saltzman);children, Rebecca and husband Clifford Stein, Jonathan, Sara, and Jessica, grandchildren; Molly and husband Josh Mark, Noah and wife Noa Shapiro, Ben Stein, Talia, Max, Isaiah, and Esther Ivry; great-grandchild, Aaron Mark; and colleagues and friends made throughout his life. He was predeceased by his sister, Grace.
Donations in Alfred’s memory may be made to the Berkshire Minyan and to the Yaakov Goboff Fund at the Yaakov Herzog Institute for Jewish Studies.
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Millerton News
LAKEVILLE — Larry Power passed away peacefully at home on March 9, 2026.
Larry was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City in 1939.
He had a successful public relations firm for over 35 years in NYC.
After retiring, he chaired the Sharon Land Trust board for many years. He always said one of the most important things he ever did was saving the Twin Oaks Field from development.
He is survived by his husband Lea Davies of 44 years.
Donations in his memory can be sent to East Mountain House in Lakeville in honor of Keavy Bedell or the Sharon Hospital Primary Care Project in honor of Doctor Jonathan Joseph.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Millerton News
KENT — Carol L. Hoffman Matzke passed away peacefully with family by her side on Feb. 22, 2026.
She was a beloved mother and stepmother, daughter, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, community member, and friend.Her presence will be deeply missed. She had a beautiful way of loving, accepting, and supporting all the many members of her vast family, and of welcoming others into her family circle. She was intelligent and well-informed about history and current events, and she took a genuine interest in knowing and understanding everyone she met, from friends and family right down to the stranger who stood next to her in line at the grocery store. Kind and generous, her family and friends knew that she would do anything in her power to help and support them.
Carol was the oldest of five children, born on June 21, 1939 in Springfield, Vermont to Janet (Beal) Lawrence and John Lawrence. She graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. She attended Colby College, graduating with a history degree in 1961. She was married and widowed twice, first to John Hardie Hoffman (1935-1984) and second to William A Matzke, Jr. (1924-2001).
In 1976 she and her husband, John, moved to Kent, to realize their dream of opening a small retail bookstore which they named The House of Books. Carol and John blended seamlessly into the community, and The House of Books quickly became part of the fabric of Kent where it has continued to welcome and serve the readers and writers of the area.
Carol was an active member of St. Andrews Episcopal church, where she served in various roles throughout the years. She was also an avid tennis player throughout her life and could often be found in the midst of a competitive match on the Kent School courts.
In 1993, Carol shifted her full-time residence to Seattle, Washington where her eldest daughter, Cathy resided with her family.It was in Seattle that she met and married her second husband, William A Matzke, Jr. Carol and Bill had a vibrant life in the Seattle area where she supported her children and step-children in raising their families, volunteered for The Fisk Genealogical Library, the USO at Sea-Tac Airport, and was an active member of two church communities: Evergreen Covenant Church in Mercer Island, Washington and St Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, where she served as senior warden.
In 2017, after many years splitting her time between Seattle and Kent, Carol settled full-time in Kent. Carol was frequently spotted walking her dog along Kent’s roadways, sometimes in the pre-dawn darkness. She was a regular at the soccer games, plays, concerts, and other activities of her many New England grandchildren.
In 2024, Carol found a loving home with her daughter Barb’s family in Upton, Massachusetts, eventually transitioning to memory care at Keystone Place in Torrington, where she passed peacefully with loving family and caregivers by her side.
Carol is survived by her daughters, Cathy Miller, Barbara (and David) Lundbom and Tracy (and Rich) Horosky; stepson Scott Hoffman; stepdaughters Lori (and Dick) Ehrig, Andrea Matzke, Cynthia Matzke, and Lisa Matzke as well as 15 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Johanne LaGrange, Rod (and Fayne) Lawrence and Ann Wessel. She was pre-deceased by husband John Hardie Hoffman (1984), husband William A. Matzke, Jr. (2001), stepson John Morris “Jay” Hoffman (2023) and sister Gale Lawrence (2024).
Memorial services are planned in both Kent and Seattle later in the spring.Remembrances honoring Carol’s life can be made to the Kent Library Association (P.O. Box 127, Kent, CT 06757) or the Northwest USO (17801 International Blvd, PMB #313, Seattle, WA 98158).
Millerton News
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