Massive ice floes inundated the village of Wassaic after a dam failed, flooding the village and making roads and rail tracks impassable. Industrious residents used tools and dynamite to break up the larger chunks of ice.
The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.
‘Wassaic Digging Its way From Under Avalanche of Ice After Disastrous Flood Which Inundated Village Sunday Night’;
Huge Ice Jam Collapses At High Bridge, Superstructure Of Dam Swept Away Inhabitants Driven From Homes
RAILROAD TRACKS, HIGHWAY BURIED
Thirty Mile An Hour Torrent Roars Through Business Section; Workers Surprised, Barely Escape Wall Of Water
The village of Wassaic was slowly digging its way out from under thousands of tons of ice today after a flood and veritable avalanche Sunday night had smashed its way through the business section creating untold havoc and driving inhabitants of the lower lands from their homes and places of business.
Monday morning residents of nearby towns awoke to find Wassaic in the headlines of all leading newspapers. Motorists from all sections of the county poured into the little village to view the wreckage left in the wake of the flood. They found three newsreel photographers and three cameramen from metropolitan papers already on the job.
‘Many Citizens Support Shopping Center Plan’;
Citizens voiced heavy support of the shopping center, proposed for the south side of Route 44, just east of the Village of Millerton at the Connecticut State line, at last week’s North East Planning Board meeting.
Village merchants and others questioned the proposal’s assets and directly criticized the intentions of the shopping center developers.
Harold Miller of General Development of Connecticut (GDC) and Architect Vincent Lombardi explained that the proposed 66,000 square foot shopping center would rest on the front 8.7 acres of land and the latter 5.7 acres would be put to a recreational use. Miller informed the public that his firm has already confirmed two tenants, if the rezoning is granted, for the supermarket and the department store. He said be could not divulge the names of the two businesses without their permission. He did admit that one tenant was now located in the area. He said later in the meeting that the department store was not a typical discount store.
Miller said that if all goes smoothly the shopping center could be complete in a year, allowing 7 to 8 months for construction. He said, “there is no question that the shopping center is the meat of the proposal” but that the rest of the land could not be developed for stores because a shopping center that large was not marketable in this area.
‘NE Gets New Truck’; NORTH EAST - The Town of North East Highway Department and Supervisor David Sherman were eager this week to show off the latest addition to the town’s mechanical arsenal.
Now sitting at the town highway garage on South Center Street is a spanking-new truck — a 64,000-pound International model 2500 combination sander, plow and dump truck.
‘Poet Coaches Would-be Bards’; WEBUTUCK — There’s a little bit of poet in all of us, or so says writer Jacqueline Sweeney, Webutuck’s sometimes poet-in-residence.
For the third year in a row, Ms. Sweeney spent five days at Millerton Elementary School earlier this month conducting poetry workshops in all the grades.
‘Moss Earns Navy Medal’; MILLERTON - Senior Airman Malcolm G. Moss received the Air Force Achievement Medal from the Department of the Air Force recently.
‘Ag Program Will Try 2nd Tractor Pull’; WEBUTUCK - Hot on the heels of a successful show last fall, organizers plan to put on another antique tractor pull to benefit Webutuck’s agricultural program.
At Monday’s School Board meeting, agriculture teacher Bruce Pecorella and transportation director Bob McGhee outlined plans for another tractor pull modeled after last November’s successful affair, which attracted 97 tractors and some 250 to 300 people.
Having grown from a novelty to a tradition, the Amenia Library Tea Society met on Saturday, April 12, to enjoy teas and finger foods from Japan. The April meeting featured green tea and Senoha, served along with Dango, Moohi, Onigiri rice balls, melon seed cookies, and more. The May meeting will feature the fare of South Korea. Everyone is welcome to attend.
AMENIA — Building on the success of the monthly Library Tea Society, the Amenia Free Library is inviting children to dress up and attend the first-ever Children’s Tea Party on Saturday, April 19, at noon.
Children of ages 3 through 8 are invited to dress up in their best outfits to enjoy a fun tea party. Children must be accompanied by a caregiver.
As there are only 8 spots available, registration in advance is required. To register, call 845-373-8273 or email programs@amenialibrary.org.
Program assistant Hope Bruzzi will host the event in the library children’s area.
AMENIA — Continuing the process of developing subdivision plans for the Keane Stud acreage, the Planning Board heard a report from the planning engineers detailing a few plan changes at its regular meeting on Wednesday, April 9.
Representing Rennia Engineers, Senior Planner Peter Sander detailed plans for the parcel that stands in two zones: Rural Agricultural and Rural Residential, both requiring minimum lots of 5 acres.
Sander reported that two parcels have been removed from the planning, reducing the acreage from 704 to 605 total acres. The number of lots has been reduced from 27 to 23.
“We’ve enhanced the building envelopes,” Sander noted, having considered concerns about protecting the viewshed. Accordingly, 90% of each parcel will be reserved for conservation; 10% will be able to be built upon, Sander said.
The plans include a no vertical build zone in the area visible from Delavergne Hill, Sander said, adding that deed restrictions will limit the scale of development on each parcel.
Commenting on the plan changes, planning board engineer John Andrews asked that the plan drawings detail the outlined changes to agree with written submissions.
Sander said that the developer is asking for board input as well as comments from George Janes, the town’s visual resources consultant.
One of the visible impacts is the greenery or vegetative screening around each future home, board member Jamie Vitiello commented.
Covenant requirements are important in each instance, Andrews responded, citing lighting, building materials, and plantings that can be specified.
“The visuals flow from the deed restrictions,” Andrews said, noting that each building site plan will need to be considered by the planning board.
Board member Ken Topolsky asked about the permanence of the deed restrictions.
Andrews replied that when properly done, the restrictions run with the land, unless there are agreed-upon amendments. He added that the town will be a party to any such agreement.
“We want to listen to the Planning Board,” said owner-developer Juan Torres. He added that a footprint guide has been sketched on the plans for each future home with the height of each home restricted to between 21 and 28 feet, a protection against visibility. Plans have also specified a maximum amount of impervious surface on each sketched lot.
“If a future buyer wants to build a home, they will need to come before the Planning Board,” Torres noted. “This will help to ensure that the land remains agricultural into the future,” Torres added.
The Planning Board will continue discussion of the revised plans at its next meeting on Wednesday, April 23.
AMENIA — Following an initial presentation by planning consultants, the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee decided at its meeting on Tuesday, April 8, that the logical first step will be to invite broad public comment through a community-wide meeting likely to be scheduled in June.
“It’s about the engagement of the public,” said Tiffany Zezula, Deputy Director of the Land Use Law Center at Pace University in White Plains, as she reviewed the process involved in helping the town to develop comprehensive planning objectives and steps toward meeting those objectives.
The town is undertaking a review and update of the comprehensive plan, last updated in 2007. Experts usually recommend such updates every few years, Zezula said.
“We will work to convert public input into planning lingo,” Zezula said, describing the coordination between the Pace University center and Nexus Creative Design of Mt. Kisco, with specialty in community planning.
“Planning is one of the most important goals of local government,” Zezula said, noting that changes in local legislation and particularly local land use regulations need to agree with the comprehensive plan and its goals, objectives and strategies.
“The comprehensive plan gets used; it is your instruction manual,” Zezula said.
Modern planning has evolved, Zezula pointed out, from a silo approach of distinct issues such as housing, transportation, and the environment, to a more interrelated understanding of such topics and how one affects another.
Promoting public engagement will be the role of Nexus, as described by Anastasia Guadron, Principal in the Community Planning arm of Nexus. She reviewed various methods of widening community input, including input meetings, surveys and additional ways of “widening the net.”
A suggested calendar for the information gathering aspect, outlined by Zezula, might see a branding of the project and spreading the word happening from April to July, with public engagement sessions scheduled in June.
Other engagement tools such as surveys and pop-up info booths at town events provide options that could be initiated in June and July. August becomes the target month for town goal refinement.
WEST CORNWALL — Priscilla Waterman Pavel of West Cornwall was born on April 19, 1938, in Johnston, Rhode Island, and passed away on April 5, 2025. She was the wife of Asher Pavel, daughter of the late Walter and Annie Waterman, sister of Walter (Brud) Waterman III (Leah), sister of Deborah Riccio (Alfred), stepmother of Lee Pavel (Traci), Jill Pavel, Alan Pavel, and Amy Shanler (Michael), and loving step-grandchildren, step-great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Priscilla graduated from Classical High School, the University of Rhode Island, received her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee and was a professor at the University of Syracuse.
She taught English in Germany, worked at Concord Fabrics and Wamsutta in New York, co-founded Chapel House Fabrics with her husband, Asher Pavel, and worked in real estate for Bain Real Estate and then E. J. Murphy Realty. She served as a Selectman in Cornwall for three terms and volunteered for countless committees.
Her family will host a celebration of life in the summer.
To honor Priscilla’s memory, the family requests donations to The Cornwall Library, 30 Pine St., Cornwall CT 06753 or to The Little Guild Animal Shelter, 285 Sharon Goshen Turnpike, West Cornwall CT 06796, where her beloved Banjo is now awaiting a new home.
