Webutuck hosts HVRHS for basketball scrimmage
Webutuck’s Junior Varsity squad lost the scrimmage overall despite success at the rim.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Latest News
Amenia resident to gift Westerly Ridge property to town
Leila Hawken
Jul 28, 2026
AMENIA — A Sharon resident has offered to donate a 27-acre parcel valued at more than $1 million to the Town of Amenia, proposing that the land be permanently preserved as conservation property to protect the final unprotected section of Westerly Ridge.
Carol Flaton, owner of the property at 108 Westerly Ridge near the Connecticut border, presented the proposal to the Town Board during its regular meeting Thursday, July 23. She said she purchased the property less than a month ago with the intention of ensuring it would never be developed.
The 27-acre parcel has a value of $1,014,200.
“I don’t live in New York, I just want you people to have it and to protect the ridge line,” Flaton told the board. She said donating the property would be consistent with the town’s Master Plan, which envisions protecting the ridge line from future development.
“The whole ridge line will then be protected,” she said.
Town Supervisor Rosanna Hamm said the proposal would require review and approval from several parties before the town could accept the donation, including the Westerly Ridge Homeowners Association and Dutchess County conservation officials.
Flaton said she hopes the donation process can be completed by the end of the year.
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Memorial service to honor local art curator
Leila Hawken
Jul 28, 2026
Paula Pelosi
Photo provided
AMENIA — Friends and community members are invited to celebrate the life of local art curator Paula Pelosi at the Smithfield Church.
A significant loss to the contemporary art world, as well as to her many local and area friends, the life of Pelosi will be celebrated at a memorial service set for the Smithfield Church on Saturday, Aug. 1. The service will begin at 2 p.m.
Pelosi died this year in April after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
The memorial service will be led by the Rev. Douglas Grandgeorge, Pastor of The Smithfield Church.
Pelosi’s career brought her close to luminaries in the art world including years as an executive assistant and curator for artist Frank Stella, an association that led her to divide her time between her home in Amenia and her Brooklyn home. She looked after all details of curating and hanging Stella’s exhibitions world-wide and assisted in the management of his local horse farm. In addition to art-related travel, Pelosi enjoyed traveling for pleasure to experience remote regions.
Community service was an important aspect of Pelosi’s life as she served 10 years as a member of the Amenia Zoning Board of Appeals.
“I knew Paula as a friend and a colleague,” said Judy Westfall on Friday, July 24, remembering Pelosi’s service on the ZBA, when Westfall served as ZBA Secretary. “She loved Amenia and always looked to the future with great pride and enthusiasm.”
“She was a kind and gentle woman with a great heart. She cared greatly about her work and the many friendships she had in Amenia. Her presence is missed,” Westfall said, noting that Pelosi’s smile brightened the mood at every ZBA meeting.
“I always referred to her as the ‘Queen of the ZBA’ because she was the only woman member,” Westfall said.
“She was a wonderful woman,” said Town Supervisor Rosanna Hamm on Friday, July 24, adding that she regretted not having had an opportunity to work with Pelosi longer to know her better. Hamm began her term in office in January 2026.
Tributes offered by Town Hall staff and ZBA members carried effusive praise and genuine appreciation for Pelosi’s service to the town.
“Paula led a very interesting life,” Hamm said.
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New ‘tower garden’ brings year-round greens to NorthEast-Millerton Library
Jacquelyn Drain
Jul 28, 2026
NorthEast-Millerton’s new “tower garden” in the center of the library will grow lettuce and other leafy greens.
Photo by Jacquelyn Drain
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton library is cultivating a new program to address food access in the community through its new “Tower Garden,” an indoor growing system that allows the library to produce and distribute vegetables, herbs and flowers year-round.
The tower garden, described as an aeroponic vertical growing system, came to the library through a grant issued by The Library of Local. That initiative stems from a partnership between the Mid-Hudson Library System and The Understory, an organization that promotes ecological resilience in the Hudson Valley.
The kit provides the tower, made out of plastic tubing, as well as a starter pack with seeds and instructions. The tubing inside carries water from a tank on the bottom to rain down on the seedlings. There are also four lights attached that mimic sunlight necessary for growth. The librarians have also added googly eyes on the contraption giving it an abstract face. Currently they are growing kale, rainbow chard, basil, dill, lettuces and snapdragons.
Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson is spearheading this project and has strong hopes for the garden despite its unusual look.
“During the downpour the other day it started to water itself and I think the person in the library thought we had sprung a leak and panicked for a second,” Leo-Jameson said. “As they really start growing, people are gonna be noticing it more and more.”
The Library hopes that this addition will produce enough yield to distribute to the community. They have previously put on programs to assist with providing food to community members, such as opening a small food pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic and adding garden beds in the backyard. They are hoping to provide more once the Tower produces significant growth.
“We’ve struggled with food access in our community,” Leo-Jameson said. “We thought ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something more.’”
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Wassaic wine shop celebrates first birthday
Nathan Miller
Jul 28, 2026
Erika DaSilva cuts a chocolate and mango puree birthday cake at Ten Mile Table in Wassaic on Saturday, July 25, to celebrate the wine shop’s first anniversary.
Photo by Nathan Miller
WASSAIC — More than two dozen residents and wine aficionados came together Saturday, July 25, to celebrate a local wine shop’s first anniversary.
Ten Mile Table, a wine shop founded by Erika DaSilva that occupies Wassaic’s historic candy store, celebrated its first anniversary on Saturday with a bonafide birthday bash complete with chocolate cake, wine tastings, charcuterie and a DJ.
The shop has been a labor of love for DaSilva, who decided to renovate the dilapidated old candy shop located on Wassaic’s Main Street between The Lantern and the Post Office. She said the past year has been about introducing customers to wines they might not otherwise try.
“There are people who come in that don’t like wine or don’t think they do,” DaSilva said. “They’ve been gracious enough to give me the space to give them something to try or walk them through.”
One of DaSilva’s current passions is showcasing New York wine producers. She said the state’s wine industry has become far more diverse in recent years, and she enjoys introducing customers to in-state producers making distinctive wines.
“Most people have had New York wine and thought that it was only riesling or that it was sweet dessert wine or something you would taste at an orchard,” DaSilva said. “No shade to riesling, but I think people have this idea that New York wine is only this one thing and it’s definitely not.”
DaSilva keeps bottles of her New York favorites uncorked and ready for a taste in the shop for curious buyers. Notable producers include Metal House Cidery in Esopus, New York, Dutchess Hill Wines based in Millerton, Dewey’s Wines from the finger lakes in western New York, and Hudson, New York -based winery Neverstill.
Looking forward, DaSilva said she plans to renovate the second floor in the aging building to serve as a tasting room, space for more wine tasting classes or other events. DaSilva hosts weekly wine tasting classes on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
DaSilva is also planning an upcoming wine forum at the shop. The talk will center New York producers of ciders and wine to make the case for drinks made instate and explain their processes.
Members of the public are invited to join the talk on Saturday, Aug. 8, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Ten Mile Table, located at Main Street near the Wassaic Project campus.
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Millbrook’s summer brush pick-up kicks off in August
Leila Hawken
Jul 28, 2026
MILLBROOK — The summer brush pick-up program is continuing on the second Mondays in August and September.
The next scheduled pick-up will be on Monday, Aug. 10. Residents may place brush at their curbside up to 10 days before the pick-up date, but it must be at the curb before the Monday morning of pick-up. The town will make one pass only through the village on each collection day.
Only eligible brush will be collected. To learn more about brush rules and regulations, go to the village website at www.villageofmillbrookny.gov, click on “Departments” and then “Public Works”, or phone 845-677-3022.
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Sally Sterling Ellis Quale
Millerton News
Jul 28, 2026
NORFOLK — Sally Sterling Ellis Quale, of Norfolk, Connecticut and St. Petersburg, Florida, formerly of Bronxville, New York, died unexpectedly of heart failure on July 7 at the age of 87.
Sally will be remembered for her deep commitment to her family and communities and for her warmth, kindness, intelligence, creativity …and, of course, for her beautiful smile and deliciously sweet sense of humor. She was a gentle leader, contributing her talents as a teacher, writer, musician, athlete and organizer.
Born in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, to Addison Sterling Ellis and Marion Mullison Ellis, Sally was the eldest of three sisters. She graduated from Springside Academy and Smith College, where she was a student leader and an All-American in both lacrosse and field hockey. Devoted to Springside throughout her life, she served on its Board of Trustees and received its Distinguished Service Award for leadership, including establishing an American chestnut arboretum---the restoration of the American chestnut being a lifetime interest of Sally.
Sally began her career as a teacher at The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she quickly became head of the middle school. Her love of books and writing then led her to New York publishing, where she worked at Random House, Alfred A. Knopf, and Viking Penguin. She continued her active athletic life, playing tennis, co-ed softball and soccer in the publishers’ league in Central Park, and even skiing Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mount Washington.
A gifted pianist, organist and singer, Sally performed with New York’s Blue Hill Troupe, where she met and married the love of her life, Drew Quale. Soon two spirited sons, Andrew III and Addison, arrived and the family moved to Bronxville, New York.
Together they built a life centered on family, community, education, music and sports. She founded the Bronxville Bulletin, became the Bronxville School’s first Public Information Officer, served as Project Director for the publication of the school’s history and produced six Blue Hill Troupe performances to benefit the Bronxville School Foundation, which she and Drew were instrumental in establishing. She directed and accompanied the Bronxville Hilltop band and singers at the Hilltop’s annual Holiday Party. She encouraged many NYC friends to move to Bronxville, who themselves contributed greatly to Bronxville’s educational and musical life.
In 1984, Sally and Drew purchased a 1780 farmhouse in Norfolk, Connecticut as their “casa de campo,” beginning a decades-long love affair with Norfolk, Doolittle Lake and the entire Northwest Corner. In Norfolk, she helped found the town newspaper, Norfolk Now, organized many concerts and cabarets, and produced several Blue Hill Troupe productions for the pre-season opening benefit of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In recent years, Sally and Drew also found a welcoming winter home and deeply caring friends at Westminster Shores in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Sally is survived by her husband, Andrew Christopher Quale Jr.; her sons, Andrew Christopher Quale III and Addison Sterling Ellis Quale; her daughter-in-law, Nágila Pereira Quale; her grandchildren, Strynden Pereira Quale, Amattan Pereira Quale, and Hannah Zeilyn Pereira Quale; her sister, Mimi Garrett; Andrew’s partner, Jessica Euphamie Moore; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.
Two Memorial Services will be held: Saturday, August 22, 11 AM, at United Church of Christ Congregational, 12 Litchfield Road, Norfolk CT 06058; and Saturday, October 10, 11 AM at Reformed Church of Bronxville, 180 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, NY 10708.
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