With Water Dept. demolition on the horizon, Farr-Killmer leads project to rebuild

Caroline Farr-Killmer
Aly Morrissey

Caroline Farr-Killmer
MILLERTON — Caroline Farr-Killmer never imagined herself managing construction projects for a municipality. As a college student studying criminal justice, her future seemed rooted in law. But after the fire devastated Millerton’s Water and Highway Department building in the snowy, pre-dawn hours in February, Farr-Killmer stepped into an unexpected leadership role and hasn’t looked back.
“I would’ve laughed if someone told me I’d be working for a municipality and, let’s face it, in such a male-dominated space,” Farr-Killmer said of her current role as fire project manager for the Village of Millerton.
Farr-Killmer, who also serves as secretary for the village Planning and Zoning Board, was initially hesitant to take on the added role. Without a background in construction or municipal infrastructure, she worried about being taken seriously as a 25-year-old woman.
“I’m a young woman with no experience managing fire recovery or construction projects,” she said. “But everyone’s been respectful, patient and understanding.” Farr-Killmer credits Mayor Jenn Najdek for setting the right tone and paving the way as a role model.
Farr-Killmer’s responsibilities now include coordinating with contractors, village trustees, engineers and state agencies. She manages demolition timelines, monitors code compliance, documents inventory losses and keeps the public informed.
“It’s not often you see a young woman managing a demolition crew or working with state officials on infrastructure,” she said. “But I don’t have to pretend to know everything. I just have to ask the right questions, listen and make decisions that move things forward.”
In the weeks after the fire, Farr-Killmer made near-daily visits to the charred building, camera in hand. She documented the shifting structure — from collapsing rafters to snow-drenched equipment — helping the village rebuild its lost inventory piece by piece.
“Photographing the entire building became a way to track what was lost,” she said. “But every time I came back, something else had crumbled.”
Farr-Killmer said the fire was only the beginning.
“People think the fire was the disaster,” she said. “But the real challenge is everything that comes after — the paperwork, the insurance, the rebuilding plans and the deadlines. That’s where the work really begins.” She stressed that from the outside, it might not look like progress is being made. But the village has been working around the clock to move things forward and recover all lost items.
Despite the pressure, Farr-Killmer credits her confidence to her roots in the community and the support around her.
“When you work in a positive and supportive environment, it makes all the difference,” she said. “There’s a lot of work to do, but when you have that backing, it’s a whole different world.”
The demolition of the building is expected to begin this summer with BELFOR Property Restoration. The process will take place in phases to safely dismantle and clear the site. Additionally, Farr-Killmer and village leaders are working to develop plans for two separate replacement facilities: one for the Highway Department and another for the Water Department, each designed to meet current building codes and future needs.
Though she’s still figuring out what comes next, Farr-Killmer has considered returning to her roots in criminal justice — possibly advocating for wrongly incarcerated women.
For now, she is enjoying working in a supportive municipality and learning on the job.
Natalia Zukerman
Nate King, “When I Was Younger And Now That I’m Older,” 2026, Digital projection, digital animation, photography.
The Wassaic Project, the 8,000-square-foot, seven-story former grain elevator transformed into a vibrant arts space, opens its 2026 Summer Exhibition, “Because, now is the time of monsters,” on Saturday, May 16, from 3-6 p.m. at Maxon Mills, launching a season-long presentation featuring 39 artists working across installation, performance, video and sculpture.
The opening celebration will include an afternoon of exhibitions and live programming throughout the historic mill building and its surrounding spaces. Gallery and Art Nest hours run from 12-6 p.m., with special presentations scheduled throughout the day.
Highlights include “Life’s a Game, Boy,” an end-of-year exhibition by the Wassaic Project’s JV and varsity art clubs (4-6 p.m.), showcasing work by students in grades 5-12 from across the region. At 4:30 p.m., artist Ace Lehner presents “Barbershop: The Art of Queer Failure,” a participatory performance and installation that reimagines the barbershop as a space for queer world-making through improvised haircuts and collaborative exchange. Haircuts will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
In the evening, artist Nate King will present “When I Was Younger and Now That I’m Older” (8-10 p.m.), a projection work that transforms the facade of Maxon Mills into a shifting visual field of memory, geometry and childhood imagery, reflecting on time, age and perception.
The exhibition, organized by the Wassaic Project, will be on view through Sept. 12 and brings together a wide range of contemporary artists working in and around the Hudson Valley region. More information is available at wassaicproject.org.
Natalia Zukerman
The Hotchkiss School will launch a major new addition to its arts programming with the inaugural Hotchkiss International Piano Competition, a three-day event taking place May 15–17 in Katherine M. Elfers Hall.
The competition will bring together young pianists ages 10 to 18 from around the world, with participants representing the United States, Thailand, Korea, China, Canada, and Azerbaijan. Performers will compete across multiple age divisions, culminating in final rounds that will be open to the public, offering audiences the opportunity to hear a wide range of emerging international talent in performance.
The jury features an internationally recognized panel of performers and educators, including Artistic Directors Fabio Witkowski and Gisele Nacif Witkowski of The Hotchkiss School, alongside Gloria Chien, Olga Kern, Leonel Morales, and Álvaro Teixeira Lopes. Together, the panel brings broad global experience as performers, pedagogues, and competition jurors, and will evaluate contestants over the course of the event.
Organizers describe the competition as both a rigorous artistic platform and an opportunity for cultural exchange, emphasizing performance under professional conditions and the development of young artists at a formative stage in their careers. Winners will receive a total of $25,000 in prize awards, along with opportunities for broader recognition and future performance engagement.
The competition is made possible through founding support from the Yang and Hamabata families. Murong Yang (Class of 2008), whose experience at Hotchkiss shaped her early connection to music and the arts, and her husband Corey Hamabata envisioned a program that combines artistic rigor with personal growth and international exchange. Their support establishes the competition as part of a longer-term commitment to nurturing emerging musical talent.
“This competition offers a platform for extraordinary young artists to challenge themselves, share their artistry, and connect with a global community of musicians,” said Fabio Witkowski, Artistic Director.
The final rounds of the competition will be open to the public, inviting audiences to experience live performances from some of the most promising young pianists on the international stage.
More information is available at hotchkiss.org/piano-competition.
Natalia Zukerman
“Untitled” by Christine Domanic, one of the 37 artists featured in “Earthen Plot,” opening Friday, May 15.
Art lovers will have an opportunity to step inside working artist’s studios across the region next weekend as Open Studios by Upstate Art Weekend returns Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The annual event invites the public into the creative spaces of 240 artists throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills, offering an intimate look at artistic practices across disciplines while fostering direct connections between artists and visitors.
This year marks the first standalone edition of Open Studios. While the event previously took place alongside June’s Upstate Art Weekend festival, founder Helen Toomer said dedicating an entire weekend to studio visits allows the focus to remain fully on artists and the experience of encountering their work where it is made.
“While Open Studios previously took place alongside Upstate Art Weekend in June, dedicating an entire weekend to studios allows the focus to remain fully on the artists and the experience of visiting them in their creative spaces,” said Toomer. “We’re excited to welcome both returning and new participants this year.”
Founded in 2020, Upstate Art Weekend has grown into a major regional arts platform spotlighting artists, organizations and creative communities throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills.
The self-guided, region-wide program transforms private studios into temporary public spaces for conversation, discovery and engagement with contemporary art.
Toomer said the shift creates a distinctly different experience from the larger June festival.
“One of the biggest differences from June is the pace and focus,” she said. “Open Studios offers a more intimate experience — giving visitors time to connect directly with artists, see where work is made, and engage more deeply with their practices.”
She added that the two events complement one another.
“Together, the two events create a meaningful balance: Open Studios in May centers the artists, while June’s Upstate Art Weekend gives participating artists the opportunity to explore the region’s museums, galleries and organizations themselves.”
This year’s Open Studios will kick off with the opening reception for “Earthen Plot,” a group exhibition curated by Toomer, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, at UAW headquarters in Kingston.
The exhibition features work by 37 artists selected from more than 200 Open Studios participants and explores artistic practices shaped by place — physically, spiritually and intuitively.
Through sculpture, painting, installation and ephemeral forms, “Earthen Plot” examines relationships between land, material and environment.
The exhibition will remain on view through June 29, with regular Saturday hours and extended hours during Open Studios weekend and Upstate Art Weekend, which takes place June 25-29.
Visitors can plan their Open Studios routes using UAW’s online interactive map and create customized itineraries to explore studios across the region.
“More than anything, we hope both weekends encourage people to discover the richness of the Hudson Valley’s creative community in a personal and memorable way,” Toomer said.
More information is available at upstateartweekend.org.

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Dee Salomon
This brief period in the spring, before the mosquitoes and poison ivy proliferate, is irresistible to me. I want to do everything all at once: plant, remove invasives, examine what is coming into leaf and tend to plants that need protection, whether from deer or downy mildew.
Amid the nonstop gardening work, I recently made time to join a tour of two nearby gardens. Each had a fascinating history, and we looked at photos to see how much had changed and what was still there and flourishing, including a stand of large yellowroot with delicate brown-and-yellow flowers that look like a cross between an orchid and a lilac. It has been there for decades, a lesson in successful gardening with native plants.
As we toured, I overheard someone grumble about having too much wild strawberry in their garden. I secretly laughed, as I have worked for several years to encourage the spread of this sweet plant with its pert white flowers and miniature fruit. I have planted it under trees, encouraged it along woodland paths, and sat on the edges of the lawn for hours pulling out the very similar mock strawberry, Potentilla indica, to allow the native one to proliferate.
One of its characteristics is that it spreads readily, given room. As a groundcover, it also controls erosion. According to Native Plant Trust, Fragaria virginiana supports 75 different species of butterflies and moths throughout their life cycles and supports numerous other insects, as well as mammals and birds. This makes it a “keystone” plant, a designation that means without it, an ecosystem is vulnerable to collapse. That is a big responsibility for a small plant.
One person’s trash is another’s treasure. On the very same garden tour, another person was extolling the flowering lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis, situated in a stone-walled bed. I used to feel the same way until I noticed large swaths of it growing in the woods.
This romantic and fragrant flowering plant is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Its deep rhizomatous roots crowd out native groundcover neighbors. Lily of the valley is highly toxic to mammals and, as a nonnative, supports only a few insects that use its pollen. I have tried digging and pulling it out to no avail. This year, I am using a strimmer, aka weed whacker, even though I risk damaging nearby plants. I am hoping that after doing this a few times over the next several years, I will succeed in getting rid of it. I will keep you posted.
Native groundcover may not be our first thought when we garden, but it is an easy and fundamental way to tie together a garden bed, especially when garden plants are still immature, while helping nature at the same time.
In addition to wild strawberry, another keystone groundcover in our area is violet; it is the exclusive larval host plant for dozens of fritillary butterfly species. They are flowering now in numerous shades of their namesake color. I find them to be a native treasure, too long taken for granted and eschewed for fancier plants.
In shady areas, two gorgeous native options are foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia, which has a delightful early spring flower — a 4-inch spike of tiny white foamy blooms — and wild ginger, Asarum canadense, a dignified option that creates a bed of overlapping semicircles completely covering the soil beneath.
If you are looking for something that forms a clump, the species Heuchera americana and Heuchera villosa are known as alumroot or coral bells. Finding the original species version can be difficult, as there is an abundance of colorful cultivars at nurseries. Aside from being too flashy for my taste, the versions with red and purple tones will be largely ignored by the native insects we are trying to protect. Stay away from those and stick with the green-leaved versions.
Where do you find these and other useful and beautiful plants? The Cornwall Garden Club is hosting its annual native plant sale Saturday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the terrace at The Pink House Restaurant, 34 Lower River Road in West Cornwall. I will be there, as will Michelle Paladino from Lindera Nursery and Heidi Cunnick from the Cornwall Conservation Commission. Come visit and say hello.
Dee Salomon ‘ungardens’ in Litchfield County.
Millerton News
Dahlia Daze is a multi-farm dahlia tuber festival and seedling sale featuring local growers, rare varieties, and plant starts, plus a Dahlia Talk on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Foxtrot Farm & Flowers, 6862 NY-82, Stanfordville. Reservations required at foxtrotfarmflowers.com
Millerton News
PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: Possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage SHARON 407-620-7777.
SUMMER OFFICE HELP NEEDED: PC and social media skills for local bookstore. Contact by text 860-671-9197.
THE TOWN OF SALISBURY: Seeking a full-time Town Hall Administrative Assistant. For more information or to send a cover letter and resume, please email: townhall@salisburyct.us. You may also view a full job description on the Town website: www.salisburyct.us/employment. Applications must be received by May 22, 2026. The Town of Salisbury is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Wyantenuck Country Club is seeking lifeguards: for our upcoming season. Lifeguard position starts end of May/mid June. Please call 413-528-0350 or email: jen@wyantenuck.org.
Detailed Cleaning: Spotless Spaces, Every Time: We specialize in rental turnovers and weekly home cleanings. Let’s make your space shine! 413-854-7417.
GARDENING: Spring and Fall Cleanup and Stone W alls. 845-444-4492.
Hector Pacay Landscaping and Construction LLC: Fully insured. Renovation, decking, painting; interior exterior, mowing lawn, garden, stone wall, patio, tree work, clean gutters, mowing fields. 845-636-3212.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity.All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawfulsource of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Millerton, rural, newly renovated house: 2 bedroom, split air heat/a/c system, dishwasher,decks, views, pets considered. $2650 plus utilities. Call 518-567-8277.
Lakeville, CT
Expansive Tag Sale: GARDEN Vintage Mount Vernon Sundial, Teak Bench, Antique Fan Shaped Trellis, Metal Patio Pieces, A Variety of Plant Stands, Potting Tables, Bird Bath ANTIQUE FURNITURE: Tiger Maple, Mahogany, Oak, Pine & Chestnut, Many Tables and Stands, Dressers, Blanket Chests MISCELLANEOUS: Brass Fire Fender, Andirons, Vintage Light Fixtures, Collectibles, Many Interesting Smalls and Useful Items, and Much More.May 16th & 17th 9:00 until 3:00.NO EARLY BIRDS PLEASE. 442 Lime Rock Road Lakeville (Route 112) Lakeville CT 06039.

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