Board addresses municipal business

PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains Town Board met Thursday, Sept. 20, for what town Supervisor Brian Coons later described as a “quiet meeting” with few members of the public in attendance. Coons said the board discussed its Community Development Block Grant application, which the board wants to use for sidewalk replacement and repair on East Church Street. Pine Plains is applying for the grant because the sidewalk needs repairs and a couple of things need replacement. If awarded, the block grant will also go toward adding some decorative lighting on South Main Street.A public hearing for the block grant proposal is set for Thursday, Oct. 4. “The board decided that’s where our applications should focus this year,” said Coons about the sidewalk project. “Then we hold public comment, then our decisions are forwarded and go to the county and hopefully are accepted.”Town Board tends to justice courtThe Town Board approved a grant idea suggested for repairs to the town justice court at its meeting as well. The two town justices put in a grant request through the Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP), which is a program that was established in 1999 to provide state assistance to town and village courts. The grant for the justice court would improve the facility, which is located in the bottom floor of the Town Hall. The board gave its approval for the project proposal on Sept. 20, allowing the justices time to submit the grant.The town’s accountant, Mike Tortia, spoke at the board meeting, advising the board on budgeting. The budget season has just begun for towns statewide. Tortia advised the board on trends in their budget over the years and some changes the board could make this year to save money and manpower.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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