By the community, for the community

When Robert and Mary Lou Estabrook purchased The Lakeville Journal in 1970 and The Millerton News in 1972, they set out to “publish the best newspaper of which [they] were capable.” They taught us that the role of the newspaper wasn’t just to report on the day-to-day, but to hold up a mirror, provide a record, and to help our community understand itself. But beyond that, Bob and Mary Lou took that sense of community responsibility and personally lived it.

This past weekend at the Jubilee Country Luncheon, we at The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News presented the inaugural Estabrook Community Leadership Award to The Harney Family, a family that has given so much to the Northwest Corner of Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York (see story and photos here). The award, named for Bob and Mary Lou Estabrook, recognizes an individual, family or organization for community leadership and the nurturing of community spirit.

The Harneys, too, embody that sense of responsibility. They are champions of local institutions, not just as employers and businesspeople, but as active and prominent supporters of a wide range of community organizations that provide essential services throughout the region.

This weekend, Elyse Harney reminded us to get involved. If you can give your time, money, or talents to a local organization working for a cause important to you, do it. If such an organization doesn’t exist, start it — and it doesn’t take much to begin.

The Jubilee was also an occasion to celebrate and support The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News, now a nonprofit news organization. In an era when local news — news of your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your communities — is dwindling, we are grateful to be not only surviving but thriving. And that is only thanks to you ... our readers, our donors, and our advertisers.

Covering the goings-on of the region week-in and week-out is a duty we perform with great pride. After all, your community is our community.

Thank you.

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Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

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Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

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He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.

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