Community groups showcase enduring commitment to Kent’s future
Chuck Goldberg of Kent Affordable Housing leads a gathering at which Kent’s nonprofits spoke about the missions of their groups.
Ruth Epstein
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Joseph Robert Meehan
Jun 25, 2025
SALISBURY — Joseph Robert Meehan the 2nd,photographer, college professor and nearly 50 year resident of Salisbury, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizon on June 17, 2025. He was 83.
He was the son of Joseph Meehan the 1st and his mother, Anna Burawa of Levittown, New York, and sister Joanne, of Montgomery, New York.
He is predeceased by his wife, Elsie Lynn Meehan who passed away in November of 2023.
He leaves behind a son, Joseph Cortese, of Upton Massachusetts, his wife Mary and grandchildren, Michaela (Cortese)Donabedian, her husband Sevag and his great grandson, Ari, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
His grandson, Joseph Cortese, of Barrington, Rhode Island, and his granddaughter, Jaclyn Cortese of Tamworth, New Hampshire.
He also leaves behind his daughter, Kathleen Cortese Zito and husband Dominic, their three children, Michael, Alessandra, and Mathew Zito of Broomall, Pennsylvania.
After teachingpsychology at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, starting in 1968, his40-year career in photography started in the mid to late 70’s and has included assignment work for a wide variety of commercial and editorial publications. Over a thousand of his photographs have appeared in newspapers, books, magazines and on web sites for clients such as Nikon, and Hasselblad cameras, SanDisk memory cards, Tiffen Filters, Fujifilm, Eastman Kodak, the U.S. Army, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Museum and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
His work ranged from the beauty of the Salisbury areato an expedition photographer for arctic animal studies in the high Canadian Arctic, photographing Inuit hunters in Northern Greenland to landscape work in other extreme locals such as Death Valley, California.
Portfolios of his work have featured in such magazines as Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, Rangefinder and Popular Photography and his style has been characterized by the New York Times as “…alive with color and sparkling with light.”
He also served as the technical editor of Photo District News for over a decade, writing about new technologies and products and was the former editor of the Photography Yearbook. He has authored over 20 books on photographic technique many of which have received “best book” awards and have been translated into several languages.
Born in New York City, he was a 1959 graduate of Levittown High School, Levittown, New York.
He received his baccalaureate degree with honors from Columbia and a Master of Arts degree from Manhattan College. He has taught photography on the college level in the U.S., England and at the National Academy of Arts in Taiwan and gave workshops at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach, Florida.
His eye always saw the beauty of the Salisbury area through alens and he captured those images in an area that he and his wife Lynn loved.
When they were not on/in and around the lake, he and Lynn didn’t miss any of their grandchildren’s big events.Joe took great pride in photographing all these memorable events.
His beautiful images will always be here for all to appreciate.
Funeral services are under the direction of Newkirk-Palmer funeral home and a graveside service will be held this Friday, June 27, 2025, at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 18 Cobble Road, Salisbury, Connecticut.
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Florence Olive Zutter Murphy
Jun 25, 2025
STANFORDVILLE, New York — It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Florence Olive Zutter Murphy, who went home to be with the Lord on June 16, 2025, at the age of 99.
She was born in Sharon, Connecticut on Nov. 20, 1925, and was a long time resident of the Dutchess County area.
She was a devoted mother, loving wife to James Francis Murphy, who passed on Oct. 11, 1971, and a dear friend to many.
Florence, who was also known as Flo, managed a dairy farm for many years on Carpenter Hill Road in Pine Plains, New York. She is remembered for her delicious home cooked meals.
After raising her children she became an avid square dancer, racketball and tennis player. She then discovered her love for bike riding. She enjoyed embarking on bike tours well into her mid 80’s. When Flo wasn’t out riding her bike she could be found taking care of her property. She loved gardening, clearing the woods and building rock walls one stone at a time.
Florence was an amazing woman of great integrity, strength and tenacity. She was adored, respected and greatly loved by her family and those who knew her.
Florence is survived by her seven children — Bonnie June Chase, James Albert Murphy, Donna Sue Strauss, Jackie Lynn Merwin Disher, Glenn William Murphy, Lori Lee Mora and Clint Evan Murphy as well as 16 grand children and 20 great grand children.
She will always be remembered and greatly missed.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
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Bach and beyond
Jun 25, 2025
The Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) of Stockbridge will present a concert by cellist Dane Johansen on June 28 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Provided
The mission statement of the Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) reads: “Our mission is to preserve the cultural legacy of Baroque music for current and future audiences — local, national, and international — by presenting the music of J.S. Bach, his Baroque predecessors, contemporaries, and followers performed by world-class musicians.”
Its mission will once again be fulfilled by presenting a concert featuring Dane Johansen on June 2 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 29 Main Street, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Terrill McDade, Executive Director of BBS, said, “Dane is a supremely talented musician and a musical poet. Audiences will hear his cello speak in three different musical dialects: those of Bach, Gaspar Cassadó, and Benjamin Britten. They will experience and be able to find the idiom that means the most to them. The music is classical, contemporary, and modern. It is contemplative, energetic, lyrical, rhythmic, and, in the end, philosophical. The audience is in for that rare musical treat of an intimate recital of profound music interpreted by a solo player who gives them something to think about —whether consciously or sub-consciously.”
McDade added, “Berkshire Bach believes it is very important to present live performances of a variety of Baroque music throughout the season, especially in this time in our society. Music has restorative power, and when played by fine musicians, can provide moments of respite and reflection that do us good.”
Johansen’s recital on June 28 is a case in point. The sound of the cello — so close to that of the human voice —makes us feel better somehow — refreshed in our spirit, hopeful, better able to carry on in difficult times,” said McDade.
Johansen grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. He graduated from Juilliard and is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, which he joined in 2016. He has performed all over the world as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. He was a member of the Escher String Quartet and a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.
The concert will conclude Berkshire Bach’s thirty-fifth season, which opened with the film “Strangers on the Earth,” also featuring Johansen as he walked the Camino de Santiago — the ancient 600-mile pilgrimage route extending through France and Spain — with his cello strapped to his back in 2014. He stopped in towns along the way and played the six Bach Cello Suites in local churches.
The concert will begin at 5pm. Tickets are available at: www.bershirebach.org/events.
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In a rapidly changing business market James Turk’s new book, “The Giving Game,” is a guide for team members transitioning to mangers. As an executive coach and CEO of The Turk Group — a boutique learning and consulting company — Turk has honed his leadership skill set through years of working in Human Resources at Random House, P&O Nedlloyd and Goldman Sachs, not to mention a stint in the acting world. Ultimately, Turk found his niche was in training and development. Now he services notable clients such as Buzzfeed, Spotify, NYSE, and many more.
At a pivotal moment in Turk’s career, he faced two choices: to push through fear, or to sit in the comfort of stagnancy. In the early stages of Turk’s career his supervisor, the head of HR, needed someone to represent the HR department at a sales conference in Chicago. His supervisor sensed Turk’s hesitancy and laid out a high-level plan, conducting practice sessions to ensure success. Despite being scared, Turk presented.
Through perseverance, Turk learned how to trust someone else with his professional development and “how to work through fear and just show up, in spite of it,” he said.
Through this experience, Turk benefited from the results of the “Giving Game.” Turks supervisor saw an opportunity that would aid in his growth, and in response he dedicated time and resources with a mutually beneficial result.
In this book, Turk provides a guide on how new managers can embody this giving mindset. The beginning of a management position is often the most difficult, so Turk outlines the first stage with the “F45 Playbook.” It is critical to gain clarity of manager responsibilities, complete self-assessments, identify key stakeholders, and meet with team members one on one.
With this foundation, managers can begin to lead with intention, empathy, and to cultivate value.
Data shows that employees’ job satisfaction and engagement are linked to their relationship with their direct supervisor. With this comes the power of influence, especially over the workplace climate. Some critical questions managers need to ask themselves include: do people feel heard, seen, and appreciated? Are expectations clear? Do I know my employees’ individual working/learning styles? Is feedback provided and is it effective? Do people feel safe and accepted to be themselves?
In his book, Turk provides helpful resources to answer these questions, such as the Daniel Goleman emotional intelligence (EQ) model and many more that can be found in the Resources section of the book.
The aim of this book is to be immediately useful, and that it is.
When asked how his book can guide young professionals to be leaders in such uncertain and divided times, Turk responded with:
“In uncertain times, people need steady, honest leadership. The book helps young professionals lead with confidence, even without all the answers. It focuses on building trust, supporting your team, and creating a healthy culture. A giving mindset helps leaders move beyond self-preservation and think about how to lift others up — which is
exactly what teams need right now.”
“The Giving Game” is available for purchase on Amazon or at The Dutchess Trading Company in Millerton.
Olivia Geiger is an MFA student at Western Connecticut State Universiry and a lifelong resident of Lakeville.
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