“We are in the middle of a fight right now with hydrilla, and each punch definitely hurts a little more.” Jeremiah Foley, Assistant Scientist and Biological Control Specialist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station/Office of Aquatic Invasive Species
Map showing hydrilla survey sites at state boat launches.
SALISBURY — Last summer, East Twin became the first lake in the state to discover the presence of a genetically distinct strain of invasive hydrilla, a robust aquatic plant which, if left unchecked, can out-compete native plants and devastate local ecosystems.
Until it found its way into East Twin, most likely by hitchhiking a ride on a boat or boat trailer, the novel variant had only been identified in the Connecticut River, where it has wreaked havoc since 2016, and continues to do so today, as scientists and environmentalists work furiously to find a way to manage and eradicate the aggressive weed from the state’s waterways.
In response to the growing threat, the state environmentalists plan to spend the next several months, the peak hydrilla growth period, surveying 94 state-owned boat launches throughout Connecticut in search of hydrilla, according to Jeremiah Foley, assistant scientist and biological control specialist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station/Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (CAES/OAIS).
Foley, who has paid numerous visits to East Twin, was the guest lecturer at the Aug. 3 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association (TLA) at Camp Isola Bella. His presentation focused on the status of hydrilla in Connecticut and specifically on Twin Lakes.
He noted that a novel strain of hydrilla, first found in 2016, infests the Connecticut River from Agawam, Mass., to near Long Island Sound.
“In 2023, molecular identification confirmed the plant was also in six Connecticut lakes and ponds, and in four of the lakes, the hydrilla was found in close proximity to public boat launches. This suggests the plant may be introduced by launch activities particularly by boats entering the lakes that had previously been in the Connecticut River,” Foley explained.
The state scientist said early detection and rapid response protocols would be enhanced if hydrilla surveys of areas near boat ramps were performed to quantify how common the Connecticut River variant of hydrilla is found near boat launches, and if so, “provide guidance to help boaters prevent introduction, and prioritize management decisions.”
The boat launch survey project, he said, will include all 94 state-owned boat launches, including launches located at lakes and ponds. Seventy-five of the sites accommodate trailers and 20 are only for car top/carry in, he explained.
“We have now found the Connecticut River hydrilla in several locations,” explained Foley, who, before joining the OAIS, worked on invasive species control and eradication, including hydrilla, in Florida, where his bread and butter, he said, was biological control.
“You guys were the first to get it, or the first to find it. This year alone, we found it at four more sites. I can’t even keep my data updated fast enough. We are in the middle of a fight right now with hydrilla, and each punch definitely hurts a little more.”
During the nearly two-hour meeting, Foley, TLA officials and Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand fielded concerns and questions from those in attendance, many of whom live or own property on the Twin Lakes. They discussed the importance of halting the spread and eventually eradicating hydrilla through aggressive monitoring and lake management.
TLA president Grant Bogle opened the meeting by noting that it was no surprise that the 2024 survey revealed hydrilla has spread at East Twin. “We should be expecting this for a few years until we get control of the situation,” he noted.
Hydrilla, which is among the most aggressive invasive aquatic species, able to grow in water up to 30 feet deep and double in biomass every two weeks, has taken root in three new locations along East Twin’s eastern shore, at the north bed and has formed deep mats around the boat launch.
“If you go down to the marina, look to the right and look to the left, it’s hydrilla. It’s everywhere down there. That’s ground zero,” said Bogle.
On a positive note, the TLA president explained that the state is allowing the expanded use of the herbicide Sonar, widely regarded as one of the most effective treatments, around O’Hara’s Landing Marina and further into the north cove, where the plant is rapidly growing.
The treatment area around the marina will expand to include 17 acres, according to Russ Conklin, vice president of lake management for the TLA. Treatments were expected to start Aug. 7.
Looking ahead to next year, TLA officials said they plan to start Sonar treatment earlier in the season and for the entire growing period, and treatment will cover the entire littoral zone of East Twin, rather than spot-treatment, a strategy that was met with success at Coventry Lake, in Tolland County, where hydrilla was discovered in 2015.
East Twin officials are looking to Coventry Lake’s success in eradicating hydrilla after a seven-year effort as a case study for East Twin, even though that lake’s strain of hydrilla is slightly different than the Connecticut River variant.
Coventry initially spot treated with an herbicide Aquathol and applied a subsequent five-year treatment of Sonar to its entire littoral zone. By the end of 2022, there was no evidence of hydrilla in the lake. No herbicide treatment was applied in the 2023 season, and after three hydrilla beds cropped up in August, their lake consultant, Northeast Aquatic Research (NEAR), recommended a return to Sonar treatments of the entire littoral zone for a minimum of three years.
“There is a lot of ignorance surrounding the use of herbicides…that you can put the product in the water and see it go downstream. That’s not the case. You can be selective,” Foley explained.
He noted that there are a dozen products highly regulated by the EPA, and that herbicides are just one tool within the tool belt of dealing with invasive plants.
“If you don’t do anything, that’s also a threat to that biodiversity,” said Foley.
As hydrilla grows, lake management costs soar, too.
Bogle said the TLA expects to spend $300,000 battling hydrilla this year, and $350,000 in 2025.
“Maintaining Twin Lakes for future generations,” he said, “requires us to commit to sustained investments of upwards of $350,000 per year.” For the 2025 season, Bogle said the TLA needs to raise upwards of $225,000 per year.
The bulk of responsibility for funding lake management will fall to the TLA membership, he noted, as annual membership dues account for less than 10 percent of the budget.
“Everyone is scared to death about these expenses. And here is the unfortunate news,” said Bogle. “It doesn’t go down next year or the year after that.”
The town of Salisbury is poised to contribute $100,000 for lake management in 2025 which includes the cost of launch monitors at the marina, he said, and the TLA will continue to explore other funding sources, including grants through DEEP.
Alec Linden
Officials closed the Sharon town beach at Mudge Pond on Wednesday, July 15, after a fallen tree limb exposed a large beehive. The beach is expected to reopen Thursday.
SHARON – The town beach on Mudge Pond closed on Wednesday, July 15, but the cause wasn’t the smoky haze drifting in from Canadian wildfires – it was angry bees.
According to Sharon’s Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Failla, a large limb fell from an old tree near the lifeguard stand overnight, exposing a hole that houses a large beehive. He said the town made the decision to close the beach Wednesday morning “out of an abundance of caution.”
He said that when he went to the beach in the morning, the bees were understandably riled up. “If your home got destroyed you’d be a little agitated as well,” he said.
The town has been aware of the hive in the tree for a long time, Failla said, but it hasn’t caused any concern for safety previously. With it now exposed, he said the time has come for a relocation for the sake of the bees and beachgoers alike.
Mike’s Beehives, an apiary and beekeeping supply store in Goshen, will be handling the operation “first thing tomorrow,” Failla said, with the aim being to safely relocate the hive with as little disturbance to the bees as possible.
Failla said he’s hopeful that the beach will be able to reopen Thursday by 10 a.m., its normal opening time, but noted that delays are possible based on how long the extraction takes.
Ed Bahr, who owns the business, said he frequently performs similar relocations across the state. He said the first step is to remove the bees safely, then take care of the comb, which contains the larva, eggs and honey stores. “It’s basically the furniture of their house,” he said.
He said he will take the bees and their comb back to the Goshen apiary, where he has about 60 other hives. He said it’s important to keep the bees fed and cared for throughout the relocation process, because “you do not want to kill honeybees – that’s not good.”
He promised the bees will be happy in their new home. “We’ll just bring them to a new neighborhood, take care of them and keep them good and happy,” he said.
Aly Morrissey
If you’ve driven down Main Street in Millerton, you’ve passed the former home and shop of one of the village’s earliest female entrepreneurs. At a time when most businesses were owned by men, Mary Kisselbrack made a name for herself in the late 1800s as a well-respected milliner and dressmaker.
On April 11, 1891, train conductor George Kisselbrack purchased a 124-by-232-foot vacant lot at 54 Main St. and hired locally renowned builders Beers and Trafford to design what would become their home and Mary’s business.
In a historical document, “A Beckon Call to a Village,” the house was referred to as “one of the handsomest, architecturally, in the village.” With gables, pointed roof lines and delicate shades of colors on its exterior ornamentation, the document noted that “no stranger passes it without an admiring glance.”
Today, the home still stands, and recently operated as a restaurant called Manna Dew Cafe, which closed its doors in 2023.
Mary Kisselbrack operated her business out of the west side of her home and developed a reputation for her skill, style, and business acumen.
“Mrs. Kisselbrack spares no pains in satisfying her patrons,” an 1890s Telegram article, the village’s newspaper at the time, said.
Kisselbrack’s reputation earned her customers from different parts of the country — some as far away as Florida — in addition to regular clients from Salisbury, Lakeville, Sharon, Amenia, Pine Plains, Copake and Hillsdale.
“With a woman of the long experience and exquisite taste of Mrs. Kisselbrack at the head of the millinery and dressmaking business, we may be sure that our wives and daughters will be reasonably supplied with the most stylish bonnets and dresses,” the article said.
In her 1905 obituary, Kisselbrack was described as a “self-made woman” who possessed “more than ordinary ability.”
On Oct. 5, 1905 — just over two months shy of her 56th birthday — Kisselbrack died following a severe, three-week illness. According to an obituary that appeared in the Millerton Telegram, she suffered a fibrous tumor and peritonitis.
“While she was not afraid to die, she lamented leaving home and loved ones,” the obituary said. “She talked of dying and of her funeral arrangements as calmly as if going away on a visit.”
Nathan Miller
Millerton’s business community will soon see the completion of a public wastewater system, addressing what local officials and business owners have called a major constraint on commercial development in the community for decades.
The $13.8 million project, which is expected to serve the core of the Village of Millerton and a commercial stretch of the Town of North East along U.S. Route 44, represents one of the largest infrastructure investments in the community in decades, and brings an end to calls for a sewer system that stretch back to World War II. Officials say the system will safeguard local waterways while creating a foundation for long-term economic stability.
Millerton trustee Matt Soleau, who has been working closely on the wastewater project and also operates a local full-service custom building firm, said in February that both residents and businesses are constrained by outdated septic systems, particularly on smaller lots where upgrades cannot meet modern health standards.
The proposed wastewater district aims to serve the core of the village, including its business district, as well as the commercial section of the Town of North East along Route 44 extending from Cumberland Farms to the New York-Connecticut border. Properties within the proposed service area currently rely on individual septic systems, including tanks with leach fields, and outdated systems like seepage pits, cesspools and holding tanks.
Village officials said many properties are limited not by zoning alone, but by septic constraints.
“As a result, many homes cannot legally add bedrooms, create accessory dwelling units or convert existing structures,” Soleau said.
Under the proposed system, most properties would retain their existing septic tanks if they are code-compliant and in good working condition. If a tank does not meet current standards, a new one would be installed as part of the project.
The existing tanks will still be used to collect solid waste, but liquid waste will travel through the municipal system to a treatment center. Treated wastewater will then be returned to Webatuck Creek.
Existing leach fields would be taken out of service and left in place, allowing property owners to reclaim that land for landscaping, driveways or ADUs.
For businesses, many commercial properties rely on old septic systems that are already maxed out, which makes it difficult or impossible to open water-heavy businesses like restaurants, cafes, salons or fitness studios.
Officials also emphasize the environmental benefits. A modern, up-to-date wastewater system will protect the natural environment, including the Webatuck Creek that flows right through the village.
Village officials say the construction phase will aim to limit disruption throughout the village and town, proceeding in targeted segments, with defined areas opened for installation, restored, and then closed before crews move on. The goal, Soleau said, is to allow normal activity to continue as much as possible throughout the process.
“Protecting the safety of our residents and visitors, preserving continuity of local businesses, maintaining access, and retaining residents’ quality of life throughout construction are non-negotiable priorities,” Soleau added.
The project hit major milestones this year, with village officials securing needed funding from a congressionally-directed spending grant of just under $4 million announced in February. That additional federal funding represented the last chunk of money needed to move the project forward.
Officials expect to begin construction on the system next year, with a tentative completion date targeting 2028.
Additional reporting provided by Aly Morrissey.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Graham Corrigan
Wooden beams made from tree trunks comprise the load-bearing structure under Millerton’s Moviehouse.
There are a handful of buildings that have stood the test of time over Millerton’s 175-year history. But if there’s one that stands out as a singular representation of the town, it’s the Millerton Moviehouse and its iconic clock tower.
Built in 1903 as a grange hall, it was soon converted into a movie theater with a second-floor ballroom. It was one of a handful of buildings that came to define the town in the following decades, standing tall across the street from the Episcopal Church and Millerton Inn, next to Terni’s, and up the hill from Millerton’s train station.
When a fire destroyed the local department store and other storefronts on the north side of Main Street in 1955, the Moviehouse became a landmark that represented the village’s early history.
It fell into disrepair in the 1970s and was briefly run as an adult theater. Marian and Carr Ferguson bought the theater in 1974, hoping to revive its status as a first-run theater and remove the pornographic element. Their four teenage daughters ran the theater for two years before the Fergusons sold the Moviehouse to Carol and Robert Sadlon in 1978.
“It was a single theater with 300 seats. There was no heat, no air conditioning,” said Carol Sadlon when asked about the state of the theater when she and her husband purchased it.
The Sadlons worked hard to improve the facilities over their nearly 50-year tenure. They added heat, air conditioning, and a second screening room. In 2012, they replaced the 35mm projection systems with a digital system.
But when COVID hit in 2020, the Moviehouse was an early casualty. By November 2020, the property was on the market, and the whole concept of movie theaters was in question.
Vaccines arrived in early 2021 — and a buyer for the Moviehouse followed soon after. The new co-chairs, David Maltby and Chelsea Altman, made the purchase in February 2021 and reopened the theater as a non-profit.
Its new non-profit status allowed the Moviehouse’s operators to seek grant funding. They initiated a massive renovation campaign that included redesigning both floors and adding an elevator. They also replaced the signage, and upgraded the seating this past April.
This past month, the Moviehouse received $99,000 as part of a grant provided by the New York State Council on the Arts that will pay to renovate and stabilize the 120-year-old building.
Looking forward, general manager Jeremy Boviard has big plans for the Moviehouse’s future. “What excites me about the possibilities looking forward is that we continue our positive trajectory as a regional arts center,” Boviard said. “We want to reach a wide variety of demographics, and continue to grow in lockstep with the needs of our community.”
Aly Morrissey
Ralph Fedele sits at a desk in the historic Irondale Schoolhouse, which he led the effort to relocate to downtown Millerton.
“It was in dire straits. Right on the road, but beautiful. I remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t that be a great building to move into the village?’” —Ralph Fedele
A one-room schoolhouse sits on Main Street along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, offering an opportunity for locals and visitors to step inside a piece of living history.
The Irondale Schoolhouse that now sits in downtown Millerton was not originally located on Main Street. The building was first constructed in 1858 along what is now Route 22 in the Irondale section of town, defined by Irondale road and the Old Mill that still sits along Webatuck Creek. At the time, the schoolhouse was one of 14 that served the Town of North East’s children.
Starting in 2015, the building was disassembled and moved — piece-by-piece — thanks to the efforts of a local organization called the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse and a Millerton resident that has dedicated much of his life to the community and preserving local landmarks.
That man is Ralph Fedele, a revered figure in the community both for his efforts to restore, maintain and educate people about the former schoolhouse and for more than a decade serving on the North East Town Board.
Fedele moved to Millerton from New York City 37 years ago, in 1988, and has since worn many hats – volunteer, historian, advocate, elected official – yet he still doesn’t believe he’s earned that title.
“I’m a transplant,” he said matter of factly. “I’m from the city.”
Years after settling in Millerton full time, Fedele was driving north on Route 22 when he spotted an old, classic building and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“It was in dire straits,” he recalled. “Right on the road, but beautiful. I remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t that be a great building to move into the village?’”
That moment would eventually turn into Fedele’s lasting legacy.
Fedele joked that people may have thought he was crazy during the lengthy restoration. “I was a tyrant,” he said with a laugh. “I really made sure that we were able to get it done.” The effort required coordination with the state, the county, village and town officials, and his newly assembled nonprofit board.
As a self-proclaimed history buff, Fedele didn’t stop at the restoration. He found a list of students in old records and did what any determined historian would do. He opened the telephone book and started making calls.
Eventually, he tracked down one of the schoolhouse’s original students – Mary (Mechare) Leitch – who, at the age of 101, returned to the building after renovations were complete.
“It was a marvelous time,” smiled Fedele. “I was so happy to see her.”
North East Town Supervisor Chris Kennan, left, and Mary Leitch, who was the last living Irondale Schoolhouse student until her death in 2025.Provided
Leitch died on Dec. 24, 2025, at the age of 103.
Leitch was born in Millerton in 1922 and grew up on Winchell Mountain in the hamlet of Irondale. Her early schooling was at Irondale’s 1858 one-room schoolhouse until it closed in 1930. She was proud of having been the last person to attend the school. From the third grade onward, she attended school in the Millerton school district.
“If you sit still, you will rust,” was a favorite Leitch saying, perhaps inspired by the Irondale district and the area’s iron industry.
Leitch delighted in the outdoors and in the company of animals and people, caring for many dogs—especially Jack Russells—and cherishing the horses that were part of her long, vibrant life. An avid sportswoman, she enjoyed deer hunting and fishing, keeping her licenses current right up until her passing. She was a longtime member of both the Jack Russell Club of America and the Dutchess County Professional Horsemen’s Association.
In 1958, she married William “Billy” Leitch of Millbrook, a professional horseman, sharing a love of the sporting life and enjoying active membership in the Millbrook Hunt Club. Billy pre-deceased her in 2015.
Nathan Miller
Millerton’s former Water Department building, ravaged by fire, as it awaited demolition in summer 2025.
Nearly 18 months after a fire destroyed Millerton’s Public Works building, which housed the Highway Department and Water Department, construction is expected to begin within weeks on a new Water Department facility and pumphouse.
The new building would restore the village’s full water pumping capacity and allow officials to end the state of emergency declared after the fire. Village officials are also planning a separate Highway garage, with details of that project still being finalized.
Fire project manager Caroline Farr-Killmer has been in charge of replacing the building since the fire destroyed it. In June, she said construction could begin on the new Water Department and pumphouse once the plan is approved by the Dutchess County Department of Health.
Millerton Mayor Jenn Najdek said she expects construction to start as soon as the designs get approval from the health department.
Officials described the new Water Department building as an urgent need. Farr-Killmer explained the village’s water system has been functioning with just one operational well, causing concerns about potential water shortages at that wellhead and its longevity. The village cannot operate the second well until it is enclosed in a structure, Farr-Killmer said.
Najdek originally expected Board of Health approval to come in early June, but as of Thursday, July 9, the plans are stalled as health officials deliberate the plans.
Despite the stall, Najdek doesn’t expect the project to affect Millerton’s plans for the week-long celebration of Millerton’s 175th birthday set for July 11 to 19.
Since the fire last winter, property restoration firm BELFOR has been working to clear and prep the site for a brand new set of buildings.
Farr-Killmer explained the Water Department building, which will house one of Millerton’s municipal wells, must now be a separate structure from the Highway Department building due to environmental and health regulations. Municipal wells require up to a 200-foot buffer from other structures to prevent drinking water contamination.
In the weeks after the fire, Farr-Killmer visited the charred building almost daily and documented damage to the structure and inventory. She said the fire itself was only the beginning, and pointed out that navigating insurance, rebuilding plans and deadlines have been hidden challenges.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
