Cornwall budget heads to town vote

CORNWALL — Following a short public hearing for the 2024-25 budget Friday, April 19, Cornwall’s combined spending plan has been sent to Town Meeting.

The meeting to vote on the budget will be held at Cornwall Consolidated School Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Cornwall’s total proposed expenditure for next year is up to $8,061,110, an increase of $292,537 (3.77%) compared to 2023-24.

“It looks like the mill rate could go up from 14.7 to 15.44, which would be about a 5% tax increase,” said First Selectman Gordon Ridgway.

Costs went up in several areas this year, primarily driven by inflation, education and weather damage. A notable addition to the budget this year is $100,000 in a new line item for storm damage. A four-part town meeting was held on April 19 to reassign unused funds from last year to be used for repairs in town.

Each of the following transfers passed unanimously: Transfer capital projects account interest $50,000 to capital projects road improvements for spring resurfacing of roads; Transfer $50,000 from Town general funds balance to capital road improvements to complete summer storm damage repairs; Authorize repairs to Essex Hill Road of $147,000 be paid out of capital projects road improvement; Increase capital projects fund road improvement by $17,000 to be reimbursed by state grant for hazardous tree removal.

Latest News

Housatonic softball beats Webutuck 16-3

Haley Leonard and Khyra McClennon looked on as HVRHS pulled ahead of Webutuck, May 2.

Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE — The battle for the border between Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Webutuck High School Thursday, May 2, was won by HVRHS with a score of 16-3.

The New Yorkers played their Connecticut counterparts close early on and commanded the lead in the second inning. Errors plagued the Webutuck Warriors as the game went on, while the HVRHS Mountaineers stayed disciplined and finished strong.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mountaineers fall 3-0 to Wamogo

Anthony Foley caught Chase Ciccarelli in a rundown when HVRHS played Wamogo Wednesday, May 1.

Riley Klein

LITCHFIELD — Housatonic Valley Regional High School varsity baseball dropped a 3-0 decision to Wamogo Regional High School Wednesday, May 1.

The Warriors kept errors to a minimum and held the Mountaineers scoreless through seven innings. HVRHS freshman pitcher Chris Race started the game strong with no hits through the first three innings, but hiccups in the fourth gave Wamogo a lead that could not be caught.

Keep ReadingShow less
The artist called ransome

‘Migration Collage' by ransome

Alexander Wilburn

If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.

Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four Brothers ready for summer season

Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. John Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.

Leila Hawken

The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.

The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.

Keep ReadingShow less