Editorial

Odd Fellows move on

The saga regarding the Bank of Millbrook’s plight to evict the Odd Fellows fraternal organization from the Pine Plains Free Library building is finally drawing to a close. The two-year battle between the International Order of the Odd Fellows Lodge 903 and the Bank of Millbrook resulted in an undisclosed financial agreement this month; the Odd Fellows officially vacated the library building on Friday, May 15.

All parties involved expressed relief, though Odd Fellows Noble Grand Ken Meccariello said he regretted losing the 1,000 square feet of space deeded to the group after it donated the land on which the library was built. 

Bank President George T. Whalen III, however, said he’s pleased the disagreement between the two entities is settled and hopes to enter into negotiations with the town of Pine Plains immediately. The bank had already started the process of selling the circa-2009 building to the town of Pine Plains for $1 million before its legal troubles began. For its part, the town stipulated the bank had to first oust the Odd Fellows before it would take ownership — stating it would be mad to purchase an encumbered piece of property. Hence the Odd Fellows’ unsuccessful eviction from the library, which was appealed in court.

That lawsuit was still going back and forth at the time of the May 15 agreement. Meccariello said one of the reasons the Odd Fellows settled was because it did not want see the case drawn out for another year or two in court. That decision brought a sigh of relief from everyone involved: the bank, the Odd Fellows, the town, the library foundation.

Now the library foundation is trying to plan for its future. Currently more than 50 percent of the library’s collection is being stored in a private facility. The library itself is back in its old digs, also on South Main Street, but in much smaller space. The library will be able to move back into the larger space that was custom built for it as soon as the town purchases it from the bank. 

Town Supervisor Brian Coons described the layout he imagined: a basement floor with meeting space and offices, a main floor for the library collection and the top floor for special events and public meetings.

For Meccariello and his crew the search is on to find the Odd Fellows a new place to meet. Coons said it could even be back at the library; he’s hopeful a number of civic organizations will make use of the library’s basement-floor meeting space.

Another option, perhaps, would be for the Odd Fellows to meet at Memorial Hall. With plans to convert that building into a performing arts venue for the Tri-state region, Memorial Hall also seeks to provide for the community at large. It’s doing so already by providing a place for the Pro-Mujer mobile medical van to park once a month for local women in need of free OBGYN care. Memorial Hall’s owners are incredibly civic minded and may just want to consider extending an invitation to the Odd Fellows.

Perhaps the fraternal organization will end up somewhere unexpected — only time will tell. But with membership queries up since this whole situation began, it would be a shame to see the group discontinue due to a lack of meeting space. Certainly after donating the land on which the new library building was built, the Odd Fellows deserve support from the Pine Plains community. The group should be thanked, unquestionably, for its contribution to the Pine Plains Library and Community Center. It made that project possible, and despite the long, drawn-out legal process that ensued, the Odd Fellows served the town well. Now let’s hope that relationship turns out to be reciprocal.

The importance of Memorial Day

The Millerton News wants to take a moment to commemorate Memorial Day and to thank veterans past and present for their fearless service to our great nation.

This country would not be where it is today without the valor of those who enlisted on their own initiative, knowing that some day they might have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Every day we see young men and women make the commitment to serve in the Armed Forces; many of those young men and women never return home.

We are in a day and age when America is fighting for democracy against some of the cruelest and most sadistic countries and organizations known to man. Our freedom, our very existence, depends on our military — and our military is doing a phenomenal job protecting Americans and American values across the globe. It has always been that way, as history shows — the U.S. military has protected its country fiercely and ferociously. It has met threats of danger with defiance and with the supreme knowledge that every effort would always be made to protect the citizens of the United States of America.

To all veterans, past and present, we say thank you. And to all citizens, we ask of you to remember those who gave their lives so willingly so that we could live ours freely, as we commemorate Memorial Day 2015.