AMENIA — With the smell of barbecue rising through the air, people boasting belt buckles, boots and cowboy hats enjoyed music, food and the spectacle of the second annual Hudson Valley Rodeo on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Keane Farm in Amenia.
Hosted by the Amenia Wassaic Community Organization, a philanthropic foundation created by Silo Ridge that funds programs like the local Little Leagues and summer camps, the Hudson Valley Rodeo was an all-day festival that celebratesd equestrian sports. Funds raised from the charity event go right back to the organization to serve the community.
The festivities started at noon, with family-friendly events to welcome the public. Children dressed in cowboy boots and hats were taught how to toss lassos and raced stick horses. Meanwhile, their parents enjoyed cold beer, a variety of hot food from concession stands and live music from Jennie Angel and Jessica Lynn.
After everyone had arrived and settled in, spectators began to find their seats around the ring. At 3 p.m., the main event began, starting with a “mutton bustin’” competition, where children clung on to sheep for as long as they could, as the animals dashed, jumped and bucked.
After the children competed, the adults stepped in. Riders from New York and from across the country showed off their skills in events like bronco bustin’, barrel racing, calf roping and bull riding. During each buck and turn of the competition, hooves sent dust flying into the air, which was met with shouts, applause and “yeehaws” from the surrounding crowd.
“Last year was our first,” said Chair of the Dutchess County Legislature Gregg Pulver (R-19), who addressed the crowd from inside the ring before the rodeo began. “But we expect to be here for the next 10, 20, 30 years.”
At around 6:30 p.m., the concert field opened and people began to filter toward the stage, setting up lawn chairs as they talked about the highlights of the rodeo. The culmination and finale of the event was an 8:30 p.m. outdoor concert by award-winning country-pop artist Brett Young.
Lakeville Journal
This Week
We want our reporting to reflect the questions people in our communities are asking — including the ones that may not be getting enough attention.
What is one local issue or topic you wish you knew more about?
Send your responses to social@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, July 27 at 10 a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
Last Week’s Question
What organizations do you volunteer for and why?
“I am the president of North Canaan Ambulance. I’ve been a member here for 26 years and I became a volunteer to help out my community and give back.”
— Matt Devino, North Canaan
“I have been a volunteer firefighter for the town of North Canaan for the last 25 years. I became a firefighter in all honesty because of my brother. I followed in his footsteps because I wanted to be like him, I wanted to do all the things he did and I’m so glad that I did because the pride and the overwhelming feeling of helping someone else in their darkest hour makes you feel really good and to protect the town I’ve grown up in my entire life. To protect my family, to protect my friends and to protect the town of North Canaan is overwhelming, but I’m so glad that I did it.”
— Shanna Pitcher, North Canaan
Lakeville Journal
Thanks for celebrating 250th with us
Gathering with family and friends, music and hot dogs, sun and swimming; each year the Fourth of July at the Grove celebrates our community as well as the Nation’s founding. On behalf of the Salisbury Association I would like to thank all those who made the festivities for the country’s250th birthday so special:Stacey Dodge and her team at the Grove, the Salisbury Band and their spirited renditions of old and new favorites, the Salisbury Central School eight graders who stepped up at the last minute to sell hot dogs, the boat owners who paraded on Lake Wononscopomuc with flags flying and Lou Bucceri (aka Hemon Allen) for his rousing delivery of the Declaration of Independence.
While the Salisbury Association had to postpone its evening entertainment, the DJ and laser light show have been rescheduled to the first weekend in August.Watch our website and social media for details.We are grateful to all the emergency crews that worked so hard to restore power and communications to town and the Academy Building.
Cynthia Walsh
President
The Salisbury Association
Community happens through recreationDear Falls Village,
There is a saying here that I have come to love.
“You don’t find Falls Village. Falls Village finds you.”
The more time I spend here, the more I think it’s true. Some families have lived here for generations. Others arrived only recently. Some came from the next town over. Others came from across the world. Different stories. Different histories. Different reasons for staying. Yet somehow, this little corner of Connecticut has gathered us together.
Now the question becomes:
“What kind of community do we choose to build together?”
As the new Chair of the Falls Village Recreation Commission, I wanted to introduce myself, not simply as a committee member, but as another person who has fallen in love with this extraordinary place.
One of the things that has always inspired me about small towns is that they only truly work when people choose to participate. Not because they have to, but because they care. I’ve watched neighbours clear fallen trees before anyone asks. I’ve watched roads reopen after storms because people simply arrive with chainsaws and get to work. It’s as if everyone knows their part. I believe that’s community.
I think recreation can work the same way. Our Town Farm, our pool, our trails and gathering spaces aren’t simply facilities. They’re places where community happens. Places where children learn to swim, friends meet on summer afternoons, families gather, visitors discover Falls Village for the first time and neighbours become friends.
And I believe these spaces can become even more.
I’d love to see the Town Farm become something that belongs to us throughout the entire year, not only during pool season. Imagine winter walks, cross-country skiing, community events beneath the new pavilion, seasonal gatherings, opportunities to learn, celebrate and simply spend time together. This is not because bigger is better. Or that we want to become something we’re not. It is because a place that’s loved should be lived in.
None of this happens because one person has good ideas. It happens because many people decide they want to be part of creating something together. That’s why one of my biggest hopes isn’t simply improving our facilities, it’s growing our community around them.
We’re looking for people who have ideas. People who enjoy organising. People who like planting flowers and building things. People to host events. Writers, photographers, historians. People who can teach us to cook and tell us about nature. People who share our love of sports and the outdoors. Or simply people willing to lend a hand every now and then.
If joining the Recreation Commission isn’t for you, that’s perfectly okay. Come to a meeting. Share a suggestion. Visit the pool. Use the Town Farm. Tell us what you’d love to see.
This belongs to all of us.
Over the coming months we’ll also begin sharing regular updates—celebrating projects, introducing members of our Recreation Commission, highlighting local businesses and organisations, and telling the stories that make Falls Village what it is.
Because a community isn’t built only through meetings. It’s built through knowing one another. Through recognising one another. Through creating opportunities for people to connect.
Nature teaches us that healthy ecosystems rely on diversity and that everything has its place. Communities are much the same. Whether your family arrived generations ago or whether Falls Village found you only recently, each of us has something valuable to contribute.
I feel incredibly honoured to help steward this next chapter.
I hope you’ll help write it with us.
Catherine Wales
Chairperson
Falls Village Recreation Commission
Mac Gordon
I have lived in the Northwest Corner since 1986 and during that time have come to realize how relatively benign our local climate is. For the most part we have been spared the hurricanes that bedevil the eastern coastline, the droughts common in the middle of the country and the floods that imperil so many areas. In my 40 years here there have been only two tornados, one in Cornwall, the other in Great Barrington; most states in the middle of the country have at least two every year. The storm that hit our area this Fourth of July fell just short of being a tornado but did considerable damage especially to our landscape.We should consider this recent storm a harbinger of more frequent and intense severe weather made much worse by climate change greatly exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels.
For the past 150 years the world has industrialized through the burning of fossil fuels:wood, coal, oil, and gas. Just a small portion of our energy came from clean sources such as moving water, windmills, animals. It wasn’t until we realizedthat global warming was beginning to threaten life on the planet that we understood that we needed to start shifting to cleaner energy to survive.
The current administration is in no rush to shift to cleaner fuels. President Trump himself refers to climate change as a “hoax” and calls coal, our dirtiest burning fuel, “clean coal”. He has frequently tried to debunk the science of climate change and perhaps he actually believes some of what he has been claiming.
Several months ago the Interior department issued stop work orders on five large wind farms well under construction off the Atlantic coast, citing unexplained “national security” reasons. This June 15th, after several months of delay (with the government losing the case and subsequentlyappealing), a Massachusetts court threw out the appeal.Work has finally restarted on each of these multi-billion dollar projects including Revolution Wind off New London, Connecticut.
However, in an unprecedented recent case in federal court, the Trump administration agreed to pay several companies a total of$1.8 billion to abandon their leases for not yet developed offshore windfarms. Like many other Trump executive orders this one is being challenged by several groups in a federal lawsuit.
One of the first moves a prospective wind farm developer makes is to apply for clearances from the Federal Aviation Agency who refers the application to the Pentagon to see if the project interferes with any existing radar or nearby military bases, with any needed mitigation usually beingminor and routine. But starting last fall reviews of all prospective wind farms slowed and a few months ago came to a halt, again for unspecified ‘“national security” reasons. Now more than 100 planned wind farms in 21 states are indefinitely stalled by the Pentagon’s unjustified delay; this represents at least $47 billion in potential wind power investment. A lawsuit by several environmental organizations awaits judgment.
Nearly half of the projects affected by the freeze are in Texas which now produces more wind power than any other state. Currently, wind power provides just over 10% of the nation’s electricity.
After natural gas and nuclear power, solar power is now the third largest source of electricity in the United States. This May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%.
Solar is currently the fastest growing power source in the country, accounting for more than half the new power added to the grid this year; and throughout the world solar is the largest new electricity source by far. According to the environmental non-profit Climate Central, U.S. solar power will more than double by 2030.Generally speaking, it is also the least expensive power source.
The unusually violent, destructive storm over the July 4th holiday was made much more severe because of global warming. We need to get our politicians to take climate change seriously. Now.
Architect G. Mackenzie Gordon, A.I.A., lives in Lakeville.
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Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Visitors to the David M. Hunt Library can now pick up or drop off fresh produce at a stand near the library entrance.
Library director Meg Sher said the stand opened for business Thursday, July 16.
John Holland, a library board member and carpenter, built the stand, which is being run as a collaboration with the Center on Main.
Sher said anyone can drop off or pick up produce. It is not necessary to drop something off in order to take something home. The stand is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So far, the stand is stocked with squash, zucchini and kale from the garden between the library and the Lee H. Kellogg School and from Adamah Farm.
“We’re excited,” said Sher. “Our neighbors can share their abundance with the whole community.
Alec Linden
A proposed ban on food trucks across Kent sparked the most debate of the six ordinances under review during a public hearing on Friday, July 10.
KENT — Residents will vote on six proposed ordinances at a town meeting on Friday, July 24, following a public hearing on July 10 where a small group of residents commented on proposals ranging from a food truck ban to restrictions on commercial buses using South Kent Road.
Food truck proposal draws most discussion
The proposal that generated the most public comment would prohibit the regular commercial operation of food trucks anywhere in town.
The Board of Selectmen and Planning and Zoning Commission have debated the issue for years, but neither board previously took formal action. The current proposal grew out of a request earlier this year from local crepe maker Grégoire Pye, who sought permission to establish a semi-permanent location for his business, Crepe Royal.
The request drew opposition from restaurant and business owners, who argued that allowing food trucks would create an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar businesses that pay higher taxes, comply with additional regulations and have greater overhead costs.
If voters approve the ordinance, commercial food trucks will be banned, with the exception of one-off town events or private parties.
During the hearing, resident Matt Starr urged the selectmen to reject the proposal.
“I think you’re overstepping,” he said. “You’re taking away a small business opportunity.”
Other residents who opposed the ban said they would welcome additional dining options in town, particularly quick and affordable lunch choices.
Supporters of the ban argued that food trucks would negatively affect existing businesses.
Anne McAndrew, a longtime Kent business owner, said she supports the ordinance.
“I think they hurt the local economy,” she said, adding that she is also concerned about parking and litter.
Donna Hayes, the town’s former land use administrator, described the proposal as the culmination of years of discussions between the Board of Selectmen and Planning and Zoning.
Five other proposed
ordinances up for vote
In addition to the food truck proposal, voters will decide five other ordinance proposals at the July 24 town meeting.
One would amend the town’s Inland Wetlands Commission ordinance to allow municipal employees to serve on the commission. State law generally prohibits municipal employees from serving unless a town adopts an ordinance allowing it.
Inland Wetlands Commission Chair Lynn Werner said the change would expand opportunities for residents to volunteer in protecting the town’s natural resources.
Two proposals were first introduced by the Board of Selectmen last year. One would prohibit commercial buses from using South Kent Road. The ordinance, first pursued jointly by Kent and New Milford after residents complained about bus traffic, has been revised to exempt school-related vehicles.
Another would expand the town’s existing ordinance prohibiting snow from being deposited on roadways by adding grass clippings, leaves and brush to the list of prohibited materials.
The remaining proposals would align the town’s veterans property tax exemption with state law by extending benefits to veterans with service-connected disabilities and place two small cemeteries under the management of the Cemetery Committee.
Residents will vote on the proposed ordinances at the town meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, July 24, at Town Hall.
Phoebe Tobin
The Jane Lloyd Fund will host its annual clambake July 25, marking its 19th year.
SALISBURY — The 19th annual Jane Lloyd Clambake will return to SWSA’s Satre Hill in Salisbury on July 25, bringing together volunteers, musicians and diners to raise money for a fund that has provided $1.3 million in assistance to families throughout the Region One area.
The fundraiser supports the Jane Lloyd Fund, which was created after the death of Lakeville and Salisbury native Jane Lloyd in 2005 and continues to help local residents facing financial hardship. Supported and administered through the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the fund has assisted hundreds of families over nearly two decades.
At 2:30 p.m., volunteers will light a fire inside a pit of rocks and wood. The fire will burn for almost an hour until the stones beneath absorb the heat and glow red. The crew will then pile on seaweed, followed by corn husks, clams, lobsters and corn before covering everything with a tarp to steam the meal.
“It’s really fun,” said Donna Stoetzner, who co-chairs the event with Tanya Tedder. And the guests aren’t just spectators. “They can actually partake in putting the seaweed on, the corn husks on.”
That sense of participation reflects the spirit of the event. A core group organizes the clambake alongside what Stoetzner calls the regulars — volunteers who come “year after year after year” to serve beer, cook burgers, plate food and “step up and ask if there’s anything that they can do to help.”
Stoetzner’s own family spends the morning at the firehouse washing clams sourced that same day from family friends in Massachusetts. This year’s music, provided by Elliot Osborne and friends, is what Stoetzner calls a “loosey goosey organic music circle.” Whoever is around and wants to play simply joins in.
The fund itself grew out of a similar sense of community.
Stoetzner’s sister, Jane Lloyd, owned a gardening business. When she became ill with cancer, she had no insurance or employer to help cover mounting medical bills and everyday living expenses. In response, Salisbury Bank and Trust, now known as NBT Bank, opened an account in her name, and community members donated money to help pay not only her medical bills but also her mortgage and car payment.
“The community just stepped up,” Stoetzner said.
After Lloyd died, her family decided to continue that support for others. Today, applicants are typically referred through local social service agencies, which present their stories anonymously to the fund’s advisory board. Each year, the board allocates assistance to roughly 15 to 20 people, with some recipients receiving help for multiple years.
“We just automatically say yes,” Stoetzner said. “We’ve never turned anyone away.”
The clambake typically sells about 350 meal tickets, but attendance usually reaches 400 to 500. The event has become enough of a tradition that some families schedule reunions around it.
Beyond the clambake, the fund also holds an annual dance and appeal, and area schools frequently organize fundraisers on its behalf, donating proceeds without being asked. Such events include the annual Hotchkiss School Polar Plunge.
Stoetzner, who also works as an advancement associate and events coordinator at Indian Mountain School, said the fund would like to expand beyond the Region One area but is limited by the size of its volunteer operation and available resources.
For now, it remains focused on the community where it began.
Clambake meal tickets are available through the Jane Lloyd Fund website, but anyone is welcome to stop by for a burger, a beer or the music. Tickets cost $70.
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