PINE PLAINS — For the 13th year, a delegation of students and faculty members from High School 29 in Nanjing, China, has traveled to Stissing Mountain High School as part of the China Exchange Program, which has created a strong bond of friendship between these two schools on opposite ends of the world.The district officially welcomed the delegation during a dinner in the cafeteria on Tuesday, Jan. 17, which was filled with warm remarks and performances from members of the school’s community.Guidance Counselor Karen Pogoda, who has coordinated the exchange program since its inception, kicked off the dinner with a fitting phrase: “Time flies when you’re having fun.”“It is hard for me to believe that it was 13 years ago that we welcomed the first delegation from High School 29 in Nanjing,” Pogoda said. “Not only have we had a lot of fun with each delegation, but we’ve learned much about each other and have developed a greater understanding and appreciation for each other.”Pogoda said the delegations have witnessed history in the making over the past 13 years, from economic growth in China to new political leaders in the United States.“Despite these changes, our friendship has remained constant and our relationship continues to grow. No matter what is happening around the world, we have built a strong foundation that will enable our friendship to continue well into the future,” Pogoda said.Catherine Parsons, the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and pupil personnel services, welcomed the delegation on behalf of Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer, who could not attend. Parsons said that the district’s friendship with High School 29 is “cherished,” and thanked all those involved in program.“I would like to thank Ms. Pogoda, all of the host families and all of the volunteers who have made this continued partnership possible once again this year. Additionally, thank you to everyone responsible for the lovely dinner and program this evening,” Parsons said. “It has been truly wonderful to witness this incredible program provide transformative opportunities for students on both sides of the world.”Board of Education President Bruce Kimball told the members of the delegation that they have become a part of Stissing Mountain’s family, and shared a brief story from his own visits to China.“I first visited Nanjing about 11 years ago, and was fortunate enough to return last year. I hope that during your visit to Pine Plains, you experience the same warm welcome in our homes that I felt when I visited your homes in Nanjing,” Kimball said.High School Principal Tara Horst echoed the sentiments of Pogoda, Parsons and Kimball, noting how excited the district is about the China Exchange Program.“I just want to say how impressed I am every year, not only for the families that are new, but for the returning families who have hosted in the past or have visited in the past who are here with us again tonight,” Horst said.Delegation thanks schoolChen Qing, the head of the delegation, extended greetings to both the school district and the Pine Plains community.“Three days ago, as we arrived to Pine Plains, we were warmly welcomed by the teachers and the students of your school. Once again we have experienced the friendship of friends in Pine Plains. Please allow me on behalf of all the group members to express our heartfelt thanks for your hospitality,” Qing said through translator Sun Lijun.Qing emphasized that it is uncommon for sister schools to participate in an exchange program for 13 years, and he attributed the program’s success to the long-term care by leaders of both schools. He also focused on the importance of friendship between the schools.“2012 is the Year of the Dragon, and the dragon is the symbol of good fortune and developments. Our exchange certainly benefits our future generations. The friendship between us has contributed to the world’s peace. Let us make joint efforts to further develop the friendship between the Chinese and American people,” he said.Parsons and Qing then exchanged gifts. The delegation received a photograph of the Pine Plains community in the snow to act as a reminder of their visit. Stissing Mountain received a decorative screen.To complete the welcome remarks, Pogoda introduced Shuya Cheng, her “Chinese daughter.” Cheng, who is from Nanjing, traveled to Alabama almost five years ago as part of an exchange program. She decided to stay in the U.S. and is now a senior at SUNY Albany.Cheng talked about attending prom and eating her first Thanksgiving dinner with her host family. “I believe that you will be enjoying such experiences here in the next few days,” Cheng told the delegation. “Welcome to America, welcome to Pine Plains. Enjoy your stay here.”The remainder of the welcome dinner featured musical performances by students Anthony Bonneville and Deanna Dallmann; BOCES teacher Andy Crispell; and Horst, social studies teacher Matt Ray and music teacher Joe Deveau. The Pine Plains students also introduced the members of the Chinese delegation.While the delegation is in Pine Plains, the students will take trips to Boston and New York City. The group leaves for Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 30, and the delegation will return to China on Wednesday, Feb. 1.The Pine Plains students will head to Nanjing, China, on March 27 to reunite with their new friends from High School 29.
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Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.
“I was a library kid. I walked to the library after school,” she said.
For Sher, the library is as much about the people as it about the books.
“Part of the job I love so much is that running the library is such a community,” she said.
She treasures the relationships she has built, whether recommending books, celebrating accomplishments or helping patrons through difficult times.
“I am thankful that our community is so supportive of the library, unlike what is happening in some other places where librarians are villainized,” Sher said.
Sher takes pride in the Hunt Library’s reputation for being “open and welcoming to everyone. People come in and see things and get pulled into things they weren’t expecting. Our library is seen as a positive force.”
Sher came to Falls Village after being awarded a fellowship at Adamah Farm, then a program of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. She worked at pickling, in the greenhouse and later in the development office. She also worked as a nanny.
At the same time, “I was in the library all the time,” she recalled. “I’m a voracious reader. The library is where I met a lot of my first friends in Falls Village.”
She became assistant librarian at Hunt and worked in that position for almost a decade before becoming the executive director four years ago.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino
Sher met her husband, Adam, while working at Adamah. They had their wedding there in 2012. He now emcees many events which she co-organizes with the Falls Village Recreation Commission.
Sher and her family live near the library.
“It’s an easy commute,” she said with a smile. “My kids run back and forth. I can go home to walk the dog if I need to.”
“My kids have grown up here.” Her oldest son, Eli, “loves volunteering. He helps with Augustfest and often helps set up chairs for ArtWall gatherings.” Her younger son, Noah, is often at events and was eager to taste cookies at last year’s holiday cookie swap.
When she is not at the library, Sher likes to hike with her family. Bella, their Portuguese water dog, often accompanies them.
Sher enjoys seeking out people to offer events at the library.
“I do a lot of different community programming. It is one of my favorite parts of the job.”
Augustfest, featuring food, music and an auction, is the library’s biggest fundraiser.
“This summer we had a record 152 attendees, which was pretty incredible.”
Yonah Sadeh, a filmmaker from Falls Village, inaugurated the VideoWall this year, Sher explained.
“I’ve known Yonah since he was two. It’s wonderful to work with him as an adult.”
The VideoWall complements the library’s ArtWall, which showcases a new artist each month. Sher praised the ArtWall committee for its work and highlighted December’s popular “12x12 Show,” featuring works by local artists, each measuring 12 by 12 inches and priced at $150.
Sher added that some of the artists who exhibit at the ArtWall offer workshops to students at Kellogg School, next door to the library. In September, artist Danielle Mailer worked with the children. Vincent Inconiglios taught a class last November.
Being next to the school, said Sher, is a great advantage.
“Kids are coming after school, to see friends, work on projects, find a great book. Kids that love the library end up using the library as grownups.”
This past year, in partnership with Adamah, the library and school created a garden, with excess produce made available at The Center on Main.
This year is Sher’s second year participating in the Troutbeck Symposium in Amenia with James King, director of the library at Salisbury School. The Troutbeck Symposium is “a gathering of a year of student historical inquiry across the region” in which students “uncover stories that have been overlooked, forgotten, or never recorded.”
Last year, Sher and King began a project with a group of students researching Irish immigrants in Falls Village, exploring ancestry and creating small magazines about their findings.
They continued this year, visiting St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery on Dublin Road, cleaning seven gravestones and even righting one with the help of stonemason and gravestone restoration expert Karl Munson. Paul Kozeazny, a representative of the Catholic archdiocese, helped secure access to the site.
A film documenting their activities will be shown at the symposium in spring 2027.
A full schedule of programs and events, ranging from tech help to ceramic mug-making, can be found on the library’s website.
Despite spending her days surrounded by books, and a busy schedule of programming, Sher still loves to settle in with a book at home.
For more information on library programs and events, visit huntlibrary.org
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Touré was born in northern Mali in 1981. His father, the renowned guitarist Ali Farka Touré, came from a family of soldiers and wanted his son to join the army. The younger Touré studied drums and the calabash and practiced guitar in secret. He earned his father’s blessing to pursue music shortly before Ali died in 2006, and they played two tracks together on Vieux’s debut album.
Touré is known for his deft, polyrhythmic playing, and his songs grow out of riffs that repeat and layer to hypnotic effect. He draws on rock, blues, Latin music and various African traditions. This distinctive blend builds on his father’s work adapting the sonic traditions of Mali’s arid north to the guitar.
Vieux’s album “Mon Pays” (“My Country,” 2013) honored Mali’s culture after Tuareg separatists and extremist groups seized the north in 2012. “Samba” (2017) was recorded before about 50 listeners in Woodstock, New York. In 2022 came “Les Racines” (“The Roots”), a return to his father’s desert blues, and “Ali,” on which he and the trio Khruangbin reworked eight of the elder Touré’s songs.
Touré leads the Ali Farka Touré Foundation, which focuses on cultural and educational work in Mali. Around the anniversary of Ali’s death, it holds a festival in Bamako, Mali’s capital. Bamako has been under blockade for much of the past year, besieged by JNIM, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Against this backdrop, Touré continues to carry the music of Mali to audiences abroad.
At the Nov. 5 concert, Touré’s desert blues will share the bill with Gnawa, the music LanGus plays, which developed in Morocco among West Africans who were brought north across the desert as enslaved people. Gnawa is religious music traditionally performed at all-night healing ceremonies called lila, intended to carry participants into trance.
Samir LanGusProvided
LanGus was born and raised outside Agadir, Morocco, and began learning Gnawa from its masters at age 8. He plays the sintir, a three-stringed bass lute made of wood and camel skin. The player strikes a low string with the thumb to create a deep, resonant pulse. Iron castanets clatter over the sintir’s bass line, and vocalists trade call-and-response refrains.
LanGus infuses the tradition with jazz and improvisation. In New York, he founded the ensemble Innov Gnawa. His first solo album, “Gnawa Love,” came out in February.
Touré and LanGus’s Nov. 5 concert is one of the last public events at Race Brook Lodge, which is for sale and ended full-service operations at the end of 2025. The lodge’s final scheduled event, on Nov. 6, is an evening of Rumi’s poetry with translator and vocalist Haleh Liza Gafori, cellist Isabel Castellvi and ceremonial bard James Bird.
For tickets, visit rblodge.com.
James FitzGerald is a student at Yale Law School, where he focuses on ecological restoration and international environmental cooperation. He splits his time between Lakeville and New Haven.
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