Pouring life into sustainability

Rural Center Refillery in Pine Plains, N.Y., offers locally sourced products for the home.
Colleen Flynn

Rural Center Refillery in Pine Plains, N.Y., offers locally sourced products for the home.
Rural Center Refillery strives to cut the community’s plastic consumption while supporting local businesses.
“Our products cut back on waste, we return the containers to our suppliers, people bring in refillable containers for their own consumption, support local,” said Nicole Clanahan, co-founder of Rural Center Refillery, “Over half of our products are made/cultivated here in the Hudson Valley, and overall, they’re clean-no dyes, chemicals or synthetics.”
Nicole Clanahan and her husband, Corey Clanahan, who are the co-founders of Rural Center Refillery, founded the company in 2022. The doors to the store located in Pine Plains later opened in February 2023.
“Our mission was to introduce and provide opportunity to our community for sustainable swaps for everyday items,” said Clanahan, “Like coffee beans and dish soap.
The refillery focuses on three core values: community, sustainability, and having access to quality products that align with its mission. They offer small ways to reduce waste by offering candy, dish soap, toothpaste and other day to day items.
“We recently started a local farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We work with over a dozen farms in the area to provide low-cost produce, dairy, baked goods and more. That’s probably my favorite product range right now.”
The company also offers a variety of gift baskets a customer can create, ranging from $25 to $50. The $25 gift basket includes two treat options, a paper bag to fill, and a jar. These options can range from shower steamers, lip balm, chocolate-covered espresso beans to dried pineapple.
“I also love our selection of locally roasted coffee beans, concentrated laundry detergents and body care products- we carry some amazing local tallow products by Maggie’s Delivery Service [Located in Millbrook] which is all the rage right now.”
Visit the store located at 2881 Church Street Pine Plains, or visit www.ruralcenterrefillery.com.

The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.