Providing much-needed support to nursing mothers

MILLERTON — Some mothers have trouble breast feeding their infants — a very real problem that can be addressed by the proper experts. A group of those professionals will gather Monday, May 23, at No. 9 Restaurant at Simmons’ Way Village Inn in Millerton for a mini-conference.“Twenty professionals in the field are coming for the latest updates on the topic,” said local lactation consultant Kristen Panzer, adding one will be traveling in from Chicago, one from the Washington, D.C., area and even one from Paris. “It’s a very specific curriculum and will be interesting because this speaker [is an expert] on how maternal health and nutrition affects lactation. It will be about how to address babies’ health through addressing maternal health, and not just with diet, but [by teaching] that other ways of restoring mom to health can have impact.”The keynote speaker is International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Jennifer Tow, who is originally from Connecticut but has since relocated to Paris. Panzer said she’ll be able to address issues like why some parents have “fussy babies” who don’t like to breast feed.“The symptoms may link back to something we can address at the maternal health profile,” she said. “I’m not an expert on this, which is why we invited Jennifer.”Lactation consultants work with mothers on infant feeding and can help address problems that arise, as well as help identify problems that need to be treated medically.“We can partner with mom,” Panzer said. “Sometimes if the baby can’t latch on, a lactation consultant can identify something like the baby might be tongue-tied, which is a real problem with the restricted tongue function that will require a doctor’s help. A lactation consultant can assist mom through the whole thing. We can provide suggestions and strategies that optimize normal infant feeding.”The conference costs $140, and runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; it includes six hours of curriculum. While it is geared toward professionals, nonprofessionals (including “average moms”) are welcome to attend. There will be ample time for questions and answers. The goal for those who attend this seminar is simple, Panzer said: “Heal the mother, heal the baby.”

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Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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