Setting policy on solid waste is not something many of us dwell on, yet how society disposes of its trash has many ramifications to the environment, public health, wildlife and the quality of life of our communities.As a child growing up in the 1980s, I recall family vacations in the Adirondack Mountains where my parents would take us to visit the town dump (landfill) to observe black bears feeding on human garbage. Then one year the town dump was replaced with a transfer station. A similar policy shift in solid waste management was occurring in Dutchess County around this time as landfills around the county were similarly replaced with transfer stations. Henceforth the county garbage stream would be exported to out-of-county landfills while trash generated in a select few western towns would be burned at the new waste-to-energy plant in Poughkeepsie. That’s how the county Resource Recovery Agency (RRA) came into being.A few years later in the early 1990s, Dutchess County also adopted a policy on recycling, including mandatory curbside collection (although full implementation of recycling practices has always fallen short).Today, Dutchess County is at a solid-waste crossroads. At least that’s the message of the independent consultant that the Legislature hired to advise us. After 25 years and more than $32 million in government subsidiaries to the Resource Recovery Agency, the consultant’s report asks whether the future of solid waste in Dutchess County should continue to be under public ownership or privatized.The route of public ownership is outlined in the RRA-produced and December 2010-adopted Solid Waste Management Plan. This calls for an expanded RRA scope via a reimposition of flow control (government control of the waste-stream), imposition of a user fee revenue source (garbage tax), costly upgrades to the turbines, renovations to the recycling plant, construction of a new transfer station in southern Dutchess and possibly the development of an ash landfill. This would cost $80 to $110 million.State law requires that “planning, regulation and management” of solid waste governance resides in public hands, but whether the planning unit should remain with the RRA (a public authority) or be transferred back to the county is a question raised by the consultant’s report.The chief alternative to the expensive waste-to-energy practices as advanced by the consultant’s report is to disband the RRA, sell or renovate the waste-to-energy plant to a large-scale transfer station, and ultimately shift to waste export system to out-of-county landfills as practiced by 70 percent of New York state counties. This route is calculated to save $60 million over 16 years for which some of the savings can be spent to further develop recycling and organics diversion. Their plan seeks to enlarge recycling through strict new recycling laws and a new county recycling department at a cost of $666,000.The Legislature will be briefed by MidAtlantic Solid Waste Consultants at a special meeting of the Legislature on Monday, May 16. Then it will be up to us to determine the planning unit, mode and manner of county solid-waste collection for the years to come.Dutchess County has a heritage in which we can all be justly proud. From the county’s role in the American War for Independence to the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates leading to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, to the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and the 1944 Presidential election with Dutchess County at the center that pitted FDR versus New York’s governor from Pawling, Thomas Dewey, Dutchess County’s history is one in which we can be proud. Thanks to a resolution passed this month in the County Legislature, which I authored, the achievements and milestones of our legacy will be remembered annually.My resolution declares a 10-day period each fall to be commemorated as Dutchess County Heritage Days with hopes that school groups and the arts community will embrace this annual celebration with appropriate activities that foster pride and education. From the environmental movement spurred on by groups like Scenic Hudson, to industrial achievements like Wassaic’s condensed milk, IBM’s computer manufacturing, Smith Brothers cough drops or Robert Livingston’s steamboat, Dutchess County has had quite an impact on the American landscape.The 10-day heritage commemoration period is sandwiched between two significant dates: Oct. 23 and Nov. 1. On the first day of November in 1683, the Province of New York was carved into 12 counties, including Dutchess. At the time, title to property was in transition from having been transferred from Native Americans to Europeans settlers into eight patents, including Oblong (1650), Rombout (1682), Schuyler (1688), Nine Partners and Poughkeepsie (both in 1697), Rhinebeck and Beekman (both 1703) and Upper Nine Partners (1706).Much deserves to be remembered about these settlements, as well as the preceding use of the land by the Iroquois, Delaware, Mahicans and the Wappinger “Indians.”Forty years after the lands of Dutchess were so named (which at the time included Putnam County and Clermont and Germantown of Columbia County), the population had grown so much that the decision was made that Dutchess “should have officers of their own.” In this first act of democracy, in that the people were to elect their own representatives, the New York Provincial Assembly voted to allow Dutchess to elect a supervisor, treasurer, assessor and a tax collector on Oct. 23, 1713.This month the Dutchess County Legislature voted to celebrate the 300th anniversary of democracy in Dutchess County with an Oct. 23, 2013, milestone celebration, as we did Nov. 1, 1983. The chairman of the Legislature will be setting up an ad hoc committee of historians and interested citizens to help plan appropriate activities.From the first slain general in the Revolutionary War (Richard Montgomery) to the first black female judge (Jane Bolin) to the 22nd U.S. vice president (also New York governor), Levi Morton (Red Hook), and the Beekman Arms tavern to the Stanford birthplace of the game of Scrabble or the Beacon-foundry’s molding of the National Korean War monument to our leadership in psychiatric developments, including the birth of suicide hotlines on bridges, Dutchess County’s contributions have been significant to the American way of life. Beginning this year, during the 10-day period from Sunday, Oct. 23 to Tuesday, Nov. 1 — and with special recognition in 2013 — Dutchess County will take time to remember and focus on our historic past and our proud legacy. Michael Kelsey represents Amenia, Washington, Stanford, Pleasant Valley and Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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