BlueStone Press

The best source for local news from Marbletown, Rochester & Rosendale

Published the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month | Vol. 28, Issue 23

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December 2, 2022 | $1.00

Duchess Farms suing town for $2.4 million in damages

PAGE 29

SHOP LOCAL FOR THE

HOLIDAYS

BSP Holiday Section in this issue PAGES 17-25

PAGE 4

Live holiday performances

Nexamp and Central Hudson

Holiday Stories

• • • • Community cookbooks: More than just recipes • • • • • • • • Solstice instinct: Loving the long night • • • • • • • • My favorite Christmas movie • • • • • • • • Ukrainian Christmas traditions • • • •

Can this marriage be saved?

Ann Belmont BSP Reporter

Through dance and music, “Into the Light” honors such holidays as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Winter Solstice, Sankta Lucia (Sweden) and Diwali (India).

Vanaver Caravan and Arm-of-the-Sea Theater present ‘Into the Light,’ a live performance This live event will be held at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale with a snow date of 10:30 a.m. and noon Sunday, Dec. 11.

“Into the Light” is a magical, multicultural pageant that has thrilled audiences of all ages, telling the story of a young girl named Lucia who jour-

neys around the world to find light in the darkest time of the year. Featuring Arm-of-the-Sea Theatre's giant puppets with the Vanaver Caravan's holiday songs, dances and music traditions, the performance celebrates many of the world’s traditions for bringing light, joy and beauty into the darkest part of the year. Through

SUNY Ulster Music Dept.'s holiday music concert Students, music educators, and faculty and staff will perform in a holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in the Quimby Theater in Vanderlyn Hall, at SUNY Ulster, 491 Cottekill Road, Stone Ridge.

Music from around the world is the theme of this performance, including “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy,” Gavotte en Rondeau and Cantate Domino.

The event features the College Chorus, directed by Janet Gehres, with accompanist Edward Leavitt; the Mixed Instrument Ensemble with Greg Dinger, director/arranger; and the Honors Recital winners.

The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. Covid-19 screening for audience members will be in the Quimby Theater Lobby on the evening of the event.

SUNY Ulster College Chorus

dance and music, “Into the Light” honors such holidays as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Winter Solstice, Sankta Lucia (Sweden) and Diwali (India).

Admission is $15. For tickets and more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989 and/or vanavercaravan.org or 845-256-9300.

For local residents, it's not a choice whether or not to use Central Hudson, the electric utility, unless you're totally off the grid. Even if you have signed up with, say, Nexamp Community Solar for your electric power, you have to pay CH for providing and supplying that power because CH owns and maintains all the power lines in our region. CH buys the power produced by the community solar arrays Nexamp owns in the Town of Rochester.

Nexamp customers have to read two sets of bills. CH bills list all the usual charges but give Nexamp customers "solar credits." Nexamp then sends a bill for kilowatts used, with a "guaranteed discount" of 10% from what CH would charge for the same.

(But it's more complicated than that ... the discount varies as the sun shines.)

In the best of all possible worlds, the two companies would send their bills at the same time, covering the same billing period. But in the world where we currently live, CH bills have been wildly erratic ever since the company attempted to make a system upgrade something over a year ago. Nexamp has to wait on CH data before it can estimate what to charge individual customers.

So what's it been like for those who signed on with Nexamp since it went online in Rochester in 2019? People we spoke with were happy to be supporting solar energy. No question about that.

The prevailing theme seemed to be the brain-busting complexity of figuring out how much money they are actually spending on electricity.

Bram Kincheloe of High Falls was bothered by a lack of transparency. "Nexamp shows me that I am saving money, it is theoretically 10% in their online portal, it shows me that I have a lifetime savings of $315 and that I've avoided 25,202kg

See Power, page 8

Page 2, December July 1, 2022, 2, 2022 BlueStone , BlueStone Press Press

Finding museums, finding love and finding small-town home Where did you grow up? What was it like to grow up there?

I was born in Mesquite, Texas, and my family moved to Dallas right before I started high school. My early childhood memories are sweet, especially hot summer days spent almost entirely outdoors – climbing trees, exploring the suburbs as if they were a magical kingdom, chasing down our neighborhood ice cream truck. And those (ahh) summer nights, catching fireflies and smearing their phosphorescent guts on our shirts.

As I grew older, the environment became more Visit the folks hostile. I began to understand that next door being a sensitive kid who was rotten at sports meant it was going to be rough. Football reigned supreme. I remember a popular bumper sticker in Texas when I was kid that read “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I moved here as fast as I could.” I would say the same about Marbletown.

Q&A

What happened after high school? Take me on the long route!

After nearly failing out of high school, things turned around completely when I spent two years at my local community college, where I excelled. This was where I started making and learning about visual art – painting, ceramics, photography, art history and so on. The incredible professors who I studied with at community college gave me an opportunity to see a life of possibility instead of stagnation (so shout-out to our local community college, SUNY Ulster, and the important work they do!).

My professors encouraged me to apply for art school, which led me to study at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where I majored in art history and sculpture. After finishing art school and leaving Ohio (duh), my choices were to go back to Texas or join a friend in NYC, where he had a cheap rental he could share with me in Brooklyn. At this point, I knew next to nothing about New York City, but I did know that neither Texas nor Ohio were for me. I did the New York hustle and worked my butt off and was lucky to work at two of the best museums in the city even though I didn’t come from money nor have connections. I would have left New York City much sooner (it wore on me quickly), but I met my husband, Chris, and it wasn’t the place anymore that kept me rooted.

How did you discover the area? What do you love about living here?

My husband grew up in the house we live in together now in Stone Ridge.

I started visiting shortly after meeting him, 15 years ago. I was immediately taken by the mysterious beauty of this place. The people were the cherry on top. We spoke often of how we could make a move up here happen, but imagined it would be later in our careers.

When a friend sent me the job opening

en institutions. We are free, open and accessible to all.

When did you meet your husband?

We met in 2007, when he was studying at NYU and I was working at the Guggenheim Museum.

Zachary Bowman (left) with his husband

Zach Bowman Age: 40 Profession: Manager of Education and Visitor Experience at The Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz Town: Stone Ridge

at The Dorsky just over six years ago, I jumped on it. We knew his parents were planning to sell the house eventually and we weren’t ready to part with this home, which is so dear to both of us, so we bought it from them.

I’ve lived in a small-minded suburb, a big city with bigger hair, a mid-western, mid-sized, middling city and then a high-minded metropolis, but before I moved here, I had never lived in a small town. I’ve realized that I’m a smalltown boy at heart and that’s why I love this place so dearly. Also, I’ve learned something about time here. Tree time.

The long, cyclical, everlasting time of nature.

What drew you to museum work?

I remember the first time I stepped into a museum – I felt so out of place and unwelcome. I felt I was missing some pivotal piece of information that I needed to understand what I was seeing.

A kind security guard at the front desk made me feel at ease (and let me in for free!) and I found myself transported. I want to be that person who can welcome folks to the innovative and often strange works of artists in a way that makes them feel like they belong, because artists are often the best of us – empathetic, honest and open.

What excites you about The Dorsky?

The Dorsky was voted the best museum in the Hudson Valley last year for a reason! We host incredible exhibitions, have a collection of nearly 7,000 artworks, and offer dynamic programming available (for free!) to folks of all ages in our area. Not only do we serve the campus of SUNY New Paltz, but we also act as a bridge between the (often inaccessible) university and the community – a place of shared discovery. As a university art museum, education is at our core, which means that I get to be involved in a central way, unlike more profit-driv-

What did you first notice about him?

I’ll never forget seeing him on my way to our first date. He was crossing a street in front of me in China Town (near his dorm) and he was bathed in neon light.

He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Our first conversation was about our families. His loyalty and honesty were the first qualities that stood out to me.

What do you notice most about him today?

His loyalty, honesty and beauty remain, but the thing I have come to really appreciate is how hard he works.

Like me, he didn’t grow up with money and hard work is important to him. Not just his own work, but also supporting others who work hard to make the world a better place.

Any hobbies that might surprise people?

Flower gardening – but I suspect that might not be surprising to many, so … I love participating in local government. I serve on Marbletown’s Zoning Board of Appeals. It has taught me that, at the local level, democracy really is of, for, and by the people. All community members can attend our meetings and give their feedback about a neighbor’s application for something like an area variance to build a shed closer to their property line than the law allows. Typically, the only people who show up are those who are opposed. However, if you think the law is egregious, you can show up and say so and we have to take into account your feedback. I am so thankful to volunteer my time for this town, which has been so welcoming to me.

What does a perfect day off day in the area look like? Where do you go? Who do you see?

A perfect day wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Davenport’s Farm Stand and a conversation with Jeannie about all of their wonderful plants. I would buy more plants than I have space for and, after sharing some banter with Cindy at checkout, head home to spend time figuring out where to put them. After planting, I’d take our dog, Dolly, for a long walk in the woods, where she would roll in all sorts of unmentionable things and chase critters while I foraged for mushrooms. After that, I’d hit up Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits and trust them on whatever they told me was a good wine to go with what Chris and I planned to cook on the grill. We’d have the neighbors over, watch the day turn to night, and listen to the symphony of spring peepers and tree frogs over the crackling fire. I guess I’ll have to wait until spring comes again for this perfect day, but hey, in tree-time, that’s nothing.

– Compiled by Chelsea Miller, BSP reporter

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BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 3

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Michelle McAuliffe Vitner BSP Reporter Animal advocacy groups that rescue animals and create a safe haven for them have always had their challenges. A common mission is to see that those animals are treated with dignity, especially when they have endured great neglect or mistreatment in the past. Two area nonprofit organizations that pursue this path are the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. As we enter winter, both shared the unique burdens they face as they continue to maintain a high standard of care for the animals.

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary was founded by Jenny Brown and Doug Abel in 2004 outside of Woodstock. The sanctuary moved in 2015 to a 150-acre property on Lucas Turnpike in High Falls, formerly the site of a Methodist retreat center, where they remain today. A team of 25 people, as well as volunteers, keep things running while formerly farmed animals enjoy life without worry.

Their mission states, “Woodstock Farm Sanctuary envisions a peaceful world rooted in respect and justice for all living beings. We rescue farmed animals and give them care and sanctuary, connect animals with people to advance veganism, and advocate for animal rights in alliance with other social justice movements. The Sanctuary welcomes visitors to come and meet animals who are most commonly exploited, abused, and killed in animal agriculture.

“Our animal residents are given lifelong sanctuary and are treated with respect as individuals. By giving farmed animals the chance to live their lives with dignity and by sharing their stories, we advocate for veganism and aim to reduce suffering for all.”

Lizz Truitt, marketing and communications director for the sanctuary, says that at this time of year “resources are being stretched. There are higher-than-expected costs this winter, such as the need for more supplemental hay and food. Heating, even

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keeping water warmers running to prevent freezing, adds to costs. Generally, farm animals don’t grow old – [here] they have longer life spans than we usually realize.”

The Woodstock Animal Sanctuary currently provides daily care and medical support to over 380 animals including ducks, chickens, geese, a llama, cows, pigs, sheep, goats and turkeys.

“These rescued farm animal residents have come from many places – they are retired dairy cows, injured animals ... As much as 15 to 20% of the animals here are older than the typical animal for that species. Some vets have expressed surprise at how old they can get,” says Truitt. She says that many have a disability or chronic injury. With the help of medication, physical therapy and staff assistance, they have a new lease on life.

“Some animals are special needs… We have a Peking duck named Kiwi who has a wheelchair. She receives physical therapy every day. Oreo is a ‘Bionic Goat’– she was the first to receive a 3-D-printed fistula tube that is placed in her ruminant stomach to allow her to digest and eliminate gas so she doesn’t get bloated. When she walks around it looks like she has a gas station pump attached to her!” says Truitt.

Erratic weather has been one result of climate change, all of which creates a burden on animal caregivers to respond to extremes in temperature, environmental water fluctuations, and strain on food resources.

“Climate change is affecting us 100% – animal farming is one of the leading harms destroying the environment. We are

See Animals, page 12

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Page 4, December 2, 2022 , BlueStone Press

Duchess Farm's $2.4 million countersuit filed against the Town of Marbletown Ongoing legal saga over storm water retention ponds first approved in 2007 Thomas Childers BSP Reporter Duchess Farms Equestrian Community, a 19-lot residential subdivision in High Falls developed by previous Marbletown supervisor Michael Warren, has filed a counterclaim for “tortious interference with the contract.” This follows a recent win by Warren in an Article 78 appeal in the Supreme Court of New York, Ulster County, against the town’s Zoning Board Parete of Appeals decisions to issue violations against Duchess Farms on Oct. 21. The judgment annulled the ZBA’s violations against Duchess.

There are three different cases in play here.

The original lawsuit is Warren due to be heard in January 2023, wherein the town is suing Duchess over not complying with stormwater and road construction specifications in the approved site plans. The second case is a libel suit where former supervisor Warren is suing current town supervisor Rich

Parete over statements that Parete made about the original case in the press when describing the town’s lawsuit. The most recent ruling is from an Article 78 process where Warren appealed the ZBA’s subdivision violations issued in February 2022.

On Dec. 1, Warren e-mailed a document from his attorney titled Mandatory Part 1 Settlement Conference Case Information and Status Sheet, where he says, “Duchess farm has a counterclaim for over 2.4 million … against the town.” The info sheet from the Duchess attorney states that they “have sustained $2,355,000 in damages resulting from the lost real estate sales directly caused by the Town’s actions … The town knew of the existence of these contracts.”

The counterclaim also referenced Warren’s libel suit against Parete, saying, “The purchasers for the Lots withdrew from the contracts because they were aware of the prior statements of Supervisor Parete alleging criminal activity. Warren claims the libel suit is settled but for an undisclosed sum.”

But Parete said in response on Dec. 1, “I am not aware that the libel suit is settled.

My lawyer said Mike Warren’s attorney wanted to settle. I refused to sign any agreement and am prepared for trial. I’ve got no paperwork or information that it’s been resolved.” The Town is not paying for the lawsuit, according to Parete. “The libel lawsuit is being paid for by insurance” since he was acting in his capacity as town supervisor.

Parete said last spring, “the town pursued a lawsuit against Duchess Farms in support of the homeowners in the Duchess Farms subdivision. These Home-

Briefs More holiday happenings around the towns So many festivities going on, we can’t fit it all in the calendar, so here are some more ways to share the magic and good cheer of the season!

Holiday gifts made by library staff and the Saturday Knitters at the Stone Ridge Library Check out the creations by local talent throughout the month of December, at the holiday gift sale at the Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge.

Library hours are 1:30-7 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Library. For more information, call 845-687-7023 or visit stoneridgelibrary.org.

Holiday wreath making at the Rosendale Library Drop in any time between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the

“Hurley Mountain Road Winter Fields,” a painting by Mira Fink, Nov. 2022, detail

Rosendale Library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. Register at rosendalelibrary.org or call 845-658-9013.

Holiday card making Get creative and make some holiday cards, 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Rosendale Library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. Register at rosendalelibrary.org or call 845-658-9013.

Marbletown artist Mira Fink exhibition at The Bakery in New Paltz Give the gift of art. Check out the works of Marbletown’s Mira Fink in her solo show, running through Dec. 30, with hours of operation 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Sunday, at The Bakery, 13a North Front St., New Paltz. Visit Fink’s work at https://fineartamerica.com/profles/mira-fink.

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Duchess Farm subdivision in High Falls

owners were unable to obtain permits and certificates of occupancy from the town due to claims by the town that site work in the subdivision was incomplete.”

Warren said on Dec. 1 in a statement about his $2.4 million counterclaim, “The town refused three settlements which they told the judge they had, but backed out.” Warren continued, “The town has said they will appeal the decision by Judge Mott dismissing all the violations. The taxpayers should be aware of the political vendetta by this supervisor using tax money. The countersuit of over 2 million will be paid by taxpayers and not insurance because town board started this.”

Parete confirmed that “the town will be paying for the Duchess Farms lawsuit not insurance.”

Parete said, “I believe we’ve spent about $240,000 in three years for attorney and engineering fees … If Mike just built the plans the Planning Board approved, none of us would have spent any money. The town engineer and the engineer property owners hired both said the development’s stormwater and roads have not been built according to the plans approved by the

Planning Board. They aren’t even close to being built correctly.” Parete said over the phone, “As supervisor, he (Warren) should have held himself to a higher standard.”

Parete continued in his response to the filing on 12/1, “The town's position is that the developer needs to build the roads and stormwater to the plans, to what the Planning Board approved, and Mike Warren signed off on. I am confident the law is on our side; a developer must build to the approved plans. New York Department of Environmental Conservation issued Mike Warren a cease and desist on any site disturbance 18 months ago because of multiple stormwater violations, and he never submitted a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Protection Plan (SWPPP) to the state. I believe the fine is $33,500 per day. I doubt anyone would purchase property with a cease and desist and be responsible to pay DEC fines once they took ownership of the property.”

This counterclaim is after the court annulled the February 2022 violations issued by the Marbletown ZBA. Rich Parete has said that the town “board members spoke with our attorney on 11/15, and we agreed to appeal the judge's decision. We are confident the town will prevail as we work through the legal system.”

On Oct. 21, Justice Mott, Ulster County, annulled all but one of the eight violations. In the one violation not annulled, he decided “the record was insufficient to conduct a meaningful review.” Judge Mott says, “the administrative authority must state the basis of its findings with sufficient clarity to permit such review.”

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 5

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Page 6, December 2, 2022 , BlueStone Press

Briefs

Pickle Fest funds monthly Sing-alongs at for seniors Michelle McAuliffe Vitner BSP Reporter

Theatre on the Road’s Tiny Tim and Ebeneezer Scrooge

Rosendale’s Theatre on the Road’s Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ Almost everyone has seen Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the Ghosts of Christmas from a theater seat. This season, why not dine with them? Kick off the Christmas holiday season with song, laughter and nostalgia as actors and carolers bring scenes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to life.

Adapted from Dickens’ classic, the script was written by Rosendale residents Frank and Kristen Marquette. This is the 23rd season the Marquettes’ interactive dinner theater version of “A Christmas Carol.”

Both the historic Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck and the Venue in Kingston will present this unique dinner show. Each show will include Victorian carolers at tableside, before the show and during the dinner break. The performance will be preceded by a reception where guests will meet Ebeneezer Scrooge, the Ghosts of Christmas, the Cratchit family including Tiny Tim and Nephew Fred.

Schedule dates and times for “A Christmas Carol” are 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7 and 14, at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the Venue at the Best Western in Kingston.

Tickets for all dinner shows can be secured by visiting murdercafe.net or by calling 845-475-7973.

Ashokan Center Holiday Craft and Book Faire This event will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Road, Olivebridge. Had enough of box stores and online shopping? Come make beautiful hand-crafted gifts and shop for children’s books! The Ashokan Center’s wonderful elves (staff) will be there to help participants in the Tin Shop (make an ornament), Broom Shop (make a wood-handled sorghum broom) and Blacksmith Shop (make a fire poker, heart-shaped trivet, or plant hanger). The performance hall will be transformed to showcase an assortment of children’s books on the themes of music, nature, history and art, all curated by librarian Robin Shornstein. Plus a rustic family photo booth with photographer Ovi Horta, live holiday musical offerings, and an array of tasty food and drink for sale.

Admission is free. Broom, Blacksmith and Tin shops and Photo Booth will be first come, first served. Bring coats, hats, boots, gloves to donate for the winter clothing drive. Interested in vending or volunteering? Email alexis.perry@ashokancenter. org. For more information, visit ashokancenter.org or call 845-657-8333.

Debbie Lan is a dynamic local singer, musician and music educator. She is the centerpoint of a newly established monthly sing-along event at the Park Heights senior housing complex on Route 32 in Rosendale, called SongClub.

Thanks to the financial contribution from organizers of the Rosendale Pickle Fest, it will be funded through the end of 2023.

It is also due to the creative collaboration of Barbara Piombino, chairwoman of the Eldercare Assistance Committee for the Town of Rosendale, and Katy Scott-Childress, director of the Rosendale Library, coordinator of community programming.

Scott-Childress says, “While looking into a grant from the Mid-Hudson Library System, there was a mini-grant for underserved people in the community; we identified the Park Heights community as being in need. Then we did a program series in the summer and fall, inviting anyone 65 and over, to be held at Park Heights.”

As the grant money was running low, in what felt like serendipity, the folks at the Rosendale International Pickle Festival approached the library with funds to use in its programming. Now they can financially maintain support for the music event through the end of 2023. “SongClub with Debbie Lan has been very popular, so we’ve decided to continue the program into the new year.” Scott-Childress says the Pickle Fest donation was integral to the success of the program and expressed gratitude, especially for the ability to fund the arts: “All of the people, the artists involved, are from Rosendale.

It’s community investing in the community,” she says.

As for Billy Ligan, one of the main organizers of this year’s well-attended Pickle Fest, giving back to the community is what Rosendale is all about. Along with dozens of other volunteers at the festival, he says he enjoys participating in all levels of making an event run well and be fun; the spirit of local involvement is high in Rosendale. Ligan shares that he has been involved in volunteering for decades, and now his grandkids are involved too. Investing back into the community from the proceeds of the festival allows for generous donations to the local food bank, the library, the Rosendale Theatre, the Rosendale Women’s Club and other local nonprofit groups and activities. There is even one scholarship being developed through local event fundraising that will sponsor a family’s first college-bound member, a graduating high school senior. In the words of Ligan, “Many hands make light work.”

As Debbie Lan tells it, “I direct a number of adults in ensembles in the community, and one of the residents at Park Heights has been part of one of those ensembles for many years. Also, Barbara Piombino and I were colleagues working at High Meadow school for many years. … I guess Barbara had the idea and got together with Katy at the library, and they asked me (to perform at the Heights).

What happened is, I had brought one of my ensembles to the Heights and we did a performance for them, and they really loved it. Then (afterward) Barbara said, instead of performing for them, why don’t you sing with them?” Lan realized she really liked that idea. Then she introduced SongClub.

“I run a lot of ensembles that are a weekly commitment,” Lan said. “A lot of people want to sing, but they don’t want

They've been passing the pickle love forward for years, here's a view from inside the tent at the 2004 Rosendale Pickle Festival. BSP file photo

that weekly commitment. So, SongClub is like a drop-in event, where anybody can come. I bring out some songs and teach them their parts … it’s community-building as well. I found, even with my ensemble groups, singing helps relieve isolation and it’s a very bonding experience. In a group, the more people who are participating, it helps people to relax, to not feel that the focus is on them. People have a lot of fun together. I love the community-building aspect of it.”

Taking part in SongClub at the senior residence does not require an audition, and everyone is welcome if they are willing and interested to join in, or to simply listen. It’s an event for those over age 65, and that also includes outside seniors who are not residents at Park Heights.

Lan hopes to expand it, from the original 12 people who participated in the most recent event this November to perhaps 25 people in time.

Lan runs other SongClubs in local performing spaces and usually asks for a small fee at the door to keep it going.

In the case of Park Heights, she shared her gratitude that the event is funded throughout this year and to the end of 2023. She is also a big fan of the Pickle Fest folks.

Park Heights residents have created a vibrant community of friends and neighbors over the years. Resident Joy Lapp is 83 years old and has an expressive, kind smile. Originally born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, she moved to Accord as a teen with her family. Many years later, she would move again into her one-bedroom apartment at Park Heights. That was 20 years ago. Today, her home is warm and inviting, with lots of pictures and mementos adorning a nearby table. When asked what she thinks of SongClub, she said, “We enjoy it. In fact, it started off very small, and then (came) more people, and then actually more … I think we had 12 people. The room can hold 40, but we have to move things around and make sure all the seats are there. We have Christmas parties in there, bingo in there … (maybe) we can get some outsiders?

It’s not very long, about an hour. You can sing along, she’ll even give you sheet music.”

Lapp continued to share how, in bygone years, she and some friends at the Heights enjoyed sitting outside on a cold weather day, bundled up, taking in the crisp air. Some neighbors teased that they were crazy.

The act of gathering with others was, and still is, the potential to create lifelong

friends.

According to the Ulster Rupco website, Park Heights is a low-income senior housing complex, “located at 1033 Route 32 in Rosendale and features 40 one-bedroom apartments for those 62 and older.

The apartments are open to a beautifully landscaped courtyard that provides a private yet spacious outdoor area for the community to enjoy. The community room is the focal point of the complex.

The result of this design is that tenants have independently created a tight-knit community, with a self-created community group that organizes dinners and other events open to all residents.” From the time it was first built, the community room was intended to be the commons and meeting place that would host activities and community-building.

Piombino and Rosendale Eldercare Assistance Committee members Jacqueline Katzen, Judith Minissali and councilmember Ernest Klepeis – liaison for the committee – worked to bring many resources to the Heights in recent years. It has been important to address short-falls or gaps in services that can happen when people no longer drive, or don’t have access to food shopping and medicine during winter storms. Covid-19 also played a role in isolating many seniors, and the goal has been to create more opportunities for them to connect. Food pantry access and meal delivery are also the kind of needs addressed.

Piombino and her committee have worked closely with the Rosendale Library to bring creative programming in music and the arts to the Heights, and the library coordinates book delivery, among other senior services. Due to the efforts of Rosendale Library director Katy Scott-Childress, who is skilled in grant-writing, they were able to get funds to invite local artists and musicians into the community room at the Heights.

Many talented and dedicated local, creative people were invited to teach, perform and entertain residents in 2022 because of such collaborations between Scott-Childress and Piombino.

SongClub meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. open to all seniors 65 and over. For more information about SongClub and other events, contact the Rosendale Library at 845-658-9013.

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 7

‘Light Up Marbletown’ returns with an even better program Lights, parade and more Jeff Slater BSP Reporter “We started Light Up Marbletown three years ago, where residents picked up a set of 10 luminaries to line their driveway or sidewalk. In the second year Paul Bogart from the Stone Ridge Fire Company came up with the idea of adding a parade, and it was great,” said Jill McLean, Town of Marbletown youth director.

“I came up with idea last year after seeing other towns do this sort of thing,” said Bogart. “I think it’s a great way to get people out to kick off the holiday season.

Last year I was quite pleased with the amount of people that came out on their front porches or met somewhere along the parade route to watch. We are expecting an even bigger turnout this year.”

Light Up Marbletown and the parade will be held Saturday, Dec. 17, with a rain date of Sunday the 18th.

“We are extending the parade route this year,” Bogart continued. “It will start at Marbletown Park and head up Tongore Road to Atwood Road to Pine Bush Road to Schoonmaker Lane to Route 209 and end at the Stone Ridge Firehouse. The parade will coincide with residents displaying luminaries at 4:30 p.m.”

Town of Marbletown supervisor Rich Parete said, “We are excited to continue sponsoring Light Up Marbletown and the parade. Events like this create a sense of belonging to the community and foster pride in our town. It’s the volunteers and town staff that make it successful. I’m proud to live in such a community.”

“Last year the parade literally brought me to tears,” said Kathy Hikade, town resident and paraprofessional at Marbletown Elementary School. “Seeing so much of the community participate was so heartwarming. This year I am on the committee that is planning it. We hope to make it even better.”

Jacqueline Swisher, a teacher at MES, said, “I love Light Up Marbletown! It’s a special tradition that unites our communi-

Youth and recreation assistant director Jess Phelan and rec director Jill McLean hang out with Santa Claus. On right, the Light Up Marbletown parade route, and below, a home all lit up at last year's popular event.

ty and makes the sweet place we call home a bit brighter during the holiday season.

Last year the Sunshine Committee at Marbletown Elementary lit up the school’s front entrance with lights. Being that the school is a large part of the community, it made perfect sense for the school to participate. And of course, the children enjoy seeing the lights and parade most of all. “ The parade lineup will be at 5:30 p.m. at Marbletown Park, and the parade will start at 6 p.m. and end at the Stone Ridge Firehouse. Participants can leave the parade at any point. There will be an award given out for best decorated participant. The parade will coincide with residents lighting their luminaries at 4:30 p.m.

“We encourage participants to decorate their vehicles or floats, and play holiday music,” said McLean.

Luminary packets will be available on the back porch of the Community Center starting on Monday, Dec. 5. The first packet is free, and any additional packets are $5.

So come on out and enjoy this great event sponsored by the Town of Marbletown and the Stone Ridge Fire Department!

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Briefs Utility customers apply for energy debt relief funds More than $550 million in credits are available, but residents must be enrolled in their utility’s Energy Affordability Program by Dec. 31, 2022.

More than 1.3 million New York households are currently behind on their electric and gas utility bills and owe over $1.5 billion dollars collectively, and that situation has worsened due to high inflation and volatile fossil fuel commodity prices.

Fortunately, on June 16, 2022, the State Public Service Commission adopted a $557 million statewide program to provide Covid-19 utility bill relief for low-income electric and natural gas utility customers. Low-income residential customers enrolled in their utility’s EAP program will have any debts for service received through May 1, 2022, forgiven in full. To learn more about qualifying programs, visit CLP’s Resources Page.

Low-income customers that are behind or falling behind on bills can also contact PULP for no-cost help. Call PULP’s hotline at 877-669-2572 or send an email to info@ utilityproject.org.

Quilter Guild to host holiday brunch The Wiltwyck Quilters Guild will come together to enjoy a holiday brunch, after the monthly business meeting, 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, in Fellowship Hall, at Grace Community Church, 160 Seremma Court, Lake Katrine. All participants should bring a dish to share, plus their own plate, drink and utensils. New members are always wanted and welcomed to join in this event and all other projects benefiting the community. The Guild meets with three goals in mind: to share their work, learn a new skill and meet new friends. For more information, contact Guild secretary Mary Tyler of Rosendale at marycodytyler@yahoo.com.

Power from page 1 worth of emissions by using them. I have no way inside the portal of verifying this ...

I can definitely agree that the billing process is confusing and obfuscated, and without digging into anything, I have no way of figuring out who is going to bill me and when.

"As we all know, Central Hudson failed to send out real-time bills for almost a year as they worked their way through the failed transition to online billing or whatever they were doing. And Nexamp, in the interim, kept sending out notices basically stating that they were waiting on Central Hudson to fix their issues before they could issue their own invoices, et cetera. Either way, the companies have obviously not figured out how to work with one another. On top of all that, I kept getting notices from Central Hudson that they are no longer accepting credits from a solar company that failed to pass the base level for inclusion into the grid by the state, or something. But the name of the company was not Nexamp, and honestly I didn't have time to look into it. So, long story short, I have no idea what the hell is going on. I just make payments when they come up, assuming it isn't some insanely high ‘estimated’ bill from Central Hudson, which has happened as well.”

Bob Gibbons and Tim Gay, who live on

What’s new at High Meadow?

A new director, increased enrollment since Covid, and a resumption of after-school activities, along with community outreach programs Jeff Slater BSP Reporter According to the head of High Meadow School, Michelle Healy, “We’ve been going through an interesting time with the pandemic, not only with the pandemic but with a new transitional leadership. We’re in this exciting phase of renewal, really coming back to centering our mission. I think the pandemic has given us this sense of reckoning: What are we about?”

Healy started at the school right at the beginning of the pandemic and has seen High Meadow’s enrollment go up to about 200 students and now settling in at about 180 students, with more than 60% coming from the Rondout Valley area and the rest coming from New Paltz, Kingston, Onteora and Ellenville school districts.

High Meadow School has just resumed outdoor activities since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. They ran a seven-week summer camp that was open to the public. They also kicked off a resumption of activities with a fall festival they called AcornFest. This was the first activity where parents and children could attend in person since the pandemic began.

At the event, in which 200 or so people attended, children could participate in a number of activities, from cornhole to art projects.

“It was really a fall carnival,” Healy said.

“We had lots of games set up, and we had opportunities on our outdoor field where people could come in and enjoy the campus. We had a wonderful mitten-making station. We are looking to just grow that.

We also had a Trunk-or-Treat, which was only open to our community, but we’d like to open it up to everyone next year.”

In addition, High Meadow is running some after-school programs open to the public, piloted in the fall. “The winter will have classes that are open to everyone in the community, from second grade on. These classes start at 4 p.m.,” Healy said. “Some of the offerings include a great robotics class, begun this fall, that’s turning into a repair café, and visual arts Upper Cherrytown Road, declared themselves to be "bamboozled" by the numbers on their Nexamp and Central Hudson statements.

"We still can't figure out the math," said Gay. "We added up our bills, compared 2021 to 2022, and found that our electricity came to only $734.18 in 2021, and almost doubled to $1,450.70 this year through November. CenHud evidently had a glitch and didn't bill us after November 2021. We finally received a bill in April 2022 for $584.59, but it was impossible to do a month-by-month breakdown of our usage, how much electricity came from the fossil fuel power grid, and what percentage came from Nexamp's solar production ... and we never could figure out how CenHud calculates the delivery charge for bringing electricity up the mountain."

Keith Hevenor, local communications director for Nexamp, did his best to cut through the confusion, at least the part that relates to Nexamp.

"In terms of problems that we have been having with Central Hudson, please know that these are challenges facing the industry, not just Nexamp," he began.

"When Central Hudson went through a major systems change last summer it severely impacted our shared customers.

For months Central Hudson was unable to generate bills for their customers and was unable to apply solar energy credits for Nexamp customers. This created a very negative experience for our customers ...

Two third-graders at High Meadow School in Stone Ridge prepare to play games at the recent AcornFest. More than 200 people enjoyed the live music, food, games and crafts, as High Meadow School reintroduced public events to the school calendar. Applications are now being accepted for the 2022-23 school year, with students in grades 3-8, in particular, encouraged to apply. Photo courtesy of High Meadow School

classes. We hope to have basketball and soccer programs, We are launching our enrollment for these classes in the second week of December.” You can find out about these programs on their website, highmeadowschool.org, and sign up for them online.

HMS is also starting to run some community outreach programs. “We are at this fledging stage of how we can get out in the community and support the community,” said Healy. “One of the things we started this year and is in its infant stage is a childcare giving program, for children that are infants through 3 years old, for those kids and their caregivers. We started really small offering art and music classes to

children and caregivers. We had a music class in the fall where children and their caregivers come and make music together … We have a wonderful music teacher running this class. We are looking to make that program grow. What we looking to do is make community partnerships in our surrounding area. Were also looking for ways to support new parents and caregivers – even offering play groups where children can come and play with other children and their parents can get some support and education like parenting strategies … get that support from other parents. For example, what are you doing with your 9-month-old? With parenting it can be very isolating.”

Another thing going on in the school is having their students give back to the community. Healy said, “Right now, our fourth-graders are having a coat drive for people in the community. We have an annual fund to offset some of our costs. One of the things we did during the pandemic, that we are looking to grow, is an art auction. Last year we had an art auction that we called Meadow MoCA, where we did a whole week of art projects. Our kids elected to make different pieces of art grade by grade to auction off, and what we ended up doing, instead of retaining all the funds for the school, the kids were able to research organizations that they wanted to give a portion of the proceeds to, like over 50%. Our younger kids gave to the Ashokan Center, some of our kids gave to Ukraine, and some of the kids gave to animal shelters. So now we are looking to get out there again and continue these efforts, first with our seventh- and eighth-graders and eventually with our whole school,” continued Healy.

There are a lot of good things going on at High Meadow School, and they still have openings for new students. which you can find out about on their website (which is currently being revamped).

Supervisor Mike Baden, center, cuts the ribbon at opening of a Town of Rochester solar farm, November 2019. Keith Hevenor of Nexamp is second from right. Photo by Ann Belmont

While we have seen some improvement with Central Hudson, we are still not able to get the information we need from them on a consistent basis ... It has been challenging to deliver a best-in-class customer experience for our Central Hudson customers."

Hevenor then explained each section of

a Nexamp bill in depth.

"Value of Credits Applied – this is the sum of the credits applied to a customer’s utility account. We receive this information from our utility partners. A customer

See Power cont., page 15

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 9

Green is the new black: SUNY Ulster fashion project focused on sustainability Anne Pyburn Craig BSP Reporter Four fashion-forward SUNY students have created a zine and an online presentation with the goal of publicizing some tough truths about the industry that they’ve learned from instructor Kristin Flynn, hoping to educate fellow students and the public about the impact of “fast fashion” and how their garment choices can help or hurt the planet.

Four first-year students in the Intro to Fashion Industry course, Izzy Vicari, Jackson Cavala, Arden Johnson and Rosa Onderdonk-Knaus, opted to team up on their class project after growing increasingly concerned by the things they were learning about the field they loved.

“All semester we learn how clothing is made, merchandised and retailed, but there are so many issues right now in the fashion industry around sustainability and environmental impacts that kept coming up over and over,” said Flynn. “The apparel industry contributes 6% of the carbon emissions in the world. We have a final project in the class and I presented this as an option for the kids to do something proactive about this, an educational piece that could be handed out to the public. I find a lot of people don't even know about this – they know about recycling, about car exhaust, but people don't think about the environmental impact of their clothes.

It's not their fault, they just don't have any knowledge. So we tried to do an informational piece that also has things that the average person can do.”

Vicari, Cavala, Johnson and Onderdonk-Knaus created the zine and online counterpart to help dispel that ignorance.

“A lot of clothing is going to waste and ending up in huge landfills just sitting there when you could most definitely reuse it,” said Vicari. “And when we looked

Rosa Onderdonk-Knaus, Jackson Zavala, Arden Johnson and Izzy Vicari. Photo courtesy of SUNY Ulster

further into that, we saw more of the environmental impacts and how much water is used to make certain items of clothing.

It was just so incredibly mind-boggling to see what it took to make a simple T-shirt.

And if you then throw it away, all of that just goes completely to waste.”

Learning about situations like the 39,000 tons of non-biodegradable “fast fashion” clothing that end up in a vast clothing-only landfill in Chile’s Atacama Desert every year made the students all the more determined to be part of the solution. “We want to empower people to make choices that help lessen the impact,” Vicari said, “starting with the choices they make as consumers. And there are things you can do. If you’re thinking of throwing an item away, maybe you can repurpose the fabric instead; if you’re about to donate or toss something because it’s torn or missing

What are you going to do when we enter our winter wonderland?

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a button, learn some simple mending.

Repair Cafes are a great resource for that.

There are tailor shops, there are places you can donate where the clothes do get used, and we give suggestions for that. There are tons of options that people aren’t aware of.”

The students all say that a cultural shift away from the consumer programming that drives people to the store to purchase the very latest thing each season is key to making progress, but it’s a tough nut to crack. “That mindset is pushed on us from brands that make you believe that you need to have the latest look because they're making money off it,” said Flynn.

“But it’s actually possible to go an entire year without paying attention to that, and you know what? Nobody who really matters will care.”

“Teenagers, especially girls, can be

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very cruel about that stuff – it’s part of the whole competitive thing,” said Vitari.

“We need to make it cooler to take pride in choosing and taking care of quality things, not having the very latest. A lot of the younger generation is very focused on global environmental issues and what they’re going to do to our future, and really want to make a difference – so these are things each person can do that'll help.”

The zine is available at the Stone Ridge Library, SUNY Ulster’s library, and the college front desk. Scanning the QR code that accompanies this article takes the reader to a Google presentation full of in-depth sustainable fashion facts.

SUNY Ulster’s Fashion Design Program, taught by industry professionals and offering students a thorough grounding in every step of the garment design and construction process, has been wildly successful throughout its eight-year history, sending well-qualified students on to bachelor’s degree programs at Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Purchase, Savannah College of Art and Design, Marist College, Otis College of Design in Los Angeles, LIM Fashion Institute and Rhode Island School of Design.

Despite being far more informed about its challenges, all four of the collaborators are in love with their chosen field and say they’re in the right place to achieve their goals. “I came up here from the city specifically for this program, and I know I’m in the right place for me,” said Cavala. “I’m absolutely getting a solid and excellent foundation.”

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Page 10, December 2, 2022, BlueStone April 15, 2022, BlueStone PressPress

Memoriam Jason Charles Schiavo

KERHONKSON—Jason Charles Schiavo died unexpectedly at home on Nov. 26, 2022. He was born on Oct. 22, 1973, in Tarrytown, the son of Charles Schiavo (19482021) and Linda Louise Pachter. Jason graduated from Rondout Valley High School in 1992. He served in the United States Army before pursuing a career in the culinary arts. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Jason’s creative style shaped many local Hudson Valley menus before he joined the family of Mohonk Mountain House, Schiavo where he supervised the seasonal Granary and helped out wherever he was needed in the colder weather months. His generous spirit, wry sense of humor, and keen eye for detail will be deeply missed. Jason was an avid gardener and craftsman. He was counted on for home repairs and projects large and small. Jason loved to restore classic cars. He truly enjoyed his time alone. Jason is survived by his mother, Linda Pachter of High Falls; his sisters, Alyssa Schiavo of Walden, Jessica Schiavo of Danbury, Connecticut, and Elizabeth Destefano of Fishkill; his aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and many dear friends. Service will take place at Copeland-Hammer Funeral Home at 162 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, from 3-6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2.

Words of Remembrance will be shared at 5:30 p.m.

Chelsea Kristine Poole

MARBLETOWN—It is with great sadness that the family of Chelsea Kristine Poole, 36, of Denver, Colorado, announce her passing. Chelsea was a voracious reader and book collector as well as being a published author.

She was a talented vocalist and could coax some smooth jazz from her alto saxophone. Chelsea was a passionate and vocal supporter of women’s rights.

She enjoyed hiking, biking, crafting, and had become an avid bird watcher.

She was teaching her cockatiel to sing, whistle and dance. She also took pride in her running and completed many Poole races including several RunDisney half marathons. Chelsea is survived by her cockatiel, Nibbler; her mother, Jenifer (James) Nerone; father, Donald (Debi) Poole, sisters Kristin (Joseph) Robinson and Hannah Poole (Casey Obermeyer); her nephew, Elliott Robinson; and grandmother, Jean Nerone. She is also survived by many extended family and friends. Chelsea was predeceased by her grandparents, Richard and Emily Stokes of High Falls, Robert and Eunice Poole, Lee and Marie DeVries and James Nerone Sr. The burial will be private. The family suggests donating to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, your favorite wildlife group, women’s rights organization or a charity of your choice in her memory.

Edith Shandrowsky Cohen

KERHONKSON—Edith Shandrowsky Cohen, longtime resident of Kerhonkson, died in the late evening hours of Nov. 21, 2022. She spent the past 12 years as a resident of

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Sapphire Nursing Home at Meadow Hill in Newburgh, where she was known by the staff as “the Mayor and a Very Classy Lady!” She was born in Brooklyn on May 31, 1930, to Ray Litchman and Joseph Shandrowsky. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 60 years, Jesse Cohen. She is survived by her children, Stewart (Nance), Martin (Kris) and Merryl (Jim); grandchildren Josh, Aaron, Sean, Jake and Justin; and great-grandson, Finneas Parker. The graveside funeral was held on Nov. 25 at the Kerhonkson Synagogue Cemetery on Boice Mill Road, Kerhonkson, where Rabbi Shmuel Serebryanski officiated. The family sat Shiva privately on Nov. 27 and 28.

A special Shabbat Service will be planned in the spring of 2023 at the Kerhonkson Synagogue in memory and celebration of the life of Edith Cohen. She was a lifetime member of the Kerhonkson Synagogue, where she started the senior citizens group when her parents moved up to the area from Brooklyn. Her niece, Marla Shabanowitz, was the first Bat Mitzvah at the shul. Both her sons, Stewart and Martin, were also a Bar Mitzvah at the synagogue.

She reacquainted with a childhood friend, Alice Stein, when Alice moved to the area, and later Stein became the Rabbi of the Kerhonkson Synagogue until her passing.

Known today as the Tobey Pomerantz Summer BBQ, Cohen religiously prepared salads and compliments for this event. Penny Socials were always a big hit and major fundraiser at the Shul run by the Sisterhood, Edith Cohen, Sadie Friedman, Tobey Pomerantz, Janine Barash, Lillian Dembo, among others. Cohen had “nephesh” in everything that she did! Donations in her memory to the Kerhonkson Synagogue, 26 Minnewaska Trail, Kerhonkson, NY 12446, would be very much appreciated.

ployed at ARC-Palmer Center in Kingston until her retirement. She was a member of St. Peter's Parish in Rosendale and the Rosary Altar Society and had been active in many Parish events. She was also a member of the Columbiettes, American Legion Post 1219 Ladies Auxiliary and the Ladies Ancient Order of the Hibernians. Ethel loved to travel and especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband, Navarra Ernest A. Navarra, died March 11, 1984, and a daughter, Theresa M. Cuff, died Jan. 28, 2020. She is survived by a daughter, JoAnn Navarra of Rosendale; two sons, Ernest Navarra (Linda) of Rosendale and Vincent Navarra of Accord; and son-inlaw, Frank Cuff Sr., also of Rosendale. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Visitation for family and friends was Nov. 25, and there was a procession on Nov. 26 to St. Peter's Church in Rosendale, where a Mass of Christian Burial was offered, with the Rev. Kevin Malick officiating.

Interment followed at St. Peter's Cemetery, Rosendale.

The family suggests memorial donations to St. Peter's Church., P.O. Box 471, Rosendale, NY 12472

Christopher R. Cole

GARDINER—Christopher R. Cole passed away on Nov. 28, 2022, at his home from complications associated with lung cancer. He was 41. He was born in Kingston on Aug. 16, 1981. Chris was a lifelong area resident and a business owner. He STONE RIDGE—Joseph M. Mongelluzzo passed away owned and operated Biggies Motorized on Nov. 26, 2022, at his home with his loving family by his side. He was 19. He was born in Warwick, April 18, 2003, Power Sports in Gardiner, which ina son of Vincent and Marcy Udland cludes heavy duty trucking. He enjoyed Mongelluzzo. Joseph was a Stone Ridge 4-wheeling, motorcycles, snowmobiling resident for the past nine years and was and pretty much everything that was a 2021 graduate of Rondout Valley High motorized. He also enjoyed spending School. He currently was attending time with his family and will be deeply Cole BOCES Adult Education Program in missed by all his loved ones. Surviving Port Ewen and working at Panera Bread are his mother, Holly Ecker, and his in Kingston. He previously worked at stepfather, Bill Ecker of Gardiner; his father, Raymond A. Lydia's in Stone Ridge. Joseph enjoyed Cole of North Carolina; brothers Anthony (Tina), Kevin video games, playing the guitar, going Mongelluzzo (Kelly) and Michael; sisters Tammy (Shaun), Rachel (Mion endless trips for food, and lunch dates with friends. In addition to his chael) and Joni (Kevin); Aunt Mary, Uncle Dave and their parents, he is survived by his siblings, Salvatore and sons, Tommy and Charlie; nephews Michael, George Anja; aunts Kelly, Tracy and Sue; uncles Ray and Vic; and (Candice), Preston and Nash; and nieces Abigail (Greg), cousins R.J., Caleb, Jocelyn, Owen and Ethan. Visitation Desirea, Emily, Elizabeth, Meagan, Jazmine, Cassidy, for family and friends was at the George J. Moylan Funeral Ashley, Cierra and Elaina.

Home, 2053 Route 32, Rosendale, on Nov. 30. A celebraHe is also survived by great nephews Ethan, Brayden, tion of his life and a time of remembrance and sharing Bentlee, Holden, William, Ryder, Zachary, Isiah and was held that evening. Cremation was held privately. MeLucas; great nieces Everliegh, Kenslee, Lilith and Amara, morial donations are requested to Hudson Valley Make and his best canine friends, Blaze, Roxie and Odie. Chris a Wish Foundation, 832 South Broadway, Tarrytown, was predeceased by a brother, Adam, in 1984. Visitation NY 10591, www.wish.org/hudson To leave a personal condolence for his family, please visit www.GJMoylanFufor family and friends will be 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, neralHome.com at the George J. Moylan Funeral Home Inc., 2053 Route 32, Rosendale. Following visitation, the Rev. John Koelle from St. Joseph's Church in New Paltz will officiate his funeral service. Cremation will be held privately and ROSENDALE—Ethel Marie Navarra died on Nov. 21, inurnment will be in New Paltz Rural Cemetery at a later 2022, at Ten Broeck Commons in Lake Katrine. She was date. Memorial donations are requested to Hudson Valley 91. She was born in Jamaica, Queens, on Nov. 2, 1931, a Hospice, 80 Washington St., Suite 204, Poughkeepsie, NY daughter of the late James and Gertrude Evans O'Leary.

An area resident for many years, Ethel had been em12601.

Joseph M. Mongelluzzo

Ethel Marie Navarra

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The world comes Rosendale: Falconi Media opens headquarters on Main Street Chelsea Miller BSP Reporter Rosendale welcomed home prodigal son, cinematographer and filmmaker Sam Falconi back into the fold in July of 2022 when Falconi Media opened headquarters on Main Street, Rosendale. Falconi admits that when he left home, first for California and then New York City, he didn’t envision settling back in the area, however after traveling for the last decade and a half, he couldn’t be happier to be home and bring it back to where is all started … that is, when he gets back from Dubai.

Falconi grew up in Kerhonkson. As a child, he remembers spending the majority of his time outside climbing trees and running around in the woods. Ironically, he grew up in a strictly no-TV household (with the exception of the occasional Pee-wee Herman). He attended Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz where, looking back, he realizes the educational style would prove influential to developing his eye.

“In terms of cinematography – a lot of the exercises from Waldorf we did play a role,” says Falconi. “At the time, I wondered why we were doing what we were doing, but now, looking back, I have a different appreciation.

Projects like shading in an object but not putting lines around it really informed how I think about composition and light and shadow.” Falconi recalls countless hours spent with his friend Gideon Sterer creating Claymation movies with a camera that belonged to Sterer’s mom. “We spent hours hitting ‘stop’ and ‘record’ about a bazillion times on this soccer-mom-style camera,” recalls Falconi.

An essential piece of Falconi’s career was found in a difficult family experience. “I had a psychopathic next-door neighbor growing up in Kerhonkson, which eventually led to my mom having to have restraining order – he was doing things like running around in tightie-whiteies, shooting a shotgun and screaming like a chicken in our backyard. My dad borrowed a Hi8 camcorder to record what was going on, and when it wasn’t used for that, it was in my hand doing experimental shots. Things like the toilet flushing, extreme closeups, very avant-garde stuff. So this tool, which was brought into the house to help with a psychopathic neighbor became something else once it was in my hands, it led me onto my path in film.”

For ninth grade, Falconi was faced with a choice. Head to Hawthorne Valley or a Steiner school in the city to continue his Waldorf education or attend Rondout Valley High School. “I had been living in this this little bubble and I really wanted to check out the outside world,” explains Falconi, and so he headed to RVHS. Once at Rondout, Falconi clicked into the WISE and New Visions program, which he says allowed him to really expand his experience in film. “I started getting my feet wet in film industry high school,” explains Falconi.

“I’d spend two hours in school in the morning and then head into the city, where I got to work on commercials and music videos through Rondout.”

After high school Falconi decided to forgo the college route, and the summer after graduation he and his friend Oliver Noble made their first film, “Night of the Living Jews,” starring the great Melissa Leo of Ulster County, which got a lot of attention and was accepted into the Woodstock Film Festival. Fresh off that success, the pair packed up the car and headed west, their sights set on Hollywood.

Once in Hollywood, the reality proved to be quite different from the dream – a mash-up of experiences that spanned the range of the business. Falconi connected with Harris Savides, the now late cinematographer whose credits include “Finding Forrester,” “Zodiac” and “American Gangster,” among others. Falconi initially worked with Savides on a Revlon commercial (starring Halle Berry) and was quickly taken under Savides’ wing. Working with Savides on the film “Greenberg” ignited an interest in acting for Falconi, and so, when he decided to move back to the East Coast in 2010, it was with the intention of becoming a proper actor.

“To be honest I thought LA would be easier and more exciting than it was,” says Falconi. “In New York City, I was able to ring a buddy’s doorbell and I’d end up on a roof looking at the skyline with friends. In LA it takes three weeks to make plans, it’s hard to have the same spontaneity and community that’s possible in New York.”

Sam Falconi of Falconi Media on the job.

Photo by Chris O’Konsk

Once back on the East Coast he enrolled in acting school but continued to take work behind the camera to pay the rent. Which leads us to Beyoncé.

A friend asked Falconi to film the artist Luke James at a premiere and Falconi agreed; the hitch was that the equipment was in a building on Broadway. Falconi made his way to Broadway, grabbed the gear and stepped into the elevator along with two other men. The younger of the two cocked his head and asked Falconi if he was a camera operator. He said he was, and the man said simply, “We might need you.” Falconi thought little of it and went off on his way. Later that day, when returning the equipment he ran into the same two men. They asked Falconi to see a sample of his work and Falconi flipped open his laptop and showed them a random section of the day’s footage.

He was hired on the spot for a gig the next day, subject undisclosed. The following day, Falconi showed up ready to work. “I was introduced to somebody named B, an older white woman, and I was like, OK, cool, so I thought that was who we are focusing on. Suddenly someone taps me on the shoulder and says, ‘She’s about to arrive!

You’ve gotta get her arriving,’ and an Escalade pulls up and Beyoncé steps out.”

One day led to two, which led to three, and it was at that point that Falconi was asked to join Team Beyoncé. “After a couple of days of working in a row they said that she felt comfortable with me and asked me to stick around.”

In the ensuing years, in addition to half a decade as Beyoncé’s personal cinematographer (he continues to enjoy working with her), Falconi started racking up a slew of credits both behind and in front of the camera.

Some notable acting credits include roles in “Summer House,” “Artist in a Field” (a 2022 short) and the Hulu series “High Fidelity.” Behind the camera he’s collaborated with H&M, Gucci, Vogue, The New York Times and Billboard, to name a few, as well as a night sky’s worth of stars including Prince, JZ, and Alicia Keys.

Falconi says that helming his company, Falconi Media, snuck up on him. “It starts with you just working a lot, and then you start hiring people to work under you, and then the project gets bigger and bigger.” As of today, Falconi is preparing to head to Dubai on Sunday, Dec. 4, to create two episodes of a branded content series called “KaoticaLive” for KaoticaEyeball, focused on musicians doing remote live recording sessions. Think a sexier, shrouded, remote-location version of the NPR Tiny Desk series.

Falconi Media has come back home. While Falconi says that his business is “like a ninja” and can go anywhere at any time, the official HQ is located on Main Street in Rosendale at Area 415, a multimedia production company and event space that also hosts a store. He shares the space with his colleagues and collaborators – directors Julienne Jones and Max Basch, music producer Bosch Purvis and herbalist Malia Scharf – and both separately and together they create branded content, commercials and hope to foray into feature films.

While he loves, and is still often working in, the city, Falconi says that being back in the area has felt like the best of both worlds. “Rosendale is kind of the perfect proximity to both the madness of the city and nature for me. It’s the perfect little combination. When I was younger, I was not that interested in upstate – I wanted to reject the area, but as I’ve grown up I’ve realized that upstate gives me that inner expansion. It’s really exciting to come back to this sleepy little town and see all the potential that it has. I love that it’s quiet and that it seems like it could be vibrant at the same time. That what makes it special. Rosendale is just that perfect combo of sleepy and vibrant.”

He’s also excited to start collaborating with local creative people. “I’m super excited about collaborating with local businesses and artists,” says Falconi. He is currently working on a project with his mother, Dina Falconi, which includes over 50 hours of content including a YouTube channel and education materiel entitled “In the Wild Kitchen.” He’s also looking to connect with local youth and ready to offer internships as production assistants and assistant editors.

“When I was 18 or 19 I would have been pretty stoked to meet the older version of me and get taken under my wing,” Falconi says. “Right now there’s a lot coming through the pipeline, and it would be a great opportunity for a savvy, hungry young soul. I remember I just wanted to find stuff to create as a kid, and now I’m standing here and I’m creating it. There are a few people that came into my life in the beginning stages of my career, even as I was just finishing high school, that were super clutch in giving me direction and inspiration that made sense and who physically took a risk on bringing me in on their professional sphere. Who knows how many of these things would have unfolded for me? I want to be that same person back to any other young person who might not feel that it’s possible to do this as a career. I think there is some magic to it, but I also think people are intimidated by it, and that’s not necessary.”

A warm thank you to our wonderful customers.

We will miss you all.

Experience the Difference

Athletics, recreation & fitness

Page 12

December 2, 2022

As the season begins, RV basketball teams look to continue their successes Jeff Slater BSP Reporter The Rondout Valley boys and girls basketball season gets underway this week.

Both teams are eagerly anticipating the upcoming year.

The team will be led by seniors Zach Banks and twins Terrence and Jacob Stange, junior Aiden Davenport, and sophomores Ethan Dean and Jaylen McLean.

The boys are coming off a 15-7 record last season. With the team losing Aaron Coston and Jaiden Marshall to graduation, there’ll be a big hole to fill. Rondout will be led by Terrence and Jacob Stange at the forward and guard positions, Jaylen McLean at the guard position and Ethan Dean at the guard.

According to varsity coach and athletic director Jeff Panek, “The graduation of Aaron Coston (SUNY Cortland) and Jaiden Marshall (SUNY Ulster) will be a huge size to replace in the paint. Sophomores Ethan Dean and Jaylen McLean will need to give the Ganders quality minutes.”

“We’ve got our work cut out for us this season. We graduated five seniors, and we’ll miss the chemistry we had with Aaron and Jaiden. They will be difficult to replace. We are excited and looking forward to the season,” said Jared Stange Zach Banks said, “It’s not about what we did last year, it’s about what we are going to do this year.” New Paltz, Marlboro and Red Hook all will be difficult and very competitive league opponents.

Rondout basketball looks to the future minus Aaron Coston, making the basket here in last season's game. Photo courtesy of Rondout Valley High School.

Panek continued, “We have a huge void to fill to replace Aaron and Jaiden on the glass. Aaron was not only 6 foot 7

but he was our leader, he was our scorer, and he was the one that kept everyone reassured during difficult runs in the

Animals from page 3 advocating for animals, but also for the planet. Last year, we had that severe ice storm that prohibited many animal caregivers from getting on site (some staff live at the sanctuary). Delivery and medical supplies get delayed; each year we’ve tried to get ahead of it and prepare. Shelter director Hervé Breuil has done an excellent job in knowing how to take care of 380 animals on a daily basis. He runs a team, noting that many residents have special diets and medicines. Some take trips to special vets.” Truitt says that with disrupted ecosystems and industrial farming, diseases like avian influenza have become more prevalent, mostly due to overcrowding in large-scale agricultural operations around the world. Due to the potential spread, “we needed to install greater netting protection,” she says. It meant that they had to close public access to their aviary residents this year. The flock also needed more air conditioning in their coops, extra water, and more fans in certain areas, due to higher summer temperatures. The sheep required more sheering with the increased heat, and other animals needed more shade.

“As far as funding … there are less long-term donations due to inflation. We are 100% donor funded. Every small amount helps, whether with heating, or a bale of hay, $5 goes a long way. But it’s been more difficult than ever, even with social media. As algorithms have changed, it affects how we raise funds. The digital landscape is very saturated; it’s the most difficult to navigate in my entire career,” Truitt said.

The public can visit between May-October, and ticket proceeds, along with private tours on Fridays, help run the sanctuary. Currently, there are virtual tours as it is winter time. They also have an on-site inn called The Grey

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary file photo

Barn. “It comes off as a rustic barn, but it’s fully modernized and comfortable,” says Truitt. A stay provides access to see the animals and have a vegan breakfast, and all proceeds go to the sanctuary. There is also an annual fundraising gala, and the sanctuary runs a table at the Rosendale Farmers market. Truitt says the plan in 2023 is to do more educational outreach, tabling events, and food festivals.

The Catskill Animal Sanctuary shares a similar goal to provide animal stewardship and teach about veganism.

Their mission states, “Catskill Animal Sanctuary rescues farmed animals, ignites social change to end their exploitation, and champions vegan living.” Kathy Stevens is the founder and director of the 150-acre property in Saugerties that cares for 300 animals; the sanctuary originated 20 years ago in Kerhonkson. It has a robust team

game. We will need Terrence, Jake and Zach to fill that void and take over those responsibilities.”

“We are looking forward to another good season this year,” said Terrence Stange.

The squad was scheduled to open its season on Thursday, Dec. 1, against Warwick.

The girls basketball team is coming off a decent 9-9 season. Returning players are Maddie Malak and Julia Deyo at guard, Sydney Allen at small forward, and Tori Degraw and Jill Creegan as forwards.

Coach Sherry Cafiero said, “I also have two juniors that came up from junior varsity, Michelle Avello and Anniyah North, as well as ninth-graders Jaela Marshall and Natalie Kiersted and eighth-grader Helen Molitoris. Our league is very challenging, and the competition is tough. We will open our season Friday, Dec. 2, against Onteora, We will need good quality minutes from all players in order to compete. Our league schedule is always tough, and that is our division as well as the remainder of the league. Our goal is to go out and play tough every day and work to improve each time we are on the court. We have a young team and there is lots of room for growth.”

To see the rest of both teams’ schedules, go the district website and find out how to stream the games.

So come on out to see these young men and women compete on the court.

Go, Ganders!

of 36 people who work hard to keep the sanctuary in top order. Stevens says, “Winter is always the toughest time.

Whether because of the extra work to keep animals warm and safe or the hours just to clear feet of snow before our day can begin, winter at Catskill Animal Sanctuary is always a beast. And when you have horses in their mid-30s, arthritic old goats, and dozens of sheep from a horrific cruelty case (many of whom will be giving birth in the next weeks), well, the work isn't for the faint of heart. Who could have fathomed that the cost of hay would jump from $6.50 a bale to $10.50 a bale in a single year? When you use thousands of bales a year like we do, inflation like that is devastating. Climate change? We've lost 22 trees in the last year alone from freak ice storms and high winds.”

Truitt at Woodstock Animal Sanctuary reaffirms, “Every individual counts at the sanctuary – they are not just treated as a herd or group or species. Each resident has a name, story, medical need.”

Each animal is followed through social media by people all across the world. An exciting development for the sanctuary is a recently finished documentary about the organization and its animal residents (including footage of shelter director Hervé Breuil volunteering overseas this year, assisting with animal rescue in Ukraine). It is produced by Hudsy, a cooperatively owned production company whose co-founder, Jesse Brown, is originally from Rosendale. The free screening will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at the Rosendale Theatre, along with other local performers as part of a program called “Beyond the Screen.”

Through new modes of outreach, these animal sanctuaries will continue to captivate fans and donors alike, while creatively responding to future challenges. To learn more about these organizations visit woodstocksanctuary. org and casanctuary.org.

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 13

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Letters policy Please send letters to the editor to the BlueStone Press by email at bluepress@aol. com or send to P.O. Box 149, Stone Ridge, NY 12484. Include your name, hometown and daytime phone number. Letters should be fewer than 500 words and may be edited for clarity, brevity and taste. Letters won't appear in consecutive editions from the same author. The BSP hopes that, in the spirit of community dialogue, readers and writers in the letters section are respectful of a diversity of viewpoints.

We err on the side of freedom of speech in our letters, and we hope that vigorous dialogue is more likely to produce an informed public than censorship, however well meaning. Call 6874480 with questions.

Your letters, views & ideas

5pm outside the office G‘night, Deb. See you in the morning.

Good night, Marian.

Rosendale Farmers Market says thanks To the Editor: A few weeks ago, the Rosendale Farmers Market closed out our 16th season, and we would like to thank the community for its support and enthusiasm for local growers and producers – both through your shopping and bringing your enjoyment of community connection.

Thanks to board members emeritus (and founders) Billy Liggan, Ken Oldehoff and Annie Mardinay for helping us get through some of our short-staffed days by greeting shoppers and setting up tents and signs – and to Annie for continuing involvement in a different capacity by educating young and old alike about magnificent raptors with Wild Mountain Birds. Your love, loyalty and continued commitment to the market shines through!

Volunteers Christine Hunter, Matt McClusky and Emma Fade – and Ulster Savings Bank colleague, Joel – deserve a shout-out for some literal “heavy lifting” to keep things running! We’d also like to thank and acknowledge the winner of our 50/50 fundraising raffle, Megan Ferguson, a frequent shopper, who generously donated her winnings back to the Farmers Market!

We have all looked forward to Sundays and coming to the market to get our fresh veggies, eggs, meat, bread, and more. All that local goodness was brought to us by our wonderful core vendors: Fiddlehead Farm, Spruce Run Farm, Heirloom Farm, Three Sisters Farm, Rob’s

December 2, 2022

breads and pastries, and Manifest Coffee. The market was rounded out by part-time vendors Colden Springs Farms (meats), Life Solutions, Seven Sisters Botanica, Ram’s Valley, and Momemade Dog Treats. We also offered knife sharpening services by Rocky Hill Forge, and beautiful Kila Bates Pottery.

Thanks to the nonprofit partners who shared information on community services, including Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, UC Office for the Aging, and Friends of the Rosendale Library – and to science teachers Jim and Samrat, with New Yorkers for Clean Power, who provided free coaching.

A special thanks to the Rosendale Library, and Allison Mikulewich, who shared a fun “spooky story time” at our final Halloween Market, accompanied by eerie sound effects by Carl Weldon on the theremin. The many cos-

tumed listeners who came to enjoy brought a festive spirit to the day! Our own Rosendale Improvement Association Brass Band and Social Club played us home at the end of our last Rosendale Farmers Market of 2022. We also thank all our musicians for sharing their talent every week and enhancing the ambiance for our shoppers throughout the season!

We look forward to gradually reintroducing some of the educational programming we had offered pre-pandemic in our next season, and plan to continue our lineup of local musical artists, as we have done every year.

We invite you all back to shop in 2023 – behind the Rosendale movie Theatre, next to Willow Kiln Park – June through October, weekly, on Sundays from 10-2!

Rosendale Farmers Market Board of Trustees Rosendale

Sharing Thanksgiving at Harold Lipton Community Center Nov. 18

Photo by Manuela Mihailescu

The Town of Rochester Thanksgiving Luncheon was back in person after a twoyear hiatus. The community gathered, broke bread together and shared laughs over a delicious thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings. It was truly a marvelous

sight to see. This year we are thankful for our friends, neighbors and loved ones who came together to make this event possible.

Submitted by, Ashley Sweeney from the Town of Rochester

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 15

Why are barns red?

Dear Wally: I’m new to the area and I’ve noticed that many of the barns around here are red. Any idea if there is something to it?

– Upstate Curious Dear Upstate: Before I googled it (because, like you, I had no friggin’ idea), I tried to come up with viable explanations. I do know that those old farmers were extremely thoughtful and efficient with their moves and expenditures (read: cheap). I live on one such old farm, and I marvel at the quality of the old work (like barn and farmhouse construction) and the thoughtfulness that goes into such things as barn and farmhouse placement, to wit, proximity to natural water sources and water-shedding grades. In other words, they weren’t dummies and they didn’t like humping water or moving livestock more than necessary. They didn’t really have electric pumps way back then or heaters or even warm clothes. And they were definiteWally Nichols ly not wasteful. There are a lot of reasons these farmer dudes croaked of old age at 38.

So, red barns, I figured, might be about a year-’round, middle-of-the-road color that wouldn’t overheat in the summer and might capture a little heat in the winter, in a way that straight white or black couldn’t do alone through the intemperate seasons. I also figured that maybe paint manufacturers (when they finally came on the scene) had a hard time selling red paint in bulk (it’s a bit loud) and so

Dear Wally

Power cont. from page 1 could validate this by adding up the amount of solar energy credits that appear on their utility bills.

"Savings to Date – this is the sum of the discount applied to the solar energy credits. A customer could validate this by adding up the cumulative discount amount on their Nexamp bills.

"Environmental Impact Numbers – we leverage data from the U.S. Government (https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/state/) and tie it to state averages. For example, in New York the state average is 300kg/MWh, which is one of the cleanest states; in Alaska it’s over 1,000kg/MWh. We then calculate the amount of amount of carbon you avoided that would otherwise have come out of a coal fired power plant. The way we calculate the trees saved is very similar."

There is hope for the confused customer, however.

"The industry is working toward a model of consolidated billing, meaning that you would receive only one bill that reflects both your utility consumption and your community solar energy credits." Yes, that would mean that "the community solar customer would no longer receive a bill directly from the utility, they would only receive a Nexamp bill." That bill, Hevenor affirmed, would still show how many kilowatt-hours you've used and the other details that are seen on CH bills, but you would no longer have to pay two separate companies. "It would make it easier to observe the savings you're realizing ... any of the delivery charges and fees that can't be covered by community solar [credits], charges that CH is issuing, those would be on the bills you'd receive, but you would pay it all through Nexamp."

Of course, this is not around the corner. "What that would require is an open data exchange between the community solar provider and the utility. That's the hard part," admitted Hevenor. "We deal with so many utilities, so many billing systems." Nexamp and other alternative-energy providers are working to create an industry standard, "so that all our systems could talk to each other

offered discounts to farmers, who might not have given a crap about color, but might have given many craps about cost.

And as usual with this column, and the advice I proffer, I was quite wrong.

For starters, red as a barn color is a legacy tip o’ the hat to the original tradition of using rust (ferrous oxide flakes sloughed off blacksmith’s discarded steel?) to keep insects and mildew from breaking down and extirpating the expensive and hard to make barn wood. This is going way back to before there was a paint department in Home Depot, or even a Home Depot. Those old-timers had to make their own paint, basically. So using rust was cheap, common, and, of course, rust looked red.

But as usual with this column, and the advice I proffer, it also gets grosser. Wealthy farmers mixed blood from their slaughters into the rusty homemade paint soup for reasons I can not figure out, even with research. Ewww. The bright red blood would turn to a darker hue over time, making the barn look a bit more like the muted maroon we currently associate with barns. Super gross. (I would have been a terrible farmer or at least barn painter if it required smearing blood.) But maybe that was a way of signaling success for the farmer that then might turn into more success because community members thought the wealthy farmer must be doing something right? (Insert ever-present cliche: Nothing succeeds like success!)

So, bloody, rusty, homemade paint set the functional and aesthetic pace a zillion years ago, and then the color choice became the de facto, lingering, somewhat macabre go-to.

Having painted my own 100-year-old barn red 15 years ago, I will say that they sell the very boring (well, until I learned the origins!?!) red paint specifically for barns at a ... It would avoid all that individual programming with each utility." Not to mention saving the energy currently expended by customers' brain cells.

Sue Horwitz, who lives on Trails End Road, is one customer who is satisfied with the company's communications. She is content to rely on Nexamp's own figures about the discount she's getting per kilowatt. "It's on the account page on the website. It seems significant if it’s accurate." She also gave Nexamp high marks for personal assistance. "I called a while back about very confusing bills and the guy who answered walked me through them.

He was super helpful." About the difficulty to keeping track of what has been paid to whom for what specific time period, she said, "It makes sense once you see the connection: CH credits you whatever NA has generated."

The only drawback, in her view, is that "I still have to pay CH service and delivery fees. I wish there was a true alternative that cuts CH out."

Kincheloe mused, "Overall, just the knowledge that most of my energy comes from a solar field is reassuring and assuages my guilt over still having my heating tied to fossil fuels (although we are working on shifting those over to a heat pump system asap)... I'm mostly hoping they resolve the billing issues on Central Hudson's side so that everything becomes more predictable, although asking any of these entities to streamline and modernize their operational and billing practices – when they are used to sending out paper bills and receiving checks in the mail for the past 50 years – is akin to slamming your fingers in your car door repetitively and hoping they don't swell up this time." Ouch!

Gay said, "It would be great if Nexamp would tell us how many kilowatts were produced from our town solar fields, how much was paid for maintenance and salaries, and what the total value or loss was for the electricity we put into the power grid. That would give us some clarity and confidence in Nexamp."

"We still haven't used our $25 gift card Central Hudson gave us last March," Gibbons added. "We couldn't get it to work at any local stores."

much cheaper rate than regular paint. So, BAM! Decision made! (Cost was my primary motivation, but now I might rethink that considering it’s not grounded in some function that other modern paint colors can’t deliver.)

Your next question might be (but probably you have moved on to other more important things like “Will I be able to buy PS5 God-of-War Ragnarok before Xmas?”

And “Are shag haircuts really back in fashion?”* ) why are old farm houses white? And the answer is that the cheap process known as whitewashing was effective at keeping mold and fungi from growing on the wood. They could make this in a DYI fashion by mixing water, readily abundant hydrated lime, salt and molasses and/or pine rosin, and/or lead. If they didn’t have access to lime deposits, they could burn it out of mollusk shells (which everyone has lying around, right?).

And of course we now use the term “whitewashing” to mean we are smearing a pleasing, or uncontroversial, veneer over something unpleasant or controversial that we want to go away. And people go to great lengths now to achieve for their fancy antique furniture the distressed look of an old whitewashed farmhouse.

All sorts of interesting stuff now that you are here in the country. If you really want to know more about this, and roll up your sleeves for some hands-on exposure, I need my barn painted this year. You might be the perfect person to do it!

– Wally Got a question for our advice columnist or just want to help him paint his barn some color other than red sometime in the next couple years? Email him at cwn4@ aol.com. * Yes they are, and Imma get me one …

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Closing fo

r Winter B reak from 12/2 5 to 1/16 See you in 2023!

Your friends and community

Page 16

December 2, 2022

Left, “Winter Branch” by Katherine Gray. Center, “Ashokan Reservoir,” 18x24 inches, pastel [detail] by Marlene Wiedenbaum. Right, “Split Vision,” 52x82 inches by Raul Serrano.

Holiday art shows around town Art gallery opening with works by Katherine Gray in Rosendale “I like to paint architectural close-ups, but I also like to paint nature,” said local artist Katherine Gray, whose art exhibition opens this month with an artist reception, 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. “However, instead of painting the wide panorama of a country scene I choose to zero in on a part, often focusing on the asymmetry of winter trees without leaves, as in this exhibit.”

Gray is essentially self-taught, though years ago, she said, she took many workshops with artists that she admired. “And when I read art books or visit galleries, I always analyze the paintings carefully and ask myself why or why not I like what I see.”

Gray has earned juried memberships in the National Association of Women Artists, the American Artists Professional League, the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art League (NYC), The Pen & Brush Club (NYC), the Northeast Watercolor Society, and Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, to mention a few.

Her exhibit will be on display through Jan. 23. For more information, call 845-658-8989 or visit rosendaletheatre.org

Woodstock School of Art Instructors Exhibition at Lockwood Gallery highlights many local artists Rosendale’s Staats Fasoldt, Kerhonkson’s Keith Gunderson, Accord’s Wendy Hollender, Olivebridge’s Kate McGloughlin and High Falls’ Marlene Weidenbaum are just some of the Woodstock School of Art instructors featured in this exhibition, running through Sunday, Dec. 18, at the Lockwood Gallery, 747 Route 28, Kingston.

The Woodstock School of Art Instructors Exhibition includes the work of Jeanne Bouza Rose, Bruce Bundock, Peter Clapper, Tricia Cline, Anne Crowley, Jenne Currie, Melanie Delgado, Donald Elder, Fasoldt, Joan Ffolliott, Angela Gaffney-Smith, Cris Gamet, Mary Anna Goetz, Carol Griffin, Gunderson, Hollender, David Hornung, Anthony Kirk, Claire Lambe, Lisa Mackie, McGloughlin, Florence Neal, Jenny Nelson, Ron Netsky, Malgorzata Oakes, Robert Ohnigian, Karen O’Neil, Lynn Palumbo, Jeanne Bouza Rose, Meredith Rosiér, Christie Scheele, Muriel Stallworth, John A. Varriano, Karen Whitman, Wiedenbaum, Lois Woolley and Hongnian Zhang. 25% of all sales from this exhibition will be donated to the Woodstock School of Art. The gallery is open 5:30-8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

Kudos

Benjamin Dudley completed the last Eagle Badge project of Troop 17, painting all the picnic tables at the Rosendale Recreation Center. Dudley also converted two tables into wheelchair-accessible tables, one in the pavilion and the other in the youth center. Dudley also built one more wheelchair-accessible table for the Rondout Municipal Building outside of the Rosendale Town Hall. Gregory Rabuffo said, “This is the last Eagle project for the troop … the project has been typical of very committed Eagle Scouts, and the program combines grammar school, high school and college altogether.” Dudley said, “To come in as the youngest and now be the oldest, it is very bitter-

Kerhonkson’s Raul Serrano presents exhibition ‘Split Vision’ at Wired Gallery ​ ired Gallery, at 11 Mohonk Road, High Falls, presW ents “Split Vision,” a new exhibit featuring a selection of most recent works by Kerhonkson-based artist Raul Serrano.

The viewer is pulled toward dreamscapes, intense juxtapositions of incongruous objects against or within crowds and flows of bodies, human and animal. Uses of color and form create Kafkaesque challenges to the psyche, calling for visceral reaction or focused reflection.

“I am not a realist or narrative painter and love the tactility of paint,” explained Serrano. “I think of myself as a portrayer of emotions.”

The exhibition is on display through May 6, 2023, with gallery hours 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ring doorbell at other times (gallerist Sevan Melikyan lives in the building). For more information, visit thewiredgallery. com or call 682-564-5613..

“My son, in 2014 at Fort Campbell on Family Day, leaning on his MH-6 ‘Little Bird’ helicopter with his son sitting next to him. All the kids get to sit in a helicopter and hang out with their soldier parent. That's a Fast Rope hanging between them, an option for infiltrating operators onto their target. If the helo can't land, the operators rappel down the Fast Rope to the ground.” “The operators (Delta Force or Seal Team) to be delivered – referred to as ‘clients’ - sit on the outside of the helicopter on a bench with a safety line connected to the airframe. That's the bench that JC and our grandson (Ottokar Suhl) are sitting on.” – Claude Suhl, proud dad. Photo by Alice Suhl, proud mom

Benjamin Dudley with the finished wheelchair-accessible table at the Rondout Municipal Building.

Kudos for the last Eagle Badge project

For more information, visit thelockwoodgallery.com or thewoodstockschoolofart.org.

sweet to see it all end, but you move on.”

Troop 17, after 70 years of providing opportunities for Boy Scouts in the Tillson area, is scheduled to disband in January, as the membership has dwindled in recent years.

CW4 Jean-Claude Suhl retires after over 20 years of service Nov 1, 2022, CW4 Jean-Claude Suhl retired after 21.5 years as a U.S. Army special operator.

He was born just east of the Rochester town line on Mossy Brook Road, moved to Alligerville at the age of 2, attended school in Rosendale, graduated from RVHS, and had a good start at UCCC before

heading out to Utah State. He enlisted June 2001 and was in boot camp, Fort Benning, when 9/11 happened. He became an Army Ranger, was subsequently deployed on numerous operations into Afghanistan and Iraq. Qualified for Special Forces, helicopter training and Warrant Officer Candidate School, he choose the latter. Suhl became a Night Stalker – 160th Special Operations Air Regiment (S.O.A.R.) MH-6 helicopter pilot and continued in numerous deployments. The 160th helicopters fly exclusively the elite Delta Force and Seal Team 6 operators.

Suhl says he is glad to no longer be shooting at people or having people shoot at him! While on active duty, he completed his B.S. degree in professional aeronautics and an MBA from Embry-Riddle University.

SHOP LOCAL FOR THE

HOLIDAYS

Holiday Stories • •Do • • Community than'23 justsnowman? recipes • • • • you want cookbooks: to build aMore model • • • • Solstice instinct: Loving the long night • • • • Shop local ~ Fragile as a snow globe • • • • My favorite Christmas movie • • • • Make new friends but keep the old • • • • Ukrainian Christmas traditions • • • •

Page 18, December 2, 2022, BlueStone Press

Do you want to build a model ’23 snowman?

Wally Nichols BSP Columnist It is no longer a given that snow is the sine qua non needed to build a snowman. In fact, as the world warms up and snow accumulations (and the duration of snow on the ground) diminish, we need to have a serious collective look at the viability and accessibility of this traditional winter icon. And we must revisit its constitutional integrity with a sense of flexibility and creativity. Here-

in are some alternatives to building a snow man out of snow.

Welcome to now.

But first, last year, on the farm, we had two days of ideal snowman making. With limited natural snow, there is a sense of urgency that piles up and erodes the seasonal joy. And if you are able to drop all other plans and snag an Instagram moment in perpetuity, that becomes the only place the seasonal snowman joy lives. If you find yourself in the school of old method-

ology, even briefly, a pro tip is to start your heavy snowman base at the top of a slight incline so that as you roll it to bigger-is-better hugeness, gravity does most of the work and you assume an advisory role. Your back will thank you. Repeat at various lower elevations to handle the mid-section and the head. Coal (for eyes) is frowned on for its contribution to acid rain and ozone depletion. Instead, use mandarin oranges to frighten and spook the neighborhood kids (if you missed Hallow-

een). To keep things relevant, swap a corncob pipe out for a vape pen. (Make sure to attach the medical marijuana card in a watertight baggie for the passing authorities to document. Also make sure you indicate that the snowman is at least 21.)

Luckily, we are adapting as a race to rising sea levels, melting polar ice caps, and we’re keeping the snowman dream alive by other means. Rubber bands are not subject to the whims and vagaries of such things as weather. So, DIY

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BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022, Page 19 crafters who want to minimize chaotic natural variables, but who also value the tradition of snowman building, start eating asparagus.

Asparagus ?

Yes. Every bunch of asparagus comes bound with a blue rubber band. Collect enough and you have the elements of a massive rubber-band ball. Collect more than enough, and you can make three rubber-band balls (and have a fantastic amount of fiber in your diet as well as coyote-scaring asparagus stank in your pee). The classic snowman form is three stacked balls. A large container of rubber cement will allow you to set the balls on top of each other in a safe and quasi permanent fashion. Set aside one fistful of asparagus for a modern (well,

’80s anyway) mohawk or mullet hair detail .

Your snowman will be rubber-band

blue, but that might signal your awareness of global warming, and a rubber-band snowman can be left out all

year for four-season joy. In our agricultural area, it will double function as a scarecrow, and we are all about efficiency.

Snowmen can also be mushed into something closer to two dimensions by using tires from your garage. Granted, it will take a little post-production to sell it as a snowman (scarf, top hat, etc.), but as the ultimate eff-U to proportional body shaming, three stacked tires will deliver to your property an all-season experience that is probably rated for at least 45,000 miles. (Remember to rotate the order every year.)

So don’t despair if you feel the snow needed for snowmen melting between your fingers, we have options for the new now ...

High Falls Civic Association

Join Us on the Green to Light up The Hamlet two gatherings to honor and celebrate our community

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Christmas Tree Dec 10 Gather 4:30 Lighting 5:00

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Page 20, December 2, 2022, BlueStone Press

Shop local Ann Pyburn Craig BSP Reporter These are dark times. Metaphorically, of course, most of history could be considered Dark Times, when the human species has been mired in ignorance, consumed by conflict and so on, which may indicate that we have a pretty good track record of muddling through to the Light at the End of the Tunnel. Literally, though, these last few weeks of autumn are the darkest of the year, making them an excellent time to get in some extra practice at generating our

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own light.

You can do just that while also indulging in the cherished custom of buying special treats for loved ones. Gift giving in any way, of course, generates light and warmth – that’s love for ya. Seeking and finding just the right goodies for people, wrapping them up pretty, is a powerful meditation that leads to a gentle glow. Shop local, and you’re ramping it up to a blazing light – you’re literally giving to us all.

It’s hard to believe there’s any place that hasn’t heard the Shop Local gospel: Every dollar spent with a local indie merchant has

a multiplier effect, bringing three or four times as much wealth to the community’s economy as the same dollar would if spent at a big-box chain. Local merchants shop locally themselves, and hire locally, often with team building in mind, meaning that not just business owners but also their employees have money to spend with the neighbors.

The meme has become a cliché because it’s so true: When you support a local small business, you’re not funding a yacht or somebody’s fourth house, you’re helping someone make rent or tuition or cover the

utility bill, helping your neighbors lead decent lives. Small-business folks knit the community together with hundreds of soft stitches; they’re the ones who set up and watch over the donation jars when there’s a family in trouble, the ones who sponsor the youth sports teams, the ones who somehow find the time when volunteers are needed.

Shopping local and as small as you can find builds a deep connection to your fellow humans in so many ways, tangible and intangible. There’s the fun of running into friends and acquaintances, the fun of

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022, Page 21 walking down a Main Street with other people on it. Even just driving through a town where people shop Main Street is intellectually stimulating and emotionally gratifying in ways that driving through concrete sprawl can never offer.

We’re incredibly fortunate to live here, surrounded by so much that’s top-notch and lovely, creative and quirky, around a hundred miles from one of the planet’s greatest centers of energy yet surrounded by forests and farmlands and rolling hills. It is my honor to do a fair amount of writing about local businesses, and the stories never cease to thrill me – families building legacies in real time and at relatable scale, co-ops thriving with employee-owner business models, people cooking or distilling an ancestor’s recipe, people living out the

dream they had when they were 5 or fell sideways into at 58. Smart, passionate people doing things really well. I can’t count the number of times I have used the phrase “world-class” or some variation of it, not as hyperbole but because the local indie business in question has received rave reviews on multiple continents. We lucky souls who live here can go right on out and experience it all up close and in person.

So shop as local and as small as you can.

Check around for holiday markets, bazaars and festivals at nonprofits, churches and venues; that’s where you’ll find a wide variety of creators under one roof, sorta like an old-time mall but about five thousand times more fun than the mall ever was.

Keep an eye out for open studio sessions at artists’ lofts.

12/3 Toys for Tots pancake breakfast The Dylan Doyle Band 7:30pm 12/8 Open Mic 7pm 12/10 High Falls Tree Lighting in Town! Soul City Motown 7:30pm 12/15 Vince Fisher 7pm 12/17 Ugly Sweater dance party with Fishbowl 7:30pm 12/22 Trivia Night!

Please call ahead for reservatons!

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We are closed at 5pm on Christmas EVE and CLOSED on Christmas Day Enjoy The Weekend!

During the pandemic, a lot of local businesses stepped up their online game, meaning that you can get a good look at their wares and may even be able to make a purchase without leaving the comfort of your couch. Don’t forget that just about every business can do a gift certificate, so it’s easy to give an experience.

But do treat yourself to even just a couple of hours, better yet a day, of playing tourist in a local downtown or two. Window shop, admire the decor, find some good treats and then find yourself a coffee shop, restaurant or pub and relax. See the smiles around you? Yeah, you’re helping do that, you shining star, you.

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Page 22, December 2, 2022, BlueStone Press

Fragile as a scene in a snow globe The season produces a desire for home Ann Belmont BSP Reporter The bears curl up in their cozy hidden places, sleeping their long sleep. Hibernating seems so seductive. How sweet it would be to curl up in fetal position and

drowse the winter away … but our path is to stay awake, like the chickadees who huddle together against the freezing wind, and survive.

Winter is an inward time, a good time to give yourself permission to spend hours making presents, knitting a scarf, constructing a picture frame, cooking a special feast that takes all day. At no other season would I take the time to make pie (with buttercrust) out of my own homegrown pumpkin. Or send greeting cards with a personal message to a couple of dozen people. Or take a whole day

to find and decorate a fir tree.

Above all, winter is a good time to reflect and remember. So much of the story of my life has been witnessed by these creeks and mountains, forests and meadows. They've seen me scatter my mother's ashes around the big rock in my backyard. They saw love affairs that flared and faded. They saw backpacking trips that my husband and I have made to the Giant Ledge, to Tremper Mountain, Meads Mountain, Mink Hollow. My first job as a professional musician, at the Pine Grove Dude Ranch. The crazy

winter I spent with my brother Tommy in the ’70s trying to live through the winter in a High Falls apartment with no insulation in the walls or ceiling.

Funny – I just don’t feel like going anywhere to be in the warm sun, packing up and migrating south, like some friends of mine do every December. And it’s not really about money; lately I seem to have lost the desire to travel. Every year I sink my roots more deeply into this little bit of land, into our little house, into the traditional excitements to be found here: the tree lighting in High Falls, the local

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BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022, Page 23 holiday craft markets, the choir concerts.

And with family nearby, including a little grandson not yet 2, why do I need to leave here? I like the image of the mountains to either side of the Rondout Valley enfolding us under their protection.

In the film “Wings of Desire,” an angel sits in a high tower and can hear all the human voices down below at the same time. My angels are the mountain peaks I’ve spent my most of my life within sight of. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.”

Sure, age has something to do with it.

It makes many of us (me) more reluctant to leave the homestead. Driving can be scary in the winter. I'm really kind of content to be here in my house a lot, looking out the window at the weather, going outside to get wood for the woodstove. If I have to drive into the next

county for some reason, it’s almost a relief to return and see the familiar profiles of the Gunks and the Catskills appear in the distance. Maybe a lifetime of reading the headlines has made me aware of how little it can take to twist the familiar world into weird shapes. You can't take

anything for granted, the pandemic being the most recent example. Sick and tired of hearing the same old Christmas carols in public venue? Well, what if most of those places have to shut their doors? Or suppose you don't always get along with your family. Would you really

want be without them? One night I slept through my bus stop and found myself in Kingston with time to kill. I got into a conversation with a driver on a break.

She was divorced, estranged from her older children, and her ex-husband had custody of her remaining child for every holiday. “I don't do the holidays,” she told me. These things happen to people.

So I sit by the fire and reflect: How fragile we are, our families, social networks, jobs, homes, health, everything we love. I have a vision of the Earth seen from far away in space, like the famous photos taken by the U.S. astronauts during their 1969 trip to the moon. The blue planet, delicate as a little snow globe, a magical bubble with all of our lives and our dreams inside.

Page 24, December 2, 2022, BlueStone Press

Make new friends but keep the old Chelsea Miller BSP Reporter I am a child of Ohioans, and despite my parents’ conscious exodus from the Buckeye State, midwestern cozy was the consistent theme of my childhood holidays. Thanksgiving was spent gathered around a turkey, the table laden with casseroles of all types as far as the eye could see. We gathered around the television to watch the parade and put on something fancy-ish before we headed to the table, which was- obviously withMondays Tuesday Sunday 8am - 5laid pm • Closed (2676) • www.saunderskill.com the good china.845-626-CORN Christmas was a similar 5100 Rte. 209 • Accord, NY 12404

affair – just swap out the turkey for a ham – and December was filled with wholesome family activities. Reams of paper that were expertly pilfered from my dad’s printer, which was still of the generation that you had to tear the perforated edges, were sacrificed in the name of paper angel chains and endless hand-cut snowflakes. Cookies were rolled out, baked and decorated and tucked into tins destined to be pressed into the hands of friends and family. We walked uptown Kingston, oohing and ahhing over the store windows. We strung popcorn for the tree as we rewatched our favorite Christmas movies, which includ-

ed “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street.” We waited with our noses pressed to the front windows for the High Falls Fire Department to cart a candy-cane laden Santa through the district, and we always gathered around the tree in High Falls and to sing carols and wait breathlessly for Romeo Muller – or for all intents and purposes SANTA – to pull up in his cherry red car and make the season truly official. There were always homemade cookies to leave for Santa, along with a few crisp carrots for the reindeer, and there isn’t a single Christmas Eve growing up that I don’t remember falling asleep in my

flannel pjs, feeling a mixture of excitement and deep, down cozy love.

Fast forward a few decades. I now, as some readers might know, have three children of my own 4, 7 and 9 years old. When people ask me what it’s like to have three boys (who are all two years apart, give or take a few months), I always reply that it’s like living with a pack of raccoons. In fact, I often affectionately call them “the raccoons.” They share many qualities with raccoons. As a group they are mischievous, resourceful, irreverent, endlessly curious and always ready to play. They hint at feral yet love connection and com-

Community Church of High Falls

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Join Us at our Christmas Market Saturday, Dec. 10 11am - 4pm Santa & the Grinch 1-3pm Closing for the Season December 11 TUESDAY - SUNDAY 8am - 5pm CLOSED MONDAYS www.saunderskill.com 845-626-CORN (2676) 5100 Rte. 209 • Accord, NY 12404

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Free cookies and hot chocolate during the High Falls Tree Lighting December 24

Candlelight service at 8:00pm December 25

Christmas Day Service at 9:30am

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022, Page 25 pany and delight in antics. They also love the holidays. In their hands, holidays have become topsy-turvy, a joyous mashup of tipping old traditions on their head and finding new ways to celebrate.

Looking back, my holidays were magical, and while I wouldn’t trade them for the world, I can also see how insular the experience was. My parents, my lovely boomer parents, did their best to recreate the holidays they remembered as kids.

Sure, there were a few updates (read: the vegetarian years), but overall, my holidays were not unlike the holidays they experienced in the 1950s Midwest, which held a halcyon glow my parents couldn’t shake despite the 400 miles separating them from their home state. Times, they have a changed. Our understanding of history has changed. Our exposure and

understanding about cultures other than our own have thankfully changed. The raccoons are very much children of their time. Their sense of the holidays is rooted deeply in social justice and a cacophony of traditions from different cultures and perspectives. And I am totally here for it.

In October the raccoons dove headfirst into Diwali, thrilled to the bone to have fire at their disposal. With the warm glow of lamp flames illuminating their faces, they read stories about Lakshmi and Ganesha and heatedly debated whether or not light or dark could really win. With November came Día de los Muertos, and the raccoons dragged out every tube of paint in the house to make pictures of loved ones, human and four-legged, who have departed and made a holy mess in the kitchen preparing food to leave

on the altar. We did a deep dive into the history of Thanksgiving, and on the other side of it the raccoons were resolute: They would not take part in Abraham Lincoln’s fake news. Throughout November, well-meaning strangers wished my children happy Thanksgiving only to be met by their shining eyes and the reply (usually from my eldest), “Maybe for some people.” The raccoons made the terms clear by mid-November: Thanksgiving was canceled in protest. They would accept celebrating “a day of gratitude and remembering.” The day of was indeed filled with gratitude – we all felt grateful for choosing something that felt more on the side of just, and we were giddy and grateful for a new tradition that was in protest to Thanksgivings dark history. Lasagna was served.

Moving into the Christmas season, tradition seems to be very important to the raccoons, however I am delighted to see how these traditions are evolving. The tree was decorated strictly by the raccoons and friends, leading to a very avant-garde effect. Cookies have been baked, albeit in the shape of ghosts. The raccoons are fervently plotting how to prank Santa when he tours the district with the fire company. They’re pooling their money for a toy to donate to the Toys for Tots drive at the High Falls Tree Lighting. The popcorn never lasts long enough to make it on the string as newer Christmas classics such as Gremlins have make their way onto the TV. Just as when I was growing up, the season is a mixture of excitement and deep, down cozy love, and Hanukkah and Kwanza are just around the bend.

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Call or schedule online: victoriagardens.biz/wreath-workshop

Holiday Gifts Our gift shop is a joy to explore: new exotic house plants, unique gifts,ornaments, and our handmade wreaths of fresh winter greens.

We have an extensive selection of house plants, holiday plants, gifts, ornaments, garden statuary, bird houses, lanterns, pottery, and so much more.

Page 26

Arts, culture & entertainment

December 2, 2022

Yellowstone This past September, a friend and I visited Yellowstone National Park. Our timing was perfect. We arrived on the evening of Labor Day Monday just as the park was emptying. A stream of cars trickled from the east entrance gate, but only a scant few entered.

With hours of daylight on our side and no crowds to fight, we aimed the car toward Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring. The next day, I ticked off another item on my bucket list—The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, a dizzying, colorful gorge still being carved by a powerful waterfall.

It was spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that by the end of the second day I felt as though I was about to short circuit from an overload of ineffable beauty. They say that not all experiences can be peak experiences, but Yellowstone might defy that rule. Each new sight was more mind-blowing than the last. By the end of our second day, we swore off visiting any additional “top” parks for the rest of the road trip. Yosemite would have to wait, lest we lose perspective.

Yellowstone is a wonderland of unearthly sights: Azure pools. Geysers. Fumaroles. Unlike other parks I’ve been to, the view from the road gives little indication of what treasures are hidden just beyond. In September, mornings can dip below freezing. An early drive into the park revealed a steaming landscape. Superheated moisture from less prominent volcanic features rose into the air like breath on a cold winter’s day. Old Faithful and GPS get most the attention, but the landscape of Yellowstone is

Jodi LaMarco

A steaming creek at Yellowstone National Park.

dotted with hundreds of geysers and fumaroles. The chill air was like a decoder ring, showing me what was hidden by the trees, just beyond my ken.

On our second night, we decided to try some stargazing at a parking lot not far from the west entrance. The lot overlooked a creek and a field beyond it, which scooped out enough of the forest to open up the sky. The setting was right, but the location was wrong. It was getting dark. Time for stargazing, but also time for dinner. Cars hummed along the road carrying passengers toward the exit. Just as my eyes would adjust, another car would pass, ruining my night vision with its headlights.

Worse, the moon was nearly full. Its light washed out the sky and threw reflections of wavering trees onto the dark water. We stood there in the chilly dark anyway, dis-

appointed, but charmed by the scene all the same.

And then we heard it, a long, low sound which cracked at the top of the note like too much air being pushed through a flute. It was familiar. Like a coyote, but less shrill. Or like a lowing a cow, but with the mournful tone of a loon. It was an elk calling across the field, spending all of its breath until it broke.

The following night, we went out searching once again—this time for elk rather than stars. We chose a new spot overlooking a field, but away from the main road and the annoying flash of headlights.

The evenings get as chilly as the mornings, but we parked with the windows down and the sun roof open.

We tilted our seats back, watched the milky sky, and listened.

The bulging curve of a fat, pink harvest moon pushed over the horizon. It crept into the trees, then sat on top of a pine, which fanned out below it like a dress. We watch the entire moonrise—something I had never done before—until it completed its slow launch into the sky. The elk never came.

If there is a bucket list that you check off, I believe there is also one that you fill up. Grand Prismatic Spring is breathtaking. Its center is deep, gorgeous aqua. Its edges are ringed in bands of green, orange, yellow, and even a hint of red caused by heat-loving bacteria in the water.

You should go there. Check it off. It will not disappoint.

But you should really go for the moments that will reveal themselves to you if you are patient and curious. The elk calling across the dark creek. The full pink moon crowning itself on the pines. Not the things you come for, but the things that come to you.

Decembers past in the Rondout Valley December 17, 1868 – New-Paltz Independent Merry Christmas – Come and Enjoy – A Christmas tree will be got up in the Reformed Church at Rosendale, on Christmas eve. The tree will be of large dimensions and decorated in superb style. A committee of ladies has been appointed and will be in attendance at the Church on the afternoon of Wednesday and Thursday of that week to receive presents.

In addition to the singing and speaking at the tree, there will be a festival in the basement where oysters, cream, tea and coffee and Linda all the good things of the season Tantillo will be provided. Any person may place presents on the tree for friends in conforming to the rules.

The proceeds are for the benefit of the Church. Admission ten cents.

From the archives

December 3, 1868 – New Paltz Times Corn-huskings, apple-parings, and Thanksgiving have passed and gone – but singing schools, sociables and the holidays are yet to come. In some villages they organize

spelling schools – which we have known to prove enjoyable in spite of bad spells. The smoke of buckwheat cakes (eaten syrup-titiously,) marks the morning, and the circle around the evening lamp is getting to be as usual [as] last winter. [A spelling school was a spelling match or spelling bee. It was also a social event.]

December 24, 1868 – New-Paltz Independent The friends of Rev. N. H. Van Arsdale, Pastor of the Reformed church at High Falls, are invited to pay him a donation visit at the House of Capt. J.L. Snyder at High Falls, on Wednesday evening Dec. 30th.

December 25, 1873 – New-Paltz independent The Napanoch blast furnace is working admirably, and has produced about 1,200 tons of pig iron since it “blew in” in September last. Its prospects are brightening since the raise in iron. The hands were paid off on the 15th inst. [“inst.” means “of the current month”] December 2, 1875 New Paltz Times Rosendale items – From the Blade of Saturday last.

The people of James street in the 3rd ward of Rosendale say that they can count over 50 children of school age living south of Rondout Creek and they are not satisfied with the present district school. They propose to organize

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a separate district of their own, build a school house, and run it to suit themselves. [This didn’t happen, perhaps because St. Peter’s school opened about this time.]

On Monday evening just before quitting time the last barrel of the season was ground at the works of the N.Y.& R Lime & Cement Company. By the stoppage of their works about seventy men are thrown out of employment.

[The Rosendale Blade was the newspaper in Rosendale at this time.]

December 29, 1939 – The Rosendale News Polar Bear Swim Sunday The annual New Year’s swim by the Rosendale Polar Bear Club will be held next Sunday afternoon at 3 o’clock at Williams Lake. All former members and new candidates are urged to be at the Lake by 2:30. Spectators are urged to bring skates to take advantage of the smooth ice surface.

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 27

Field mouse musings Our house is old, our house is made of wood, therefore, they will find a way in. Field mice, they say, can squeeze through a space no wider than a dime. They all seem to aspire to be house mice. Periodically, we find ourselves playing host to an unknown number – I don't know if I really want to know how many!

Field mice are one wild creature that a lot of people are intimately familiar with, or at least, have seen up close. But how much do you really know about them? Maybe you know that they hoard food.

Have you ever looked in the back of your linen closet, for instance, Ann Belmont and discovered a cache of acorns between the sheets? I did; but I wasn't aware that these little storage areas are "usually found within 10 feet of a mouse nest," according to Skedaddlewildlife.com, the website of a pest-control company.

(Not that I can think of any way to prevent the creatures from nesting there.) "Mice will typically store food near their nests so that it is easily accessible, and they can eat it in a location where they feel secure and protected ...

As the temperatures begin to drop in the fall and mice realize that winter is coming, the size and quantity of their food caches will increase so that they don’t have to forage when it’s cold outside."

Another website called beproactivepestcontrol offers the information that "Field mice prefer to live outside and can be found burrowing and nesting in places like fields, farmland, logs, tree stumps, tall grasses, and dense brush and vegetation ... [they] usually only become a problem for homeowners in the fall when the

Wild Things

Horoscopes The planetary pictures are beginning to change. While the personal planets remain in close contact, they are beginning to separate slightly. The Sun is totally in the sign of Sagittarius, and Mercury and Venus have entered Capricorn to begin the holiday season. Neptune and Jupiter are closely conjunct in Pisces, and Mars remains retrograde in Gemini, and the other three – Saturn, Uranus and Pluto – each seem to go their separate ways. Remember, any plans are subject to change due to the action of Mars retrograde. The full Moon on the 8th falls in the sign of Gemini.

Your Zodiac

ARIES: 3/21 to 4/19: Mars, your ruling planet, continues in the 3rd solar house of Gemini focusing attention on education Joanne and information. However, it has Ferdman begun its two-months journey in retrograde motion. The result: All seems to be in motion and subject to upset. The full Moon will help you focus on a suitable solution to a major problem.

TAURUS: 4/20 to 5/20: Venus, your ruling planet, is positioned with the Sun and Mercury on the cusp of your 9th solar house of education and travel. This may be the time to plan that special travel vacation and enjoy other locations. Uranus is positioned in your 1st solar house, suggesting, yes – go.

GEMINI: 5/21 to 6/20: Mercury, your ruling planet, is positioned with Venus and the Sun in your 7th and 8th solar house of partnerships and possibilities. Mars retrograde is in opposition and suggests a disagreement between you and your partner as to plans made for this holiday season. The full Moon in your own sign will add to your peevishness.

CANCER: 6/21 to 7/22: The full Moon in Gemini on the 8th finds you feeling alone and sad, with a heavy workload and unattended festivities surrounding you.

Remember, you're going through a period of change that time will heal after the holiday season. Perhaps a vacation will help.

LEO: 7/21 to 8/22: The Sun, your ruling planet, is positioned in your 5th solar house of children and creativity.

It is also part of the stellium leading into the 6th house of daily work. As a result, you’re extremely busy – working

Field mouse

weather cools down."

After a pretty much mouse-free summer, sure enough, in November we started to hear little feet racing back and forth in the ceiling above our bedroom, and gnawing sounds in the wall, and – without going into unsavory details – we found unmistakable signs that they'd been in the kitchen cabinets.

But maybe there are other reasons than cold temps for the periodic absence of mice in the house. We have no cats – I'm allergic – but there are predators around, I know, though they're rarely seen or heard, other than an occasional owl hoot or a quick glimpse of reddish fox fur on the hill behind the house. There are snakes, and once I saw a weasel slip under the porch. But sometimes the number of mice seems to indicate that predators are not up to the job of keeping them in check, for whatever

on a project that keeps changing parameters. The full Moon on the 8th may provide a surprising reward.

VIRGO: 8/23 to 9/22: Mercury, your ruling planet, is on the cusp of your 5th solar house conjunct both the Sun and Venus as they enter the house of children and creativity. It is the beginning of your work becoming meaningful to others and for which you receive recognition. The full Moon in Gemini will ensure you do not flaunt your success.

LIBRA: 9/23 to 10/22: Venus, your ruling planet, is positioned with Mercury and the Sun in your 4th solar house of home and family. As you begin to receive the results of your creative work in this regard, you will feel slightly rebuffed. People did not understand the goal you sought. Change the tone of your message, and you will see the results change.

SCORPIO: 10/23 to 11/22: Mars and Pluto, your two ruling planets, continue in poor aspect to each other.

Pluto is in your 3rd solar house of communication while Mars is retrograde and in the 8th house of regeneration.

This may result in an emotionally difficult time, especially at the full Moon when it will be hard to see the light.

SAGITTARIUS: 11/23 to 12/21: Jupiter, your ruling planet, is positioned in Pisces on the cusp of the 5th solar house of children and creativity. Both are square the personal planets on the cusp of the 2nd house of money.

You're feeling the inflationary cycle in which we find ourselves looking for ways to increase income by extra work.

RondoutValleyPetCare.com

reason. Snakes, of course, hibernate, so there’s another tie-in to winter.

Field mice are very successful as a species. Obviously they are excellently adapted to the presence of humans; we probably provide them with a survival advantage.

They will eat just about anything except meat, and what they don't eat they will chew up to use as nesting material (including a plastic inflatable canoe that we made the mistake of storing in an outbuilding). Other mouse tidbits (excuse the expression) include the fact that females can give birth every three weeks. The Terminix website reports, "At six weeks old, the female house mouse is sexually mature and ready to start producing pups of her own. This quick maturation process gives mice immense breeding capabilities. Living indoors enhances these capabilities, since they can then breed all year long. Outdoors, breeding only occurs during spring, summer and fall." Browsing further, I learned from livescience.com that "Mice can feel temperature changes and alterations in ground terrain through their whiskers. While communicating with each other, mice make ultrasonic as well as regular sounds ... They can jump nearly 18 inches in the air. They also are talented climbers and swimmers," and if you're not impressed yet, "they can withstand multiple scorpion bites." Also: field mice have a strong homing instinct and can find their way home from up to 2 miles away. On the other hand, they are social creatures and don't like strange places, so their chances of solo survival are probably not great.

Notwithstanding all the exterminators' efforts, the mice will find a way inside – if not your house, then your neighbor's. You have to respect such successful little survivors; plus they are a "keystone species" that many, many other animals rely on for a source of protein.

And you know, they really are awfully cute.

CAPRICORN: 12/22 to 1/20: Saturn, your ruling planet, continues in your 2nd solar house of money while the personal planets are on the cusp of the Ascendant, with Pluto in the 1st solar house. That is a heavy load! You're about to enter a new cycle with little encouragement from planetary pictures including Mars retrograde for the next two months doesn’t help.

AQUARIUS: 1/21 to 2/19: Uranus, your ruler, continues in the sign of Taurus in the 4th solar house of home and family. However, Saturn is in good aspect to your ruler at the same time the personal planets (your family) feel the benefits of your income. This results in the good shape you find yourself to meet the holidays.

PISCES: 2/20 to 3/20: Neptune, your ruling planet, remains conjunct Jupiter on the cusp of your 2nd solar house. As a result, you're feeling the results of a successful season for your innovative work. You're feeling secure in your ability to pay bills and enjoy this holiday season – even with Mars retrograde for the next two months.

Joanne is available for private/personized consultations at 561-744-9962. Treat yourself – learn what to expect from the current transits and receive an overview of your longterm goals.

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Page 28, December 2, 2022 , BlueStone Press

FOR THE FAMILY Friends of the Rosendale Library present Frozendale at the library Door prizes, delicious holiday cake, a children’s story hour with Iza Trapani at 11 a.m., a book signing of Christine Hunter’s photo essay, “Living above the store,” at 1 p.m., raffle baskets, free homemade cookies, handmade knitted clothes and quilts for sale, plus a free book for each child attending are just some of the day’s features at Frozendale, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Rosendale Library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. For more information, visit rosendalelibrary. or or call 845-658-9013, Bloomington Fire Department Commitment to Kids Toy Drive and fundraisers Although the usual festivities have been canceled due to Covid, Commitment to Kids is continuing their toy distribution, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Consider donating new toys, gently used sneakers or printer cartridges. The Bloomington Fire Department also collects deposit cans and bottles all year for this event.

All toys donated are distributed to children locally. Monetary donations may be mailed to Commitment to Kids, P.O. Box 223, Bloomington, NY 12411. Volunteers are always welcomed and needed. For more information, call 845-338-2794 on collection days only or 845-339-9209.

Rosendale Seniors annual Christmas party and monthly meetings The Town of Rosendale Seniors meetings are held at 1 p.m. every second and fourth Wednesday of the month (excluding November and December), at the Rosendale Recreation Center, 1055 Route 32, Rosendale. This month, the Seniors will have their annual Christmas party, noon Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Stonehedge Restaurant, 1694 Route 9W, West Park.

Cost is $30 per person. Head count has been submitted. For more information on attending this last event of the year, contact Rosendale Seniors president Dolores Clause at 843-315-8097. For general and trip information, call Chickie Steritt at 845-658-2414 or Hal Sampson at 845-658-9020.

Ulster BOCES adult and child gingerbread decorating class The adult and child gingerbread decorating class is a unique, brand-new offering. Adults and children work side by side, under the guidance of Culinary Institute of America-trained chefs, to design a personal version of the holiday classic. Class will be held 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center in Port Ewen. The cost is $40, plus a $15 (cash) food fee that is due the night of the class.

For this class, children must be at least 12 years of age and are required to be accompanied by a paying adult (a 1:1 ratio of child to adult is required). To register, visit https://bit.ly/3Q5DhQc. For more information, contact the Adult Education Office at 845-331-5050.

Rondout Valley Lions Club New members, men and women of all ages, are wanted and encouraged to join the Rondout Valley Lions Club, serving the towns of Marbletown, Rochester and Rosendale since Oct. 18, 1950. During this time, they have helped those in need, whether it is for sight, hearing, medical emergencies or any worthwhile cause. “We serve” is their motto, and this is what they do.

The next meeting of the Lions is their holiday party, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Marbletown Inn, 2842 Route 209, Marbletown. Bring a gift under $10.

Spouses and significant others welcomed. For more information on being included in the club’s next meeting, contact Sue Curcio, president, at otrlsc@ gmail.com or Janet Sutter, treasurer, at janet.sutter@aol.com.

Lake Minnewaska Resort history walk Join Nick Martin, park educator, for a slight step back in time, 10:30 a.m.-noon Friday, Dec. 9, for this cultural history program, looking at historical artifacts and panels within the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center and then on a 2-mile walk around Lake Minnewaska. Participants are strongly suggested to dress warmly in layers and winter clothing. This program will be cancelled in the event of inclement weather, such as snow. Meet at the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center, 5281 Route 44/55, Kerhonkson. Preregistration is required by calling the Center at 845-255-0752.

American Red Cross Blood Drive at Marbletown Community Center; get

.

Brenda Bufalino is a mixed-genre artist: dancer, choreographer, author and ceramicist.

Legendary, Bufalino, tapping in at 85, at the Ros. Theatre The legendary tap dance phenom Brenda Bufalino, turning 85 years young this year, celebrates her birthday with a rare local appearance on the Rosendale Theatre stage, 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at 408 Main St. Rosendale, tap dancing, singing, and telling stories. Opening the show is a sneak peek of a new documentary by her dear friend and co-founder, Tony Waag, director of the American Tap Dance Foundation. So join the community in celebration with this extraordinary tap dance trailblazer accompanied by two of the area's top jazz masters, Teri Roiger and John Menegon.

Bufalino is a mixed-genre artist: dancer, choreographer, author and ceramicist. As a soloist and choreographer/director of the American Tap Dance Orchestra, she has performed and taught internationally for over 30 years. Collaborations with her partner and mentor, the great Charles

Amazon.com gift card Donate blood, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main St., Stone Ridge, and receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card by email. For more information and to make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.

Second Sunday Supper The Rondout Valley United Methodist Church will host its Second Sunday Supper at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 11, at the church, at 25 Schoonmaker Lane, off Route 209 in Stone Ridge.

All are invited to meet and greet other members of the community, dine together and enjoy one another’s company.

“Honi” Coles, and her many performances with the late Gregory Hines, the Nicholas Brothers and the many giants of tap dance have infused her with the essence of the form that she now shares in her stories, teaching and dances.

An American jazz musician, vocalist, pianist, songwriter, educator and producer, Roiger has performed as a feature of major jazz festivals. Menegon, a bassist in demand in the NYC jazz circles, has performed/recorded with Dewey Redman, David "Fathead" Newman, Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron and more. In addition, Teri and John are the producers of Jazzstock, presenting world-renowned jazz artists in throughout the area.

Tickets are $20, $15 for members.

For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989. For more on Bufalino, visit brendabufalino.com; and on Roiger and Menegon, jazzstock.com.

Second Sunday Suppers are free and held on the second Sunday of every month (except July and August). For more information, call 845-687-9061.

Sunday worship at RVUMC is in person at 10 a.m. or online anytime at rvumc. org. Need prayer? Call Pastor Caroline at 845-687-9090.

Marbletown Seniors meetings The Seniors hold their meetings at the Marbletown Community Center, 3564 Main St., across from Key Bank in Stone Ridge, at noon on the first Friday, Jan. 6 (bring a dish to share or drop $3 in the basket on the food table), and at 1 p.m. on the third Friday, Dec. 16 (bring a dessert to share

or drop $2 in the basket on the dessert table), each month. All trips leave from, and return to, Marbletown Reformed Church, 3750 Main St./Route 209, Stone Ridge, across from the post office. Call Sharon Letus, trip chairperson, at 845687-9162 for info.

Town of Marbletown and Stone Ridge Fire Company host Light Up Marbletown Parade To join in on the Light Up Marbletown Parade on Saturday, Dec. 17, call Jill and Jess, at 845-687-7500, ext.

170, or email youthandrec@marbletown. net.

High Falls Food Co-Op Holiday Open House Join the community at the Co-op, located on the corner of Route 213 and Lucas Turnpike, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, for a Holiday Open House. The Co-Op will be serving hot spiced cider, eggnog and cookies to shoppers, members and friends. Pick up some holiday recipe ideas, see what’s on sale, check out their holiday-themed crafting kits for kids, beautiful beeswax candles, lovely housewares and organic candy selections.

Enjoy some small-town holiday cheer as part of the High Falls Conservancy’s Countdown to Christmas festivities for High Falls. And see what great products are available for sampling that day. For more information, visit highfallsfoodcoop.com or call 845-687-7262.

ARTS, MUSIC, BODY & MIND ‘Queer Youth Animated’ screening and celebration in Rosendale tonight Produced by Kingston-based nonprofit The Future Perfect Project, “Queer Youth Animated” offers a peek into the everyday lives of queer youth from all over the United States (and beyond). Created from one-on-one interviews that are then animated and scored by queer artists, these bite-sized animated docs cover common queer topics, such as, gender, sexuality, naming, coming out, faith, spirituality, family, relationships, bullying, queer mentorship and activism.

“Queer Youth Animated” can be seen at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Following the screening will be a Q&A with the creative team, a meet-and-greet, and a dance party with DJ Ali celebrating queer youth with organizers from The Future Perfect Project, including local artist and activist Julie Novak, who will also be celebrating her 50th birthday!

Admission is $25 general/$20 members.

For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989.

Sunday Silents presents ‘The Navigator’ staring Buster Keaton Buster Keaton plays upper-class twit Rollo Treadway, who has led a life of luxury in which everything he desires is given to him on a silver platter … literally. So of course when he falls in love with the “girl next door” Betsy O’Brien, he just shows up at her house and expects Betsy to fall into his arms. Instead, she refuses, full of righteous indignation. Befuddled and bruised, Rollo decides to mend his broken heart by taking his honeymoon cruise to Hawaii ... alone. Through a series of misadventures, Rollo and Betsy find themselves adrift on the ship, unaware that either is aboard. Once they find each other, they also discover that, for the first time in their lives, they have to do everything, even life’s most simple tasks, for themselves which becomes raw material for Keaton’s favorite kind of mechanical humor. This plot of richperson-learning-to-live-in-the-real-world has been used many times before and after, but no one could bring out all the rich possibilities as Buster. “The Navigator” was Keaton’s most favorite of his own films and the most popular in his own day. Almost a hundred years later, it is still just as popular and critically acclaimed as his most important and influential film. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” The film will be shown with live accompaniment by Martha Waterman, 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Sunday Silents is made possible by the generous support of Jim Demaio, State Farm Insurance agent, New Paltz.

For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989.

See More events, page 29

BlueStone Press, December 2, 2022 , Page 29 Events continued from page 28 Artist reception of tree portraits by Cottekill painter Kristin Flynn, at the Stone Ridge Library “Joy for me is being outside in the woods where trees are constant friends,” said Cottekill painter Kristin Flynn, whose tree portraits are featured through Dec. 31 at the Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge, with an artist reception 1-3 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3, in the activity room of the library. “My tree portraits strive, respectfully, to document their beauty and honor their lives. I play with color, at times contrasting and changing, to add focus and emotion to a composition.”

Flynn holds a BFA in fashion design from Parsons School of Design, an A.A.S. in textiles from Rochester Institute of Technology, and she studied painting at Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon. Currently she is an adjunct associate professor at SUNY Ulster in the fashion design program she created. For more information, visit stoneridgelibrary. org or call 845-687-7023.

‘Solace and Sanctuary, the Ashokan’s Enduring Gifts’ with Kate McGloughlin and Gail Straub Celebrating the publication of their new book, “Solace and Sanctuary, The Ashokan’s Enduring Gifts,” Olivebridge artist Kate McGloughlin and author Gail Straub will reflect on the restorative power of nature, creativity and the friendship they enjoy, which grew from a mutual reverence for this extraordinarily beautiful place. The two will be guests at a book signing during Woodstock’s Open House, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Golden Notebook, 29 Tinker St., Woodstock. Visit goldennote. indielite.org. McGloughlin and Straub will also be Zoom guests on “Murmurations: Women artists in conversation,” with AIM Higher and the Poetry Barn’s founding director, Lissa Kiernan, 5 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 15. Visit https://bit.ly/ kate-and-gail.

‘Field Work,’ an exhibition by Rosendale painter Thomas Sarrantonio Thomas Sarrantonio's paintings are landscapes cloaked in the sensation of time captured in light, the urgency of the examination of life nearby, the dedication to revisit and wander open spaces.

His exhibition “Field Work” is on display through Sunday, Dec. 4, at Unison Arts & Learning Center, 68 Mountain Rest Road, New Paltz. For more information, visit unisonarts.org or call 845-255-1559.

Writers’ group with Cathy Arra Two separate writers’ groups meet 4-6:30 p.m. on alternate Mondays at the Stone Ridge Library in the activity room, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge, with a maximum of 10 participants in each group. The program is designed for those who are actively writing and publishing work and who want to participate in a structured, critical feedback process. Cathy Arra, a poet, writer and former teacher of English and writing in the Rondout Valley School District, facilitates the groups. The next meeting for Group 1 is on Dec. 12 , and for Group 2 on Dec. 5 and 19. Email carra22@aol.com to join a group.

Awosting Falls winter walk at Minnewaska Join Laura Conner, environmental educator, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, for an approximately 2.5-mile-long walk along Awosting Falls Carriage Road.

If conditions are icy, participants are encouraged to bring Micro Spikes or other ice traction devices. They should also dress appropriately for the cold and bring food and water. Meet at the Peter’s Kill parking area. Preregistration is required by calling the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center at 845-255-0752.

Clio’s Muse, a history reading club The history reading club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, via Zoom to talk about “The Edge of the World, a Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe” by Michael Pye. To join the club, visit stoneridgelibrary.org or call 845-687-7023.

Scenic Meadows to Kempton Ledge Hike at Minnewaska Join Laura Conner, environmental educator, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11, for an approximately 6-mile hike on four historic carriage roads and one footpath. If conditions are icy, participants are encouraged to bring Micro Spikes or other ice traction devices and to dress appropriately for the cold. Meet at the Lake Minnewaska

See More events, page 30

Mid-Hudson Women’s Chorus Seasonal Concert with conductor Wendy Lowe of RVUMC Admission to the Mid-Hudson Women’s Chorus Seasonal Concert, 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at St. James United Methodist Church, 35 Pearl St., Kingston, is free for the entire family (donations accepted), with guest artists, Saugerties Brass Quintet.

Lowe Conducted by organist and choir director at Rondout Valley United Methodist Church Wendy Lowe, MHWC performs two seasonal concerts, in the winter and spring.

Proceeds from ticket sales go toward not only expenses but also to provide an annual scholarship to an area high school graduate who will be pursuing a degree in music. Open rehearsals are 7-8:30 p.m., at the church.

For more information, visit midhudsonwomenschorus.org.

Light up the night on Dec. 10 with the Annual High Falls Civic Association Christmas Tree Lighting and on Dec. 18 with the lighting of the menorah for Hanukkah.

High Falls Civic Association Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Join the community on the Green, 2nd Street, Sue Paterson Way, High Falls, to light up the hamlet for two gatherings to honor and celebrate the community.

Gather at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, for the Christmas Tree Lighting at 5 p.m.

There will also be a visit from Santa Claus.

Bring a gift for Toy for Tots and a food item for the High Falls Fire Department food drive.

And on Sunday, Dec. 18, come together at 3:30 p.m. for the lighting of the Menorah for the first night of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, at 4 p.m. The High Falls Civic Association has been creating community since 1938. To become a member and/ or more information on this and other events, email highfallscivicassociation@ gmail.com or visit the High Falls Civic Association on Facebook.

Rising Voices on Main St., a concert series of local talent produced by Fre Atlast Rising Voices on Main Street is a new concert series produced by Fre Atlast.

It features local talent and visiting performers with links to the Hudson Valley.

Dedicated to fill the musical gap left by the closing of the beloved Rosendale Café, the series follows in the footsteps of the cafe to give local musicians an opportunity to share their artistic talents. This musical event at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, features Barely Lace, the B-2’s and Gus Mancini and the Sonic Soul Band with surprise guests.

Annie Roland and Carrie Chapman are Barely Lace. Since the 1980s they have woven their voices together in a style they call acoustic trance. Focusing on original compositions, they also interpret traditional and seasonal European ballads and some contemporary covers. In performance they frequently include accompaniment from other musicians, and for this concert they will be joined by Rusty Boris and David Budd.

The B2’s are a community voice ensemble founded and directed by musician, composer, choral director and song leader Debbie Lan. They have performed at many local venues and events. The B2’s sing a variety of original arrangements of

Kathleen Madenville with Rabbi Joanna Katz, Susan Griss and Fre Atlast

uplifting, joyful and timely songs.

The Sonic Soul Band is well noted for honoring the art of “in-the-moment improvisations.” From Monk to funk, these world-class musicians include Will Reinke (drums), Ted Orr (guitar), Rick Warren (guitar), Rusty Boris (bass), Caru Thompson (shekere), Melissa Lavaglio (congas), Fre Atlast (cahon) and The Sultan, Gus Mancini (saxophone, synth and keyboards).

Admission is $10/$8 members. For more information, visit rosendaletheatre. org or call 845-658-8989.

Amnesty International Mid-Hudson holds Annual Global Write for Rights event This year, the Annual Global Write for Rights by Amnesty International USA Mid-Hudson will be held 1-4 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11, both in person at the Elting Library, 93 Main St., New Paltz, and via Zoom, at https://us02web.zoom. us/j/86877043834/ with meeting ID, 86877043834.

Diana Zuckerman, Rondout Valley School District Spanish teacher and Human Rights Club adviser, is the Amnesty Mid-Hudson coordinator and secretary of the Ulster County Human Rights Commission. "At Amnesty International conferences I have personally met people freed from prisons and detention centers. These survivors appreciate our communities supporting them through our written word. We have that power when we write together!"

Zuckerman emphasized.

Amnesty International holds this annual event throughout the globe. Join thousands around the world to write letters to challenge systemic human rights abuses like torture and gun violence and stand up for women's rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and climate justice. Each letter written can change a life and together change lives across the world. Amnesty International encourages participants to “write on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced by powerful entities. When thousands of people write the same letter, united voices cannot be ignored.”

Join in person or via Zoom to write letters on behalf of 10 cases of human rights defenders and survivors of human rights violations. The group will be writing letters for Joanah, Netsai and Cecillia from Zimbabwe who were abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted after leading a protest. Shahnewaz from Bangladesh is facing years in prison for a Facebook post about the devastating environmental impact in his region. Zineb was killed by a tear gas grenade in France, and nobody has been charged. Write to demand justice for them and others. For information, contact Zuckerman at 845-389-3779 or email amnestyhudsonvalley@gmail.com.

Page 30, December 2, 2022 , BlueStone Press Events continued from page 29

High Falls Fire Department Annual Food & Toy Drive

Visitor Center, 5281 Route 44/55, Kerhonkson. Preregistration is required by calling 845-255-0752.

Teatime Book Group to discuss ‘The Night Watchman’ by Louise Erdrich The group will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, in the activity room for a discussion on the book “The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich and light refreshments, at the Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge. For more information, visit stoneridgelibrary. org or call 845-687-7023.

‘Beyond the Screen,’ a free event with a local films, music and connection, in Rosendale HUDSY’s “Beyond the Screen” event is part film screening, part live performance, and part party. Lady Verse will be the emcee for the evening, with DJ Shaman Vybez backing her up on the turntables. There will be local film screenings, live music and dance performances by MVORE, food and drink, networking and more. HUDSY is a video streaming app that features meaningful video content about or shot in the Hudson Valley by the talented artists who call it home. Accessibility is important to HUDSY, so with the help of community partners and sponsors, these events will be free to the public (food and drink not included). Come celebrate this amazing community, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Dance party runs 9-11 p.m.

For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org, hudsy.tv or call 845-658-8989.

ONGOING LISTINGS SahasraYoga in-person and Zoom classes with Kyra Sahasrabudhe at RidgeWell Fitness All levels and abilities are welcome to join these in-person hatha yoga classes taught by Kyra Sahasrabudhe (CYT) of Stone Ridge, 10-11:15 a.m. Mondays and 9-10:15 a.m.

Wednesdays, at RidgeWell Fitness, 3555 Main St., Stone Ridge; and in the virtual (Zoom) class 5-6:15 p.m. Tuesdays. Props and modifications are offered in class allowing students to make each pose/ asana their own. For cost and all info, email sahasrayoga21@gmail.com or call 845-750-7808.

Scrabble meet-up every Tuesday at the Rosendale Library Join the community, 1 p.m. every Tuesday, at the Rosendale Library, 264 Main St., Rosendale. To register for the group, visit rosendalelibrary.org or call 845-658-9013 In-person story times at Little Ones Learning Center in Accord Little Ones Learning Center, a free early-literacy program for ages 0-6 located in the Rochester Reformed Church, 5142 Route 209, Accord, continues its in-person story times, 10 a.m.-noon each Wednesday and Saturday. Enjoy stories, crafts and lots of fun. For more information, call Little Ones Learning Center at 845626-4112 or Mary Lee, LLC treasurer, at 845-626-7249.

Stone Ridge Library Knitting Group The Stone Ridge Library Knitters meet 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays in the activity room at Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main St., Stone Ridge. All ages and experience levels can join, and drop-in knitters are also welcome. Bring your own supplies, do as much as wanted, and ask for help or advice if needed. Donations of yarn to the library get made into items for sale at the Library Fair and during the winter holidays for the benefit of the library.

Some group members also knit things for local hospitals or for U.S. troops. For more information, visit stoneridgelibrary. org or call 845-687-7023.

Every Monday, Tuesday and Saturday at the Redwing Blackbird Theater in Rosendale Join the community at the Redwing Blackbird Theater, 413 Main St., Rosendale, 3-5 p.m. Saturdays for the Punch Opera Hand Puppet Show, workshops and museum tours; 5-7 p.m.

Mondays for open workshops to create, paint and prepare puppets and signage for events; and 5-7 Tuesdays for group rehearsal for upcoming gigs. The group is always looking for people to join for shows, parades and marches. For more information, visit redwingblackbirdtheater.com or call 845-658-7651.

Trumpeter Josh Deutsch and guitarist Nico Soffiato with drummer Bram Kincheloe are Redshift Trio.

Music with the Redshift Trio at Lydia’s Enjoy live music 7-10 p.m. Saturday nights at Lydia’s Café, 7 Old Route 209, Stone Ridge.

Upcoming performances include Donica, Dziuba & Meyer with Jim Donica on bass; Kincheloe Mark Dziuba, guitar; and Bob Meyer, drums, featuring original music and a few standards playing what might be described as guitar-driven Americana jazz, on Dec. 3; Redshift Trio with Gram-

my-winner trumpeter Josh Deutsch, Italian guitarist Nico Soffiato, and Bram Kincheloe on drums, with original music borrowing from classical, jazz and pop that incorporates electronic loops and acoustic pieces, Dec. 10; Jimmy Madison & Friends with legendary drummer Jimmy Madison; Tim Regusis, keyboard; and Tarik Shaw, bass, on Dec. 17 and on Dec. 31, New Year's Eve, the Teri Roiger 4tet performs, 7-10 p.m. and DJ from 10 p.m.-midnight.

For more information, call 845-687-6373 or visit lydias-cafe.com.

Come visit and take a picture with Santa, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, hot coffee and fresh baked cookies, and put a smile on a child’s face Christmas morning by donating a new, unwrapped toy, 1-4 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11, at High Falls Firehouse, 7 Firehouse Road, High Falls. The Fire Department is also accepting donations of hams, turkeys, and all the trimmings, any canned goods, dry goods, juices, personal health and beauty items, and monetary donations. All donations will benefit the Rondout Valley Food Pantry.

For more information, visit highfallsfd. org, High Falls Fire Department on Facebook or call 845-687-0222.

Taking stock of the past while remaining vitally alive in the present and keeping an eye on the future, “The Return of Tanya Tucker” is a rousing exploration of an unexpected friendship built on the joy of a perfectly timed creative collaboration.

French Canadian Quebecois band Zigue in Music Fan Series presents ‘The concert, and Réveillon dinner, at Return of Tanya Christ the King Church Tucker’ featuring Fiddler, vocalist and guitarist Claude Méthé and composer, singer, guitarist, Brandi Carlile double bassist and podorythmist, Dana Whittle play, compose and share everything in music. Married in real life (for more than 25 years), they are singers and songwriters brimming with creativity and a love for the style of music they create together, inspired mainly by traditional Quebec roots.

Join the community for their concert at 4 p.m., followed by a traditional Christmas Réveillon dinner at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Christ the King Episcopal Church, 3021 Route 213 East, Stone Ridge.

“Réveillon” comes from the French word “réveil,” meaning “to wake up.” In the 19th century, it was practically required of all good French Catholics to stay up late and attend midnight Mass to be in church the moment Christmas Day began and hear the hymn “Minuit, chrétiens” (known in English as “O Holy Night”). After the

Husband and wife duo Claude Méthé and Dana Whittle

service, families would return home to feast and make merry until dawn.

For tickets for the concert, dinner, and more information, visit ctkstoneridge.org/ tickets.

‘Tár,’ the story of the first-ever female music director of a major orchestra Oscar-nominated writer-director Todd Field returns with his first film in 16 years, telling the tale of Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a powerful force in the world of classical music. The film can be seen at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4; and 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale. Tár is widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and first-ever female music director of a major German orchestra. When Tár becomes engaged in a scandal, the same fierce determination that made her a success threatens to become her downfall.

For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989.

In “‘Tár,” Cate Blanchett provides a trip de force as a musical genius damaged by power.

Trailblazing, hell-raising country music legend Tanya Tucker defied the standards of how a woman in country music was supposed to behave. Decades after she slipped from the spotlight, rising Americana music star Brandi Carlile takes it upon herself to write an entire album for her hero based on Tucker’s extraordinary life, spurring the greatest comeback in country music history.

The documentary, to be shown 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Rosendale Theatre, 408 Main St., Rosendale, follows Tucker’s richly creative, utterly captivating, bumpy ride back to the top as Carlile encourages her to push past her fears to create a new sound and reach a new audience. The writing, the experimenting, and refining of this new music mixes with all that came before, using rare archival footage and photographs to delve into Tucker’s history, beginning in a single-wide trailer in Seminole, Texas.

Taking stock of the past while remaining vitally alive in the present and keeping an eye on the future, “The Return of Tanya Tucker” is a rousing exploration of an unexpected friendship built on the joy of a perfectly timed creative collaboration.

After the film, there will be a Q&A with Julie Goldman, producer of the film.

Admission is $10/$6 members. For more information, visit rosendaletheatre.org or call 845-658-8989.

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December 2, 2022

TOWN OF MARBLETOWN Rondout Municipal Center 1925 Lucas Avenue, Cottekill marbletown.net 845-687-7500 Housing Committee November 22 @ 7:00pm Environmental Conservation November 29 @ 7:00pm Town Board December 6 @ 6:00pm Historic Preservation December 8 @ 6:00pm Planning Board December 12 @ 6:00pm MPIC Meeting December 13 @ 5:00pm

TOWN OF ROSENDALE All meetings held at Rondout Municipal Center unless otherwise noted, 1915 Lucas Avenue, Cottekill townofrosendale.com 845-658-3159 Police Commission November 22 @ 3:30pm Youth Commission December 5 @ 7:00pm Town Board Workshop December 7 @ 7:00pm Environmental Commission December 8 @ 6:30pm Planning Board December 8 @ 7:00pm Town Board Meeting December 14 @ 6:00pm

TOWN OF ROCHESTER All meetings held at Harold Lipton Community Center unless otherwise noted 15 Tobacco Road, Accord townofrochester.ny.gov 845-626-7384 Historic Preservation November 21 @ 2:00pm Environmental Conservation November 29 @ 6:00pm Town Board Meeting December 1 @ 6:30pm Planning Board Meeting December 14 @ 9:30am Zoning Board Meeting December 15 @ 7:00pm

RONDOUT VALLEY CSD BOARD OF EDUCATION District Office, Kyserike Rd, Accord BOE MEETING December 13 @ 7-9pm BOE MEETING January 10 @ 7-9pm

BSP classified ads start at $15! email: bspmartha@gmail.com or call BSP at 845-687-4480

BOE MEETING February 7 @ 7-9pm Confirmation of meeting times through individual town offices is recommended.

Page 32, December 2, 2022 BlueStone Press

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