NORTHERN
Volume 12, Issue 26 • June 24-30, 2020 • 50¢
DUTCHESS NEWS
& Creative Living
A division of The Southern Dutchess News ~ Entirely produced and printed in Dutchess County since 1959 ~ www.sdutchessnews.com
Celebrate July 4th with ‘drive-in’ fireworks
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced Dutchess County Government, in partnership with the Hudson Valley Renegades, Silo Ridge Field Club, the Dutchess County Fairgrounds and iHeartMedia of the Hudson Valley, will host “Dutchess County Goes Renegade,” three free, socially distant fireworks displays around the county, open to all residents on Saturday, July 4. “The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed us all of so much, but nothing will stop Dutchess County from honoring the birth of our nation,” Molinaro said. “Our residents deserve the chance to celebrate this most American of holidays – even as we remain safely and socially distant – and our County is proud to collaborate with our community partners to present a patriotic observance worthy of our country, as we strive every day to fulfill the radical undeniable truth, that all are created equal endowed with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I urge residents to join Dutchess County and honor those first renegades who battled tyranny and founded our beloved United States, all while we savor a nighttime spectacle that will light up the sky!” Residents are encouraged to celebrate Independence Day by enjoying one of the three drive-in displays, which will begin promptly at 9:30 p.m. at the following venues: - Dutchess Stadium, 1500 Route 9D, Wappinger; - Dutchess County Fairgrounds, 6636 Route 9, Rhinebeck; - Silo Ridge Field Club Equestrian Center (Keane Stud), 217 Depot Hill Road, Amenia. iHeartMedia of the Hudson Valley will host live remotes from each of the sites, broadcasting on several of its stations, and will synchronize patriotic
Traver Farm pond work balances nature, residents
Mute swans, with the babies hatched after the draining of the Traver Farm pond, have survived and are thriving. Note in the background the waterline where the pond used to extend. Work by the County Public Works Department includes a new structure, called a Beaver Deceiver (inset), that is designed to manage the outflow of the pond at a fixed level. Photos by Jim Donick
by Jim Donick The large pond on Freedom Road in Pleasant Valley at what used to be the Traver Farm has been there for as long as memory serves. It has provided a place for fishermen in the summer, wildlife observers throughout the year and occasionally ice skaters and hockey players in the winter. As wetlands often do, it teemed with wildlife and attracted water fowl and other feathered visitors. It has recently been drained significantly and it currently resembles an
extended mud flat. The causes are complex and, to a great extent, reflect the effects of the well known “Law of Unintended Consequences.” Several years ago, the pond attracted some beavers, who moved in and built a lodge on the eastern edge of the pond alongside Freedom Road. Over the ensuing years, the beavers multiplied and they went to work re-engineering their pond with a bigger dam at the north end, where it emptied into a little stream under the road and then down the hill and, ultimately, to the
Wappinger Creek. The pond expanded both in length and width, flooding out the original banks, as well as much of the land at the south end. A few years ago, the beavers began a second dam just above the place where the water flows under the road and down the hill. That dam created a secondary pond that grew large enough to threaten the edge of Freedom Road and the Town of Pleasant Valley’s Ryan’s Run Road, as well as the land of the homeowner at that end. continued on page 2
SCHOOL BUDGET VOTE
All districts in region approve budgets
continued on page 2
Absentee voting yields markedly higher participation
INDEX
by Kate Goldsmith Creative Living Get Growing! Love to Cook Binox Crossword Puzzle Sudoku Obituaries Public Notices Classifieds
10-14 11 12 13 13 13 17 17 18-19
At the order of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all school districts across the state conducted budget votes via absentee ballot this year. That edict, enacted to minimize risk of COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic, resulted in a noteworthy surge in
voter activity. All eight districts within the Northern Dutchess News readership area saw more than 50-percent increased participation, with some experiencing much higher rises. In addition, all eight districts saw their budgets and transportation propositions pass definitively. Note: The tax levy increases listed for each district represent an average. The actual tax impact will vary from town to town, based on assessed values, STAR values and
equalization rates that will be finalized in August. In addition, residents should know that there is no direct correlation between the tax levy increase and the amount of the increase in their individual tax bills. ARLINGTON Arlington’s proposed budget of $224,658,000 was approved by a count of 6,136 to 3,408. That’s $8,497,000, or 3.93 percent, more than the current year. continued on page 6
• OPEN FOR BUSINESS • Bank of Millbrook Coppola’s of Hyde Park Edward T. McCormack Esq. Hyde Park Community
p3 p2 p 14 p9
Ianelli Law Merritt Bookstore Ulster Savings Bank Ye Olde Candle
p5 p 15 p 20 p7
INSIDE: Adams Fairacre Farms Healthy Lifestyles magazine