October 2023

Table of Contents

From the Supervisor's Desk

Solar Update

Mobile Office Hours

Remember to Vote

Department of Transportation

Copake Memorial Garden

Bicentennial Celebration

Bicentennial T-Shirts

Mohican Allyship in Copake

Columbia County Solid Waste Stations

Trunk or Treat

Columbia County Office for the Aging

Knit Club

Holiday Trees

Grange Events

Copake History

What's Happening at the Library

Copake Outdoors

Eco Tips

Farmers Market

Memorial Bricks

Septic System Replacement Fund

From the Supervisor's Desk            

Good Things Are Happening in Copake

I want to tell you about some good news in Copake.

First, for the past couple of days, Roberta Roll and I have been talking to businesspeople in Copake. Some are young farmers, some are established business owners, some are enthusiastic young entrepreneurs. All are people who live in Copake, who love Copake, who want to make a living here, who want to raise a family here, who want to make a difference here. All are featured in the very exciting NY Forward Grant application which Copake filed with New York State at the end of September. I urge you read the application, either on the links in this article or on our website. It is very impressive. We must thank Roberta for her tireless work on this application. We must also acknowledge Margaret Irwin of River Street Planning & Development, for her expertise and belief in Copake; Margaret has written a very convincing application.

NY Forward is a grant program targeted at revitalizing small towns and rural communities. It is a new program – this year is only the second round. The town makes the application, but the funds can be used not only for public projects, but also not-for-profits, such as Friends of Copake Grange, and businesses. NY Forward grants may be awarded in the amount of $4.5 million or $2.25 million. 

On Monday, Oct. 16 at noon, we will be visited by as many as 10 people from Empire State Development. We will tour Copake and introduce them to Copake businesspeople and sponsors of our various projects.

We applied last year and did not make the cut. Once again, we are very hopeful, but win or lose, we have met a lot of new faces and discovered new entrepreneurs in Copake.

Again, I invite you to look at the Grant Application. You will be delighted.

Another bit of good news. Last week, Eric Clark of Clark’s Outdoor Services finished the rebuilding of the Memorial Garden in the Copake Memorial Park. Mr. Clark was assisted by James Smith. The garden incorporates memorial bricks which have been there for many years, as well as the bricks added by the Park Commission in the past year. 

Special thanks go Park Superintendent Bill Gregory. It turns out that it was difficult and took some time to find the right person to create this garden. Bill kept at it. Thank you, Bill. The garden is stunning. When you go there you will be reminded of many friends in Copake, some still with us, and some who live in our memories. I urge you to go there and sit on a bench and enjoy it. It is a peaceful, beautiful spot. Our thanks to Eric and James. 

Jeanne E. Mettler

Copake Supervisor

Solar Report

Last month I reported that on August 25 the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) had concluded that Hecate Energy’s application to site a 60-megawatt utility-scale solar factory in Craryville was “complete.” 

This meant ORES had 60 days to either issue a draft siting permit or to deny Hecate permission to build Shepherd’s Run on 267 acres of mostly prime agricultural land. So, before the end of October, we should know whether Hecate will be allowed to install almost 200,000 solar panels, a second substation, transmission lines, inverters, and other equipment, lay-down areas, and access roads along County Route 7 from State Route 23 south to Cambridge Road.

Should ORES decide to grant Hecate a siting permit, we will continue to vigorously work to protect Copake’s interests, and to press the developer to be the “community partner” it claims to be. At a minimum, this means: properly screening the facility, planting large, mature trees rather than saplings; avoiding the planned clear-cutting of 40 acres of trees and shrubs; providing appropriate training for all area fire companies; and compensating adjacent homeowners.

When Supervisor Mettler and I met in early September with two new Hecate representatives, we urged them to have Hecate construct the 300-acre green space proposed by the ad hoc Working Group. I told them — as I’ve repeatedly reported at town board meetings — that with hiking, bicycling and nature trails, the green space could make Shepherd’s Run “a tourist attraction rather than an eyesore" and would effectively screen the facility from homes across County Route 7. The representatives assured us that they would bring this recommendation back to Hecate’s decision-makers and that they also would provide us with a list of measures to which Hecate had already agreed. We have not heard from them since our meeting. 

Finally, on a related matter, in the lawsuit challenging the ORES regulations, which were written by Hecate’s energy consultant and unsurprisingly favor developers over towns like Copake (which the regs refer to euphemistically as “host communities”), the Appellate Division Third Department justices denied the plaintiffs’ request to reargue the case. The attorneys representing Copake and other upstate rural towns and non-profits are considering possible next steps.

Richard Wolf

Deputy Town Supervisor

Remember to Vote-Election Day is Tuesday, November 7

When Copake voters go to the polls on November 7, they will find that state and county positions are contested, but in all the Town of Copake races, candidates are running unopposed.

The Democratic candidate for Supervisor is Richard Wolf. Mr. Wolf has served as Deputy Supervisor since January 2020. Mr. Wolf was first elected to the town board in 2017 and was reelected in 2021. His name appears on both the Democratic and Working Families line and is running unopposed.

On the Republican lines for town board are Stanley (Stosh) Gansowski and Robert Haight. Both are running without opposition. Mr. Gansowski is a current member of the town board, having served since 2016. Mr. Haight has served on the planning board for over 12 years and is currently its chair. He also chairs the Roads Advisory Committee, which is coordinating town improvements in conjunction with the county’s road reconstruction in the Copake Hamlet.

Running to keep their current positions are incumbents Highway Superintendent William Gregory, Town Clerk Lynn Connolly, and Town Justice Hilarie Thomas. All are running unopposed. Mr. Gregory has been a member of the Highway Department since 2004 and Highway Superintendent since 2009. Ms. Connolly is finishing her first term in office. Both candidates have been nominated by the Republican and Democratic parties. Judge Thomas is completing her first term on the bench and is running on the Republican line.

Also on the ballot are state and county positions, where most races are contested.

For State Supreme Court Justice, where a voter may vote for up to three, the Democrats are running Richard Rivera, Daniel C. Lynch, and Sherri J. Brooks-Morton. The Republicans are running Dana Salazar.

The County District Attorney’s race is between Republican Ryan Carty and Democrat Christopher Liberati-Conant. For County Judge, where voters may vote for up to two, the Democrats are running Brian Joseph Herman and Michael C. Howard. The Republican candidates for judge are Robert “Bob” Gibson and Joyce Crawford.

For County Treasurer, PJ Keeler is running unopposed. For coroner, Russell M. Gonzales is the Democratic candidate, opposed by Kevin Marchetto, who is running on the Republican line.

A sample ballot, showing local, county and state races can be viewed here.

On Election Day, polls are open from 6:00am to 9:00pm. Copake voters can vote at either Town Hall or the Park Building depending on their district. District 1 and 3 vote at Town Hall and District 2 and 4 vote at the Park Building.

There will be just two locations for early voting: Columbia County Office Building

401 State Street, Hudson, NY 12534 and the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building

3211 Church Street, Valatie, NY 12184. Eligible voters in Columbia County can vote early at either early voting location, no matter where in the county the voter resides.

Early voting begins on October 28. For days and hours of early voting go to the Columbia County Board of Elections Website. Information regarding voting absentee can be found here.

Any questions regarding where or how to vote should be referred to the Columbia County Board of Elections. The telephone number is 518-828-3115. The email is elections@columbiacountyny.com. More information is available at https://sites.google.com/a/columbiacountyny.com/elections/

DOT Denies Speed Reduction and Traffic Light

At the September town board meeting, Supervisor Mettler announced that she had received correspondence from the NYS Department of Transportation denying the town’s request for a reduction in the speed limit on County Route 7A between the Hamlet of Copake and the Hamlet of West Copake. 

The town passed a resolution on September 8, 2022 supporting a reduction of the speed limit from the current speed limit of 55 mph to a lower speed limit. The resolution cited a fatality on that section of road on July 31, 2022 and a serious accident between a vehicle and a cyclist on June 20, 2021. The resolution, along with numerous letters of support, was sent to the Columbia County Department of Public Works. In that a final decision on speed reductions is not made at the county level, the town also enclosed a letter to Lance MacMillan, Regional Director of the State DOT.

In the letter of denial, Regional Director MacMillan wrote, “Based on the necessary criteria used in determining a lower speed limit, the data and related factors have shown that the existing road conditions along this segment of Route CR 7A do not support a lower speed limit.” Director MacMillan noted, “It is important to note that unrealistic speed limits do not invite voluntary compliance, do not reflect the behavior of the majority, and result in the unlawful behavior of the majority.”

Also announced at the September meeting was a denial by DOT to install a traffic light at the intersection of State Route 23 and County Route 7/Craryville Road in the Town of Copake. Deputy Supervisor Richard Wolf had advocated for the installation of such a light in a letter to DOT on August 18, 2022. In a letter addressed to Deputy Supervisor Wolf, Regional Director MacMillan advised that the traffic control devices at the intersection were “appropriate” and denied installation of additional devices.

Starting in August 2020 and continuing through September 2022, the Copake Town Board passed eleven resolutions requesting reductions in speeds on various county and town roads. Of the eleven requests made, one was granted in full, one was granted in part, one was superseded by the town board, one is still pending and seven have been denied in their entirety.

Richard Wolf

Deputy Supervisor

Copake Memorial Garden is Completed

The Copake Memorial Garden has been completely reconstructed and is beautiful. Originally installed well over thirty years ago, the garden had become overgrown. Earlier this year the town board voted to restore it. The new garden, pictured here, was designed and completed by Eric Clark of Clark’s Outdoor Services. Mr. Clark was assisted by James Smith.

The completion of the garden coincides with the increase in the number of memorial bricks in the garden. Over the past year, the Park Commission has been selling bricks

 that are inscribed to honor a loved one. These new bricks have been placed alongside older bricks which have been installed in the past. Numerous Copake families and individuals are represented.

The Memorial Garden is just one upgrade to the Copake Memorial Park in the past two years. In 2022 the town paved the parking lot at the Park Building and increased its size to include more handicapped parking.  In 2023 the town repaired the ice rink and installed four pickleball courts on its surface. Skaters can skate in the winter, picklers can play in spring, summer, and fall.

The town board recently awarded a bid to construct a bandshell which will host band concerts and other events. The concrete foundation for this structure will be poured later this year. The building will be completed in 2024 in time for the summer season.

The completion of all of these projects has been the result of the persistent efforts of Park Superintendent Bill Gregory. With the pandemic and shortage of supplies finding vendors has been a challenge and Bill has worked on some of these efforts for well over a year.

The town board thanks Bill Gregory, without whom these improvements would not have occurred.

Town Plans Bicentennial Celebration

The Town of Copake will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its founding on April 4, 2024. The Bicentennial Committee, chaired by Kellie Nardin, has announced its plans for numerous events to celebrate as Copake enters its third century.

The first town board meeting was held on April 4, 1824. A ceremony and reception will be held at the Copake Town Hall on April 4, 2024, to mark the occasion. That weekend, on April 5-7, an original play written by playwright and resident Carl Ritchie will be performed at the Copake Grange. Admission will be free of charge.

On July 6 there will be an event for children at the Taconic State Park in Copake Falls. Youngsters will have the opportunity to create art projects based on the history of Copake, and the finished pieces will be mounted and displayed on the rail trail for the rest of the summer.

A “Come Back to Copake” picnic is planned for July 13. The event will take place at the Copake Memorial Park. Current residents, as well as those who once lived in Copake, will be invited for a daylong event featuring live music, a car show, games and amusements for children, and other fun events. 

The finale of the bicentennial celebration will be a parade through the Copake hamlet followed by the ‘grand finale’ at Catamount on Aug. 17. These events will be held on the same date as Copake Falls Day, with the parade scheduled for late afternoon. The celebration at Catamount will include picnicking, live music, chair lift rides, and fireworks.

In addition to the town events, the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society has announced that its 2024 exhibit will focus on the bicentennial of Copake. This will include several events in addition to the exhibit at the museum.

Additionally, the Copake Historic Preservation Committee, a subcommittee of the town’s Conservation Advisory Committee, is working on a historic markers project. This will involve offering markers to be placed on buildings in Copake built prior to 1925. The committee will also produce a map of the buildings, which may include houses, barns, churches, and other structures. The committee hopes to mark as many as 100 historic buildings. 

For all these events, the Town of Copake has received generous funding from the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation, as well as a contribution from the Columbia County Tourism Board.

The vice co-chairs of the Bicentennial Committee are Lesley Doyel and Liana Gaston. Members are Howard Blue, Robert Callahan, Vana Hotaling, Winette Edge Maryanne Fallon, Lindsay LeBrecht, Cyd McDowell, Roberta Roll, and Gina White. Honorary co-chairs are Flora Bergquist, Edgar Masters, and Angelo Valentino. The board liaison is Jeanne Mettler.

Design a T-Shirt for Copake’s Bicentennial

Are you a budding artist? Do you want to try your hand at some catchy graphics?

The Copake Bicentennial Committee is looking for you!  

Copake’s bicentennial will be celebrated all year long, starting on April 4, 2024.  As part of the festivities, there will be T-shirts designed especially for the occasion. The Bicentennial Committee is taking design submissions from now until December 1. Copake’s history is something to celebrate, and the T-shirts will be a happy reminder of our history and the town’s celebrations.

Send your submissions to Copake Town Hall, 230 Mountain View Rd., Copake, NY  12516. You can also email them to Copakebicentennial@gmail.com.  All submissions

must be received by Dec. 1, 2023.

Mohican Allyship in Copake

As requested by Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohicans (whose unceded homelands Columbia County and Copake resides within), the Copake Subcommittee on Mohican Allyship has begun its work by reading indigenous authors and researching models of engaged solidarity (aka “allyship”) with tribal nations.

As part of their work, they would like to highlight several indigenous-led events and spaces in the area. The subcommittee looks forward to highlighting more of these events in the future and sharing its work with the Copake community as their work develops. If there are other upcoming indigenous events that the subcommittee should be aware of, they ask that you please let them know by emailing copakemohicanallyship@gmail.com. 

If you would like to make a direct donation to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Cultural Affairs Department you can use this link with “Cultural Affairs Department” included in the description line.

Local indigenous-led spaces and events:

Our Lands, Our Home, Our Heart, Mission House, Stockbridge, MA (through Nov 18, 2023) Exhibition seeking to “connect those living on Mohican homelands with the Tribe’s local history as well as its ongoing governance, protocols and priorities for establishing respectful relationships.” Exhibition includes an ongoing Stockbridge-Munsee speaker series. Check website for dates and event registration.

Mohican Miles, Mission House, Stockbridge, MA (ongoing) Created through collaboration between the Stockbridge Munsee’s Cultural Affairs Department and The Trustees of Reservations, the exhibit “covers a wide range of topics including an overview of Mohican

history, the Tribe’s historic relationship with The Trustees, information about the community today, the work of the Historic Preservation Office in the homelands, and

displays of historic objects belonging to the Tribe.” Viewable during the hours of the Mission House Museum from Thursday-Monday from 10am to 4pm.

Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969, Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (through November 26, 2023)

“The first large-scale exhibition of its kind to center performance and theater as an origin point for the development of contemporary art by Native American, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Alaska Native artists, beginning with the role that Native artists have played in the self-determination era, sparked by the Occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians

of All Tribes in 1969.” Check website for visiting hours.

Forge Project, Taghkanic, NY

“A Native-led organization whose mandate is to cultivate and advance Indigenous leadership in arts and culture.” Please check their website for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

Bard Center for Indigenous Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Check link for upcoming events.

News from Columbia County Solid Waste

There is a lots of news coming from the County’s Department of Solid Waste.

Perhaps most exciting is that the Board of Supervisors has purchased a “digester” a machine called an “EcoRich 1000” that is able to take any food scrap (meat, dairy, leftovers, bones, fish, desserts, etc) and reduce the quantity almost 95% producing a food scrap compost that can be added to soil as a nutrient (4 parts soil to 1 part of the food scrap compost). The EcoRich is located at the Greenport Transfer Station. Residents can bring their food scraps to any County transfer station, free of charge.

Also of note is that the next Columbia County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day will be held on Sunday, October 29, 2023. 8:00AM – 12:00PM at the Columbia County Fire Training Center, Columbia County Commerce Park. The address is 50 Grandinetti Drive, Ghent, New York. (See the flyer after this story for items which will be accepted.)  For more information call: 518-828-2737.



Finally, the County has now abandoned the use of “tags” for disposing garbage. If you have tags left from an earlier purchase, they will only be accepted until the end of 2023. Starting January 2024, tags will not be accepted at any County transfer Station. All garbage must be in a County waste bag. The bags may be purchased at the Copake Town Clerk’s Office or at any of the stations by check or money order only, made payable to The Columbia County Treasurer. Small bags are $1, medium are $3 and large are $5.

Columbia County Office for the Aging

Now booking Maintaining Independence, a Fall Prevention Outreach Course

Thursday, November 9, 2023, 11am-12pm

Copake Recreation Center

RSVP to Kate West at 518-828-4258 or katharine.west@columbiacountyny.com

Grange Events

Saturday, Oct. 14 - 5pm-8pm - Ice Cream Social and Square Dance. This popular event has a special theme this year - we are celebrating our 120th Anniversary!  Live square dance caller, music, ice cream, chili dinner, and lots of fun. Tickets are $25 and will be available via the website and at the door. www.copakegrange.org/events

Sunday, Oct. 22, 4-5:30pm - Jammin’ at the Grange. Bring an instrument, choose a song, and everyone plays along. Come on down to the Grange and have a jammin’ good time.

Nov. 3 and Dec. 1, 7-9pm - Open Mic Night. Live open mic is on and it’s great! The first Friday of every month. Come on down to the Grange and join us with your instruments, songs, poems, stories, skits, etc. Or just come to relax, have fun and be inspired. We have a piano. For more information, contact copakegrange@gmail.com.

Saturday, Nov. 4, 3:30pm - Movie & Soup Night - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This classic movie is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart, and featuring Claude Rain and Edward Arnold. The film is about a newly appointed United States senator who fights against a corrupt political system, and was based on Lewis R. Foster’s unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana.” Stay for a delicious dinner of soup, salad and dessert, as well as good conversation afterward. Movie - by donation. Dinner - $10. Tickets at the door.

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 10-12 & Nov. 17-19, Fri. & Sat. 7:30,pm, Sun. 3pm - Blithe Spirit.  Presented by The Two of Us Productions, Blithe Spirit, by Noel Coward, is a a delightfully comic play, involving a socialite and novelist, his current wife, the ghost of his ex-wife, seances and the eccentric medium Madame Arcati. Tickets: Adults $20, Students/Seniors $15.  Group rates available.  For tickets and info, contact www.TheTwoOfUsProductions.org

For more information about the Grange and events or to join, go to copakegrange.org. The Copake Grange is located at 628 Empire Rd., Copake, NY 12516. Parking for Grange events is limited - please park at the Municipal Lot on Church St. if the Grange parking area is full.

Copake History

Preparing the Maple Lane Farm for Winter in the 1940s  

This past weekend I got an early start in preparing our place for the winter. Usually, I only get to put the hoses in the basement when they're kind of hard to manipulate. But this time, they were soft enough to easily put into circles, which I tied in three places and hauled into the basement. Back in the 1940s on Maple Lane Farm, owned by the Michaluk family, winterizing was a big deal. I'll let Joe Michaluk tell part of the story via one of the emails he kindly allowed me to reprint.

The Winter Wood Supply  by Joe Michaluk

We had our own 25-acre wood lot and there was always a yearly adventure I looked forward to. The lot was tucked away at the base of Alander Mountain, which sits on the New York-Massachusetts border. Real woods with little sign of civilization. It was no more than 1 1/4 miles from the farm, so we went up there with a wagon pulled by the big team of horses. Mom packed a big lunch for us and Dad always had some kind of schnapps for a nip at noon time to stimulate appetite.

The men (Dad, Nick and Jim, the farmhands) handled the axes. This was long before the advent of the chainsaw. After the trees were notched with an ax, Nick and I handled the two-man crosscut saw to finish cutting the tree down. Direction of fall was all in the way the notch was cut. My father was very frugal, and he believed any stump higher than 8" was a serious waste. It was a case of, "put on the gloves boys so knuckles don't hit the ground!"

Thinner trees were cut into 15" lengths; thicker ones were cut into 8' lengths and split with wedges if necessary, to facilitate handling. A load of wood would come home with us each day; the remainder was piled in the woods to be hauled after enough wood had been cut for the year. As I recall, we cut, hauled, split, piled and burned about 20 cords each year! Since the wood storage area was at the kitchen end of the house, a huge pile of logs grew on the front lawn as time went on. Then came the task of cutting all that wood into 16" lengths to fit the stoves. This was a four-man job and was done on Saturdays while I was not in school. The crosscut saw, powered by the tractor, was setup close to the house. It had a 30" (maybe 36") diameter blade with no safety guard, so Dad was the only one allowed to operate it.

Nick and Jim carried the long lengths of wood over and laid them on the saw table. Dad moved the table up into the saw blade, and I grabbed the piece as it was cut off and threw it onto the growing pile of firewood. I had the easiest job in the crew, but two Saturdays was usually enough to satisfy my desire for adult work!

At the end we had a huge pile–about 20 cords of firewood. The bigger pieces were split to fit the kitchen stove, and the pieces with knots that were impossible to split were left for the parlor stove. It was Jim's job to split and stack all of this wood.

When it started getting colder and nasty, the house was "banked." Cornstalks and/or straw was laid along the outside of the stone foundation of the house. It kept the cold wind out and made the floors much warmer. Old boards and stakes driven in the ground kept this insulation in place– not beautiful, but effective. About this time of year, screen doors came down and were replaced by storm doors on the kitchen. They were just plain, unpainted boards, nailed together, and they stopped direct wind and snow. The inside kitchen doors were identical, except they were put together with screws and painted. Long before weatherstripping, old clothing, especially coats, were laid up against the bottom of the kitchen doors to keep more of the wind out.

Storm windows? A thing of the future! The single-pane windows with wavy glass frosted up in the cold weather and made beautiful patterns, but you couldn't see outside! Since Thanksgiving was an American holiday, we [Ukrainian immigrants] never made any big fuss over turkey, etc. The morning after Halloween was always fun. There was no trick-or-treat the previous night, just a great night for pranks. The usual outhouses (they were a prevalent necessity back then), were tipped over, lawn/ porch furniture was moved to rooftops, etc.

Photo: (for illustrative purposes.) Actually, it shows the late Carroll and Irene Reinstrom preparing wood on their farm on Reinstrom Hill for the winter.

(Joe generously made his stories available for us. Please consider sharing old stories from your family - printed or verbal renditions - Contact me, Howard Blue, at Copaketownhistorian@gmail.com)

What’s Happening at the Library?

Saturday, October 14, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Build Your Own Windmill. Inspired by the Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, kids will build their own windmill and light up William Kamkwamba's house. We will test how shape, angle, and number of the blades on the windmills can change the windmill's speed. For kids ages 5-12, space is limited and registration is required. Email youth@roejanlibrary.org to register.

This program is part of the 2023 Columbia County Community Read, sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association, with financial support from Humanities New York, the Ackerman Foundation, the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation, the Bank of Greene County, Stewart’s Shops, and the Crandell Theatre.

Saturday, October 21, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Great Give Back: Firefighter Recruitment and Fire Prevention. Join members of the Copake Fire Department for a firefighter recruitment event and to learn about rescue and fire safety. The Copake Fire Department, being one of the few departments in our area trained in rope rescue, will teach visitors some rope tricks, as well as talk about what it takes to become a firefighter. They will also bring a light rescue truck.

The Great Give Back is a community service initiative created by New York State public libraries. The mission of The Great Give Back is to provide a day of opportunities for the patrons of the public libraries of New York State to participate in meaningful, service-oriented experiences.

Saturday, October 21, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Pumpkin Painting. It's spooky season! That means our annual Pumpkin Painting program is upon us! Join us for this autumnal gathering. All supplies will be provided by the Library and we’re making it extra special this year with hot cider and donuts on the house! Sign up now so you don’t miss out on this fall-fueled party sponsored by the Friends of Roe Jan Library. To register, you can sign up at the library or email Tia at youth@roejanlibrary.org to reserve your pumpkin. You can also call us at 518-325-4101. Pumpkin supply is plentiful but still limited (boo!).

Saturday, October 21, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Cookbook Club. Become a member of the Roe Jan Cookbook Club. This monthly gathering, held on the 3rd Saturday of each month, is organized by Library Associate Fran Colombo.

Members will choose a recipe and bring the cooked/baked dish to the next meeting where the group will discuss the book and share in a community meal. Bring copies of recipes to share with other foodies! For our October meeting, we are not using a specific cookbook. Instead, we are asking members to prepare a dish inspired by traditional French cooking.

Contact Fran Colombo at outreach@roejanlibrary.org or 518-325-4101 to sign up!

Wednesday, October 25, 5:00 p.m.

NYS Citizen Preparedness Corps Training. The Citizen Preparedness Corps is an Emergency Preparedness program initiated back in 2014 to provide residents with the knowledge and tools to prepare for emergencies and disasters, respond accordingly, and recover as quickly as possible. New York National Guard Service Members, working with experts from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) and local Emergency Management personnel, are holding classes across the state. The program was designed by DHSES and covers a broad range of emergency preparedness topics like developing a family emergency plan, what to do in the case of an Active Shooter situation, stocking up on emergency supplies, and registering for NY-Alert, the free statewide emergency alert system. This program will be presented by First Lieutenant Kyle M. Kilner, NYS Citizen Preparedness Corps, Squadron Fire Support Officer.

More information about this free, 1 hour, programming opportunity can be found at https://dmna.ny.gov/cpc/.