HVNY News + Notes (10/30/23)
Trick-or-treat on a timeline: Numerous cities and municipalities across the Hudson Valley have curfews set in place for Halloween evening. In the City of Kingston, there is an 8pm curfew in effect on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 for all children ages 16 and under. The City of Newburgh’s curfew is set from 9pm to 6am from October 30 through November 1, 2023.
The Town of Poughkeepsie is bringing back its popular Trick or Treat at Town Buildings on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 from 9am to 3pm Bring your goody bag and visit each town department, meet town employees and see the Poughkeepsie town hall, highway department and Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department decorated for Halloween. The City Hall in Kingston will also be decorated and ready for trick-or-treaters until 4:30pm on Halloween. See more events in the calendar.
The Poughkeepsie Galleria was evacuated after a subject said that “bombs were placed” at the mall on Sunday afternoon. The Town of Poughkeepsie Police K9 teams coordinated a bomb sweep of the building once evacuation was complete and “no threats were found,” according to police. The investigation is continuing and no more information or arrests have been made public at this time.
Poughkeepsie tied the record for the daily high temperature after reaching 81-degrees Fahrenheit last Thursday. The record was previously set 60 years ago, on October 26, 1963.
Fall back! Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 2am. Remember to set your clocks back one hour or be real annoyed Monday morning.
Winter is coming: As part of Winter Weather Awareness Week, the National Weather Service is offering tips all week on how to prepare for the winter season – though initial forecasts say we are in store for a warmer-than-average and wet winter (sorry, weekends…)
Love talking about the weather? The National Weather Service in Albany is hosting Weather Spotting Trainer Sessions both virtually and in person beginning November 1, 2023. Virtual sessions take place November 1, November 16 and November 28, 2023 from 7-9pm. Register here.
Beginning November 1, qualified utility customers can apply for Home Energy Assistance Program grants to help pay for heating and utility bills. The federally-funded program grants are available through the Department of Social Services, through your county’s Office for the Aging or online at my.benefits.ny.gov
Volunteers are wanted to make “Friendly Calls” – The Dutchess County Office for the Aging will be hosting an orientation sessions on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 10:30am for those interested in becoming a volunteer caller to make weekly phone calls to older residents participating in the program. Space at the orientation is limited, to make an appointment, email bjones@dutchessny.gov or call 845-486-2555.
Season two of HBO’s The Gilded Age premiered on Sunday, featuring its return of the Emmy-winning drama, and a glimpse into Glenview. Located in Yonkers, Glenview, a 1877 home on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as the home of the character Mrs. Astor in the show, but IRL, the mansion is open for public tours Thursdays through Sundays. Capacity is limited to 15 visitors, so advance ticket purchase is encouraged: hrm.org
Kiefer Sutherland, Lili Taylor, Rebecca Hall were among the supporters in attendance for Opus 40’s first gala in Saugerties last weekend. Attendee Johanna Hall, formerly in the band Orleans, said the gala was “the event of the season – elegant, magical, fun. A perfect celebration of the success of the board to achieve a decades-long dream to reunite the creations of the brilliant Harvey Fite, his house and earthwork sculpture. Bravo!”
The Hudson Valley lost one of its own celebrities over the weekend: Oliver Kita, the gold medal-winning artisan chocolatier with shops in Ulster and Dutchess counties, passed away on October 28, 2023, according to his husband, Kevin Kraft. Kita, the former owner of Heaven in Woodstock, was awarded a gold medal from the International Chocolate Awards for his collection of beautifully-designed handcrafted fine chocolates using local and fair trade sources. Since the beginning of October, Kita was hospitalized with late stage liver disease. A GoFundMe page was recently set-up to support mounting medical costs but over the weekend, after exhausting treatment, he was removed from life support. A funeral service will be held on November 3, 2023 at 10am at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock. Read the obituary.
The first woman elected as supervisor in the Town of Hyde Park has passed away. Nancy Chapman Alden was elected Town Supervisor in 1991, and while she only served one term, in that time she “successfully fought to not allow Walmart to build a store across the road from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Historic Site.” Alden was also the first female member of the Hyde Park Rotary Club, and served as its president, and was named Rotarian of the Year in 1992. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Mid-Hudson Family Services Agency, the Dutchess County Literacy Volunteers of America, the Victory Lake Nursing Home, the Winnakee Land Trust, the Friends of Val-Kill and the Friends of Mills Mansion, in addition to being a member of the Dutchess County Historical Society, the Dutchess County Water Resources Task Force and Policy Group, and a past president of the Edgewood Club in Tivoli. From 1962-1964, she taught fifth grade at the Staatsburg Elementary School (now the NYS Parks administrative office building) before working at IBM as part of the first efforts to use computers as teaching tools. On October 14, 2023, Alden passed away at the age of 93, surrounded by her family at the Linda Manor Assisted Living in Leeds, MA. Memorial calling hours will take place on Thursday, November 16, 2023 from 5-7pm at Sweet’s Funeral Home in Hyde Park. A memorial service will be conducted at St. Margaret’s Church in Staatsburg on November 17, 2023 at 11am. Read the obituary.
Still happening:
The New York - New Jersey Trail Conference is conducting a visitor experience survey for 'formerly trail-less' Catskill high peaks: The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to promote responsible recreation and sustainable use As a part of the project, through November 11, the Trail Conference is conducting a visitor experience survey on the formerly trail-less peaks over 3,500 feet in the Catskills , to help guide management actions on state lands in the region. Participate in the online visitor experience survey by visiting the NYNJ Trail Conference's website.
WANTED: Arbor Day Photo/Artwork: Submit your photo or artwork for the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest by December 31, 2023. Visit the NYS DEC website to find more details about the contest.
Artists working in all media are invited to submit proposals for the Dorsky Museum of Art’s annual exhibition of contemporary art made by artists in the Hudson Valley. Bibliography seeks to assemble an exhibition in which each artist contextualizes their work by positioning it in dialog with books.The deadline for artist submissions to Bibliography: Hudson Valley Artists 2024 is Sunday, November 19, at midnight. Submissions may be made online here. More information here.
