Town of Hillsdale September Newsletter

In addition to all the news and events below, we're here to remind you that it's the start of another election season. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.

If you're not registered, there's no time like the present. If you're not in town on November 5, submit an absentee ballot. It's painless - and it counts. Click this summary for important deadlines and details.

In the meantime, we're wishing you a terrific September and October. We're back to our two-month newsletter schedule until spring. If you're starved for news, please attend our monthly board meetings (or watch the reruns here).

Best Regards,

The Hillsdale Town Board: Art Baer, Peter Cipkowski, Augie Sena, Jill Sims-Elster and Steve Tiger

PS: Please note that some e-mail servers cut off the end of the calendar and the newsletter. So if yours does not end with a little note from us, go to the very end and click on "view entire message.

NEWS

TOWN AUDIT COMPLETED

The Albany-based Bonadio Group completed the audit of Hillsdale's 2012 finances in August. We have posted highlights and a link to the full report on town website. Or you can read all about it in the Register Star here.

LIBRARY BALLOT PROPOSITION Q&A

On Election Day, November 5, 2013, a proposition will appear on ballots in Ancram, Copake and Hillsdale to allow voters to approve a higher level of funding for the Library under Chapter 414 of the laws of New York State. The following questions and answers explain why additional funding is needed and what it would mean for taxpayers in Ancram, Copake and Hillsdale, the three towns that are officially in the Library's service area. Download PDF.

STAR EXEMPTION REGISTRATION

New enacted legislation requires all homeowners receiving a Basic STAR exemption to register with the New York State Tax Department in order to receive the exemption in 2014 and subsequent years. More here about deadlines and procedures.

NEW GARDEN

Be sure to check out the beautiful new sitting area next to Town Hall, thanks to many generous donations and the dedication and persistence of the folks on the Hamlet and Beautification committees. This is a fantastic addition and displays Hillsdale's tireless community spirit. A few more additions are underway. Stay tuned for the dedication.

RAIL TRAIL UPDATE

Work is starting on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. With proceeds from a grant from the Hudson River Valley Greenway, the Rail Trail Association has started to do grading work on the portion from Black Grocery to the bottom of Anthony. The grading should help with getting rain water off the Trail and will give walkers a dry surface to stroll this very attractive section of Trail. Completion date for this initial work to be announced.

NEW HISTORIC MARKER

A new historic marker was dedicated on Whippoorwill Road to honor Hillsdale legend Wallace Bruce on August 3. Standing beside the large white granite boulder, the marker includes Bruce's famous lines: "I hear the notes of the whippoorwill, as of old in the gathering shade, I sit by the rock on the quiet hill, where in girlhood my mother played."

SUMMER 2013 YOUTH PROGRAM WRAPS UP

Hillsdale's awesome recreational summer program came to a close recently. It was another summer full of outdoor activities and lots of learning. More than 60 area youths participated in the 6-week program. As usual, the kids loved the stream, playground, sand, hikes, and working in the community garden. Not to mention a little exploration in the Roeliff Jansen Kill. More.

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Hillsdale Farmers Market

Every Saturday until October 12

9 am - 1 pm

Roe Jan Park

Everyone loves Hillsdale's Farmers Market. It offers the best local produce, breads, honey, fruit, spices, farm-raised meats, and crafty tschotskes in a setting that's second to none! EVERY Saturday through October 12.

Family Treasure Hunt

Saturday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1
9-11 am
Roe Jan Park

The RJP Family Treasure Hunt Program offers fun-filled, self-exploratory activities for families (and all your Labor Day Weekend guests). Lots of age-appropriate nature activities and games in different parts of the park. Pick up activity packs at 9 am on Saturday and Sunday, spend as much time as you want in the park, and then return the packs before leaving. Meet us at the kiosk at 9 am.

Friends Labor Day Weekend Book Sale

Saturday, August 31, 10 am - 4 pm

Sunday, September 1, 1 - 4 pm

Roe Jan Community Library

More than 10,000 used books, movies and CDs are offered for sale by the Friends of the Roe Jan Library. Most books are priced at $2 or less, with a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. The used book area is located in the lower level of the Roe Jan Community Library.

2013 Columbia County Garden Party

Sunday, September 1

3 - 6 pm

Kinderhook

Join Honorary Chair, Assembly Woman Didi Barrett, the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York at the private estate of Architect/Design team, Steven Harris and Lucien Rees Roberts, aptly named "Galloway Hill" in Kinderhook, New York. The 2013 Columbia County Garden Party is an afternoon of friends, food and fundraising to support the vital work the AIDS Council does to assist those affect by HIV/AIDS. More here.

Photographer B. Docktor at Library

Friday, September 6

5:30pm

Roe Jan Community Library

The photography of B. Docktor will be featured at the Roe Jan Library September 4-October 6, 2013 in a show titled Essential Moments. The opening reception is Friday September 6 from 5:30-7:30. The exhibit is a celebration of the library's 100th birthday, our gorgeous area and our wonderful community. It will include Docktor's Community Portrait of the People of Roe Jan Library. More here.

Leaf Peeper Concert at Hillsdale Grange

Flute and Several Other Instruments

September 7

7:30 pm

Hillsdale Grange

Works by Rohozinski, Debussy, Roussel and Wechsler will be performed by Sanford Allen, violin; Amadi Azikiwi, viola; Susan Chapman, cello; Laura Sherman, harp and David Wechsler, flute. More here.

Founder of First Global Women's Microfinance Network at Library

Sunday, September 8

4 pm

Roe Jan Community Library

Michaela Walsh, author of Founding a Movement: Women's World Banking 1975-1990, will speak September 8. Her book is an account of the creation of the first global women's microfinance network. It is a social history capturing the voices of the innovators who were there at the beginning of this enduring movement toward women's financial independence. More here.

Ecology Walk

Saturday, September 14, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Hawthorne Valley Farm

Join ecologists from the Farmscape Ecology Program for a leisurely walk through the forest and meadows to appreciate the diversity of fall-blooming wildflowers on our farm. No registration necessary. More.

Roe Jan Area Public Meeting with Senator Marchione

Saturday, September 14

12:30 am - 2:00 pm

Hillsdale Town Hall

Hillsdale's Town Hall will host Senator Kathleen Marchione's Listening Tour for residents of Hillsdale, Ancram, Austerlitz, Copake, Gallatin, and Taghkanic. This is a unique opportunity to share concerns directly with Senator Marchione.

Limb Shakers Play RJCL

Saturday, September 15

5 pm

Roe Jan Community Library

The Limb Shakers Jazz Band, founded by clarinetist / saxophonist / singer Allen Livermore in 2010, plays old school jazz moods and grooves for all kinds of dance moves-everything from W.C. Handy to Jelly Roll Morton to Dizzy Gillespie. The band creates an authentic, polyphonic sound for an engaging, fun dance and listening experience

September Town Board Meeting

Tuesday, September 18

7:00 pm

Town Hall

All welcome. Agendas for past meetings here; corresponding minutes and videos are here. Financials are always here.

Celebrate 100 Years: History of the Roe Jan Library

Friday, September 20

7 pm

Hillsdale Town Hall

Peter Cipkowski of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society will give a brief talk in the former library, now Hillsdale Town Hall, on how it all began (in a tiny building where the IGA now stands). A reception will follow to celebrate the service of long-time library volunteers Charles and Marge Deitz.

Hillsdale Arts Festival

Saturday, September 21

Sunday, September 22, 2013, 11 am - 4 pm

Hillsdale, NY

Celebrate the arts in Hillsdale over two days with more than 40 artists. Whether you're an admirer of original oil paintings, garden sculptures, or handmade artisan jewelry, there will be something for everyone. The festival will also include a variety of music on both days in the Hamlet Park and select locations throughout the village. More details on town website.

Celebrate 100 Years: Library Birthday Fair

September 21

12:30 - 5 pm
Roe Jan Community Library

First Responder Truck Expo; Clowns; Free Hot Dogs and Cider, Face Painting; Green Chair Photos - bring your own camera; Community Info Tables; Whitehouse Staff Band; Cupcake Decorating; E-Book demonstrations; GeoThermal tours; Birds of Prey Show (2 pm - limited space); The Salisbury Band Senior Quickstep Hotshots (3 pm); Champagne Reception under the tent for all past and present library volunteers (4 to 5 pm).

Leaf Peeper Concert at Hillsdale Grange

Presenting Half the Catalyst String Quartet

Saturday, September 21

7:30 pm

Hillsdale Grange

Sanford Allen, Music Director of CCCC will talk on (and not on and on) the language of music. Music will include Beethoven's Eyeglass Duo for Viola and Cello and Serenade, Op.8, followed by a Leaf Peeper commissioned piece by Ron Carter and closing with Robert Fuch's String Trio. Sanford Allen, violin; Christopher Jenkins, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello will perform these pieces. More here.

First Annual Roe Jan Ramble Bike Ride

Sunday, September 22

12 pm

Copake

All are welcome to join the first annual Roe Jan Ramble Bike Ride, sponsored by the Town of Copake. The ride, open to cyclists of all ages and abilities, will start at the parking lot between First Niagara Bank and Peck & Peck Insurance, in the heart of Copake. There will be rides of 2 miles, 10 miles and 25 miles. More here.

Opening the Eyes to Nature: A Weekend of Herbal Discovery

Sunday, September 22, 10 am - 6 pm

Monday, September 23, 10 am - 1 pm

Hawthorne Valley Farm Learning Center

Join master herbalist Julia Graves at this special two-day workshop. Learn to look at herbs and healing in the living, energetic way that once was so common, focusing on the doctrine of signatures, or the language of plants. Highly relevant for clinical practice, learning to read plants changes the way plant healers work. More here.

Hawthorne Valley Let's Moove 5K Walk & Run

Saturday, September 28, 9 am

Hawthorne Valley Farm

Join us for the first annual Let's Moove 5K Walk & Run at Hawthorne Valley! The event features an off-road trail through fields and gently rolling hills, surrounded by a beautiful vista. The 5K is open to all ages. All net proceeds will support need-based scholarships for place-based learning programs. More here.

Say Cheese: Take Home Feta

Saturday, September 28,12 - 4 pm

Hawthorne Valley Farm Creamery

Feta is a very simple cheese with a very complex character. Join Peter Kindel, the Hawthorne Valley Farm cheese maker, to make your own feta to take home. You will make your own wheel of cheese from scratch and walk away with a cheese you will brine, store and eat at home. More here.

COMING IN OCTOBER

Leaf Peeper Concert in Copake Methodist

Newell Jenkins Baroque Concert

October 5

7:30 pm

Copake Methodist Church

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach will include Partita No. 6 for violin; Three Arias from the Cantatas 58, 80 and 36 adapted for Instruments; Sonata for oboe and harpsichord. More here.

Second Annual Hillsdale Pumpkin Festival

Saturday, October 12

3-6 pm

Hillsdale Village Plaza

Join the fun at the Village Plaza on Saturday, October 12 for the second annual Hillsdale Pumpkin Festival. Members of the Hillsdale Business Alliance, as well as Hillsdale Committees and Residents will join forces for this annual autumnal celebration. Here for the pumpkins.

October Town Board Meeting

Tuesday, October 15

7:00 pm

Town Hall

All welcome. Agendas for past meetings here; corresponding minutes and videos are here. Financials are always here.

Leaf Peeper Concert in Chatham

String Music from Three Centuries

October 19

7:30 pm

St. James Church, Chatham

All six, three-part Preludes and Fugues of Bach, KV 404a as composed by Mozart. More here.

The goal of this newsletter, issued by Hillsdale's Town Board, is to provide a summary of all the cool things that are happening in these parts. With more than 600 subscribers, the Hillsdale Newsletter is a great place to promote your upcoming event. Email details, suggestions or questions to hillsdalecalendar@gmail.com .

Peter Cipkowski, Communications Chair, Town Board

Vivian deGeorges, Editor

The Town of Hillsdale, New York

www.hillsdaleny.com