My colleagues in the Dutchess County Legislature raised their eyebrows recently when I submitted proposed legislation about bedbugs. No one regularly talks about bedbug infestation. But following my report on the county at the February village of Millbrook meeting, one woman did. She told me bedbugs have become quite a problem locally and asked me to look into it. I told her I would.

We invite everyone to cruise our carnival; not to be confused with going on a Carnival Cruise. Thursday, June 2 ,through Sunday, June 5, the Commerford Brothers’ Carnival will be at Eddie Collins Field on Route 22 in Millerton, right across the road from Agway.

It wasn’t the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that started the discussion, but they heightened the awareness of the risk to nuclear power plants. But what’s more, the failure, Chernobyl-like, of the Japanese plant, Fukushima Daiichi, has swung the “undecided” voting public in many countries to “no nuclear” — and Switzerland leads the way. There is no doubt that the energy debates globally have been changed from the bottom (coal) up (solar).

I’m concerned about town matters

The role of the assistant has many facets, often depending upon what type of assistant. For instance, we have the assistant pilot, or copilot. He can take over for the real pilot if he gets tired or has to use the bathroom.
Assisting surgeons probably do a lot of the same stuff. I think he takes over if the main guy panics. He can also act as a consultant when the primary surgeon asks, “Should this be that color?”
The copilot helps the pilot with the maps (“Don’t look at the map. You just watch the road, er, sky.”) and as a corroborating witness to UFOs.

The Harlem Valley is home to a rare recreational resource that provides much more than just a pleasant way to spend the day. Yes, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail offers an 11-mile paved pathway for walkers, runners, cyclists and skaters, but it is also an economic engine for the towns, villages and hamlets it passes through.