Town Board should reappoint Klimowicz

It’s a shame when politics gets in the way of progress. Case in point, the North East Town Board’s decision not to reappoint former Chairman Henry Klimowicz to the Planning Board at its Jan. 3 organizational meeting.

Klimowicz has spent 10 years volunteering his time on the Planning Board — attending meetings and training seminars, poring over site plans and architectural drawings. He has reviewed lighting designs and road setbacks, underground utilities and septic specifications.

During his time on the board he became an expert at his craft and he used that knowledge to help shape the future growth of the town. His dedication, just like his ethics, were unwavering — this he proved with each and every application. Much to his credit, he worked with his colleagues for the betterment of the community, regardless of his personal likes and dislikes. When his personal aesthetics came into play, however, they only added to his value (no surprise considering Klimowicz is a sculptor).

He earned the respect of his fellow board members for being fair and straightforward. As chairman he was known for being solicitous and patient, according to Planning Board member and former Chairman Bill Kish, who disagreed with the Town Board members who claimed he was argumentative and contradictory. Those councilmen have never attended Planning Board meetings, Kish said, so how would they know? Good point.

Yes, some said residents complained, but town Supervisor Dave Sherman said he never received those complaints nor heard of any from his board, not until the night Klimowicz’s appointment came up for vote. Could this be where the political divide fractured what was heretofore a very strong, effective Planning Board — one that looked after the North East community with the kind of care that should have been appreciated rather than seen as a threat?

It was the kind of leadership that Klimowicz offered on the Planning Board — strong, clear, fair and undeterred — that helped forward the town’s vision for its future. To obtain that vision, which includes rural charm, open space, productive agricultural land and a bustling economy, he worked within the confines of the Planning Board. He helped implement good planning and strong design standards.

Klimowicz, whether as chair or simply a Planning Board member, has the tools to protect and improve the town and the know-how to use them. He also understands accommodations must be made for growth and change. Being able to successfully maintain that delicate balancing act is invaluable.

Yes, the Planning Board’s newly appointed chairman, Dale Culver, will undoubtedly do a bang-up job in his new post and he absolutely deserves the opportunity he’s been given. Likewise, the people who have thus far put their names forward as applicants for the Planning Board are bright, intelligent, thoughtful and creative residents who would offer much if appointed to the seven-year position. But Klimowicz, who has put his ego aside and his name forward, really deserves to be reappointed. His knowledge, experience and enthusiasm are priceless, and those on the Town Board who oppose him should put petty politics aside, do what’s best for the town and rename Henry Klimowicz as the seventh and final member to the North East Planning Board.

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less