Out Like A Lion :: Wind Storm Damages Power Lines Causing Power Outages

Winds of up to 40mph blew through Beacon Monday night into Tuesday morning, causing some to lose power.

The Times Union has a Power Outage Tracker that attempts to report power outages as they happen in counties across New York. According to Central Hudson, about 639 people in Dutchess County experienced power loss. Some Beaconites reported darkness as well in social media on Monday night. Outages within other counties were, as reported by Central Hudson:

• Albany County: 345

• Dutchess County: 639

• Greene County: 2,184

• Orange County: 1,537

• Ulster County: 6,939

Ulster County got pummeled during the last blizzard, and the chance for power outage doesn’t seem to have let up. Central Hudson is currently embroiled in a billing controversy with clients and county leaders, where customer trust is lost in accurate billing. The County Executive for Ulster County Pat Ryan has called for an investigation into Central Hudson’s billing, and Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro calls Central Hudson’s new billing system roll-out “flawed and disturbing.”

As reported by WAMC, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says he has submitted a letter to the New York State Public Service Commission. The article reports: “He says he has heard complaints from residents about not receiving bills for months, extremely over-estimated bills, and large automatic withdrawals from consumer accounts without notice.” WAMC reports that “once it receives the letter, the Public Service Commission is required to open a formal investigation.”

About The Wind Storm and Restoration

According to Central Hudson, “a low-pressure system moved into the region on Monday night bringing a line of thunderstorms and powerful wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour to some areas. These winds toppled trees and tree limbs onto powerlines causing outages throughout Central Hudson’s service area.”

Central Hudson’s’s report about the wind storm and restoration efforts is as follows:

“Central Hudson’s crews are working to make repairs and restore power to our customers as safely and quickly as possible,” said Ryan Hawthorne, Vice President of Electric Engineering and Operations. “In addition to our full complement of internal crews and contractors, we’re expecting an additional 80 line workers from New York, Connecticut, Maine and Quebec to arrive throughout the day to help address nearly 350 individual damage locations.”

“Conditions on Tuesday will improve and allow us to make significant progress, but we anticipate restoration efforts in the most heavily impacted areas to extend into Wednesday,” Hawthorne added.

Immersive Climate Theater Experience Comes To Long Dock Park: "Climate Change Theatre Action 2021"

SOON IS NOW is an immersive climate theater experience paired with activism presented in Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park Beacon, NY on Saturday afternoon October 23rd, as part of the Climate Solutions Week (October 17-24) sponsored by Sustainable Hudson Valley. Theatrical performers showing their activism through spoken word and movement, and many of your favorite climate justice and education groups have come together to present solutions in a theatrical way called Climate Change Theatre Action 2021.

Hudson Valley and NYC based artists will read a selection of plays commissioned by Climate Change Theatre Action, a worldwide series of performances of short climate change plays presented biennially to coincide with the United Nations COP meetings. In addition, actors will read a portion of full length play and eco-parable, Escapegoat, by May Treuhaft-Ali. There will be poetry readings by Edwin Torres and Tom King, music by Elizabeth Clark (Seeds Under Nuclear Winter: An Earth Opera) and visual art and activism. Additional participants include: Hudson River Playback Theatre, Katiana Rangel, Twinkle Burke, Andrew Brehm, Chloé Hayat, abigail jean baptiste, Eric Magnus, Jean Brennan. Beacon Conservation Advisory Committee, Sustainable Hudson Valley, Fareground, Clearwater, Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills chapter and others will be present to provide ways for the community to take action.

Schedule:

1pm Activism & Art: Environmental groups present to provide actions & Beacon based artist Jean Brennan will share FRUIT&ROT, an imprint centered around art and ecology.

2:00pm Performance Walking Loops: Sign ups begin at 1:30pm for the 3 walking tours of micro-performances that will take you along the wooded paths, tall grasses, and beach areas of the park. Tours start at 2pm, 2:15pm, and 2:30pm and last approximately one hour. 20 ppl max each tour and first-come, first-served. These tours are not catered towards young children. We can provide masks. Wear comfortable shoes!

2:15pm Sitting/Standing Performances: performances by Hudson River Playback Theatre, Edwin Torres, and Twinkle Burke will take place around the perimeter of the green field next to the Long Dock. These 3 performances are open to all including young children! They will take place in a loop and last until approximately 3:30pm. Bring your folding chair!

Parking Recommendations

Parking in Long Dock is limited. Walking, carpooling and the Free Beacon Loop Bus are encouraged. The Loop Bus drops you at the train station, and you can walk over to Long Dock. The best place to park is in the train station on the side closest to the Hudson River, where all spots are free on the weekends!

About The Producers

This event is part of Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week organized by Sustainable Hudson Valley. Produced by Eve Morgenstern, Brian Mendes and Connie Hall. Contact: Eve Morgenstern for more information, evemorgenstern@gmail.com.

Use of Long Dock Park for this event has been provided by Scenic Hudson (scenichudson.org). The leading environmental organization focused on the Hudson River Valley, it is dedicated to creating environmentally healthy communities, championing smart economic growth, protecting working farms, opening up riverfronts to the public and preserving the valley’s beauty and natural resources. Since its founding in 1963, Scenic Hudson has permanently protected 25,000 acres of irreplaceable landscapes and created or enhanced more than 40 parks.

Look For Signs

Several graphic designs have been created to represent this initiative. You may see crossovers of them in social media and in other news outlets. Keep your eyes out, and read the messages to learn more.

The Barns Art Center to Host Harvest Festival

Hopewell Junction, New York – The newly opened Barns Art Center is pleased to announce Harvest Festival. Held from October 9-10, the convening will feature the premiere of LOST ARTS, a three-screen film experience, the groundbreaking ceremony for a large-scale installation with artist collective Futurefarmers, and a local market.

LOST ARTS Film Premiere – screening times 11:00am-3:00pm
The Barns Art Center will premiere LOST ARTS, a three screen, immersive film experience that explores the art and culture of agriculture in the Hudson Valley. Beyond being a tool for education and a response to our current social and ecological climate, the film is a sensory celebration of the bounty of the Hudson Valley and the profound wisdom that has been unearthed and cultivated here for thousands of years. By looking to the past for forgotten methods, techniques, and philosophies, today’s farmers have found more innovative, sustainable, and equitable ways forward.

The ten featured farmers include: Jack Algiere, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture; Ben and Melany Dobson, Hudson Hemp; Ken Greene, Hudson Valley Seed Company; Anne Hall, Crespell; Don Lewis, Wild Hive Farm; John Michelotti, Catskill Fungi; Rick Osofsky, Ronnybrook Farm Dairy; David Rowe, Rowe’s Apiaries Jalal Sabur, Sweet Freedom Farm; Karen Washington, Garden of Happiness/La Familia Verde/Rise & Root. The film is produced with Kingston-based company Northguild.

In conjunction with the LOST ARTS premiere is a roster of farmer-led, daytime activities:

11:30am Sculpting with Flowers

Flower Arranging Workshop with Anne Hall, Crespell

12:30pm Looking Back – How did we get here?

A conversation with Don Lewis, Ken Greene, David Rowe, Rick Osofsky

1:30pm Spore Printing

Mushroom Walk and Printmaking Workshop with John Michelotti, Catskill Fungi

2:30pm Looking Forward – Farming for the Future – Where can we go?

A conversation with Jack Algiere, Ben and Melany Dobson, Jalal Sabur

BARNS ART CENTER | 736 SOUTH DRIVE, HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NY 12533 | BARNSARTCENTER.ORG

Futurefarmers Of Furrows & Lands in Harps Installation

Futurefarmers breaks ground on their first large-scale public artwork in the United

States. Drawing on the success of their 10-year project Flatbread Society for the city of

Oslo, Of Furrows & Lands in Harps will manifest as an extraordinary architectural

structure and a public program that unfolds over three-years time. The architectural

structure, designed by Belgian architect Lode Vranken, will feature three spaces: a

bakehouse, a meeting space and an extraordinary experimental instrument at the heart

of the work and building called Hum Stone. Hum Stone is made from a millstone and is

able to play other millstones. Drawing from the historical context of the site, once a farm,

then a microchip factory, now The Barns Art Center, this unique instrument points to the

past while invoking the future. Participating composers include Walter Kitundu,

Guillermo Galindo, Annea Lockwood.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Futurefarmers will be held from 3:00-6:00pm:

3:00 Place Stones with artist/choreographer, Elaine Buckholtz

A participatory action involving sound, movement, and the placing of three millstones.

4:00 Impressions from the Stone

A series of limited-edition prints made from rubbings of custom carved millstone by

Walter Kitundu.

Harvest Festival Market 11:00-3:00

The Festival Market will include River Valley Guild Artist and Artisan Market and a Cider

Week New York Tasting, including local food and beverage vendors such as Ronnybrook

Farm Dairy, Sloop Brewing Co., More Good, Fishkill Farms and Treasury Cider, and

more.

More about the The Barns Art Center

The Barns Art Center is a contemporary art initiative located up the Hudson River, 60 miles north of NYC, in East Fishkill at iPark 84. The Barns occupies a 3,200-square-foot museum quality gallery built adjacent a former IBM microchip plant. Aligning with the region’s rich agricultural tradition and history of environmental stewardship, The Barns champions art at the nexus of food, farming, ecology, and sustainability. Stimulating essential dialogue around innovation, conservation, and equity, we hope to cultivate new ways of thinking about the earth, the history we inherit, and the legacy we leave behind. Through its exhibition, education, and empowerment programs, The Barns Art Center strives to create community and catalyze creative expression. We are free, open to the public, and committed to fostering an accessible, interactive, and inclusive environment.

For additional information or materials regarding any of the above programs or events, contact: Tara Anne Dalbow, Gallery Director and Curator, tdalbow@barnsartcenter.org, c.970-376-8668

www.barnsartcenter.org / @barnsartcenter