* Winner: 10 Better Newspaper Contest Awards *New York Press Association, 2013 Scrooge comes to the Depot Theatre See page 7 FREE | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 69 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | www.philipstown.info Messiah Concert to Go On, with Empty Podium Tribute to Stewart Southbound Metro-North trains did not have special alerters at the time of the Dec. 2013 accident. They were only installed in locomotives. Photo by K.E. Foley Metro-North Talks Up Safety a Year after Crash Vocalists perform in 2013’s presentation of Messiah Photos by Ross Corsair ‘It all starts from inside, on Dec. 21. Positive train control still ness and therefore failed to slow the train. Stewart, who founded Philipstown. In the immediate aftermath of the De- just as it did with the man info and The Paper, died on Nov. 26. in distance cember derailment, The New York Times who wrote it, and what you Hopeful of conducting again, yet aware reported that an alerter system that that his illness might prevent this, Stew- By Kevin E. Foley signals danger when an engineer has feel and understand inside art arranged for the performances to be not slowed was already installed on all his past week was the anniversary given regardless of his ability to be there, Metro-North locomotives, but not in the determines how your heart (Dec. 1) of when residents of Phil- and specified that he wished for “an emp- passengers cars. Since locomotives usu- ipstown and other towns along beats.’ ~ Gordon Stewart ty podium” to represent him, should he T ally pull and control the trains only on be absent. His request will be honored, the Metro-North Hudson train line had the northbound runs, the trains heading By Alison Rooney to mourn the deaths of four fellow citi- and the performances are now dedicated south, such as the fateful Dec. 1 train, zens. The victims, including Jim Lovell to his memory. A reception with refresh- didn’t have alerters. While it is not es- ny one of the approximately 600 of North Highlands, were passengers on ments will take place in St. Mary’s Par- tablished that an alerter would have pre- people who attended last Decem- an early Sunday morning train bound ber’s performances of George Frid- ish Hall in between performances. Gar- vented the accident, the failure to install A rison’s Rachel Evans, who assembled the for Grand Central Terminal. Lovell was them for half of the train runs under- eric Handel’s Messiah at Cold Spring’s St. headed for work on a job for the NBC musicians, will again serve as concert scored the failed safety culture that reg- Mary-in-the-Highlands Episcopal Church television network. He left behind his master, leading 21 musicians, four so- ulators attacked. Metro-North has said could have attested to the very special al- wife Nancy Montgomery and three sons. loist singers and a chorus of nearly two all trains will have alerters by year-end. chemy of those two productions, in which The long line of mourners along Parrott dozen through Handel’s baroque com- The Federal Railroad Administration a contingent of New York’s finest Messi- Street waiting for hours to pay their re- position, long a staple of the December (FRA), the national railroad regulator, ah-seasoned musicians were joined with spects and the standing-room-only fu- holiday season. As they did last year, criticized Metro-North for a poor safety a chorus partially drawn from local sing- neral in Our Lady of Loretto Church still proceeds from (Continued on page 6) culture and ordered it to make more ers, and led by conductor Gordon Stew- haunt the collective memory. than two dozen safety reforms. The FRA art in bringing the famous oratorio to an An investigation by the National Trans- also pointed out that it had long urged extended, and awe-struck, swath of the portation Safety Board (NTSB) deter- that railroads, including Metro-North, community. mined that the train hit a sharp curve introduce positive train controls sys- In response to multiple requests — at an excessive speed near the Spuyten tems, which, it is generally agreed, would from those who attended and from the Duyvil station, just north of Manhattan, have prevented the derailment by stop- musicians and singers who played and and ran off the tracks. The train’s engineer ping the train when the engineer failed sang — Messiah, with most of the same admitted to suffering from sleep apnea to correct the train’s speed. personnel, will return to St. Mary’s for and said he temporarily lost conscious- (Continued on page 4) two more performances, at 2 and 5 p.m. Putnam Leaders, Firearm Owners, Continue Fight Against Gun Laws and Disclosure Attacking SAFE Act by defunding County Executive MaryEllen Odell, Sheriff Don- ald Smith, District Attorney Adam Levy and Coun- it proposed at state level ty Clerk-Elect Michael Bartolotti, now deputy clerk, all took to the podium at a workshop meeting orga- By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong nized by the Putnam County Firearm Owners As- sociation. Described as a training session on state utnam County’s top leaders joined firearms laws, the event drew over 150 participants to the owners Wednesday night (Dec. 3) at an ener- Paladin Center, a private training facility for police, Pgized forum-cum-rally in Carmel to attack vari- corporations and private clients. ous gun restrictions, advocate gun rights and oppose “This is what you call a packed house,” one at- disclosure of information on gun ownership. tendee observed to another as the hall filled, though A strategy for thwarting New York state’s sweep- whether he referred to the crowd or any weapons it ing 2013 gun-control law, the Secure Ammuni- carried was unclear. Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, County Clerk-Elect tion and Firearms Enforcement or SAFE Act, also The evening featured frequent denunciations Michael Bartolotti, center, and Assemblyman Steve Katz listen to emerged: in the New York State Legislature, abol- of the SAFE Act and invocations of the Second a comment from an audience member. Photo by L.S. Armstrong ish funding for implementing it. Amendment. (Continued on page 4) 2 December 5, 2014 The Paper www.philipstown.info | Philipstown.info Small, Good Things An American Native By Joe Dizney can be a hard sell to unad- venturous souls unaccus- hings are not always what they tomed to its charms, but seem, and usually they’re more its allure lies somewhere Tthan what’s readily apparent. near its savory Italian rel- Take Indian pudding, a truly native ative, polenta, in that it is (lowercase n) American dessert and “In- true comfort food. dian” (or capital N, Native American) And even I will cop to only in that it is made from a New World a shocked “My-God-what- staple — corn — instead of wheat or some have-I-done?” hesitancy other Old World grain. when first removing this It’s also known as Hasty Pudding (de- questionable brown mush spite the fact that it is cooked “low and from the oven. When slow,” i.e., at a low temperature for a lo- topped with a gener- o-o-o-o-ng time, up to five or six hours in ous spoonful of freshly some traditional recipes), and its nearest whipped cream, or better culinary progenitors are British steamed still some good vanilla ice puddings — sweetened milk and grain cream, Indian pudding porridges — that achieve a smooth pud- is a dessert that holds ding-like consistency only through long, its own against even the slow cooking. most sophisticated festive The molasses that is Indian pudding’s spread. distinctive sweetener and base note (rath- On a cold winter night, er than the more expected maple syrup) a warm oven loaded with also comes to us by a curiously circuitous this exotically spiced mix- route, returning to the New World pan- ture fills the house with try as a result of the so-called “triangle a fragrance that virtually trade” in which sugar from the American sings Yule carols on its South and Caribbean was shipped north own. (Nov. 13, National In- or to England for processing into rum dian Pudding Day, might Indian pudding with cranberry-walnut sauce Photo by J. Dizney (barter for the slave trade). The molasses, seriously be considered as a byproduct of the distilling process, was the true opening salvo of a smooth, more custard-like consistency. ring a cup or so of dried cranberries, shipped back to the colonies, becoming a the holiday season.) A simple cranberry sauce provides raisins, currants or other dried fruit into much-used culinary sweetener (primar- For the version presented here, I’ve a tart brightness and some additional the pudding after two hours or so into its ily in baking, but try to imagine Boston used both a higher proportion of maple holiday color. You might consider stir- time in the oven for additional interest; baked beans without it). syrup to amplify the strictly New Eng- any sooner and they pretty much melt Like its British cousin, Christmas pud- land character of the dish and a touch of into the mix. Toasted walnuts add a little ding, Indian pudding is traditionally vanilla to soften the edges of the compar- Indian Pudding With toothsome crunch. seasoned with ginger, nutmeg and cin- atively “rough” blackstrap molasses. Pre- namon. Admittedly, the resulting brown liminary cooking on the stovetop and the Cranberry-Walnut Sauce mess is not much on visual appeal and inclusion of beaten eggs helps to achieve Serves 6-8 For the pudding: For the sauce: 3 cups milk ¾ cup dried cranberries ¾ cup maple syrup ½ cup orange juice ¼ cup blackstrap molasses ¼ cup raw sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon orange zest 2 tablespoons butter ½ cup toasted, roughly chopped ¾ cup cornmeal walnuts ½ teaspoon cinnamon Vanilla ice cream or whipped ½ teaspoon salt cream for serving ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1 to 2 eggs, beaten 1.