[FREE] Serving Philipstown and Beacon Being Earnest Page 9 FEBRUARY 22, 2019 161 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | highlandscurrent.org New Member for Centenarian Club Longtime Beacon resident looks back on his 100 years Matt and Kim Montleon and their sons Photo provided Phil Mattracion, a longtime Beacon resident, turned 100 on Dec. 22. Photos by Meredith Heuer Struggling with Motherhood By Jeff Simms he raised his family in the city, which by filmmaker Ana Joanes, also a Beacon res- then was a thriving industrial hub. What happens when a ident, Montleon’s many childhood trau- alvatore “Phil” Mattracion claims Mattracion became a centenarian on mas crash to the shore, impeding her re- he’s lived “kind of a dull life.” But Dec. 22, celebrating with a party at the Me- mom can’t connect? lationship with her sons and her husband. S once he starts talking about his 100 morial Building on Main Street. His 90th The project began differently. Joanes years, that’s hard to believe. birthday party was held at the Southern By Alison Rooney had already made two documentaries Growing up just outside Beacon, Mat- Dutchess bowling alley on Route 52 (since (Generation Meds, about mental illness, tracion first came to the city on an 8-cent closed). He lives now with his daughter, very parent has bad days. For Kim and Fresh, about the American food sys- train ride from the hamlet of Chelsea. At Mary Ann, in Wappingers Falls, and looks Montleon, a Beacon mother of two tem) but had a baby and a toddler and 13, following the death of his stepfather, he in excellent health, of sound mind and E who is at the center of a documen- was feeling frustrated with her parenting and his family moved to Beacon looking for body, with stories aplenty. tary called Wrestling Ghosts, just about skills. “I had no younger siblings, never did work. And after Mattracion returned from every day was bad. baby-sitting, so it was all new,” she recalls. (Continued on Page 14) his Navy service in World War II at age 26, In the film, directed and produced by (Continued on Page 17) Bracing for Langley: How We Impact Work with Feds Sheriff says partnership Feds rescind oil-train ‘opens your eyes’ braking regulations By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong By Brian PJ Cronin orking with federal agents on t was called the Fixing American issues such as immigration, Surface Transportation Act, or FAST. terrorism and human traffick- Signed into law in 2015, it was meant W I ing “really opens your eyes as to what’s to prevent accidents involving the lengthy going on in the community,” Putnam oil trains that travel past the Highlands County Sheriff Robert Langley told coun- along the west shore of the Hudson River. ty legislators last week. The name of the act is proving ironic, The sheriff, a Philipstown resident, as one of its central safety provisions briefed the Legislature’s Protective Ser- — requiring the trains to be installed vices Committee on Feb. 13 on his depart- with electronically controlled pneumatic ment’s relationship with the Department brakes so they can slow down in time to A locomotive pulling oil cars travels along the west side of the Hudson. Photo by Matt Kierstead (Continued on Page 6) (Continued on Page 8) 2 FEBRUARY 22, 2019 The Highlands Current highlandscurrent.org FIVE QUESTIONS: MEGAN BRIEF By Alison Rooney egan Brief, who grew up in Gar- How did you get interested in the rison, has an ongoing field jour- natural world? By Michael Turton M nal on a platform created by Na- I grew up climbing trees, swimming in tional Geographic called Open Explorer. the Hudson and taking photos of insects Is there more See bit.ly/meganbrief. and birds. In the digital age, it’s easier for intelligent life out You started the field journal in people to disassociate from other species October. What was the goal? and cultures. I wanted to reimagine land- there in the universe? I wanted to shed light on how natural scapes where wildlife could thrive. spaces in the Hudson Valley are being com- Can tourism ever be beneficial? promised at the expense of tourism. Break- There has been a surge in “sustainable” neck, which is home to endemic species such tourism. Natural Habitat Adventures and Life is so well-designed it as timber rattlesnakes and Skink lizards, is the World Wildlife Federation, for exam- implies a designer from a microcosm for the potential damage that ple, provide carbon-neutral and conserva- beyond this planet. can be enacted on the environment on a tion-focused travel. That means that the global scale. We are able to measure how host communities benefit financially but wildlife responds to the continuous foot the stewardship helps them, too. traffic, noise and plastic pollution. Combat- You plan to continue at least ing environmental issues can be daunting through the spring. Then what? and difficult to grasp on a global scale. But I’ll be attending the Rhode Island this is a backyard exploration. School of Design in the fall for its master’s It’s called “Anthropocene on the program in nature, culture and sustain- Hudson.” What does that mean? ability. I may pursue photojournalism, or The word anthropocene has been sug- environmental education. I would love to gested to describe the modern era of human study the conflicts that result from poach- influence on the planet. That includes our ing, trading and overpopulation, and also effects on the climate, the landscapes and to write novels for students that focus on atmosphere, biological diversity and geology. conserving endangered species and the ~ Delvin Solkinson, importance of leading sustainable lives. Wappingers Falls Megan Brief on Breakneck Ridge Photo provided Absolutely. There is LIMITED EDITIONS something out there REALTY,INC. greater than all of us. 10 Marion Ave., Suite 2, Cold Spring, New York 10516 COLD SPRING RENTAL Prime location with good visibility is available for your office or retail space in the Cold Spring shopping center. $1700. per month. Heat, electric and C/AC incld. Available April 1, 2019. ~ Betsy Matos-Carone, Questions? 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FISHKILL (845) 896-6700 sdec2020.com TICKETS AT Optometrists Dr. Brian Peralta | Dr. Gary Weiner | Dr. Brian Powell | Dr. Weixun Wang www.philipstowndepottheatre.org ~ Jesse Kaplan, Beacon highlandscurrent.org The Highlands Current FEBRUARY 22, 2019 3 Merandy Says He Will Run Again Beacon: Ready; Verizon: Mum Cold Spring election shifts to November City prepares for influx of wireless By Jeff Simms cell units on poles that are higher than 50 By Michael Turton feet, within 20 feet of a home or have equip- he Beacon City Council has amend- old Spring Mayor Dave Merandy ment less than 8 feet from the ground. ed the second of its two communi- said this week he plans to run for Tuesday’s ruling means that all other cations laws as it prepares for the re-election in the fall, and Depu- T (non-small-cell) wireless facilities now re- C potential influx of small-cell and other ty Mayor Marie Early and Trustee Fran quire a special-use permit, as well. Both wireless facilities. But the wireless com- Murphy also said they will run. The in- laws include a priority list of locations pany that appears to have Bea- cumbents are each seeking their third where wireless equipment can con on its radar won’t divulge term on the Village Board. Wireless be placed, with private proper- its plans for the city. Merandy was elected mayor in 2015, providers must ty and residential and historic The council last year passed defeating Barney Molloy by a wide mar- obtain a special- districts identified as the least regulations for small-cell facili- gin. He won again two years later, edging use permit from desirable. Whenever possible, ties, the low-powered radio an- out challenger Alison Anthoine in a race wireless facilities should be tennas expected to power the the council to that wasn’t finalized until the absentee attached to buildings or struc- forthcoming 5G network. On install small-cell ballots were counted. Dave Merandy File photo tures or use “stealth” designs, Tuesday (Feb. 19), the council units on poles Charles “Chuck” Hustis III, a former the city said. revised an older law, first ad- that are higher village trustee, said he “could not confirm trician review the service at the bandstand, Under federal law, munici- opted in 2002 to regulate radio than 50 feet, or deny” reports that he planned to chal- Mayor’s Park and McConville Park after an palities cannot regulate wire- towers and other technologies, lenge Merandy. informal inspection raised concerns. within 20 feet of less placement based on health to more closely align with the This is the first year that Cold Spring At its Jan. 25 workshop, the Planning a home or have concerns. more recent small-cell law. residents will vote in November during Board approved a reduction from five rooms equipment less A map submitted by Verizon There are three wireless ap- the general election. Past village elec- to four as part of the conversion of the than 8 feet from as part of its Howland Avenue plications pending in Beacon, all tions had been held in March but voters ground floor of the former Silver Spoon Cafe the ground.