* Winner: 10 Better Newspaper Contest Awards *New York Press Association, 2013 Look ahead to First Friday, Oct. 3, in Cold Spring. Pages 7, 11 FREE | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 69 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | www.philipstown.info Philipstown.info Inc. Becomes Charitable Organization Nonprofit seeks to create permitted by law. “Vital to good community life has al- model for local news efforts ways been having a good newspaper, and today this means having a good com- Staff Report munity web-paper as well,” Stewart said. he nonprofit Philipstown.info Inc. “Our primary purpose from July 4, 2010, has reorganized into a charitable has been to offer all the people of Phil- organization, Philipstown Info Inc., ipstown the best, unbiased, useful, cred- T ible, well-written, and enjoyable source which will now be the owner of both the news website Philipstown.info and the of local news possible. The success of our free weekly print newspaper, The Paper. fine professional staff was independently Gordon Stewart, founder of Philip- confirmed last spring by the New York stown.info Inc., will serve as chairman Press Association with the winning of of the new board. Rudolph S. Rauch and 10 Better Newspaper Awards. And it will Christine Bockelmann, both experienced now be secured by the direct support of professional journalists, will serve as the community we serve.” vice chairs. According to board member Joseph Classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit char- Plummer, “Many contributors includ- itable organization by the Internal Rev- ing board members are especially ener- enue Service, all contributions to Phil- gized by the strong possibility that the ipstown Info Inc. may now be deducted quality and success of The Paper and from federal income tax to the extent Philipstown.info will inspire other com- munities across the country to create and sustain their own independent local news organizations at just the time when County Services at Butterfield Debated so many have been losing their tradi- tional print papers and adequate online residents at the VFW Hall on Kemble matter before the full legislature. If the Senior center and sheriff’s models have not yet emerged.” Avenue on Tuesday (Sept. 23) to discuss legislature supports services at Butter- Ever since it occurred to Stewart that office likely services the county might provide at field, budget information will be due by a high-quality local news organiza- Butterfield once the site is redeveloped. the end of October. tion might be created and sustained by By Michael Turton By the end of the meeting the commit- ‘Common sense’ location adapting the model of listener-supported tee seemed poised to recommend a move In his presentation, Deputy County local public radio stations, he has served he Physical Services Committee to Butterfield, but issues remain over Executive Bruce Walker said that within as both the publisher and sole financial of the Putnam County Legisla- the senior citizens center and leasing of five years, seniors will make up 29 per- supporter of the endeavor, though The ture met with local officials and space. The committee includes Legislator T cent of Philipstown’s population — the Paper, a free publication distributed and Chair Carl Albano largest percentage for any town in Put- widely at local merchant locations, also and Legislators Barbara nam County. As a result, he said, the receives some revenue from commercial Scuccimarra and Ginny “common sense” location for a senior advertising. Nacerino. citizen center is Butterfield. “And it is the “My hope from day one has always At the outset of the only place west of the Taconic that has been to offer the best professional jour- meeting Scuccimarra senior housing,” Walker said, referring to nalists from our community the oppor- said that talk of a se- Chestnut Ridge. tunity to produce the highest quality lo- nior center goes back 25 Walker said leasing 6,000 square feet cal journalism free from (To page 3) years. “It’s time to make at Butterfield would cost (To page 4) a decision,” she said. Decisions may come quickly. Albano told The Paper that his commit- The Putnam County Legislature’s Physical Services tee will discuss the re- Committee — from left, Barbara Scuccimarra, Carl L. sults of Tuesday’s meet- Albano, chairman, and Ginny Nacerino Photo by M. Turton ing, then likely put the Seniors Seek Relief from Cable Costs Petition signatures gathered tition to attract sup- port digitally. to pressure Cablevision The campaign first presented its peti- By Kevin E. Foley tion at the Sept. 4 meeting of the Phil- group of senior citizens has ipstown Town Board mounted an effort to petition the where Supervisor A Philipstown Town Board to in- Jan Thacher Richard Shea and tervene with local cable television and File photo other board mem- Internet service provider Cablevision to bers said they would persuade the company to offer a lower work with the group to see what could be fixed rate service for senior and disabled done to advance their idea. The organizers, Bagpiping at Bannerman — In a special benefit concert for The Bannerman Castle citizens living on a fixed income. Jan Thacher and Nina Pidala, have said Trust, the Newburgh-based Just Off Broadway company presented a concert version of The campaign has gathered over 500 they hope the Town Board will use what- the Lerner and Loewe Scottish Highlands-set musical Brigadoon on Sunday (Sept. 21), signatures so far as the organizers spread ever leverage it can muster to influence with the Hudson Highlands standing in perfectly for their counterpart in what is still out beyond the Cold Spring and Nelson- the company. Cablevision is the only cable the United Kingdom. Bagpiper Joseph C. Burns, who provided an atmospheric flavor ville areas into other districts of Philip- service in the Philipstown area so the po- to the show, was inspired by the ruins of Bannerman Castle, built by the Dundee-born stown to continue to pursue signatures. tential for governmental or consumer le- Frank Bannerman, to come out and play after the show ended. Photo by Alison Rooney They have also established an online pe- verage, usually (Continued on page 3) 2 September 26, 2014 The Paper www.philipstown.info | Philipstown.info Small, Good Things South Louisiana, more com- monly shrimp or crawfish. This is the version I’d like to offer Gone Native you this week. Maque choux is a relatively By Joe Dizney quick meal and pretty efficient from a cook’s point of view — eeze, THAT was quick! No the beans, corn and shrimp sooner had it registered in are simmered in a quick stock Jmy consciousness that the made from the shells of the autumnal equinox was upon us shrimp. I added a handful of than it seemed like the leaves fingerling potatoes (also from turned colors overnight and be- the New World larder) as they gan to drop in bushels. were in the market and accen- A chill has been in the air for tuate the “chowdery” nature of weeks now and the apples and the dish I was imagining for a fall squash and pumpkins are be- cool, fall evening. ginning to fill out the farm mar- The seasoning is basically the kets. But what caught my chef’s so-called “holy trinity” of Creole eye last weekend were cranber- cooking — onions, bell pepper ry beans. While I’ll spend the and celery, and of course garlic. winter honestly enjoying dried If you like a little heat, add a heirloom varieties of beans of pinch of cayenne. And although all stripes — and as ordinary as I’ve omitted his suggestion, the they might seem to some — the authoritative Creole writer-res- last of these fresh shell beans are taurateur Lafcadio Hearn rec- a seasonal marker. ommends finishing the dish with Along with corn, peppers Hudson Valley maque choux Photo by J. Dizney the addition of “a knob of butter and tomatoes, they also consti- as big as a hen’s egg, rolled in tute the motherlode of ingredi- with a similar pantry the local Choctaw tribes there had flour,” whisked in and simmered ents that are the culinary gift of the New World, the a similar preparation, once modified by the Creole cul- briefly to thicken and sweeten it just before serving. backbone of global cooking. And once again, there is no ture of the River Road became maque choux. And although this version does include shellfish, better way to celebrate the cycle of this season with a The name is derived from the Creole word for corn you can make a satisfying version omitting the shrimp combination of the three and no better place to look for — maque — and the French word for cabbage — choux. and substituting vegetable stock. And if you’re not op- precedents than to revisit some native and early Ameri- (Curiously in all the years and posed, in either case a ¼-cup or so of diced bacon fried can recipes. in all the variations I’ve with the onions at the beginning adds a Let’s start with succotash, a colonial variation of the happily eaten it, not once nice smokiness. Narraganset Indian word “Msickquatash,” translated Hudson Valley has a sliver of cabbage roughly as “an ear of corn.” A basic recipe for this me- passed my lips. But that’s Maque Choux lange was common among most of the Algonquin, Iro- South Louisiana for you.) 30 minutes prep time; 30 minutes cook time stovetop; serves 6-8 quois and Mohegan tribes of the northeast and gener- It differs from succotash ally described a big simmering pot of corn and seasonal in specifics — more often 2 cups shelled fresh cranberry beans 1 large yellow onion cut into shelled beans seasoned with peppers and tomatoes.