1) At our June 3rd membership meeting, we bid farewell to our treasurer, Sandra Vacchio, who officially resigned her position. Sandra had been our past president and was also a long-time member. Sandra kept the organization running with only two other Board members and with a great deal of work in front of us. With her position as confidential secretary to the Town of Wappinger supervisor, she was persistent in keeping Carnwath issues – and there are many – in front of the Town Board.

Her tenacity and perseverance kept this organization going during times when there appeared to be little public interest in this beautiful park. I’m happy to say that, when Sandra became our treasurer in 2022 and I became president, her tenacity and resilience passed to me as well.

Sandra has been an inspiration to me, and it is my honor to fill her shoes. While remaining a member of Friends of Carnwath, she will do so remotely, as she has fulfilled her long-held dream of living on Cape Cod. On behalf of our entire Board, we thank Sandra for her years of service to Friends and we wish her and her husband many happy years of Cape life.

2) At our June 3rd membership meeting, and after many months of searching for just the right person,  we appointed a new treasurer: Jessica Sarrantonio, who also serves as our Communications chair. Jessica comes to us as a recent transplant from Connecticut. She was looking for ways to become active in the community, and quickly connected with Carnwath Farms.

She began attending our meetings, which started up again in earnest in 2023. We recognized in her a passion for the park, a willingness to work, boundless energy and a gift for ideas that were sorely needed. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to all the ways she will enhance and grow the organization.

3) Our pollinator garden – a work in progress – is greatly overgrown with weeds. Bill Lenhart, our Ecological chair, and our president, Donna Lenhart, went with all good intentions of weeding at least the north side of the garden on June 4. 

When we started pulling weeds, however, we found the garden was alive with ladybugs and ladybug larvae. Since everyone knows how beneficial ladybugs are in the garden, we proceeded slowly and carefully so as not to disturb them as we are lucky to have them for natural pest control.

We finally decided to wait a week or two until the larvae become the cute, speckled bugs we all know. We will return to the garden at that time and will need all hands on deck to help remake this garden into what it once was.

4) George Gumbel, our Garden chair, will be at the park on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am. All those who want to help, meet up with George on those days and times. There are lots of weeds to be pulled and vines to be cut throughout the park. It is a daunting task, but we can do it with your help.