Tonight is the mild one: mostly clear, lows near 61 to 63. Wednesday is the warm day, sunny with highs near 77 in Pawling, 75 in Dover and 78 in Patterson, on west gusts to 22 mph, with one 20 percent shower window in Dover between 1 and 2 p.m. Thursday stays sunny near 62 to 65, and Tuesday through Thursday is the dry stretch for leaf season along Route 22 and the Taconic.
The pattern breaks Thursday night, when showers arrive after 2 a.m. at a 90 percent chance. Friday is the washout: showers at 100 percent, a thunderstorm possible in Pawling, highs near 66 to 69 and a quarter to half inch of rain. Behind it the season flips. Saturday is sunny and breezy near 46 to 49, and Saturday night brings the first freeze of the season, lows near 30 to 32. Sunday clears near 55 to 57 with frost on the windshields, Monday runs mostly sunny near 60 to 62, and Tuesday climbs back to the mid-60s. Between the errands, the week's main event is Wednesday at 6 p.m., when the Pawling Town Board opens its public hearing on the tax levy override law for fiscal 2027.
The questions the Valley searches this week, answer first, source after.
What happens at tomorrow's Pawling tax levy hearing?
The Town Board holds its public hearing on the local law that overrides the state's real property tax levy limit for fiscal 2027, Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 160 Charles Colman Blvd, streamed on the town YouTube. The law itself does not set a tax rate; it lets the board exceed the levy cap when it adopts the 2027 budget. The Tentative Budget, posted Sept. 30, shows what is on the table: townwide appropriations rise from $5.12 million this year to about $5.72 million proposed, and the amount to be raised by taxes goes from $3,300,795 to $3,697,348, a 12 percent increase. Add the town-outside-village funds and the proposed combined levy reaches $5,602,334 against a levy-limit line of $4,984,970, about $617,364 of room the override would use. Last year the same table sat $13,920 under the cap. The Highway Fund outside the village remains the biggest single mover, from about $2.71 million to $3.26 million, the elected pay lines stay flat at $10,892 per board member and $25,703 for the Supervisor, and residents can speak before the board decides.
Pawling Town Court opens the week tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Wednesday carries the levy hearing at 6 p.m. and Dover's special Town Board the same night at 6:30 p.m. at Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Rd. The Pawling Conservation Advisory Board follows Thursday at 6 p.m. at the American Legion Building, 154 Charles Colman Blvd. Next Monday, Oct. 19, is a three-board night: the Pawling Planning Board and the Pawling Village Board, both at 7 p.m., and Dover's Planning Board at 7 p.m. Patterson's Town Board meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m., which puts its next regular meeting on Oct. 28, the same night as Dover's regular Town Board at 6:30 p.m.; Patterson streams its meetings on YouTube and Zoom.
The week starts tonight with the Leaf Elves drawing workshop at 6:30 in the Annex, ages 7 and up. Wednesday belongs to line dancing at Lakeside Park at 2 p.m., the library's Wednesday series, and to the levy-night alternates: Board Games with the Holmes-Whaley Lake Civic Association at 5 and Evening Book Conversations at 6:30 on "The Only Woman in the Room" by Marie Benedict, with Threads Lab knitting at 6 in the Annex. Friday brings Monster Movie Madness, the 1950s stop-motion "Tarantula" at 6:30 in the Annex. Ahead, Monday Matinee at Pawling Recreation shows "Young Washington," rated PG-13, Monday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m., and the library's teen Dungeons and Dragons campaign runs Thursday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 with teen Dungeon Master Nikolai. Halloween week fills up after that: pumpkins drop off at the library Oct. 28 and 29 for the Lanterns display and the Pawling's Perfect Pumpkin vote, the Witch Noses craft workshop runs Oct. 29 at 4, and Trick or Treat Pawling takes over the library Halloween morning, 10:30 to 1:30, with games, crafts and candy stations.
One date remains: Monday, Oct. 19, 2 to 6 p.m. at Carmel Fire Department. The county clinic serves people 18 and older, the fee is $30 cash or credit, and anyone 65 or older, or anyone with a Medicare card, gets the shot free with the card. In-car vaccination is available if you flag the need when you register at putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic, the health department answers questions at 845-808-1332, and short sleeves are preferred.
When does hunting season open, and what changed this year?
Early bowhunting for deer and bear is already on: the Southern Zone season opened Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 20, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding hunters in Dutchess and neighboring counties to check the 2026 regulations before heading out. The youth firearms weekend for ages 12 to 15 ran Oct. 10 through 12 with a licensed adult along. The new rules aim at the antlerless harvest: a hunter who takes and reports an antlerless deer with a valid tag earns a second antlered tag, and more wildlife management units now offer unlimited Deer Management Permits. Season dates, permit details and safety requirements are at dec.ny.gov under hunting and trapping seasons.
Roads: dry through Thursday for the leaf drive along Route 22, Dover's back roads and the Taconic, with Wednesday the warm one near 75 to 78. Rain moves in after 2 a.m. Friday and runs through the day at 100 percent, a quarter to half inch, with a thunderstorm possible in Pawling; wet leaves make the Friday morning commute the slick one. Saturday opens sunny, breezy and near 46 to 49, and the season's first freezing night follows Saturday evening, lows near 30 to 32, so expect frost on windshields Sunday morning and early ice on shaded curves.
Rails and meetings: give the MTA Harlem Valley schedule a check before Friday's commute, when the rain is heaviest. The boards: Pawling Town Court tonight at 5:30, the levy hearing Wednesday at 6 p.m., Dover's special Town Board Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the Pawling Conservation Advisory Board Thursday at 6 p.m., and the three-board night Monday, Oct. 19, Pawling Planning, Pawling Village and Dover Planning, all at 7 p.m. Patterson and Dover return Wednesday, Oct. 28.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: sizing the $6.25 gallon to your own tank.
Heating oil averaged $6.25 a gallon across the Lower Hudson region as of Oct. 5, 67 percent above the $3.73 a year earlier, per the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's price survey, and The Highlands Current reports that a 275-gallon fill now costs $674 more than last year. Ask an AI to size that to your house: hand it your tank size and last year's fill receipts and ask what this winter costs at the current average, then what a later fill or a payment plan changes. The regional average will not match every delivery ticket; the point is knowing your number before the first cold week arrives, and reading the price on the ticket yourself when the truck comes.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corner topics.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
Pawling Town Court, 5:30 p.m.; Leaf Elves drawing workshop, 6:30 p.m., ages 7 and up; mostly clear tonight, low near 61 to 63
Pawling Town Hall, 160 Charles Colman Blvd for court · Pawling Library Annex for the workshop
Pawling Town Board public hearing on the tax levy override law for fiscal 2027, 6 p.m.; Dover Town Board special meeting, 6:30 p.m.; line dancing at Lakeside Park, 2 to 3 p.m.; Toddlers and Twos Together, 9:30 a.m.; Fun with Letters, 11:30 a.m.; Let's Explore Animals, 4 p.m. (second of three); Board Games with the Holmes-Whaley Lake Civic Association, 5 p.m.; Threads Lab knitting, 6 p.m.; Evening Book Conversations, 6:30 p.m.; sunny and the warm day, near 75 to 78
Pawling Town Hall, streamed on the town YouTube · Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Rd · library events at Pawling Free Library and Annex · line dancing at Lakeside Park
Pawling Conservation Advisory Board, 6 p.m.; Homeschool Space: Middle and High School, 1 p.m.; Homeschool Space: Elementary, 2:30 p.m.; Chess for All, 6 p.m.; Sip and Sculpt Pumpkin Carving, 6:30 p.m., adults; sunny, near 62 to 65, showers arriving after 2 a.m.
American Legion Building, 154 Charles Colman Blvd for the board · library events at Pawling Free Library and Annex
Monster Movie Madness: "Tarantula," 6:30 p.m.; showers, 100 percent chance, high near 66 to 69, up to a half inch
Pawling Library Annex · a 1950s stop-motion monster classic · slick leaf roads on the morning commute
Storywalk at Lakeside Park: The Rabbit Listened, final weekend, during park hours; sunny and breezy, high near 46 to 49; the season's first freezing night after dark, low near 30 to 32
Lakeside Park playground, 2 Lakeside Dr, Pawling · free, all ages with a caregiver · the Storywalk runs through Oct 19
Storywalk final day weekend continues; sunny, high near 55 to 57; frost likely on windshields before the drive
Lakeside Park, during park hours · scrape before you go
Flu clinic, 2 to 6 p.m.; Pawling Planning Board, 7 p.m.; Pawling Village Board, 7 p.m.; Dover Planning Board, 7 p.m.; Storywalk ends; Monday Matinee at Pawling Recreation: "Young Washington," PG-13, 1 to 3 p.m.; Card Making, 1 to 3 p.m.; Minecraft Explorer, grades 2 to 4, 4 p.m.; Toy Photography Workshop, 5 p.m.; mostly sunny, near 60 to 62
Carmel Fire Department for the clinic, register at putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic or 845-808-1332 · Pawling Town Hall for Planning · Village Hall for the Village Board · Dover Town Hall for Planning · library events at Pawling Free Library and Annex
Let's Explore Animals, 4 p.m. (final session); VolunTeens, 5 to 6:30 p.m.; Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" book club night, online, 6:30 p.m.; line dancing at Lakeside Park, 2 to 3 p.m.
Pawling Library Annex and the library · book club via Pawling Free Library · VolunTeens apply through the library
Teen Dungeons and Dragons with Dungeon Master Nikolai, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Chess for All, 6 p.m.
Pawling Free Library · walk-ins welcome for chess
Pawling Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.; Toy Photography Workshop, 5 p.m. (final of three)
Pawling Town Clerk, 160 Charles Colman Blvd for the ZBA · Pawling Library Annex for the workshop
Pawling Town Court, 5:30 p.m.; afternoon book club: "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore, 4 p.m.; Ireland travel talk with Sheridan Hraska of Sheplie Travel, 6:30 p.m.
Pawling Town Hall for court · Pawling Free Library for the book club · Pawling Library Annex for the travel talk
Dover Town Board regular meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Patterson Town Board, 7 p.m.; Threads Lab knitting, 6 p.m.; Lanterns at the Library pumpkin drop-off begins
Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Rd · Patterson Town Hall, 1142 Route 311, streamed on YouTube and Zoom · drop-off at Pawling Free Library through Oct 29
Witch Noses: Craft Workshop, 4 p.m., ages 7 and up; Chess for All, 6 p.m.; Lanterns pumpkin drop-off ends
Pawling Library Annex for the craft night · wear the nose to the library's Haunted Library on Halloween
Trick or Treat Pawling at the library, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Lanterns at the Library pumpkin display and voting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., winner announced Nov. 2
Pawling Free Library · part of the village's Trick or Treat Pawling · gently spooky games, crafts and candy stations
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