Today is the last dry one: sunny with highs near 60 in Dover, 62 in Pawling and 63 in Patterson, on a light north wind. Tonight clouds build, with a 30 percent chance of showers after 4 a.m. in Pawling and Dover and 60 percent in Patterson after 5 a.m. Friday runs wet at 90 percent, high near 69 to 71, a tenth to a quarter inch of rain, and thunderstorms are possible after 5 p.m. and again before 8 p.m. Friday night, with gusts to 24 to 30 mph behind them.
The season flips behind the rain. Saturday clears but stays cold and breezy, highs near 47 to 49 with gusts to 29 to 31 mph, and Saturday night brings the second freezing night of the season, lows near 30 to 32. Sunday is sunny near 54 to 55 with frost on the windshields, Monday sunny near 59 to 60, and Tuesday climbs back to the low 60s. The week's other paper is money: Pawling's 2027 budget now has its next document on the town site, the Preliminary Budget, and the town's own rate scenario estimates 2027 townwide taxes at 6.73 per thousand of assessed value, up from 6.08 this year, a 10.69 percent rate increase. Between the errands, the Conservation Advisory Board meets tonight at 6 p.m.
The questions the Valley searches this week, answer first, source after.
What is in Pawling's Preliminary Budget?
The Preliminary is the next budget document after the Sept. 30 Tentative, and its summary table keeps the Tentative's numbers: townwide appropriations rise from $5,122,500 this year to $5,693,509.55 proposed, and the amount to be raised by taxes goes from $3,300,795 to $3,697,348, a 12 percent increase. The town's levy-limit worksheet pairs a combined $5,602,334 against a cap line of $4,984,970, the $617,364 of room the override law would open up; the board held its public hearing on that law Wednesday night at 6. The rate scenario estimates the townwide rate at 6.73 per thousand of assessed value, up from 6.08, which the town's sample puts at $707 a year on a $105,000 assessed property versus $638 now, a $68 increase. The elected pay lines stay flat, $25,703 for the Supervisor and $10,892 per board member.
The Pawling Conservation Advisory Board meets tonight at 6 p.m. at the American Legion Building, 154 Charles Colman Blvd. Monday, Oct. 19 is the three-board night: the Pawling Planning Board and the Pawling Village Board at 7 p.m., and Dover's Planning Board at 7 at Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Rd. Patterson's Zoning Board of Appeals holds its regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., the same day as the Planning Board's submission deadline, and Patterson's Town Board adopts its 2027 budget Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. Pawling's Zoning Board of Appeals follows Monday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m., and Dover's and Patterson's Town Boards close the month Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 and 7 p.m.
Tonight at 6:30 it is Sip and Sculpt Pumpkin Carving, the adults-only workshop. Friday night is Monster Movie Madness, the 1950s stop-motion "Tarantula," 6:30 in the Annex. Ahead, Monday Matinee at Pawling Recreation shows "Young Washington," rated PG-13, Monday at 1 p.m., the Visiting Ireland travel talk with Sheridan Hraska of Sheplie Travel runs Tuesday at 6:30 in the Annex, and the Mary Shelley's Frankenstein book club night meets online Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6:30. Teen Dungeons and Dragons runs Thursday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 with Dungeon Master Nikolai. Halloween week fills up after that: pumpkin drop-off for Lanterns at the Library runs Oct. 28 and 29, CVS vaccine clinics run at the library Oct. 27 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Witch Noses craft workshop runs Oct. 29 at 4, and the Haunted Library takes over Halloween morning, 10:30 to 1:30, with the Lanterns display and voting 10 to 4 and the winner announced Nov. 2.
One county clinic remains: Monday, Oct. 19, 2 to 6 p.m. at Carmel Fire Department. The 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 at the Carmel clinic if you flag the need when you register at putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic, and the health department answers questions at 845-808-1332. Closer to home, the Pawling library hosts a CVS vaccine clinic Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Thursday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
Dutchess County's annual Red, White & You Veterans Picnic runs Saturday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at James Baird State Park in Pleasant Valley, free and rain-or-shine for veterans and one guest, with a barbecue by Tavern 23 and live country music from StringMasters. The county asks veterans to register themselves and a guest by emailing countyexec@dutchessny.gov or calling 845-486-2000. Two free pasta dinners follow: Sunday, Oct. 25 at Red Hook VFW Post 7765, 30 Elizabeth Street, with one seating at 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 1 at the East Fishkill Community Center, 890 Route 82, Hopewell Junction, with seatings at 2 and 4.
Early bowhunting seasons for deer and bear opened Oct. 1 across the Southern Zone and run through Nov. 20. Under the new rules, a hunter who harvests and reports an antlerless deer on a valid antlerless tag earns a second antlered deer tag, and the state expanded the list of Wildlife Management Units offering unlimited Deer Management Permits. The youth firearms weekend ran Oct. 10 through 12. Season dates and the full regulation set sit at dec.ny.gov under hunting and trapping seasons.
Roads: today stays dry and sunny for the leaf drive along Route 22 and the Taconic, near 60 to 63. Friday turns wet at 90 percent with storms possible after 5 p.m., and wet leaves make the Friday morning commute the slick one. Friday night's gusts reach 24 to 30 mph, Saturday stays breezy at 26 to 31, and the season's second 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 the woods: give the MTA Harlem Valley schedule a check before Friday's commute, when the rain is heaviest. Bow season runs through Nov. 20, so orange is worth wearing on the trails from this weekend on. The boards: the Conservation Advisory Board tonight at 6 p.m., the three-board night Monday at 7, Patterson's Zoning Board Tuesday at 7, and Patterson's budget adoption Wednesday at 7.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: hand the AI both budget PDFs and make it find the differences.
Pawling's 2027 budget now exists as two documents on the town site, the Tentative posted Sept. 30 and the Preliminary posted this week. Ask an AI to read both and list what changed, line by line. Then do what the clerk's table does, check the answer against the printed page: townwide appropriations of $5,122,500 this year against $5,693,509.55 proposed, taxes to be raised of $3,300,795 against $3,697,348. If the model's numbers drift from those figures, the printed table wins, and walking into the next meeting you know which lines moved and which did not.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corner topics.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
Conservation Advisory Board, 6 p.m.; Sip and Sculpt Pumpkin Carving, 6:30 p.m., adults; Chess for All, 6 p.m.; Homeschool Space: Middle and High School, 1 p.m.; Knitting and Crocheting with Friends, 2 to 4 p.m.; Homeschool Space: Elementary, 2:30 p.m.; sunny, near 60 to 63, showers possible after 4 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, 90 percent chance, high near 69 to 71, a tenth to a quarter inch, thunderstorms possible after 5 p.m., gusts to 24 to 30 mph at night
Pawling Library Annex · a 1950s stop-motion monster classic · slick leaf roads on the morning commute
Red, White & You Veterans Picnic, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Storywalk at Lakeside Park: The Rabbit Listened, during park hours, through Oct 19; mostly sunny and breezy, high near 47 to 49, gusts to 29 to 31 mph; the season's second freezing night after dark, low near 30 to 32
James Baird State Park, Pleasant Valley for the picnic, register at countyexec@dutchessny.gov or 845-486-2000 · Lakeside Park playground, 2 Lakeside Dr, Pawling for the Storywalk · free for veterans and one guest
Storywalk weekend continues; sunny, high near 54 to 55; 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, 4 p.m.; Toy Photography Workshop with Zach Oat, 5 p.m.; sunny, near 59 to 60
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
Patterson Zoning Board of Appeals regular meeting, 7 p.m., with the Planning Board submission deadline the same day; Visiting Ireland travel talk with Sheridan Hraska of Sheplie Travel, 6:30 p.m.; Mahjong, 3 to 5 p.m.; The Pawling Writers Group, 6:15 p.m.; mostly sunny, near 61 to 63
Patterson Town Hall, 1142 Route 311 for the ZBA · Pawling Library Annex for the travel talk · Pawling Free Library for the writers group
Patterson Town Board 2027 budget adoption, 7 p.m.; Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" book club night, online, 6:30 p.m.; American Conversation Project, 2 p.m.; VolunTeens, 5 to 6:30 p.m.; Let's Explore Animals, 4 p.m. (final session); line dancing at Pawling Recreation, 2 to 3 p.m.; sunny, near 60 to 62
Patterson Town Hall, 1142 Route 311, streamed on YouTube and Zoom · library events at Pawling Free Library and Annex · 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.; Girls Who Code grades 3 to 5, 4 p.m.; Toy Photography Workshop with Zach Oat, 5 p.m. (final of three)
Pawling Town Clerk, 160 Charles Colman Blvd for the ZBA · Pawling Free Library and Annex for the clubs
Pawling Town Court, 5:30 p.m.; CVS vaccine clinic at the library, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Mahjong, 3 to 5 p.m.; afternoon book club: "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore, online, 4 p.m.; Girls Who Code grades 6 to 12, 4 p.m.; The Pawling Writers Group, 6:15 p.m.
Pawling Town Hall for court · Pawling Free Library for the clinic and clubs
Dover Town Board regular meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Patterson Town Board, 7 p.m.; Threads Lab: Intro to 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
CVS vaccine clinic at the library, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 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
Haunted Library during Trick or Treat Pawling, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Lanterns at the Library pumpkin display and voting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pawling Free Library · part of the village's Trick or Treat Pawling · gently spooky games, crafts and candy stations
Lanterns at the Library winner announced; Veterans Pasta Dinner, one seating at 4 p.m.
Red Hook VFW Post 7765, 30 Elizabeth Street, Red Hook · register at countyexec@dutchessny.gov or 845-486-2000 · a second dinner follows Nov 1 in East Fishkill
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