Jane Herold reports that every year for over a decade swallows return within a day or two of April 25 to her yard and remain through the breeding season.

Milbry C. Polk was awarded the Anne Morrow Lind bergh Award in March for her “outstanding individual achievement, spirit of initiative, and dedication toward making positive contributions to our world.” This April, Milbry, co-founder of Wings Trust, received a special tribute at the 2011 WorldQuest Women of Discovery event for her commitment to women in exploration.

School Budget Vote on Tuesday, May 17, 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Palisades residents vote at Tappan Zee Elemen tary on RT 9W. The 2011-2012 preliminary budget is $79,570,592. For detailed budget information, visit the school district website at www.socsd.org.

The Palisades-Sparkill Fire Department Needs Volunteers
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CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
The Sparkill-Palisades Fire Dept. needs volunteers. The Sparkill-Palisades Fire Department has been a fa miliar mainstay of our community for the past 110 years and has saved many homes and establishments from ruin and worse, to our eternal gratitude. The PSFD is made up of volunteers—its 40 active members respond to about 150 calls a year in Palisades and Sparkill—and more volunteers are needed. The only requisite qualifications are being 16 years of age or older and having a commitment to the community. Eighty-nine hours of training are provided at the Rockland Fire Training Center in Pomona and additional in-house training is held every Monday night in the firehouse. Anyone wishing more information should call Michael Yannazzone at 845-359-1324.

Rockland Center for the Arts is holding a Great Gatsby Garden Party on May 22 in the gardens of Ferdon Hall in Piermont with live jazz, dancing, cocktails and tapas, and a curated art auction. Reservations required. Call 845- 358-0877. And don’t miss Grace in the Field at RoCA featuring Grace Knowlton’s spheres situated throughout RoCA’s Catherine Konner Sculpture Park. Through June 19.

Palis-Agers to Meet. The next meeting of the Palis-Ag- ers will take place on Thursday May 12 at 1:30 pm in the Community Room of the Palisades Presbyterian Church. Coffee and cookies will be served and we will have a chance to talk with each other about our lives.

The Old Piermont Train Station Will Be Open to Visitors
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The Piermont Historical Society will open the Pier- mont Train Station to visitors throughout the summer on the fi rst Sunday of every month from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. In addition, the Station will be open on May 15 in conjunction with New York Heritage Weekend. Built circa 1883, the Piermont Train Station is adjacent to the Erie Path and has been lovingly restored by the Society. Members will be on hand to answer questions about the Station’s history.

The Children’s Shakespeare Theater has been asked
by The NY Parks Commission to provide free Shakespeare in Tallman Park. This is the fi rst time in the park’s history that this has happened. They will be performing The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), presented by The Strange Bedfellows on Friday, June 3 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Bring a picnic and a lawn chair or blanket! The Rogue Players will present The Merry Wives of Windsor on Saturday, June 4 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.

Edward Hopper House in Nyack
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The Edward Hopper House at 82 Broadway in Nyack celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. To commemorate this milestone it is presenting, “The Year of Edward Hopper,” a series of special events and exhibits honoring Hopper. The highlight will be an exhibition of Hopper’s early work entitled: “Edward Hopper, Prelude: The Nyack Years,” from May 21 to July 17. The show is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am to 5:45 pm. This is the first exhibition to concentrate on work created during Hopper’s years in Nyack. It will include paintings, drawings, watercolors and memora- bilia, offering a unique opportunity to experience Hop- per’s work in the place that helped shape his vision and where he lived when the work was created.

Friends of the Nyacks is offering guided tours of Edward Hopper’s Nyack on seven Saturdays during the exhibition. Tours begin at 12:45 pm on consecutive Saturdays from June 4 with the last guided tour on July 16. Meet in front of Edward Hopper House. Tours are free, but donations are appreciated. For more information go to www.friendsofthenyacks.org. Additional activities throughout the year include poetry readings, plays, workshops, dance performances and lectures.

John Norris passed away peacefully on April 4 in Santa Rosa, California. John, son of Bob and Rita Norris, was born in 1947 and lived most of his youth on Woods Road. He attended Palisades School through 6th grade, then moved to Italy and Switzerland for four years when his father Bob was transferred to Rome. He returned for one year at Rockland Country Day School and fi nished his high school in Manhattan at Lycee Francais. He later attended Bard College in Rhinebeck.

John moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and pursued his interests in fi lm and music. He made short fi lms, even appearing on NBC Dateline, and was a screenplay and television writer, sometimes with Lane Slate, also formerly of Woods Road. He moved to Mendocino County, California in the 70s and married Melissa Haw- ley. They had two children, Jubal, now 25, and Serafi na, now 21. He lived on a 350-acre ranch and became in- volved in organic agriculture, becoming a partner and later consultant for Awe Sum Organics.

John’s last visit to Palisades was for Liz Finck’s memo- rial service. He stayed in touch with many from his Pal- isades days, staying with childhood friend Sam Field, of Lawrence Lane, during his last few months as he fought his lung disease. His brother, Robin Norris, now of the Berkshires, was with him at the end as was his family. John always spoke well of life in Sneden’s. He always remembered that it didn’t matter what you did, as long as you were interesting.