T IMES
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FIRST-PLACE AWARD FOR GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 2016
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 29, No 32
3
AUGUST 9 - 15, 2017
Rally
for Ryan
Page 36
3
ONE DOLLAR
NW girl
cast in
musical
Page 27
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
Acting police chief on medical leave Community
Situation brings city residency requirement to the fore
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
City of Newburgh Police Lieutenant
Joe Cortez has been placed on medical
leave after three months of serving as
the acting head of the City of Newburgh
Police Department. His departure has
put the city’s residency requirement for
department heads into sharp focus.
Cortez abruptly went on medical leave
early last week. Lieutenant Aaron Weaver
has since taken over as acting head of
the department. “My intention is to
maintain Lt. Weaver during Joe Cortez’s
convalescence,” City Manager Michael
Ciaravino said, for the sake of continuity
at the police department. “I anticipate
that Lt. Weaver will stay in command
until a new police chief is named.”
Cortez was the third man to serve as
de facto police chief in the last year.
Weaver will be the fourth. The situation
has drawn attention to the city’s 2015 rule
that department heads must live in the
City of Newburgh.
“In order to protect the health, safety
and welfare of the citizens of the city
where emergencies and emergency work
arise, it is necessary that the officers and
Continued on page 2
Anybody remember the Macarena?
weighs
Newburgh
schools
bond project
Public forums Aug. 9, Aug. 16
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
DJ Ming Ampil demonstrates some dance moves for partiers Sunday afternoon at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Picnic.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
The Newburgh Enlarged City School
District hosted the first of three
community forums this month to discuss
a proposed project to rebuild and renovate
schools throughout the entire district.
With the slogan “Becoming Future
Ready Now,” the project will involve
massive upgrades to school buildings and
facilities on each school district property.
If the project is approved by the Board of
Education, voters will decide on a bond to
pay for the plan sometime next year.
“This is not just about next year, this is
about ten, fifteen years down the road, and
constructing facilities that our students
need to be competitive in the global
market,” said district Superintendent of
Schools Roberto Padilla at the Board of
Education Auditorium last week.
Some of the larger projects being
proposed include the construction of a
new school at New Free Academy Main
Campus and a pre-kindergarten center
next to Meadow Hill School. “Right now,
we have pre-Ks spread out in several
Continued on page 3