Mid Hudson Times Dec. 14 2016

TIMES NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FIRST-PLACE AWARD FOR GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 2016 MID City council: cut the crap! HUDSON Vol. 28, No 50 3 DECEMBER 14 - 20, 2016 3 ONE DOLLAR Happy birthday Frederica! Page 24 SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR Church & state may lead town to court Attorney threatens lawsuit over New Windsor vets’ memorial New law bans peeing, pooping in public By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] Going to the bathroom in public is against the law in the City of Newburgh thanks to a new health and sanitation ordinance. The new law carries a steep penalty: the first violation is punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,000. “If you get convicted more than once, the more the fine goes up,” said Michelle Kelson, the city’s corporation counsel. Kelson spoke at a Newburgh City Council meeting, held at the city Activity Center on Monday. Initially, the resolution to adopt the ordinance required a minimum fine of $250. However, council members voted to up the fine amount. Councilwoman Genie Abrams compared the ordinance to the city’s anti-littering and dumping law. Passed last year, the law levels fines for illegal dumping of garbage Continued on page 2 A Cornwall resident has threatened to sue the Town of New Windsor over a religious reference on a veterans’ memorial at Rt. 9W and Rt. 94. By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] A Cornwall resident is threatening legal action against the Town of New Windsor if it does not change the wording on a veterans’ memorial at Route 9W and Route 94. In question are the words, “To those who served both God and country,” directly below “Town of New Windsor.” The memorial, erected by the town decades ago, sits at a busy intersection across from the Calvary Cemetery. “I am constrained to lodge a strong protest of the town’s endorsement of religion as it appears on the sign,” Martin Karlinsky wrote in a letter addressed to the New Windsor Town Board on Nov. 1. “That endorsement runs counter WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s establishment of religion clause, and if challenged in a United States District Court, as it surely would be, would not withstand judicial scrutiny,” he wrote. Separation of church and state A steady stream of cars and trucks Continued on page 4