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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, January 6, 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
City of Newburgh.. . . . . . . . . . . 20
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8
Meadow Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Town of Newburgh. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Newburgh Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . 10
New Windsor.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 30
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
PUBLIC AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6
New Windsor Town Board, 7 p.m.
Town Hall, 555 Union Avenue.
THURSDAY, JAN. 7
Newburgh Board of Education, 1
p.m. Board Auditorium, 124 Grand
St. (Special meeting follows audit &
finance committee meeting)
Newburgh City Council Work
Session, 6 p.m. City Hall, 83
Broadway.
MONDAY, JAN. 11
Newburgh City Council, 7 p.m.
Newburgh City Council, City Hall, 83
Broadway.
TUESDAY, JAN 12
Newburgh Enlarged City School
District Board of Education, 6 p.m.
Board of Education, 124 Grand St.
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The Mid Hudson Times, (USPS 000-5947) is a weekly
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Times, 300 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, N.Y. 12550
Fighter pilot becomes preacher
Leptondale Bible Church welcomes new pastor
By RACHEL COLEMAN
T
he journey from fighter pilot to shepherd of a local church is, as most
would suspect, a long one—and the
singular story of retired Colonel Mike
O’Dowd, the new pastor of Leptondale
Bible Church in Newburgh.
Saving the details no doubt for his sermons, Pastor Mike O’Dowd simply said
that becoming a pastor was something
God had been leading him to do for a long
time. He didn’t pursue it, however, until
after concluding 24 years of service in the
United States Air Force. During that time,
he was primarily an A-10 pilot, serving in
seven combat deployments between 1990
and 2009, in support of Operations Desert
Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch,
Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
When asked if he had always wanted to
be a fighter pilot, he answered, “Oh, yeah.
From a very early age.”
O’Dowd began flight training in 1985
and he said it was three long years before
he reached the lowest level to qualify
him to sit in the pilot’s seat. It was several more before he reached the level of
instructor.
O’Dowd finished his military career
as the commander of the 23rd Fighter
Group