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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, July 17, 2019
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
City of Newburgh.. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8
Meadow Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Town of Newburgh. . . . . . . . . . . 23
Newburgh Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . 10
New Windsor.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 28
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PUBLIC AGENDA
MONDAY, JULY 22
Town of Newburgh Workshop
meeting, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 1496 Route
300, Town of Newburgh.
TUESDAY, JULY 23
Newburgh Enlarged City School
District Board of Education, 6-8:30
p.m. 124 Grand St., Newburgh.
THURSDAY, JULY 25
Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of
Appeals. 7 p.m. Town Hall, 1496 Route
300, Town of Newburgh.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1
Town of Newburgh Planning Board. 7
p.m. Town Hall, 1496 Route 300, Town of
Newburgh.
HOW TO REACH US
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WEBSITE
www.mhtimesonline.com
The Mid Hudson Times (USPS 000-5947) is a weekly
newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh,
NY 12550, with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court,
Newburgh, NY. Single copy: $1 at newsstand. By mail
in Orange, Ulster or Sullivan Counties: $40 annually,
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Times, 300 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550.
Downing Park Gala to honor three
By SARAH MARREN
O
wners of two businesses with ties
to Newburghs recent renaissance
will be honored on Saturday, at the
annual Downing Park Gala.
Renee Campos of DMU Music, and
Jacqui Watkins and Eric Jarmann of
Newburgh Mercantile are this year’s
honorees on July 20 from 6 to10 p.m. at
the Downing Park Shelter House, 123
Carpenter Avenue in Newburgh. The
theme will be “Havana Nights” with
Latin music and a Cuban inspired menu
catered by Shelter House Café. Tickets
are $100 per person.
Campos, owner of DMU Music for more
than 30 years is an honoree due to how
he serves the community in both his
business and volunteer work.
Originally from Central America,
Campos, 62, has lived most of his life
in the city of Newburgh. He volunteers
with many local non-profit organizations
including Habitat for Humanity, ARC,
Cornerstone and the Newburgh Free
Library.
“I’m overwhelmed with pride to receive
this honor,” Campos said. but I can’t wait
to spread thanks to the community and
show support for the committee and the
park.”
Kathy Parisi, president of the Downing
Park Planning Committee, said Campos
was a natural choice.
“Rene is a guy to go to if you need
anything,” Parisi said, “ whether it be
music, sound equipment or help at an
event.”
The business being honored this year
is Newburgh Mercantile run by Jacqui
Watkins and Eric Jarmann, which
is currently celebrating its fifth year
anniversary.
“Newburgh Mercantile was one of the
first in a new generation of retail stores
here on Broadway,” Watkins said.
Both Eric and Jacqui believe that their
business experiences have influenced
their personal experiences. When they
opened their first business in 1998, they
supported the local high school students
by always having reasonably priced items
on display and giving local bands a place
to perform. It’s a practice that Eric calls,
“working behind the scenes, helping in
small ways” which is also shown in their
work with local organizations like Safe
Harbors of the Hudson, Newburgh Last
Saturdays, and especially the Newburgh
Illuminated Festival.
“When you put yourself out there,
it’s hard to know if you’re making an
Jacqui Watkins and Eric Jarmann of Newburgh Mercantile are among the honorees at the
Downing Park Gala.
impact,” Jarmann said. “But being
honored shows that you are making an
impact in your community. It shows you
can still make an impact on people even
behind the scenes.”
The Downing Park Planning Committee
is a local non-profit organization
dedicated to the restoration and
preservation of Newburgh’s historical
Renee Campos has run DMU Music for more
than 30 years.
landmark, Downing Park in the City’s
East End Historic District. Originally
formed in 1987, the Committee advocated
for the restoration of the park after it
fell on hard times in the 1970s as the
city lost most of its manufacturing and
commercial base. In the late 80’s and early
‘90s, the Committee created a Master Plan
to serve as a “model for historic parks
nationwide” and raised $300,000 in grants
for their first renovation project.
The ticket sales from this fundraiser, in
addition to grant donations and journal
ads, are the Committee’s main source
of funds for their renovation projects.
Parisi said that the fundraiser usually
raises $8,000-$10,000 a year, with 125
people attending. All the money raised is
spent on maintenance and renovation of
the gardens and structures in the parks.
Recently, the Committee received a grant
from the organization DASNY that was
used to replace lighting fixtures, benches,
and trash receptacles. They don’t even use
the funds to hire employees; community
volunteers do all of the work done in the
parks.
In addition to the fundraiser, the
Committee also hosts numerous
community events like a Farmers
Market, a community concert series, an
Easter Egg Hunt, a Halloween Parade,
Continued on page 31