Mid Hudson Times Mar. 06 2019

T IMES MID HUDSON Vol. 31, No. 10 3 MARCH 6 - 12, 2019 Chamber music Page 12 3 ONE DOLLAR T urn your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR Standing in solidarity Teachers express concerns for their own safety Newburgh prepares to oppose Danskammer By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] Teachers walked in at NFA Main together to express their solidarity and unity. By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] The Newburgh Teachers Association (NTA) took to the microphone at the last Board of Education meeting to express their concerns with safety in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. On February 21, teachers walked into Newburgh Free Academy, Main Campus to stand together in solidarity. The walk in did not disrupt the schools in any way assured Stacy Moran, President of the NTA. “When we walked in it was in solidarity,” said Moran. “We didn’t disrupt schools as a sign of unity and solidarity because we really feel like we aren’t having enough conversations around school safety and we just wanted to make that a point.” Some of the concerns included broken scanners in two high school cafeterias, the lack of protocol to alert teachers to emergency situations within their buildings, and the need for more security guards. The walk-in comes after a teacher was assaulted by a student at Newburgh Free Academy campus on February 8 in the cafeteria. “I am speaking tonight because there appear to be gaps in communication within the chain of command,” said Moran at the meeting. “I want to ensure the voices of the members of the NTA are heard despite the gaps.” Moran feels the infrastructure in the school needs to be addressed. She is looking to have a conversation going forward to create a more safe and welcoming learning environment for students. “I want to make sure people understand that our working environment is literally the learning environment of the children. We can make them as welcoming and productive and safe as possible,” said Moran. “It affects the children and it affects the members and it affects everybody. So we listen to the concerns of the parents, students and everybody and we relay them as best we can to make sure that everyone is safe, happy and learning.” CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE - WWW.MHTIMESONLINE.COM The City of Newburgh looks to join the Article 10 process for Danskammer Energy Plant by beginning the application for intervenor funding. Intervenor funding can be used to pay for expert witnesses, consultants, administrative costs and legal fees associated to information submitted for the sitting board in the Article 10 process. Danskammer Energy Plant is not located within city lines, but its proximity to the border of the city qualifies the municipality for intervenor funding. City council members and members of the community have spoken out against the plant because of the fear that pollution that will be pushed into city air. The Energy plant must follow Article 10 of New York State Public Service law, which calls for the review of new, and repowered or modified major electric generating facilities in New York State by the Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment Siting Board in one proceeding. The plant is already running on natural gas for minimal periods of time. Danskammer Energy plans to repower the old plant with a more energy efficient structure. According to Michelle Hook, Representative from Danskammer Energy, the new plant will not use fracked gas. Hook states the new plant will use the same natural gas used in residents’ Continued on page 4