T IMES
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FIRST-PLACE AWARD FOR GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 2016
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 29, No 18
3
MAY 3 - 9, 2017
3
ONE DOLLAR
The Voice
singer
returns Goldbacks
win
nightcap
Page 21 Page 40
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
Arbor Day
CAC marks 12th ‘Tree City’ anniversary
S pecial R eport :
N ewburgh ’ s T ainted W ater
Towns take
inventory
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
T
Conservation Advisory Council members Charlene Boyle (left) and Karen Eberle-McCarthy (right) grace a brand-new, battery-powered,
electric vehicle, purchased with a TD Bank Green Streets grant. The car will be used to care for city trees.
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
The young tree stands about 12-feet
high on the lawn of the Newburgh
Heritage Center on Grand Street. At its
peak, the tree will stand up to 70 feet tall
and boast bright, red autumn leaves.
“It’s an Acer rubrum,” said City of
Newburgh Conservation Advisory
Council member Charlene Boyle. “It’s a
red oak tree.”
CAC members, volunteers and
city DPW staff planted the tree on a
glorious spring morning in late April.
It was National Arbor Day, and the tree
planting marked the city’s 12th year as a
Continued on page 4
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
rees put on a springtime display
of pastel-colored blossoms in the
neighborhood along Little Britain
Road near
The City of
Washington Lake.
Newburgh is slowly
Tulips huddled
recovering from PFOS
in red and pink
contamination of its
masses along
drinking-water supply
walkways and
at Washington Lake.
at the foot of
Manufactured in the
mailboxes. Fresh
U.S. until 2000, the
blankets of green
chemical was used in
grass laid across
Scotchgard products
lawns, already
and non-stick cookware.
trimmed by
It was also a key
lawnmowers.
ingredient in fire foam
Left and right
used at Stewart Air
were homes with
National Guard Base,
wells containing
where the chemical
perfluoro-
seeped into water
chemicals (PFCs).
and soil. Pooling in a
“They bring us
stormwater retention
bottled water,”
pond near the air base,
said neighborhood
the chemical flowed
resident Patricia
downhill to pollute the
Stellwag, whose
city’s drinking water.
well tested with
In this series, the
low levels of
Mid Hudson Times
perfluorooctanoic
investigates the water
acid (PFOA), one
crisis, the ongoing
chemical in a
cleanup and the source
family of PFCs.
of the pollution at
“They’re going
Stewart Air National
to hook us up to
Guard Base.
municipal water.”
The private
well is scheduled for connection to a
Continued on page 2