T IMES
SOUTHERN
ULSTER
Vol. 15, No. 4
3
JANUARY 24 - 30, 2018
Lady Huskies
awakened
Page 36
3
ONE DOLLAR
1st win
of the
season
Page 35
SERVING HIGHLAND, MARLBOROUGH AND PLATTEKILL
Marlboro coach ousted
Ward dismissed after ‘inappropriate’ text message to parent
Highland
Library
cuts ribbon
this Sunday
By MARK REYNOLDS
[email protected]
Rich Ward was informed Monday that he will not be back next season as Marlboro’s varsity football coach.
By MARK REYNOLDS
[email protected]
After eight seasons of building a
Section 9 Class B football powerhouse,
the plug has been pulled on Varsity
Coach Rich Ward by the Marlboro
Central School District. An incident in
December between a parent and Ward
sparked the firing and on Monday he
was informed that he would not be
reappointed to his position for the Fall
2018 season.
Ward’s firing is framed against a
backdrop of a 2013 lawsuit that was filed
patiently waiting for a reply from one
in U.S. District Court against
of his players on whether he was
him, former Superintendent
going to attend a team dinner.
Ray Castellani and the
After numerous unanswered
school district by a group
queries, Ward questioned in a
of parents, alleging that
text whether this player had the
Ward had verbally and
dedication needed to play on
physically abused some of
his Varsity team in the fall. The
his young football players
player’s mother texted Ward,
while Castellani knew about
calling him a “jerk,” and added,
it and failed to put a halt to
“that if you’re a good coach you
Text from Ward
it. A judge later dismissed
would have sent out previous
to a parent
the lawsuit.
Continued on page 34
Ward said in December he had been
“ M a’am, you
can go to hell
and kiss my
a_ _”
WWW.SOUTHERNULSTERTIMES.COM
After 88 years living in cramped
quarters, the Highland Library is
spreading its wings at their new location
at 14 Elting Place. They will celebrate
by cutting a ceremonial Grand Opening
ribbon this Sunday, January 28 at 3 p.m.
Library Director Julie Kelsall-Dempsey
said the library is opening on-time and
within their $4.8 million budget. To help
offset the costs, the library received a
combined $450,000 in grants from NYS
Assemblyman Frank Skartados and NYS
Sen., George Amadore, and nearly $30,000
in donations.
Kelsall-Dempsey said the town library
moved into their old location at Main and
Church Streets on February 3, 1930.
“It was the home of dentist Dr. Casper
and Georgianna Rose Ganse. We found
his dental tools in the attic when we
were moving and gave them to the town
historian,” she said.
Kelsall-Dempsey said she will enjoy
every square inch of their new 10,250 sq./
ft. after living in a 2,500 sq./ft. shoe box.
The library had a soft opening on Monday
“and we’ve had no glitches with any of
the technology. Things we’re working on
now are minor things like where to put
grommets in desks but everything else is
Continued on page 2