Wallkill Valley Times Aug. 28 2019 | Page 2

2 Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, August 28, 2019 IN THIS ISSUE Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Police Blotter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 School News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 26 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Walden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 PUBLIC AGENDA TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 Gardiner Town Board. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner Town of Shawangunk Planning Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 14 Central Ave., Wallkill. Montgomery Village Board, 7:30 p.m. Village Hall, 133 Clinton Street. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 Climate Smart Gardiner Task Force. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Montgomery Town Board, 7 p.m. Town Government Center, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery. Shawangunk Town Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 14 Central Ave., Wallkill EARLY DEADLINES The office of the Times will be closed on Monday, September 2 in observance of Labor Day. Deadline for all display, classified and legal notices for the Sept. 4 edition is Friday, August 30 at 5 p.m. HOW TO REACH US OFFICE: 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh, NY 12550 PHONE: 845-561-0170, FAX: 845-561-3967 Emails may be directed to the following : ADVERTISING [email protected] CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS [email protected] TO REACH THE EDITOR [email protected] FOR THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT [email protected] PUBLIC NOTICES [email protected] WEBSITE www.timescommunitypapers.com The Wallkill Valley Times, (USPS 699-490) 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, $44 out of county. Periodicals permit at Newburgh, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times, 300 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550. Walden giveaway donates 600 backpacks By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] Event organizer and sponsor Dickie Baxter started his count down on-stage as children lined up on the grass at Wooster Grove Memorial Park in Walden. Clutching paper tickets, kids eagerly waited for Baxter to end his countdown. “Three . . . two . . . one!” One by one, kids turned in their tickets for backpacks loaded with school supplies. They unzippered the backpacks and peered inside, smiling at the contents. Volunteers handed out approximately 600 free backpacks filled with school supplies to area children last Saturday for the 11th annual Backpack Giveaway. Baxter estimates between 100 and 200 more will be given out at another giveaway event in Maybrook on Aug. 29. Any backpacks that are not given away will be donated to local churches and nurses offices, Baxter said. Fidelis Care donated the backpacks, sponsors collected the school supplies and more than 30 volunteers stuffed backpacks the week before the event. Children also received free haircuts from The Barber Lounge in Walden and Fox Hill supplied free face painting and crafts. Backpacks were available to anyone, regardless of socioeconomic background. The annual event combats bullying by providing a place for kids of all backgrounds to gather together, play and make new friends before school starts, Baxter said. Other contributors included Licensed 2 Sell, All in One Catering, Wallkill Valley Federal Savings and Loan, Walden Savings Bank, Walden Police Department, Walden Recreation and Parks Department, Walden Rotary Club, Montgomery Self Storage, Hunter Insurance and Orange County Transport. Members of Fox Hill Communities give free face painting. Liya and Jason attend the backpack give- away. The Barber Lounge of Walden gives kids free back-to-school haircuts. Pacella said the routes and stops were designed to save time and to put buses at the capacity allowed by state standards. Routes were designed using the transportation software Transfinder and the help of the Arthur F. Mulligan/ Birnie Bus Company, which was hired to replace First Student Bus Company last year. Pacella estimated the district eliminated the use of six buses at a savings of between $550,000 and $600,000, although bus routes were still being designed as of Aug. 21. Safety was taken into account only at the bus stops, not on the route that students must take to walk to the bus stop. While the bus stops were designed so Pine Bush redesigns By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] Pine Bush Superintendent of Business Michael Pacella announced a redesign of the district’s bus routes at a school board meeting on Aug. 20. “It was a complete redesign of bus routes,” Pacella said.