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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , December 7 , 2016

PUBLIC AGENDA

THURSDAY , DECEMBER 8

Montgomery Town Board Audit / Work Session , 7 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery .

MONDAY , DECEMBER 12 Valley Central Board of Education 7:15 p . m . Administration building , 944 Route 17K , Montgomery . Town of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery .

TUESDAY , DECEMBER 13 Pine Bush Board of Education . 7 p . m . Pine Bush High School , Route 302 , Pine Bush .

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OFFICE : 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

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WEBSITE www . timescommunitypapers . com

The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

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worth of salt and sand to handle any slippery road conditions for the rest of 2016 . Reinforcements for the rest of the winter will be acquired in the new year . “ We weren ’ t able to afford to buy it all in one big lump sum , plus we don ’ t really have the room for it ,” LoCicero said of the sand and salt . “ So we ordered what we have allocated for this year . In January , our new allocations will come down and the new budget will start . Then we ’ ll buy more . We have a good amount on standby right now , so we could probably do two or three good storms before January . Which I don ’ t think is going to happen . The outcome for the next week or two is pretty decent , so we ’ d have to get destroyed .”

LoCicero left his decade-long post as the Plattekill Building Inspector to take over the Shawangunk highway agency , but the married father of two still has a lot on his plate , including his school board slot and his job as a City of Newburgh Fire Department lieutenant . “ The nice thing is that I ’ m helping my own home community now ,” he said . “ I ’ m very proud of that . It ’ s been a little bit of a juggle . I don ’ t know how I do it , but I do it . I enjoy it , so I ’ m excited about doing this . It ’ s just another day on the farm .”

The superintendent job became available after the resignation in April of Highway Superintendent Ed Byrne , which left the town scrambling for a replacement . Deputy Highway Superintendent Jim Barrett , who was appointed as Byrne ’ s fill-in the day after the superintendent stepped down , decided not to run for the job , opening the door for LoCicero ’ s arrival . The incoming department head has relied on Barrett ’ s counsel over the past months . “ We sat down when I first started thinking about running for this position ,” LoCicero said . “ We had a very good meeting and we ’ ve had three or four lunch meetings where we just talked about everything . As time progressed and I won the caucus , I actually went in and worked with him for a few days . We went through the motions . To this day we still talk . I ’ ll text him and ask him questions , so we have a very good working relationship . He ’ s been very helpful .”

In July , a referendum that could have turned the highway post into a board-appointed position was defeated by taxpayers . LoCicero will be up for re-election next November after serving the last year of Byrne ’ s term . Shawangunk Supervisor John Valk has been impressed with LoCicero so far . “ He ’ s been in here

Rachel Coleman

Joe LoCicero was sworn in as Shawangunk Highway Superintendent on Nov . 17 . by Town Clerk Jane Rascoe .

working with the clerks and myself and board members , so he ’ s getting the history and learning all the backstory he needs to know to do the job ,” he said .

LoCicero is hoping to bring stability to a job that has seen a high rate of turnover in recent years , and he ’ s acclimated smoothly so far . “ It ’ s gone very well ,” he said . “ The guys in the shop have been outstanding . The foreman , Mike Carroll , has been very informative and helpful in getting me through and getting me up to speed on some of the projects that have already been started . The Strawridge Road project is the biggest one going on and I kind of walked into the end part of it . I ’ m learning the ropes . How they do things . How they pay for things and where the money comes from . I ’ m learning what they need and I ’ m starting to work with them now to get their wish list together .”

A presentation from the Ulster County Planning Department regarding the design for the Wallkill Bridge was postponed from Thursday ’ s meeting until the board ’ s next session on Dec . 15 . The agency will give an update to residents on the latest plans for the bridge , which is located next to the post office .