Wallkill Valley Times Feb. 06 2019 | Page 2

2 Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, February 6, 2019 IN THIS ISSUE Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8 Montgomery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Police Blotter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 School News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 30 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Walden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 PUBLIC AGENDA WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 Climate Smart Gardiner Task Force. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 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. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Valley Central Board of Education, 6:30 p.m. Administration building, 944 Route 17K, Montgomery. Town of Montgomery Planning Board, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 Gardiner Town Board work session. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. Pine Bush Board of Education, 7 p.m. Pine Bush High School, 156 Route 302, Pine Bush. HOW TO REACH US OFFICE: 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh, NY 12550 PHONE: [phone], FAX: [phone] 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. Wallkill Library unveils Lego wall W ithin 24 hours of its unveiling, the Wallkill Public Library’s new Lego wall was already peppered with creations: a snowman, a woodland scene, a red heart, the words “BUILD!” and “snow” in multi-colored letters. The wall was installed just in time for national Take Your Child to the Library Day, which was held last Saturday. Children hunched over books, played on the Lego wall, munched on snacks, and sprawled out on the children room’s carpet to build elaborate creations from buckets of Legos. The national day coincided with the library’s regularly scheduled Lego club, held on the first Saturday of every month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children’s Programs Coordinator Tara Laiosa said children in the Lego club are provided with the Legos to either build their own creations or build something from a challenge card. Their projects are then displayed in the upstairs display case for the whole month. Keira (left) and Julia attend the Wallkill Library for National Take Your Child to the Library Day. Braden (left) and Jackson look for books at Wallkill Library’s National Take Your Child to the Library Day. Laiosa said the Lego club encourages kids to use their imaginations, fosters their creativity and develops their fine motor skills. Kids enjoy the freedom in being able to create whatever they want. “They love to build and it’s something the library can provide at no cost to them,” Laiosa said. “They don’t have to have a set and it teaches them that you can have fun with something that doesn’t come exactly in a box from a store.” The Lego wall makes this activity accessible for children during all library hours, not just the hours the Lego club meets. Wallkill Library patron Scot Kurbick said his children get excited to attend Lego club. It fosters their creative thinking, problem solving and socialization with other children. Weber’s Hardware in Wallkill will soon close Continued from page 1 Lionetti has worked in retail all his life, from the grocery store to the automobile industry and his current venture at the hardware store. “Everything was always one-on-one retail,” Lionetti said. “I was always directly dealing with the customer.” His favorite part of the industry: building a relationship with the people he serves. “I like people,” Lionetti said. “I like talking to people and helping people.” Robert Malatesta owns Rob’s Pizza next door and is a long-time friend of Lionetti. He said Lionetti has always been a friendly neighbor and a friendly face to his customers. “He’s always helping people,” Malatesta said. Lionetti also liked mentoring young workers, when the store still had employees. “That was also a sad part of it, because I used to enjoy all the personalities and the fun everybody would have,” Lionetti said. Nicole was one of those long-time employees, helping her father since she was eight years old by working in the store after school and on breaks. She currently attends the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, making her father proud. She just started an internship with DreamWorks. Dominick Lionetti, owner of Weber’s Hardware in Wallkill, will close his small business soon. Running a small business comes with its sacrifices. Lionetti works between 65 and 70 hours per week at a store that is open 74 hours, working nights and weekends. “The challenge of any small business owner is the hours and dedication you have to put in and sometimes the personal sacrifice of missing a football game or family event, or going to your doctor because, well, you just have to be there,” Lionetti said. Despite the doctor’s warnings, Lionetti also worked while undergoing six months of chemotherapy treatments for Non- Hodgins lymphoma. He has been in remission for the last two years. “I just could not afford to not be here,” Lionetti said. Lionetti’s life philosophy is simple: work hard; treat others as you would like to be treated; have your own moral code and stick to it; and you work for yourself, not your employer. If you work hard, you’ll be able to reap the rewards. “The reward is just knowing you did it on your own,” Lionetti said. “At the end of it all, this happened because of you.” But the risk of a small business is that business can dry up. Lionetti plans to close the store in the next few weeks. He said he hopes the building will find another owner that will give it a new life. Malatesta said it’s a shame to lose another business in a hamlet that has so few, and can’t seem to retain many, new or old. “I’ve been here 28 years and all I see is businesses close and close, nothing opening. When I first was here, the place was booming, there was businesses everywhere, and now it’s getting progressively worse,” Malatesta said. “[Weber’s Hardware] has just been a staple in town forever, and it’s very unfortunate it’s coming to an end.” An appreciation dinner for Weber’s Hardware will be held on Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. at Nu CAVU restaurant, Plains Road. The cost is $20 per person, including tax and tip. To reserve your spot, contact Bob Garrison at 926-8055.