Vol. 37, No. 5 3 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2019
3
ONE DOLLAR
Pine Bush
enrollment
declining Local
runners
shine
Page 19 Page 36
w w w .W V T I M ESON L I N E . c om
Tensions erupt at Valley Central meeting
By TED REMSNYDER
Long-simmering tensions between
Valley Central Board of Education
President Melvin Wesenberg and Trustee
Sheila Schwartz erupted into an ugly
confrontation during an executive
session following last Tuesday’s school
board meeting, as Schwartz took to social
media on Thursday morning to claim
that Wesenberg verbally abused her and
threatened her physically, leading her to
call the police.
In a Facebook post on Jan. 24, Schwartz
said that Wesenberg shouted vulgar
obscenities at her in a hallway in the
district office and then had to be held
back by his colleagues. “When is it okay
to attempt to cause physical harm to a
woman and have to be restrained by two
other men so they don’t harm them?”
she wrote. “How is that professional
behavior? I cannot wrap my head around
being treated in such a manner that I
had to fear my safety and call the police!
Nothing justifies this behavior.”
In an email message three days
following the incident, Wesenberg
referred an interview request to Valley
Central Superintendent John Xanthis.
The superintendent had previously
explained that the district would not
making a comment on the situation on
the advice of its counsel, noting that the
incident is currently under investigation.
Schwartz also declined further comment
on the record, noting in an email that
“under the advisement of the district’s
counsel they have advised board members
not to speak with reporters.”
On Monday, Trustee Joseph Byrne
resigned from the Board of Education,
just six days after the alleged incident
took place. He resigned five months
short of finishing his three-year term. “I
thoroughly enjoyed my time on the board
Continued on page 34
Icy grip
What lies
ahead?
Shawangunk’s Comprehensive Plan
meetings draw a crowd
By TED REMSNYDER
A packed house of approximately 100
residents filled the Shawangunk Town
Hall meeting room on Saturday morning
to provide their input on the future of the
hamlet. With the municipality planning
to update its comprehensive plan for the
first time since 2003 to clear the way
for potential zoning changes, the town
invited taxpayers to attend a pair of open
house sessions on Jan. 26 to give their
feedback on the current direction of the
town and to provide a vision for its future.
At the first meeting at Town Hall and
at a second gathering later that afternoon
at the Walker Valley Firehouse, residents
rotated between nine stations that
allowed them to answer questions about
the town’s economic development, their
visual preferences of the appearances
of upcoming real estate developments,
recreation activities and ideas for the
mixed use business-commercial zone.
Town Supervisor John Valk began
the meeting by explaining that the town
was gathering data from residents for
its Rezoning Committee to pore over
before they produce a draft plan, which is
expected to be ready by April.
“I appreciate everybody taking their
Saturday and coming here, because this
process is very important,” Valk told the
attendees. “The town received a grant
from Greenway to pay for a portion of
our planner to work on this project and
Laura Fitzgerald
With frigid temperatures in the forecast, the lower falls of the Wallkill River is sheathed in ice.
Continued on page 5
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL