Wallkill Valley Times Mar. 13 2019 | Page 2

2 Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 13, 2019 IN THIS ISSUE Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 School News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Walden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Walker Valley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 PUBLIC AGENDA WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 Town of Shawangunk Climate Smart Committee, 7 p.m., 45 Bridge Street Wallkill. Town of Crawford Planning Board. 7 p.m., 121 Route 302, Pine Bush. MONDAY, MARCH 18 Town of Montgomery Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery. TUESDAY, MARCH 19 Walden Village Board of Trustees, 6:30 p.m. Village Hall, 1 Municipal Square. Gardiner Planning Board. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. Montgomery Village Board, 7:30 p.m. Village Hall, 133 Clinton Street. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 Shawangunk Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 14 Central Ave., Wallkill. Village of Walden Planning Board, 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. Bob Garrison is Wallkill’s Grand Marshal By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] I f you want to know more about Bob Garrison, look no further than the walls of his home. Every inch of space is covered with framed pictures—a black-and-white photo of his father, a portrait of his parents, a photo with his arm slung around his brother, photos of fond memories with his children and grandchildren, pictures of dairy cows from days spent on what used to be his family’s dairy across the street. “This little house, it’s full of love,” Garrison said. Garrison, the Wallkill St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2019 grand marshal, spent his entire life in Wallkill. He lives in the house he was born in. His family is everything, and the reason he can’t imagine living anywhere else. His daughter, Deborah, lives just down the street, and his son, Daniel, is remodeling the family farm house across the street. “There is no reason to move. I’ve got a beautiful family here,” Garrison said. His father was a former town supervisor, so Garrison learned to be involved in the community at an early age. His family was involved in organizing the first Wallkill Volunteer Ambulance Corp in 1966. He was the first elected president, a term he served for five years. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wallkill Savings and Loan for 28 years, and he was a part of the Southern Ulster County Rotary, the St. Patrick’s Day Committee, the Wallkill Lions Club, the New Paltz Agway, Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation Committee. With his amount of community Life-long resident Bob Garrison was nominated as the 2019 Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. involvement, it’s easy to see why Garrison was chosen as grand marshal. He requested a float instead of the customary convertible so he could ride in the parade with his entire family. His son will drive the tractor his father sold in the 50s. Garrison lobbied for Ulster County to implement agriculture exemptions to aid the industry he loved. He spent the first half of his life working on the family farm, which used to have orchards and dairy cows. He loved working with the animals and being outside. But, help fell away and eventually the farm became too much for him to take care of. He sold the cattle in 1993 and started driving school buses. He loves working with kids in his second career. “They never forget you,” Garrison said. He pointed to a framed picture on the wall that said, “I love you, please remember me,” written in marker, the letters unsteady in the way of a child’s handwriting. He still doesn’t know which of his students gave him the artwork, but the gesture touched him so much he became emotional when he received it. “I cried a little,” Garrison said. He still cultivates the farm’s fields with hay and corn, and he keeps several horses and a few meat cows. Every Fourth of July, he holds a big party on the hill of the farm for everyone in the community. Every party he throws, committee he joins and bus he drives is a tribute to the community he loves. “I love this town,” Garrison said. Residents concerned over Project Sailfish zone change Several residents cited concerns over the zone change needed in the Town of Montgomery to build an approximately 1-million-square-foot Amazon distribution center at a public hearing on March 7. The project requires a zoning map amendment to rezone 77 acres from an IB Interchange Business Zoning District to the I-2 Industrial Park-Major Access Zoning District. The town board cannot approve the zone change until the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is completed. The project is located near Interstate-84 (I-84) and the intersections of NYS Route 17K and 747. Several residents listed concerns over traffic, environmental and stormwater run-off impacts. Residents also listed concerns over the town’s outdated master plan, several zoning changes over the years to fit various applicants’ needs, and lack of planning and vision for this section of Montgomery. Town resident Barbara Lerner said zoning and development should be considered with community input through an updated comprehensive/master plan in order to formulate a vision for the town while several large warehouse projects sit before the planning board. The current plan is from 1988 and was updated in part in 1998. “This is woefully out of date,” Lerner said. “The growth, both here and across the region, that we have experienced, could not be anticipated in 1988 or even 1998.” Lerner also cited concerns about the impacts Amazon, a retail and delivery giant with high speed service, will have on county and regional businesses. “Almost every retail business will feel the pain of having one of the world’s largest internet retailers offering same day service to the people who used to be their customers,” Lerner said.