Wallkill Valley Times Mar. 20 2019

Vol. 37, No. 12 3 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019 3 ONE DOLLAR Ramble is Saturday Newsies in PB Page 21 Page 19 w w w .W V T I M ESON L I N E . c om Town residents oppose auto recovery lot By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] Town of Montgomery residents expressed opposition against a proposed auto recovery facility near Browns Road at the public scoping meeting for BHT-Montgomery. The 118-acre project will contain about 4,115 parking Wesenberg passes the gavel at VC spaces for storage of used inoperable insurance salvage/ resale vehicles, according to the draft scoping document for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It also includes a 9,900 square foot motor vehicle sales building and a 70,000-sqaure-foot drop off and pick up area. Cars will be sold through an online auction. It is located between Stone Castle Road and Browns Road, with 17K bordering the southern portion. The project also includes stormwater management controls, fencing that will fully enclose the vehicle storage area, an access from NYS Route 17K and an emergency access through Lotocke Drive to Browns Road. Continued on page 3 On second thought ... Green Sunday Pine Bush School Board approves 7th grade Spanish By TED REMSNYDER Valley Central Trustee Melvin Wesenberg stepped down from his role as Board of Education President during the council’s March 11 meeting, ceding the chair to new President Sarah Messing. Wesenberg, who allegedly got into a confrontation with Trustee Sheila Schwartz following the board’s meeting Jan. 22 session, will retain his seat on the board, while Messing was promoted from her prior role as the board’s Vice President. Wesenberg referred comment on the situation to the district’s administration, whom did not have further information about his decision. Messing said she was informed shortly before the meeting about the switch. “Mel stepped down and as Vice President I assumed the duties,” she noted. “It was unexpected and it’s part of the duty of being Vice President.” Messing, who is up for re-election this spring, said she wasn’t sure at this point if she would want to continue on as the head of the board if she retains her seat in the May balloting. Continued on page 5 By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] Laura Fitzgerald Everyone in Wallkill was Irish for a day at the 34th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which took place last Sunday. More photos on page 18. The Pine Bush School Board directed the school administration to explore the option of adding seventh grade Spanish to the curriculum at a budget presentation during the March 12 meeting. The five board members present agreed to add two Spanish teachers instead of the previously considered four, cutting the $527,000 price tag in half. The two board members who were not present, president Lloyd Greer Jr. and vice president Gretchen Meier, opposed adding the program. While they believed foreign language is not unimportant, they said limited resources, money and students’ time would be better served with more technology classes or curriculum. “I’m an American; I think that everybody here should speak English,” Greer had said when the topic was first discussed at an earlier meeting. Greer could not be reached for further comment. Continued on page 2 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL