Wallkill Valley Times Mar. 27 2019 | Page 2

2 Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 27, 2019 IN THIS ISSUE Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 School News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 27 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Walden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 PUBLIC AGENDA WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 Town of Crawford Planning Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 121 Route 302, Pine Bush. Village of Montgomery Planning Board, 7:30 p.m. Village Hall, 133 Clinton Street. THURSDAY, MARCH 28 Town of Montgomery Historic Preservation Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery TUESDAY. APRIL 2 Walden Village Board, 6:30 p.m. Bradley Assembly Room, Village Hall, Municipal Square. Town of Shawangunk Planning Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 14 Central Ave., Wallkill. Gardiner Town Board. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3 Climate Smart Gardiner Task Force. 7 p.m. Town Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner. 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. Recreational Trail proposed in Gardiner By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] The Gardiner Trail Alliance (GTA) presented the town board with a proposal for a multi-use trail on Steve’s Lane that will provide residents with an outlet to exercise and experience nature. “It would be a free place for people to hike, walk, bike, cross-country ski, bird watch and enjoy beautiful views of the Shawangunks,” GTA president Mike Albright said. The three-mile long trail would provide access to the Town of Gardiner, the riverfront, numerous hills, open grasslands and upland areas of the forest. The recreational trail would be available for people to walk, bike, hike, cross-country ski, bird-watch and more. The trail will promote sustainable recreation use, environmental awareness and physical fitness. The project would come at no cost to the town, as GTA volunteers would build and maintain the trail. Fats in the Cats Bicycle Club is working with the GTA is develop the trail. The property has approximately a half mile of waterfront with beautiful views of the Shawangunk Ridge. It also has hardwood forests and open grasslands, which are excellent bird-watching habitat. The trail would be accessible for all non-motorized user groups. It will be carefully designed, following best-recommended practices of the International Mountain Biking Association and US Forest Service to ensure the long-term sustainability of the trail. It would be carefully planned to minimize impact to natural surroundings and highlight interesting natural features The Gardiner Trail Association recently submitted a proposal for a multi-use recreational trail on Steve’s Lane. of the land. Located entirely on town property, Albright said the trail would also act as a conservation measure, preserving the land from other uses. The GTA is in negotiations with the town highway department to construct a parking lot at the end of Steve’s Lane. The trail is also a short distance from the rail trail, which has existing parking on Steve’s Lane. GTA volunteers would make regular visits for maintenance of the trail and to serve as the “eyes and ears” to ensure the well-being of the trail system and visitor safety. Albright said the trail will take about three weeks to build, although the proposal still needs to gain final approval from the town board. The GTA is a group of outdoor lovers who are interested in working with the town to develop and maintain trails on its property. “We want to promote sustainable recreational use, environmental awareness and the preservation of the natural integrity of this open space,” the trail proposal states. “We can help make the amazing features of this property available for all muscle powered groups to enjoy.” For more information on the GTA, contact Albright at michaelalbright906@ gmail.com. Pine Bush introduces third capital project The third time might be the charm as Assistant Superintendent of Business Michael Pacella presented a reduced $51.4 million capital improvement plan to the board of education on March 19. The project is broken up into two propositions: the base scope, costing $44.8 million, and the athletic scope, costing $6.5 million. The base contains much-needed building maintenance and safety measures, such as secure vestibules; window, brick and roof replacements; parking lot repaving; air handling unit renovations and repairs, and more. The athletic scope includes improvements such as a new scoreboard and a new bullpen at EJ Russell Elementary School; a new multi-use synthetic turf field and a new natural turf football field at the high school; a new natural turf athletic field with six- lane track at Circleville Middle School, and more. “Anything that we thought was particularly important got included in the base bid and then we simply took out athletics as separate piece,” superintendent Tim Mains said. “So, I think of this as schools and athletics.” The base scope can pass on its own, while the athletic scope can only pass if voters also approve the base scope. This is the third version of this capital project. Voters rejected a $76 million facilities modernization plan (FMP) in December. On March 12, Pacella presented a $63.8 FMP, which was a scaled-down version of the original. Board members said that number was too high. If the new FMP is passed, taxpayers will not pay the full amount. State aid reduces the cost to taxpayers and the district can pull $7.5 million in capital reserves to offset costs. The final school vote will be on May 21. - Laure Fitzgerald