Vol. 36, No. 40 3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2018
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ONE DOLLAR
Bushmen
blank
Middies New
exhibit
at WRS
Page 40 Page 12
w w w .W a l l k i l l V a l l e y T i m e s . n e t
Chapter 11
Bus company says financial
woes won’t affect Wallkill or
Valley Central service
By TED REMSNYDER
The recent financial difficulties
experienced by the East End Bus Lines
company will not impact the firm’s bus
service for the Valley Central and Wallkill
school districts, according to East End
owner John Mensch. On Sept. 13, East
End filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in United States Bankruptcy Court in
the Eastern District of New York. The
Medford-based company agreed to a joint
five-year bus contract with both local
districts in January 2017. After giving a
presentation to the Valley Central Board
of Education about the bus service in the
district so far this fall, Mensch said in an
interview that the bankruptcy petition
only pertains to East End’s Long Island
operations. “That’s not for up here,”
Mensch said of the bankruptcy filing.
“That’s for Long Island.” When asked if
the bankruptcy could potentially imperil
local service, Mensch replied no.
At the end of the school board meeting
last Monday, the board unanimously
passed a resolution to transfer the
district’s bus contract to Orange County
Transit LLC, the East End offshoot that
was established in June 2017 to handle
local operations. “East End has requested
that Valley Central assign, transfer
and convey all of its rights, obligations
and duties under such transportation
agreements to Orange County Transit
LLC, and whereas, Valley Central’s
Board of Education determines it to be
in its best financial interest to consent to
said assignment from East End to Orange
County Transit,” the resolution reads.
Continued on page 4
Harvest celebration
Walden festival offers family fun for everyone
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
Five little girls clad in star-spangled
tights and red, white and blue skirts
marched on stage. All smiles, the girls
marched and sang along to a rousing
rendition of “God Bless America” for
the Little Miss Walden competition,
a main staple of the annual Walden
Harvest Festival. The fun-filled day took
place last weekend.
The girls somersaulted and showed off
their dance moves in the talent portion
before donning elegant ballgowns for
the evening dress and Q&A portion.
Clad in a long white dress, Little Miss
Gala stepped up to the microphone to
answer her question.
“If superheroes were real, what would
Carl Aiello
Contestants in the frog-jumping competition try to coax a frog into action at the Walden
Harvest Festival.
Alana Velez, 5, Little Miss Walden for
2018-19, is fitted with her tiara.
you want them to do?” announcer Pam
Murphy asked.
“Save everyone in the world that
needs help,” Little Miss Gala said.
The girls were judged on their poise,
appearance, personality, stage presence
and overall presentation.
Then, the moment they had all
eagerly been waiting for arrived. Alana
Velez was crowned Little Miss Walden,
eagerly donning her tiara and sash for
the admiring crowd.
Taylor Ehart, Alana’s mother,
said she was proud of her daughter.
Velez practices ballet and tap dance,
Continued on page 20
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL