Vol. 37, No. 39 3 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
3
ONE DOLLAR
Guide to
the
celebration Bushmen
booters
win
Special section Page 35
w w w .W V T I M ESON L I N E . c om
TOMVAC in
‘dire need’
Fall photo op
Town ambulance service
could discontinue
By RACHEL COLEMAN
After more than half a century, the Town
of Montgomery Volunteer Ambulance
Corps may be closing its doors for good.
“Our ambulance corps is in dire need
of help. At the rate we are going, I would
give it another—and I’m pushing it—year
before I have to close our doors,” said
Kyle Shorette, president of the Town of
Montgomery Volunteer Ambulance Corps
(TOMAC).
Shorette made an appeal for support to
the Montgomery Town Board last week
with his brother Eric, acting captain,
and Treasurer Diane Savage, along with
other members of the ambulance corps.
Together they painted a stark picture:
they are not only penniless, but currently
running at a deficit of $10,000.
“We’re kind of robbing Peter to pay
Paul right now, just to keep the ambulance
corps afloat,” said Shorette.
Shorette explained that they’ve cut back
on everything that they can, running on
minimal supplies, buying only refurbished
equipment and haven’t even considered
purchasing a new ambulance—which
would cost at least $190,000. Their oldest
ambulance is ten years old.
The mileage accumulates quickly on all
three of their ambulances as they respond
to 2,200 calls each year, across an area of
51 square miles.
They have 30 volunteers, but in order
Continued on page 4
Sharon MacGregor
Autumn Bisceglie, Katelyn Miller, Lacey Becker and Janice Cocks all of Pine Bush enjoy one of the photo props at the Pine Bush Lions Harvest
Festival. More photos on page 3.
Walden taking a stand against political signs
By TED REMSNYDER
Drivers traveling through Walden on
State Route 208 pass right by the village’s
large statue of President William
McKinley, but in recent months passersby
have also gotten an eyeful of signs posted
by political candidates and businesses in
the small patch of land around the sign.
Historically, no signs have been permitted
in McKinley Park, but with some deciding
to flaunt the tradition in recent months,
the Village Board has decided to nip the
problem in the bud.
During its meeting on Sept. 17, the
board directed Village Attorney Dave
Donovan to draft a local law that
would officially ban signs in McKinley
Park and the Fireman’s Triangle area
outside Village Hall. Since it would be a
Constitutional violation to bar political
signs specifically, signs of any kind will
not be allowed in either public space.
“During the primary election there
were a lot of signs there,” Walden Village
Manager John Revella said. “Since then,
people have been putting signs there
for job postings or cash for cars signs,
different signs have been showing up
there. We’ve been removing them as they
come in. Because they’re not only an
issue for people driving by, it’s kind of an
eyesore. So this will help.”
During his report to the board at the
beginning of last Tuesday’s meeting,
Revella noted that renovations to the
Coldenham Road railroad crossing are
slated to begin during the first week of
November. Traffic in the area will be
closed for approximately two days while
the work is underway.
The work will comprise of renovations to
both the tracks and the surrounding road.
“The Middletown & New Jersey Railroad
is in charge of the project, overseen
by the New York State Department of
Transportation, even though it’s a county
Continued on page 4
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL