Wallkill Valley Times Sept. 26 2018

Vol. 36, No. 39 3 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 Guide to festivities WOW weekend Special section Pages 18-19 3 ONE DOLLAR 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 Crawford declares water emergency Water sewer superintendent warns that town may not be able to meet demand By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] The Crawford Town Board declared a water emergency after Superintendent of Water and Sewer Tom McKelvey told the board the Pine Bush Water District is between a half hour and an hour away from not being able to meet its water demand. “I really think we should hit the panic button,” McKelvey said. The district exceeded its safe yield every day in the first 20 days of September. On the day of the highest consumption, the pumps ran 23.3 out of 24 hours. McKelvey said ideally, pumps should run for about 12 hours out of the day. The pumps that connect the storage tank with the well can only pump so much water per minute, so they run so many hours out of the day to keep up with water demand. So, if a pump runs for more than 24 hours it can’t keep up with the demand. McKelvey said the water storage tank should always be kept full to keep 20 pounds of water pressure in the system. Continued on page 2 The beauty of Walden RDAC and SONYMA spruce up 21 village properties By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] A group of five volunteers in gray t-shirts emerged from a black van and descended on a vacant house in Walden. Armed with gardening gloves, they cleared overgrown shrubs on the porch, swept the sidewalk, and painted the porch railing and boarded-up windows. Slowly, the house began to emerge from the peeling paint and pile of cut branches. This was the Walden Spruce Up event, sponsored by the Orange County Rural Development Advisory Corporation (RDAC) and the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). A small army of 32 volunteers beautified 21 village properties last Friday, clearing overgrown landscaping, sweeping sidewalks, painting and more. The properties included 11 vacant or abandoned units and the skatepark in Bradley Park. Volunteers also cleaned up Main Street, clearing weeds from the brick inlay, and swept the sidewalk. The event improved the visual aesthetic of the village, creating community pride. For the volunteers, the day was a chance to make a positive impact and spend time with their friends. “I hope that by the end of the day you’ll be driving away saying, ‘This was a great way to spend a day’,” SONYMA Senior Vice President of Single- Family Programs Sherri Eckles said, addressing the volunteers. RDAC Director Faith Moore said she was excited to make Walden a brighter, Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold sweeps the sidewalk on Main Street in Walden as part of a Spruce Up event that beautified 21 village properties. happier and more sustainable place to live through the spruce up event. A life-long resident, Moore takes pride in serving her community. “Being from Walden, I love the fact that I can live here, I can work here, and I can serve here,” Moore said. M&T Bank Regional CRA Officer Eric Dahl said 17 volunteers from the company participated in the event. M&T Bank recognizes the value of Continued on page 3 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL