LECTURE
If you missed Dr. Richard Hull’s lecture on the Satmar of Kiryas Joel, there’s another opportunity to hear his presentation. The NYU professor will be speaking at the Woodbury Senior Center, 16 County Route 105, at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.
There was standing room only when Dr. Hull spoke at Munger Cottage on Nov. 6. On that night he described the Satmar’s escape from the Nazis, their journey to America and their resettlement in Rockland and Orange Counties. He also discussed the Satmar’s historical relationship with outside communities.
NYMA
Cadets and faculty members may have gone home for the holiday break, but there was still activity on the campus during Christmas week. A group of Korean fourth through sixth-graders, and their teachers, arrived on Dec. 26, and will be staying at the school until the end of February.
The youngsters (there are 70 of them) will have their own classes and barracks, but their presence on campus should be a diversion for the cadets.
SENIOR DINING
A representative of the county’s senior dining program will be at the Town Board’s work session on Tuesday, Jan. 6. “I thought the seniors should know,” Supervisor Randy Clark told the Local in an e-mail.
The discussion will probably focus on whether the town or the county should hire a part-time employee to work with the dining program at Munger Cottage.
The outcome of the discussion could affect the continuance of the program. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
RAILROAD BRIDGES
Cornwall was on Eyewitness News on Dec. 23. The Town wasn’t mentioned by name, but at least one viewer spotted Storm King Mountain and recognized the location.
Bill Thompson contacted the Local right after he saw the program on the poor condition of some railroad bridges. He could tell from the scenery that one of the bridges was next to the Cornwall Yacht Club. As a kayak guide, he had seen the bridge up close. He said it was so bad that two-by-fours were being used to fill gaps that support the rails. He also reported seeing rust and missing bolts.
Jim Hoffer, the Eyewitness Investigator got a close look at some of the bridges by joining Riverkeeper for a boat ride. Days before the excursion, Riverkeeper called Mayor Brendan Coyne to get permission to use the Cornwall-on-Hudson boat launch.
The mayor is familiar with the problem. In a recent interview, he said that CSX (an international transportation company) monitors the condition of the bridges and files an annual letter stating that they’re in satisfactory condition. The mayor believes that more could be done. “CSX has the money,” he said, “to take good care of this.”
PRESERVATION
A Dec. 30 press release announces that the Orange County Land Trust (OCLT) has obtained 46 acres in the Town of Cornwall. The parcel, which is just outside Black Rock Forest, is a donation from local developer Raffaele Leone. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation considers the heavily wooded land to be ecologically significant.
The OCLT has now protected almost 5,000 acres in the county in an effort to preserve Orange’s rural character, natural heritage and working farms. For information about OCLT, call 469-0951 ext. 14 or visit www.oclt.org.
