Several joined in at Friday dedication
Senator James Skoufis was wearing his tennis shoes when he arrived at the courts next to Town Hall. He had come for a dedication ceremony on Sept. 10. But he was also hoping to play. He wasn’t new to the sport. He had been part of the tennis team at Monroe-Woodbury High School.
The legislator was there on Friday afternoon for another reason. He had secured a $100,000 grant that enabled the Town to engage a contractor to upgrade the courts. Members of the Town Highway Department participated in the project. They dug up the blacktop and the concrete that they found underneath it. They also put up new fencing, using the poles that were already in the ground.
The courts were old. They were built in 1930 when the building at 183 Main Street was a private school. The Town acquired the courts in the 1950s and resurfaced them a few decades later.
At the dedication ceremony, Supervisor Richard Randazzo stood on one of the courts and recalled playing there as a teenager. He praised the Highway Department for its contribution, and mentioned that the drainage had been improved. That was evident when the area stood up to Hurricane Ida.
In a related project, the Town basketball courts were resurfaced and restriped. And an area was set aside for pickleball. Mr. Randazzo referred to these improvements before commending the Town’s benefactor. “You always step up,” he said to the state senator.
The compliment was returned. Mr. Skoufis revealed that Cornwall is never embarrassed about asking for help. And that’s a good thing. “If you don’t ask,” Mr. Skoufis said, “I don’t know what to fund.”
He mentioned that the courts are important for a lot of families and are busy throughout the day. Pastor Stephen Racite, for example, enjoys playing tennis at the break of dawn. The pastor was at the ceremony and later got to volley with Rokhsha Michael-Razi (who runs the Town’s tennis program) and Jenny Schnitzer from the USTA.
But first the senator hit a series of forehands and backhands that zipped over the net. A few minutes later, Supervisor Randazzo was coaxed onto the court and was joined by two council members – Josh Wojehowski and Virginia Scott. Though they hadn’t played in a while, they were able to return the ball when it was hit to them.
