Wallkill Valley Times Oct. 11 2017

T IMES WALLKILL VALLEY Vol. 35, No 41 3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 Welcome home Unity Bushmen batter Kingston Page 28 Page 44 3 ONE DOLLAR www .W allkill V alley T imes . net Walden moves closer to eliminating fluoride By TED REMSNYDER The Walden Village Board took another step towards eliminating fluoride from the municipality’s water supply last week, but there are still numerous additional Under the cap requirements the village must fulfill before the program could be ended. In recent weeks, the board received expert written testimony from a number of health care professionals on both sides of the water fluoridation issue in accordance with a state mandate that towns must seek expert counsel before removing fluoride from public water. During the council’s Oct. 3 session, town attorney Dave Donovan informed the board that they could move Continued on page 4 Walk to End Alzheimers Brescia faces challenge for Legislature seat Shawangunk presents tentative 2018 budget By JASPREET GILL [email protected] “I think the new budget is better than it has been in years,” said Councilman Robert Miller at last week’s Town of Shawangunk board meeting. Supervisor John Valk Jr. introduced the tentative 2018 budget during the October 5 meeting. “The tax cap amount this year that the town can raise taxes without going over the tax cap is 1.94%,” he said. “The general fund tax rate in the tentative budget will raise the general fund tax rate by 0.84%. The highway fund tax rate for the tentative budget is 2.12% over last year’s rate. We’ll have the increase for an average home when the budget is finalized and we have the hearing on it in November.” While the public safety budget decreased, the town’s recreation budget increased. In 2017, the tentative budget for public safety was $822,161 and was amended to $822,161. For 2018, the Continued on page 3 By JASPREET GILL [email protected] Jaspreet Gill Fiona Fitzsimmons, from Crawford, poses with an orange flower at the Orange/Sullivan County Walk to End Alzheimers, Saturday at the Thomas Bull Memorial Park. Orange flowers indicate that you support the cause and a vision of a world without Alzheimer’s. Story on page 13. For Kevin Mulqueen, the November 7 election for the Orange County Legislature is the opportunity he’s been waiting for. Mulqueen, a certified financial planner and pastor of two United Methodist churches, is pledging to “bring honesty, integrity and transparency to county government,” traits the current government has forgotten, according to him. Mulqueen is running against Stephen Brescia, current Chairman of the Legislature and Mayor of the Village of Montgomery for the past 27 years. Brescia’s extensive track record with the community doesn’t mean he’s the best fit for the job, according to Mulqueen. Brescia thinks otherwise. Brescia, who has 30 years of business and government experience, has focused on taxes, public safety and economic development during his tenure as Chairman of the Orange County Continued on page 5 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL