T IMES
WALLKILL VALLEY
Vol. 35, No 30 3 WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017
3
ONE DOLLAR
Cobras
repeat
Page 35
www .W allkill V alley T imes . net
Persistence
Town Dems announce slate
pays off
Dangerous Shawangunk
intersection now has a
fully-functional traffic light
By TED REMSNYDER
Town of Montgomery Democratic candidates are ( l– r.) Lynda Mitchell, Susan Cockburn, David Stoudnour and Bryan Paz.
By RACHEL COLEMAN
The election race in the town of
Montgomery is heating up with the
addition of four Democratic candidates:
Bryan Paz for Town Supervisor, Lynda
Mitchell for Town Justice, David
Stoudnour for Town Councilman
and Susan Cockburn for Town
Councilwoman.
Democrats have been gaining
momentum in the town, with the last
town supervisor race decided by just 35
votes. Heartened by the response from
the community, they are hopeful for a
record turnout this year.
Mitchell wants to be
the town’s first female judge
No stranger to the courtroom, Lynda
Mitchell served Orange County as a
probation officer for 6 years and as a
prosecutor with the District Attorney’s
office for 24 years. She currently
works part-time in a law firm handling
foreclosure cases.
A lifelong resident of Montgomery,
Mitchell said she is sensitive to the needs
of victims, offenders and a community’s
desire to feel safe. She looks forward to
serving her community and giving back
by using her legal and law enforcement
experience. Mitchell said residents can
trust that any issues that come to the
forefront will be heard fairly and she
will pay special attention to issues such
as drug abuse.
“The town court is the grassroots of
justice,” said Mitchell.
Her fellow candidates said that
Mitchell would “apply fresh eyes” and
not allow party politics or anything else
to influence the courtroom.
Mitchell also noted that if elected, she
will be the first female judge in the Town
of Montgomery, which would be a “nice
change.”
Change in status quo?
The challengers are seeking office on
a unified platform to change the status
quo in Montgomery.
“The GOP has held the seats for a long,
long time,” said David Stoudnour. “You
can’t hold the same seat for [decades]
and not get a little complacent.”
Stoudnour formerly worked as a
logistics coordinator, managing a
business with “millions in rolling
stock.” He is running for one of the two
seats available on the town board.
Continued on page 3
Robert Davis had seen enough. A string
of recent accidents at the intersection
of State Route 300 and Plains Road in
Shawangunk left the Gardiner resident
determined to fix the problem, and
within two weeks his actions made a
major impact. On July 11, Davis launched
a petition on Change.org that called
on the New York State Department of
Transportation to switch the blinking
traffic light located at the intersection
to a fully activated traffic light in order
to cut down on collisions in the area. On
July 24, the DOT informed Shawangunk
Supervisor John Valk that in the wake
of the agency reviewing accident reports
from the intersection, the state intended
to switch the light on.
On Monday, a crew from the state
agency inspected the intersection, and
the DOT decided it was prudent to flip
the light to its fully-functional mode.
“They’re going to assess the intersection
to make sure everything is safe before
they turn the light on,” Valk said on
Monday morning. “But they are going to
turn the light on. They have one or two
accidents there a week.”
Within a day of Davis establishing
his online petition, over 80 community
members had added their names to the
request, and 10 days into the project, 330
residents had signed on to the proposal.
Davis, 26, was surprised by the number
Continued on page 4
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL