Wallkill Valley Times Jan. 18 2017

WALLKILL VALLEY

TIMES

Vol
. 35 , No 3 3 WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 18 , 2017 3 ONE DOLLAR

Bushmen win 10 in a row !

Page 40
www . WallkillValleyTimes . net

Food and gas

Convenience store for Allard ’ s Corners nears approval

By JESSICA COHEN jcohen @ tcnewspapers . com
Site plans for Gas Land , the convergence of convenience store , Dunkin ’ Donuts , and gas pumps intended for the intersection of Albany Post Rd . and Route 52 , are on the verge of approval , says Suzanne Hadden , Town of Montgomery Planning Board secretary . At the February 13 meeting , the Gas Land Petroleum , Inc . plans may be approved , she said . The result would be a drive-through donut shop with limited seating outside adjacent to a convenience store . Gas pumps will likely provide Sunoco gas , Hadden said .
At the last planning board meeting , Chris Lepine , senior engineer at Chazen Companies , in Poughkeepsie , showed a drawing of what the new building would look like , camouflaged with earthy colors to blend with its rustic surroundings . He refined floor plan details with planning board members , deciding what space would be devoted to convenience store , what space to Dunkin ’ Donuts , and where garbage cans should go to avoid a trail of litter . Landscaping was also discussed .
The planning board has been working with the Gas Land application for a year and a half . It was submitted on July 27 ,
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VC looks to strengthen security

By TED REMSNYDER
The Valley Central School District is moving forward with an ambitious proposal to strengthen its security and technology infrastructure , and the Board of Education could approve the final plan at its next meeting on Jan . 23 . Last month , the board endorsed Valley Central ’ s Smart Schools Preliminary Investment Plan as the district formulates how it will spend the $ 3.4 million it ’ s slated to receive from the state for new tech spending .
Under the proposal , the first phase of district-wide upgrades would include $ 1,195,429 in security improvements and $ 694,098 for fortifying the district ’ s
technological framework . The security component of the plan would enable Valley Central to install a new safety system that would endeavor to keep threatening individuals out of schools through an expanded swipe card access program . The installation of cameras in school parking lots could also track vehicle license plates as soon as they enter school property , with the plates instantaneously run through a database to suss out potential threats .
The technology funding would be used to purchase a new phone system for the district and to upgrade Valley Central ’ s tech infrastructure , including new fiber optic cables and expanded bandwidth

Walden celebrates leadership

capacity . A public hearing will be held at the board ’ s next meeting before the group votes on the plan . “ People can come in and certainly take a look and hear what we ’ re going to do with it and get a chance to comment ,” Superintendent John Xanthis said . If the proposal is approved at the next board meeting , the plan will be posted on the district ’ s website for 30 days before being submitted to the State Education Department for their final clearance .
At the board ’ s Jan . 9 meeting , Xanthis reported that he had received overwhelmingly positive feedback from
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Walden Leadership Award recipients ( l . - r ) Richard Baxter ; Donna Hall ; Calista Bond ; Katherine Cavallucci ; and Cynthia Hunter pose after last Thursday ’ s ceremony in the Walden Municipal Building . Story on page 5 .
SERVING CRAWFORD , GARDINER , MAYBROOK , MONTGOMERY , PINE BUSH , SHAWANGUNK , WALDEN AND WALLKILL