DA Hoovler Announces Third Annual Youth Fishing Derby

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler on Friday, February 24, 2023, announced the launch of the Third District Attorney’s Office Youth Fishing Derby. The Derby will run from April 1, 2023, through September 4, 2023, and is open to children between the ages of four and eighteen who are children or grandchildren of Orange County residents.

The fishing is great in Orange County, so give it a try! In 2015, almost 45,000 fishing licenses were sold in Orange County. That year, of the 62 counties in New York State, only two counties sold more fishing licenses than Orange County. Last year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation stocked more than 38,880 trout in Orange County waters. In addition, the Orange County Federation of Sportsmen stocked trout in waters with public fishing access. There are 86 named lakes in Orange County and hundreds more unnamed lakes and ponds that contain several species of fish of interest to the angler. Orange County also has many miles of rivers and streams to fish as well. The Hudson, Delaware, Neversink, Ramapo, and Wallkill Rivers and several small streams have public access to good fishing. If you do not own a boat, no problem. There is plenty of shore fishing in many state, county, and town parks in Orange County.

Fish, large and small, call Orange County home. There are large striped bass in the Hudson River during the spring run. The New York State freshwater record striped bass, which weighed 60 pounds, was caught in the Hudson River in Orange County in 2014. Greenwood Lake has muskellunge, walleye, and bass ready to test your skills as an angler. The Wallkill River is loaded with smallmouth bass and rock bass. Try small topwater lures here for exciting action! If you are a novice or first-time angler, Orange County lakes, ponds, and streams are heavily populated with panfish that are easy to catch. Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, yellow perch, bullheads, and crappies are found in almost all the lakes and ponds in the county. Try worms under a bobber using light tackle and do not be surprised if a large bass or pickerel grabs your bait instead! Try Rutgers, Moodna, or Woodbury creeks for trout. Flies, small spinner baits, worms, or salmon eggs are used to catch rainbow and brown trout in those streams.

Fishing teaches many life lessons, such as patience and how to deal with success and failure. Several U.S. presidents were accomplished fishermen and used fishing to relax from the stress and responsibilities of their office. Participants will also learn to enjoy and respect nature and, by spending more time with family and friends, will alleviate some of the boredom and anxiety caused by the COVID-19 crisis. It is that boredom and anxiety that has led so many of our young people to turn to drug use or gang activity. Sports and other worthwhile activities can help deter young people from those bad choices. The Derby will encourage our young people to go fishing and enjoy the outdoors and hopefully avoid drug use.

The Fishing Derby is part of District Attorney Hoovler’s community outreach program. Unfortunately, most youth sports and activities are in limbo due to COVID-19. Participation in fishing has skyrocketed with New Yorkers during the COVID-19 crisis, because that activity can be enjoyed at almost any age, in the outdoors with friends and family, while social distancing. The Fishing Derby will encourage the youth of Orange County to participate in an exciting outdoor sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. Remember, any fish entered in the Derby whether big or small, has an equal chance to win a prize for the contestant.

CONTEST RULES: Entry into the Youth Fishing Derby is free. All fish entered in the contest must be legally caught from anywhere in New York State. Contestants must adhere to all current New York State fishing regulations. Fresh and saltwater fish are eligible to be entered into the contest. To enter, email a photo of the contestant holding the fish, as well as the child’s first name and an adult contact phone number, to dafishingcontest@gmail.com. Each angler can enter up to three fish during the contest, to have multiple chances to win. Ten winners will be drawn at random from all entries received during the contest dates. Each angler is limited to one prize package. All photos entered in the Youth Fishing Derby becomes the property of the Derby.

PRIZE PACKAGE: Each winner will receive an Orange County District Attorney’s Office limited t-shirt and a Mystery Tackle Box Bass Fishing Kit.  Bonus prize: The first winner drawn will also receive a $100 gift card.  Prizes can be picked up at the District Attorney’s Office by the winners in Goshen or will be mailed to them at the conclusion of the contest.

“I wish good luck to all our young anglers,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “and I hope that you enjoy your time in our great outdoors. Please always remember safety! Wear a life vest when in a boat or near deep water. Be careful with hooks and other fishing tackle. Look where you cast and behind you, to avoid hooking someone by mistake. Remember sunglasses to protect your eyes from both the sun and from hooks that might pop loose from a hooked fish. Remember that good anglers do not litter, because it hurts our wildlife habitat and can lead to the loss of public access for fishing. Have fun and stay safe, and maybe I will see you on the water this year!”

Town Hall Closing at 3:30 - 3/14/23

Town Hall is closing at 3:30 today due to inclement weather. 

Town Hall will open at 11:00 am.

Town Hall will open at 11:00 am today March 14, 2023 due to the inclement weather.

SNOWFALL PARKING RESTRICTIONS

SNOWFALL PARKING RESTRICTIONS:
There is No Parking permitted on any Town road when two or more inches of snow has fallen until such time that the road is plowed of snow. Anyone wishing to park at Town Hall in advance of or during a snowstorm may do so as long as they register their vehicle with the Town of Cornwall Police Department by emailing Chief Gebert at jgebert@cornwallny.gov  It will be necessary to provide your name, make, model and license plate number along with a good phone contact number as you may be contacted to move your vehicle in support of Town Hall plowing operations. Please park in the first row closest to Main Street.

Volunteer with the Friendly Visitors Program in March and April!

Spring Into Action -Volunteer with The Town of Cornwall Friendly Visitor Program
Attend a 90-minute Volunteer Zoom Training and complete an application! It is that easy.

Upcoming Training dates:
Thursday 3/9/23 at 10:00 am
Tuesday 3/21/23 at 5:30 pm
Tuesday 4/11/23 at 5:30 pm
Thursday 4/27/23 at 10:00 am
Other training dates available.

Contact The Town of Cornwall Friendly Visitor Program. Call: 845-534-2168 or 845-341-1173 ext. 305 or email volunteer@jfsorange.org to register for the training or for more information about services available.

The 90-minute Zoom training will prepare you to provide support to older adults in your own community with the Friendly Visitor Program. Volunteers provide local transportation to essential appointments, grocery shopping, friendly visits, phone check-in calls and light chores. Volunteering is rewarding and flexible. Reservations are required. Background checks and Insurance while volunteering is provided.  The Town of Cornwall partners with JFS of Orange County and the Office for the Aging to support older neighbors throughout the Town of Cornwall.

Special Town Board Meeting 3-9-2023

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE TOWN OF CORNWALL TOWN BOARD WILL HOLD A SPECIAL MEETING on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room, 183 Main St., Cornwall, NY for a Closed Session seeking the confidential advice of counsel.

Town Hall Closed Today - 2/28/23

Town Hall will be closed today, February 28, 2023 due to the inclement weather.

Town Hall will open at 10:30 am.

Due to inclement weather, Town Hall will open at 10:30 am today, February 28th, 2023.

SNOWFALL PARKING RESTRICTIONS

There is No Parking permitted on any Town road when two or more inches of snow has fallen until such time that the road is plowed of snow. Anyone wishing to park at Town Hall in advance of or during a snow storm may do so as long as they register their vehicle with the Town of Cornwall Police Department by emailing Chief Gebert at jgebert@cornwallny.gov  It will be necessary to provide your name, make, model and license plate number along with a good phone contact number as you may be contacted to move your vehicle in support of Town Hall plowing operations. Please park in the first row closest to Main Street.

SUPERVISOR'S UPDATE

Joint Public Statement Regarding NYS Governor’s NY Forward Grant Award

On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York were notified by the Governor’s Office that our community was to be awarded a $4.5 million grant -- part of the NY Forward program. With the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY as the backdrop, the supervisor and mayor were presented with a “check” that represents New York State’s commitment to the Hudson Valley region.

Beginning in early Fall of 2022, the town and village became aware of the opportunity to receive considerable state funding to help move our communities forward and improve resident and visitor experiences alike. Both of our elected bodies immediately collaborated throughout an extensive application process that involved a delicate rendering of Cornwall’s quaint, historically-significant firmament, while recognizing the ever-evolving growth and progress in our community.

Governor Hochul announced the establishment of the NY Forward program with the intent to “invigorate and enliven downtowns in New York’s smaller and rural communities – the type of downtowns found in villages, hamlets and other small, neighborhood-scale municipal centers.” This program was tailormade for Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson. With this in mind, Steven Jones (visionary chair of the Cornwall Economic Development Advisory Committee) and Jason Burnham (longtime Cornwallian and master polling/survey instrument guru) were conscripted to fashion a workable plan to ignite interest and determine the community’s “pulse” as to how/where funds should best be expended if we were lucky enough to be awarded the grant. This project would never have achieved success without the energy, enthusiasm, and drive of both Steve and Jason.

No grant application has a chance to achieve success without an experienced application oversight team. Steve Densmore and his accomplished corps of experts in the public relations and grant-writing realm at Choice Words were indeed a portion of the margin of victory. The tiny financial “seed money” investment made by the village and the town for their services paid off big in blessed dividends here.

A final deserved, public “thank you” is owed to our loyal, local elected leaders and community stakeholders. Awards from New York State do not happen without support from elected officials. Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, State Senator James Skoufis, Assemblyman Colin J. Schmitt, and Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus all proved their mettle and commitment to our community. In addition, words cannot appropriately express our appreciation to Matt Decker of the Open Space Institute, the Orange County Arts Council, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall, the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, the Greater Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, the Cornwall Public Library, the Cornwall Central School District, and the Storm King Art Center. Also, we would be remiss in not expressing our gratitude to the Regional Economic Development Council for their support for our application.

The supervisor and mayor would also like to publicly express appreciation to their respective boards. Without their advisements and collegiality, projects like this never, ever come to fruition.

There exists plenty of hard work ahead. Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson leadership will continue their commitment to further collaborate as one greater Cornwall community, as we envision potential projects to make best use of this windfall. Stay tuned. The best – we promise you -- is yet to come.

Joshua Wojehowski                                                                                                      James A. Gagliano
Town Supervisor                                                                                                           Village Mayor