Hello New Windsor. Both of my parents are in their 70’s and are eligible for the Covid 19 Vaccine. They have been trying extremely hard to find a vaccine appointment and for awhile the closest one they could find was in Potsdam, NY which is near the Canadian border. Though they have been limiting going out as much as possible, they watch our kids three days a week and being my wife is a store manager of a grocery store and I am a Recreation Director we are around a lot of people every day putting my parents at risk even though they are being extra careful.
So there is a real sense of urgency to find them a vaccine as quickly as possible which had them even considering making that drive upstate when their appointment came around. The other day my wife happened to be searching early one morning on her phone on all the different sites early trying to find them an appointment. She was able to find an opening on the CVS website so she quickly started entering my dad’s info in first. We had to get my parents on the phone to get all the info CVS was asking which was quite extensive. I had to take over midway through because my wife couldn’t find her glasses and was having trouble typing in all the prescription plan numbers etc.
As we were working on getting my dad an appointment we had my mom on her computer trying to get an appointment for her. We got my dad an appointment in Carmel for the next day and then I moved on to trying to get my mom and appointment. We thought that two of us working on it at the same time would have better luck than just one. We both got to the point where we had a date for her first vaccine which was the same as my dad but it was not letting either of us go any further with the second. So I refreshed my browser and had to start again and was able get her first vaccine appointment a few days later in Kingston. It was such a relief to have appointments for both of them. Hopefully they go off without a hitch.
The whole experience made me even more aware how it is the older senior citizens who don’t have help navigating that are not getting appointments. Our state and federal governments need to do a better job helping get these older seniors vaccinated.

On February 8, New Windsor Police Officer Chris Deets retired from the Town police force. Officer Deets was recognized with a Service Achievement Award by Town Supervisor George Meyers and Police Chief Rob Doss at a walk out ceremony. Supervisor Meyers stated, “Officer Deets is leaving the Police Department in a better place than when he found it and anytime you can say that, it means the officer did a good job. I wish the best for Officer Deets and his family”.

Chief Doss stated, “Officer Deets has been awarded for saving 4 lives over the course of his career here.” I personally have had the pleasure of knowing officer Deets over the course of my nearly 15 years at Recreation Director with the Town and he has been a pleasure to work with. I too wish him the best of luck in his retirement. Congratulations Chris!

The Town of New Windsor Police Department is pleased to announce that their officers are now equipped with Axis Body Worn Cameras. The Department purchased 50 Cameras at a total one-time cost of $37,600. $29,000 of the $37,600 was donated from local businesses. These body cameras will help to increase transparency, public trust, and confidence with the Public as well as assist in investigations. The cameras had great results during the test phase.
Police Chief Rob Doss stated, “The implementation of this body camera technology in New Windsor is a huge step forward for us. These body cameras will not only contribute to further enhance the trust level that the New Windsor community has in its police force but they will also enhance officer safety. I want to thank the businesses in town that donated towards the costs of the project. Their generosity took a majority of the costs off of the taxpayers.”
The businesses that generously supported this project were: Anheuser-Busch MCC, McGoey, Hauser & Edsall Consulting Engineers, Global Companies, Knox Village Apartments, CAMO Pollution Control, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Storage Boss LLC, M & T Bank, Brooks Funeral Home, & Walden Savings Bank. Thank you so much to all of these businesses for their support of our community!

Birthday shout outs this week go to Lou De Francesco who is turning 99 years old on February 21, to my cousin Chris Veronesi whose birthday is on February 23, and to anyone else out there celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday!

If anyone has a birthday or other special event you want mentioned in my column, or have anything going on in New Windsor that you want the world to know about you can reach me at mveronesi@optimum.net or by calling 629-1260. Have a great week.