Walker Valley

There’s still room on the seniors’ bus

By Sue Wiand
Posted 8/14/19

Happy belated 60th birthday to Mark Schelin - from your brother Steve Schelin. Steve would also like to wish Jennifer Delarosa [of Walker Valley Auto & Truck Repair] a very happy August …

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Walker Valley

There’s still room on the seniors’ bus

Posted

Happy belated 60th birthday to Mark Schelin - from your brother Steve Schelin. Steve would also like to wish Jennifer Delarosa [of Walker Valley Auto & Truck Repair] a very happy August birthday.

And not to let this one go by without a mention – Happy Birthday Bill “The Wizard” Wiand – better known as the “UFO Guy” around these parts. I will not tell you how old he is because that would tell you how old I am and we gals never tell our age. [hint – we are both older than dirt]

The Walker Valley Seniors recently wished members Harold & Flo Smith a very happy 65th anniversary. President Stephanie Jansen would also like you to know that they still have spaces available for their August 29 trip to High Point at a cost to members of $45 and non-members of $55.

The cost includes breakfast, lunch with open bar and entertainment.

Their trip to Kingston for a train ride and lunch is scheduled for Sept. 19 and costs $20 for members and $35 for non-members. Call 845-744-6584 to make reservations.

If you have not heard about the BYO Bag Act that went into effect in all of Ulster County on July 15 2019 then you need to visit ulstercountyny.gov/BYOBagFAQ or email BYOBagagAct@co.ulster.ny.us or visit them on Facebook [UC Department of Environment] for more information. NO more plastic bags!

The Reformed Church of Shawangunk announced recently that their parsonage is now a museum and is open the 1st Sat. of each month from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The public is invited to visit and view documents and artifacts from the church’s long history. The church is located at 1166 Hoagerburgh Rd., Wallkill.

Welcome to our new neighbors! On Sunday July 21 the community was invited to join in on the celebration marking the opening of the Guan Yin Hall of Shiang Guang Shan Monastery on Route 52 in Walker Valley.

Festivities included a ribbon cutting and a ceremonial key that opened the doors to the temple. Assisting with the key ceremony was George Sawyer, Town of Shawangunk’s Code Enforcement Officer and Walker Valley resident.

Also present for the ceremony was Town of Shawangunk Chief of Police and Walker Valley resident Gerald Marlott. The members of the monastery hope that community members will visit with them and meditate in the new temple.

The Walker Valley Fire Company has announced that they will be fundraising again this year with a raffle for a 2019 Can-Am Outlander XMR 850 4-wheeler in Sunburst yellow. It has a plow and power steering. Other prizes include a Murray Snow blower w/electric start and a Dewalt Max Cordless 20V Too Combo. Tickets are $20 and the drawing will be on Dec. 24 2019. See any fire member for tickets or stop by the firehouse on Tuesdays, drill night, and get your tickets.

Walker Valley welcomes the new owner of Walker Valley Auto Repair, Alan Bohlen. Charles Garrison handed over the business to Alan as of August 1. Alan is well known in the area and the business and Charlie expresses his comfort that he has left us all in good hands when it comes to our vehicles.

Charlie has owned WV Auto for 22 years and finds it is time to scale back and start to enjoy life. He will still maintain the used car business in Walker Valley and will continue to be an active member of the community. We wish Charlie well in his semi-retirement and Alan all the best in his new business venture.

Allen is a local resident and lives with his wife Amy and step-daughter Mia. He is a graduate of the OU BOCES Auto Repair Service program and has 20 years of experience in the automotive field. He also specializes in truck repairs and will be adding that to his services here in Walker Valley. One additional service he is looking to offer to his customers is out of hours appointments. If your busy day does not end during normal business hours, Allen will arrange it so that you can get service when it is convenient for you.

Call him at 744-6441 to discuss further.

Allen would like everyone to know that he shares a love for this community and would like to be involved with all aspects that present themselves.

The Ulster County Volunteer Firemen’s Association held their 84th annual convention hosted by the Highland Hose Co. #1 Inc in Highland NY on July 26.

Walker Valley’s own James Gregston Greer Jr. was honored for his many years of service to the volunteer firemen’s community. Following is an excerpt from those proceedings:

This is the introduction made by UC Fire Coordinator Everett Erichsen:
“James Gregston Greer Jr. (or known to most as Greg), started his fire service career in December of 1959 with the Walker Valley Fire Company. He was elected Lieutenant in 1972 and moved up to the rank of Captain in 1974. In 1978 he was voted Assistant Chief and in 1979 to the rank of Chief. James Greer served as Chief of the Walker Valley Fire Company for 12 years, from 1979 to 1990. He later returned to serve as Chief one additional year in 1997. James Greer Jr also served as the committee chair of all volunteers who built the Walker Valley Fire Company Fire House in 1970.

In May of 1974, James Gregston Greer Jr. became a Fire Instructor with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. This past May, he retired after 45 years of dedicated service as a New York State Fire Instructor assigned to Ulster County. During this time, Greer had been extremely active in training our firefighters, actually 10s of thousands of firefighters, in a multitude of different classes (way too many to list).

Greer is well known for his ability to connect with students, great passion and enthusiasm for fire service training and education, diligence, and knowledge. His tireless efforts in providing effective and relevant training to the firefighters of Ulster County have had a dramatic impact on the level of training and the delivery of fire and emergency services within the community. I ask that you all please stand and join us in acknowledging James Greer Jr and his dedicated service to our firefighters.”

Greer was presented the “Pride of Ulster County by County Legislators Heidi Haynes and Ken Ronk and a Certificate of Appreciation signed by Ulster County Executive Patrick K. Ryan. The members and officers of the Ulster County Volunteer Firemen’s Association presented Greer with a plaque for his 45 years of service as a New York State Fire Instructor for the firefighters of Ulster County. The Ulster County Fire Advisory Board in cooperation with the Ulster County legislature presented Greer with a plaque for both his 45 years of teaching firefighters as a state fire instructor and his 20 years as a member of the Ulster County Fire Advisory Board. Ulster County Legislator Ken Ronk credited Greer for making the new training center possible.

Congratulations to Greg for his years of service and recognition received. Everyone here in the Walker Valley area sends best wishes for many more years of service to our community.