Vernon honors DPW workers

VERNON — Several members of the Vernon Public works department were present for Monday night’s council meeting to recognize the week of May 20-26 as National Public Works Week.
Mayor Harry Shortway read from the proclamation, which carried extra weight due to the passing of DPW supervisor Tony Alexander in a motorcycle crash
“Public works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizens’ everyday lives,” Shortway read from the proclamation, “the health, safety, and comfort of this community greatly depends on these facilities and services.”
The Vernon Public Works Department not only manages the local streets and roadways, including snow and ice removal, but also handles the maintenance of Vernon’s parks, the recycling center, and other public facilities.
The American Public Works Association first sponsored National Public Works Week in 1960.
Two other proclamations were also issued, recognizing Memorial Day, and designating May as Buddy Poppy month.
The Buddy Poppy fund-raising campaign began in 1922, as a way to honor fallen soldiers of foreign wars.
The red, silk poppy flowers are assembled by disabled veterans and sold to benefit disabled and needy veterans, as well as the widows and children of deceased veterans.
The Wallkill Valley VFW8441 and its Ladies Auxiliary will be promoting the sale of Buddy Poppies throughout the township in the month of May.
Councilmember Sandra Ooms proclaimed, “we urge all patriotic citizens to wear a Buddy Poppy as a symbol of gratitude to the men and women of this country who have risked their lives in defense of the freedoms which we continue to enjoy as American citizens.”
Memorial Day is generally held on the last Monday in May, and was first observed following the Civil War. But Memorial Day did not become an official holiday until 1971 with the passage of the National Holiday Act.
Vernon will be holding its annual Memorial Day parade on May 28. The parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Dairy Queen on Route 94, and end at Veterans Memorial Park on Vernon Crossing Road, where ceremonies and a wreath laying will be held.
The Vernon Town Council meeting, which would normally fall on that Monday, has been moved to the following Thursday.