Hopes to expand public parks next year
Half the onions grown in New York come from the black dirt region in southern Orange County.
The Orange County Speedway has been used without pause since it was constructed in 1857. It may be the oldest continuously used racing surface in the world.
Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra all performed at the Ritz Theatre in Newburgh.
I borrowed these fun facts from a travel guide recently released by Orange County. You might think of it as a resource for visitors, but it’s also valuable for residents. For example, the section called “We Are Remarkable” lists 28 historic houses or sites. I’ve only been to half of them although I’ve traveled around the county for our “Going Places on a Gallon” Series.
The next section, “We Are Inspiring,” introduces the county’s galleries, museums and performing arts centers. Then there are smaller categories listed alphabetically under the heading, “We Are Playful.”
Page 17 presents Amusements, Ballooning, Bicycling, Bird Watching, Boat Cruises, Drive-In Movies and Fishing.
I’m told that you can get the guide in county government buildings or you can get the same information at www.orangetourism.org. It will also be available in hotels and airports. I got my copy at the Government Center in Goshen while interviewing the county executive.
I meet with Steve Neuhaus every few months to get information that will be relevant to our readers in Cornwall and the Town of Highlands. He and I looked at the Travel Guide together and pulled out the folded map of Orange County. We agreed that the new publication should help businesses in every community.
I don’t ask many questions during these sessions, I let the executive tell me what’s happening. He started by sharing some good news, “The budget was adopted unanimously,” he said, “with the lowest tax rate in eight years. Most households will see a reduction in taxes.”
In part, the reduction is the result of a shrinking of the workforce. Through attrition there are 300 fewer workers than when Mr. Neuhaus took office eight years ago. It amounts to a 15 percent decrease without any services being cut.
“We have less debt,” the executive continued, “and one of the strongest financial ratings around. The county has a long-term rating of Aa from Moody, which is defined as follows: Obligations are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.”
The bad news is that the number of COVID cases has increased. During my visit on Nov. 18, the executive estimated that there were 1,200 cases in the county, although he acknowledged that the cases might not be as serious as in the past.
Mr. Neuhaus is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Since a six-month stay in Iraq, he has had no long deployments. Instead, he’s been making four or five-day trips to Hawaii. It’s a lot of traveling for a short assignment.
He was re-elected without opposition in November.
One of his goals for the new term is to build a new Medical Examiner’s Office on the grounds of the 911 Center. The new building would be used for autopsies.
An immediate priority is a major expansion of the county’s parks and recreation facilities. “I’d like to get more communities engaged using federal money,” he said. If that happens, it will probably lead to a new edition of the “Orange Travel Guide.”
