Pride in community shows on Clean-up Day

When the announcement is made that Middletown’s annual City-Wide Pride Clean-Up Day is coming up, those who want to participate make sure they clear their calendars.

This year it is from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. April 23 with a rain date the following day, same time. Registration is not required, just show up at Festival Square to pick up gloves, bags, litter-pickers, and Pride T-shirts, all of which have been donated. There will be two buses to take people where needed or to areas of choice. ShopRite, always dependable and helpful with community events, has donated water and snacks, which will be free, said Susan DePuy who is chairing the event.

Certificates of Appreciation for Community Service will be signed by Mayor Joe DeStefano.

For information, call the Common Council Clerk’s office at 341-9386.

Coming up

- Dr. Susan Goodier, a scholar who focuses on U.S. women’s activism, will speak at 7 p.m. today at SUNY Orange’s Kaplan Hall on the Newburgh campus. Her topic is “Centering Black Women: Race in the Woman Suffrage Movement.” It is free and open to the public.

This and that

- The Warwick Valley High School’s Interact Club, a leadership building group sponsored by the Warwick Valley Rotary, has received the prestigious Rotary International Presidential Award, recognizing it as one of the top Interact Clubs in the world. With a membership of 130, the club is the largest student organization at the high school. Its adviser is Jeanine Fogler and the president is Jessica Buck. The award was presented by Rotary District Interact chairman Skip Rottkamp. Rotary president Neil Sinclair said the group “has an important impact on the local community and beyond.”

Recent projects have included collecting 15,000 items during a food drive, sending shoe-box gifts to soldiers in Afghanistan and children in foreign countries, providing meals for 25 families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, helping senior citizens at Mount Alverno, collecting new toys for needy children at Christmas, donating $1,000 to the Warwick Ecumenical Food Pantry, and $1,000 for Rotary’s community service programs.

The students also wrapped gifts and helped Warwick Lions and Rotarians with their annual Holiday Party for Children.

Over the past decade, the group has raised about $40,000, most of which comes from their annual talent show, which will be at 7 p.m. May 4 at the high school. Congratulations.

- The Orange County Sheriff’s Office led by Sheriff Carl DuBois, will participate in the Empty Chair Initiative today through Friday. Members of the office will be seeking violators who speed, pass school buses, impaired drivers, underage drinking, seatbelt and child restraints, driving while texting and talking on cell phones and much more.

Barbara Bedell’s column appears daily. Reach her at 346-3125 or by email, bbedell@th-record.com.