Looking back at 2018 - Year in review

By Roger Gavan
WARWICK — It’s been said that just like politics, “All news is local.” So while 2018 was filled with major national and International events, Warwick also had its share of important stories which began and ended with Apple Eve, the community New Years Eve celebration on Railroad Avenue.
These are some but not all of those events.
WinterThe first weekend of the New Year took its toll on everyone as the temperature fell to zero and even well below zero if you add in the wind chill factor.
But on Feb. 21, Mount Peter Ski Area still had the only snow in town as the temperature approached 70 degrees.
On March 1, members of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4662 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate their new Veterans Information Center in the Bradner Building at 10 Colonial Ave. in the Village of Warwick.
The first major winter storm of the year, described as a cyclone bomb and Nor’easter, struck the area at the beginning of March.
Spring On March 28, at the CVS Field (Ben Winstanley Park) on Windermere Avenue in Greenwood Lake, the GWL Skatepark Corp. officially designated the future site of the “GWL Skatepark - In Memory of Dale Hirrel” with a ribbon-cutting and unveiling of a sign on the site.
The annual Warwick Little League parade and ceremonies, postponed one week because of a poor weather forecast, took place on Saturday, April 14, under bright sun, clear blue skies and mild temperatures.
Later that month the second annual “Too Good to Toss” community swap sponsored by Sustainable Warwick with the cooperation of both the Town and Village of Warwick was held at Stanley-Deming Park and declared another huge success.
On May 3, local officials and members of Knitting Our Warwicks Together along with VFW Post 4662, the Warwick Sesquicentennial Committee and many other contributors assembled at the Albert Wisner Public Library. They were there to attend a brief ceremony as Father Richard Marrano blessed 664 hand crafted poppies to be shipped to England for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, which brought an end to the First World War on November 11, 1918
On May 22 hundreds of dignitaries, officials, volunteers and visitors turned out to celebrate the official grand opening of the Daniel Fratto Memorial Field for the Beautiful People baseball program at Wickham Woodlands Town Park.
Cloudy skies and mild temperatures were much appreciated as hundreds of members of veterans’ groups, their guests and other organizations participated in the 2018 annual Memorial Day ceremonies.
On Sunday morning, June 10, more than 500 cyclists rode from the picturesque Warwick Valley Winery, the host for this year’s event, in “Farm to Fork Fondo,” a series of non-competitive cycling events in farmland regions throughout the Northeastern United States.
That same day Police K-9 teams came from all of New York State including New York City as well as portions of Connecticut as the Town of Warwick Police Department hosted the United States Police Canine Association Region 7 annual police canine certification trials.
SummerIn June “Sunset at Winslow,” one of the top annual social functions in the Town of Warwick held in support of Winslow Therapeutic Riding Center, grossed $95,000.
And a tradition continued in spite of a legal threat by Freedom from Religion, Inc.
On the evening of June 21, the Church of St. Stephen, the first Martyr was filled to capacity for the annual High School Baccalaureate Ceremony, an inter-faith religious service, now hosted by the Warwick clergy.
The annual event had been a popular longtime tradition and until this year enjoyed the full support of the Warwick Valley School District. However as a result of a complaint made by a local resident to Freedom from Religion, Inc., the district can no longer endorse the event.
On July 31, iAnthus, a subsidiary Citiva Medical, broke ground at its Warwick cannabis facility on the grounds of the former Mid-Orange Correctional facility.
In August Warwick Playground Dreams, a committee of volunteers in the Town of Warwick currently raising funds to rejuvenate the aging playground in Stanley-Deming Park, celebrated its new phase of fund raising with a ribbon cutting. The organization invites all members of the community to leave a lasting legacy and help make this dream a reality by sponsoring a piece of playground equipment.
And that month the Albert Wisner Public Library also launched its new outdoor exhibit space, The StoryWalk.
On Aug. 24 the Warwick Volunteer Fire Department announced that its 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) application, was one of 1,022 entries throughout the country that were approved by the Department of Homeland Security. The $243,182 Operations and Safety grant it received would be used to purchase new air packs, a term for self-contained breathing apparatus
On Sept. 11, local residents, public officials, veterans and members of the Warwick Police, Ambulance Corps and Fire Departments, and others gathered in Veterans Memorial Park to honor the victims of the day 17 years ago when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, all bound for California and loaded with fuel, to attack the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an unknown target in Washington, DC.
And on Sept. 15 it was hometown USA again as a huge turnout of onlookers along Main Street awaited the 47th traditional Homecoming Day Parade.
Fall On September 22, local officials and members of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce along with members of the Warwick and Greenwood Lake Lions Club and the Greenwood Lake Soccer Club celebrated the official grand opening of new bathrooms and pavilion at Winstanley Park.
On a sad note, Warwick lost another treasure when Roger Metzger, 83, a 50-year veteran of the Shade Tree Commission and its Commissioner for more than 40 of those years, passed away on Oct. 7.
As usual huge crowds came to the 30th celebration of Applefest on Oct. 14.
On Oct. 24, the Warwick Valley Rotary Club presented Doug Stage with the 2018-19 Warwick Citizen of the Year award. Marge King-Porter and Sue Gardner each received Outstanding Community Service Awards for their numerous and important contributions to the community.
On Oct. 30, the long awaited auction of the property at the former Mid Orange Facility known as The Yard was held. The successful bid was $4,000,000 and the property was acquired by an entity, Hudson sports, that intends to reopen the facility as soon as possible as a sports training facility.
On Nov. 4 the Warwick Valley Humane Society celebrated the 50th anniversary of its animal shelter at a “Rebuild the Shelter” brunch.
In a departure from the traditional Veterans Day ceremonies, what was usually a ceremony at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the official time of the World War I Armistice, began with a parade down Main Street to ceremonies at Veterans Memorial Park, followed by food and refreshments for everyone in Lewis Park. It was the 100th anniversary of the Armistice.
Another successful Home for the Holidays was launched on Sunday, November 18.
The first snowstorm of the season and the last one this year caught us by surprise on November 15.
On Dec. 2 about 50 residents gathered in Lewis Park as business owner Moshe Schwartzberg began officiating at the Menorah lighting of the first candle, a ceremony he has conducted for the past 25 years.
Earlier that day a large crowd had gathered in the Chase Bank parking lot to again welcome the Middletown & New Jersey Railroad’s Toys for Tots train.
Mount Peter Ski area officially opened for the season on Dec. 15.
Winter returnsAnd finally, a new tradition continued as the community braved heavy rain at times to celebrate the third annual “Apple Eve” to kickoff the Village of Warwick’s future in 2019.
Of course there is much more and the most read stories in 2018 can be viewed at www.warwickadvertiser.com
Happy New Year!