The quality of the work shows

To the editor: With the approach of the sixth anniversary of September 11, the Warwick Valley Gardeners would like to thank members of the community who were instrumental in allowing us to make improvements to the World Trade Center monument in Memorial Park. For the past year or so, two-foot by two-foot bluestones were set as temporary steps up to the monument while the Warwick Valley Gardeners worked on a permanent solution. The monument itself is an impressive black and grey granite structure. Steps consistent with the scale and quality of the monument were needed, but of course, cost is always a factor. Fortunately, John Taber, a friend of the Warwick Valley Gardeners and the owner of Mohawk Materials, a stone supply in Sloatsburg, heard about our project and offered to donate three cut-granite stones that would match the monument. The stones, which are actually four-foot by four-foot slabs, each four-inches thick, were delivered to the monument site in May. Each of the granite slabs weighs at least 250 pounds and this is where the Warwick DPW jumped in to help. Public Works Supervisor Steven Sisco authorized a crew led by Bill Schmidt to figure out how to lay the stones in an appropriate way for the monument. Using a backhoe to lift the stones, the group of four men positioned each stone into a gradually rising stairway up to the platform of the monument. None of these men were satisfied until each stone was perfectly level and exactly abutting the stone above it. As a result, the original monument is now enhanced by a perfectly coordinated stairway. The broad sweep of the stairway provides a structure against which a variety of plantings can be made from season to season. We hope the community will join the Warwick Valley Gardeners in thanking John Taber and the Warwick DPW for their generosity and really fine work. Lori Testa Warwick Valley Gardeners