Brewster, New York [June 9, 2004]. 

 

Wednesday night, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster approved an appropriation to match a donation made by local elementary school children to a veteran's memorial fund.

 

Last Thursday, Ron Lipschitz, Commander of VFW Brewster Post 672, announced that the post had received a check for $1014.83 from the children of the Garden Street School, who had been collecting their coins for weeks to help the veterans replace a local memorial which time and weather had deteriorated.  The memorial, known as The Southeast Honor Roll, is a modest wooden sign with typewritten pages containing the names of local residents who served in the Armed Services during all our nations conflicts, starting with the Revolution.  The local VFW Post began a fund-raising drive in February to replace the Honor Roll with a permanent memorial after it was discovered that the current Honor Roll was beyond repair, and needed to be replaced.

 

The Resolution to match the students' donation was introduced jointly by Trustees Bill Banks and Jim Schoenig.  Banks, a high school English teacher in the New York City school system, and Schoenig, whose children attend Garden Street School and participated in the drive to collect coins, also moved that the Village send a letter to the Superintendent of Brewster Schools commending the students and staff at Garden Street School.  "We are proud to follow their lead," reads the Resolution, referring to the elementary school students.

 

The Southeast Honor Roll is located in the Village of Brewster on Main Street, in a small park, owned by the Town of Southeast, located between the Brewster Library and The Southeast Museum, a local history museum.  Last Thursday night, the VFW Brewster Post 672 made a proposal to the Southeast Town Council for the design of a new, permanent Honor Roll made of slate and etched glass.  Since the Township owns the park, the approval of the Town Council is required for the design to be implemented.  The Town Council promised that it will announce its decision sometime in July. 

 

In addition to the donation made by the Garden Street school children, there have been several thousands of dollars in donations from individuals and service organizations, including the Elks and Rotary Club.  As well as the pledge made by the Village government, Assemblyman Willis Stephens and Senator Vincent Leibell have pledged money from the State government to aid the project.

 

The VFW Post is continuing to accept donations toward the Honor Roll Fund.  Checks should be made payable to "VFW Brewster Post 672" with "Honor Roll" noted on the Memo line, and should be mailed to:

VFW Brewster Post 672
PO BOX 54
Brewster, NY 10509

 

[The full text of the Banks-Schoenig Resolution follows below]

VillageTrustee2003@yahoo.com
 

 

RESOLUTION

 

The following resolution, resolved by the duly constituted Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster, New York on a joint motion by Trustees William Banks and James Schoenig, and seconded by Trustee Michael Santos as follows:

            WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster that the Southeast Honor Roll, located in a Town of Southeast Park within the limits of the Village, has reached a condition which requires replacement, and

 

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has decided that it is appropriate for the Village of Brewster to acknowledge the debt we owe to the brave men and women who have served this Nation in time of war, and to assist in the replacement of the memorial dedicated to the remembrance of their courage and sacrifice, and

 

WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the Board of Trustees that the children who attend the Garden Street School have collected coins to donate to a fund sponsored by VFW Brewster Post 672 to assist in the reconstruction of The Southeast Honor Roll, collecting the sum of one thousand and fourteen dollars and eighty-three cents, and the Board of Trustees has decided that it is appropriate for the Village of Brewster to acknowledge this extraordinary effort by the children who participated in that collection drive

 

NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster, New York, duly convened does hereby

 

RESOLVE, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster hereby directs the Clerk of the Village to issue a letter from the Board of Trustees addressed to the Clerk of the Town of Southeast, with copies to County Legislators Dan Birmingham and Tony Hay, pledging that the Village of Brewster will appropriate the sum of one thousand and fourteen dollars and eighty-three cents to match the donation made by the children of Garden Street School, attaching a copy of this Resolution, and it is further

 

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees authorizes the Treasurer of the Village to appropriate the sum of one thousand and fourteen dollars and eighty-three cents from the Contingency Fund, and create a new budget line to be designated as “Donation to Honor Roll Reconstruction”, and transfer the appropriated sum to said new account, and hold such monies in reserve until directed to forward it to the Town of Southeast by the Board of Trustees, and it is hereby further

 

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster hereby directs the Clerk of the Village to issue a letter from the Board of Trustees addressed to the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education of the Brewster Schools District.  The text of the letter will be as follows:

 

The Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster have heard about the extraordinary effort made by the students of Garden Street School in collecting one thousand and fourteen dollars and eighty-three cents in coins in an effort to assist the VFW Brewster Post 672 in replacing The Southeast Honor Roll with a new memorial fitting for the remembrance of the armed service performed by men and women from the Town of Southeast and the Village of Brewster in time of war.

 

The Board of Trustees of the Village of Brewster wishes to commend the student body of Garden Street School, and in particular the spearheading efforts of Ms. Susan Wejchert, who began the fund-raising drive at the school.  We are impressed by the patriotism and sacrifice demonstrated by your students, and we hope that you will transmit to the students, teachers, staff and principal of Garden Street School our admiration and thanks for their effort.

 

Please also let everyone at the Garden Street School know that the government of the Village of Brewster will match their contribution to the Honor Roll Fund in full.  We are proud to follow their lead.

 

[Copy of Resolution to be attached]

 

And it is hereby further

 

RESOLVED, that the Village Clerk will have both letters ready for the signature of the Trustees no later than the meeting of the Board of Trustees scheduled for 16 June 2004.  

 

Dated: 9 June 2004

            Brewster, New York

 

Ayes: Mayor Cesar, Trustees Banks, Santos and Schoenig

 

Trustee Degnan withdrew from the discussion because of his volunteer work in the design of the new Honor Roll.