Community unites for renaissance

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — From the smallest to the greatest, everyone is playing a part in the 2004 JEMS Sullivan renaissance project to build a community park.

First, thanks to the kind land donation to the village of Jeffersonville by Greg Brooks and Maurice Seaton, the owners of the Blue Victorian, and the First National Bank of Jeffersonville, the property next to the Schadt Memorial Bridge has been transformed by the NYS DOT into an area for a landscaped garden. Then, the Jeffersonville Enhances Main Street (JEMS) organization took on this property as their 2004 Sullivan Renaissance focus project.

Now, the community has now kicked into high gear.

Mulch that was donated by Beechwood’s Lumber and transported by Adam Diehl has been spread in the area. A gazebo, purchased at a discount from Stephenson’s Garden Center has been placed. Sixth graders from the Sullivan West Jeffersonville Youngsville School are working on the garden design. The third and fifth graders are tending to seedlings in their classrooms, which they planted earlier this year. Those plants will be planted into the village gardens by the clock, memorial board and gazebo later this spring.

A painting by long-time resident Gloria Warner, featuring the bridge over a creek, will be made into a permanent sign that will be placed near the entrance to the gazebo. That artwork will be enhanced with a quote written by Dawn Erlwein JEMS coordinator, which will say “As the tiniest of dewdrops to the mightiest of winter thaws make up the river, so too does our community, where each person, from smallest to greatest, from the distant past, through the present, and into the future, unite together to create a never-ending flow of life, all similar, yet uniquely different.”

The pathway leading from the sidewalk to the gazebo will be paved with commemorative bricks that are being sold until June 15. The prices are $250 for standard size and $400 for the larger ones.

For more information about the brick project call Frank Haskell at 845/482-3054, Dawn Erlwein 482-3053 or Barbara Hahn at 482-5501.