In the News 2

Time Herald Record Community
Newburgh youth work program graduates 48
October 16, 2009 2:00 AM
NEWBURGH — The young people of Newburgh On the Rise graduated recently from their 12-week summer youth employment program.

Newburgh on the Rise, which began July 13, gave 48 Youth Ambassadors ages 19-24 the opportunity to earn wages for six weeks under the auspices of the City of Newburgh's Department of Human Services. They received hands-on training in construction, filming and photography, event planning and urban landscaping, while also receiving professional development skills training from Best Resources. They also received an orientation to various green jobs and environmental issues.

Throughout the six weeks, the Youth Ambassadors assisted in the greening of several city-owned properties. Working closely with the Department of Public Works, they built and designed their own gardens in partnership with professional arborists, volunteers from the Shade Tree Commission and staff at Downing Park.

They also created their own community project, the Block Building Movement, in which they dedicated to the community five hand-pieced raised tree boxes with the names of more than 200 deceased people burnt into the wood. Youth Ambassadors representatives went door-to-door to register names for the project, which were hand-inscribed on the boxes by their peers.

This successful six-week program was celebrated and presented to the public Aug. 16, when more than 100 people showed up to thank the Youth Ambassadors for their efforts in the community and to watch a draft of their film describing the whole process.

On Aug. 24, because of the success of Newburgh On the Rise, the service of 18 of the 48 Youth Ambassadors was extended for another five weeks by Orange County Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

The first couple of weeks on the job, the Youth Ambassadors started to tear down walls literally and figuratively as they teamed up with the City of Newburgh Police to renovate the old courthouse and police station, helping to build a stronger bond between the police and the community.

Over the following weeks, the Youth Ambassadors finished the final editing of their 25-minute short film, built their own miniature raised-bed gardens and maintained more than 40 trees, some of which they planted themselves. They also received training in blogging, urban farming, green construction and building, permaculture, horticulture, cooking (from the Culinary Institute of America and local restaurants), all while still attending their professional development courses at Best Resources.

"Over the past few weeks, not only have the youth exceeded the expectations of community partners but they have also exceeded their own," said Decora Sandiford, program manager.

Courthouse Slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Gardening, Planting, Living!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

City Of Newburgh Water + Bioretention Specialist

[City of Newburgh Water Superintendent explained the development and benefits of a rain garden]











[Bioretention]












[Water dept filtration system]











[LeMetrius inspecting the controls of the filtration system]













Photo credits Jamie Lo of the Water Department, Thank you to Water Department Superintendent John Platt, Administrative Secretary Diane McGraw, and Water Department distribution staff

Common Ground CSA

[Newburgh on the Rise learning about the medicinal properties of native plants from a local herbalist, Sara. Her methods could be used as natural remedies as opposed to generic perscriptions. In her hand she holds freshly picked basil]

[Sara is explaining about different kinds of medicines she's made personally]


[Newburgh on the Rise...herbology!]


[Everyone having a good time :]

All In A Days Work

[Kim eating a freshly picked pear off the tree]
















[LaTisha holding the pruning saw]




















[The Mulching Crew group picture]
















[Rahsean cutting off a dead limb, giving the tree life]
















[Square mulcing around the tree ]
















[Big tools come in handy]





















[LaTisha starting to cut the tree]





















[The Dept. of Public Works helping the Newburgh On The Rise crew]

















[Tanisha!]





















[Tashe putting a protective gaurd aroud the base of the tree]

The People's Garden

["Farming looks very easy when your plow is a pencil and your a thousand miles away from the farm."]

Newburgh On The Rise

[Gidney Avenue Mulching Crew: " We worked along side the Shay Tree Comitee, not only help preserve the trees, but to prune, mulch and clean up around the tree. We help our community stay beautiful and safe."]














[Taniqua, LeMetrius, Charlise]


















[Newburgh On the Rise, The Dept. Of Public Works, and The Shade Tree Comitee]























[Maria, Taniqua, & Decora...having sooo much fun playing in the mulch!]
























[Ashley is using a technique called square mulching, it will help the tree survive the winter, and it looks really nice.]

Kitchen, Queens Galley, Kingston N.Y.

[Maria and Charlise cooking]


















[Taniqua is helping bring the food in]

[Maria in the Garden]

Queens Galley, Kingston N.Y.

[Decora and Sierra are about to mop the floor]

Queens Galley, Kingston N.Y.

[Tanesha and Sierra on salad prep]

Queens Galley, Kingston N.Y.

[Shaquez and Natasha setting the table]

Queens Galley in Kingston

[Tanesha slicing tomatoes]




















[Sierra rinsing vegetables to prepare a salad for lunch]

The Culinary Institute of America

[Brittany enjoying the view]

Garrison Farm Green House

[Charlie showing the group the correct way to transfer different plants from a small pot to a larger pot]












[Manny planting in the green house]

At the Garrison FARM!

[Brandon and Charlese in the green house learning about various types of soil]












[Brittany hard at work, watering the plants]

Job-training program shows stimulus at work

CITY OF NEWBURGH — Le'Metrius Armwood would go to the library and start filling out job applications. ShopRite. Rite Aid. Dunkin' Donuts.
He can't remember all the places now. It doesn't really matter, because none of them was going to hire a 21-year-old with unreliable transportation.
Armwood did finally land a job. He was one of the 532 young men and women in Orange County hired for a six-week work program. The workers, ages 14 to 24, labored for minimum wage at 79 sites throughout the county.
The county's Employment and Training Administration hired more than 300 participants last summer and was able to increase that number by more than 200 this summer, thanks to federal funding through the stimulus bill.
Armwood worked in Newburgh as part of a team of 38. Together, team members put together a project they plan to unveil Sunday at Downing Park.
It's uniquely Newburgh: The workers have created memorials to the dead relatives of city residents. They went door-to-door registering people who wanted to remember a loved one.
Some of the workers, such as Armwood, filmed interviews with people about their relatives for a 20-minute video they'll show at the park. Other workers began building boxes they'll fit around trees. Names of the dead will be stenciled on the sides.
When the workers weren't toiling on their project, they headed to Best Resource Center on Grand Street for coaching in a variety of job skills.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, County Executive Ed Diana and Newburgh Mayor Nick Valentine gathered Wednesday at Best Resources to praise the young workers during a news conference.
"You're young, you're vigorous, you're healthy, you're energetic and you're smart," Hinchey, D-Hurley, told them. Hinchey voted for the stimulus bill and called the program "tangible proof" of the impact the bill has had on communities.
Newburgh on the Rise, a summer youth employment program, will host a community cookout and memorial to the dead relatives of city residents from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Downing Park.
dmurphy@th-record.com

Summer youth programs funded by stimulus money
Decora Sandiford (podium), a team leader with"On the Rise", explains the program
NEWBURGH – The 38 young men and women who are in the “On the Rise” Youth Employment and Training Program in Newburgh have had a life altering experience this summer. They were given jobs funded by federal stimulus money and provided through the Best Resource Center in Newburgh.
For Niknya Melvin, her only regret is that the program is only for the summer.
“We all work together good; it’s a good environment,” she said. “We’re a family now; we like coming together to change the community.”
In all, stimulus funds have been able to put 532 young people to work in summer jobs in Orange County. That’s up from 319 last summer.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Orange County Executive Edward Diana and Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine were among the dignitaries who celebrated the success of the program at an event in Newburgh Wednesday.
HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report.

Hinchey Highlights More Than 200 Summer Youth Jobs Created in Orange County Through Federal Economic Recovery Legislation

For Immediate Release

August 12, 2009
Hinchey Highlights More Than 200 Summer Youth Jobs Created in Orange County Through Federal Economic Recovery Legislation


Newburgh, NY--Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today visited the Best Resource Center in Newburgh to highlight how the federal economic recovery legislation that Congress approved earlier this year has provided grant funding for more than 200 summer jobs for youth (ages 14-24) in Orange County. Hinchey strongly advocated for and helped pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which provided funding for the jobs. Hinchey was joined by Orange County Executive Ed Diana and Newburgh Mayor Nick Valentine, as well as coordinators and participants in the training and employment programs, to highlight the job programs in Newburgh and Orange County."These jobs provide very tangible proof that the economic recovery bill we passed in Washington earlier this year is having a positive impact in our communities and helping to improve the economy here in New York," Hinchey said. "These young men and women are being provided with valuable opportunities to work in their community, gain employment skills and training, and earn some money. Residents of Orange County, including the City of Newburgh, are also benefitting through the services that these youth are providing to enhance the quality of life for the community as a whole."Due to the additional funding made available through the ARRA, Orange County was able to place 213 additional young men and women in summer employment positions than it was able to last year. Last year, Orange County was able to place 319 youth for summer employment. This year, however, with economic recovery funds available, the county was able to increase the enrollment in the various programs to 532 individuals. The summer jobs are helping to provide local youth with positive experiences and contribute to the stabilization and improvement of the area's economy. The summer job participants are currently working for municipalities, school districts, non-profit agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, and police departments throughout Orange County.Hinchey was joined by participants of the "On the Rise" Youth Employment and Training Program, a collaboration of the Orange County, the City of Newburgh Human Services Department and the Best Resource Center. The Newburgh-based project hired 38 young men and women who were given opportunities to learn construction, filming, event planning and landscape architecture and work on a number of local community projects. This project was entirely funded through ARRA funding.Throughout this year and next, the economic recovery plan that Hinchey helped pass earlier this year is expected to create and save an estimated 3.5 million jobs, including 7,600 jobs in the congressional district Hinchey represents and 215,000 jobs across New York, through various investments that: modernize roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure; improve education and health care; and advance the research and manufacturing of solar and other forms of renewable energy. The bill also provided 95 percent of working Americans with an immediate tax cut.Hinchey was joined by participants of the "On the Rise" Youth Employment and Training Program, a collaboration of the Orange County, the City of Newburgh Human Services Department and the Best Resource Center. The Newburgh-based project hired 38 young men and women who were given opportunities to learn construction, filming, event planning and landscape architecture and work on a number of local community projects. This project was entirely funded through ARRA funding.