The late Carol Roper will be honored with a tree at the New Paltz Community Center, which will be planted next month. A village resident brought the request to the Shade Tree Commission there. Supervisor Neil Bettez is also a member of that body and was aware of a small amount of shared town-village money that could be used for such a purpose, with town council approval. Roper passed away early during the pandemic shutdown last year, and as a result, little attention was paid at the time. The rationale for the request to the Shade Tree Commission was on account of Roper’s long history of community service, Bettez said; the reason for using this pot of money was because Roper had also served as town supervisor.
To deputy supervisor Dan Torres, Roper stands out because of the many contributions made to local causes after losing a bid for reelection. “It’s never fun to lose an election in a small town, but it was never about the election,” for Roper.
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