Girl Scouts to march from school

GOSHEN — Girl Scouts marching in tomorrow's parade in Goshen will have their own staging area at C.J. Hooker Middle School.

Kate Maloney, the line of march chair for the Mid-Hudson St. Patrick's Parade Committee, said the remarkable growth in participation of Girl Scout troops from around the area in recent years warranted getting a second spot from which to launch.

"Last year there were 600 Girl Scouts," she told The Chronicle on Saturday.

Maloney said many of the girls and their parents were unhappy during last year's lineup. It was a freezing cold day, for one thing. And it was crowded at the Orange County Government Center parking lot, the usual line-up site, and potentially hazardous.

As the regional parade grows in popularity, hubbub at the line-up is increasing. Maloney said more firetrucks, floats, and other vehicles than ever mingled last year with dancing troupes and marching bands.

Because the Girl Scouts make up such a significant contingent, it made sense to give them their own line-up site, she said. The committee applied to the school, which provided a permit to use the C.J. Hooker lot.

The rest of the parade will step off from the government center at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, March 15. The Girl Scouts will join the march when the parade gets to the school, a half-mile away.

Maloney emphasized that she came up with the idea to add a second lineup location solely to protect the safety and welfare of the Girl Scouts, who she said were a very important part of the parade. All participating Girl Scout contingents from around the region will start from the school.

With plans that the Girl Scouts would not step off from the government center came rumors that the Girl Scouts were banned from the parade entirely, which was never true, said Maloney.

She said she's been subjected to personal attacks by telephone, email, and social media over the misunderstanding. The committee will not tolerate any of the disruption threatened by some parents on one group, she said.

"We welcome every single Girl Scout," said Maloney. "We will never turn away a Girl Scout group."

"We want this to be a huge day for Goshen," she said.