Ritchie Helping Mexico Get Students Safely to School

During a visit to the Village of Mexico Thursday, State Senator Patty Ritchie was shown the village’s newest snow removal vehicle, which was purchased with a $75,000 grant she secured and is helping to make walking to and from school safer for students.

The village’s new “track machine” is used by the Department of Public Works to clean off sidewalks in the village, helping ensure students who walk to and from school can do so safely. Mexico Academy and Central School District’s schools are adjacent to three major state highways.

“When sidewalks are not clean of snow, children feel forced walk on roadways and near Mexico’s schools, those roadways are extremely busy,” Senator Ritchie said. “This machine ensures crews are able to get sidewalks cleared for students so they can safely travel to and from school each day. I am pleased to provide this funding, which is helping to protect students and other pedestrians from harm.”

“It is imperative that we have the tools necessary to keep our children safe.  This track machine helps us do that,” Village of Mexico DPW Superintendent John Power said. “The Village of Mexico feels like Senator Ritchie is ‘one of us’, because she is.  She understands the difficulties that upstate New York villages face each and every day and continues to give us a voice in Albany.”

"We have three NYS highways that intersect our village and with the amount of commercial traffic that uses them, the clearing of the sidewalks is very crucial to the safety of school children.  The Village of Mexico cannot thank Senator Ritchie enough for her continued efforts to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” Village of Mexico Mayor Terry Grimshaw said.

In addition, the track machine is also used to clear out sidewalks in the village’s business district to ensure that small, local businesses are able to welcome foot traffic and get back to businesses much sooner after a significant snowfall. A portion of the grant was also used to make upgrades to sidewalks in need of repair in the village.

(In the above photo, Senator Ritchie is joined at the Mexico Academy and Central School by Village of Mexico Trustee and Deputy Mayor Jim Hotchkiss (left), DPW Superintendent John Power (right center) and DPW Mechanical Equipment Operator Bill Francis (right) in front of the new Prinoth SW4S Track machine)