By Jeanne Sager
MONTICELLO — September 16, 2005 – There’s nothing left to save the Salvation Army from leaving Sullivan County.
According to Cliff Marshall, direction of communications for the Greater New York area, the Christian charity best known for its bright red kettles and military-style hierarchy is pulling up stakes.
The office on Jones Street in Monticello will close on November 1.
Charitable works which have benefited the people of Sullivan County, including rent and utility assistance and food distributions, will continue from the corps’ other community centers in the Hudson Valley region.
Marshall said little has been decided beyond the closing date.
The fate of the Monticello office’s two staff members still hangs in the balance, and the exact place Sullivan’s residents should be contacting in the future is still up in the air.
Marshall was not even sure whether a local phone number will be put in place for people calling army centers in Port Jervis, Middletown, Newburgh, Kingston or other communities in the Hudson Valley.
“The details are still being worked out,” was Marshall’s answer to many of those questions.
He said the closing date was chosen as an “arbitrary” date, one well in advance of the Christmas holiday, when the Salvation Army’s red kettle fundraising drive, its biggest moneymaker, will take off.
Local Salvation Army Director Russell Bartholomew declined comment, referring all questions to Marshall’s office in New York City.