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The votes are almost tallied.
Our own "Hometown Legend" will be chosen Tuesday at Anthony's Pier 9 in New Windsor.
The singing contest, "The Hometown Legend Show," began in late August and ends Tuesday. Proceeds benefit the Family Empowerment Council, a nonprofit family and consumer-oriented organization that provides case management and other services for people with developmental and other disabilities.
Out of 75 contestants ranging in age from 5-84 years old, finalists include Victoria Greene, Timothy Kopp, Shanee Mayers, Aisha Castro, Michelle Valastro, Michael Harvey, Larissa Knight, Francine Saltares, Alan Spaulding and Sarah Worden.
Finalists will arrive in a stretch limo and receive floral bouquets. The performer who wins gets the opportunity to record an album plus $1,000. Second prize is $500, and third prize is $250.
All show dates will be taped for broadcast, and DVDs will available for purchase. The top 10 vocalists will perform on the upcoming CD "Voices of the Valley."
Doors open at 6 p.m. Anthony's Pier 9 is on Route 9W in New Windsor. Tickets are $12.50 and $15. Call 343-8100 or 895-5556.

- Sandy Tomcho

MONTICELLO — July 19, 2005 – While trotters raced around the cinder track at Monticello Raceway on Sunday afternoon, a bevy of beautiful ladies competed in the preliminary round of the 12th annual Ms. Monticello Raceway Beauty Pageant.
After the opening round results were tabulated, 16 ladies advanced to the finals, which are scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 24 at the raceway.
The pageant was originally scheduled to have 15 semifinalists, but three ladies tied with an overall score of 79. A perfect score for the preliminary round would have been a 100, if a contestant had received a 10 in the swimsuit category and a 10 in the evening gown category from each of the five judges. None of the semifinalist earned a perfect score of 100, however.
After the judges narrow down the the 16 semifinalist to the last two contestants this Sunday, the winner will be decided by crowd reaction.
Those 16 semifinalists who will compete on Sunday for the title of Ms. Monticello Raceway 2005 are: Linda Bader of Marlton, NJ, Tammylou Curci of Marlboro, Amanda De
groat of Thompsonville, Melissa Esposito of Wallkill, Marisol Fortea of Middletown, Blaise Goimez of Middletown, Tierra Griffin of Newburgh, Jessica Johnson of Maybrook, Lindsay Karchawer of Goshen, Elizabeth Lounsbury of Montgomery, Jennifer Orlowsky of Hurleyville, Maria Pappas of Forestburgh, Francine Saltares of Newburgh, Shawanna Trautmann of Rock Tavern, Karla Welch of Middletown and Kimberly Weyandt of Narrowsburg.
As the contestants strutted their stuff in the swimsuit competition, several members of the crowd broke out their cameras to record the event as emcee/trackman Larry Roman asked the contestants a series of questions. The swimsuit competition was followed by another round of questions when the contestants were dressed in formal evening wear.
Among those watching the pageant was Mary Bellock of Fosterdale. Her 19-year-old daughter Melissa took to the stage in the opening round.
“It’s exciting,” Mary Bellock said. “Whether she does good or not, it’s another experience… a fun thing for her to try, and maybe get some money for college.”
Melissa Bellock graduated from Sullivan West Central School in 2004 and is now studying elementary education at SUNY Oneonta.
So what was it like to compete in a local beauty contest?
“The competition is tough,” Melissa said. “It’s something new to try and get money for school.” - Ted Waddell

From the smallest towns to the biggest cities across the American landscape, there are countless talented singers dreaming of their chance at stardom. To be sure, network series like AMERICAN IDOL and STAR SEARCH have found a fraction of these individuals. But, it can also be said with certainty that these shows have only scratched the surface. With their brief one-day auditions, they find a few, but leave behind countless potential stars.



GIMME THE MIKE is the answer to these people’s dreams. And, it is the perfect counterpoint to the network talent shows, while at the same time appealing to the same viewer interest in watching stars-in-the-making. GIMME THE MIKE is a grassroots, locally-produced talent show that is unique on the American television scene. Created, developed and produced by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., this series allows local stations across America the chance to produce their own show that stars their own home-grown talent.



Downtown Julie Brown, former host of “Club MTV” has signed on to host WNBC’s local talent contest “Gimme the Mike” in New York. The six episode reality series premiers Saturday July 3rd at 7:30 pm. The final episode, which airs August 7th at 7pm, is a live one hour sing-off between the winners of the five previous episodes. The show pits New York area singers against each other in front of a panel of celebrity judges. Z-100 personality Paul “Cubby” Bryant, record executive Tommy Page and Broadway star Kathy Brier are the judges. The show is produced by Hurricane Entertainment Corp and Executive Produced by John Tomlin. WNBC Program Director, Adele Rifkin, is the Executive in Charge. - Gimme the Mic WNBC