It has been two years since parents of New Paltz Middle School students have been lobbying for a crossing guard to help shepherd their young across the busy and dangerous intersection of Main Street and South Manheim Boulevard, as well as the crosswalk from the middle school to North Manheim Boulevard. The previous Village Board approved the hiring and financing for a crossing guard, even going so far as to hire a veteran crossing guard, only to have that resolution quashed by the newly elected Village Board, whose members said that they did not have the authority nor the resources to do the background checks necessary to hire a person dealing with school-aged children. The buck was passed many times among the village, the town, the school district and the New Paltz Police Department -- who, to their credit, offered to do the background check and serve as the emergency contact number if the crossing guard could not be present.