MIDDLETOWN – The spreading "Occupy" movement found a foothold in Orange County Thursday evening, with veterans from Zuccotti Park and other movements staging an informational rally at the Mulberry House senior center in Middletown.

Hundreds gathered – perhaps some motivated by the free buffet – to listen to the same guiding philosophies that drew hundreds to hold vigil on Wall Street last year. While no such similar feats are being planned for Orange County at the moment, the session served to brainstorm on smaller scale ideas.

With the movement already in action in Poughkeepsie, Kingston and New Paltz, Bennett Weiss, an organizer who gained fame in Zuccotti Park for making buttons, says "Occupy" has been conspicuously absent in Orange County.

"There are a lot of people in Orange County suffering; there are a lot of people who have to discover that they're part of the 99 percent who aren't being represented properly. They're coming together here as a celebration, a pep rally to keep the spirit of the ‘Occupy’ movement going," said Weiss, whose roots in activism go back to protesting the Vietnam War. He added that they hope to inspire actual occupations in the area.

The movement draws sympathizers for a variety of issues, whether they are skyrocketing foreclosure rates, excessive bonuses for corporate CEOs or just general frustration at the federal government. Another cause, drawing members of the CSEA, was the impending closure of the Valley View retirement home, which has yet to find a buyer. Loretta Schultz is a nurse there.

“We're still fighting for it. Our patients shouldn't have to worry about being homeless," Schultz said. "I had a resident today crying because her daughter put an application in at another nursing home."

CSEA President William Oliphant said the government in Orange County has neglected the elderly in lieu of building a new government center.

"They're going to use money we pay in taxes to take care of our elderly and they're going to build a new building," Oliphant jeered to a packed room. "We don't want our government in the business of building a building; we want them in the business of providing the services that we elect our officials to do."