With the red menace of Valentine’s Day bearing down, there was another, more local, dust up that just happened — the opening of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey at Suffern’s Lafayette Theater. Continue Reading

The ghosts of budgets past are haunting the Village of Suffern.

The groans of stress from poor fiscal choices are now loud enough that they’ve spilled out of Village Hall and into the press and public alike. Continue Reading

With the recent snow and ice and wintry weather knocking area residents off schedule, following are a few school notes and news items many might have missed.

Rockland County coaches showing their respect for @SuffWrestling coach, Mickey DeSimone. #lohudwrestling pic.twitter.com/U8JPGbT8xE

— EastRamapo Wrestling (@TitansWrestle) January 31, 2015

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Kathryn Harrison first lit up the literary world with her memoir The Kiss, a controversial tale of seduction and desire that bared her private life to the world. With the explosive don’t look-don’t look-I must look incestuous story of life with father came much public scrutiny. Harrison responded by doing what writers do — continued to write. Continue Reading

New York State Assemblyman Karl Brabenec takes his oath of office before an audience of Sloatsburg Elementary students on January 16 / Photo courtesy Ramapo Central Schools

Sloatsburg Elementary students got a front-row glimpse of government in action as witnesses of the ceremonial swearing-in of New York State Assemblymember Karl Brabenec in their school gymnasium on January 16. Continue Reading

Hudson Valley Honor Flight is helping fly WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. for day trips to various national monuments.

It’s been 70 years now since the U.S. officially entered WWII, after declaring war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor in 1941. Continue Reading

Arcadis began preparation for continuing environmental remediation work in Torne Valley at the site of a former sand quarry. Torne Mountain is seen in the distance. / Photo by Geoff Welch

Before Torne Valley was a Superfund site, parts of it were used as a sand quarry, with the sand deposits part of the valley’s natural aquifer — now classified by NY state as a principle aquifer and used as a major regional water supply. Back in the 1950s, pockets of the valley were dug through along Torne Brook for natural resources. Those sandy areas eventually became a graveyard for paint sludge brought in from the former Ford Motor Company plant in Mahwah, NJ.  Continue Reading

Just a few years ago, Sloatsburg Elementary School had several bustling after school programs, including Homework Club and the Family Resource Center. Both programs were geared toward providing homework assistance to elementary school students but were lost in the 2013/14 school district budget cuts. Continue Reading

View of the Ramapo River as it washes over Sloats Dam in Sloatsburg, NY, with Mill Pond’s higher flat surface behind the roiled white water.

The Village of Sloatsburg has an industrial and commercial history going back to the mid-1700 Dutch settlers that included Stephen Sloat, who built Sloat’s Tavern. That original structure is still in existence at the rear section of the current Sloat House.

Mostly, the manufacturing history of the area centers on the power provided by the Ramapo River. Continue Reading

Tuxedo has many good things. The whole casino process revealed the many good people engaged with their community — those who are concerned and care about the future of Tuxedo. Following is a letter from Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce President Bill Sweet that briefly reviews the casino process and chamber position while also looking at the community engagement as opportunity to continue to build a better Tuxedo. Continue Reading