Posted on 03 November 2013 by Editor
With all the campaign yard signs and personalities in the current Rockland County election, it might be very easy to miss another important feature of Tuesday’s ballot — six proposed NY State constitutional amendments.
The usual rule of thumb on constitutional amendments proposed is to be wary, very wary. Some group or business association has spent shiny pennies to help wind a proposal through the state legislature, past the governor’s desk and onto the ballet. Bet on it. Continue Reading
Posted on 02 November 2013 by Editor
It’s that time of year where we shake hands with time and early morning risers are greeted with sunshine. But the days do shorten. Thank Richard Nixon and OPEC. This time change thing feels so unnatural. Nevertheless, if you want to be on time with everyone around you, set your clock back Sunday morning, November 3, at 2 a.m. Continue Reading
Posted on 01 November 2013 by Editor
A brouhaha over library services has erupted north of these parts in the Town of Monroe over Kiryas Joel’s relationship to the Monroe Free Library — and the extended Ramapo-Catskill Library System which serves Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, and southern Ulster counties.
As first reported by The Photo-News’ Nancy Kriz, the New York State Board of Regents “approved an amendment to the Monroe Free Library’s charter which now excludes the Village of Kiryas Joel from its service area.”
The bone of contention between the library and village relates to years-long non-payment of taxes for library services rendered. According to Monroe Library Board of Trustees President Sandra Keltai, Kiryas Joel has not paid library taxes since 2005, when the village negotiated a tax-exempt status so that it could build its own library — which was never done.
Kriz reported that an amendment to the Monroe Free Library’s charter means residents of Kiryas Joel loose ” borrowing privileges at the Monroe library or any other public library in the Ramapo-Catskill Library System.” The Monroe Free Library currently serves residents in the Town of Monroe. The new charter would articulate the library’s service area as “coterminous with the Town of Monroe, including only the Villages of Monroe and Harriman.”
Kiryas Joel is a tiny, densely populated one square mile village in the Town of Monroe that was settled primarily by members of the Satmar Hasidic sect. According to 2008 U.S census figures, Kiryas Joel just notched out Carbondale, Illinois for the place with the highest poverty rate in the country.
Kriz’s article has created quite a discussion in the comments section, from outrage to nuggets of interesting information.
Monroe Free Library photo courtesy of The Photo-News.
Posted on 30 October 2013 by Editor
O&R responds to gas line leak during sewer construction.
Carbro Construction’s big cat strikes again. Sewer subcontractor Carbro was digging at Grant Street and Washington Avenue Wednesday when the big cat pulled loose a gas line. The Sloatsburg Volunteer Fire Department and O&R responded to the call. Gas lines to those homes without gas service on the north end of Grant Street are expected to be repaired by 11 p.m. this evening.
Bill Demarest at Nyack Free Press had the report.
Posted on 30 October 2013 by Editor
A look at some of the scenes in Sloatsburg last year after Sandy.
The last few years truly were like Groundhog Day. A couple of years ago there was that late October snow storm that cancelled the Sloatsburg Halloween Parade. And last year was the tropical winds of Sandy, which wound up stronger and stronger to become a super storm before slamming into New Jersey and New York. Continue Reading
Posted on 29 October 2013 by Editor
View from Liberty Rock Park in Sloatsburg of Torne Mountain smoking.
The smell of smoke was everywhere in the air Tuesday, from Sloatsburg east to Suffern and Mahwah as Torne Mountain smoked and smoldered from brush fires. Continue Reading
Posted on 28 October 2013 by Editor
The Village of Sloatsburg put on another successful Halloween Parade that had a good number of village residents turn out for the grand walk north down Rt. 17 and around to Sloatsburg Elementary School. Continue Reading
Posted on 27 October 2013 by Editor
The Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry is heading into the high season, where holiday giving is essential for many local families to make ends meet.
Rockland Community Foundation President Pat Byrne recently said that “statistics on hunger in a county such as Rockland are staggering.” The foundation supports food pantries across the county. Continue Reading
Posted on 26 October 2013 by Editor
Did that temperature really dip down into the twenties overnight? The oak and elm leaves are the last holdouts, turning brown and yellow before they finally fall, baring themselves in November.
Well, warm up with a walk through the Tuxedo Farmers’ Market. Our Father’s Farm sells the softest, most adorable Alpaca wool products imaginable. Continue Reading
Posted on 25 October 2013 by Editor
By Geoff Welch, Harmony Hall Curator
At least some of the best things in life are free. This Saturday, October 26, the free 27th Annual Highlands Archaeological and Historical Conference will be held at the Lautenberg Visitors Center at Sterling Forest State Park, 115 Old Forge Road, Tuxedo, New York. Continue Reading
