Next week at this time it will be up early and off to school. And don’t forget those school lunches. Now parents can prepay for school lunches and track their kid’s lunch account — no more Jr. pitching pennies with his lunch money. The only hold-up might be the $1.95 that will be charged for each credit card transaction. Continue Reading

Well, it’s that time of the year to put your whites away as late summer and early fall is upon us – back to school and all.

The Sloatsburg Public Library has you covered with a full schedule of fall programming (you might have seen the latest Book & Beyond in the mail). Did you ever want to Tush Push or put on your duds and kick up your heels to the Virginia Reel? Now you can learn some fancy footwork by signing up for the library’s Line Dancing program. $20 gets you four Tuesday classes: September 17, 24, October 1 and the 8. Continue Reading

The Highlands Bluegrass rooster knows where it’s going. Do you?

Join the unofficial mascot of the Highlands Bluegrass Festival on the Great Lawn at Harmony Hall in Sloatsburg next Sunday, September 8, from 1 – 6 p.m. Throughout the festival the rooster can be spotting all around the festival, from the stage with musicians, on the lawn in the audience or most anywhere among the booths of various craft vendors who come from far and wide to take part in the annual festival.

Here the rooster visits with Friends of Harmony Hall President Barbara Berntsen and Friends board member Ken Linsner, known around these parts for his popular annual antiques roadshow event held at Harmony Hall — Got Treasure?

Take a moment to enjoy an interlude of scenes and sounds from the Highlands Bluegrass Festival in this original video by Jack Sinsabaugh (the video may take a moment to load due to the Animoto embed process).

http://animoto.com/play/3xOoZSroroSPv4lSifqbMg

The Highlands Bluegrass Festival is a Sloastsburg’s community event that draws people from throughout the Hudson Valley and relies on the support of the home crowd to help with it’s continued success.

Proceeds from the Highlands Bluegrass Festival go toward restoration of the historic Jacob Sloat House in Sloatsburg, which is on the National Registrar of Historic places.

Thank Eugene V. Debs, early American patriot and labor leader, and the Pullman Strike for the long Labor Day weekend.

Born amid the bloody confrontations between federal troops and striking union railroad workers in 1894, Labor Day was enacted by Congress and designed to celebrate the “spirit de corps” of trade and labor unions and dedicated to the social and economic achievements of the American worker. The weekend now signifies a seasonal shift; the end of summer and a general sense of the ebbing of vacation season. Continue Reading

People can get worked up and passionate about politics. Sometimes a person discovers that his or her co-worker is all fired up, puts money to mouth and donates a hundred dollars to a favorite local campaign.

And sometimes a bunch of co-workers get inspired and, say, without discussing anything with one another, donate $4000 to a candidate running for Rockland County Executive. Continue Reading

The Sloatsburg Village Board of Trustees had a full agenda Tuesday evening, with discussion ranging from old utility poles to an estimate to resurface the Community Field tennis courts to Ramapo Police Department coverage throughout the village. Continue Reading

Take a moment to lock that door, as someone around the village has apparently developed a case of the hot hands.

There have been recent whispers and rumors of a rash of break-ins throughout Sloatsburg. Mayor Carl Wright said that the Ramapo Police Department met with him Monday to give a brief report of two official incidents in the Pine Grove Lakes neighborhood that took place on Friday, August 23, on Hazelwood and on Ann Place. Continue Reading

There may be sewer blasting on a street near you — if you live in the vicinity of Sloatsburg Elementary School.

Calls from the Rockland County Sewer District 1 rang around Sloatsburg Friday evening. The alerts were part of an information effort by the District related to continuing sewer project work in the neighborhood of Grant Street and the area adjacent to the elementary school. The call from Sewer District Asst. Director Mike Saber’s office alerted residents about possible upcoming blasting for sewers. Additionally, the call mentioned a home inspection company called PEACE, which is working with the Sewer District on the Sloatsburg project and may be soliciting home inspections related to the upcoming work. Continue Reading

The court gavel has officially hammered down the feisty bid by Suffern Mayor Dagan Lacorte to win the Democratic nomination for Rockland County Executive.

Updated Monday, August 22

Sometimes you’re in the moment. And sometimes it is your moment to shine. Mario Marchese, known in most circles as Mario The Magician, was the focus of a recent successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign and will now be the subject of a documentary film. For Mario, the magic moment is at hand. Continue Reading