If you’re available Sunday, Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee invites you to attend her swearing-in ceremony as she begins to serve her second two-year term in the state Legislature.

The Suffern woman, who represents the 95th Assembly District, will be sworn in during a ceremony that starts at 2 p.m. in the new Technology Center at Rockland Community College in Ramapo.

Don’t worry, there’s more than just Jaffee placing one hand on a Bible and lifting the other in pledge mode. The assemblywoman has also scheduled some interesting guests. The Ramapo High School Jazz Ensemble will perform, and two poems written by Pearl River High School students will be read.

The 95th A.D. covers Orangetown and parts of Ramapo.

Jaffee’s annual salary is about $80,000.

Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony and all are welcome to attend.

Congratulations are due Ann Marie Kelly, who is back at her post, not that she ever actually left.

The Rockland County Legislature voted 15-0 today to reappoint the New City woman as County Commissioner of Elections. Legislators Joseph Meyers, D-Airmont, and Alden Wolfe, D-Suffern, were absent.

Kelly, a Democrat, now “rejoins” her Republican counterpart, Joan Silvestri, at the county Board of Elections. Both will serve until 2012.

The job pays about $82,700 annually

In this photo shot by staffer Vincent DiSalvio last year, Kelly and Silvestri are seen at work.

C. Scott Vanderhoef will be the guest of honor during a fundraiser in his honor next month.

Vanderhoef told us today that the cocktail reception, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 25., is indeed being held so he can raise some money for his political coffers.

But he wouldn’t say for sure if he’s going to seek a fifth term as Rockland’s County Executive.

“We’re looking at a run, but we’ll wait to make it official,” Vanderhoef said today.

Meantime, if you’re a supporter of Vanderhoef, you’re in for a tasty treat should you opt to attend the bash. Why? Namely because it will be held at Restaurant X and Bully Boy Bar, just off South Route 303 in Congers. The eatery consistently garners high marks for delicious food.

State Senator Thomas Morahan, R-New City, will serve as honorary chairman for the event. He’s the highest ranking elected GOP official in Rockland, so his support is significant.

The gathering will also feature the CSV Jazz Trio, which will be led by bass guitarist Ron Figueroa, who is a counselor with the county Department of Health, but will be playing on his own time.

The donation is $150 per person. RVSP by Jan. 19 by calling 914-552-1507 or sending checks to Friends of Scott Vanderhoef, P.O. Box 472, New City, NY 10956.

The file photo of Vanderhoef was taken by staffer Kathy Gardner. Morahan’s was taken by staffer Peter Carr.

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission has reduced its wintertime maintenance of Seven Lakes Drive as a way to save money in this belt-tightening time.

Have drivers been inconvenienced at any time? Can anyone gauge the amount of traffic on weekdays? And where does this traffic originate? Is most coming from Route 17, or from the Route 6 traffic circle at the PIP?

Holiday schedules, and on one occasion a lengthy traffic jam on the Thruway, took their toll on the Ramapo live blog.

It will be returning at noon, Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Please join in with your concerns regarding issues in Ramapo’s largest township.

The Rockland Haitian relief task force last month spent eight days on a relief mission to deliver $30,000 worth of medicine, food, clothing and other basic emergency supplies to the storm-ravaged Caribbean nation.

Renold Julien, who helped lead the effort, said the trip to Haiti was a personal sacrifice for each of the 10 members who went.

“We didn’t do it for name recognition; it was the right thing to do,” he said. “People were suffering. People were in need, therefore we put 150 percent of ourselves behind the project. We used our own money to pay for tickets … this is a project that cost all of us a lot of money to do, but we wanted to do it.”
The group is already planning a range of other aid initiatives beginning next month, including a fundraiser and a training mission to Haiti.

Items delivered during last month’s trip included 20,000 pounds of rice, 450 boxes of clothing and canned food, medicine, as well as stretchers and wheelchairs.

Acting state Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bartlett has tossed 24 misdemeanor sexual abuse counts against a fired Ramapo police officer and a Monsey millionaire. She also tossed two official misconduct charges against the officer.

The fired officer, Andrew Dale of Suffern, and Zalman Silber are accused of administering gynecological exams to SIlber’s wife from 2005 to 2006. Bartlett yesterday let stand eight felony charges – four counts each of unauthorized practice of a profession and aggravated sexual abuse.

Ramapo fired Dale in August following a disciplinary hearing.

Bartlett has been a thorne in the side of prosecutors in several cases since being assigned to Rockland several years ago. She’s a political appointee to the Court of Claims by then Gov. George Pataki.

She recently dismissed charges during trial against a suspended Spring Valley police officer. District Attorney Thomas Zugibe disagreed with her rulings during the trial on evidence and what testimony was allowed. She also came down heard on the Spring Valley police investigation.

A jury acquitted the officer, David Lebron, of all remaining criminal charges.

Former prosecutor Michael Bongiorno also had disagreements with Bartlett, one time filing a court action on her decision on what documents the prosecution needed to turn over to the defense. The legal action was withdrawn following negotiations.

Read more about the judge’s decision at www.lohud.com today and tomorrow.

In today’s paper, you’ll find my article on revised plans for a family-oriented sports and entertainment complex in Orangetown. The multimillion-dollar facility would include an aquatic center, a bowling center and lounge and an ice rink. If you’re interested, check it the whole story here.

The developer, STEJ, sent over a few photos of the project plans:

Exterior shot

Haverstraw Town Police Chief Charles Miller presents Police Officer Dave Kryger with his new gold detective’s badge.

Kryger,  the department’s youth officer, was promoted to detective at the Dec. 8  meeting of the Haverstraw Town Board. A 10-year veteran, Kryger has been running the youth division for the last year and works with Stony Point police on the North Rockland Youth Academy.

He is a former 5-year NYPD member and former chief of the West Haverstraw FD.  His brother is a Stony Point police and his father is a retired New York City firefighter and reporter for the Journal-News.

Oz will be better dressed – and protected.

The Clarkstown Police Department canine  has received a body armor vest from the United States Police Canine Association for Region 7.

The $900-valued vest was presented last week to the German shepherd and his handler, Police Officer Joseph Knarich during the association’s meeting in Yonkers. The group’s president, MTA Lt. John Kurwick, did the honors.

The association gets the vests through donations

Kanarich and Oz became partners during 2007 – including 13 weeks of training at the Boston Police Department K-9 Academy.

The 2 1/2-year-old tracking dog also is trained in narcotics detection.The dog found a man with Alzheimer’s who had become lost for four hours in 2007.

The association’s website is www.uspca7.org.

Curbside loose leaf collection in South Nyack ends after today.

For the rest of the season, leaves must be bagged.

For more information, call Village Hall at 845-358-0287.

At the Stony Point Town Board workshop meeting this week, Town Board member Louis Vicari told the public, the supervisor and other board members that he wanted to propos a moratorium for the town’s spending money on “all amenities,” including seminars and lectures for town employees.

Vicari made his statement when the board discussed a request from Dave Fusco, director of golf for the Patriot Hills Golf Club. Fusco wants to go to the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show from Jan. 29 to Jan. 31 in Orlando, Fla., and he wants the town to finance his trip. The cost of the trip was not available for the public at the meeting.
Fusco told the board that the event was considered to be a world-class convention in the industry and that the town could purchase supplies for the municipal golf course and merchandize for the pro shop at discount rates at the event. Fusco also said that various seminars at the event would help understand new trends in the industry.

Vicari, who is a former town justice, said he didn’t discourage continuing education, but because the town was facing a tough financial condition and has decided to cut some services for residents, it’s not the time to spend money for sending employees to continuing education programs.

He also said when he was town justice, he went seminars at his own cost because he wanted to better serve the community.

Vicari may officially bring up his proposal at the Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Rho building in Letchworth.

This just in from state Senator Thomas Morahan, R-New City:

New York State Senator Thomas P. Morahan announced that
he has been informed by Michael R. Fleischer, Executive Director of the New
York State Thruway Authority, that tonight (December 4, 2008) the Thruway
Authority’s contractor will be removing three plates on the Tappan Zee
Bridge that have been a major source of delay for commuters. The contractor
will also be installing two feet of asphalt leading up to the remaining
four plates on the northbound side of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

“The actions that Executive Director Fleischer initiated this evening should significantly improve the flow of traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge and lead to a smoother ride for the thousands of commuters who use the bridge,” Morahan said.

In a press release issued today, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. offers tips to make the holiday season a safe one.
Here’s what the company has to say:

“Each year, over 1,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to holiday lights and trimmings, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s figures. In addition, Christmas trees are involved in about 500 fires annually, resulting in about $20 million in property loss and damage each year.

O&R offers some helpful advice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission so that you and your family won’t become part of these statistics.”

The tips follow below the cut. Read more of this entry »

The County Executive has issued a statement regarding the County Legislature’s amendments and adoption of the 2009 county budget last night. Here it is verbatim:

New City, NY – County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef today commended the Rockland County Legislature for working cooperatively with the Executive Branch by approving the proposed $714 million 2009 County Budget, bringing it one step closer to becoming law.

The proposed 2009 spending plan, which Vanderhoef called the most difficult budget process of his tenure, includes a 9.85-percent increase to the County’s tax levy. The proposal was approved by the Legislature last night by a vote of 13-4.

“This is an example of how true leaders can put politics aside and do the right thing for the people we serve,” Vanderhoef said. “We greatly appreciate the Legislature’s wisdom in recognizing that although this tax increase comes at a bad time for all Rocklanders, it is necessary to continue to provide the critical services our residents need to help get our County through these challenging economic times.”

Vanderhoef must sign or veto changes to the 2009 spending plan by December 19th.

Got an e-mail this morning from someone complaining about a new valet parking area at the Palisades Center, in front of the Staples, facing the New York State Thruway.

Reporter David Schepp called over to the mall to check out the valet situation and he found that yes, indeed, there was a new area at that spot, in addition to those on Level 2 of the parking deck and in the underground parking garage.

“We moved the valet parking around a little bit,” mall spokeswoman Ann Marie Dell’Accio said.

Whether the valet area in front of Staples will remain after the holidays isn’t yet clear.

“That I’m not sure of yet,” Dell’Accio said.

What do you think? Should they keep it or can it?