Richard Kavesh, the Democratic candidate in the Nyack mayoral race, will host a thank-you party for all village voters at 3 p.m. Saturday at Nyack Plaza. It will be held on the Artopee Esplanade right in front of the Depew Senior building at 100 Depew Ave. The rain date is 2 p.m. Sunday. Free food and beverages will be served at the party, which is expected to last about two to three hours. Kavesh, a village Trustee, is opposing fellow Trustee Denise Hogan, who is running on the Preserve Nyack and Independence lines in the Nov. 3 election.

The free dancing event will be from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in front of Haverstraw Village Hall at 40 New Main St., and the food event, where people can try samplers at participating Haverstraw restaurants starting at $5 will be held from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

In case of rain, the dancing event will be moved to the River Stone Antiques place at 37 W. Broad St.

Prior to the event, a candlelight vigil to remember those who died in the 9/11 tragedy will be organized from West Haverstraw to Haverstraw. The silent procession will start at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Babe’s Bar & Grill at 73 Railroad Ave. in West Haverstraw.

The veterinarian yesterday spotted a rabies-infected stray cat.

Byman said a Stony Point resident rescued a stray cat about two or three weeks ago because it was injured. She took the cat to another vet to be treated. And yesterday, she brought the cat to Byman’s office because the cat presented a central nervous system disease.

The cat was euthanized. The autopsy conducted by the county Health Department showed that it was infected with rabies virus.

Those residents who were exposed to the animal were also treated for a possible infection. Employees at the vet are in the process of confirming that their vaccination titles are adequate.

Byman said he wanted to remind people that a stray cat was no different from other wild animals — raccoons, bats, or skunks — that can be a carrier of rabies virus.

“From a public health stand point, I thought it would be nice to alert the general public that rabies virus is real,” Byman said.

If approved, the state Department of Mental Health would finance the renovation project. Advocates of the project say it’s a good thing for the community because the existing rundown building would be beautified as part of the project.

But a group of residents have been opposing the plan, saying that the expansion would be unfair to Haverstraw village residents because the community already has other drug rehabilitation facilities and group homes.
The hearing will be at 8 p.m. Sept. 21 at Haverstraw Village Hall at 40 New Main Street.

Following a thunderous cracking noise, a gigantic tree branch fell onto his foreman truck, ripping down electric wires.

The body of the truck was slightly damaged, but Cannavaro was uninjured.

“The whole thing came down on me,” said Cannavaro, pointing the 10-foot-long branch. “I jumped out. I called the police.”

The damaged electric wire caused a minor fire in the nearby house.
The Thiells Fire Department responded to the scene along with Haverstraw police.
Rosman Road was closed while the highway department’s staff, including Cannavaro, and Orange and Rockland Utilities restore the site. (Photo by Akiko Matsuda. Cannavaro, right, clears the fallen branch with his staff.)

Bagrosky said he has been petitioning local representatives to finish the Mount Ivy renewal project, which is closely connected to the state Department of Transportation’s project to replace the Palisades Interstate Parkway bridge over Route 202.

In December 2006, the bridge replacement project near the PIP Exit 13 came to a halt after the DOT and the contractors, Rhombus Enterprises and Imperial Ironworks of the Bronx, couldn’t agree on how the bridge should be built. They eventually parted ways, and the contract was terminated in July 2007.

The new contract was awarded to ECCO III Inc. of Yonkers. The $13.36 million project was funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Under the project, a new single-span will be constructed, replacing the existing three-span structure. The bridge will also be wider, allowing for the addition of a southbound acceleration lane for the entrance ramp and wider shoulders. Route 202 in Mount Ivy will be widened from three lanes to five lanes from the bridge to the intersection with Route 45. The entrance and exit to the commuter parking lot on Route 202 will be moved to allow for more efficient ingress and egress. Two existing traffic lights will be replaced and a new signal will be installed. New drainage and stormwater systems will be installed.

The town has planned for a beautification project for the Mount Ivy area, installing new lighting for the Route 202 commuter parking lot. But the effort has stalled because of the delay of the DOT project.

The organization consists of village residents who care about Haverstraw’s current and future. The group held a cleanup event in April, removing 60 bags of rubbish from the village streets and waterfront, organizers said.

The group is beginning to turn their attention to issues such as overcrowding, traffic, housing and crime. Members have attended meetings, including a recent public hearing for the Murphy Manor affordable housing development.

The hearing will be reconvened during the regular board meeting at 8 p.m. Monday at Village Hall at 40 New Main Street.

The town had to raise its tax rate for 2009 by 12 percent to finance its $32.96 million spending plan.

Phillips defended the purchase, saying that the town did not use town taxpayers’ money to buy the new supervisor’s car, which is on its way. He added that his current car was also purchased using a state grant more than seven years ago. He put 80,000 miles on it over the years, he said.

Phillips said that a reliable car would be necessary because his job requires him to visit many places, including Albany.

“Every single day, including Saturdays and Sundays and evenings and mornings, I’m driving out there, checking on things,” Phillips said.

He noted that Haverstraw town’s practice in supervisor’s car is frugal compared to some other towns, although he did not want to specify which towns.

Haverstraw town Supervisor Howard Phillips said the town recently issued a stop-work order for the project because the town’s inspector found that the developer was not taking a proper step in digging a drainage trench. The condition was corrected, and the drainage work was completed. But building construction hasn’t started at the site.

The 26,000 square-foot structure would be an energy-efficient building, using environmentally friendly materials, designs and technologies. For instance, the four-lane, 75-foot swimming pool would be heated and cooled by a geothermal system, which uses heat from within the Earth as a source of energy, according to the plan.

The group reported the incident to police.

Signs were later found in a dumpster in a nearby parking lot, she said.

Photo above submitted by Jeannine Rippa of New City.

William Sheehan, the town’s building inspector, said today that the developer indeed has not filed a final site plan for the project and did not have a building permit. But he said that it was allowed to do the grading work based on the permit issued late last year by then town engineer, Greater Hudson Valley Engineering & Land Surveying.

Residents who are interested in participating in the program are encouraged to attend an orientation meeting at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the 2nd floor meeting room at Haverstraw Village Hall at 40 New Main St.

The village held its first orientation meeting for the program in November.

Mayor Michael Kohut said he decided to hold another meeting because the program needed more participation.
Kohut said he was hoping that this program would help Haverstraw police tackle crimes in the village.

“The police cannot do it all by themselves. They need our eyes and ears to assist them since they cannot be everywhere at the same time,” Kohut said in his statement. “By taking responsibility for our own neighborhoods, we can help remove the thereat of drugs and crime in the village and make life in Haverstraw better for everyone, except for the bad guys.”

He added: “Please join us on February 4th to make this program a reality.”

Call Village Hall at 845-429-0300 for more information.

The proposed law, the Environmental Protection and Abandoned Commercial Property Reclamation Law, would directly empower the Town Board to regulate business owners’ environmental cleanups.

During a series of public hearing that opened in April, representatives from Mirant, which is demolishing its Lovett Generating Station in Tomkins Cove, expressed the their concerns, arguing that the law targeted the plant and conflicted with state law.

The town has been circulating the draft of the law to different agencies to receive their input.

Dennis Lynch, the town’s special counsel, said if new input would not require the town to change the draft, the Town Board might move to adopt the proposal Tuesday.

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.

The Nazi symbol angered residents in the Lake Lucille community on South Mountain Road, but they responded to the vandal(s) with humor. Barry Carl, president of the Lake Lucille Property Owners Association, said they covered the symbol of hate up with hearts.

Clarkstown police Detective Sgt. Bernard Cummings said investigations were still continuing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Clarkstown Police Department Detective Bureau at 845-639-5840.

(The photo with a heart was contributed by Barry Carl.)

The dedication ceremony will take place following the Veterans Day service at Calico Hill in West Haverstraw, which will start at 11 a.m. Haverstraw town Supervisor Howard Phillips said the bridge dedication would start at about noon.

The old bridge was condemned in fall 2005 because of structural problems, leaving the North Rockland school district’s Fieldstone Secondary School and Willow Grove Middle School without an emergency route in or out of the facilities.

The bridge is also the primary access for the Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Service Office, an agency under the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and the new American Legion Leo Laders Post 130.

The bridge has been open since August.

Call Haverstraw Town Hall at 845-429-2200 for more information about the bridge dedication.

Commissioner Joan Silvestri said this afternoon that a voting machine for the West Haverstraw’s District 3 did not have names of village candidates when the poling site opened at 6 a.m. this morning. An election inspector became aware of the situation and reported to the county Board of Elections at about 6:15 a.m., Silvestri said.

Democratic Incumbent Mark Loblanco and David Barbera, a former superintendent of the Public Works Department, are running for a trustee seat with unexpired three-year term. Village Justice Kevin Russo is running to secure his seat. All three names were not in one of the two voting machines at the S.W. Johnson firehouse on Bridge Street.

Silvestri estimated that because of the problem, about 15 people voted with emergency paper ballots, though she would not know the real impact of the problem until tomorrow morning.

But Jennie Morf, chairwoman of the inspectors at the S.W. Johnson firehouse polling site, said a total of 74 people cast their ballots without noticing the three candidates’ names were missing. And at about 7 a.m., County Legislature Michael Grant, D-Garnerville, came in to vote and noticed the problem and alerted inspectors, Morf said.

Morf said the machine was shut down and was replaced. While the machine was not in use, 48 voters voted via emergency paper ballots.

Depending on the margin of victory tonight, the village trustee race might have to be repeated, Morf said.

Town officials have said that they would have to close the building because it has been costing the town about $50,000 annually for utilities.

One of residents told the Town Board that the town should close the Patriot Hills Golf Club instead of Kirkbride Hall because the municipal golf course is losing a lot of money.

Town Board members had to explain to the resident that the golf course appeared to be losing money because of its debt payment.

To purchase the land and build the course, which opened 2003, the town borrowed $21 million. The debt payment has been about $1.5 million every year. After the debt payment, the golf course operation has been breaking even, although this year, operation costs would exceed revenue, officials said. Taxpayers have been subsidizing the golf course, paying more than $1 million a year.

The irony is that even if the town shuts down the golf course, the town will still have to pay back the debt.
Town Board member Geoffrey Finn, who opposes the idea of closing Kirkbride Hall, said he believed that the town should sell the golf course and pay back the debt. But to sell it, the golf course would have to be active and nicely maintained, Finn said.

Still, those residents who support youth sports activities at Kirkbride Hall appeared to be perplexed by the fact that the town paying $1 million for the golf course while trying to close Kirkbride to save $50,000.

I met club members for the first time on Aug. 9, 2005. It was my second day on the job with the Journal News, covering north Rockland.

Members spoke before the Stony Point Town Board, lead by former Supervisor A. Douglas Jobson, and asked about status of their proposal to build a boathouse on a town park.

The club was just established by parents of North Rockland High School crew team members to support the high school crew team.

Parents said that having a boathouse was very important to protect the team’s expensive gears. They were hoping to build it in a location near the Hudson so that children can launch their boats safely and conveniently.

Since then, the project took many unfortunate turns. When a new administration took over the Town Board in January 2006, the plan basically went back to stage zero, as Supervisor Phil Marino and Town Board members expressed their concerns on building a permanent structure for a private club on a town property.

Club members repeatedly told the town that the boathouse would be dedicated to the town so that it would be a part of town property. But the town did not buy the club’s argument, and eventually the project died. Meanwhile, the crew team’s boats on a boat rack left outside of the Fieldstone Secondary School — because they didn’t have a boathouse — were vandalized.

The club’s attempt to place a dock in a Stony Point town park did not go through, either.

But after nearly four years, the club finally found a home in Haverstraw village. Though the club still doesn’t have its own boathouse, they have a dock, which cost about $27,000. Jerry Rodriguez of North Rockland Rowing Club said major part of the cost was covered by the state grant procured by state Sen. Thomas Morahan (R-C, New City). A $5,000 grant sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R-C, Blooming Grove) was also used to finance the cost. Rodriguez said the club was hoping to build a boathouse somewhere near the dock, although he didn’t know where yet. Rodriguez said he was grateful that Haverstraw village Mayor Michael Kohut and Ginsburg Development Companies, owner of the marina, stepped up to the plate to help the club and the high school crew team.

Jobson was one of the dignitaries who attended the dedication ceremony, which I arrived too late to see ribbon cutting.

“Jerry invited me down. I’m glad to see they’ve finally got plenty of space to work out,” Jobson said. “It’s been four years.”

One trustee seat with unexpired term is up for election in November, and the committee is expected to nominate a candidate for the seat, vacated by Joseph Denise, who was recently appointed to a newly created position, Department of Public Works commissioner.

Mayor John Ramundo has filled the trustee position last month by appointing Mark Loblanco, a former chairman of the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals. To secure his seat, Loblanco, a Democrat, has to run as a Democratic nominee in November.

The meeting is to follow up the ideas that came out of the Aug. 7 meeting, initiated by state Sen. Thomas Morahan.

“My role here is to make sure that they are all on the same page, they are all working together, and they all know what their needs are,” Morahan said, referring to the different parties who need to cooperate to solve the problem, at the Republican headquarters that opened this morning.

The state Department of Transportation has banned vehicles — trucks, buses, fire engines — heavier than 20,000 pounds, or 10 tons, from using the bridge, a major route for commercial traffic, since July 3 as a result of an in-depth inspection that revealed corrosion on the steel structure of the 85-year-old span.

The DOT is currently working on bridge repairs mainly on weekends to try to make the bridge available for heavier vehicles. But the state agency made it clear that the vehicles heavier than 80,000 pounds, or 40 tons, would never be able to cross the bridge until the bridge is replaced.

At the Aug. 7 meeting, ideas such as possibly creating a detour for trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds and expediting the planned replacement project of the bridge, although the bridge might have to be shut for nearly a year.