Amy Padnani hosted this week’s Week In Review, but I’m posting it so I can say my goodbyes. After more than two years at The Journal News, I’ll be moving on to a new position. It’s truly been a pleasure. Hope you all have a great 2008!

Now back to business. Here’s what made headlines this week.

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Cop started crash that cost his leg

Cop loses leg in motorcade collision

Modica offered deal in sex case

Curley surrenders and posts bail

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Video: Police motorcade crash in Rockland

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Former Rockland prosecutor pleads not guilty to sex charges involving teens

D.C. anti-abortion rally on Roe-Wade 35th

Sex abuse charges tossed for Spring Valley officer

Wii games a hit at nursing homes

Anyway, onward! So about 10 a.m. we parked at a rest stop and lookie lookie who we bumped into — the other Rockland bus packed full of Albertus Magnus High School students, most of whom are part of the school’s Pro-Life Club. The young’ns had interesting things to say, but alas my battery life is now at 21 percent.

To sum up their sentiment, the teens were wearing sweatshirts that quoted Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!,” which read, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

Also tried to figure out where we stopped, but didn’t have time to get specifics. So took quick photo of sign. And hey, look who I caught. Notorious TJN/LoHud photographer, Pete Carr.

Eep! 7 percent! Be back later.

Today hundreds of people from the Lower Hudson Valley will join thousands others to protest the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion.

As those departing from St. Joseph’s sipped their coffees and waited patiently in their cars that were parked against the backdrop of a frosty dawn sky, I talked to a few travelers to see what lured them out of their warm beds so early in the morning.

(The Donahues of Stony Point. One of about 55 families heading from St. Joseph’s Church in Spring Valley to the nation’s capital to participate in the March for Life. From left to right: Ryan, 16, Shannon, 4, Thomas, 6, and Chris, 40.)

Erin Stritmater, 16, of Port Jervis, Orange County, came with her aunt, Katherine Breuninger, of Garnerville. This is Stritmater’s first time attending the rally.

“My aunt asked me about it,” the teen said, “and I thought it was for a good cause, so I said. ‘yeah.’

“I don’t think people should have abortions,” she said, “I think it’s wrong.”

Huddled in their car, Stritmater said she prepared for the day’s brisk weather by packing extra socks and wearing heavy pants and a big coat.

Elaine Peneno, 62, of Ridgewood, N.J., was with her friend Betty Selkirk, 56, of Congers. The two got up at 4 a.m. to make it to the rally. Peneno said her family tried to deter her from attending the march, using the day’s weather forecast to persuade her.

“My family said, ‘You know, it’s supposed to rain, why don’t you just not go,’ ” she said, laughing. “And I said, ‘No, no, no, I don’t care what it’s doing — raining, snowing — I’m going because it’s very important.”

Peneno, who will be attending the march for the first time, called the trip her maiden voyage.

“I absolutely am opposed to the Roe versus Wade opinion,” she said, “and I figured it was time for me to stand up and shout to the world that’s what I believe.”

This is Selkirk’s second year participating in the march.

“It was a wonderful experience,” she said of her first time, “and I have to go again and I would like to go every year to let Washington, D.C., know we feel that abortions are murdering innocent babies every day.”

Radcliff Blackwood, 54, of Nyack, and his wife, Ann Marie, 42, also were participating for the second time. The couple said testimonies in a previous march from people who were nearly aborted had moved them to come again.

“We saw kids who were supposed to be aborted,” Radcliff Blackwood said. “They were there just saying, ‘If my mom had made that decision, I would not be here today.’ And they were college students. That was something we thought was pretty good.”

Those opposed to abortion came in all ages, including 6-year-old Thomas Donahue, who asked, “If a mom doesn’t want a baby, why do you want to kill it? Why can’t you just give it away to (an)other mom?”

By about 6:45 a.m., the bus had arrived and march participants were settling in their seats for the four-hour trip. Father Brenden Gormley, of St. Paul’s Church in Congers, led the group in a prayer and the group was on their way.

Check back for updates throughout the day.

Links to related articles:

Gregg Brie released without bail on charges of stealing $100,000 from woman
Philanthropist said to defraud P. River woman of $100G
Cops: Mom burned son, 7, in oven
Suffern Islamic house of worship divided
Nanuet Mall’s future in limbo

Part 2:

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Rockland’s top stories of 2007

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Rockland’s top stories of 2007

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Ramapo supervisor overdue on property taxes
Spring Valley woman charged with ripping off immigrants
Baby Jesus statue stolen in Nyack
Builder delays Thiells housing complex
MTA approves fare and toll increase

Spring Valley mayor’s cars hit by paintballs in late-night incident
Bronx man dies after jumping from Tappan Zee Bridge
Ramapo police ID men killed in Chestnut Ridge crash
Jury finds Ramapo man guilty of Sloatsburg court shooting
Agency to stop wounded Marine’s therapy
One storm down, another one coming
It’s time to brush up winter driving skills

• Video: Rockland residents play and work in the snow

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Clarkstown officer critically injured in cruiser crash improving in hospital
South Nyack man charged in false report of stabbing
N.J. man gets 6 months in jail for DWI assault that severely injured cop in Rockland
Rockland health officials warn of measles exposure at Good Samaritan Hospital
Experts: MRSA panic unfounded
Egan celebrates bicentennial Mass in West Nyack

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District attorney dissusses case

Researchers study different strains of MRSA

Edward Cardinal Egan presides over mass in West Nyack

So yesterday, to get these cubs thinking about technology and how they can use their parents’ digital cameras to put a news story together (that is if their parents let them), I had the scouts act out a fake scenario. The scene: bears have attacked the county. The players: the bears, the reporter, the camera guys, the locals. The result? One Journal News conference room turned upside down with cubs growling, swiping their paws at our chairs.

I’ve posted the video below. Now this isn’t my best work … it’s terribly difficult to edit when a large number of 8-year-olds are crowding ‘round you breathing down your neck.

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These are the photos taken by the cubs’ den leader.

Pack 233 of Nanuet, New York
Bear Cub Scouts, Den 7
Dave Smith, Den Leader

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After the break, check out the links to related articles, videos and blogs. Note: These Week In Reviews only show portions of the videos our photo staff puts together, so be sure to view the full videos by clicking the links.

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North Rockland H.S. stabbing victim had threatened suspect, lawyer says
Girl accused of stabbing at North Rockland H.S. due in court tonight
Clarkstown rated second-safest community in national study
Hundreds in Haverstraw gather for free holiday meal
Local moms: A new breed of triathletes

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Video: Triathelete Jeanette Shelow-MacDougall

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Triple Threat

Here’s this week’s review. Below the podcast, I’ve included links to the articles mentioned and the videos shown in the review. Check ‘em out and have a relaxing weekend.
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Ramapo bloc vote decides Rockland DA and sheriff races
Zugibe ousts Bongiorno in Rockland district attorney race
Stony Point legislator takes slight lead after election night errors are caught
One more seat for Rockland Legislature Democrats causes power shift
Students at Albertus Magnus, Felix Festa recovering from MRSA
New Jersey man accused of Pearl River house burglary, as cops hunt second suspect

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Video: Burglary suspects sought in Pearl River

Just a reminder that you can get a rundown of the week’s major stories by viewing our Rockland Week In Review podcast. If you have a video iPod, you can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking the link on the right side of your screen so that you can download and view ‘em say … during your commute to work, maybe during a quick sprint on the treadmill or a commercial break at home? Also, below I’ll include any relevant links to the stories mentioned in the podcast. Have a great weekend!

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Related stories, videos and links:

Clarkstown North principal: No disciplinary notices for student protestors

Video: Emergency meeting at Clarkstown North High School

Discipline threatened as Clarkstown North students protest roaches, rats

Child at West Nyack school has drug-resistant staph

Presidential hopeful Giuliani visits Rockland

Garnerville parish reacts to priest’s arrest on sex charge

Nicole Neroulias’ and her father Andonios’ Return to Vietnam blog.

Annnnd since I couldn’t include everything in my recent profile of RCC Professor Liya Li, a survivor of China’s Cultural Revolution, I figured, why not podcast? Li is teaching the college’s first Mandarin Chinese class and while the print story mostly focuses on her growing up in China during a tumultuous time, here she talks about how hard it was for her to learn English, how difficult it is to learn Chinese and her first time in America.

So I guess you could say this is sort of like the “Special Features” option on a movie DVD. In any case, hope you enjoy.

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Also check out the story and the video.

Photo by Vincent DiSalvio. Associate professor Liya Li teaches the new Mandarin class at Rockland Community College. Li is a survivor of Mao Zedong’s 10-year “ideological cleansing.”

Ooh I almost forgot. For those of you who want to sing along to the podcast (yes there’s singing) here are the lyrics:

Liang Zhi Lao Hu (Two tigers)

Liang zhi lao hu, liang zhi lao hu
(Two tigers, two tigers)

Pao de kuai, pao de kuai
(running fast, running fast)

Yi zhi mei you er duo
(one doesn’t have ears)

Yi zhi mei you wei ba
(one doesn’t have a tail)

Zhen qi guai, zhen qi guai
(How weird, how weird)

Shou zai na li, shou zai na li
(Where are the hands? Where are the
hands?)

Zai zhe li, zai zhe li
(Here they are, here they are)

Ni jin tian hao ma
(How are you today?)

Wo jin tian hen hao
(I am very well)

Zai jian ba, zai jian ba
(Good bye, good bye)

Naturally and going along with Nyack’s easy-breezy-strike-up-a -conversation-with-anyone attitude (when in Rome, right?) we started chatting with the little guy’s owner — a bright-eyed blonde with a beautiful smile and a personality to match.

Anyhoo, now to the good stuff. So we’re chatting, chatting, when we end up talking about her romantic life (yay for girltalk). Turns out she’s dating Vinnie Reda (!!!). I start getting really excited because, duh, he’s Vinnie Reda, Rockland County Republican Committee Chairman, and I want to know what he’s like outside of politics.

I didn’t glean many details, didn’t wanna pry, ya know? But here’s the bits I did get.

Apparantly, he cooks her lavish Italian dinners — spicy sausages included — is very caring and will call her when she’s out with her lady friends just to make sure she’s alright. The beaming woman said she’s very happy and that he treats her very nicely. So there you have it, the softer side of VR.

Miller wrote on Friday that a caseworker at the county’s Department of Social Services got a call from Mary Hussain on Thursday who said she and John Howe had arrived safely in Tennessee. She also said Hussain and  Howe “seemed happy and getting on with their life.”

As for the almost completely vacant homeless encampment, Miller said the county’s legal department will check with state officials on cleaning up the area. (A portion of the land is owned by the county while another by the New York State Department of Transportation … the joint ownership had previously complicated efforts to clear the area.)

Two days ago, I was imagining a timely blog entry with a fancy link to reporter Amisha Padnani’s story on the issues surrounding the mural followed by the amazingly edited video by yours truly not knowing how truly difficult it would be to actually post. Sigh! But here it is, the fruits of my cubicle labor. Of course you can see the video on our video section, but blogs are just so much more personal you know?

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A group of 11 artists partner with Keep Rockland Beautiful and the town of Clarkstown to complete a series of murals on the 130-foot-long wall near Maple Avenue and Congers Road in New City. The artists, all from Rockland, each had a 12-by-6-foot panel of concrete to paint on, which they could use for personal, social or political depictions or commentary. Video by Christina Jeng

And just because I can, here’s the video that ran with my Big Apple Circus story. Double tada.

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The Big Apple Circus with its clowns, acrobats and animals comes to the Palisades Center in West Nyack to perform its show, “Step Right Up!” Tent master Michael Leclair shares his love for the big top, which they raised Tuesday June 12, 2007. For more information go to www.bigapplecircus.org Video by Christina Jeng

Still, Bearded Man piqued my interest and my leisurely stroll became a search, a search for something very deep. I scoured storefronts, sidewalks and streetlights for other Bearded Man appearances. Below is a collage of what I found.

There were some stencils of the B-man, who on one sticker we learn is Vinny Raffa (apparently, Raffa is 6 feet 2 inches and 290 pounds). Another one looked like Hiro Nakamura from Heroes trying to time travel and (!!) there was a sticker of a black Jesus face stuck on a Raffa sticker. Guess someone was thinking the same thing?

Here’s what some had to say about the stuff:

Joe D’Urso, a music producer for Leftfield Productions Inc. in Nyack, said he didn’t have a problem with the graffiti.

I’m an artist, so free expression is fine with me. As long it’s not offending anyone.

I never stop to think about it, honestly. You don’t even notice it, ’cause it’s everywhere and the only reason I notice it is because they tag our boxes.

Tiffany Olim, 26, a legal assistant for MacCartney, MacCartney, Kerrigan & MacCartney, said the graffiti didn’t go with the look of the village.

You see it around down here and this is supposed to be a really quaint, cute little village and they do a lot to keep it up and make it look good and then you see it and it’s not good.

What do you think?