Levine said he has publicly challenged St. Lawrence to a debate, but the supervisor has not responded.

St. Lawrence told this writer on one occasion about a month ago that he wanted to debate Levine. But the supervisor has not responded to subsequent calls from this writer. So who knows? Maybe he changed his mind.

Petitions for a Republican ticket, which includes Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and town Justice Rhoda Schoenberger – both Democrats – on the GOP primary ballot were collected by a variety of local political veterans.

They included Michael Dolan, the town’s Republican chairman, John Layne, the former Airmont mayor, Allan Thompson, the former Spring Valley mayor, and Sloatsburg village Trustees Barbara Berntsen and J. Mark Reimer.

One non-office holder, Golde Kaff of New Square, appeared particularly energetic. She witnessed 396 signatures, according to a petition filed with the Rockland Board of Elections.

And so a recent interview with Mayor Carl Wright led this reporter to pine for the days when The Journal News ran a daily “quote of the day,” on the tail of the local Briefs column.

Wright was discussing the loss of several sycamore trees that stood in the way of the county sewer project.

“We love trees,” Wright said, “and trees love Sloatsburg.”

Now that would have been a nice quote of the day.

In an election law dispute filed in state Supreme Court in New City, Oberman also names the county’s two commissioners of elections. The Board of Elections had upheld the propriety of Romanowski’s petitions.

St. Lawrence, a Democrat, got the GOP endorsement over the objection of some Republicans who thought their party ought to come up with its own candidate. Feelings like that led Romanowski, a Monsey resident, to get more than 400 signatures supporting his candidacy.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this year’s show.

This site was jammed a year ago when the town chose Herman’s Hermits over Southside Johnny, with fans of each band rallying to support their favorite.

In any event, the Hermits must have wowed the crowd last year to warrant a return performance…Sorry Southside Johnny fans.

The program will be at Rockland Community College, where the gates open at 5:30 p.m. Sky divers will entertain at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Hermits concert at 8 p.m. A fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m.

A representative of the Rockland Department of Health was likely to be present at the time, Mayor John Keegan said this week.

One employee has complained of nasal issues that may or may not be attributable to the presence of mold, and detectors found that there was some in the air. The extent of the presence, its source, and the type of mold were issues to be investigated.

The Village Hall remains open, and Keegan said he knew of no other employees experiencing symptoms.

The first is for a yeshiva with a dormitory on the former Camp Hill Road estate of the late actor Burgess Meredith, which has generated no small amount of neighborhood opposition despite a promise by Congregation Mesifta Beth Shraga of Monsey to preserve the 18th century portion of the house.

Some residents of the area have said that the planned construction would dwarf the house and occupy too much of the grounds, which total about 7 acres.

The second is a proposed yeshiva for about 250 day students in a single-family residential area off Route 306, about 600 feet north of Babcock Lane near the Pomona border.

That applicant, which has operated a yeshiva in the existing house on the property without the town’s approval, now wants to construct a new building, while using the house and trailers until the construction is completed.

Neighbors were mightily upset last week when a cow was butchered in the back yard – apparently part of a kosher meat preparation class unauthorized by Bobover – and are likely to pack Thursday’s meeting.

Some of the neighbors also feel that the 2-acre property is insufficient for 250 students, particularly in a residential area.

The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.

As of this writing, Congregation Mesifta Beth Shraga is first on the agenda, followed by Bobover Yeshiva.

The 19,000 ton granite boulder was used by native Americans as a trail marker, pointing the way to Mahwah, N.J., which Craig Long, the village historian, translated as meaning “meeting place” for area tribes. Long will talk about the history of the rock at Sunday’s program.

Mayor Jeffrey Oppenheim said the plaque will likely be read by generations of shoppers. It will be easily within their reach, unlike roadside historical signs that people may want to read, but can’t as they race by in their cars.

The boulder, moved to the spot by glaciers that scraped the earth, was saved by residents from a dynamite blast when the shopping center was built.

It stands today in a garden, perched in a parking lot within easy sight of Route 59, just east of the Suffern Library.

Spring Valley, though, continues to be opposed to the size of the project – 132 units – as too large and Village Attorney Bruce Levine had asked the board to do a full environmental review of the plan.

In response to some residents’ concerns expressed at at public hearing, the board approved an amended version that decreases the number of condominiums from 138, eliminating one of the dozen buildings initially proposed. It also increased parking spaces to 175 from 156.

Fencing has also been an issue for neighbors who had been used to living beside a wooded eight acres. The plan promises fencing as well as buffers of trees and shrubs.

A key concern of Spring Valley, as well as of some residents who spoke at the hearing, was the development’s impact on traffic, particularly on Union Road, Twin and Maple avenues.

What do you think?

Among the larger subdivision proposed is one off the east side of Remsen Avenue in Monsey, where Elazar Steinwurtzel plans to leave two existing houses on two lots, and build four single-family attached houses with accessory apartments on the other four lots.

The yeshiva and dormitory is proposed on .79 acres off the south side of Grove Street in Monsey, about 204 feet east of the Augusta Avenue intersection. That’s being proposed by Mefal Hatorah, which also wants to create four building lots from 1.6 acres in the area of the yeshiva property.

On the west side of Cole Avenue in Monsey, a four-lot subdivision is proposed about 90 feet north of the First Street intersection. The total property is .93 acres.

For those interested in attending, the meeting starts at 8 p.m. in Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.

Beginning at 8 p.m., the board will review a proposal by Congregation Mesifta Shraga to build a school, dormitory and staff buildings at the intersection of Camp Hill Road and Old Route 202. The variances requested include building four-story structures, which is not currently permitted, as well as developing 31.6 percent of the land, while only 20 percent development is permitted. It’s also proposed that up to four beds be allowed in each dormitory room, while only two beds are allowed.

• Another school, proposed off Carlton Road about 300 feet from the West Maple Avenue intersection, will also be reviewed. Applicant Isaac Weinberger seeks permission for a school and dormitory for Yeshiva Ziev Hatorah of Monsey. Variances sought would allow parking in the front yard, and permit a smaller than required lot size.

• The board will also be reviewing a proposal for two, three-family semi-attached dwellings, each with an accessory apartment, or a total of 12 residential units, on property off Nesher Court, about 150 feet from the West Central Avenue intersection. The builder, Leah Wagschal, is seeking variances from codes to permit smaller front, side and back yards.

• Variances from town codes will also be sought for two proposed three-family houses on Blauvelt Road, a three-family house with three apartments for a total of six units on Herrick Avenue, for converting a single-family house on Manor Drive to a five-unit building.

Spring Valley officials support the idea of affordable housing, but have expressed opposition to the density of the project because of concerns for traffic and storm water drainage.

Although public hearings are intended as a way for all residents to have a chance to comment on one plan or another, there may be a conflict with holding the hearing on this night.

It’s also Election Day in the Ramapo villages of Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Hillburn, Kaser, Montebello, New Hempstead, New Square, and Pomona.

Should the hearing date be changed to accommodate more input from residents?

The 8:15 p.m. starting time will be changed to 7:30 p.m. That could be a significant change for the public, which sometimes had to wait until 11 p.m. or later for discussions on items of interest, especially those before the Planning Board.

Now, we’ll just have to see whether the change gets more members to the meetings on time. Tardiness has been a chronic problem, particularly at the Planning Board, where the start of meetings was sometimes delayed for 15 minutes or more.

This could come in handy, considering that there was only one Planning Board meeting last year when all the members were present and arrived on time. Eight of 15 Zoning Board of Appeals meetings had full attendance in 2008.

Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said that the alternates would be expected to attend all of the meetings, so they’d be up to speed on all of the issues before the boards.

What do you think? Are there people out there willing to be on time for one meeting a month?

The aerial photograph shows the facility’s athletic fields and the building that includes exercise and meeting rooms. The Ramapo River can be seen looping past the grounds.

The February page of the calendar shows last year’s winter carnival inside the community center building.

Venturing farther afield, there are photos of parks and nature preserves from around the state including ones in Garden City, Rye, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Rochester and LaFargeville.

One regular attendee of such meetings, a lawyer who represents clients before the boards, recalled that the 8:15 p.m. time began many years ago when a majority of the board members worked out of town. That’s apparently not the case anymore.

So, would earlier meetings be better for everyone? How about a 7:30 p.m. starting time? If the boards kept up the same pace to get through their agendas, everyone could be packing for home at least 45 minutes earlier.

In neighboring Clarkstown, Planning Board meetings begin at 7 p.m. and zoning board meetings at 8 p.m.

Why not give earlier meetings a try in Ramapo?

I was wondering how residents – the taxpayers – feel about this. Do they think the village should save the money that would be spent on the position, or should it be filled? Have you noticed any change in services?

They’re being kept at the Hudson Valley Human Society’s facility off Quaker Road in northern Ramapo. About 20 or so at last count.

I apologize for this cancellation. We will resume the blog on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at noon.

They range from a proposed sushi kitchen in a Monsey residential neighborhood that would supply a catering service, to a take-out restaurant off Route 45 in Hillcrest, to an office building on Route 59, to a yeshiva in Monsey, to a local house of worship with a rabbi’s residence, also in Monsey, to several proposed multifamily houses, some with accessory apartments.

All of the applicants are seeking variances for their enterprises from the town’s zoning code.

The meeting begins at 8:15 p.m. in Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.