Bernard Charles Jr., who is African-American, believes organizers’ decision to hold the Thursday debate entirely in Creole and not invite him was exclusionary.

The five candidates who were invited are Haitian-American.

Cassandra Edwards, a village community activist, was disturbed by the whole thing.

“I think it clearly defines that people are not interested in working from a multicultural perspective. People are interested in working from their own agendas, which excludes the majority of the community … . It blows my mind,” she said yesterday.

Spring Valley — a village of about 25,000 people — is home to a significant number of Haitians.

Organizers haven’t responded to calls seeking comment, but some debaters said they didn’t believe any wrong had been done, pointing out that various ethnic groups have held discussions about politics or other issues in their native tongues.

To read my earlier story about the incident, click here.

Among officials in attendance from Spring Valley were: Mayor George Darden, Village Attorney Bruce Levine, Deputy Village Attorney Ryan Karben, Community Development Director Rita Grayson, Trustee Anthony Leon, Deputy Section 8 Director Brendel Logan, Acting Department of Public Works Head Neil Vitiello and Zoning Board of Appeals member Moshe Hopstein.

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner, Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci, County Legislator William Darden and Rockland’s Community Development Director Joe Abate also were present, along with other local leaders and area residents.

Sitting on about ¼ of a acre of land that the village acquired from Rockland County, the park — designed for children aged 2 to 5 years old — was constructed for about $220,000.

The money was furnished through a grant from Rockland County, Grayson said.

“There was nothing on that side of the village for young children, so we saw a need and sought the funding for it,” she said, speaking in an interview on Friday. “I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”

(In the photos below, Mayor George Darden addresses those gathered for the dedication, and children enjoy the new park.)

Swings, slides, a see-saw and other colorful playground equipment dominate the park. Flowers, grass and trees are part of the surrounding landscaping. Benches are situated at several spots around the facility.

Merle George, a Spring Valley activist who attended the dedication, especially liked that soft, spongy flooring designed to cushion falls covered much of the grounds.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she said of the park.

Concepcion Huerta of Chestnut Ridge was in the area visiting friends. She took her own two children, along with a friend’s two children, to the park and watched as they played happily.

“It’s very nice, beautiful for the kids,” she said.

The park is open from dawn until dusk.

HACSO is a nonprofit in Spring Valley that provides the public with support services and assistance, including free basic health care, along with other social programs such as low-cost immigration and translation services.

Located at 25 S. Main St., HACSO is credited with having helped thousands of immigrants — many of whom hail from Haiti — navigate life in America.

The dinner will honor the community’s Fan’m Vanyan (which is Haitian Creole for brave or courageous women).

Honorees are: Marie Mygnon Alcin; Darlene Theodore-Beauvil; Linda Benoit; Marie L. Nicolas-Brewster; Florette Julien; Eugenia Nicolas; Josette Peterson; Monique Lecorps Philippe; Jacqueline Sanon; Seurette Sanon-Jules; Marie Edith Senatus and Caren Vilson.

The dinner will be 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Town and Country, 922 Route 9W, Congers. Tickets are $75 per person, and the cost is tax deductible.

For more information, call HACSO at 845-352-5897. Or check out their (newly redesigned) Web site at www.hacso.org

The 69-year-old ordained minister joins a growing field of candidates for the Democratic primary election for the post.

He declared his candidacy on July 6 in front of Spring Valley’s Village Hall. Standing before a crowd of supporters, Michel introduced his trustee running mates: Yesly Sandoval — a political newcomer — and Dantes Jeantel, who has sought elective office before.

(Here is Michel (center) flanked by Jeantel (left) and Sandoval after the press conference to launch their campaign.)

County Legislator Joseph Meyers, and Bruce Levine — the Spring Valley village attorney and former county legislator who is challenging Christopher St. Lawrence for the post of Ramapo Town supervisor — also were on hand to endorse Michel.

When rumors began to swirl that Michel was running, he categorically denied them. In a conversation we had in May, Michel characterized the talk as “speculation,” and said he had not and would not consider running.

Michel has strong competition. Other candidates for the position as chief executive of Rockland’s largest village are: Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin, Village Trustee Demeza Delhomme, Bernard “Chip” Charles Jr., former Village Trustee and former Village Justice Margareth Jourdan, and Vilar Fonvil — who has run for mayor before.

The post pays just over $100,000 a year.

George Darden, the village’s controversial two-term mayor, said last month that he wouldn’t be running for re-election.

Former Spring Valley Mayor Allan Thompson has said he will seek the post on the Republican line.

The interior of the skills training center, housed inside the Ramapo Cultural Arts Center (the former adult movie theater) on Main Street in Spring Valley, was constructed with the help of vocational skills trainees from the village.

Construction started in August. Workers are now painting walls and putting the final touches on the facility (see the “before” photo by Staff Photographer Vincent DiSalvio, along with an “after” snapshot by me).

The work has been overseen by Delhomme, and the town’s Parks and Recreation head, Michelle Antosca, has been the liaison to the project. She was on hand yesterday for the tour.

Councilmembers Edward Friedman, David Stein and Yitzchock Ullman walked through the three rooms in the training center, and asked Delhomme what the target date was for finishing the project and how many people were expected to enroll for free skills training.

“We have too many (students) ready to come here. I didn’t know they were that interested,” Delhomme said, adding that the center would be completed by September.

The training program will be open to people who are at least 17-years-old.

“Demeza has done a very good job … it’s really going to be a functional set of rooms,” Friedman said of the space.

Delhomme is one of several candidates for the post of Spring Valley mayor.

Already, three people have come forward to say they’ll seek top post, while the sitting Mayor George Darden has said he’s not sure he’ll run again.

Currently in the race for mayor are Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin — a staunch Darden ally; former village mayor Allan Thompson, a Republican; and Village Board Trustee Demeza Delhomme.

Jasmin, Delhomme and Darden are Democrats.

The three declared candidates — Jasmin, Delhomme and Thompson — have declined to discuss their running mates for the moment.

It was strongly rumored that the Rev. Jacques Michel, a Democratic county Legislator from Spring Valley, would also seek the post.

Michel dismissed the rumors on Monday, calling them pure “speculation.” He said he would not run and had not considered seeking the post.

Yitzchock Ullman, who was among the six Democratic primary candidates for the mayor’s post in 2005, said Monday that he wasn’t sure whether he would run. (The other candidates in the 2005 Democratic mayoral primary election were Darden, Delhomme, Thompson, then-Village Trustee Bettie Brown and Vilair Fonvil.)

Ullman, who was appointed to the Ramapo Town Council in 2008, said his focus at the moment was on the Town Board.

But, speaking of a possible Spring Valley mayoral run, Ullman said: “I’m not saying no; I’m not saying yes.”

Darden, a two-term mayor, is expected to say in a few weeks whether or not he will seek re-election.

The village of Spring Valley’s Justice Court now accepts credit cards for the payment of fines and surcharges.

The Board of Trustees voted to approve Mayor George Darden’s recommendation on the issue during a regular meeting on Tuesday night.

The board also voted 3 to 1 (one board member was absent), to approve the 2009-2010 budget, which reinstated the animal control officer’s position, but not at full-time hours. Darden had proposed eliminating the position in order to save money. The move was met with vocal disapproval from the public.

“My mortgage company isn’t going to want to hear that. My taxes aren’t going to change,” George Bernhardt, the animal control officer, said of his reduced hours.

His union is challenging the decision, saying Bernhardt’s 35-hour work week (he’ll now work 30 hours per week) was protected by contract and by law.

Bernhardt’s not the only one unhappy with the move. Village Board Trustee Demeza Delhomme also expressed disapproval with the plan. He said Bernhardt should be retained full-time, and also criticized the 3.53 percent property tax rate increase.

He and Darden got into a heated debate. Delhomme accused Darden of mismanagement, and Darden accused the trustee of ignorance of the budget process, poor English and of being a publicity seeker.

The two men faced each other in a bitterly contested Democratic mayoral primary election in 2005. The post of mayor is up for election in November.

Lowery — who gave the benediction at the Inauguration of Barack Obama in January (as shown in this photo from The Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights) — led the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., helped lead the Montgomery bus boycott and co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The 87-year-old has continued to be an activist for racial justice, human rights and world peace.

He was a vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa, and has spoken in favor of gay rights.

The chapter’s anniversary and fundraising dinner will be 6:30 p.m. at the Pearl River Hilton in Pearl River.

Not only are donations from municipalities down, but private benefactors and other individuals are feeling the pinch too.

So the center’s taking a novel approach to try and bridge the budget gap: it’s holding an “Altruistic Auction” Saturday as part of its 18th annual fundraiser 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Montebello.

Bidding on, say, a bag of groceries for the pantry, a day or a week of summer camp or a trip to a museum gives supporters a way to provide tangibly, said Nathan Mungin III, the center’s executive director (pictured

in the file photo at right with the then-executive director, Stella Marrs).

Of course, the center has faced financial crises before, but has weathered them and stayed within budget.

“We have been frugal but again, given just, the whole nation’s financial position, nonprofits … are the first to feel it and we’re usually the last ones to come out of it,” Mungin said.

In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the center distributed more than 100,000 pounds of food to needy local families through its food pantry.

If you go to www.villagespringvalley.org, you will now see holiday closing information, as well detailed information by department — including the names and telephone numbers of department heads and the cost for fees, licenses or permits.

In some cases, department heads have written brief introductions of themselves.

There is also a history of the village’s incorporation, as well as an updated message from Mayor George O. Darden.

Click here to see the re-designed site.

Organized by the United Youth Movement and Diedre Frater — the social worker who’s started youth cultural programs in Spring Valley — the event will be 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Origin, a book, art and coffee store located on the first floor of the Nanuet Mall on Route 59.

Described on the event Web site as “an evening of literary prose,” the night is free — and it’s Open Mic, too, for those of you who want to showcase your performance chops …

For more information, call 845-215-9482 or click here.

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.

The three men — all members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division — ended up being invited by Keegan and Osborne to attend the Veterans Day ceremony in Suffern this morning.

The three friends were sorry they hadn’t brought their uniforms for the brief trip, but that was okay, said the many of the scores of people who attended the gathering. The young mens’ presence, their service, were more than enough.

Bucksath is 20. He hails from Cincinnati and is soon to be deployed for his second tour in Afghanistan. Pagano, 23, of Stanhope, N.J., and Keelty, 21, of Suffern, are both headed back for their second tours in Iraq next year.

Charlie Calotta, commander of the Ramapo Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2973, which co-sponsored the event along with the Fromm-Maxwell-DeBaun American Legion Post 859, said the day was important to him as an Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

“When you’re in the service and you’ve served with men” who’ve ended up injured or dead, you never forget those comrades, he said, “and it’s something you want perpetuate.”

The brief ceremony unfolded this morning in front of the Soldier’s Memorial on Washington Avenue.

According to a release, members of the chapter’s Civic Engagement Committee will be available to answers questions regarding polling sites, transport people to the polls, or to help with other voting-related matters.

The office is located at the Town of Ramapo Cultural Arts Center, 62 N. Main St., Spring Valley.

(For those of you who haven’t been to the office before, it’s located around the corner from the center’s main entrance, on Grove Street.)

For more information, call the chapter at 845-362-6227.

The campaign has captivated people across the world, igniting passions and obliterating apathy in America. It seems that no matter where you go, people have something to say about Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, or his Republican rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

The Rockland County Grassroots Volunteers for Barack Obama, which has been working hard on the Illinois senator’s behalf, will gather starting around 6 p.m. on Tuesday to watch as the results of the historic election unfold.

They’ll be at Xtravagant Taste — a catering hall located at 201 N. Route 9W in Congers — where they’ll watch the returns with a big screen TV, music and food.

Lawrence Holland, one of the local Obama supporters, says everyone is welcome. The event is free, and people will gather starting at 6 p.m. until …

The group probably won’t be the only ones glued to the tube. Tuesday night will definitely be global must-see TV.

The property is to be sold to a developer proposing at least 440 condominiums. Rhodes, Meyers, and James Hyer, their attorney, will explain the reason for the lawsuit during the conference.

St. Lawrence has said that alleviating floods along the Mahwah River – particularly in the Squire’s Gate neighborhood – was the impetus for the quarry sale.

Darden did not return calls seeking comment, and village officials wouldn’t speak on the matter.

Brown was speaking yesterday during an interview for a story I wrote (which appeared in today’s paper) about Trustee Demeza Delhomme’s request for police presence during workshop meetings.

Delhomme alleged being the victim of a profanity-laced verbal attack by Darden. The trustee also said he witnessed similar verbal attacks by Darden upon former village clerk, Sherry Scott, and the current clerk, Mae Naber.

Brown often was the lone voice of dissent on the board, and often was criticized by Darden for not showing up to board meetings.

Brown said yesterday that she couldn’t come to Village Board meetings for a few months last year because she underwent major surgery. After the surgery, she said, “I did not have peace of mind to come back to the board meetings because of (Darden’s) demeanor, because of his attitude, during the meetings.â€?

But, on one occasion in the fall, the board sent two Spring Valley police officers to her home to collect her to attend a board meeting, she said.

“The police arrived with the resolution they passed to do it … and told me what their business was and I read it and I asked them ‘are you arresting me?’ and they said no, ‘I’ve come to escort you,â€? she recalled.

Even though she missed meetings, Brown said she was always accessible to her constituents and kept up with her duties. Her absence didn’t change the outcome of any votes, she added.

Residents have increasingly been criticizing the Spring Valley Village Board as being dysfunctional.

Well, we found out yesterday that the newspaper is not spared.

As reporters, we’re used to politicians not rolling out the welcome mat for us at times. (And we know they might not want to hear from us, but we have to call, because to not do that would be unfair to them.)

However, when it comes to issues of public importance, most understand the need to have a conversation with the press, even if they don’t want to.

Since we reported in our paper that Darden hired day laborers from Route 59 to work on a village project in July, and that those workers were illegal immigrants, and that he paid them in cash, and that he was reimbursed for it on the same day, and that he’s refused to discuss the issue, and that he got his unusual actions ratified by the Village Board after the fact, Darden hasn’t talked to us, except for one or two instances when we reported positive news in Spring Valley.

Barring one press conference in July when he didn’t discuss details of the hiring and didn’t take questions from the press, Darden’s been closemouthed about the whole hiring episode.

Now, there’s word that the Village Treasurer, Sandra Bullock, has resigned. She handed in her notice on Aug. 20, and her last day is Sept. 19. (She says she found a better job opportunity and that her departure has nothing at all to do with the immigrant hiring situation.)

We — or, rather, I — called Darden yesterday to ask him whether a search was on for Bullock’s replacement and who would run the department in the interim.

I was told he wasn’t at Village Hall. I left a message. A little later, I called his assistant, who said the mayor wasn’t in, and it wasn’t clear whether he would return to the office that day. Still later that day, I called the Village Attorney, Bruce Levine. Levine referred the call to the mayor, who, by the way, wasn’t in. Levine didn’t know if Darden would return to the office.

So I tried the mayor’s cell phone. He answered. I identified myself and started to tell him why I was calling. I didn’t get very far. He cut me off.

“We don’t get along well enough to talk like that, dear,� he said in a pleasant tone. “You put a spin on everything I say. With that, have a nice day.�

And he hung up. I can’t say I was surprised. He’s ended calls like that before.