It’s a dog’s world and three Rockland police departments received equipment through a non-profit group for their K-9 units.

Spring Valley, Clarkstown and Ramapo received the equipment from the Onyx and Breezy Foundation, an organization started in 2004 by Mark and Wanda Shefts in honor of their two Labrador retrievers. The foundation supports a wide range of projects that advance the welfare of animals.

The Shefts will appear with the three dogs and officers to discuss the grants tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Rockland Legislature Chambers, first floor of the County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road, New City.  The grants were procured by Rockland Public Safety Advocate David Fried, who works for Sheriff James Kralik on finding money for police across the county and other issues like recruitment.

Fried estimated the equipment is valued at $6,000. The  following equipment was obtained :

• Technology equipping K-9 vehicles in Spring Valley and Ramapo with temperature monitoring to ensure a safe environment for the dog when the canine is unattended on hot or cold days during emergency responses. Remote pagers would tell the officer if temperatures inside the vehicles would endanger the dog’s health. The cars also would be equipped with a cooling fan that would turn on automatically at certain temperatures. The officers also would get device that automatically opens the vehicle door to allow the dog to respone in emergencies.  Each departments has one dog each trained in tracking and narcotics.

• Computer software for the Clarkstown Police Department that would maintain records such as veterinary care, training logs and deployment.  Clarkstown has the largest K-9 patrol program in the county with two dogs. Suffern also has a K-9 unit.

The Sheriff’s Department has two dogs trained to sniff out explosive components and one canine trained to sniff out accelerants for arson investigations. A third dog trained for the bomb disposal unit coming soon.

“The equipment that is being provided is a testament to the importance of K9s in all our lives, the noble service of K9s in law enforcement and the legacy of Onyx and Breezy,” foundation Trustee Wanda Shefts said in a news release. “As a society we have an obligation to support and provide for animals.”

Kralik noted that since the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan and Pentagon in Washington with hijacked airplanes, police dogs have played a larger role in law enforcement.

“Together with their human handlers, law enforcement has been greatly enhanced by police dogs in narcotic seizures, arson investigations, explosives detections and patrol work,” Kralik said.

Hey folks, here’s the latest Week in Review installment.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

Region’s residents react to Obama’s apparent securing of nomination

51 in Rockland arrested on drug, gun charges

Rockland honors military service in Iraq, Afghanistan

Cops: Wrong-way drive went for miles

In Monsey: Little bear, big scene

Hey everyone, I’m heading off but our new MoJo, Ben Rubin, will be hosting the week in review podcast from now on. Check out his very first one below and feel free to leave a comment!

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4 face felonies in Nyack gang fight

I’m back again with the latest Week In Review podcast. Remember, you can view this podcast on your iPod or mobile phone through iTunes.

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Spring Valley man gets 2 to 6 years in prison for DWI deaths
EMT work can sometimes be dangerous
Paralyzed cop prays at Nyack church

The repercussions continue from a Spring Valley gang attacking Nyack gang members as a result of a gang-related bandanna snatching at Nyack High School.

Five Nyack High School students face disciplinary action for violating the district’s “Code of Conduct.” All five face superintendent’s hearings after being suspended from daily classes, district spokeswoman Gail Fleur said today. Fleur said she cannot disclose the names of the students, the potential lengths of suspensions or specifically how they violated the district’s “Code of Conduct.”

In a letter to the parents dated May 1, Nyack Schools Superintendent Valencia F. Douglas offers some vague insights. She discussed the Code of Conduct violations in terms of the students’ actions “apparently helped to fuel the fight in the village.” The letter goes on to state that, “We continue to have zero tolerance for students wearing any gang related apparel or expressing affiliation with a gang.”

Douglas’s letter also says only seniors will be allowed off campus during the day for the rest of the school year; students must wear their ID badges; and three additional security officers have been hired for the high school. She also wrote to parents that, “We will continue to work with the suspended students and their parents/guardians to ensure that our students are able to come to the campus in ways that are safe to everyone.”

The superintendent’s letter doesn’t discuss the issue of gang members attending district schools, but it is step up in reality from her initial e-mail to parents a day after the gang fight in the village of Nyack. In that e-mail, she assured parents that Nyack students weren’t involved in the fight. But she also said the high school would be a closed campus and security would be heightened in light of the fight.

Orangetown police burst that bubble by reporting the fight involved gangs from Nyack and Spring Valley. The police also stated the fight precipitated at the high school when a young woman wore a red bandanna around her neck, apparently boasting of affiliation with a Bloods street gang. A young man from a rival gang from Nyack yanked off the bandanna – a sign of disrespect and a gang challenge.

The girl called her Spring Valley boyfriend, a reputed gang member. By mid-afternoon, Spring Valley gangstas cabbed it over to Nyack, armed with bats, hammer claws and other weapons. Nyack’s gang members quickly organized and fights broke out, bringing in police from Orangetown, South Nyack, Clarkstown, the Sheriff’s Department, including officers on horseback. Police even set up a command post.

Among the five young men arrested, two attended Nyack High School.

Spring Valley and Nyack youths have a history of confrontation dating decades, regardless of gang affiliations.

Orangetown police were continuing to investigate the fight, looking for the young men who injured two Nyack residents with hammer claw blows and knifes. Detective Lt. James Brown said progress is being made and said the school district is cooperating, even though Orangetown police don’t have jurisdiction at any of the district schools. Clarkstown police have officers inside the Upper Nyack high school and the Middle School is under South Nyack-Grand View.

Another result of the gang fight has mobilized some Nyack elected officials and civic leaders to come up with programs for youths in the village – especially those who live in the Nyack Plaza apartments, which  has one basketball court. A meeting with the public is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Nyack Center on Broadway.

Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty and Nyack schools Superintendent Valencia Douglas have met to discuss Wednesday’s gang-related incident at the high school that percipitated the mini-riot and gang fight in downtown Nyack.

Nulty and Orangetown Detective Lt. James Brown described the meeting at Orangetown Police Headquarters as productive. They said Douglas was opened to discussing the issues and what the school district could do on its end to assist. Nulty said the Rockland Intelligence Center gang unit detectives also took part in the discussions.

“This was productive and I think both sides are willing to work together and try and solve the problem,” Brown said. “The problems will not be solved by just the police. We need the support of the school and the community. ”

In the past, Nyack and other school districts have been reluctant, with the notable exception of North Rockland school district, to acknowledge problems or issues with street gangs. At the same time, school districts, including Nyack, have dress code policies banning gang wear, like bandannas, beads, and all one-color outfits.

As a follow up, Nyack officials met with community leaders, schools officials and police on Monday night to prepare an agenda for a public meeting in two weeks on expanding youth programs, recreation activities and increasing police presence – much of which is geared toward diluting the influence of gangs and improve the quality of life for residents.

A mini-riot erupted Wednesday along Franklin Street between gang members from Spring Valley and Nyack. The young men were armed with bats, an axe and knives. Two people were stabbed and five people arrested as police from several departments chased 40to 50 young people across Franklin Street and up some nearby streets.

The fights occurred when Spring Valley street gang members came to Nyack to seek retribution against a young man associated with a Nyack street gang who ripped a girl’s red bandanna from her neck at Nyack High School, police said. The girl called her boyfriend, a purported Blood street gang member who lived in Spring Valley. The red bandanna apparently represented a street gang, possibly the Bloods. The girl accosted was associated with members of the Spring Valley group, police said.

Police were still investigating and looking for the people who stabbed the two young people. Nulty said a gang fight of such magnitude like on Wednesday are not common in Nyack and was caused by the outside influences. Still, Nulty said the problem with gangs must be confronted by the police, the village, the community and the schools.

One issue is that three police departments cover Nyack schools. Clarkstown police are responsible for the high school and South Nyack-Grand View police cover the Middle School. Orangetown police cover Nyack streets. Nulty said the three police departments will work together and develop a plan. Nulty said his department doesn’t have jurisdiction over the high school so he encouraged Douglas to work with the Clarkstown police and its school resource officers.

“I think it’s clear we have an issue of gangs to some degree in downtown Nyack,” Nulty said. “They are young and more than likely some of them attend the high school.”

To commemorate Earth Day, the Great American Cleanup starts this weekend and other events will be held through the week next week.

You can read this article by staff writer Laura Incalcaterra about the events, but here’s a quick list:

Saturday

• The Palisades Community Center, 675 Oak Tree Road, holds an Earth Day Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The emphasis will be on “reduce, reuse and recycle,” and there will be a tag sale, children’s events, and recycling collection areas for used cell phones, ink jet cartridges, eyeglasses and sunglasses, and household batteries. Adults and children can submit a design by noon and a winner will get to paint a Keep Rockland Beautiful trash can.

• The Great American Cleanup, organized locally by Keep Rockland Beautiful has several cleanups that welcome walk-in volunteers who don’t have to sign up in advance. The meeting places:
8:30 a.m.-noon: Hillburn Youth Center, 77 Fifth St.
9 a.m.: Congers Station Park, Lake Road; Montebello Village Hall, 1 Montebello Road; Farley Middle School, Route 210, Stony Point; Suffern Village Hall, 61 Washington Ave.; Back to Earth Natural Foods Market, 306 S. Main St., New City.
10 a.m.: Nanuet train station, off Prospect Street; Orangetown Town Hall, 26 Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg.
11 a.m.: Spring Valley Commons parking lot, off Slinn Avenue.
Noon: Corner of Maple and Twin avenues, Spring Valley.
Get more information at online or by calling 845-708-9159.

Tuesday

• Nyack Earth Days begin. Costume-making workshop for April 26 parade, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; panel discussion on solar energy and greening your home or business, 7 p.m. At Nyack Center, Depew Avenue at South Broadway. Free.

• Rockland Community College’s Earth Day Information Fair, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., outside the library. Local environmental groups and vendors of environmentally friendly products, such as hybrid cars, will be present. Live raptor show and a disc jockey. Food, prepared by students in the hospitality program, will be available for $5 per plate.

• Hungry Hollow Co-op, Route 45, Chestnut Ridge, holds an open house, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free samples of earth-friendly household-cleaning products, and information about sustainable agricultural practices.

As promised earlier, here’s a full list of Rockland’s recipients of 2008 Community Development Block Grant funds:

• Spring Valley: $250,000 for the reconstruction of a park at Jay Street and Kennedy Drive.

• Ramapo: $150,000 to construct a handicapped-accessible pavilion and restrooms at Manny Welder Park.

• West Haverstraw: $100,000 for sidewalk replacement, lighting installation and landscaping on the Railroad Avenue corridor.

• Haverstraw village: $100,000 for new sidewalks, curbs, roadway, lights and other improvements on Main Street between Broadway and First Street.

• South Nyack: $100,000 to upgrade a storm drain system on Cedar Hill Avenue between Anna and Franklin streets.

• Haverstraw town: $75,000 for improvements to the pool deck at Bowline Point Park.

• Suffern: $50,000 for the construction of sidewalks and curbs on Ramapo Avenue from West Park Place to West Maltbie Avenue.

• Hillburn: $50,000 to help pay for a water system upgrade. The village has the oldest water pipes in Rockland.

• Piermont: $1,000 for a curb cut on the sidewalk at the public library, making the facility accessible to the disabled.

Image courtesy the U.S. Treasury Department, via the Associated Press.

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Spring Valley trustee wants police at meetings for safety

Former Spring Valley Trustee Bettie Brown has said she has personally witnessed Mayor George Darden use profanity towards village clerks.

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.

Okay so he personally won’t be working out of the Spring Valley location, but Barack Obama’s supporters say having a headquarters will allow them to reach more people before Tuesday’s primary.

The official opening of the Rockland for Obama will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at 250 Route 59 in the village.

In a news release issued today, Rockland for Obama  director Howard Megdal said that supporters of the Illinois senator would be using the office for phone banking in the next week.

Links to related articles:

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

Staff writer Christina Jeng was tied up this week, so her colleague and fellow blogger, Sarah Netter, stepped up to bring you the Week in Review podcast.

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And, as usual, here are links to the appropriate stories:
Monsey group fined for mess after chicken ritual
Schumer visits cadets at West Point
Special Report: Our Schools, Our Money
Haverstraw resident charged with trying to kill Spring Valley man

Raphael Ziegler, chairman of the Rockland County Taxi and Livery Coalition, said he’s disappointed that legislators once again tabled a proposal to make Rockland County the sole licensing agency for taxis, limousines and the like.

Legislator Ilan Schoenbeger, D-Wesley Hills, and Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, said at last night’s meeting that more time was needed for discussions with Spring Valley, which does not want the county’s plan to mean a crush of new taxis operating in the village.

“I think Spring Valley had plenty of time to work this out,” Ziegler said. “I think they should have done this a long time ago.”

The plan was first introduced in the spring of 2006. To become the county’s sole licensing agency, the county needs home-rule legislation from the state. Currently, state law allows towns and villages to license livery service companies on their own.

If you haven’t already, check out part one of our Year In Review below.

Part 2:

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Rockland’s top stories of 2007

This is part one of our Year In Review podcast. Check out part two above. Happy New Year!

Part 1:

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Rockland’s top stories of 2007

So I’m filling in for Christina Jeng for this week’s Week In Review podcast while she produces the Year In Review podcast. You can find the Year In Review podcast on the Inside Rockland blog on Jan. 1. Enjoy!
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Links to related articles:

• Local Pakistanis stunned by Bhutto assassination


• Clarkstown officials to consider removing New City mural as part of revitalization project


• Spring Valley store owner accused of unlicensed alcohol sale, illegal gambling

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• Video: Rockland residents play and work in the snow

It wouldn’t be election season without some less-than-friendly competition in Spring Valley.

Several candidates for village and county seats are planning not to participate in tomorrow night’s candidates’ forum, hosted by the Spring Valley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Signed by the members of the Caucus to Save Spring Valley, village trustee candidates Demeza Delhomme and Darlene Roc, village justice candidate Judeline Rouzard and County Legislature candidates Bettie Brown and Jacques Michel said they would not attend because of what they say are recent wrong-doings by their opponents.

Delhomme recently filed a police report charging that he was attacked by trustee candidate Anthony Leone (something Leone denies) and Michel filed a police report last week saying Fonvil damaged his son’s grave marker.

The following is an excerpt from the e-mail sent by the Caucus to Save Spring Valley.

“We have made every effort to ensure our campaign is issue oriented.  We have been vigilant in getting our message to the Spring Valley community.  We have made every effort to avoid those engage in negative campaigning.  The ‘Caucus to Save Spring Valley’ candidates have decided that to avoid any problems they must decline participation in the forum.”

Brown today described the caucus as a team of candidates running together.

Sonia Tracey-McCallum the Spring Valley NAACP’s co-chair of civic engagement committee, said she wasn’t aware of the caucus’ plans to avoid the forum and didn’t want to comment further.

The forum is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Louis Kurtz Civic Center in Spring Valley.

Read more about Michel’s accusations against Fonvil tomorrow in The Journal News.

It’s been reported that Spring Valley Mayor George Darden has a reputation for being abrasive in his dealings with the public. He has no problem offering strong opinions to his constituents and fellow Village Board members.

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.

County Legislature Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, is not happy that two signs bearing his name were ripped from the ground this weekend and, in one case, tossed over a fence onto the sidewalk.

 The campaign signs promoted Darden, along with village trustee candidates Joseph Desmaret and Anthony Leon and justice candidate Christine Theodore. He said today that they were ripped out of the ground at his brother’ house and at the home of Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin. His brother is village Mayor George Darden.

“I don’t know why it’s just my sign and nobody else’s,” he said.

 And it’s not the first time the family had been targeted. Two years ago, his brother’s campaign signs were not only taken out of the ground but sliced with a sharp object.

Darden said the signs were expensive—and big.  There are a total of six around the district like the ones that were vandalized, each about 4 feet by 8 feet.

This morning, Rockland County Legislature candidate Alden Wolfe held a news conference to tie his opponent, Legislator Bruce Levine, to the Spring Valley mayor’s hiring of illegal immigrants for a government public works project.

Reporter Steve Lieberman attended the news conference. Here’s his account of the news conference and a discussion afterward with Levine:

Levine, the village attorney, called Wolfe’s accusation false, saying he had no role in the hiring of illegal immigrants and was on vacation when it happened.

During the news conference in front of Spring Valley Village Hall, Wolfe said Levine should explain what role, if any, he played as village attorney in Spring Valley Mayor George Darden’s decision to hire illegal immigrants and to discuss the advice he had given the mayor.

At one point, Wolfe asked, “What other advice did he give the mayor to cover up the illegal hiring?”

Wolfe denied that he was accusing Levine of committing a crime. He also said his demands that Levine explain himself were not political.

“This is about good government,” Wolfe said. “This is about accountability. … As an elected official [county legislator] … Mr. Levine needs to be held to a higher standard.”

Wolfe said Levine had been silent for more than a week since The Journal News reported that Darden had shelled out his own money to hire 10 people from Route 59 for a urban renewal job.

Wolfe also charged that Levine’s job as village attorney conflicted with his being a legislator — a charge he has made previously. He said Levine was voting on issues that might be good for the village but not necessarily good for the county and all his constituents.

Reached by telephone, Levine said when he learned about the illegal hirings, he told the village treasurer not to reimburse the mayor. When he was told that already had happened, Levine said he told Darden to return the money until he could resolve the issue.

“When someone in government makes a mistake like this,” Levine said, “it creates a complex legal situation.”

He called Wolfe’s accusations “Nixonian” in nature.

“It’s classic for people in political campaigns to make false accusations for the purpose of the trying to divert the people’s attention from the real issues,” Levine said, adding that he believed people were more interested in taxes, the county’s fiscal problems, affordable housing and environmental issues.

Wolfe said the key issue was that Levine couldn’t serve two masters—Spring Valley as village attorney and residents as a county legislator.

“This is not a political issue,” Wolfe said. “Rockland taxpayers deserve the highest level of service from their elected officials, but when scandal clouds the air, we need to know that our elected officials can stand above.”

This is the second campaign between Levine and Wolfe.

Wolfe was appointed to the Legislature in 2006 to replace Robert Berliner after the latter won election to the bench as Surrogate Court judge. Levine, a former legislator for 10 years, decided to seek the seat last year after an 11-year hiatus.

Wolfe won the party’s nomination for re-election with the support of Ramapo’s political leaders.

Levine forced a primary and soundly defeated Wolfe. Wolfe and Levine each gathered enough signatures to force a primary, during which Levine soundly defeated Wolfe. Levine won election in November for the remainder of the term, which expires at the end of this year.

As most anyone reading our paper in the past week or so knows, we’ve been covering the story of the mayor of Spring Valley having hired illegal immigrants to do work on a building that’s part of the downtown revitalization project.

Reporter Suzan Clarke was interviewed last week by our partners at RNN and explained how the story came about. I wanted to share (better late than never) her interview with you:

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Vilair Fonvil, one of the four Democrats so far to have turned in petitions for the County Legislature District 13 race, called this morning upset about a phone call he got from the Spring Valley village clerk.

Fonvil said he paid $100 for a village permit to display his campaign signs Tuesday and put them up in Spring Valley Tuesday and Wednesday. But he got a message today from the clerk’s office telling him that his signs needed to come down and be put back up no more than 60 days before the primary otherwise the public works department would take them down for him. But 60 days is … tomorrow.

Fonvil said he was not going to take down the 200 signs just to put them back up in less than 24 hours.

But a quick call to the village resulted in an easy answer.

The signs are fine.

Village clerk Mae Nabers didn’t want to comment, but Deputy Village Attorney Ryan Karben said the call to Fonvil was an internal miscommunication.

“Nobody’s signs are being take down,” Karben said. “Everything’s fine.”

Fonvil is one of four looking for the Democratic nomination for the November elections. The seat is currently held by Legislator David Fried, D-Spring Valley, who is not seeking re-election.