WRCR AM 1700

RADIO UNSCRIPTED!

Studio Hotline : 845-429-1700

helpdesk1

Area Girl Scouts Participate in National Convention

by

Three members of “Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson” were on hand at the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.’s 55th National Council Session held in October. Delegates from around the country participated in virtual council sessions to formulate the group’s agenda. Andrea Lamantia served as a National delegate, and says scouting is a first step toward becoming future leaders…

18 year-old Jolie Santiago was one of the participants, and says she attended various webinars and got national training so she can help future generations of Girl Scouts…

For more information about Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, which serves approximately 30,000 girls and adult members in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and the rest of the Hudson Valley, visit their website, www.GirlScoutsHH.org.

Rockland Loses Four More to COVID, Governor Launches New Strategy to Combat Case Surge

by

As New York launched a new strategic plan for combating what is expected to be a rough COVID-19 winter, Rockland lost four more to the pandemic, bringing the total to 699 fatalities. In his daily press briefing yesterday, governor Andrew Cuomo said the state’s new strategic plan has five components, including adding the number of hospitalizations and hospital capacity to the microcluster strategy…

The state’s COVID Task Force, working with global public health experts, local governments and others, devised the plan that also would increase testing resources, keep schools open safely, seek to prevent viral spread from small gatherings, and establish a safe vaccination program.

Westchester Nurses Plan Walkout Over Staffing, COVID Issues in New Rochelle

by

Nurses in Westchester have filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, claiming Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital isn’t following COVID-19 safety protocols. Published reports say the staf there is worried about the lack of PPE and low staffing levels as the caseload surges. Staff there are planning a two-day walkout. The nurses’ union is in negotiations with the hospital.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we’ve got three in the hospital being examined, another 60 have been confirmed with coronavirus, and a total of 1,488 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 21,632 reported cases, 374 more than Monday.

South Nyackers Gear up for Vote to Determine Fate of Village

by

In about two weeks, residents of the Village of South Nyack will be going to the polls to vote on the fate of their village. A petition this summer called for the calls for the elimination of the village. In a board meeting last week, mayor Bonnie Christian said she was concerned the loss of the village and the likely absorption into the town of Orangetown would mean the loss of control…

Taxes were of concern to the petitioners, as was the potential sale of Nyack College, though village officials insist there was nothing they could do to interfere with that transaction. The referendum vote will be held on December 17th. A consultant’s report was released last week and is posted on the village’s website. If you want to vote by absentee you can still do that, but time is running out. We have a link to that form here.

Rockland Health Department and Good Samaritan Hospital Offer Free COVID Tests for School Students, Faculty and Staff

by

Students, faculty, and staff from schools in Rockland’s yellow zones can get free COVID tests this week thanks to a partnership between the County Department of Health and Good Samaritan Hospital. Starting today, schools in the yellow zone are required to test 20% of students, faculty, and staff in order to stay open for in-person instruction. If the district’s positivity rate is lower than the yellow zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, testing at that school will no longer be required to continue in-person instruction. Testing will take place from 11:00 am – 2:00pm today at Palisades Center Mall Garage Entrance West near Best Buy, tomorrow at Suffern High School, Wednesday at Spring Valley High School, Thursday at Rockland BOCES in West Nyack, and Friday at Palisades Center again. You’ll need to complete a registration form before you go, you can download it here: https://bit.ly/39kFWUt.

Rockland schools, meanwhile, have altered their schedules somewhat as they expect post-Thanksgiving COVID spikes. Clarkstown and Suffern are doing some virtual learning during the winter, while South Orangetown, Nanuet and Rockland BOCES have short all-virtual buffers this week. North Rockland started its “holiday pause” last week, and it runs through January 19th.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we’ve got four in the hospital being examined, another 65 have been confirmed with coronavirus, and a total of 1,478 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 21,258 reported cases, 316 more than Friday, and the number of deaths in the county since the pandemic began remains at 695.