Spring Valley’s building inspector pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges stemming from the fatal March fire that killed a village volunteer firefighter and a resident of an adult home. Rockland D.A. Tom Walsh says 64 year-old Wayne Ballard has been charged with Falsifying Business Records and two other charges. The investigation into the Evergreen Home for Adults continues. Spring Valley’s Assistant Building Inspector, Ray Canario, entered a “not guilty” plea earlier this month on charges he falsified documents he filed with the state. They are both due back in court December 8th.
Two Assembly Bills Seek to Restore Name of Bridge to “Tappan Zee”
The state legislature has competing bills that would both put “Tappan Zee” back as the official name of the bridge that connects Rockland to Westchester. Earlier this month, Westchester Assemblyman Tom Abinanti introduced the bill that would change the bridge’s official name to “The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge.” Rockland Assemblyman Mike Lawler had already introduced his own bill last August to change the name, but he says his is slightly different…
Lawler says he has more than a dozen co-sponsors on his bill so far. In 1994, the old bridge was officially named after former Governor Malcolm Wilson, but was often still just called the “Tappan Zee Bridge.”
Rockland’s Cornell Cooperative Extension Seeks High Schoolers Interested in “Youth for Climate Action” Program
The Rockland Cornell Cooperative Extension is looking for high schoolers interested in joining their “Youth for Climate Action” program. Mike Wilson is with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Stony Point and hosts the Storm Water Consortium monthly show here on WRCR. Wilson says participants will learn about climate change issues on a global and local scale, by visiting area sites that are already doing their part for the environment…
Click the link for cost and other information about the “Youth for Climate Action” program, which runs from December through June. Or you can call 4-H Resource Educator Kristin Ruggiero at 845-429-7085 x 103. The application deadline is November 28th.
Congers Group Seeks to Feed Rockland’s Food-Insecure
A community-based public health organization in Congers, that seeks to keep local families from going hungry, is looking to get as much food to as many as possible during the holidays. Julian Palmer is the Executive Director of the group “TOUCH: Together Our Unity Can Heal” and he says over 40,000 people in Rockland live below the poverty line and are food insecure…
The group’s #TouchWithAMeal campaign delivers holiday meals to families that need them. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, visit their website TouchNY.org.
Rockland County Exec: Do a Thanksgiving Good Deed – Check on Your Neighbor
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Rockland’s County Executive Ed Day says most have lots to be thankful for, but sometimes maybe, someone may not be in a celebratory mood…
And if you can’t do that, buy something at a Black Friday sale and give it to someone else. Make their day. You’ll be glad you did.