Breaking News

Rain and wind has moved out of the area, but now flooding becomes the concern. WRCR’s Storm Center 1700 has just one school district announcement, East Ramapo was on a 2-hour delay this morning. The others were all on their regular schedule, though all had cancelled evening activities last night and some board of education meetings had to be postponed. All Rockland County Legislature committee meetings scheduled for last night have been moved to tonight, at their same times. Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny says last night’s Orangetown Town Board Reorganizational meeting has been re-scheduled for tonight at 7pm. O&R has just one power outage reported this morning in Rockland County affecting nine customers in the Orangeburg area. Rockland County Executive Ed Day says the Palisades Parkway from Exit 14 to the traffic circle is closed due to flooding, and 59 in front of Palisades Center in West Nyack is closed as well, along with some side streets but says, thankfully, no water rescues have been necessary.

[UPDATED TUESDAY 5:06PM]

BOCES:

– All evening Rockland BOCES Adult Education classes are cancelled in Nyack, West Nyack and at Spring Valley High School. Additionally, all Rockland BOCES afterschool programs are cancelled today, January 9. 

Clarkstown:

– All after-school programs are cancelled.

– The Felix Festa Middle School concert scheduled for today will be rescheduled.

– The daycare will operate on a normal pick-up schedule. Aftercare will be available until 5:30 PM.

East Ramapo Central School District

– All after-school programs are cancelled.

– All East Ramapo schools will be on a 2-hour delay, Wednesday 1/10, due to weather conditions. 

Nanuet:

– all after-school activities, including sports, have been cancelled.

– The School Age Care Program (SAC) for Miller/Highview students and the Middle School After School Program (MAP) at Barr are cancelled.

– Tonight’s Board Meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for Tuesday, 1/16 at 8pm

North Rockland: All after-school programs are cancelled.

Nyack:

– All after-school activities including the HS AVID Parent Meeting for Nyack Public Schools are CANCELLED for this afternoon and evening.

– YMCA and JCC after-school care programs at our elementary schools are NOT canceled. However, parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to pick up their children early and by 5pm.

– The Board of Education meeting scheduled for this evening has been rescheduled to Tuesday, January 16th at 6:30pm in the Nyack High School auditorium.

Pearl River:

– All after-school and evening activities are cancelled for today. This includes this evening’s Board of Education Meeting. New date TBD.

– The YMCA Aftercare program at Franklin Avenue is still running, but families are strongly encouraged to pick up their children by 5 PM to avoid hazardous travel conditions.

Rockland Community College: All RCC campuses are closed as of 3pm. All in-person classes are cancelled. Students in remote synchronous and online classes will remain in session. Non-essential staff are not required to work remotely. Please check with your supervisor if you have questions. Please check the RCC Closings webpage for additional information: sunyrockland.edu/closings.

South Orangetown:

– All after-school and evening activities are cancelled for today. 

– The YMCA Aftercare program is still running, but families are strongly encouraged to pick up their children by 5 PM to avoid hazardous travel conditions.

Suffern:

– All afterschool activities, including sports competitions, are cancelled for Suffern Central School District today, Tuesday, January 9. Select high school sports teams will still practice and be finished by 5:00 pm. No modified sports team practices will occur.

– The YMCA after-care program will still take place. Parents are encouraged to pick up their child(ren) by 5pm.

Other:

Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny says Tuesday night’s 7pm Orangetown Town Board Reorganizational meeting is being postponed until Wednesday night, January 10, 2024, at 7pm.

All Rockland County Legislature committee meetings scheduled for this evening, Tuesday, Jan. 9, have been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 10. Meeting times are the same. The Rockland County Legislature’s committee meetings will start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, in the Legislature’s Chambers in the Allison-Parris County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road in New City. Here is the schedule: 6 p.m., Environmental; 6:15 p.m., Public Safety; 6:30 p.m., Multi-Services; 6:45 p.m., Economic Development; 7 p.m., Planning & Public Works; 7:05 p.m., Budget & Finance; 7:45 p.m., Rules. 

View the meeting agendas: https://bit.ly/3RQxOzL 

Orange and Rockland Utilities is gearing up for a nasty storm heading our way tonight and into tomorrow. O&R spokesman Mike Donovan says the company’s emergency response workforce is ready to handle damage and power outages that could result from strong gusty winds, heavy rainfall and inland flooding throughout the region starting 7pm tonight into the early morning hours tomorrow.

O&R says don’t touch or approach any downed wires, they could be energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately at 1-877-434-4100, and call local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.

Some light was shed on the last moments before tragedy befell a New City family just before the new year. Bronxville Police Sergeant, 49 year-old Watson Morgan failed to show up for his 11:30 shift. Clarkstown police went to his home and found the 49 year-old Morgan appeared to have killed his wife, 43 year-old Ornela, and their children, 12-year-old Gabriel and 10-year-old Liam by apparently shooting them in the head before turning the weapon on himself. Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann called it a horrifying scene…

New York’s Attorney General has opened an investigation into the incident, as required by law when a law enforcement officer is involved. For more information about suicide and suicide prevention, visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website, AFSP.org. For more information about Rockland’s Behavioral Health Response Team, visit RocklandHelp.org. Hoehmann says funeral services may be held in the next week or so.

A car and a tractor trailer involved in an accident caused major headaches on the Thruway in Nanuet by exit 14 early this morning. The situation was cleared up by about 6:30, no injuries reported.

Haverstraw Home Wins RLUIPA Court Challenge
The home at the center of a legal battle to become a synagogue has survived a court challenge by neighbors who wanted it to stay as a single-family house. That’s according to the Journal News. Haverstraw officials had approved the home located at 62 Riverglen Drive in Thiells for conversion into a synagogue. The Orthodox Jewish congregation’s attorneys claimed constitutional protection of religion, in particular they cited the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, also known as RLUIPA. Attorneys for three neighbors argued RLUIPA discriminates in favor of religion. They also argued the synagogue would be a public nuisance due to excessive traffic and parking by congregants. The neighbors have 30 days to appeal. 

Suspect, State Troopers ID’d in Fatal Shootout
State Police have identified the two Troopers and the suspect who was killed in a shootout with police Wednesday afternoon on the New York State Thruway in Hillburn. Police say 35 year-old Rakim Tillery of Albany fled the capital in a car that was connected to an attempted homicide earlier on Wednesday. The chase ended on Route 87 near exit 15A, with police conducting a traffic stop on the Mercedes Tillery was driving. Police say Tillery opened fire on the two Troopers, Steven Missale and Ronald Raymond. They fired back, fatally wounding Tillery, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Missale and Raymond were both taken to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and later released. The investigation continues. If you have information call the State Police in Middletown at 845-344-5300.

Nyack Nurses Ratify Contract
Montefiore Nyack Hospital nurses have ratified a new three-year contract. The New York State Nurses Association says they’re getting salary increases and better safe-staffing ratios. Nyack’s 400+ nurses will also now be included in the NYSNA pension, a goal they’ve sought for decades. The deal passed with 99% of the vote. Their contract expired December 31st.