News

If you suspect a neighborhood pet is being mistreated, the local Humane Society doesn’t want you to let that go unreported. Anne Marie Gaudio is the president of the Hudson Valley Humane Society in Pomona and says sometimes people have the best of intentions when they take in a stray, but then that leads to more and more under one roof, or even other problems…

You can confidentially report animal abuse to the Humane Society by calling 845-354-3124 or send an email to: “reportcruelty@hvhumane.org.”

Thousands are expected to attend a large funeral service for a Rabbi who headed the Chesed L’Avraham organization of Brooklyn. The funeral for Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal is at 11 this morning in Brooklyn and then later this afternoon here in Rockland at the Vizhnitzer cemetery on Route 306 near Brick Church Road. Mourners are being shuttled by bus from the Boulders’ ball park parking lot on Pomona Road. Village of Wesley Hills Mayor Marshall Katz says motorists will probably want to avoid the area of Route 59, Route 306, Kearsing Parkway, Jill Lane and Blueberry Hill Road. The entire Blueberry Hill neighborhood will be on complete lock-down; no vehicles will be allowed in or out. If you have a car parked anywhere in the frozen zone, it will be towed by the Ramapo or Spring Valley Police Departments.

Clarkstown’s supervisor is hoping fragile egos in county government can be set aside so that the old Sain Building property in New City can be sold and finally put on the town’s tax rolls. Supervisor George Hoehmann says allowing the building to sit and rot is useless to everyone…

The county executive has been trying to sell off the property for years, and the lone interested buyer bailed on the project last November.

An area school district cancelled a sporting event in Rockland yesterday due to concerns over the measles outbreak. Published reports said the Rye City School District changed yesterday’s junior varsity baseball game which would have been played in Nyack. The game instead will be played today in Rye. Rockland’s County Executive declared a state of emergency last week over the outbreak, though outdoor spaces were not included.

A smoke detectors law passed four years ago went into effect yesterday. Under the new law, the only battery-powered smoke alarms allowed for sale in New York must have sealed-in, non-removable batteries that last for ten years. Rockland’s director of Fire and Emergency Services, Chris Kear, says once installed, these alarms are virtually impossible to disable…

The National Fire Protection Association says three of every five home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms or with faulty smoke alarms.