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Excerpts from September 2-8, 2010 Issue

 
Rocklanders Among Hundreds of Thousands at “Restoring Honor” Rally in D.C.
BY DYLAN SKRILOFF
Editor-in-Chief 
 
A popular talk show host organized a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, which might go down in the nation’s history as a defining moment, depending on what the future holds.

Love him or hate him, you have to give Glenn Beck credit – he successfully gathered somewhere between 250,000 to one million Americans to Washington D.C. for his “Restoring Honor” rally.  Included in those throngs were 55 people from the Rockland County area who packed a bus, and dozens of others who drove or flew down on their own.

Photos show the entire area of the reflecting pool crowded with people as well as a large spillover into adjacent lawn areas and up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Originally many news organizations including Gannet misreported that “tens of thousands” of people attended the rally, when aerial photos show the crowd was far larger than that.

Beck said the theme of the rally was not overtly political, but intended to honor American troops, every day heroes, and encourage attendees to be all they can be and get involved in their communities. Political signs were banned. Former Alaska governor and candidate for vice president Sarah Palin spoke, mentioning the importance of service and how proud she was of her son who is a combat veteran.

 
(To read the entire story please subscribe to the Rockland County Times)  
 
 
Be Ready for New Voting Machines this Election Season
BY DYLAN SKRILOFF
 

The Rockland County Board of Elections is installing a new computerized voting ballot in time for this year’s primary elections on September 14.  Election officials say Rockland is one of the last counties in the state to make the transition. Old time pull-lever voting machines are no more as voters will now select their choices by filling in circles on a paper form and feeding it into a scanner.

Three-hour demonstrations are being held throughout the county in September and October so that residents can get acquainted with the new system before the actual polls occur. One such demonstration was held at the Palisades Center Mall on August 24-28 on the first floor. See a full list below.

Board of Elections employee Allison Scarpulla said approximately 75 persons a day checked out the new scanner system at the mall. The feedback was mixed, Scarpulla said, as many voters were concerned about privacy and accuracy of vote tallies. “They asked why. People aren’t thrilled but it’s state-mandated and they’ve even stopped making parts to fix old lever machines,” she said.

Scarpulla assured them they would still have privacy, as each ballot will be filled in with a pencil at “privacy booths.” The new system should significantly reduce waiting times during elections, as after voters fill in their ballot they will walk up to the machine and be quickly processed. 

(To read the entire story please subscribe to the Rockland County Times)  

 
ROCKLAND COMMEMORATES 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
Towns and villages are holding 9/11 commemorations and memorials on the following days. At least 88 persons with ties to Rockland County were killed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, including 45 who lived in Rockland as of that date.
 
SEPTEMBER 9
TOWN OF HAVERSTRAW: At 7 p.m., the annual 9/11 memorial service will be held by the Rockland County Department of the Marine Corps League at the Haverstraw Town Hall monument. The Town Hall is located at One Rosman Road, Garnerville, NY. Three of the detachment members were among the victims of the 9-11 attack. There will be a color guard, taps, and a wreath-laying ceremony. The public is invited to attend
 
SEPTEMBER 11
TOWN OF RAMAPO: At 8:30 a.m. the Town of Ramapo’s Annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony will take place on the front lawn of Town Hall.  Ramapo’s Memorial Ceremony will feature the announcement of the 2010 Freedom Award Winners.  The Freedom Award is presented to individuals for exemplary community service in memory of those Town residents who lost their lives on 9/11/01. 
VILLAGE OF SLOATSBURG: At 11 a.m., a memorial service will be held at the Sloatsburg Athletic Field.
VILLAGE OF SUFFERN: At 7 p.m., a memorial service will be held at Donna Hallett Park, Lonergan Drive, Suffern. 
VILLAGE OF TAPPAN: At 8:30 a.m., a remembrance service will be offered at the Volunteer Fire Association of Tappan at 135 Washington St. 
VILLAGE OF WEST NYACK: At 7 p.m., a mass of remembrance will be held at St. Francis of Assisi, 128 Parrott Road, 
 
SEPTEMBER 12
VILLAGE OF NYACK: At 5 p.m., a “Concert for 9/11 Remembrance” featuring performers from the  New York City Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic and American Ballet Theatre will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 130 First Ave., Nyack. Free to the public.
 
SEPTEMBER 13
TOWN OF CLARKSTOWN: At 5 p.m., a memorial will be held at Clarkstown Town Hall in New City.
 
SEPTEMBER 14
TOWN OF RAMAPO: At 8:15 a.m. SUNY Rockland Community College invites the public to its commemoration of September 11 on the Academic Quad patio on the main campus in Suffern. Rain location: Student Union, Room 3114. 
The ceremony will honor those Rockland residents or those with ties to Rockland who perished in the World Trade Center attacks and aftermath. The schedule is as follows:
8:15 a.m. - Reflective music
8:30 a.m. - Introduction by Dr. Cliff L. Wood, President
Pledge of Allegiance 
National Anthem
 
SUNY Rockland students will read the names of the residents, former residents, and relatives of the residents and others with connections of any sort to Rockland County who perished in the World Trade Center attacks.
 

(To read the entire story please subscribe to the Rockland County Times)  

Stony Point Woman Sentenced In $156,000 Fleecing Of Town Little League 
Press Release
 
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe announced that Karen Ramos (DOB 05/05/67) of 4 Stubbe Drive, Stony Point, New York was sentenced to five years probation on a guilty plea to the top count of her indictment, one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony. 
 
Between October 2004 and February 2009, Ramos, while serving as Treasurer of the Stony Point Little League, methodically stole $156,150 by repeatedly making unauthorized cash withdrawals from Chase bank accounts maintained by the sports organization. 
 
Between June 2006, and February 2009, Ramos covered up the thefts by falsifying the monthly account balance reports she submitted to league board members. On at least twenty-six occasions, the Account Balance Report submitted by the defendant did not reflect the actual status of the League’s bank accounts, concealing the theft. As part of her sentence, Ramos must also pay a $5,000 fine and serve six months in the Rockland County Sheriff's Work Release Program. 
 
(To read the entire story please subscribe to the Rockland County Times) 
 
 
Miele's Musings
BY PUBLISHER ARMAND MIELE
WHEN GOVERNMENT INTERFERES IN PRIVATE BUSINESS
 
Once again, the government is making laws to remove responsibility from itself and put it on private enterprise. Once again they are going to destroy their own tax base. It started in New York and a few other states, and now it’s the whole country being destroyed. It’s like going back to the dark ages. The government runs up bills, then depends on the taxpayers to pay. 
 
Remember when the state of Maryland passed a law requiring Wal-Mart stores to spend at least 8% of their payrolls on health care? It’s an example of things to come. The great union leaders who supported the Maryland bill claimed to have gotten legislators together in 30 States to introduce the same bill. State Senator Gloria G. Lawlah, an Ultra Liberal disguised as a Democrat, said in sponsorship of the bill, “Let us light the torch, let us lead the way.” Lead the way for what?
 
Senator Lawlah and the rest of the Legislators did not take the time to figure out who would pay for the bill in the long run. Businesses like Wal-Mart have to raise their prices to pay for the extra regulations put on them, because they still must make a profit to survive. Government doesn’t need to turn a profit. Government doesn’t use a balance sheet. When government bodies find out their ideas don’t work, they use the taxpayers to survive and pay the bills.
 
(To read the entire story please subscribe to the Rockland County Times)