Now, we have three seats for East Ramapo school district, with only one seat challenged. That’s because two candidates—both incumbents—have dropped out over the last two days. Dr. David Resnick and Steven Rosenstock notified the East Ramapo district clerk that they have withdrawn as school board candidates.

Sigh. Resnick’s seat had two challengers, Aron Weider and Steven White. Rosenstock’s seat had one, Moshe Hopstein. So now East Ramapo School Board President Nathan Rothschild is unchallenged; Hopstein is unchallenged; Weider and White face off.

Three seats, two uncontested. What a disservice to voters.

WE, of course, love to get letters—more specifically, letters to the editor so we can publish and share different views with Rockland readers.

Some letter-writers only contribute once. There’s some burning issue in their town, or a news story that has stirred some strong feelings, and they write. And we love it. (even more when they don’t agree with us, I think.)

And we have our pros. The letter-writers who drop us a line (for publication) every 30 days (the required waiting period for being published again). Sometimes, they even send us their opinions in between, aware that they won’t get published, but they just want to share. And they cc us when they write to other publications, or to their local leaders.

There are quite a few I’ve “inherited” from Art Gunther. (I suspect a few were wary of me and Art had to let them know I was OK, though he’s too much of a gentleman to talk behind anyone’s back.) They warmed up to the new editor and new process, and others have joined in. We are grateful for all of them.

I want to express this gratitude, and wish I had done it more often. This weekend, I read the obituary for one of our longtime consistent letter-writers, Anthony C. Zacharakis of Tappan. Anthony wrote a lot, and he wrote mostly about Orangetown politics, but also about transportation, safety issues and other topics. He also would send ideas along, and cc the Editorial Board on letters he sent to Orangetown Town Hall. His writing style was somewhat clipped, and went right to the point. I share with you part of one of his Community Views, this one from December 2001, on traffic safety in Orangetown:

“Referrals, study, meetings, sinecures, paper shuffling and manufactured activity scandalize Orangetown, i.e., the “Route 303 Sustainable Study,” the Rockland Psychiatric Center study, the Pearl River revitalization plan, master plan upgrade, etc.

The people of Orangetown, the silent, overwhelmed, intimidated, rate-paying multitude, elect the supervisor and Town Board to keep the town safe, secure, well-serviced, clean and green.

The Town Board squanders town resources.

The Town Board should rid Route 303 of the “seven stops of shame.”

It is time to resolve, budget, appropriate, act or step down. ”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was at Stewart Airport this morning to announce more funding for a study on how to link the Orange County airport to Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis line. The study will begin June 2, rather than in a year or so. Creating a rail link at Stewart would mean Manhattanites could jump on a train and get to Stewart once the Access to the Region’s Core project gets done. (the ARC tunnel will allow those “west-of-Hudson” rail lines to go directly to Manhattan’s West Side, so there’s no more changing trains in Secaucus.) Schumer’s been a big proponent for the ARC project, and a rail link to Stewart would certainly up ARC’s value.

So, here’s the question: Does this enhance or diminish the a commuter rail option for the Tappan Zee Bridge/Interstate 287 Project? The TZB/I-287 Project Team is due to announce this month what kind of public transportation option is planned for the 30-mile I-287 corridor between Suffern and Port Chester. That will also determine if the Tappan Zee Bridge would be rebuilt, expanded or replaced.

ARC has already caused the TZB/I-287 Project Team to take another look at forecasts for ridership of any public transportation system (options include commuter rail, bus rapid transit and some mixes along the corridor). Would a direct ride to Stewart on the Port Jervis line mean that there would be more or less demand for an east-west rail line across the Lower Hudson Valley?

Here’s one thought:  The TZ corridor project would already link whatever public transport method to the Port Jervis line. So, if that’s going to provide a one-seat ride to Stewart from Tarrytown, White Plains and Port Chester, that’s a real plus for the commuter rail option. Sure, a rapid bus to the train will get riders there, too, but that “one-seat ride” mantra is a powerful one.

Maybe what ARC takes away this rail link to Stewart will bring back. Nah, it couldn’t be that easy.

I really do enjoy meeting all the candidates running for school board. You have to admire people willing to serve in a volunteer position that draws a lot of (often negative) attention. Let’s face it, most every public school parent has had a run-in with the district about some education or playground or transportation issue (I have, for all three, at some point). And let’s face it, just about every homeowner has reviewed their property tax bill and shaken the “Receiver of Taxes” stamped receipt and spoken unkind words (I have.) And guess who gets the heat for all that? That’s right, the school board trustee.

So, I meet the people who come with interesting ideas and energy to do the work, and I just have to be grateful that the Editorial Board (and much more importantly, the voters!) have choices.

That said, we are still trying to track down candidates who haven’t returned their candidate questionnaires and didn’t show up for Endorsement hearings.  OK, people. You are running for a public service position. You gotta come to the phone, at least! We do try to get information from all candidates, but if it’s difficult to reach someone who we knew got the message, well that’s a reflection on their ability to function in a role that serves the public.

A shoutout to Clarkstown, which had all six candidates show up, within shifts, for an endorsement hearing. Everyone in Pearl River showed, and got their paperwork in. Nyack had seven out of eight attend (and email questionnaires) and all had something to contribute—that was a rewarding conversation.

Gotta go make another round of phone calls. Grumble. Sigh.

Dr. Michael F. Kelly was the orthodontist for a generation of Suffern kids. Before his death April 29 at 71, Kelly treated the children of his first patients and watched his own children catch his passion for his profession.

Between 1998 and 2004, his daughters Kathleen and Christine and son, Michael W., not only joined his practice on Route 59 in Montebello. They all changed careers to do so.

Kathleen started out a writer, but became disaffected with publishing’s corporate culture.

Christine worked in advertising and later for a headhunter for the ad business and Michael tired of selling Heineken Beer.

Just as they had all attended Suffern high School, they all completed dental training at the University of Pennsylvania Dental School.

A couple of years back, Kathleen Kelly joked that her arrival in the office made things complicated. “People would call and ask for Dr. Kelly,” she said. Finding out that the calls were often for her father, she said she would tell him, “They want the original recipe.”

Actually, the recipe in the Kelly office, whether in Montebello or later a second in Pearl River, remained pretty much the same.

Whether it was Dr. Kelly, Dr. Kelly, Dr. Kelly or Dr. Kelly, young patients were put at ease, sometime even getting amused by mom—Mary Ann Kelly—who did puppet shows while working the front desk.

The Kelly children said they never felt pressure to go into orthodontics. They just saw how much their father loved his work and loved learning. He even corresponded with Michael’s seventh-grade Latin teacher—in Latin.

Even as he eased out of a full load at the practice, Kelly still made visits to Harvard, where he was a long-time faculty member, helping to prepare other young orthodontists. Highly regarded in his field, he remained a resource for this colleagues and his children.

So, it ends up they got it all wrong at those two public hearings last year, hosted by the state Department of Transportation, in which town residents asked the state to scale back plans for the Farley Bridge project on Route 9W. At least that’s what Stony Point Supervisor Phil Marino, the town’s highway superintendent, fire chief and police chief said last week, as reported by Khurram Saeed.

DOT first planned to place a new span along Route 9W that would add right-turn and left-turn lanes, and sidewalks, but would also mean the taking of property in the area. Then, residents at well-attended public hearings said the town could do without the larger bridge. DOT came back with a smaller plan that needed less land-taking, but had fewer of the lane options.

Why the change now? Well, Stony Point Police Chief Patrick Brophy says he brought up his concerns (he wants left-turn lanes at all four directions at the Route 9W/Main Street intersection) with DOT engineers 18 months ago. As for Marino, he said last week that he “was not as vociferous as I should have been. But I am now.”

Just how “not vociferous” was he? Well, here’s a clip from the news article in October 2007, in which Marino himself announced, during a Town Board meeting, the DOT’s intention to acquire less land for the project:

Marino, who worked with the state, said he was pleased with the outcome. … “The three big properties that everybody was worried about, they’re not going to be touched,” said Marino, who is running for re-election against Republican candidate Jerry Rogers in November.

No, not vociferous.

It’s not clear what this change of tune means. DOT seemed unfazed. “Whether or not the left turn goes in now or not, the design of the new bridge will not preclude that from being done in the future,” DOT spokeswoman Sandra Jobson told staff writer Saeed.

Let’s not forget why this project’s being done in the first place. The 85-year-old James A. Farley Memorial Bridge has been deteriorating for years. DOT rated it 3.99 out of 7, and it’s received two yellow flags for corrosion on a nonweight-bearing piece of the deck truss and for corrosion on a floor beam. A yellow flag identifies less critical conditions that are likely to get worse if not addressed before the next inspection, as well as flaws in nonvital components. Now, the DOT plans to do the work in 2010. Let’s hope town officials and residents can get their desires expressed clearly to the DOT this time around.

The other day the children of Sal and Catherine Marasa of New City hosted a surprise birthday party for their parents who are turning 80 and 75 respectively within the space of a few weeks.

Two of their daughters sifted through more than 56 years of the memories of their parents’ marriage and created a little display of photos on a side table at Pasta Cucina in New City.

Sal, who came to America in the late 1940s and toiled in his own barber shops, a deli and a luncheonette, made a comfortable life for his family while doing much good working through groups like Jawonio, the Haverstraw Knights of Columbus and the Sons of Italy in America.

But in their first few years of marriage, money was sometimes hard to come by.

Searching those boxes of memories, daughters Mariann and Cathy found the proof.

They found a birthday card their dad gave to his young bride back around 1954 or so.

It was a rectangle of cardboard, cut from a box.

On one side, Sal scrawled in big letters, “Happy Birthday Honey.”

On the other side he wrote, “That’s all I can afford. I’M BROKE. I love you, Sal.”

It was a touching expression of love that didn’t need an envelope, a postage stamp or a gift.

Truly, it was a gift all its own.

Sal’s hard work and Catherine’s love of family has made it possible for them to share a special kind of wealth with children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. They’ve traveled and shared a wonderful life and a beautiful love.

And its essence was captured, more than a half-century ago, on the slab of cardboard that’s been tucked away, but never forgotten.

Nyack recently paid more than $400,000 to install a new parking meter system in the village and now they’re boosting parking fines, more than doubling them from $12 to $25.

If you’re quick to pay—in two days or less—you get a discount to $15, still more than before.

It’s fine to boost fines and it’s fine to use that mechanism to fill the village treasury.

But how about a break. I’ve been to Nyack a few times since the new system went into use and I’m still figuring out how it works and where I can park. On one trip, I saw what I thought were three available spaces only to find that none worked for me in terms of time allowed.

And that wasn’t all that easy to figure out.

I can tell you for one that if I’ve got a choice as to where to meet someone for lunch, at least in the short term I’ll think twice before I pick Nyack.

That’s a shame and if others feel that way, it’s going to cost the village lots more than they’ll ever collect in the increased fines.

This is big news, the London arrest of Avrum David Friesel, wanted in connection with the RCC Judaic Studies scandal. Millions in federal funds were fraudulently obtained for bogus educational and housing purposes. Of those accused, five went to prison; one died there. Four others later had their sentences commuted by a departing President Clinton. Another is still at large.
Part of the scheme used Rockland Community College to funnel an estimated $5.1 million for several thousand students in a Judaic studies program that did not meet funding guidelines. This damaged RCC’s reputation for years. And, the recent man arrested is a son of New Square’s mayor.
But it was Clinton’s decision to clear the way for the early release of the “New Square Four” that really stirred up the dust.
Here’s what made it so controversial:
Months before Hillary Clinton was voted into her Senate seat, the then-first lady and other elected officials made a call on Grand Rabbi David Twersky at his home in New Square.
In November 2000, New Sauare backed Hillary Clinton in a big way, 1,400 votes to 12 for Republican Rick Lazio.As we know, she became New York’s junior senator.
Then, in December, the rabbi met privately with the Clintons at the White House in December, about a month before the president issued his irrevocable pardon and clemency orders.
On his last day of office, Jan. 20, 2001, President Clinton reduced the federal prison sentences of four of the New Square men convicted of stealing tens of millions of dollars from federal anti-poverty and school programs.
The New Square votes and the clemency decision, being in such close proximity, stirred up an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,  along with examinations of other pardons and commutations made as Clinton left the White House. Federal prosecutors spent more than a year investigating whether the clemencies came in exchange for New Square’s overwhelming support of Hillary Clinton in the November 2000 election. In June 2002, U.S. Attorney James Comey cleared Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing in regard to the New Square pardons.
But, it still stung. Hillary Clinton didn’t attend any public events in Rockland for quite a while, causing some to wonder if she wanted to distance herself from the pardons.

It’s time for us to hold election endorsement hearings, this time for school boards. Seven of the eight districts have contested races (Ramapo Central has two school board members running unopposed).

We’ve published the schedule in the Opinion section and we have the questionnaire online, too. That information will be put together for voters to peruse.

Already, the schedule is starting to change. In one district, the whole school board had a meeting already scheduled at the same time. That will move. We had one candidate ask how long it would take, so he could let his boss know how late he would be (about an hour). Another will show up a little later, but we have eight candidates running in that district, so there is no way we will find a time that can accommodate everyone. It is ideal to have everyone in one room, at once, even though the hearings aren’t debates. But, that can’t happen. I’ve interviewed candidates just before, just after, in the office, on the phone. I’ve interviewed a few candidates who were out of town—one was out of the country—on business trips.

Especially in contests like school board, which are volunteer, we want to be as flexible as possible (state and federal office, we’re not quite as easygoing). This year, I went with all 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. meetings, figuring it’s easier to cut out of work a little early (also, as a former night shift worker, I must acknowledge that this assumes most candidates work 9-5). Last year, we tried some weekends, but that presents other problems for candidates.

The endorsement hearings are stressful for us, too. (Candidates have, after-the-fact, told me how much they hate them.) But, they give us great information for the election, and beyond. And, we get to meet people who are interested in their community. Whether or not they are endorsed, I think it’s important for the Editorial Board to acknowledge that their commitment is appreciated.

So, in the next week and half, we’ll all plow through. …There goes the phone with someone else unable to make the hearing. Sigh.