Catskills Hatzalah is pleased to announce the launch of its Drone Team. The Drone Team brings advanced capabilities to the Catskills Hatzalah Search and Rescue Team and other special operations. Thanks to an anonymous generous donor, Catskills Hatzalah has purchased two advanced drones with infrared capabilities. These drones, with infrared capabilities, offer a tremendous advancement in the search for lost or missing persons. The team is comprised of dedicated Hatzalah volunteers who are certified by the FAA as Unmanned Aircraft System (Drone) Pilots. The team has been participating in additional extensive search and rescue and drone operations training.

Last week, in a ruling that could have major ramifications for yeshiva students across New York State, an appellate court overruled a lower court ruling that the Washingtonville school district must provide transportation to nonpublic school students on all days that their schools are in session. The case, United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove v. Washingtonville Central School District, challenged the school district’s policy of providing transportation to nonpublic school students only on days that public schools are also open, a policy that was supported and defended by the New York State Education Department.

With summer fast approaching, Jewish community leaders met with federal and county officials and members of local law enforcement to discuss safety and security as tens of thousands of families prepare to head upstate for the upcoming summer season. The June 2nd meeting was hosted by Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff at the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office in Monticello with more than 50 people in attendance, both in person and on Zoom. Among the topics on the agenda were hate crimes, ongoing upstate construction projects, camp security, summer safety and travel awareness. This year marked the 11th consecutive pre-summer meeting to address issues the concerns of the large Jewish community that vacations upstate during the warmer weather.

A group of Jewish camps have settled with the town of Wawarsing in upstate New York following a bitter legal battle over new zoning laws enacted by the town that prompted state and federal lawsuits. An agreement has been signed between attorneys for the town and camps to suspend the lawsuit for six months while Wawarsing officials go over the new zoning laws that camp operators say prevent them from expanding and affects their daily operations. As town officials revisit the laws, camp operators will now have a say in what zoning rules would or would not hurt them, though the camps will not have any veto power over the town’s final position. A state judge has agreed for the truce to move forward, while a federal judge is still being waited on for his approval.

A Jewish family in Monticello was the victim of an attampted armed robbery late Wednesday night. Sources tell YWN that two men attempted to rob a family on Park Avenue near Morris Drive just after 11:00PM. The two suspects displayed handguns. Catskills Hatzolah responded and treated multiple victims who suffered minor injuries while struggling with the suspects. The Sullivan County Sheriff Department, NY State Police and the Monticello Police Department are looking for two black males around 25 year old with scarves around their faces who fled on foot. Additional information will be published when it becomes available to us. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A group of Jewish summer camps have filed a second lawsuit against the town of Wawarsing, New York, in an attempt to undo newly enacted zoning rules they say will make it difficult for their camps to operate and nearly impossible to expand. This lawsuit comes after a group of 8 camps sued Wawarsing in federal court arguing that regulations enacted by the town concerning camps were done out of religious animosity. Two other camps filed suit in state court, saying the the town had skipped required steps before passing the law. The new laws say that camps cannot house more than 400 children and adults, banned loudspeakers, limited cabins to 10 people, prohibits structures or any activities within 250 feet of property lines, and requires campers to be surrounded by a fence.

A New York state trooper fatally shot a driver Saturday during a traffic stop, and authorities said they were looking into what might have precipitated the deadly interaction. The driver was shot as he put the vehicle in reverse and tried to flee, briefly dragging a trooper who was reaching into the vehicle as the car began moving, New York State Police Maj. Carla DiRienzo said during a news conference. The car backed into a highway ramp before overturning, she said. The driver, who was in a vehicle with out-of-state license plates, died at the scene, she said. Neither the driver nor the trooper involved — a 14-year veteran of the state police — were immediately identified publicly. Gov.

The town of Wawarsing in Ulster County, NY, has been hit by a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by the administrators of eight Orthodox Jewish summer camps and a school who say that the town passed onerous restrictions on them. Last fall, the town passed ordinances confining new camps to just two areas and set rigid rules about their capacity, fencing requirements and cabin occupancy. The camps and school say the new requirements will make it impossible for them to expand or make upgrades without facing near-insurmountable hurdles. The camps suing the town over the restrictions serve approximately 4,300 frum boys each summer.

A 44-year-old parolee from Monticello is spending time in the Sullivan County Jail for cutting copper pipes out of a bungalow in the Town of Thompson. The Sheriff Department tells YWN that on Monday December 13, at about 10:49 AM, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a burglary in progress at the Sunny Forest Bungalow Colony located at 127 Old Liberty Road in the Town of Thompson. Sheriff’s deputies and back up units from the Monticello PD found an open door at unit #2. When they searched the residence they found Joshua Whidbee, 44, of Monticello in the basement removing copper pipes with a saw. Whidbee fled the basement and a brief foot chase ensued across the parking lot of the colony.

Town of Fallsburg Police Chief Simmie Williams announced the arrest and arraignment today on a Sealed Indictment of James Greco, 52, of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Greco is accused by the Indictment of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, for allegedly having operated a pickup truck on Route 42 in the Town of Fallsburg on May 21, 2021, while impaired by the drugs fentanyl, alprazolam and/or oxycodone, crashing into and causing the death of the operator of another vehicle. Fallsburg police investigated the crash in conjunction with the New York State Police, and the case was subsequently presented to a Sullivan County Grand Jury, which returned the indictment, upon which an arrest warrant for Greco was issued.