Tragedy struck the Kiryas Joel community on Monday, when a young child was R”L struck and killed by a vehicle. The incident happened just before 4:00PM on Da Weider Blvd, when the three-year-old boy was struck by a delivery van from a local butcher. Kiryal Joel Hatzolah Paramedics attempted to save the child’s life, but sadly, their efforts were unsuccessful. The NY State Police are on the scene investigating the incident. Further information will be published when it becomes available to us. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes… (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A state trooper shot and wounded a domestic violence suspect in western New York after the man advanced toward officers with a bow and arrow, police said. The confrontation happened at 1:30 a.m. Friday in Portville. Troopers were dispatched to a home by the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office after a report of domestic violence was called in, state police said. Troopers arrived at the home and were speaking to the victim when a man advanced toward them with a bow and arrow, police said. The man, identified as 40-year-old Ryan Ehman, ignored several commands to drop the weapon, they said. One trooper fired his gun and struck Ehman, police said. Ehman was flown to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. No information on his condition was released.

Tolls will increase for drivers on the New York Thruway who do not have an E-ZPass starting Jan. 1. The State Thruway Authority voted Tuesday to raise tolls by 30% for people who are driving on the Thruway without an E-ZPass, a device that collects toll information and charges drivers. The Thruway eliminated cash tolls in November. That means drivers without an E-ZPass are sent a bill by mail. In addition to the 30% higher toll, drivers billed by mail will also be charged a $2 administrative fee every time they are billed. (AP)

First term New York State Senator Jen Metzger conceded defeat on Tuesday, meaning Republican Mike Martucci will be the new representative in the 42nd District. This was Martucci’s first run in politics. Jen Metzger became well-known in the Jewish community when she wrote a public letter calling for all summer camps in Sullivan County to be closed last summer. Her letter not only called for camps to be closed, but for rightful owners of second homes to not be allowed to use them. Her letter triggered vile anti-Semitic on various forums in the Catskills. An open-letter was addressed to her, which she never responded to. We all know how many COVID-19 cases the camps and summer residents brought to the Catskills this summer: Nearly none.

Just one day after NY Governor Cuomo blasted Satmar and threatened legal action for holding a “secret wedding” in Williamsburg that had around 7,000 participants, New York State Officials are warning Satmar that they better cancel a massive Chasunah planned for tonight in Kiryas Yoel. New York officials ordered the Yetev Lev D’Satmar congregation in Monroe to cancel “four large wedding ceremonies” scheduled for Monday evening where thousands of people are expected to attend — unless the ceremonies can be held following strict adherence to coronavirus safety guidelines.

Get your E-Z Pass ready. The New York State Thruway is going completely cashless this weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday. The highway’s 450-mile, ticketed toll system will be converted to electronic collection during the overnight hours Friday into Saturday, Cuomo said. The switch will happen simultaneously at 58 tolling locations, he said. The rest of the Thruway system already stopped accepting cash payments. Cuomo said the Thruway is moving to full cashless tolling more than a month ahead of schedule. He made the conversion a goal in his 2018 State of the State address. Motorists who have E-ZPass device will have tolls charged to them automatically. If they don’t, they will get a bill in the mail.

A wintry weather system is expected to dump up to 10 inches of snow accompanied by winds up to 50 mph across parts of New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday evening. Snow and high winds will likely make travel treacherous through Tuesday morning, Cuomo said. Parts of western and central New York, the Finger Lakes, North Country and Mohawk Valley are expected to see 3 to 7 inches of snow, while some lake-effect snowfall areas of central and northern New York may get up to 10 inches. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm watches and advisories for areas around the state. In the Tug Hill area east of Lake Ontario, a winter storm watch is in effect Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning with snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches possible.

At least three people were critically injured and several others hurt in a school bus crash in New York Wednesday morning., New Windsor Town Police said. It happened just before 8:30 a.m. on Route 207, at Little Britain and Beattie roads, in New Windsor and involved a Little Britain Elementary School bus and a tree trimming truck equipped with a chipper owned by a local landscaping company. There were seven children on the bus all of whom walked off and were brought to the hospital to be seen by medical professionals as per school protocol and good practices, the police said. It’s unclear how students were among those injured, but Assemblyman Colin Schmitt tweeted, “Please say a prayer for the young students involved in a serious bus accident in New Windsor.

MONTICELLO – Calls are being made for an investigation into petitions filed with the Board of Elections by a former judge, in the Sullivan County District Attorney’s race. At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Democratic Party Chairman Steve Vegliante, who was flanked by leaders from the Conservative, Independence and Republican parties announced that a complaint was being filed with the New York State Attorney General’s Pubic Integrity Bureau. “There has been some egregious conduct in the filing of independent petitions in the race for DA by Frank LaBuda,” said Steve Vegliante. “We think there is a clear case for criminal prosecution here”.

R’ Mordechai Samet of Kiryas Joel was released from prison on Erev Rosh Hashanah, after serving 20 of his 27-year sentence. Samet was released under the new “First Step Act” law. R’ Moshe Margaretten of the Tzedek Association who was highly influential in the passing of the law – and in securing his release – was there to greet him. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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