A fire broke out at Yeshiva of Spring Valley Girls School (YSV), located at 143 Grandview Ave., on Monday. Heavy smoke could be seen billowing from the campus as firefighters raced to contain the blaze. The fire ignited in an unoccupied new section of YSV currently under construction. Hundreds of girls in school today were safely evacuated from the campus. No injuries have been reported. Rockland Chaveirim units have responded to the scene and arranged for heated buses to be placed near the school so that the girls could be placed in a warm environment and out of the frigid cold.

The “mysterious virus” that has sickened thousands of Israeli yeshivah bochurim seems to have spread to the tri-state area, with hundreds upon hundreds of ill yeshivah bochurim in yeshivos in Brooklyn, Lakewood, and Monsey. The Lakewood Scoop reported on Wednesday that hundreds of yeshivah bochurim in various Mesivtas in Lakewood are sick with a strange virus. One Lakewood yeshivah even sent the daily shiur via email since most of the bochurim were sick at home. “My son is in one of these Mesivtas and the doctor could not diagnose what type of virus this is,” one parent told TLS. Parents say that although some of the symptoms are similar to flu symptoms, it’s not the flu. The bochurim were tested for COVID and the results were negative.

NY Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced a new mask mandate, but it is up to local health departments to enforce it, and some Republican county executives say they absolutely will not. Hochul on Friday announced that she is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor spaces where proof of vaccination is not required, citing New York’s rising Covid-19 caseload as the impetus for her decision. Violations of the new mandate is subject to civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000 for each violation. One of those Republicans is Rockland County Executive Ed Day, who said the governor’s staff wasn’t even able to provide him with detailed information about the new requirement.

Yesterday, I went shopping for donuts. Today, I’m wondering how I’m going to pay my credit card bill next month. You see, I wanted to get donuts for a small family Chanukah party. How much could it cost already for a dozen – twenty bucks? Not a problem, I’m happy to spend that money in exchange for a smile. But as I prepared to leave, it was made very clear to me that the standard jelly and custard donuts I’ve been accustomed to for my entire life were no longer “chic.” “These days,” I was told, “you have to get the nicer donuts or else you’re a nerd.” Odd, but alright, nicer donuts it’ll be, I decided. I went to a local store and asked for a dozen of their upper-end donuts.

Hatzolah of Rockland County released an urgent warning on Wednesday, saying they have seen a “frightening uptick” in serious accidents involving electric bikes and scooters, and are urging the community to be aware of the dangers involved in operating the toys. E-bikes and electric scooters are becoming increasingly popular, but these powered bikes and scooters carry a higher risk of severe injuries than traditional bicycles and scooters due to higher speed capabilities. Unsafe riding and collisions can result in serious injury or death” Hatzolah wrote in a flyer distributed Wednesday morning.

A sickening display of anti-Semitism was showcased at a public hearing in the town of Haverstraw, NY (near Monsey) last night, when a bigot got up and made incredibly shocking and hateful comments about the Jews of the town. The incident came during at a town hearing during which a variance was being considered for a property upon which Jews are planning to build a shul. During the public comments section, a man who self-identified as Nick Collela of 45 River Glen Drive, got up to give his two cents about the Jews. Collela went on a tirade against the proposed building of the shul, looking for every possible complaint he could use – from garbage cans in the street to Hatzolah showing up to emergencies – to somehow get the shul’s request for approval denied.

Rockland Chaveirim is being hailed for rescuing a seriously injured individual who was stranded in a wooded area near Monsey, and for finding and rescuing two individuals who had become lost in the same area. Chaveirim deployed its highly-trained search and rescue team to a forest near Monsey Wednesday evening after receiving a phone call apprising them of the situation and the general location of the injured individual. Chaveirim units were able to locate the patient and extract him from the woods using a special stretcher for wooded areas, transferring him to Rockland Hatzolah who transported the patient to a local hospital. The patient has since been transported to Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, for treatment of sustained injuries.

The Gerrer Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon Rav Shaul Alter, is continuing his historic, whirlwind visit to the United States, visiting various rabbanim and mosdos, and meeting with numerous chasidim eager to be in his presence. Rav Shaul on Tuesday visited Yeshiva Yagdil Torah, the flagship Gerrer yeshiva in Borough Park, where he delivered a shiur and spoke to the yeshiva’s younger talmidim, followed by visits to the elder of the admorim, the Rachmastrivka Rebbe. The Rosh Yeshiva also held meetings with the Bobov-45, Bobov-48, and Kossover Rebbes, and attended a massive kabolas panim event in Borough Park, attended by well over 1,000 people.

As YWN has reported, Hagaon HaRav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, arrived on Sunday morning in NY on his first visit to the Unites States. The Rosh Yeshiva was taken off the plane by Rabbi Yanky Meyer from Misaskim who then drove him to Monsey. The Rosh Yeshiva is staying at the home of philanthropist Reb Shimon Glick in Monsey, and will be visiting Yeshivas in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Lakewood and Far Rockaway this week. On Sunday the Rosh Yeshiva visited Yeshiva Heichal Hatorah, led by its Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon HaRav Mottel Dick Shlita. The Rosh Yeshiva delivered a Shiur to the Bochrim on Mesacha Yevamos.

(By Sandy Eller) Recognizing months of intensive training and an indomitable spirit of volunteerism, the Town of Ramapo honored more than three dozen members of Chaverim of Rockland’s Search And Rescue team for their efforts, gifting them with specialized backpacks to be used in upcoming missions. In addition to responding to calls for relatively simple issues including flat tires and lockouts, Chaverim of Rockland is frequently called upon to lead searches for lost hikers given its proximity to the Catskills. As the demand for its SAR team has grown over the years, Chaverim of Rockland has seen the importance of providing its members with both wilderness and medical training in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.