News digest

Woodbury ambulance corps to sponsor blood drive and bone marrow screening this Sunday Highland Mills — The Woodbury Community Ambulance, in partnership with Community Blood Services, will sponsor a blood drive and bone marrow donor screening on Sunday, Dec. 5, at its building on Route 32 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blood donations can be scheduled by calling 928-6464 and leaving a message; include your name, call back number and preferred time. Walk-ins are welcome, too. The bone marrow donor screenings are being performed in the name of Stephen Krane, a 16-year-old Highland Mills resident who has been diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The screening is a painless mouth swab. Uno, dos, tres, Catorce: Second best U2 show coming to Woodbury in January for fundraiser Central Valley - The Highland Mills Fire Company plays host to 2U-The World’s 2nd Best U2 Show on Saturday, Jan. 8, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Monroe-Woodbury High School. The proceeds from the concert will benefit the Highland Mills Fire Company Scholarship fund. These awards are given out yearly to graduating seniors. The show also will benefit the Wounded Warrior Transition Unit based at West Point. Tickets are $10 pre person for this family-friendly show. A limited amount of tickets will be sold. To purchase them, go to www.woodburyfire.com, visit the Highland Mills Fire House (located at 455 Route 32 in Highland Mills) Monday evenings between 7 and 9 p.m. or during Christmas tree sales most evenings and weekends. You also may call 845-928-6070and leave a message. For a preview of the show, visit the band’s Web site at www.notu2.com. Film-maker seeks local women for documentary about their views Cornwall - Miles Out Entertainment is filming a three-part documentary series currently entitled “Why Are We Still Having This Conversation?” The first part, in collaboration with the YWCA of Orange County, focuses on local women and their views on the role and status of women in society today. Upcoming tapings are scheduled between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, in Newburgh; Jan. 11 in New Windsor and Jan. 18 in Montgomery. According to the press release announcing the tapings, the documentary’s creative force Marisa Miles wanted to start a dialogue via a documentary about women today and how they view themselves in today’s world. She applied for and received a grant from the YWCA of Orange County to film the first part of the series. Miles Out Entertainment’s mission statement is “to nurture the development of artist both young and old. To encourage and foster the growth of community art groups and filmmakers in the Hudson Valley. To promote and acknowledge new talents in all areas of the performing arts.” Local women interested in being interviewed for this documentary should e-mail Miles, the project’s creator, at milesoutentertainment@gmail.com and include their preferred date and time. PBA annual toy drive underway Monroe - The Monroe Police PBA’s annual toy drive if off to a strong start. “The calls from people in need are rolling in as well as the people dropping off gifts,” said Det. James Frankild. “We are off to a good start.” Now through Dec. 20, people or organizations who would like to donate can do so by dropping off new, unwrapped toys and gifts anytime at the lobby of Monroe Police Headquarters, 104 Stage Road in the Village of Monroe. Officers will begin distributing toys the week of Dec. 20 until all toys have been given away. Families in need of gifts can call the station at 782-8644 or stop in and ask to be put on the list. Monroe Ford property still on the market MONROE - Contrary to rumors, the Monroe Ford property has not been sold. The abandoned Monroe Ford site on Route 17M was sold in May 2009 for $7.5 million and is now on the market for a list price of $4.9 million. The dealership closed two years ago and the property is now held by iStar Financial of Alpharetta, Ga, a national real estate investment firm and private broker to high-end commercial real estate The local name on the deed is ASTAR, 325 Route 17M, Monroe. “It is not sold,” Monroe Village Mayor James Purcell said earlier this week. “Yes, interested parties have been looking at the site, but nobody has bought it. The bottom line is it’s still for sale.” The mayor was responding to rumors that dissidents from the Village of Kiryas Joel had purchased the former dealership to convert it into a girls’ school. According to Matt Ogle of SRS Real Estate in New York City, the 40,000-square foot site on 11 acres is still on the market. Perhaps here is where the rumor began: Monroe Town Planning Board has recently given final approval for a 2,000-square-foot building for a girls’ school to be run by Kiryas Joel dissents. That site is on Forest Road, adjacent to the Quickway (Route 17). - Claudia Wysocki