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Boys & Girls Club Forced to Close

Robert Kimmel — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:40:32 +0000

The Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Boys & Girls Club will cease operating at the end of this month despite a determined, but unsuccessful attempt by its advisory board to keep it open.

The decision to end support for the club was announced late last month by the club’s Advisory Steering Committee. “The Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow club lacks sufficient support, location and staffing to remain operational beyond June 30,” it said, describing the problems as “insurmountable obstacles.”

Some 600 children, ages six to 18, may be left without the local services provided by the club, including hot meals, after school care and programs, help with homework and sports activities. The club’s major problem came with the surprise decision in March by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Westchester’s Board of Directors to discontinue its financial support at the end of June. The reason cited by the parent organization was a budget deficit brought about by decreased donations.

Following news of that funding cut-off, local advisory committee members met with a group of parents, village officials and representatives of the school district in an attempt to “to establish the necessary financial, professional and volunteer support to keep the Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow program alive,” as the committee’s statement described. The key, according to the committee, was that the local program “is essential to the well being of the more than 600 kids it serves.”

“This has been an emotional couple of weeks for us all as we have seen great successes and felt the generosity of the community,” Laureen Barber, Advisory Committee chairwoman and a member-volunteer, Theresa Kilman, said in a joint message summing up the events to their committee. “There has been a bonafide outpouring of support for the kids and the good work of the staff,” they said.

However, they stated “after careful and thoughtful deliberation of the current circumstances, we have determined that it is no longer viable to fundraise and help keep the club open.” We are saddened by this realization, but heartened by the fact that we know, as a group, we did everything possible to ensure the best possible future for the club,” the message added.

The committee’s statement late in May noted that, “three months has not allowed sufficient time to ensure the steady financial support necessary to develop ongoing operations, particularly given concurrent uncertainties regarding location and staffing. While we are grateful for all pledges and monies already donated, a request will be made that all funds raised for this effort be returned to donors,” the committee stated.

The Boys & Girls Club was also facing a “strained” relationship with its landlord, the statement read. The facility, The Community Opportunity Center in Tarrytown, “no longer provides a suitable environment for the club’s work,” it claimed. An effort to have the summer program temporarily relocated to the Morse school, ran into “insurmountable management, program and administrative problems,” according to the committee.

The advisory committee credited the children, their families and the staff with having faced “each roadblock placed before them with admirable strength and courage.” It offered to “work with service organizations and community leaders whom we hope will step forward to offer critical services the club has provided.”

The committee is encouraging “anyone having summer employment opportunities for junior staff, interns and older students” to contact T. Kilman at (914) 923-2990.

Mercury Levels Deemed High Near Former Battery Plant

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:09:09 +0000

A handful of concerned residents recently inquired about mercury tests taken from private and village-owned properties near the former Mallory/Duracell battery plant in Sleepy Hollow.

The second round of testing was conducted in August due to a discovery last spring of mercury contamination levels that were five times higher than state standards at 20 Andrews Lane, and three times higher at 32 Elm Street.

The large-scale study sampled different depths of soil from properties along Andrews Lane, Elm Street, Kendall and Beekman Avenues, explained Daniel Lanners, environmental engineer for the Department of Environmental Conservation. The new testing included 39 properties, as well as six samples from Patriots Park, eight samples form Kings Point Park and 10 samples form Rockefeller State Park. Sites that were deemed remediated were not retested nor were ground water samples taken, Lanners said.

“Based on what we’ve seen, we want to expand our sample area. Most of the areas we sampled, the concentrations were highest near the surface,” said Lanners. “We would like to go back to those sites and see how far down it goes and eventually use this information to develop a remedial action plan.”

The additional testing will require funding. said Michael Lesser, assistant counsel for the Department of Environmental Conservation. “One option is state funding. The other is private party funding. In the past few weeks we have engaged in negotiations with the owners of the old Duracell property. We’re going in a positive direction.”

If the negotiations fail to produce an agreement, New York State will step in and underwrite the funding so the testing can continue, explained Lesser.

Duracell spokesperson Kurt Iverson attended the Board of Trustess meeting and provided the company’s potion on the issue.

“Duracell will remain cooperative with the state and local government as plans are made to respond to recent soil testing results. We have a history of cooperation with the Village of Sleepy Hollow and have worked with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to clean the site and surrounding area, gaining state approval for completion of the project in 1994,” Iverson said. “In addition, Duracell led the battery category in eliminating mercury as an ingredient in alkaline batteries in the early 1990s.”

Mayor Ken Wray, who requested that sites that were remediated be revisited for testing, also asked for the second time that the parking lot of the original site, which is covered by asphalt, be tested, as well as the construction site of the soon-to-be new senior center.

“Each of as property owners and the village has to step up and request to be tested,” said Wray.

Michael Ryan, chief of the Division of Environmental Remediation, said he would honor Wray’s request.

While in May, state health and environmental officials assured Wray and the Board of Trustees that the discovered white, powdery mercuric oxide posed no imminent health threats, some residents voiced growing concerns.

Elias Boumis grew up across from Elm Street and recently moved away but his parents live on Kendall. He was fearful of the latest findings.

“The mercury findings on my parent’s property are 40 times the legal limit and the lead findings are four times the legal limit,” he said.

Boumis later got into a heated exchange with Public Health Specialist Fay Navratil of the State Department of Health.

“Let’s say your backyard is the site, and you have a garden would you eat the vegetables?” Navratil responded: “My response is that it is an individual decision.”

He pressed the question again, to which she responded, “I would take precautions. Health risk is difficult to determine because it is a matter of coming in contact with the material and it is difficult to determine exposure because we don’t know if people came in contact with material or have (done so) frequently,” Navratil said. “(overall) the levels we are seeing are low.”

Local Schools Take Measures to Deal with Possible “Swine” Flu Outbreak

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:06:47 +0000

Aside from the traditional emphasis on academic achievement and athletic prowess, this fall’s school semester carries with it a subject of great uncertainty: the H1N1 flu virus, otherwise known as swine flu.

Both the Tarrytown and Irvington school districts, as well as area private schools, are preparing to cope with the virus should it spread through the schools.

Younger people under 25 are more vulnerable to the disease, health authorities note, because they have had less opportunity to have had exposure to the flu virus and to develop immunity. The H1N1 is a novel virus, first recognized this past April, and is thought to be a combination of four types of influenza A viruses. It was declared a pandemic after it quickly spread worldwide. Its symptoms are hard to distinguish from the more conventional seasonal flu.

One thing is certain, school authorities have no intention of disrupting the semester with shutdowns unless the disease becomes so troublesome that classes cannot be maintained. In a letter to parents, Tarrytown Superintendent Howard Smith wrote, “The current thinking by health authorities is that school closure is rarely indicated as a response to the presence of ILI, (influenza like illness), in a school.”

“If flu begins spreading to large numbers of people, state and local health officers will need to balance the risk of flu cases in the community against the disruption that school dismissals can cause in both the educational field and in the community,” Irvington School Superintendent Kathleen Matusiak wrote in a note to parents.

“Our goal is to keep schools open, as long as it is in the best interests of our students and faculty,” Timothy J. McNiff, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, declared in a letter to the parents of students at the Transfiguration School in Tarrytown.

Hackley School Headmaster Walter Johnson said he also has been communicating with parents in regard to the H1N1 virus.

“We had a degree of experience with a norovirus situation last year and learned a great deal about the necessary protocols,” he said, noting after a third of its students were absent from classes due to a stomach flu, the school closed for a day last October. “We are working closely with the area’s public schools, the county and state health departments, and following the Center for Disease Control on how to handle it.”

Johnson said he was “greatly saddened” to learn of the death of a Hackley graduate and Cornell University student, 20-year-old Warren Schor Schor died last month from pneumonia after contracting the swine flu.

While closing down may be only a last resort, schools have developed a set of precautionary measures. Smith explained “schools are being provided with recommendations from federal, state, and local health authorities regarding what we can do to slow the spread of the disease and we will be following those recommendations.”

Parents should instruct their children to report to the nurses’ office if they feel ill or develop symptoms or a fever at school. Should any child develop any flu-like symptoms that are evident at school, parents will be notified immediately, and the student will be sent to an area separate from the general school population, according to Smith.

“If that is not practical, “ Smith wrote, “they may be given a mask to wear until a parent or designated caretaker arrives to take them home.”

Children should be kept home if they exhibit any flu-like symptoms. Both Smith and Matusiak, in their letters, outlined the main symptoms. They include a fever of 100 degrees or higher and a cough or sore throat. Other symptoms might be breathing problems, rashes, runny nose, congestion, and sometimes, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, or muscle aches. The superintendents also reiterated the guidelines for determining when a child should return to school: the child should be free of fever, without fever-reducing medication, for at least 24 hours.

“When the child returns to school, he/she must report to the school nurse before going to class so the nurse can confirm that he/she is symptom free,” Smith stated.

Matusiak cautioned “before closing schools, it may be recommended that we return to having students who have had flu symptoms stay out for seven days.” The superintendents in their letters listed a series of measures ( See separate box, “Precautionary Measures) that should be followed in both homes and schools.

The Tarrytown and Irvington districts are providing hand sanitizers in the schools. Smith said the Tarrytown schools, “... are making extra efforts to regularly wipe down surfaces that are frequently touched by students’ hands, including bus seats.”

Keeping parents informed has had affirmative results, Tarrytown School Board President Mimi Godwin said. “The response I have heard from parents is very positive to the proactive approach the district is taking.” Godwin said it has answered many concerns parents may have had.

All school authorities are maintaining contact with county, state and national medical entities and they state that any changes in the measures taken will be communicated immediately to parents. While the first batch of H1N1 flu vaccine is expected to be available this month, medical authorities note that it is important for those who ordinarily take regular flu shots to continue to do so. Health experts stress that people should consult with their physicians or medical clinics in regard to taking any vaccines.

The Hudson Independent Unveils New Web Site

Robert Kimmel — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:46:50 +0000

The Hudson Independent’s newly renovated website, a comprehensive, revitalized resource for the community, has just been unveiled on July 1. This new Internet information source will include updated local news, event listings, and video and photos from both the newspaper’s staff and its readers. With its interactive capabilities, the site will allow readers to comment on local stories, address Letters-to-the-Editor and upload their videos and photos. It will also allow self-uploaded classified ads.

Additional information associated with a story for which the newspaper might not have space will be available for visitors to the web. For example, the story in this issue about the two student Hall of Fame Essay Contest winners could not include their essays. However, the complete text of both essays will be available on the website.

If viewers register on the site, they will also be eligible to receive occasional alerts about news updates, neighborhood happenings, or rivertown events. The site retains the paper’s former web address: http://www.thehudsonindependent.com

“With links to many other community institutions, organizations and village governments, as well as its own stories, the website provides an excellent starting point to learn the latest about what is happening in all aspects of life in our villages,” The Hudson Independent’s Website Manager Rani Levy said.

As a site designed to draw many viewers, it is an exceptional location for both classified and regular advertising, according to Advertising Director Suzanne Stephans.

Readers will be able to post and pay for their own classified ads directly online, she added. “I expect it to be a focal point for a variety of local classified ads at moderate cost,” she said. “Purchasers of items are more receptive to an ad if they know they are dealing with a local seller. “So far, even before its launch, response to the self-posted classified concept has been excellent.”

The newspaper’s website will also host occasional special contests. This month’s website will include a photo contest on summer fun whereby photos submitted for posting on the site will be judged by our editorial board and photographers. The winner will receive dining certificates worth $100 for meals at Tarrytown’s Bistro Z.

Navigation on the site is facilitated by a number of labeled links that will take visitors to specific subjects, such as “News,” “Calendar,” “Lifestyle, ”Opinion,” “Community Links,” “Photo Gallery” and “Classifieds. As an example, under “News,” stories relating to business, government, the community, obits, Police Beat, schools and sports will be found. Editorials, “Point-Counterpoint” columns and “Letters-to-the Editor” will be located under a link designated as “Opinion.”

“If the public wants to know anything about any significant local topic, “thehudsonindependent.com” will be the place to go on the Internet,” said the paper’s editor, Rick Pezzullo. “Working with news gathered by our staff and with the additional input from such local sources as neighborhood groups, schools and various civic groups and institutions, we will be hosting a vast amount of gathered information, facts and photos.”

The site’s address again is at http://www.thehudsonindependent.com. It was designed by Tarrytown resident Charles Novick of ColorArt.

Boats, Events Lined Up For Quadricentennial Celebration

Feedmaster — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:05:07 +0000

June 6-8 Weekend to Mark State's 400th Birthday

Highlighting the 400th birthday of New York State, historic river towns nestled along the scenic Hudson River (discovered in 1609 by Henry Hudson) are coming together to celebrate the momentous occasion known as the quadricentennial.

The weekend of June 6-8 will be chock full of celebrations commemorating the discovery of the Hudson River. Among the events planned for that weekend are: a kayak race, water and bike trail events, a boat show and yacht race. The celebration has sparked a buzz of activity throughout New York State as well. Library shelves are now lined with books on Dutch and New York history comprising a quadricentennial bookshelf extolling the significance of discovering the Hudson River. Business owners are getting in on the act, too. J.P. Doyle's is donating a floor for Y dance to perform on. The MTA has adorned many of its Hudson River Train stations with banners celebrating the 400th from the Tarrytown Train Station all the way down to the Marble Hill Station in the Bronx.

The Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow Chamber of Commerce has scheduled the annual Tarrytown Street fair for June 7, which will coincide with celebrations for the 400th birthday. Food vendors will be out in full swing provided by some of TarrytownÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s most intriguing local eateries, like Mint, Chiboust, Main Street Sweets and new to the family of food shops in Tarrytown, Lubins Ã¢â‚¬ËœnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ Links. Meanwhile, Sleepy Hollow plans to host an Arts Festival that will include arts and craft vendors, live music, haiku on the Hudson and a poetry contest sponsored by The Junior League.

With more than 1,000 quadricentennial events planned for the weekend, one of the most anticipated events on this summerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s quadricentennial celebration agenda is the Flotilla Relay, which begins June 6. Boats will be docking in Tarrytown around 3 p.m. and departing June 7 at 8 a.m. In the fleet of sailing antiquity will be a replica of the Half MoonÃ¢â‚¬â€the ship sailed up to Albany by Captain Henry Hudson himselfÃ¢â‚¬â€the Onrust, the Clearwater, the Woody Guthrie, the Mystic Waler, plus an array of private boats and two navy vessels.

With so many moving parts shaping this monumental event, the Quadricentennial Committee, formed a year ago, just recently began holding bi-weekly meetings to help stay organized. Deputy Director of the Quadricentennial Committee, Barbara Fratianni, understands that to be successful money is not the object, saying Ã¢â‚¬Å“itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not gonna cost money, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s gonna cost volunteer time.Ã¢â‚¬Â

There seems to be only one snag on the minds of most of the committee and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s how to publicize the event. With more than 109 boat clubs from 15 different counties coming out, advertising for this event has been no walk in the park. However, that has not deterred Fratianni and Tara Sullivan, executive director of the committee, who together traveled from the city up to Albany handing out flyers and banners in an attempt to galvanize towns to be part of the upcoming event. Ã¢â‚¬Å“They were just two ladies in a van busily dropping off banners to participating towns,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Fiona Galloway, event coordinator for Sleepy Hollow.

The Flotilla has garnered much of the CommitteeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s attention and, as the only state sponsored event, has inspired creative approaches to its advertising. Nancy Gold, executive director of Historic River Towns, proposed that restaurants should get involved by making dishes inspired by the boats that comprise the Flotilla. GoldsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ touch will also be instrumental in organizing river towns along the path of the Flotilla sounding off firehouse horns and church bells in sync with the passing of the fleet. When asked if she foresaw any potential lack of cooperation, she sincerely replied that Ã¢â‚¬Å“the communities have been very receptive.Ã¢â‚¬Â

With so much already on its plate, the committee still seems unburdened by thoughts of multiple future tasks. That was until it was revealed New York State had invested $1.5 million towards the celebration, which will be dispersed among 15 counties receiving $45,000 apiece. Large cities also get $45,000, as well as smaller municipalities like Peekskill.

The Flotilla will also be reigned in under a 12 x 84 foot-long banner to be hung from the Tappan Zee Bridge. With all the work that is going into the 400th birthday of the Hudson River, the weekend of June 6-8 promises to be one of the easiest for finding great family fun. As Galloway said, Ã¢â‚¬Å“The only thing people are going to find difficult is trying to say quadricentennial.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Irvington School Budget Battle Ends With 0.2% Tax Hike

Rick Pezzullo — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:40:39 +0000

The Irvington Board of Education and administration found themselves between a rock and a hard place as they grappled with the 2009-10 budget.

In one ear, they listened to convincing arguments from residents about high property taxes and how many homeowners have lost their jobs or been forced to take pay cuts.

In the other ear, they heard passionate pleas about how cutting a certain program or staff position would negatively affect students and the quality of education in the district.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“WeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re not going to make everyone happy,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Trustee Robyn Kerner. Ã¢â‚¬Å“The most important thing to us is the education of our kids.Ã¢â‚¬Â

After months of dissecting the budget, including a more than four-hour, standing-room only, give-and-take session with parents and teachers at the Irvington High School/Middle School campus in late April, the Board of Education adopted a $51.2 million spending plan with a slight tax increase of 0.2 percent.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“There is no magic in any particular number if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re not being responsive with your decision,Ã¢â‚¬Â board President Tanya Hunt said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“We need to take a multi-year look at this. WeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re at a great point now with the budget for next year.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Having already agreed to nine layoffs, including one nurse at Dows Lane, team leaders at the middle school, one music teacher and an art teacher, the board further reduced staff by getting rid of part-time lunch monitors at the middle school and one teaching learning facilitator and cutting a valuable community aide from full-time to part-time.
The parents group Irvington Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility recommended $700,000 in cuts to the board, which member Wilson VanLaw maintained would not directly affect students.
Ã¢â‚¬Å“They are painful cuts, we know that. We know none of these decisions are easy,Ã¢â‚¬Â he said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“(But) the way weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re going we wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be able to sustain it (the taxes).Ã¢â‚¬Â
Trustee Paul Mandel argued too many cuts could backfire.
Ã¢â‚¬Å“ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s easy to say you can cut $700,000. You might not be able to run the school district,Ã¢â‚¬Â he remarked. Ã¢â‚¬Å“These (cuts) would not be, at this point in time, beneficial.Ã¢â‚¬Â
Sports and other extracurricular activities took major financial hits in the budget. Gone next year is the freshman boys basketball team and district transportation to girls swimming practice. Several assistant coaches were also ousted and ice time for varsity hockey was cut, with parents being counted on to subsidize the program. Overall, clubs for students will be determined by interest shown.
Students submitted a petition with 189 signatures opposing the removal of some department chairs and guidance counselors. Those positions were ultimately saved.
Voters will have their official say on the budget when they go to the polls on Tuesday, May 19.