Fowl forecast! VOL. 5 NO. 46 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE 19 CLASSIFIEDS 18 LEISURE 17 OPINION 6 TOWN CROSSING 2 SPORTS 14 Fowl forecast! THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 BFD on the Market pg 12 FIRE SALE Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WEST CALDWELL, NJ PERMIT #992 BY CAROL REIF STAFF WRITER Dying to know whether we can egg-spect an early spring or six more weeks of winter? e answer – at least to Muscoot Farm’s weather-predicting chicken – will be revealed at 10 a.m. on ursday, Feb. 2. e event is open to the public and takes place on the farm’s outdoor stage (near the activities barn). If the weather is more, ahem, fowl than fair, things will move indoors. is will be the fth year the interpretive farm museum in Katonah will celebrate Groundhog Day – with a twist. Move over Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil, here comes Cluxatawney Henrietta. If the famed barnyard bird produces an egg that means spring could be just around the corner. Afterward, there will be crafts to do and cookies to nibble, said farm manager Jonathan Benjamin. “Muscoot Farm loves an homage to any animal and groundhogs are no exception. Since we don’t have a groundhog at the farm, Cluxatawney Henrietta has accepted the challenge of being our resident Will Cluxatawney Henrietta predict an early spring? Cluxatawney Henrietta with Muscoot Farm manager Jonathan Benjamin. PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSCOOT FARM BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER A lucid dream is one which the sleeper knows they are dreaming, and the storyline is actually in their hands. On the surface, this biological reality seems to be nothing more interesting than a rare oddity. However, John Jay’s Cami Sandell has learned that this type of dreaming does have a practical application and her research through Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory has put the senior on a pretty rare list herself. Sandell was recently Named a Top 300 Scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, and her work could have great bene ts to people su ering from PTSD and ashbacks. Sleep can be a major problem for people who have su ered a traumatic experience, and one reason is the nocturnal recurrence of the nightmare they lived in real life. “ ey are scared to go to sleep,” said Sandell. So being able to wake up from the dream could go a long way. “If they know that the traumatic experience does come up at night, they can get out immediately,” said the JJHS senior. Still, with the rarity of lucid More than a dreamer PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMESON SANDELL Cami Sandell was recently Named a Top 300 Scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search. SEE CHICKEN PAGE 5 SEE DREAMER PAGE 3 HOPEMAZZOLA YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HOPE Sales Vice President Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker cell: 914.714.0090 [email protected] hopemazzola.com MAZZOLA YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HOPE 95 Katonah Ave | Katonah, NY 10536 Just Listed Just Sold Call for more information or an appointment on these properties or to find one like the sweet Village colonial we just sold. The local Real Estate Market is thriving and interest rates are starting to correct. Call Your Local Expert (that’s me) to help with a purchase or sale you are considering. #UGottaHaveHope Croton 11 3 BR|2BA | 1,780 sf 2 Car Garage $699,900 Katonah 4BR|1.1 BA |1,848 sf .60 Acres Sold for $750,000 Sherman I 3 BR|2BR | 1,793 sf 1 Car Garage $715,000
The Staff EDITORIAL TEAM TOM WALOGORSKY EDITOR: 914-302-5830 [email protected] WHIT ANDERSON SPORTS EDITOR [email protected] ADVERTISING TEAM PAUL FORHAN (914) 806-3951 [email protected] BRUCE HELLER (914) 486-7608 [email protected] LISA KAIN (201) 317-1139 [email protected] CORINNE STANTON (914) 760-7009 [email protected] JAY GUSSAK (914) 299-4541 [email protected] PAM Zacotinsky 845-661-0748 [email protected] PRODUCTION TEAM TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL CREATIVE DIRECTOR PHOTOGRAPHER [email protected] NOAH ELDER DESIGNER [email protected] EXECUTIVE TEAM BRETT FREEMAN CEO & PUBLISHER 845-208-8151 [email protected] Deadlines THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES DEADLINE THE DEADLINE FOR ADVERTISEMENTS AND EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS IS THE THURSDAY BEFORE THE NEXT PUBLICATION DATE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL TOM WALOGORSKY AT 914-302-5830 OR EMAIL [email protected] Location 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY HALSTON MEDIA, LLC ©2022 HALSTON MEDIA, LLC PAGE 2 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Progressive Animal Hospital Voted “Best of Somers” 2020-2022 What is the most common mismanaged condition that you see? THE ITCHY DOG! Is your pet... scratching • licking • chewing feet or having chronic skin infections? Stop treating the symptoms and find out the underlying cause with a simple blood test. Get your pet feeling better and stop the frequent trips to the vet. INDEPENDENTLY OWNED and OPERATED 268 route 202 l somers, ny 10589 914.248.6220 l progressive-vet.com Freelance Writer, Editor, and Content Producer Bill Bongiorno | (914) 533-7065 | [email protected] For All Your Writing Needs join Lauren, Colleen and Rick and bring a li� le harmony to your next event! musical vocal group playing an eclec� c mix of favorites, old and new [email protected] 914-248-5135 Lewisboro Parks and Recreation Department WINE AND CHEESE SOCIAL Sunday, Feb. 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. All Lewisboro Residents, ages 21 and up, new to town are invited to come along with your spouse and/or other adults in the house to meet new people, neighbors, and learn more about this wonderful town you just moved into! Wine, cheese, and light fare will be provided, and guests will be joined by several town o cials as well as fellow newcomers. De nitely something not to miss out on! To be held at Onatru Farmhouse at 99 Elmwood Rd. South Salem. Bedford Lions Club GREATER BEDFORD HILLS INDOOR GOLF OPEN Sunday, Feb. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. e Bedford Hills Lions Club is hosting an indoor golf “FunRaiser” competition on some of the most famous golf courses in the world to help raise funds for their many community projects. e event will be held at Forged Iron Golf in Mt. Kisco. ere will be many prizes awarded for: Longest Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin, Hole-in-One and is open to everyone. Light snacks will be served, and a cash bar will also be available. Lions Club of Bedford Hills relies on membership dues & community support throughout the year to support their various initiatives. All proceeds bene t the Lions Club of Bedford Hills For tickets and information, contact Lion Mike Palladino at 914-263-9681 or info@bedfordhillslions.org. Fundraiser for Leukemia Lymphoma Society ursday, Feb. 2 e Burger Barn on Route 100 in Somers, will host a day of fundraising to bene t John F. Kennedy Prep’s Lead the Way Student Visionaries Campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). On Groundhog Day, the family-run restaurant will donate ten percent of all proceeds to the campaign, which bene ts blood cancer patients, who have di - culty managing everyday expenses associated with their treatments. e Burger Barn is open for lunch and dinner, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and is available for takeout and online orders. Patrons must mention the Kennedy LLS fundraiser when ordering online, by phone or when paying their bill in the restaurant in order for funds to be donated to the campaign. To view a menu, visit theBurgerBarn. com or if you can’t make it to the fundraiser, donate to the campaign directly by visiting bit.ly/ LeadtheWayforLLS. Katonah Village Library 26 Bedford Rd, Katonah, NY 10536 www.katonahlibrary.org AUTHOR TALK: MYSTERY AND THRILLER ursday, Feb. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Join in for a panel discussion with mystery/thriller authors Wendy Corsi Staub, Katie Sise, Wendy Walker and Lyn Liao Butler. e authors will brie y read from their latest novels and author Fran Hauser will moderate a panel discussion. ere will be plenty of time for audience questions followed by light refreshments and book selling/ signing by the authors. Registration is not required. AARP TAX AIDE Certi ed AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers provide FREE income tax preparation for people with low and moderate income with special attention to those age 60 and older. Sign up at the library (inperson or by phone), to have a tax packet emailed to you and make an appointment to meet your Tax-Aide volunteer. (Appointments are Tuesdays only from 10:30-2:30 and start on Feb. 7). Tax returns - Federal and State - will be done on site (at the Katonah Library), signed by the taxpayer and submitted electronically. Expect to be at the library for an hour. COMMUNITY GREEN READ Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. Join Bedford2030 and Katonah Village Library for a Community Green Read culminating in an author chat with Florence Williams. e author of “ e Nature Fix” will discuss the mental and physical health bene ts of spending time in nature. is book will be available at the library (book or ebook) and at local bookstores. Info and register: https://katonahlibrary. org/event/community-readand-conversation-with-florence-williams/ Friendly Squares Dance Club FREE SQUARE DANCING FUN NIGHTS Feb. 6 and 13, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Singles, couples, and families welcome! Modern Western Square Dancing is a lot of fun, great exercise for both the body and mind and an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. e attire is casual and no experience is necessary. To be held at the Katonah Methodist Church Parish Hall, 44 Edgemont Road, Katonah. For more information, visit www.friendlysquares.com TOWN CROSSING SEE CROSSING PAGE 4
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 HOME, AUTO, BUSINESS, LIFE & HEALTH 914-232-7750 www.forbesinsurance.com BaCiO Trattoria Best Italian Anywhere! A pair of Harvey School alums – one an award-winning virtuoso violinist and the other an up-andcoming guitarist and songwriter – returned recently to their alma mater to share their musical talents with a gathering of very appreciative current Upper School students. Performing in the black box Lasdon Theater in Harvey’s Walker Center for the Arts during a morning assembly, Nicole Wright ’05 and Dante Palminteri ‘14 treated the students in ninth through 12th grades to a special hour of music performed by two who once called the Harvey campus their own. Wright, who holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree from Rutgers University, performed several pieces on violin, mixing classical with contemporary to the popular music of Harry Styles to which the students enthusiastically sang along. An award-winning musician, Wright has performed the national anthem at several New York Knicks games, played backup for NSYNC and Madonna, performed at the Billboard Awards, and appeared in the movies “Music of the Heart” and “Changing Lanes.” Wright, who has played at the Metropolitan Opera and at the White House, and has traveled the world performing, is also a teaching mentor and music educator at Opus 118, Harlem School of Music. Dante Palminteri ‘14, the son of actor Chazz Palminteri, took the stage to play acoustic guitar and sing his original music, songs of unrequited love, of soulmates lost and found, and of the growing pains of adulthood. As a singer-songwriter and actor as well, Dante matured his musical styling at an early age, finding solace in the written word. Dreaming up lyrics on teen heartbreak and defying the status quo, he pursued a career in songwriting, eventually strumming his way into Berklee College of Music. Following their performances, the two musical artists attended band class to talk music more in depth with students. “We’re always excited to see and hear what our alums are up to, and having these two return to the Lasdon Theater stage and share their brilliant talent with students, was a true early holiday gift,” said Head of Upper School Phil Lazzaro. The school hopes the two musicians will come back to campus in the future for a return engagement. Article provided by The Harvey School. Nicole Wright Dante Palminteri THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 3 Harvey alums return to share their musical talents dreams, the application doesn’t seem to have a wide practical use. Her research, which began in her sophomore year, found otherwise. “Everyone can learn to lucid dream,” she said. “It’s a trainable skill.” As a result, one course of action caught her attention. Scientists and researchers have had control groups try to work through their dreams, according to Sandell, and thus diminish the impact of the trauma. Sandell opted for a different script, though. Under the mentorship of Dr. Remington Mallett at Northwestern University, Sandell embarked on several years of research and arrived at a much less dramatic solution. “My experiment differed from prior research, because it used the control from lucid dreaming to wake up from nightmares rather than work through them,” she stated in her hypothesis. Not a replacement for other treatments, the John Jay scientist was simply trying to provide another option, and after immersing herself in existing journal studies and a wide variety of data, theory was ready for practice. “I came up with the experiment, and my mentor sent the instructions and questionnaire to the participants,” explained Sandell. Taking a month to complete, the subjects returned the data that Sandell was hoping for. “Participants asked to wake themselves up intentionally from a dream would wake up sooner than those asked to perform a control task. So I was able to prove my hypothesis,” she asserted. The award and outcome representing a pretty significant feather in her scientific cap, Sandell will be attending Northwestern in the fall and plans to major in mechanical engineering. Even so, she isn’t done with lucid dreams. Sandell is still collecting data and hopes another hypothesis lies ahead. “I would like to do future research about the subject to see where other areas need to be filled,” she added. More than a pleasant dream, she’s made a real difference for people with PTSD, and John Jay can definitely be proud. Cami Sandell DREAMER FROM PAGE 1
PAGE 4 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Virtual Support Groups Support groups for women with breast and ovarian cancers have been transitioned to virtual platforms. Virtual groups are accessible to women from the comfort of their homes, regardless of where they live. All groups are open to new members as well as past participants. Advance registration is required by calling 914-962-6402 or 800- 532-4290. Support Connection’s Peer Counselors are also available for individual counseling and assistance via phone and email. Call 800-532-4290, or submit an online request at supportconnection.org. Chronic Pain Support Group Research tells us that 50 million Americans live with chronic pain, or pain that lasts most days or every day for three months or more. Of this group, 20 million experience high-impact chronic pain, or pain that interferes with basic functioning and activities of daily living. Pain is the number one reason that Americans access the health care system, and costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatments, disability payments, and lost productivity. Support groups provide a forum for those with pain to gain support and learn about ways to manage pain and progress from patient to person. This group takes place over Zoom every other week. For more information, please call Ted Bloch at 914-552-6281 or email him at tednbloch@gmail. com. All conversations are kept strictly confidential. St John’s Episcopal Parish 82 Spring St., South Salem FOOD PANTRY Spread the word and get involved with the Food Pantry! Distribution is every Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. at St. John’s. A food pantry box is available in the church parking lot 24/7 for nonperishable food donations. RideConnect Rideconnect has volunteers ready to help drive seniors to their medical appointments and assist with shopping. Services are free to seniors residing in Westchester and southern Putnam Counties. To request assistance call (914) 242-7433. Anyone wishing to volunteer for Rideconnect may do so by emailing [email protected] CROSSING FROM PAGE 2 BY GINO DE ANGELIS STAFF WRITER The Lewisboro Town Board will no longer allow public comments to be given over Zoom, a decision Supervisor Tony Goncalves announced at the end of the Jan. 23 meeting. While in-person comments will still be heard by the board, attendants over Zoom will no longer be able to speak, Goncalves said. The meetings will continue to be livestreamed. “Zoom and live streaming have been useful tools, especially during Covid, though we have seen a decline in the number of folks that are engaging over Zoom for public comment,” he explained. The decision came after what the supervisor said was an uptick in comments that could be characterized as “social bullying.” He added that multiple town employees had approached him with concerns about the comments. “We’ve had some unwarranted comments and false statements made at the public comment period, with some directed at town employees,” Goncalves said. “These comments are hurtful and upsetting not only to the employee, but also to their coworkers and families.” Goncalves added that he discussed the decision with the town’s legal counsel, and that the town’s bylaws included no requirement to facilitate public comment anywhere but in-person. The unilateral nature of the decision caused a minor stir among the board members, with both Councilwoman Andrea Rendo and Councilman Rich Sklarin expressing a desire to have been informed of the decision before the meeting itself, and voicing displeasure at the fact that they were told during the polling of the board segment of the meeting, and not during discussion proper. “You brought up something and you’re telling us we don’t have the right to comment in public to our constituents our opinions on it,” Rendo said. “This came as a surprise, usually these are things we discuss as a group and come up with a policy.” She added that the board had previous discussions about possibly adopting a local law to allow board members to attend meetings and vote either remotely or at a secondary location. Sklarin added that he feared the decision would have a “chilling effect” on residents’ first amendment rights. “We’ve made it so that streaming is an opportunity for people to participate, and the participation includes an opportunity to publicly comment,” Sklarin said. “There’s plenty of things I disagree with that are said, but people have an opportunity to say what they want to say.” Councilman Dan Welsh agreed with Sklarin and Rendo’s points, and added that taking away the ability to publicly comment remotely can lead to accessibility issues. “I’ve also been on the receiving end of plenty of stuff I’d rather not have been, but you know, for some folks, maybe it’s not easy for them to get out of the house and come here, so livestreaming is an opportunity for them to participate,” he said. Lewisboro Town Board ends Zoom public comments Securities offered through Cantella & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Cantella and Co., Inc. does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. 2022 was a CRAZY YEAR! 845-628-5400 SFGtaxes.com | [email protected] 824 Route 6, Suite 4 | Mahopac, NY 10541 We can help make your taxes less crazy.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 5 Nestled in a lush green hideaway of Yorktown Heights amidst tall evergreens and nature’s beauty, sits The Country House, recently named a Best Assisted Living community by U.S. News & World Report. We invite you in to tour and learn more about how our services can benefit you or your loved one. Call 914-249-9144. Experience the Best THE Country House in westchester 2000 Baldwin Road · Yorktown Heights · www.thecountryhouseinwestchester.com LIC # 800-F-007 New York State Senator Pete Harckham hosted his rst “Co ee and Conversation” gathering of 2023 on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Katonah Village Library, which provided the more than 50 participants an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas and opinions on a wide range of subjects. e topics brought up by the “Co ee and Conversation” participants included implementing the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and investments made through the Environmental Bond Act; energy costs and improving the electrical grid; public education funding; vaccination mandates; broader Red Flag Law awareness; assistance for domestic violence survivors; and reproductive healthcare protections. Article provided by the O ce of State Senator Pete Harckham. Sen. Harckham hosts fi rst “Coffee and Conversation” of 2023 in Katonah PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF SEN. PETE HARCKHAM / ELIZABETH FERNANDEZ FERMIN Sen. Pete Harckham at the Katonah Village Library. weather-predicting animal,” he explained. Westchester County Executive George Latimer saw the event as another feather in the farm’s cap. “Muscoot Farm has put Westchester County on the map of highly anticipated Groundhog Day celebrations across the state and this tradition is a fun way for residents to acknowledge the day,” he said. County Parks Commissioner Kathy O’Connor also had a chance to crow. “Year after year, Muscoot Farm has built up the excitement of Groundhog Day by putting Cluxatawney Henrietta in the spotlight and I’m thrilled that Westchester County Parks has its own weather-predicting chicken!” she said. To watch Henrietta make her prediction live on Facebook go to https://www.facebook.com/ muscootfarm. Muscoot Farm is located at 51 Route 100 in Katonah. For more information, visit muscootfarm. org. CHICKEN FROM PAGE 1 Letters and Op-Ed Policy Letters to the editor and op-ed submissions may be edited. The views and opinions expressed in letters and op-eds are not necessarily those of the Katonah-Lewisboro Times or its affi liates. Submissions must include a phone number and address for verifi cation. Not all letters and op-eds will necessarily be published. Letters and op-eds which cannot be verifi ed or are anonymous will not be published. Please send your submissions to the editor by e-mail at KLT@ halstonmedia.com. For more information, call the editor at 914-302-5830.
Opinion PAGE 6 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 2 TRACKS BRETT FREEMAN, PUBLISHER TOM WALOGORSKY, EDITOR TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL, CREATIVE DIRECTOR Editorial Office: 914-302-5830 [email protected] Letters to the editor and op-ed submissions may be edited. The views and opinions expressed in letters and op-eds are not necessarily those of Katonah-Lewisboro Times or its affiliates. Submissions must include a phone number and address for verification. Not all letters and op-eds will necessarily be published. Letters and op-eds which cannot be verified or are anonymous will not be published. Please send your submissions to the editor by e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, call the editor at 914-302-5830 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2021 Halston Media, LLC Today’s issue publishes exactly two years and a day from when I took the next step in my journalism career and joined Halston Media. February 2021 seems like a lifetime ago. Hitting this milestone got me thinking back on the last 24 months, and being lucky enough to be a part of the happenings in our communities. Where does the time go? SCRAP HEAP My journey to Halston Media’s doorstep began with hip replacement surgery and a global pandemic. Prior to COVID rocking our world, I spent three years as the editor of The Pawling Record in nearby Dutchess County. I was the smallest of the small town newsmen, operating out of a tiny office and shamelessly leveraging my status in the community for free coffee. Like many small businesses, the publication couldn’t withstand the financial impact of the pandemic, and I found myself without a paper. I discovered that my bills don’t pay themselves, so I took a temp job doing clerical work at a hospital in Poughkeepsie. While I dutifully answered phone calls and filed medical charts, a nagging pain in my hip steadily worsened, and I finally gave in to the inevitable and scheduled a replacement surgery. (Having a hip replacement at age 36 also placed me firmly in the “not a kid anymore” category.) After I was successfully patched up, I had six weeks of recovery time to catch up on my reading, re-watch a bunch of James Bond films, and think about my future plans. Deciding that the hospital life wasn’t for me, I began looking for options to return to the wonderful world of journalism. THE INTERVIEW I sent in an application to Halston Media, aware that I was trying to make the jump from my small Pawling pond to a much larger chain of newspapers in a sizable coverage area. Soon, I was scheduled for an interview with the publisher. Since we were still in the midst of the dark pandemic times, I first met Brett Freeman over Zoom as I interviewed from my kitchen table. It was my first virtual job interview, and I decided to wear a shirt and tie, just as I would have, if it were conducted in-person. We barely made it five minutes into our chat before he jokingly made two things clear: I was overdressed for a Zoom interview, and I wasn’t to refer to him as “Mr. Freeman.” We spoke about the trials and tribulations of local journalism and shared some stories from our respective beats. A week later I received a phone call that I would be joining Halston Media as the editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record. (The lesson here is that, even virtually, you should dress for success!) TIGERS AND ELEPHANTS I was born and raised in Brewster, and my knowledge of the towns that I would be covering was limited to the Balanced Rock and The Elephant Hotel. Interesting local landmarks aside, I needed to get myself up to speed, and fast. Fortunately, Halston Media has an amazing staff of reporters, editors, and salespeople, all of which were more than happy to help me get ingrained in my new communities. The next year was everything North Salem and Somers, dodging foul balls at Tiger baseball games, chatting with politicians outside The Elephant Hotel, and impressing community members by outrunning another news crew to get the perfect photo of a local parade. ONWARD AND UPWARD Last spring, Halson’s family of papers was set to expand with the addition of the monthly Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times (MKBT). For the second time in my career, I was entrusted with the launch of a brand-new publication, once again starting from scratch within a new community. Six months after the launch of MKBT, I received a call from our publisher. He said we needed to “discuss my future with the company.” When your boss says those words, it is essentially the equivalent of your significant other saying “we need to talk” right before you find yourself single. In reality, one of our editors was leaving Halston to pursue another opportunity and I would be taking on his publications with the new title of Editorin-Chief. Once my panic subsided, I politely asked Brett to use different wording when he wants to discuss a potential promotion with an employee. And just like that, I had taken on editorial duties for The Katonah-Lewisboro Times and Yorktown News. ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS In two years with Halston Media, I have had a hand in producing more than 250 papers covering life in eight different towns. Each community has their own personality, and there have been countless stories to tell. I have seen celebrations and cancelations, tragedies and triumphs, and our papers have been there through it all. I would like to thank everyone at Halston Media for all their help over the past two years. We truly have a wonderful staff, and I’m proud to be a part of it. I also want to give special thanks to my parents (my most loyal readers), and my wife, Maggie (who hears more about local news than she probably wants to) for all of their love and support in my crazy life of journalism. And finally, I want to express my gratitude to all of our readers. Thank you for picking up the paper each week, the kind words we often receive, and for not yelling at me too often. We’ll keep doing our best to tell your stories. Tom Walogorsky isn’t getting old, he’s becoming a classic. Contact him at [email protected] Happy Halstonversary TOM WALOGORSKY TOM’S TAKE Happily Ever After
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 OPINION THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 7 Publisher’s Memo on health insurance presents a false equivalency Dear Editor, Brett Freeman’s Publisher’s Memo, “Our health ‘insurance’ system is broken” (Jan. 19, Page 8), recites the sad but not uncommon tale of an insured person (Halston Media employee Bob Dumas) being threatened with withdrawal of “life-saving care” (Mr. Freeman’s words) by the private health insurance company United Healthcare. Yet, incredibly, Mr. Freeman doesn’t blame United Healthcare. Instead, Mr. Freeman faults what he describes as the “hybrid health ‘insurance’ system developed by both political parties” in which “liberals want to have a national singlepayer system where all our needs are covered by the federal government and conservatives want to have a free-market system . . . .” Mr. Freeman fails to o er a shred of evidence in support of his illogical thesis that the desire by many for a national single-payer health insurance system (which sounds a lot like the current imperfect but highly successful Medicare system) has any bearing whatsoever on United Healthcare’s stonewalling on Mr. Dumas’s bene ts, but it does serve Mr. Freeman’s real purpose of setting up a straw man, enabling him to tee up yet another of his all too familiar false equivalency arguments. Reasonable people can intelligently debate the pros and cons of single-payer national health insurance, but Mr. Freeman’s facile analysis adds nothing to that debate. -Lou Sorell Katonah LETTER A couple weeks ago, I conducted an informal focus group at the dog park (with owners not canines). e topic was county government. We frequently have these kinds of heady discussions about public policy while watching the dogs romp. We’d recently received a glossy newsletter from our county legislator giving an update about the happenings around our part of the county. e mailing prompted a discussion around just what does county government does for us up here in the north country. e two functions identi ed after some brain racking were; running our county parks and providing county police. I was able to add a third function, e Bee Line bus system since I had recently written a column about how the service was nearly nonexistent up in these parts and opined about how it could be reformatted and improved. In our area, Ward Pound Ridge and Mountain Lakes are county operated parks. e County Police patrol the Saw Mill Parkway and provide security for Westchester County Airport. e county also operates the airport at taxpayer expense. Several years ago, there was a movement afoot to eliminate county government in order to lower taxes by eliminating overhead and removing redundant services already covered by other levels of government at the town, village and state. Dumping county government would be a complicated endeavor that would de nitely save some shekels, since according to e Tax Foundation, a DCbased think tank, Westchester ranks in the top 8 of 3033 counties in the US for highest property taxes paid. In fact, as a percentage of property values, 22 of the top 25 counties with the highest tax burden are in New York. A major driver of our high taxes is all the government we pay for. In Westchester, there are 19 towns, 6 cities and 22 villages, not to mention over 40 school districts – that’s a lot of bureaucracy. As far as county government in White Plains is concerned, things used to be a lot simpler. e county was governed by a “Board of Supervisors” composed of the elected town supervisors. e board met monthly with the county executive to make decisions about county government. But in 1985 that simple system was replaced by a “County Board of Legislators,” a 17-member body elected by district. Each of those legislators now make $75,000 for what was created as a part-time job, after voting themselves a 50% increase in December 2020. Each legislator has full time sta for their part-time positions. e county commissioned a study called “Westchester 2000: A Vision for the Future,” that was conducted in 1998-1999. Among many recommendations from the study were to make county government more responsive to the needs of residents by streamlining services and reducing bureaucracy. As with many of these studies, it seems as though it was tossed on the shelf and forgotten. Massachusetts, on the other hand, ended county government in the 1990s, while Westchester was going in the other direction by expanding it. eir changes, which ceded more control to local boards and villages, led to more ef- cient and responsive local government. County government shouldn’t be eliminated since there are services it is best suited for, like running large parks, down-county transportation systems, social services, and our community college. But there are countless opportunities to consolidate, streamline and eliminate services that are better handled locally. With an election coming up in a few months, it might be a good time to ask our county legislator candidates whether they want to help. County government? DON SCOTT IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Contact ANTHONY J. ENEA, ESQ. Managing Member • Fluent in Italian 914.948.1500 WHITE PLAINS • SOMERS • WWW.ESSLAWFIRM.COM • Asset Protection • Elder Law • Medicaid Applications (Nursing Home/Home Care) • Guardianships (Contested/Non-Contested) • Wills, Trusts & Estates Past Chair of Elder Law Section of NYS Bar Association “Super Lawyer” In Elder Law for 16 consecutive years Do you know what steps you can take to avoid your estate going to probate? CALL NEW YORK’S ELDER LAW TEAM 914.948.1500
PAGE 8 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Serving all Faiths since 1858 Cremations and Burials FUNERAL PREARRANGEMENT Both pre-payment and no-payment options • Only 1/4 mile from 684 exit 6. • Only 1 block from the Katonah • Less than 60 minutes from N.Y. City. • Railroad station. • Parking facilities for over 100 cars. • Monuments & inscriptions available. 4 Woods Bridge Road, Katonah • (914) 232-3033 www.clarkassociatesfuneralhome.com DANIEL B. McMANUS ~ Proprietor BRUCE E. REISDORF ~ Licensed Manager JOSEPH M. McMANUS ~ Director RONALD P. CERASO ~ Director MARISA A. GIULIANO ~ Director ADNER J. MONTENEGRO-LEE ~ Director CLARK ASSOCIATES FUNERAL HOME Take advantage of the new 30% Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) with PWRcell, Generac’s fully-integrated solar + battery storage system. PWRcell will help you save money on your electric bill and be prepared for utility power outages. Plus it’s compatible with most existing solar arrays. Now’s the Right Time SAVE 30% WITH THE SOLAR TAX CREDIT^ Call to request a free quote! (888) 871-0194 Purchase a PWRcell and Receive a Free Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced – valued at over $189!* *Scan the QR code for promo terms and conditions. ^Consult your tax or legal professional for information regarding eligibility requirements for tax credits. Solar panels sold separately. OPINION I ’m spending a lot of time indoors and really miss gazing out of the windows at the green grass, leaves on the trees, blooming owers and shrubbery. Years ago, I had lots of houseplants: Baskets of delicate blooming African violets on the kitchen windowsill, a gigantic jade plant in the living room, a large aloe plant in the dining room and a very happy pothos plant in front of the bedroom windows. Did you know that houseplants provide health bene ts, including reducing stress and improving indoor air quality? Lots of studies on the bene ts of houseplants also mention that plants reduce indoor allergens in the air, increase humidity levels in dry heated homes, alleviate anxiety and depression, provide lively accent pieces, and may also help with getting a better night’s sleep. at’s a lot of bang for your buck! Green leafy plants produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide in the air. More importantly, owning and caring for a houseplant or two helps people feel a connection to a living entity in the home. Plant owners form a nurturing relationship with their plants in providing su cient light, water and nutrients to keep the plants healthy and thriving. Some people even name their houseplants! Naming your plants forges a personal connection and boosts the desire to take good care of these living, breathing representatives of nature. I have never named my houseplants, but if people are encouraged to talk to their plants and even sing to them, why not give them a name, too? According to plant research, the average human conversational voice tone of 70 decibels promotes increased production in plants. While your houseplants may bene t from your witty conversational patter, you will bene t emotionally and mentally by spending a little extra TLC time with your houseplants. Horticultural therapy uses plants and plant-based activities like gardening as part of the treatment of mental and physical health problems. Gardening indoors or outdoors (in the warmer weather) and working with plants helps to lower blood pressure and is often helpful in treating depression, anxiety and trauma. e sensory aspects of putting your ngers into the soil, watering and tending to the plants, breathing in the scent of the owers, standing near a sunny window and caring for the well-being of something outside of yourself can have powerful e ects. Studies have shown that keeping living houseplants in the room of a recuperating patient o ers emotional health bene ts. Gardening activities and working with plants have been incorporated into preschool and elementary school settings. e installation of raised garden tables at senior living residences helps promote the many positive physical and emotional bene ts of nurturing plants. I did some plant research and learned that the most popular houseplants in the U.S. include aloe vera, jade and other succulents, snake plant, pothos, philodendron, peace lily, spider plant, and Monstera deliciosa (known as the Swiss cheese plant!). Placing a houseplant on your desk can improve stress and anxiety levels and give you something positive to focus on as a break from dealing with work deadlines. In my rst editorial assistant job after college, I kept two jade plants on my desk under uorescent lights. Every Friday evening, I moved my two jade plants to the windowsill in the editor’s o ce to give them natural sunlight over the weekends. at worked well all spring and summer. When I returned to work on Tuesday morning after the long Columbus Day weekend in October, I was horri ed to discover that my poor jade plants had been desiccated by the steam radiator underneath that windowsill! Kim Kovach encourages readers to discover their own inner gardener! www. kimkovachwrites.com e therapeutics of an indoor garden KIM KOVACH READING, WRITING & CHOCOLATE
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Limited Time O er - Call for Details Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions. BY CAROL REIF STAFF WRITER If anyone’s wondering if the Westchester real estate market’s still hot, hot, hot, they won’t have to look any farther than Bedford. Well, metaphorically anyway. Having long outgrown its too-small building at 34 Village Green, the Bedford Fire Department made plans to build a new rehouse just a quartermile south on Old Post Road, aka Route 22. e $14.8 million project was given the thumbs-up by voters in January 2020. e following year, the village put the 1920s rehouse up for sale in order to help defray those costs. It was sold to local resident Govind Friedland for a cool $2 million, who announced that he hoped to turn the iconic building into a boutique hotel and a world-class eatery. e international entrepreneur wasn’t just talking out of his toque. He’s the managing director of ve-star rated Villa Treville, a luxury hotel and restaurant located in the beautiful seaside town of Positano, Italy. It was birthed out of lm giant Franco Ze erelli’s palatial cli - side estate on the Amal Coast. Friedland told one media outlet that he wanted to return the old rehouse to its “original glory,” promising to apply the experiences and lessons he’d acquired in Italy. His purchase put the brick building back on the village’s tax rolls. Bedford’s contract with the new owner allowed the re department to stay put until its new re and EMS quarters were ready. at was supposed to happen in 2022, but was pushed back, likely due to pandemic challenges. It now expects to move in during the rst quarter of this year, according to Heather Feldman, chair of the Bedford Fire District’s Board of Commissioners. So what’s the NEW news? Friedland has put the Bedford landmark on the market. He’s asking 3 million big ones, according to Ginnel Real Estate, the folks handling the one-of-akind property’s listing. Hoping to nd out the reasons behind the abrupt turnaround, Halston Media reached out to Friedland, who is currently abroad, but had not heard back by press time. A self-professed “real estate junkie,” he also owns homes in Katonah and Pound Ridge. (His family empire has spread to ailand and Japan.) Friedland, a geologist, is CEO of GoGreen Investments Corp. and executive chairman of GoviEx Uranium, an “African-focused uranium mine developer and explorer,” according to his LinkedIn pro le. He is the son of billionaire mining magnate Robert Friedland. So what does one get in return for all that moola? About 11,583 square feet of space to play with, for one. e open oor plan lends itself to “a variety of commercial and/or retail uses, including a restaurant, gallery, showroom, museum, or car collection,” Ginnel’s posting crows. It has 30 feet of frontage on the Village Green. Ginnel points out that although the building is in the Bedford Village Historic District, it doesn’t have a “historic” designation. at means that the new owners probably won’t have to worry about being hounded by history bu s opposed to any physical changes. Among the amenities are an industrial-sized kitchen, 11-foot-high ceilings, 20 parking spaces, and even a four-lane bowling alley in its basement. HISTORICAL TIDBITS e re department was organized in 1923 by several Bedford Village residents, including John Kinkel and George McCabe St. Katherine Kinkel sold the property to the village for $1. e rehouse was opened in 1929 and originally contained only 3,000 square feet. e all-volunteer organization’s one and only re truck was parked in a garage belonging to a “Mrs. Colgate,” according to its published history. Sometime in the next decade, the re department purchased several bowling alleys that had been built for an expo in New York City. It installed them behind the building, using a primitive shed roof and walls to “protect them from the elements.” By 1959, the rehouse had been renovated to include another 8,000 square feet and a partial basement. e small garage doors and center pedestrian entryway were combined to make one big door that would accommodate the bigger trucks of the time. A staircase to the second oor, located in the center of the apparatus room, was removed. Reclaimed bowling pin machines, scavenged from a demolition site, were installed in the Fire Sale PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNEL REAL ESTATE BFD building back on the market SEE BFD PAGE 13
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 13 front half of the basement, completing the bowling alley. e addition also included a three-story rear staircase that provided access to all levels. Another door and staircase were built on the side of the rehouse next to the library in order to accommodate the public. One of the neat architectural details remaining are wooden shutters with cut-outs depicting re axe “roses.” According to Feldman, all the re department’s precious stu – photos, awards, bric-a-brac, etc. – will be transferred to its new home. BFD FROM PAGE 12 PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNEL REAL ESTATE Located at 34 Village Green, the Bedford Fire Department building has an asking price of $3 million. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEDFORD VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT Historical objects will be transfered to the department’s new home. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEDFORD VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT The fi re department was organized in 1923. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEDFORD VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT The department has a rich history in the community. A look inside the building’s kitchen. PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNEL REAL ESTATE 2 TRACKS FINANCING AVAILABLE WITH APPROVED CREDIT Call today and receive a FREE SHOWER PACKAGE PLUS $1600 OFF With purchase of a new Safe Step Walk-In Tub. Not applicable with any previous walk-in tub purchase. Offer available while supplies last. No cash value. Must present offer at time of purchase. CSLB 1082165 NSCB 0082999 0083445 1-855-916-5473 One touch of a button sends help fast, 24/7. alone I’m never Life Alert® is always here for me. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! ® Help at Home sends help fast, 24/7. with GPS! Help On-the-Go For a FREE brochure call: 1-800-404-9776 Saving a Life EVERY 11 MINUTES Batteries Never Need Charging. The building features a unique indoor bowling alley. PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNEL REAL ESTATE
Sports PAGE 14 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER The season winding down, John Jay/Yorktown/Somers/Hen Hud matched up against Scarsdale on Tuesday, Jan. 25. At Dynamic Gym in Mohegan Lake, the girls tumbled past the Raiders on Senior Night and are turning their attention to the postseason. “My goal is to make States again,” said Regan Mooney of Yorktown. That said, she knows where to put her efforts. “I need to get my vault better.” An 8.00 on this evening, her best work came on the beam with a 9.20. “I did my jumps and turns really well and my leaps were really clean,” Mooney said. The senior didn’t do badly on the floor either. “My tumbling was really strong. I had a lot of power and got really high,” she said after her 9.0. Georgia Nekos felt up in the air too. “I did well in my events today, which is always my goal,” said the Tusker. By the numbers, a 9.15 on the floor was her high score. “I really landed it,” Nekos said. But she was more proud of her bounce back on the beam. A few wobbles on high, the senior stayed the course. “I just try to forget about it and move on to the next skill,” asserted Nekos. As for the postseason, her head is wound on just right. “My goal is to hit all my routines and just have fun.” Scoring a 9.05 on vault gave Kayla Cambareri reason to cheer too. “I flipped, got height and landed with one step,” said the John Jay Wolf. Then on the floor, she stayed on point and in step. “I remembered my whole routine and landed all my passes,” said Cambareri of her 8.75. The freshman also had a 7.7 on the bars, and is pretty satisfied with the improvements she’s made. “At the beginning of the season, I was not turning my giants over and now I’m doing it,’” she said. Meaning, she clarified, “It’s like a big swing from a handstand and then over another handstand.” Letting fly, Claire Jahaly had a 7.65 in her only event. “I stuck the landing,” the John Jay gymnast said of her vault work. At the same time, she’s keeping it pretty simple going forward. “I want to score higher and do better,” said Jahaly. John Jay’s Berkeley Siegel was a solo act too. In turn, her 7.7 on the floor had her measured in terms of providing a personal letter grade. “I got a higher score than last time by a lot,” she said. An incline that has showed results since the beginning of the year. “I have improved my drive, my power and my tumbling,” Siegel assured. Into the postseason, she’s looking to improve her endurance. “I do not want to get tired toward the end.” Finally, Maggie Johannsen of Hen Hud was dressed to the nines on three of four events. The floor coming in as her best, she hammered a 9.5. “I nailed my passes and had nice landings,” said the Sailor. Technique, on the other hand, does not amount to the most improved aspect of her game. “Confidence plays a big role in gymnastics and more confidence helps you be more solid in your routines,” said the freshman. All told, Coach Teodora Cepoi definitely noticed the elevated acumen for the entire team. “I’m very happy with the results and their performance tonight. It was the best total team win for the season,” she concluded. Wolves stick the landing on Senior Night Eyeing postseason PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL The combined team seniors, including Yorktown’s Gianna Mastro (left), John Jay’s Claire Jahaly, Somers’ Georgia Nekos, and Yorktown’s Regan Mooney all in center. Kayla Cambareri PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL Berkeley Sigel GYMNASTICS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 SPORTS THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 15 BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER After losing a hard fought 5-4 decision to Rye on Friday, Jan. 20, John Jay found themselves in another close one on Sunday (1/22) at the Brewster Ice Arena. A 1-0 lead into the third versus Cortlandt, the Wolves looked like they were going to have to ride Dylan Rogers’ shutout to the wire. But the o ense came to life, and ultimately gave their goalie a well deserved respite after stopping all 24 shots he faced. Kyle Petschek scored at 14:20, and his teammates added two more third period goals in the 4-0 victory. e game did start just as fast too. Kenny Irving took a shot on goal, Liam Burke pounced on the rebound, and he beat Nick Mele at 15:22 of the rst. A minute later, PJ DeNoia looked poised to keep the train rolling. e senior came free on a breakaway, but this time Mele didn’t bend and turned away the opportunity. Far from done, Alex Maurice blasted just wide right, Petschek almost got Mele on the short side, and Maurice could not convert after winning the race to the puck with under nine minutes left in the rst. e Cortlandt goalie clearly doing his part, his teammates soon followed. On the rush, Colin Cody got o a shot on goal, and in keeping the puck in play, Jake DiBenedetto drew a slashing penalty at 6:41. Using the man advantage, Cody took a long swing around the goal before putting a shot on, and after Mele made a long pass to Joe Riggio, Cody put another tough one on Rogers. e save made, Rogers was just as good at even strength. e senior ate up two point-blank opportunities to the approval of Coach Greg Janos. “He was just on,” said the coach. “A nice solid complete game, he was where he needed to be, got the saves and controlled the rebounds.” A glove save by Rogers with 27 seconds left in the period had DeNoia freed up on the face-o and good for another breakaway. But the Wolves came up empty again, and it would not be the last time. “I got nothing on that,” said Janos. “I told them to start shooting the puck and stop with the moves.” e teams kept ring away nonetheless. On the John Jay rush, DeNoia set up Petschek on a drop pass, and Ryan Hasapis and Burke gave Mele plenty of business on a urry around the goal line. No net for the Wolves, Cody then weaved through to Rogers again, and Jack Jimenez was unable to face down the John Jay goalie with a shot right out front. But pressure did yield results for the Rebels. Irving was called for a trip at 10:09, and then Maurice got whistled for the same at 9:28. A tie seemed imminent when a cross-ice pass to Riggio had the forward all teed up with no one in sight. Fortunately, the Rebel whi ed, and John Jay dodged a bullet. Of course, the pressure continued, and so did Rogers’ stop gap work in goal. He turned away Cody twice, but Mele didn’t get a break either. Owen Scinicariello got a breakaway opportunity on the short hand and gave the goalie more chance to shine to the frustration of Walter Oestreicher. “Yeah, no nish,” lamented the defender. Still, the clock ticking away helped do a number. “We were all motivated to kill it o and keep the game going,” said Oestreicher. Even strength yielded yet another breakaway, and Mele stopping DeNoia, the Rebel net minder was really feeling his oats on Declan Whelan’s shot from the point with 46 seconds left. Mele snared the puck, and with a nonchalant wave, his con- dence seemed to be brimming. e scales had to tip, though, and began with Oestreicher. e senior shot from the point, Whelan got a stick on the rebound, and Petschek did the rest at 14:20. “I give most of the credit to my teammates,” said Petschek. “I just tipped it in.” Strategy played a part too. “We read their forecheck and adjusted to a 1-2-2,” said Petschek. “So we clogged the middle, and the puck popped out.” Less than ninety seconds later, the Wolves put a sleight of hand on Mele. Oestreicher took a backhand swipe from the point, and the Cortlandt goalie losing sight, the puck sailed in for a 3-0 lead. And ttingly, the last goal came on a breakaway by Petschek, which put aside the previous concerns of their coach. “Bottom line, they worked and got the job done,” said Janos. However, John Jay could not close out the week against Scarsdale on Friday, Jan. 27. e Wolves fell 7-4 and in the loss, Petschek had two goals, and DeNoia and Oestreicher had one each. Wolves come to life against Cortlandt 4-0 victory versus the Rebels PHOTOS: RICH MONETTI Dylan Rogers (right) Kyle Petschek HOCKEY BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Last Friday (1/27), John Jay/ North Salem/Somers Ski embarked for Mount Southington in Conn. and de nitely left a mark. A quali er race for Sectionals, the top nine nishers automatically move on, and the boys put six in the post season. Luke Spieler took rst, Chris Marchini was second and Matt Wolfe, James Bysshe, Josh Burkhart and Porter Bysshe took fth to eighth. On the girls side, Rosie Binette took second, Ellie Sheridan fth and Daniella Dziedzic ninth. Fast times qualify many for Sectionals PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEB SPIELER Rosie Binette and Matt Wolfe qualifi ed for skiing Sectionals last week at Mount Southington. SKIING The top three boys fi nishers left to right: Chris Marchini, Luke Spieler, and Elliot Zhang. Tour Your Future At The Tech Center at Yorktown For Middle and High School Students February 13th and 14th 8:00am-10:00am and 12:00pm-2:00pm • Visit over 40 programs within our career academies • Learn about opportunities to earn high school academic credits, college credits, and national technical certifications • Please see your home school counselor for further information and a permission slip. Information Contact: Samantha Vredenburgh at 914.248.2427 or [email protected]
PAGE 16 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES SPORTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER After smoking North Salem 54-34 on Tuesday, Jan. 24, John Jay looked like they were ready to light up a cigar with an 11-2 first quarter lead Thursday (1/26) versus Somers. The Tuskers had other ideas, though, and refused to go away. But every time the home game got close, the Wolves, and one player in particular, stepped up. “The confidence she has. What she’s able to do athletically is just something very, very special,” boasted Coach Matt Gallagher of Annabel Brennan’s efforts in the 53-44 victory. Nonetheless, the game started on the inside and out. Mia Puccio fed Ava Kelley underneath for the first points, Miranda Martin muscled a put back for a three point lead and then she and Brennan dropped a pair of threes for the early nine point advantage. Somers calling for time, the Tuskers were able to hit the reset button. Alexa Warycha scored on a roll to the hoop, and Ava Giudice turned a half court steal into a fast break basket. The senior guard then hit a short jumper for two of her gamehigh 20, and Somers got close for the first time. So Martin took her turn. She buried three of her 13, and the Wolves regained some breathing room. Of course, John Jay didn’t get much time to exhale. Bailey Atkinson fed Warycha inside for two more post up points, and Lindsay McCullough made two free throws when she was fouled at the buzzer. A 14-12 game, Brennan didn’t deter and put her foot down. Nolan caught the guard streaking on the fast break, and on the next possession, she stepped into a three for a 19-12 edge. But Giudice made sure the story stayed on script. She put a bump on Brennan to get to the rim, and finessed her way through the paint with a ball fake to narrow the gap to three. Time to go the other way, Nolan did her part on both sides. Ahead of the field on the break, she passed back to Puccio for the layup and got the crowd out of their seats with a block on Maddie Lyle’s attempted three. The lead opened again to six on Sela Halaifonua’s put back, but Somers refused to relent. Two Warycha drives yielded a one for two from the line, and her conventional three point play closed the half. A 24-22 score, John Jay again kept their distance, and they took out their secret weapon to get started. Puccio took the inbound and engaged her telepathy. Brennan got the message, made her move and came open for a short jumper. “They are in each other’s heads,” said Gallagher. “When they started doing this on their own, I realized they kind of read it and go with it.” Still, Somers had Giudice in its arsenal. Again, she drove hard through traffic and completed a three point play for a 26-24 game. Unfortunately for the tough Somers guard, Brennan could play that game too, and she had help on the outside. The senior crashed hard up the gut for two of her 16, and after Nolan ripped down another defensive rebound, Martin came free for three. No surprise, Giudice’s jumper contained the score at 31-26, but Jess Martin’s three in the corner proved Wolves have a pretty big pack. Brennan followed with a defended jumper on the baseline, and John Jay had a 36-26 lead. Less than 90 seconds remaining, Somers had the answer again. McCullough hit a three, and the seven point deficit had it very much a game entering the fourth. Brennan was not playing, though. After Puccio ripped the defensive rebound, the senior was ahead for the fast break layup and then got the foul on the backdoor for a 39-29 lead. Of course, Giudice was not in a playful mood either and dropped a triple to get within seven. So Jess Martin again played her role to perfection with another three and made no bones about playing second fiddle. “I think it’s a privilege being out there with the girls,” she assured. The feeling mutual, Martin has the confidence she needs to proceed. “I look at the basket, and know it’s going to go in,” said the senior. Still, Somers got it to 42-37 on Kacey McCullough’s low post move. But Brennan still loomed, and so did her mirror. First Puccio found Brennan off the inbound, and then the duo played give-and-go to tally two more for Puccio. Another Brennan drive through heavy traffic made it an 11 point game, and after one last gasp from Giudice, Halaifonua coolly iced the game with four straight from the line. All told, the back and forth never had Jay losing their heads, according to Puccio. “We stayed composed and just played our game,” she concluded. Miranda Martin Shannon Nolan PHOTOS: RICH MONETTI Ava Kelley John Jay holds off Somers and moves to 12-3 GIRLS BASKETBALL
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 LEISURE THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 17 CLUES ACROSS 1. Shed tears 5. Luxury jewelry designer 10. Goddess of wisdom 12. Convert into a particular form 14. Working-class people 16. It borders Canada (abbr.) 18. A princess can detect its presence 19. Red-brown sea bream 20. Defunct retail empire 22. Vase 23. Demeter’s equivalent 25. Monetary unit of the Maldives 26. French and Belgian river 27. Small amount 28. High schoolers’ test 30. Animal’s foot 31. Some is red 33. Per __: each 35. Swedish jazz pop duo 37. Plate for Eucharist 38. Train line 40. Russian pop duo 41. Stake 42. Plant by scattering 44. Female sibling 45. City of Angels hoopsters (abbr.) 48. Popular cookie brand 50. Group of Niger-Congo languages 52. A team’s best pitcher 53. Vomits 55. 19th letter of Greek alphabet 56. Men’s fashion accessory 57. Its capital is Pierre (abbr.) 58. Expensive cut of steak 63. Popular James Cameron film 65. A __: relating to knowledge gleaned from deduction 66. Kids’ snow toys 67. Flip side to yin CLUES DOWN 1. Global public health agency 2. Snake-like fish 3. Midway between northeast and east 4. Dabbed 5. TV show 6. Folk singer DiFranco 7. Canadian flyers 8. Of the dowry 9. Commercial 10. The act of imitating 11. Equipment used to broadcast radio or TV signals 13. Lands of an emir 15. Swiss river 17. Island 18. Monetary unit of Afghanistan 21. One who surrenders under agreed conditions 23. Garfield is one 24. A baglike structure in a plant or animal 27. Small boats used in the Black Sea 29. Small savory Spanish dishes 32. Body part 34. Touch lightly 35. Popular grilled foods on a stick 36. __ Hess: oil company 39. Antelope with a reddish coat 40. Pharaoh of Lower Egypt 43. Pink Floyd’s Roger 44. Short and thick 46. Small, sac-like cavities 47. Performer __-Lo 49. Entrails of animal used as food 51. __ King Cole, musician 54. Where construction is done 59. Chap 60. Investment vehicle 61. Often mixed with tonic 62. Holiday beverage egg __ 64. Against To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! For puzzle solutions, please see theparamountrehab.com BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER In a season of losses, John Jay again had hopes of getting in the win column this week. ey faced North Salem at home on Tuesday, Jan. 24 and nally got a respite from the visiting Tigers. e Wolves jumped out to a 20-5 rst quarter lead and cruised to a 63-38 victory. It would be Liam Lynch and Will Sanz who got the boys going. Lynch got to the line for a 1-0 lead, and Sanz caught the guard on a cut through the paint for a 3-0 lead. en one possession later, Sanz and Lynch teamed up for the exact same play, and a North Salem foul on the drive gave John Jay a 6-2 advantage. Not done yet, Sanz defended the paint, ripped the rebound and went long to Lynch. e guard received the ball with only a step to spare and converted the layup. A seven point margin, the rest of the team got involved. First Will Preddice penetrated into the paint, freed Craig Galea on the baseline and the John Jay quarterback immediately kicked out to Ryan Giner. He iced the triple, and after Lynch pulled up for two more, Jay Uppal followed with a three. A 17-3 game, Preddice did a double take with another penetrating drive, and Giner was again left open for three. North Salem’s Jack Litch eld did close the quarter on the line, and to start the second, the Tigers closed to within ten on layups by Luke Loftus and Litch eld. Lynch did not take kindly, though. He buried consecutive threes, and John Jay had a 26-10 lead with 3:08 left in the half. But North Salem was not ready to give in. Litch eld strongly rolled to the hoop for two, and Max Cotrone nailed a three to close the half at 26-17. Fortunately, intermission didn’t slow the Wolves. Uppal followed Lynch’s miss, and after a couple of baskets by Cotrone seemed to keep the home team honest, Sanz went to work again. e center took a long pass ahead from Lynch for the fast break layup and put Galea on the foul line with a pass into the low post. Sanz then drove to the hoop for a layup, and a 38-26 lead in hand, he let Lynch back into the act. Lynch rst drained a three o the curl, and despite the game looking pretty done, the duo got the crowd out of its seats on North Salem’s next miscue. Lynch came up with the steal, headed up court on the left and lofted the ball to Sanz for an acrobatic alley-oop. e lead now 16, Galea put back a follow and the third quarter ended with a 50-30 advantage. John Jay and the clock to it from there, the Wolves had themselves a win. Unfortunately, John Jay could not follow up the victory and fell 60-45 at Horace Greeley on Friday, Jan. 27. Boys get a win versus North Salem PHOTOS: RICH MONETTI Will Sanz against Greeley. Liam Lynch Jacob Jay Uppal Jones BOYS BASKETBALL
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES – PAGE 19 Before you turn 65, you’ll want to become familiar with Medicare’s rules and features. And if you’re a high earner, you’ll want to be especially aware of the Medicare premium surcharge — because, over time, it can add up to some signi cant dollars. e premium surcharge — known as the income related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA — is assessed on premiums for Medicare Parts B and D, and generally is based on an individual’s modi ed adjusted gross income (MAGI) of two years ago. So, the IRMAA for 2023 would be based on one’s MAGI from 2021. For someone who is married and les taxes jointly, and whose MAGI for 2021 was $194,000 or less, the Part B premium for 2023 will be $164.90 per month, and the Part D premium will be whatever amount is charged by their Medicare plan. But if their 2021 MAGI was between $194,000 and $246,000, they’ll pay $230.80 (a surcharge of $65.90) for Part B and an additional $12.20 for Part D. And the IRMAA rises at di erent income levels, reaching a maximum of $560.50 (a surcharge of $395.60) for Part B and an additional $76.40 for Part D for a MAGI of $750,000 or more. If you’re unprepared for the IRMAA, it can be an unpleasant surprise. So, if you’ve still got a few years until you enroll in Medicare, you may want to look for ways to control your MAGI and possibly limit the surcharge. Here are a few suggestions: • Contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA). If you have access to a Health Savings Account (HSA), your contributions will reduce your taxable income, helping you on the IRMAA issue. Furthermore, any investment growth within your HSA is tax free, as are withdrawals for quali ed medical expenses, which can include Medicare premiums, deductibles and copays. • Contribute to a Roth IRA. Roth IRA withdrawals are tax free, provided you don’t start taking them until you’re 59-1/2 and you’ve had your account at least ve years. ese tax-free withdrawals can enable you to avoid taking taxable withdrawals from other accounts, which may help you avoid an increase in your IRMAA. • Consider a Roth IRA conversion. You could convert some, or perhaps all, the assets of a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. But you’ll need to consider the impact of taxes — any deductible contributions to your traditional IRA and the earnings generated by these contributions will be fully taxable the year of the conversion, so you’ll want to have funds outside your IRA available to pay these taxes. Also, timing is important — to be on the safe side, you might want to complete the Roth conversion three or more years before you enroll in Medicare, so the conversion and the likely increase in your MAGI won’t increase the IRMAA. • Manage your withdrawal rate – Taking large withdrawals from your retirement accounts can bump up your MAGI bracket and your IRMAA. So, as you near retirement, you’ll want to establish a sustainable withdrawal rate — one that provides you the income you need, but without going overboard. While these moves could potentially help you control the Medicare surcharge, they still must make sense for your overall nancial strategy. It’s obviously desirable to keep the surcharge as low as you can — but it’s even more important to take the steps necessary to reach your nancial goals. is article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Financial Advisor, Judi McAnaw, a resident of Katonah. She has an o ce at 332 Route 100, Suite 300, in Somers. Judi can be reached at 914-669-5329. Can you reduce the Medicare surcharge? If you’ve still got a few years until you enroll in Medicare, you may want to look for ways to control your MAGI [Modi ed Adjusted Gross Income] and possibly limit the surcharge.’ -Judi McAnaw Edward Jones JUDI MCANAW GUEST CORNER APAR PUBLICITY WITH PERSONALITY PR Public Rela ons For... Businesses | Individuals | Organiza ons | Events Your Message Is Our Mission Leave Your Message Here... (914) 275-6887 | bruceaparpr@ gmail.com BRUCE APAR WHY DO WE ADVERTISE IN HALSTON MEDIA’S LOCAL NEWSPAPERS? TO ADVERTISE WITH US, CALL BRETT FREEMAN AT (845) 208-8151 “We couldn’t imagine our business without it. Halston’s people are fabulous to work with; our advertising in Halston papers has given us considerable name recognition for our office and our agents and has driven traffic to our web site.” ~Zef Camaj Branch Manager / Houlihan Lawrence Yorktown
PAGE 20 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022 VOL. 5 NO. 32 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE 23 CLASSIFIEDS 22 LEISURE 21 OPINION 8 TOWN CROSSING 4 SPORTS 18 Wolves Top Edgemont pg 20 GOAL! Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WEST CALDWELL, NJ PERMIT #992 A record-breaking crowd gathered on Oct. 22 for the Golden’s Bridge Fire Department’s annual “Community Day at the Firehouse” event. See more photos from this awesome afternoon on page 12! PHOTO COURTESY OF GBFD BY TOM BARTLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER Construction is expected to begin next summer or fall on almost $50 million in school-building upgrades approved last week by voters in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District. In the district’s rst capitalconstruction referendum in 20 years, residents signed o on security improvements at all ve of their schools, a clean-energy HVAC alternative for Katonah Elementary and multiple other brick-and-mortar projects, including new classrooms at Increase Miller. Balloting took place Oct. 18 at KLSD’s three elementary schools. Despite a comfortable 893 to 565 overall margin in favor of the $49,458,200 bond, School Superintendent Andrew Selesnick later acknowledged the size of the vote against the proposed project. “I can’t imagine there’s ever been a bond vote that passed unanimously, in any school district,” he told the KLSD school board’s Oct. 20 meeting. “I say that because we also want to acknowledge that it [the bond] didn’t have unanimous support and we want to remain mindful of those who didn’t support the bond.” Opposition was clear at Meadow Pond Elementary School, where 53 percent of South Salemarea residents rejected the project, 199 to 174. But elsewhere, voters registered their support in numbers strong enough to overcome that de cit. At Katonah Elementary, “yes” votes prevailed, 311 to 124, as they did at Increase Miller, 408 to 122. “We can pledge to continue being mindful of our entire community in the ways we move forward,” Selesnick continued at the Oct. 20 board meeting. “We try very hard to be thoughtful about all the work that we do and all the projects we put forward with the entire community in mind.” As he did in the hours immediately after the balloting, Selesnick expressed his gratitude for the voter turnout. “We really do thank everybody who came out,” he said, “regardless of how you voted. We appreciate the participation in the democratic process.” District o¡ cials now move into the next phase of the project, including what Selesnick described, in a letter to the KLSD community, as “further design and re nement.” Final plans must then be submitted to the State Education Department for approval. “We anticipate this phase will take approximately one year,” Selesnick said. “Once approvals are received, construction is projected to last approximately two years. If all goes smoothly, all aspects of the project will be complete by the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.” KLSD Trustee Liz Gereghty chairs the two key school board committees, Finance and Facilities, as well as a resident-experts panel that helped guide development of bond speci cs. She had thanked her volunteers weeks before the vote and observed, “Public education is the most important investment a community makes.” Voters approve $49.5 million bond for Katonah-Lewisboro School District Fire away! HOPEMAZZOLA YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HOPE Sales Vice President Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker cell: 914.714.0090 [email protected] hopemazzola.com MAZZOLA YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HOPE Sales Vice President Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker 914.714.0090 [email protected] hopemazzola.com 95 Katonah Ave | Katonah, NY 10536 What Would a Recession Mean for the Housing Market? If you’re wondering what a potential recession could mean for the housing market, here’s a look at what history tells us. Questions? Let’s connect. #UGottaHaveHope VOL. 5 NO. 33 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE 27 CLASSIFIEDS 26 LEISURE 20 OPINION 8 TOWN CROSSING 4 SPORTS 16 Wolves Win Big pg 16 PLAYOFFS Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WEST CALDWELL, NJ PERMIT #992 Please note that the Nov. 10 edition of The Katonah-Lewisboro Times will go to press before the Nov. 8 election results are available. Please visit tapintoKLT.net to view our full election coverage. BY BRETT FREEMAN PUBLISHER e race for New York’s 17th Congressional District has gained national attention as polls show it’s a tossup between Democrat Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney and Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler. Maloney, who is chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, currently represents the 18th district and was rst elected in 2012. He is running in this new district after redistricting took place in New York State. Congressman Maloney was raised in New Hampshire and earned his bachelor’s and law degree from the University of Virginia. Maloney served as a senior advisor in the Clinton Administration and after leaving the White House, he built a high-tech startup in New York and later worked for New York Governors Spitzer and Paterson. He and his husband, Randy Florke, have three children together and currently reside in Cold Spring. Meanwhile, Lawler represents New York’s Assembly District 97 in Rockland County. Assemblyman Lawler graduated from Suffern High School and went on to earn his degree in business administration from Manhattan College, where he graduated as the valedictorian. Lawler and his wife, Doina, live in Pearl River, and they have a baby girl. We asked the candidates a series of similar questions in separate interviews. You can Crime, infl ation and abortion at issue in Congressional race Both express support for Israel and Ukraine SEE CONGRESS PAGE 6 Assemblyman Mike Lawler Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney LOCAL REALTORS YOU CAN TRUST Ellen Schwartz and Devin McCrossan are Licensed Associate Real Estate Brokers affiliated with Compass. Kaitlyn ‘Katie’ D’Ambrosio and Catia Leon are Licensed Real Estate Salespersons. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity Laws. Lic. Assoc. Real Estate Broker M: 646.937.1897 • [email protected] 68-70 The Crossing, Chappaqua Lic. Assoc. Real Estate Broker [email protected] • M: 646.937.1897 387 Main Street, Armonk Ellen Schwartz Devin McCrossan THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022 VOL. 5 NO. 34 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE 31 CLASSIFIEDS 30 LEISURE 24 OPINION 10 TOWN CROSSING 7 SPORTS 20 Project Breaks Ground pg 16 PLAYGROUND Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WEST CALDWELL, NJ PERMIT #992 BY TOM BARTLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER For more than 20 years, Coach Bill Swertfager has built John Jay High School’s wrestling program, from literally nothing to a perennial Section One contender. More signi cantly, he’s built a generation of young men and women who are now better adults thanks to the example he set and the life lessons he taught, scores of supporters told the Katonah-Lewisboro school board last week. Some 300 strong, a standingroom-only throng, they packed the board’s Nov. 3 meeting in the high school cafeteria to deliver full-throated support for Coach Bill. ey appealed to keep him at the wrestling program’s helm, beseeching school o cials in public a week ago after a complaint made in private more than a year ago put the coach’s job in jeopardy. In the spring of 2021, an unidenti ed person asserts, Swertfager slapped a player on the backside in a girls juniorvarsity softball game. Neither the KLSD administration nor the school board, bound by privacy regulations, is permitted to identify the complainant. One account making the rounds among the coach’s supporters insists that neither the player nor her parents have taken issue with his actions. Instead, this version holds, one of the girl’s teammates, “uncomfortable” with seeing the touch, complained about it. Swertfager, for his part, says he has no recollection of delivering what is the sports world’s longtime, spontaneous gesture of support or congratulations. “I have no idea who the player was that I supposedly did it to, or who the teammate was who was uncomfortable with it,” he said in an interview last weekend. “I simply don’t remember the incident. I am not saying it didn’t happen; I am just saying I don’t remember it.” ough he has been an integral part of John Jay’s athletic establishment for more than two decades, Swertfager is not a full-time KLSD employee. e owner of the Cross River-based marketing rm AIA Promotional Source, he draws only a token stipend from the school treasury. Whoever is varsity wrestling coach this winter will be paid $8,140 for the season. Still, the 63-year-old Swertfager noted in the interview, “I have dedicated my entire adult life, 40 years, to coaching boys and girls in seven sports, including softball, baseball, track and eld, boys and girls soccer, football, basketball and, of course, wrestling. ousands of young men and women without a single blemish on my record for anything.” e school board had been expected to appoint all coaches for winter sports at ursday’s meeting but ultimately put the matter over to the next meeting, Nov. 17, after a crescendo of voices insisted Coach Bill be retained. Swertfager had the rst word. Addressing the school board for Coach Bill Swertfager speaking before the Board of Education on Nov. 3. PHOTO: TOM BARTLEY Outpouring of support for John Jay coach following complaint SEE COACH PAGE 28 HOPEMAZZOLA YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HOPE Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker Sales Vice President cell: 914.714.0090 [email protected] hopemazzola.com MAZZOLA Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker Sales Vice President 914.714.0090 [email protected] hopemazzola.com 95 Katonah Ave | Katonah, NY 10536 UH, OH! THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT ‘ME’, AGAIN! "Hope pulled out all the stops during the purchase of our home. She reached out to her contacts, connected us with her invaluable resources, negotiated on our behalf, and got us the keys to our dream house in a timely manner. She made herself available to us at all times, had our best interest at heart, and did not stop working for us - even after the closing. I can't say enough good things about Hope; without her on our team, there is no way my husband and I would have gotten our house." — CS, Purdys NY Your Local Expert. #UGottaHaveHope Another great transaction with 1. Clip the short form on the page 2. Fill out the information. 3. Mail it to P.O. Box 864, Mahopac, NY 10541 4. Or Visit www.halstonsubscribe.com 5. Or Scan our QR Code to Subscribe. Please print your first and last names and address legibly, sign and date (all required to continue receiving your subscription to this newspaper). YES, I wish to receive a FREE 3-year subscription to The Katonah-Lewisboro Times. YES, I really enjoy The Katonah-Lewisboro Times, and I’d like to continue receiving it for 3 years, along with a monetary contribution this year. (Please print legibly.) First (Required) (Required) (Required) (Required) (Required. Please print legibly.) 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