INSIDE THIS WEEK’S PAPER! LEGAL NOTICES 39 LEISURE 30 MAHOPAC MUSINGS 4 OBITUARIES 38 OPINION 10 SPORTS 22 VOL. 14 NO. 46 Visit News.HalstonMedia.com for the latest news. FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY BOB DUMAS EDITOR AT LARGE A Mahopac family is trying to rebuild their lives after a fire destroyed their Old Bullet Hole Road home in the early hours of Jan. 24. While no injuries were reported, the blaze has left the Simpson family of seven homeless. Writing on a GoFundMe page created on her family’s behalf, Alicea Simpson recalled the “life-changing” experience of seeing her home burned to the ground. “[We] stood in front of our dream home and watched flames rip through each and every room with everything we worked so hard for in it,” she said. Simpson said she and her husband, Kareen, a Marine Corps veteran and retired law enforcement officer, moved to Mahopac from the Bronx in 2017 to raise their five children. All of the children were home at the time. Mahopac rallies around family after fire destroys ‘dream home’ The home was a complete loss. The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MFVFD SEE FIRE PAGE 5 RE/MAX Classic Realty 914-282-6440 [email protected] CALL NOW FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION SERVICES OFFERED: Answers About the Current Market Free Property Evaluations Advice to Prep Properties for Sale Contractor Recommendations High-Def. Photography/Virtual Tour of Your Property Custom Digital Marketing Help with Estates & Probate Relocation Assistance – Anywhere in the World Spacious Victorian (2,800 sq ft) - must see! Foyer w/Grand Staircase. 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths. Original details include High Ceilings, Hardwood Floors, Archways, Pocket Doors, Chandeliers, Plaster Moldings & Ceiling Medallions. The many living areas include Updated Granite Kitchen w/Walk-in Pantry. Living Room, Formal Dining Room, Butler’s Pantry & Home Office/Family Room, 2nd Staircase off Kitchen to Bedroom Level. Walk-up Staircase to full 3rd Floor. Loads of Closet space! Full Basement. Two New Gas Furnaces. $649,000 INCREDIBLE VICTORIAN HOME!
PAGE 2 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 18 Clark Pl, Mahopac, NY 10541 • (845) 628-3081 Restaurant: savormahopac.com • Market: rickssavoronline.com OPEN 7 DAYS • See website for daily hours • Order Online! TAKE-OUT & FREE LOCAL DELIVERY! Fresh Seafood, Ready-To-Bake Meals, Soups, Sides & Sauces! Rest assured, your order is in good hands. Rick personally selects and buys directly from Hunts Point Fish Market, guaranteeing you the freshest fish imaginable. Check out www.rickssavoronline.com Experience Our Signature Homemade Dishes In Our Renovated Dining Room Or Our ALL SEASON PATIO LIVE MUSIC SUNDAY FEBRUARY 11 2-5PM SOCIAL SATURDAY DJ & DANCING— SAVOR PARLOR OPEN FOR PIZZA AND MORE! FEBRUARY 10 10PM - 1:30AM CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS! Gelato Soft Serve Ice Cream Pizza Slices Pizza Rolls ROSE D’ANGELO SINGER SONGWRITER
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 3 BY EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR Over 100 otherwise sane people braved the frigid waters of Lake Mahopac on Saturday, Jan. 27, for Operation Ice Splash. Everyone agreed it was very cool (OK, very cold). The daylong event was created to raise money for the Mahopac VFW. “It was a huge success,” said Town Councilman Robert Kearns, a Navy veteran who organized the event with his wife Francesca and VFW Auxiliary President Rachel Delduco. “We had about 110 people take the plunge, ranging in ages from 10 to 60 years old. The water temp was about 35 degrees.” In addition to the plunge itself, Operation Ice Splash included food trucks and fun activities for kids. Kearns said more than 400 people came out to support the cause. And while everyone was there to have fun, the big turnout had a very serious benefit for the VFW. “The money raised will go toward much-needed repairs and upgrades to the post to ensure we can continue to provide a safe and relaxing for veterans all over Westchester and Putnam,” he said. “Our walk-in box, HVAC system, windows, and outdoor area [will be upgraded or repaired] to make sure we can continue to offer a safe haven for veterans and their families.” County Executive Kevin Byrne’s son Braeden , 3, enjoys the slide. The Polar Plunge begins! The Kearns family made s’mores. Carlos Lopez, Doug Ramires, and Robert Kearns Making a ‘Splash!’ United For The Troops cofounder Jim Rathschmidt sells tickets with Maci Barrows, 5, Lily Mariconda, 6, A.J. Mariconda, 9, and Addisyn Moberg, 9. PHOTOS: JENNA WALDMAN Barbara Reitz Morris, Matthew Powers, and Michael Powers after the plunge
PAGE 4 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 The Staff EDITORIAL TEAM Emile Menasché Editor: 845-208-0774 [email protected] Bob Dumas Editor at Large [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 Bri Agosta Designer Haven Elder Designer EXECUTIVE TEAM Brett Freeman CEO & Publisher 845-208-8151 [email protected] Deadlines Mahopac News The deadline for advertisements and editorial submissions for Mahopac News is the Thursday before the next publication date. For more information, call Emile Menasché at 845-208-0774 or email [email protected]. Subscribe To request Mahopac News weekly delivery, call 845-208-8503 or email [email protected]. Subscriptions are complimentary for residents and businesses in the town. Out of town mail subscriptions are $150 per year for First Class Mail. Periodicals Postage Paid at Mahopac, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mahopac News at 824 Route 6, Suite 4 • Mahopac, NY 10541 (ISSN 2330-1627) Published Weekly by Halston Media, LLC at 824 Route 6, Suite 4 • Mahopac, NY 10541 Main Office 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2023 HALSTON MEDIA, LLC The Lake Mahopac Rotary Club welcomed two new members into the fold recently. Inductees Mike Lugo, second from left, and Lela Nussbaum stand with Rotary veterans, from left, Rich Dutra, Jeff Kellogg, and Roberta Cassetta. Rotary welcomes new members Lake Mahopac Rotary Club new members Mike Lugo and Lela Nussbaum are welcomed by Rich Dutra (left), Jeff Kellogg (center) and Roberta Cassetta (right) PHOTO COURTESY OF LAKE MAHOPAC ROTARY CLUB Black History Celebration Putnam County’s third annual Black History Celebration, a lively in-person event honoring the rich history of the Black community will be held Saturday, Feb. 17, from 2-5 p.m. at the Spain Cornerstone Memorial Park building, 1 Fair St., Carmel Hamlet. Get ready for. educational exhibits, and engaging activities. Discover the rich cultural heritage of the Black community through music, dance, and art. Celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black individuals throughout history. Don’t miss this opportunity to come together as a community and honor the diversity that makes us stronger. Light refreshments. All ages are welcome. RSVP by Feb 15. Tickets are free. Scan the QR code to register. St. Patrick’s Day Parade Fundraiser The Northern Westchester/ Putnam St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and Our Lady of the Lakes Council No. 6318 Knights of Columbus will hold a fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m., at Fiddler’s Green Pub, 1870 Route 6, Carmel Hamlet., featuring live music, a 50/50 raffle, and Guinness and Smithwicks specials. Shepherd’s pie dinner. For more info, contact Dana or Danny at 845-225-9825. Stories and Snacks with Rabbi Sarah Temple Beth Shalom in Mahopac presents Stories and Snacks with Rabbi Sarah, ideal for age groups 2-5 years old. Stories and Snacks will take place on the following Sundays at 11:30 a.m.: March 24, April 14, and May 19. Call 845-628-6133 to register. Defensive Driving Mahopac Library will offer Defensive Driving with Jack Coxen on Saturday, March 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Defensive Driving Insurance Reduction Program is a course consisting of a series of films and discussions about driving attitudes and behaviors. It is designed for licensed drivers, but those with permits may attend. Limited enrollment; registration is required. Register online on our website: at mahopaclibrary.org or call 845-628-2009, ext 100. Cost is $45/person; $35/seniors 65+. Payment is taken at the class; cash or check payable to Jack Coxen. No credit cards are accepted. MAHOPAC MUSINGS SEE MUSINGS PAGE 19 Law Offices of Joseph J. Tock 963 Route 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 TOCKLAW.COM • 845-628-8080 CRIMINAL DEFENSE/DWI • PERSONAL INJURY REAL ESTATE • BUSINESS LAW • WILLS, TRUSTS, ESTATES, PROBATE Strongly recommend TOCKLAW. They set expectations and deliver the desired outcome. ~P.C. ‘
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 5 BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER A Bedford Hills man is facing attempted murder charges after an altercation at the Paladin Center in Carmel on Sunday, Jan. 29. Carmel police arrested and charged Justin J. Pagan, 20, with second-degree attempted murder, a Class B felony, after he allegedly stabbed a 33-year-old Mount Vernon man six times. Pagan is also being charged with first-degree assault, a Class B felony, and fourthdegree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Police said the stabbing was the result of a dispute that arose between the two men at Hudson Valley Airsoft, an indoor mock combat game at the Paladin Center where players use realistic-looking guns to shoot plastic BBs at one another. It’s unclear what led to the fight. In a press release, Carmel PD said the victim was stabbed six times in the chest and torso area by a fixed-blade knife. A police spokesperson told Mahopac News the fight was over by the time officers arrived. In addition to the stab wounds, the victim suffered a collapsed lung. He was admitted to Danbury Hospital and remained hospitalized in stable condition in the days after the attack. Police have not released his name and had no update on his condition on Monday. Pagan was also hospitalized; while stabbing the victim, police said, he accidentally cut his own hand. Pagan was released from care shortly after and was taken into custody by Carmel police detectives. Pagan was arraigned before Carmel Town Justice Daniel Miller and remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility on $150,000 cash bail or $300,000 secured bond. Bedford Hills man charged in Carmel stabbing The oldest, age 19, attends college at SUNY Buffalo and was home for winter break, while the others include two student-athletes at Mahopac High School (a senior and sophomore) and two Austin Road elementary school students who “are the sweetest little people you will ever meet,” Simpson said. “This experience caused our world to collapse,” she said. At around 2 a.m. on Jan 24, the Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department was called to the Simpsons’ home at 53 Old Bullet Hole Road. Assistant Chief Jason Stasiak arrived at the scene and discovered a fully involved single-family home. Mutual aid was requested for the two-alarm blaze and Mahopac, Putnam Valley, Kent, Carmel, Mohegan, Somers, and Yorktown fire departments all responded. About 70 firefighters were on the scene. The Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services, Carmel VAC, and Brewster FD provided extra tankers to tackle the intensifying blaze. Firefighters had to overcome several challenges to fight the fire. The narrow nature of that part of the road made it difficult for trucks to navigate and a water source was not close by. Firefighters established a relay system with a water source approximately a mile from the scene. The move enabled them to effectively combat the fire, utilizing handlines and Mahopac VFD’s ladder truck. According to Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. An alarm alerted the family to the fire, and they smelled smoke inside the house. “One of the kids opened a door to the garage and saw a lot of smoke and fire,” Hoffmann said. Despite the intensity of the situation, there were no reported injuries to the affected family or any of the firefighters on the scene. The house, however, was a total loss. The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/f/donate-to-helprebuild-our-home-and-life. 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PAGE 6 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 14 Frances Kiernan Place & Rt 6 Carmel-Mahopac • 845-625-4222 northwoodinn.net Valentine’s Day Menu (Wednesday - Sunday) Choose one appetizer, entree and dessert: $32.99/pp APPETIZERS Potato Pancakes & Mushroom Gravy Stuffed Portobello with Garlic Bread Pierogi w/ Sauteed Garlic Spinach Shrimp Cocktail ENTREES Chicken Breast Stuffed w/ Mozzarella & Broccoli Veal Cordon Bleu Stuffed Salmon Rolled Beef DESSERTS Chocolate Lava Divine Raspberry Donut Cheesecake Blueberry Cheesecake Strudel Carrot Cake POLISH LOVERS COMBO FOR TWO $52.99 Select One Appetizer from above Pierogies, Kielbasa, Stuffed Cabbage, Potato Pancakes, Beef Goulash with Brussel Sprouts Select One Dessert from above LAND AND SEA: COMBO FOR TWO $62.99 Select One Appetizer from above One Filet Mignon, Garlic Jumbo Shrimp, Filet of Sole and Shrimp Stuffed with Sauteed Spinach and Crab Meat. With Rice and Asparagus Select One Dessert from above Make Your Reservation Now! HAPPY HOUR Mon-Fri 3-6PM • Sat 1-4PM ALL DRINKS Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 Off! Private Party Room Watch the Big GAME with us on Sunday Feb 11th! BY EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on proposed tax exemption increases for veterans, first responders, seniors, and people with disabilities on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. at the high school auditorium (421 Baldwin Place Road). Members of the public will be able to comment on whether or not the board should adopt resolutions that would modify the existing provision granting partial tax exemptions for veterans, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, volunteer firefighters, and volunteer ambulance workers as allowed by New York State’s Real Property Tax Law. Last year, the school board voted to increase the exemptions for all the above groups while studying their impact on the overall tax base. At the time, district officials said they would consider increasing the exemptions in the future. The district now proposes to raise the exemption levels for veterans to match those offered by the town of Carmel and Putnam County. Veterans’ exemptions are based on three tiers of service: Wartime, Combat Zone, and Disability. The following numbers are based on a house with an assessed value of $500,000. For the 2022-23 school year, the exemptions were: Wartime - $12,000 Combat Zone - $8,000 Disability - $40,000 A veteran with a house assessed at $500,000 who qualifies for all three would see $60,000 subtracted from the taxable value of their property. For the current school year, these exemptions were increased to: Wartime - $27,000 Combat Zone - $18,000 Disability - $90,000 That same veteran’s $500,000 property would be taxed at a value of $365,000. If the new proposal is adopted, the exemptions would double to: Wartime - $54,000 Combat Zone - $36,000 Disability - $180,000 According to the district’s numbers, if adopted, the exemption increase would be funded by raising taxes on non-veteran homeowners by an average of $133.62 for the 2024-25 school year. The school board is also considering an increase in exemptions for volunteer first responders, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities to the maximum allowable levels. If all are adopted, these exemptions would raise the average impact on non-exempted households to bout $160 per year. Copies of the proposed resolutions can be requested from the office of the district clerk, Melody LaRocca, via email at [email protected]. The district’s presentation about the proposed exemptions can be found at tinyurl.com/4vsrnzsd. Budget season gets underway At the Jan. 30 school board meeting, Superintendent Christine Tona and Alyssa Murray, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, made the first budget presentation of the school year and outlined the schedule leading up to the budget vote hearing set for May 7, and the vote set for Tuesday, May 21. The trustee election will also take place on that date. Tona said the district’s priorities are informed by the recently enacted strategic plan. The goal of the new budget is to: • Maintain all academic programs and extracurricular activities • Expand opportunities for high school curriculum pathways • Continue the district’s bus replacement schedule • Ensure components of the Strategic Plan are funded to enhance the overall student experience • Complete transition to the new mascot • Balance the needs of the educational program with the fiscal needs of the community The district said the maximum allowable tax levy is 2.57 percent for 2024-25 based on current calculations, though the levy itself is yet to be determined. The current budget’s levy was 2.75 percent, well below the 2023-24 allowable amount of 3.36 percent. Tona said the district is seeking input from the community about the budget. A survey is available on the school district’s website, mahopac.org. The next school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at Mahopac High School. School district to hold public hearing on boosting tax exemptions Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Alyssa Murray speaks about the MCSD’s 2024-2025 school budget on Jan. 31. PHOTO: EMILE MENASCHE
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 7 Visit us at: 128 Route 52, Carmel Shari Zimmerman 845-621-2557 [email protected] Call for a FREE Quote today! RATES GOING UP? THESE PRICES ARE VALID WITH AD ONLY Not to be combined with other offers. 20lb. Tank. Expires 2/11/24 $ 2.00 OFF PROPANE FILL-UP LAGUNITAS $ 16.99 12 pack $ 28.99 HEINEKEN $ 17.99 COORS LIGHT 12 Pack BUD & BUD LIGHT $ 22.9924 Pack Bottles $ 17.99 20 Pack COORS LIGHT & BANQUET PERONI $ 18.99 12 Pack BUD & BUD LIGHT $ 28.99 36 Pack 36 Pack $ 18.99 HAPPY DAD HARD SELTZER MILLER LITE $ 28.99 36 Pack PABST $ 23.99 30 Pack 12 Pack 845-628-3147 BEER & SODA 376 RT 6 MAHOPAC CASH FOR CANS & BOTTLES HUDSON VALLEY BEVERAGE IS NOW A FULL REDEMPTION CENTER GET FULL 5¢ VALUE PER BOTTLE OR CAN ANY CASE OF BEER 24 PACK OR LARGER 5 CASE LIMIT Not to be combined with any other offer. SALE ENDS 2/11/24 $ 2.00 OFF BY BOB DUMAS EDITOR AT LARGE A County Supreme Court judge has ruled that a case pitting a Mahopac business against the town of Carmel that alleges the municipality engaged in malicious prosecution of the business can move forward. A jury trial will be slated later this year to determine if any monetary damages will be awarded. Charlie Melchner Sr., and his wife Lillian, owners of Mahopac Marina on South Lake Boulevard, had originally sought $30 million in damages in the case with roots that date back to the 1960s. Between 1991 and 2009, the town commenced four civil actions and three criminal proceedings against the Melchners alleging various violations of the town zoning ordinance. The point of contention concerns whether New York State or the town of Carmel regulates the docks floating in Lake Mahopac off the shore of the Marina. According to the Melchners and their attorney Dan Issacs, the state has maintained ownership of the bed beneath the waters of Lake Mahopac since July 1961, when New York City abandoned the lake as part of its water supply system and, by deed, transferred authority to the State. In 1968, then-Supervisor William Mathers petitioned the State to transfer the title of the lake to Carmel “in order to permit the town to implement appropriate controls and regulations and govern activity and construction on the lake.” However, according to an earlier lawsuit, “no further action was taken by Carmel to either assume jurisdiction over Lake Mahopac or to enact any local laws or regulations to establish Town control over the lake.” In 1991, Carmel filed its first civil action against the Melchners, challenging their operation of a commercial marina in a residential district. At approximately that same time, the Melchners had applied for and received a permit from the Land Management Division of New York State General Services to build and operate its docks, which are in water over land owned by the State, and they have renewed the permit every 10 years to maintain those rights. Over the next two decades, the conflict between Mahopac Marina and the Town escalated. The town argued that the Melchners failed to seek site plan approval with its zoning board for the construction and operation of lots where boat slips were housed. In April 2007, Melchner tried to put those legal battles behind him, citing “extreme duress both financially and emotionally.” He entered a plea of guilty to one count of failing to seek site plan approval for repairs to a preexisting wood walkway on one of the lots at the Marina. The concession came with a legally binding stipulation; the Melchners agreed to remove all the boat slips on two of their lots and pay a $35,000 fine. In return, Carmel agreed to terminate the criminal and civil proceedings. But the town did not terminate those proceedings. In September 2008, the Town launched a third criminal action against the Melchners, alleging that they had violated four counts of Carmel’s zoning code. The action alleged that the Melchners unlawfully expanded the Marina without site plan approval or a building permit and unlawfully expanded dock structures, and the Melchners reentered into several other legal proceedings with the town. According to the original suit, the Melchners fully complied with every aspect of that stipulation [to terminate criminal and civil proceedings]. “We complied and [the town] went forward with it,” Charles Melchner Jr., who runs the Marina with his father, said at the time. “We were trying to just get this behind us and finish it.” The town and Mahopac Marina took the case of who owns Melchner ‘malicious prosecution’ case allowed to move forward Jury trial could award damages, town will likely appeal SEE MELCHNER PAGE 31
PAGE 8 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY BOB DUMAS EDITOR AT LARGE A small part of Mahopac could look cleaner and brighter while helping out local contractors at the same time if a site plan currently before the Planning Board is approved. Brothers Nick and John Crecco, owners of DAG Route 6, LLC, were at the board’s Jan. 24 meeting seeking to construct a 10,000-square-foot contractor warehouse and a 3,240-squarefoot office space on 4.8 acres with frontages on both Bucks Hollow Road and Route 6. That property, located at 395 Route 6, currently contains a 12,300-foot building with the Pawsitively Petastic doggy daycare and boarding business inside and an associated 14,000-square-foot play space. Under the plan, the dogboarding business and play area would remain. However, a 2,800-square-foot two-family dwelling would be removed to make room for the new construction. The property features 83 parking spaces on the Route 6 side of the existing buildings and a covered outdoor storage area attached to the building, which also would remain. The existing well would remain, but the septic system would be replaced. “Behind the location, there are 40 Dumpsters, a junkyard, and cars [and] we want to remove all that.” John Crecco told the board. “We want to put up two beautiful buildings like we’ve done with 20 other properties in town. Aesthetically, we want to make it look amazing. In that area, there must be at least 10 buildings exactly like we are proposing, but they look kind of old. We want to make it look beautiful [with] lights, signage, all that.” Nick Crecco said the brothers are purchasing the bordering Freight Liquidator property to ensure complete access and egress to the property via both Route 6 and Bucks Hollow Road. He added that the 10,000-foot building would be divided into five units, sometimes referred to as “contractor condominiums.” “The concept is to rent [these units]. There is a high demand [for such units] in the area for, say, a plumbing contractor, an electrical contractor, or a woodworking contractor,” he said. “We are not looking to do things like piles of gravel and sand. The building design is very similar to what’s already behind us and what’s in front of us. We would pave over the gravel on the east side of the buildings with formalized parking added.” John Crecco said they’ve been approached by area contractors saying a facility like this is desperately needed in Mahopac. “There is a big need for these in town,” he said. “A landscaper can’t park on the street or they get a ticket. The town already has three [contractor warehouses] like this and they are all rented out. Businesses are coming to us and saying they have this problem. That is how this all came about. Otherwise, we would have just left it alone. But everyone agrees this needs to be cleaned up and addressed. So, we are coming out of COVID now and we have a few dollars saved up, and that’s the plan—to fix up the property and make it look nice.” Town planning consultant Pat Cleary said that while there may indeed be a need for such units in town, the site plan must be specific as to what is allowed and not allowed and the Creccos must live up to their promise not to permit piles of gravel and/or sand on the outside of the units. “There are issues with these uses, and they’ve been problematic for us in the past,” Cleary Warehouse project could improve view from bike trail ‘Contractor condos’ would brighten messy property off Bucks Hollow The Carmel planning board is considering a proposal to construct contractor rental units between Route 6 and Buckshollow road. PHOTO COURTESY GOOGLE IMAGES SEE BUCKS HOLLOW PAGE 38 4 Veschi Lane N., Mahopac 845-628-1946 theflowerboutiquemahopac.com Valentine’s Day is February 14th Order Today for your Valentine! Large selection of Flowers, Candy & Gifts The Flower Boutique
BY BOB DUMAS EDITOR AT LARGE A Mahopac man, who serves as a sergeant with the NYPD, was indicted last week on an array of felony charges for an incident that took place while he was on duty. Eric Duran, 36, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and criminally negligent homicide. According to the state attorney general’s office, on Aug. 23, 2023, Sgt. Duran, an undercover member of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx (NBBX) Tactical Response Unit, “forcefully threw a cooler” at Eric Duprey as Duprey was driving a motorized scooter. The cooler hit Duprey causing him to lose control of the scooter which eventually crashed and caused his death. Duran was suspended and later placed on modified duty. Duran was arraigned before state Supreme Court Justice George Villegas, who set bail at $150,000 bond or partially secured bond, with $150,000 cash alternative. Duran is due back in court on April 18. According to the AG’s office, the maximum sentence on the top charge is 25 years in prison. A prepared statement from the attorney general states that at approximately 5 p.m. on Aug.23, members of the NBBX team arrived on Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th and 192nd streets in the Bronx to conduct their fourth “buyand-bust” operation, or undercover drug purchase, of the day. During the operation, NBBX team members encountered Duprey and attempted to arrest him, at which point he got on a motorized scooter and tried to flee. As Duprey rode the scooter toward West 190th St., Duran grabbed a civilian’s cooler off of a nearby table and threw it at Duprey, striking him in the head and causing him to lose control of the scooter. Duprey then sideswiped a tree before he was thrown from the scooter and hit his head on the curb, landing under a parked vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to published reports, members of the Sergeants’ Benevolent Association (SBA) showed up en masse at Duran’s arraignment and later blasted AG Laticia James for bringing charges in the case. In a press release issued later that day, the SBA said the criminalization of Duran’s actions “once again proves the old adage that overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda can indict a ham sandwich if inclined to do so.” “Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others,” said SBA President Vincent Vallelong in the statement. “Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims.” Vellelong said Duran’s actions saved both fellow officers and innocent bystanders from harm. Dupree was driving the scooter at 40 mph on the sidewalk and could have “caused serious injuries or death to numerous people,” he said. FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 9 Making Putnam County more... • Cut the tax burden in the budget for the first time in 25 years • Lowest property tax rate in 15 years • Enacted a new property tax exemption for our volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers COUNTY EXECUTIVE • Reduced sales tax by opting into a two year exemption for clothing and footwear under $110 • Expanded mental health and disability services • Budgeted more to combat Opioid Crisis • Bolstered Tax Stabilization Fund Constituent forums in every town Record investment in infrastructure All done with NO new borrowing! paid for by byrne for county executive Afiordable Accountable Accessible Mahopac man, a NYPD cop, facing homicide charges Police union defends sergeant’s on-the-job actions Eric Duran PHOTO COURTESY OF MSN ‘Overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda can indict a ham sandwich if inclined to do so.’ -Vincent Vallelong SBA President
PAGE 10 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Opinion Happily Ever After LETTER J an. 28 was effectively the last day of football season. The Chiefs bested the Ravens and the Forty Niners beat the Lions. What lies ahead is the Taylor Swift Super Bowl featuring hours of pregame hype, way too many commercials and an hour-long halftime show, making it almost impossible to watch for most football fans. It is an event not for football fans, but for everyone else. So we are at that depressing time of year when football is over and baseball season is still two months away. I thought I could at least fill the void by focusing on the presidential primaries for entertainment during the lull, but it looks like both contests were already decided before On football and the Taylor Swift presidential sweepstakes DON SCOTT IN CASE YOU MISSED IT SEE SCOTT PAGE 12 914-277-4424 • 440 Rt 22 North Salem, NY • www.theblazerpub.com CELEBRATING 531 YEARS! From Our Kitchen with Love PRE-ORDERS BEING TAKEN FOR THE BIG GAME. Reservations for inside & outside dining are strongly encouraged. Mahopac residents asked to take school budget survey Dear Editor, The Mahopac Central School District is in the process of developing the operating budget for the 2024-25 school year. Input from various stakeholder groups in our school community is critical to the creation of the budget. We would like to receive the input and perspective of families, students, employees and community members. All members of the Mahopac community are invited to complete a survey to share what your priorities are for the budget for the upcoming school year. This anonymous survey will be open through Friday, Feb. 16. We are asking stakeholders to take a few minutes to provide their answers. Community input is essential to the budget development process and is highly valued and appreciated by the district. To access the survey, stakeholders can use the QR code or visit our website at mahopac.org. If readers are part of an organization that would like to have a budget presentation shared with their organization’s members, they can email me at [email protected]. Presentations will be available in late April through mid-May. Thank you in advance for your participation and input in the Mahopac Central School District budget process! Mahopac proud, -Christine Tona Superintendent of Schools
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 OPINION MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 11 Mahopac Teachers, Students, School & Bus Garage Employees Buy One Egg Sandwich, Get 2nd HALF OFF Buy Lunch Sandwich, Get a Soda or Coffee FREE We have your grab and go items! Happy Hour Coffee Check out our Coffee of the Month! Firewood Bundles Purchase your box of Coffee to go! Warm Up with Winter Breakfast Special Bacon egg & cheese Sausage egg & cheese and Ham egg & cheese $4.99 bacon egg cheese & hash browns $5.49 Try our Coffee Flavors of the Season! Come see our vintage candy shop Cold weather accessories! Salt and windshield wiper fluid. We have over 100 helium balloon choices! We Have a large selection of valentine Gifts! Happy Valentines Day! Dear Dr. Linda, My husband and I had a conference with our daughter’s third-grade teacher and I’ve been upset ever since. She told us that Julie’s a lovely little girl and does well in school. She also added that all her scores are average. I asked what I could do to get her scores above average and she looked at me and said, “She’s fine.” Since kindergarten, I’ve been told that Julie’s a good student with average intelligence. Every year I ask what I should do to help her get above average and I always get the same answer, “She’s doing just fine.” My husband thinks I’m awful because I work with her all the time in hopes of making her above average. I don’t see anything wrong with trying to help her improve, and I’m scared that if I don’t push her, the school will do nothing and she won’t be able to get into a good college. -Caring and Concerned Mom Dear Caring and Concerned Mom, Every parent would like to be able to say that their child is above average. I think that there are some who would rather say that their child has a learning disability than to have them described as “average.” Our culture has a lot to do with that— consider the words of Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion: “Well, that’s the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” When it comes to success, being average or above average in intelligence is only one standard of measurement. To succeed in or out of school, we need many other skills — organizational skills, time management skills, interpersonal relationship skills, perseverance, strategies for setting goals and working toward them. I’ve worked with students who scored average on every intelligence test and still graduated from colleges and universities of note. I’ve also worked with students who scored in the gifted range, and yet never finished college or even applied to go. When we apply for jobs, if a college degree is required, that we graduated and in what academic area is far more important than the college(s) we attended. Unless one’s goal is to become a lawyer on Wall Street, it’s usually not important. There are countless examples of people who score high on intelligence tests who fail to achieve anything of note in the real world and even more examples of well-rounded, intellectually “average” people who break barriers athletically, artistically, musically and academically. Scoring in the average range on school intelligence tests is not only perfectly normal, but it’s perfectly wonderful, too. It’s finding our own unique niches in life that eventually leads to a happy and successful life. Let Julie know how very proud you are to be her mother just the way she is. Otherwise, because your focus is on changing her, you run a greater risk of communicating that she’s not good enough — not tall enough, not thin enough, not smart enough — when she is uniquely and wonderfully perfect. I expect your husband thinks so too. If your daughter enjoys reading, writing stories, or playing math games with you, then keep it up. There is nothing wrong with enriching her environment and spending time with her. But…if she resists the routine, stop and think about what you’re doing. Chances are your efforts are designed to make you feel better. Which means they have much more to do with your own self-esteem than hers. -Dr. Linda Dr. Linda, along with her husband, Dr. Al, own Strong Learning Tutoring and Test Prep serving Westchester and Putnam Counties for over 40 years. Strong Learning tutors students K-12 in any subject, in person or remotely. Drs. Linda and Al are also the authors of “Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids,” available on Amazon and at stronglearning. com. Embracing the unique brilliance of ‘average’ kids DR. LINDA SILBERT STRONG LEARNING
PAGE 12 – MAHOPAC NEWS OPINION FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 alentine’s ay is February 14th Mahopac Flower Shop 603 Route 6 • Mahopac NY 10541 845-628-2949 V D Mahopac Flower Shop will donate $ 5 to the St. John the Evangelist Food Pantry for every dozen roses sold for Valentine’s Day! MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER TO PLAY THE NEW YORK LOTTERY GAMES. PLEASE PLAY RESPONSIBLY. 24-HOUR PROBLEM GAMING HOTLINE: 1-877-8-HOPENY (846-7369) Newburgh, NY RWHudsonValleyNY.com I-84 | Exit 36B I-87 | Exit 17 FORD BRONCO GIVEAWAY Earn Entries All Month Long! Saturday, February 24 • 10pm *Actual model and colors may vary. the process even got going. Is our system for picking presidents broken if 99% of the electorate won’t participate in picking a candidate for November? Probably. The primary system for amassing delegates in order to secure a major party’s endorsement is a relatively recent phenomenon. Most of the reforms in the presidential nomination process came after the tumultuous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Party rules were changed to ensure the delegates to their national nominating convention were selected by primary voting rather than by party leaders at state conventions. Republicans followed suit. The idea was to let the people decide rather than “party bosses.” Like most reforms, there were unintended consequences. Only a small percentage of voters in each party participate in their respective primaries. Those voters are generally the activists and tend to be the most extreme in each of the parties. The characteristics and policy positions that make a candidate appealing to the most strident members of their party may not be helpful in a general election. The result is candidates that appeal to the base of the party, but not necessarily to those in the middle. Polarization among other things is the result. With 50 states, we have 50 different sets of rules for voting in a presidential primary. In most states, you must be a registered member of the party to participate in the primary. Approximately 20 states allow open primaries where a voter can participate in whichever primary they choose regardless of their party affiliation. Independents get to vote in those primaries. Open primaries are attractive because the inclusive electorate more closely resembles the general election, hence more appealing candidates could emerge from those states. Party leaders from both sides don’t like open primaries because they feel it dilutes the power of party membership. However, about 27% of the country identifies as Democrat and about the same percentage identifies as Republican. Fortythree percent identify as independent - a number that has been growing for years. If the goal is to select candidates that will fare well in the general election, why wouldn’t you want to know what independents think? Doesn’t that help build a coalition? Both parties are working hard to button up the primary cycle as quickly as possible, attempting to crown their respective nominees, short-circuiting the entire process. I’d be a fan of cutting to the chase, perhaps, if the product was appealing. But in all likelihood, we will be getting a rematch of the 2020 election. Gallup reports that 70% of those surveyed said they won’t vote for either candidate. It doesn’t look like the system is working. The two party duopoly is not turning out a good product. They are weak institutions, which seem to want to follow the parade rather than lead it. As a recent piece in the Economist opined, “political parties do not plot or strategize anymore to anoint a candidate, at least not with much effect; they have instead become vehicles idling by the curbs of American life until the primaries approach, waiting for successful candidates to commandeer them.” There has been a lot of chatter recently about how each candidate covets a Taylor Swift endorsement, which could make the difference in a tight race. It’s quite possible she may know more about picking presidents than the major parties do. Look how good she’s been at picking football teams. SCOTT FROM PAGE 10 BY MARGIE MAREK GUEST POET the block of cheese wrote a poem sitting on its Asiago all day molding words like clay at night turns blue makes a tasty dip for a chicken wing or two brain melted nerves fried it wants to Brie something it knows how hard it tried in a cruel and lovely case of pareidolia it sees a face it recognized reaches for its mother falls into the jaws of another SNAP mouse-trap “so it goes”* knick-knack-paddy-whack give a dog a bone hi-ho-the-derry-o the cheese stands alone Margie Marek is a resident of Mahopac. a Gouda-poem
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 OPINION MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 13 OLYMPIC Family Diner AMERICAN CUISINE MEDITERRANIAN CUISINE Broiled Stuffed Lobster Dinner 1.5lb lobster with soup or salad 195 Route 6, Mahopac, NY • 845.628.0876 • OPEN 24/7 • Take-Out Orders Available Anniversary Special! Offer available with this coupon, must be presented at the time of service. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Expires 3/1/24 FULL-SERVICE BAR $ 28.99 FREE DESSERT with all dinners! ALL COCKTAILS $ 4.99! ONLY We serve Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Specials everyday! and amazing desserts served daily! Homemade Specials Served Daily Fresh Seafood Specials available everyday 2-5 Senior Menu available for any occasion Party Room Join Us as we Celebrate Our 41st Anniversary! When I was 18, I thought I was a Communist and started writing communist poetry. With high hopes and dreams of immortality, I submitted a poem to an avant-garde magazine in San Francisco. A friend, Brenda, also a Commie, who came up with the poem’s title, “Worker Bees,” gave me the address. In those days it took nearly a week for a letter to go from one coast to the other. Finally, after almost two months of anxious waiting, came the reply. My hands shook as I tore the envelope open. The letter contained just three typed words: “You’re no Communist.” The rejection didn’t bother me as much as the arrogant reply. How did this person know that I wasn’t a Communist? Of course, I was a Communist! Brenda took the news worse than me, saying that “Worker Bees” was as good as anything Karl Marx ever wrote. We drank a bottle of her father’s good champagne to ease the sting of defeat. The bottle was nearly empty when Brenda had her revelation. “He must have been a Communist,” she said. I didn’t understand what she meant at first and Brenda wasn’t offering any clues. But then it suddenly hit me. A real Communist read my poem and found it inauthentic. Perhaps I wasn’t a Communist, after all. Perhaps Brenda wasn’t. We were both 18 and still learning how to be together. Any little thing, my jealousy, her moodiness, caused waves of hurt feelings and resentment. One day at the beach, we swam out to an empty raft and sat down, a little out of breath, with our backs pressed together. Up until that day, I had hidden my jealousy. But now that I didn’t have to look her in the eye, I asked Brenda why she had kept looking in the direction of some jerk wearing a skimpy blue bathing suit. She didn’t deny it. “Because he’s good-looking,” she said. “What would you like me to do? Walk around with my eyes closed?” She noted that my eyes had not been closed, either. It might have ruined the whole day. We could have had an argument and made all kinds of idle accusations. Instead, we had an honest moment. The biggest jerk at the beach that day was me. It was far easier to share our deepest thoughts and feelings, we both found, when we weren’t looking at each other’s faces. It became a fun thing to do, talking like two Buddha’s facing in different directions. We had one rule, though. One of us had to take the role of “examiner.” All the examiner was allowed to do was ask questions. One question always led to another question. We made progress. After we finished the bottle of champagne, Brenda insisted that we needed a session. She played the examiner. Her first question: “Why are you a Communist?” I was a Communist primarily because of the way poor people were exploited by rich people. Our government not only allowed it, but it also devised laws insuring it. Also, Richard Nixon was president, and I was beginning to see how con men and liars have held at least as much sway over the course of human events as honest people. I was angry. I am still angry. I cannot remember exactly what else we said that evening. Brenda kept asking question after question. I kept saying, “I don’t know.” We were both a little drunk. “Do you even know if you are a Communist?” Brenda finally asked. The truth finally came out. I didn’t even really know what a Communist was. We did it almost every day- usually with a glass or two of vino to loosen our tongues. One day, Brenda, in her role as the examiner, asked me if I loved her. I only wished that she could see the tears she put in my eyes. I am not the type who has trouble with the words. If anything, they come too easily. Didn’t she know that she was my sun, my rain, my blossom, my snow? She freed me from sin and showed me how high love could soar. I told her this and more. She listened for a while and asked if I would always feel the same. And then she fell asleep. My father was the happiest member of my family when I denounced Communism, my mother the wisest. She said, “What’s next?” About a year after the jealous incident at the beach, Brenda got involved with Scientology and an actor. It hurt, though I trusted her taste. But then I heard the sad news about her. She married rich. I was a teenage Communist LORENZO GARO OF HUMAN INTEREST Advertising Deadline The advertising deadline for Mahopac News is the Thursday before the next publication date. Advertisements can be submitted by you as a camera-ready PDF via email at [email protected]. We also offer our clients a free ad design service. For more information, call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151.
PAGE 14 – MAHOPAC NEWS OPINION FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Even though 2024 is already up and running, we still have some loose ends to tie up from 2023, and once we tie them up, hopefully they’ll stay put. Here are the stories that the fake news media wish they would have thought of first. Stanley insulated water cups become must-have commodity In 2023, the item most sought-after by people who go around seeking after stuff was the “Quencher,” a 40-ounce Thermos-like drinking flagon from the Stanley Brand drinking cup company, affectionately known as the “Stanley cup.” The huge stainless steel vessel is only slightly smaller than the Stanley Cup awarded to the winner of the NHL finals, but if you are ice skating and you happen to run out of ice, this gargantuan stein will hold enough to get you back home. The cup’s large capacity also makes it possible to travel in your car for extended periods without stopping, provided the capacity of your bladder is at all comparable. However, drinking 40 ounces of anything on a regular basis may be enough for family members to organize an intervention for you. Snake falls out of sky onto woman In Texas, a woman was treated at a hospital for wounds and abrasions after reporting that a snake fell onto her out of the sky and wrapped itself around her arm, whereupon a hawk swooped down and snatched it, in the process jerking her arm in directions that only hawks and snakes would consider normal. It appeared to be a living demonstration of the food chain in action; had an alert fox been wandering in the area, he might have attacked all three of them, moments before a mountain lion jumped out of nowhere and consumed the terrified tetrad, followed by a lawyer, who eats defendants like that for lunch every day in the courtroom. By the way, the next day the lawyer is bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito but recovers, only to die after being stung by criticism. Newly-acquired fourtime MVP Aaron Rodgers injures himself in first series with Jets The NFL’s New York Jets team traded for veteran star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who sustained a season-ending achilles tendon tear just four plays into the first game. This probably occurred right after someone optimistically said, “Wow, it’ll be so great to have a completely healthy Aaron Rogers for at least the next four minutes!” It was ironic news to opponents of the tentime Pro Bowler, who spent his first 18 seasons looking for his achilles heel in the completely wrong place. It’s also eerily reminiscent of when Achilles himself was drafted into the Army of Agamemnon, and everyone said FINALLY, we have the bravest, strongest, ablest warrior who can throw a spear downfield for 40 yards with ZERO interceptions and we’ll finally win a battle, and look what happened. At least Aaron Rodgers damaged the tendon while earning millions of dollars playing a difficult and dangerous sport. By contrast, had it been me, I would have sustained the injury doing something embarrassing like practicing the Electric Slide before a mirror or taking a bath with my cat. Archaeologists discover that ancient people who came to Alaska from Siberia sometimes went back The earliest Native Americans who crossed the land that now rests underwater sometimes crossed back, according to a study published in Current Biology. This confirms what we know today, which is that promises of great pizza, reliable internet connections, readily available public toilets and convenient parking have gone largely unfulfilled. Making that passage is also much harder now that we installed the Bering Strait and got Mexico to pay for it. Police use man’s dog to save him from icy lake In a Lassie-like incident, a man who fell through the ice into a lake in Michigan was pulled out using a disc that was brought to him by his own dog, Ruby. The device, which ironically was shaped like a Frisbee, was attached to a rope, by which the officer and firefighter pulled the man to shore. It is not known whether they were then able to rescue the disc from the dog. My own pet, Gidget, while not technically a rescue dog, is extremely smart, and I’m sure she would have devised a plan by herself without any intervention from the fire department, as long as it involved a tennis ball, a cat, a block-and-tackle, a squeaky toy in the shape of a squirrel and cheese. It isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds, which is convenient because my dog won’t fetch very far. Well, that sums up the year 2023 in a nutshell, and judging from these items, it couldn’t be more apparent that that’s where nuts come from. Say hello at [email protected]. 2023: The year in review RICK MELÉN MAN OVERBOARD 914.455.2158 SpirelliElectric.com • [email protected] Specializing in residential & commercial services. 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FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 15 I regularly meet clients who have been retired for 10 to 15 years and, remarkably, have not had the time to implement an estate and/or elder law plan for themselves. I understand that retirees have busy lives: After all, traveling and playing golf, tennis, pickleball and bocce can be quite time-consuming! (Perhaps not as time-consuming as babysitting, chauffeuring around the grandkids, or arranging and attending doctor appointments, but still…) Yet, for the life of me, I just can’t understand why one would wait until their 80s to implement an elder law and/or estate plan. While implementing an estate plan at any age is better than not doing so at all, the risks and adverse consequences of waiting are significant. For example, delaying the execution of a Durable Power of Attorney with broad gifting provisions and a Health Care Proxy creates the possibility that if one has become incapacitated (mentally and/or physically) and is unable to make financial and personal decisions, they will need to have a Guardian appointed for them. A Guardianship proceeding must be commenced in the Supreme Court of the County where one resides in New York. It is expensive, time-consuming, and can be emotionally taxing for all parties involved, particularly if it ends up being contested. Ultimately, the person appointed as Guardian may still be unable to make the financial transactions necessary to protect the incapacitated person’s assets from the cost of long-term care (especially, if the objective is eligibility for Medicaid home care). This outcome can be easily avoided by executing a broadly drafted Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy long before this could come to pass. The failure to be proactive also rears its ugly head if one has not implemented an elder law plan at least five years before requiring nursing home Medicaid and, once the new law is implemented in 2025 or 2026, at least two-and-a-half years before requiring Medicaid home care. If one waits until their late 70s and/ or 80s to execute and fund a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT), they are increasing the risk that they will need to privately pay for their care in a nursing home or at home, which could potentially dissipate their life savings. It is quite common in the New York metropolitan area for a nursing home to cost between $175,000 to $220,000 per year and for home care to run approximately $150,000 to $175,000 per year. For a person of modest means, this can be devastating. Even for the affluent, the risk of delaying implementation of an estate plan with estate tax planning techniques can be detrimental. This is especially true for New York residents who have estates greater than approximately $7 million in the year 2024, and thus, may be subject to New York’s onerous estate tax cliff. Additionally, while the Federal Estate and Gift Tax exemption will be $13.61 million per person in 2024, said exemption will sunset if it is not extended by Dec. 31, 2025, and on Jan. 1, 2026, it will be reduced to approximately $7 million per person. Moreover, the failure to utilize part or all of the Federal Gift Tax exemption before it sunsets, by gifting assets and implementing an estate tax plan, subjects one’s estate to the potential for significant estate taxes, with a combined Federal and New York estate tax rate of 49.9%. While being proactive is a great idea during any stage in life, the failure to do so when one has reached retirement age can be quite expensive. Anthony J. Enea is the managing attorney of Enea, Scanlan and Sirignano, LLP of White Plains, New York. He focuses his practice on Wills, Trusts, Estates and Elder Law. Anthony is the Past Chair of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), and is the past Chair of the 50+ Section of the NYSBA. He is a Past President and Founding member of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Anthony is also the Immediate Past President of the Westchester County Bar Foundation and a Past President of the Westchester County Bar Association. He is also fluent in Italian. He can be reached at 914-948-1500 or at www.esslawfirm.com. ANTHONY J. ENEA GUEST CORNER FOCUS ON ELDER LAW Being proactive in retirement Risks for waiting to implement an estate plan are significant If one waits until their late 70s and/or 80s to execute and fund a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT), they are increasing the risk that they will need to privately pay for their care in a nursing home or at home, which could potentially dissipate their life savings.’ -Anthony J. Enea Managing attorney of Enea, Scanlan and Sirignano, LLP
PAGE 16 – MAHOPAC NEWS OPINION FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 I n my last column, I promised to present to you a second giant in the history of science, Dr. Katherine Freese. I want to introduce her to you not because she is a groundbreaking scientist, or a world traveling educator, or a renowned author, or a brilliant physicist, or an inspiration for anyone who wants to learn about the universe, but because she is all these things. If you read her book, “The Cosmic Cocktail,” or watch her lectures on YouTube (she has promised me an interview on my cable show, All About Town), you know that she begins each talk with this startling revelation: “It turns out that all the things made of ordinary atomic material (our bodies, the air, the walls, the stars and the planets) only make up 5% of the content of the universe. We’re trying to figure out what the rest-25% dark matter and 70% dark energy-are. I focus on dark matter. We think the best guess is that it is some new kind of particle that we have to identify, so I’m working on it from the theoretical side. People are also building underground detectors to look for it.” You may wonder how a brilliant scientist like Dr. Freese ended up devoting her professional career to exploring a topic as elusive and seemingly obscure as dark matter. She comes from a family of molecular biologists, so it’s not a surprise that scientific exploration is her life’s mission. Dr. Freese was, reportedly, only the second female at the time to major in physics at Princeton. Throughout her career, she has had to overcome institutional chauvinism, which made her work twice as hard as her male counterparts. Given her experience, it makes total sense that one of her career objectives is to inspire young girls to follow her example and choose a career in science. Her life is a testament to the principle that if you really put your mind to it, with hard work and perseverance, no one can prevent you from fulfilling your dreams. What has she accomplished in her career? Her achievements and awards would take a dozen of my columns to list. Most notably, she has been recognized as one of the 17 greatest female scientists of all time. I can’t recommend strongly enough that you pick up her autobiographical book, “The Cosmic Cocktail.” Despite her fame and innumerable accolades, she remains down to earth, humble, approachable, sincere and a great role model for any young person (especially a young girl) considering a career in science. But what is all this talk about dark matter and dark energy? Does it really make a difference in our lives? Why should we even explore these ideas? Dr. Freese would suggest that you can’t walk into any room in your home without seeing something that you use that is the result of scientific advancements. By exploring what the cosmos is made of, we advance our understanding of the universe and prepare ourselves for whatever fabulous changes our world will undergo in the future. Let’s talk about the focus of her work, dark matter. What is it and how do we know it exists? Dark matter, as the name suggests, refers to the invisible substance that pervades the universe and interacts with ordinary matter only through gravitational forces. Its existence was first proposed by Dr. Fritz Zwicky, who, in the 1930s, noticed discrepancies between the observed mass of galaxy clusters and the masses calculated based on visible matter alone. During the ensuing years, extensive research involving observational Understanding the Cosmos JAMES MARTORANO MY PERSPECTIVE SEE MARTORANO PAGE 17 CHASE AWAY THE CHILL with WINTER REBATES from BELL! SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO! ENJOY 0 DOWN, 0% FINANCING! ACT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! LIMITED TIME OFFER 845-600-8004 | www.bellmech.com Heat pumps are a cleaner & healthier alternative to traditional heating & cooling systems. This all in one system will eliminate your need for fossil fuel and help you save thousands. Learn more about rebates & financing options! EXCLUDES SERVICE CONTRACT • EXP 2/29/24 Coupon must be presented at time of service. Cannot be combined with any other offer. $50 OFF ANY OF OUR SERVICES SAVE THOUSANDS in Federal, State and Local Incentives on your new HEATPUMP PROJECT CALL US TODAY!
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Their existence has been verified in deep underground laboratories, such as the Large Underground Xenon (LUX). Millions, perhaps billions, of these particles are flowing through your body as you read this article. You may ask yourself, as a practical matter, what difference does it make? Plenty. Knowing that dark matter wields gravitational pull is critical to understanding the formation and dynamics of galaxies, galaxy clusters and even larger structures such as cosmic filaments. Without dark matter, the universe would be vastly different than the one we know, lacking the gravitational “glue” necessary for the formation of galaxies. Last month, I wrote about Father George Lemaitre, the Father of the Big Bang. His startling proposal in 1931 that the universe began with one universal singularity 14 plus billion years ago was revolutionary and startling at the time. In the 1960s, physicists found decisive evidence supporting his theory. They discovered a sea of radiation called the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which can only be explained by a universe that expands and cools. In the end, Lemaitre’s theory gained the universal acceptance that eluded the good father in his lifetime. However, with science’s new revelations about dark matter and dark energy, could it be time to revisit Lemaitre’s suggestion? Dr. Freese thinks so. She is quick to instruct us that the term big bang is misleading. There was no explosion in the beginning. One way to understand it is to think of the universe as a pot of boiling water. In one instant, over 14 billion years ago, its particles heated up, expanded, collapsed, and collided, everywhere. Thanks to brilliant scientists like Dr. Freese, over the years, the concept of the “big bang” has been replaced by a vision of multiple distinct “phase transitions,” each leaving its mark on the cosmos. Then in February 2023, Dr. Freese and her colleague Martin Winkler put forth their hypothesis that there must have been a second big bang. They proposed a “dark” bang, occurring soon after the original, that produced the particles and forces we now know as dark matter. According to Dr. Freese, “we assumed that there are two sectors of the universe…one that creates the particles of the standard model of particle physics…and one that creates dark matter.” Freese believes that the “dark big bang” happened within a month of the hot big bang and that the former created at least three different types of dark matter particles, all of which she somewhat humorously calls “weird.” As scientists learn more and more, new avenues of exploration are opened. It’s about time, when you consider that, concerning basic concepts like gravity, we haven’t gone much deeper than Isaac Newton did in the 17th century. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched two years ago, caused immense excitement and profound interest in its revelations about the universe. It hasn’t disappointed. At the time that its first images were released, I wondered how photos from space could tell us so much. I discovered that the amazing pictures that the JWST is sending back to us provide invaluable information about density, elemental composition, size, mass, luminosity, star count, and metal composition. A detailed analysis of the shift of light to the red spectrum (redshift) literally tells scientists the time the universe formed. So far, the JWST has discovered at least six galaxies (and counting) other than our own. Wow! Scientifically speaking, these are exciting times. As information comes in, we are lucky that brilliant scientists like Dr. Katherine Freese are around to evaluate what we are discovering. As she has emphatically stated, “humans are driven to understand things and, in the process of doing that, we develop tools that make our survival better and make life better. Humans are explorers, and I put myself in that category. And while we’re at it, we’re also tool makers.” Thank you, Dr. Katherine Freese, for your brilliance and lifelong contributions to our understanding of our universe. Bravo!
PAGE 18 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR State Assemblyman Matt Slater has proposed legislation that would allow local law enforcement to charge drug dealers with a felony if the drugs they sell result in an overdose death. Known as the “Death By Dealer” bill, the measure (A.7985) would give local law enforcement agencies a prosecutorial tool already available on the federal level. Salter said the bill has bipartisan support and told Mahopac News that he hopes to see it come to the floor during this legislative session. “The escalating illicit use of fentanyl poses a growing threat, with those who peddle it and endanger others yet to face appropriate penalties,” Slater said in a press release. “Prosecutors have voiced concerns about cashless bail policies, highlighting the disruption it has caused in prosecuting these cases.” The bill received wide support during a roundtable discussion on the drug crisis that Slater hosted in Yorktown on Jan. 26. In the press release, Slater said the goal of the meeting–which included Congressman Mike Lawler, law enforcement, and prosecutors from Westchester and Putnam, Yorktown town officials, and local drug treatment and prevention advocates–was “to develop a comprehensive framework focused on prevention, treatment, recovery, and enforcement... to address immediate concerns while developing a longer-term strategy to fight the crisis.” Deaths caused by overdose have increased exponentially since the turn of the century. According to the National Institute for Health, opioid overdoses increased nearly sixfold from 1999 to 2021, when nearly 107,000 people died from using opioids in the U.S. Stemming the tide is becoming more challenging due to the deadly combination of fentanyl and technology that makes it easier for dealers to sell drugs. According to Slater, participants in the discussion reported a surge in dealers utilizing social media and online chat platforms to peddle fentanyl-laced narcotics into communities. Slater noted that drug overdose deaths reached “a staggering 300 people a day” in 2022. “We’ve received a lot of insight from those who are on the frontlines saving lives,” Slater said of the meeting. “We are committed to translating this feedback into action. Together, in a bipartisan spirit, we will tackle this issue, recognizing that it’s not about politics—it’s about lives.” According to Slater, recovery advocates saw a decline of up to 50 percent in treatment court participation “due to the lack of leverage provided by bail in these situations.” If signed into law, Slater said his bipartisan “Death by Dealer” bill will give local officials an authority already available to federal prosecutors – to categorize the actions of dealers leading to an individual’s death as a Class A felony. “This measure serves as a compelling deterrent, making dealers reconsider before jeopardizing another person’s life,” Slater’s statement said. “It is critically important that we not only deal with treatment, recovery, education, and prevention but we also deal with enforcement,” Lawler said. “We need to go after those dealing, trafficking, distributing, and manufacturing fentanyl and hold them accountable.” Local police and prosecutors said the bill, if, passed, would could save lives. Putnam County District Attorney Bob Tendy said the bill deserved support and called it “the beginning of taking back and bringing back common sense,” while Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann called the bill “a great first step” and praised Slater for “fighting the good fight.” Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble cited a recent example where the law would have allowed a drug dealer to be held accountable for an overdose death in Yorktown. “Due to the outstanding work of our department, we were able to make an arrest recently of a dealer providing fentanyl-laced drugs resulting in the death of another person,” Noble said. “But we had to go to federal prosecutors with those charges because there is no vehicle in New York State to allow us to prosecute on a local level.” Noble said the discussion left him “optimistic that things are going to get done.” “We cannot arrest our way out of this,” Yorktown Deputy Supervisor Ed Lachterman said. “But what we can do is make sure that we arrest the root cause. This law would give us the ability to go after the people who are intentionally murdering our citizens.” Slater proposes bill to hold drug dealers accountable for OD deaths ‘Death by Dealer’ bill has bipartisan support Assemblyman Matt Slater holding a fentanyl crisis round table at the Yorktown Town Hall PHOTO: SOPHIA CASELNOVA 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 CALL NEW YORK’S ELDER LAW TEAM 914.948.1500 Do you know what steps you can take to avoid your estate going to probate?
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 19 Town Board Wednesday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Ave. Planning Board Thursday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Ave. Environmental Conservation Board Thursday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Ave. Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Thursday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Ave. Recreation Advisory Committee Thursday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. Rec Office Building Sycamore Park, Board of Education Thursday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m. (work session) Falls School, 100 Myrtle Ave. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. Mahopac High School, 421 Baldwin Place Road MUSINGS FROM PAGE 4 Blood Drive With supplies short, the New York Blood Center is holding multiple blood drives in the area. These include Wednesday, Feb. 14, 1:30-7:30 p.m., at Yorktown’s Grace Lutheran Church (3830 Gomer St.); Monday, Feb. 19, noon-6.p.m. at Jefferson Valley Mall (650 Lee Blvd., Jefferson Valley), Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1-7 p.m. at Somers Crystal Hall (34 Hillandale Rd., Yorktown Hgts.); Thursday, Feb. 29, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at Carmel HS (20 Fair St., Carmel); the same day from 3:30-8 p.m. at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School (3401 Old Yorktown Rd., Yorktown Hgts.); and Monday, March 4, from noon-6 p.m. at Jefferson Valley Mall. Visit donate. nybc.org/donor/schedules for more information about these and other local blood drives. Virtual Trivia Night Cove Care Center’s virtual trivia night benefit is returning on Thursday, March 7, at 6:30. Prizes will be awarded to the first-place team and best team name. Teams will compete through four rounds of trivia (eight questions per round), with a surprise “Google proof” final round “to keep it interesting.” Reservations are for teams of up to 10 at $25/per person. If you don’t have a team, Cove Care will find one for you. To register team members in addition to yourself, email development@ covecarecenter.org with your team members’ names and email addresses. As a nonprofit organization, Cover Care relies on support to continue to provide the programs and services it provides to those in need. The center continues to experience a steady rise in services for those struggling with mental health and substance use issues, especially in our youth and senior populations. Learn more a covecarecenter.org/covecare-virtual-trivia-night-2024. Putnam CAP Luncheon & Silent Auction Putnam CAP will host its 38th annual Luncheon & Silent Auction fundraiser on April 11 at noon at St. James the Apostle Church, Doherty Hall in Carmel. Join us as we honor former Putnam CAP Advisory Board member Michael Ingber, posthumously, and Stop & Shop’s Mahopac store for their contributions to the organization. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at www.putnamcap.org. Call the CAP office at 845-278- 8021 for information on sponsorship opportunities for this event. Rec Dept. Winter Programs Registration for the Recreation and Parks Department’s winter programs began on Monday, Jan.8. Classes begin Jan. 29. Visit the department’s Linktree for the catalog. Call 845-628-7888 for more information. Baseball, Softball, T-ball Registration Registration for Mahopac Sports Association baseball, softball, and T-ball programs is open and will run until March 17 (after which there will be a $75 late registration fee). In addition to T-ball (pre-K to kindergarten), there are the baseball programs Pony (coach pitch, grades 1 and 2), Colt (grades 3 and 4), Minors (grades 5 and 6), Majors (grades 7 and 8), and Seniors (grades 9-12). Softball programs include Ponytail (coach pitch, grades 1-3), 10u (grades 4-5) and 12u (grades 6-8). The season starts on April 20 and runs until late June. For more information, visit mas.org. Book Barn Special Offers The Book Barn is currently running a buy-one-get-one-free offer on Tom Clancy novels. Or buy 10 or more books and receive one free book (excluding collectibles) or one free Book Barn tote bag. Need a gift for an avid reader? The Book Barn has $10 gift cards for sale, redeemable for books in the lobby and the Book Barn. Hours are Tuesday, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wednesday, 10 a.m. - noon., Thursday, 4 - 6:45 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wiggles and Giggles Mahopac Library’s Wiggles and Giggles with Ms. Cindy is an active program for toddlers ages 13-24 months who are walking independently and their caregivers. Each session features songs, rhymes, movement, fingerplays, and book-sharing designed to build early literacy skills. Children can attend one of two Friday sessions per week, from 10 - 10:30 a.m., and 11- 11:30 a.m. The last session will be on March 8. No class will be held on Feb. 23. Learn more at mahopaclibrary.org Food Pantry The food pantry at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church is open every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Parish Social Hall, 221 East Lake Blvd. in Mahopac. Call 845-628-2006 or visit sjtemahopac.org/events/ food-pantry/20231110 for more information. GOVERNMENT AT WORK SEE MUSINGS PAGE 31 Act now to lower your Flu/COVID risk Optum Medical Care, P.C. (“Optum Medical Care”) is a physician owned and led practice having complete authority for all medical decision-making and patient care through its physicians and other licensed professionals. Optum, through its owned management organizations, provides non-clinical administrative services to support Optum Medical Care and its physicians. Neither Optum nor its management companies employs, engages, or supervises physicians or other licensed professionals, or determines or sets the methods, standards, or conduct of the practice of medicine or health care provided by Optum Medical Care or by any of its licensed professionals. “Part of Optum” reflects that Optum Medical Care is part of Optum’s effort to support forward-thinking physician practices in helping their patients live healthier lives. Optum is a registered trademark of Optum, Inc. in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. All other brand or product names are the property of their respective owners. Because we are continuously improving our products and services, Optum reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice. Optum is an equal opportunity employer. © 2024 Optum, Inc. All rights reserved. WF12832462 01/24 During the peak season for respiratory illnesses, the most effective way to reduce your risk of Flu and COVID-19 is by getting vaccinated. Be proactive about maintaining good health for yourself and your family. How do you know if it’s the Flu or COVID-19? Both are contagious and impact the respiratory system which can lead to severe illness. Some shared symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, and muscle aches. It is important to get tested for exact diagnosis and treatment. Who is at risk for Flu or COVID-19 complications? Those aged 65 and older, pregnant women, and adults with chronic health conditions who have been hospitalized are most at risk. Additionally, children under the age of 5, especially those under 2 years old, are also at a higher risk of facing severe complications. How do I keep myself and my family protected? To prevent illness from these two viruses, it is important to ensure that you are up to date on your vaccinations. Additionally, practicing general safety measures daily can be beneficial. These include regular handwashing, avoiding contact with individuals who are sick, and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. If you are already sick, refrain from contact with others. Importance of a primary care physician Having a primary care physician, and receiving regular preventive care, can assist in maintaining good health and detecting problems early on. Keep preventative care visits separate from those for sickness, injury, or routine care for ongoing medical conditions. Scan the QR code or visit optum.com/tri
MAHOPAC NEWS – FEBRUAGiancarlo Rei Cosenza, 9, creates melted wax art Warren Helms creates a D.I.Y. lava lamp with the help of high school students Molly McGourty, Fiona O’Boyle and Andrew Coté, Timothy and Thomas Theanthong created 3D printer filament from recycled soda bottles. Dylan Fumusa with his hovercraft Sixth grader Elizabeth Harman explains to Superintendent Christine Tona how different colors have different temeratures when next to the skin. Olivia Mondon and Talia Lividini showed how music can set a mood that’s very different from the lyrics in the song. www.summertrailsdaycamp.com CURRENTLY HIRING STAFF! CALL FOR A TOUR! 914.245.1776 AWARD WINNER LIC. REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATE BROKER Grace Vinciguerra BUYING845-62WE WILL COWE BUY: Gold • Sterling SJewelry • CoinPaintings • BronClocks • CollectiAntiques • ETItems for saPAGE 20
ARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 PAGE 21 From crime-scene tech to a working hovercraft, cookie chemistry to a foot-sized suspension bridge, paintings made by sound waves to plastic bottles recycled as 3D printer filaments, Mahopac Middle School’s annual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Fair in late January was packed with ingenuity and fun. Mahopac News was on hand to sample the presentations and a few cookies, but in the latter case, only because the chemistry of food was at the center of a few experiments. We ate there for the science. Here are the winners in each category and grade. The winning students will have the opportunity to present their work at the Tri-County Science and Technology Fair this spring. CHEMISTRY Third Place: Krystiana Cuesta, Lexi Clethen, and Jessica Aguirre Serrano: Muffin Density Second Place: Sal DiLapi, Jake Canariato, Dean O’Halloran: What Filtration System Will Lead to the Best Drinking Water? First Place: Alana Ziegelhofer, Meghan Crowe: Crime Scene Chemistry PHYSICS & MATHEMATICS Third Place: Sabrina Servedio: Different Colors, Different Heat Absorption Second Place: Maximus Colon: Marble Roller Coaster; What Does It Take to Loop to Loop? First Place: Nika Thaqi: Air or Skill?! EARTH SCIENCE Second Place: Julianna Paleo, Giuliana Meyerson, and Jocelyn Gonzalez: Crystaltopia First Place: Ryan Hirsch, Lucas Kassman, and Ben Rucker: What Is Ferrofluid? HEALTH & MEDICINE Third Place: Talia Lividini and Olivia Monzon: How Music Manipulates the Mind Second Place: Rowyn Hearns, Alyssa Traynor, and Aurora Modesto: What Age Group and Gender Has the Fastest Neurological Transmission Reaction? First Place: Charlotte Travis: Are You Smarter Than a 7th-grade Science Student? BIOLOGY Third Place: Jasmine DeFino: Organic Vs. Nonorganic Second Place: TayTay Wy: Should You Trust the Five-Second Rule? First Place: Amaya Lim, Jamie Zambardino: 5 Second Rule ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS Third Place: Santiago Quijada: Do Video Games Affect Reflexes? Second Place: Gretchen Mueller, Arya Pellegrino: Weather Racer 3.0 First Place: Maddison Harmon, Maksym Ilchuk: Bubblelicious Lab ENVIRONMENT Second Place: Bridget Morrione: Plant Growth Using Different Types of Soil First Place Alexa Pizzuto, Liliana Torsiello: Acid Rain vs. Life OVERALL 6TH GRADE Third Place: Maddie Kehayas, Alexa DeGiorgio: Skittles Second Place: Gianna Carey: The Recipe for Success: Cookies and Refrigeration First Place: Sal DiLapi, Jake Canariato, and Dean O’Halloran: What Filtration System Will Lead to the Best Drinking Water? OVERALL 7TH GRADE Third Place: Krystiana Cuesta, Lexi Clethen, and Jessica Aguirre Serrano: Muffin Density Second Place: Nika Thaqi: Air or Skill?! First Place: Charlotte Travis: Are You Smarter Than a 7th-grade Science Student? OVERALL 8TH GRADE Third Place: Lynsie Haase, Ana Sajaia, Valentina Dedvukaj: Growing Sugar Crystals Second Place: Rowyn Hearns, Alyssa Traynor, and Aurora Modesto: What Age Group and Gender Has the Fastest Neurological Transmission Reaction? First Place: Shivonne Barry, Alana Ziegelhofer, Meghan Crowe: Crime Scene Chemistry Full STEAM ahead! Luca Furfaro (blue sweatshirt) and Dominico Algieri (red shirt) show what happens when you mix Coke and Mentos. First Place winners Alana Ziegelhofer, Meghan Crowe and Shivonne Barry with their Crime Scene Chemistry project PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL (914) 248-6220 Progressive-Vet.com 268 Route 202 • Somers, NY 10589 Does your pet need an Ultrasound or Echocardiogram? Say goodbye to long wait times and uncertainties! Introducing a revolutionary pet healthcare solution — QuickScan Pet Ultrasound! INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED SPEEDY DIAGNOSIS CONVENIENCE EXPERT ANALYSIS CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY PEACE OF MIND Your pet’s health matters to us, and with QuickScan Pet Ultrasound, we’re committed to providing the fastest and most reliable diagnostic service available. DON’T WAIT—give your pet the care they deserve with QuickScan Pet Ultrasound today! Come See Us At Our New Location! PUTNAM WINDOW TINT AUTO , COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL WINDOW FILM Follow us on Instagram 1065 Route 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 • Paint protection film • Vehicle lettering • Full Service vehicle wraps • gift cards available Over 35 in Business Years G ONLY 8-0362 OME TO YOU! 53 YEARS! Silver ns nzes bles C. le? Call us!
PAGE 22 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Sports BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Mahopac senior Nick Greco (see “Athlete Spotlight” on pg. 28) earned a milestone in the Wolf Pac’s home tournament on Jan. 27, which saw six wrestlers make the podium. The opportunity to go for triple digits in wins at home felt like fate. “It lined up perfectly,” said the 160-pounder, who didn’t waste any time securing the victory with a 46-second pin. “I’m always trying to not play with my food.” As Greco had Joe Davis viewing the ceiling, Chase Heidt was looking up courtesy of Henry Ramirez. The mats adjoined, coach Steve Tornambe had his head on a swivel. But eventually, the coach felt confident about where to focus attention. With a lead in the waning seconds and Heidt pretty well tied up, “I knew Henry was going to win,” Tornambe said. Turning to Greco, the pins came almost simultaneously. So the roar from the Mahopac crowd was twice as nice. Maybe a little louder for Ramirez, because the 124-pounder looked finished in the first period. The Shenandoah wrestler shot the takedown and sent Ramirez to his back with a cradle. The referee on the mat and the Shenandoah coaches ready to celebrate, there remained light between Ramirez’s shoulderblades and the blue surface. “I heard my coach,” the sophomore said of Tornambe, and 20 seconds later, Ramirez was on top with a reversal. Of course, Ramirez’s determination didn’t come out of nowhere. “We train the room hard,” said Tornambe. “We put them in situations--never give up; keep moving forward.” Ramirez exemplified the mantra but still trailed 6-2 going into the third. So Ramirez’s decision to go neutral was easy. “Henry is great on his feet,” said Tornambe. And Ramirez quickly made good on the words. Ten seconds in, he had a takedown and sent Heidt to his back for a 7-6 lead. One more time, Ramirez picked up three more points and both Mahopac wrestlers had the championship in their sites. First was Greco, and the standard Tornambe reaction followed. “A 10 out of 10,” said Greco of the big bear hug that Mahopac wrestlers have come to expect from their coach. Nineteen seconds elapsing, Tornambe was able to have a front-row seat for Ramirez too. Home tourney gives Mahopac wrestlers momentum into post season Nick Greco with Coach Tornambe Nick Greco in the finals, about to win his 100th match. PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL WRESTLING Wolf Pac’s Greco wins 100th SEE WRESTLING PAGE 23 Henry Ramirez PHOTO: RICH MONETTI 66 Miller Road, Mahopac 845-628-2050 www.mavistireofmahopac.com With This Coupon • Expires 3/31/24 $10.00OFF Synthetic Oil change (MOST CARS) 25%OFF 25 % OFF STRUTS & SHOCKS With This Coupon • Expires 3/31/24 CARING FOR YOUR CAR & OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 35 YEARS! The Friendly Mavis Team
“Henry put him to his back and finished the job,” Tornambe said. The finals did have one more Mahopac wrestler line up for the gold, but he was not able to land at the top of the podium. Charles Przymylski faced Smithtown East’s Matthew McDermott and his 30-1 record. Przymylski was taken down in the first and fell behind 5-0 in the second when McDermott registered a near fall. Still, Przymylski didn’t relent. He fought to his feet in the second and got a reversal to pull within three. Unfortunately for the Wolf Pac, McDermott escaped and got another takedown. In a 7-2 final, Tornambe knew what his 116-pounder was up against. “That kid was tough,” the coach said. But he didn’t doubt Przymylski’s resolve. “Charles is a warrior, and he hates to lose,” Tornambe added. “Charles will move forward like a rhino. That’s what he does, and he’s an example [to the rest of the team].” A notch down, Rob DeMauro kept moving forward too. Getting through the wrestle-backs, the 138-pounder finished third. “I took him down, locked the cradle, and pinned him,” DeMauro said. With the postseason ahead, DeMauro is measured about his goals. “I want to make it to the sectionals and do the best I can,” he said. A good day was had by Will Melendez too and ended in the consolation round, where the 170-pounder began on his feet. “I bobbed his head down a bit, I saw an opening and knew when to go,” Melendez said. On the bottom in the second, the senior got a defensive pin. “I hooked his leg, wrapped his arm, and launched myself backward,” Melendez said. Good for fifth place, Melendez proudly took home his hardware “I’m a first-year wrestler, putting in work and effort,” he said. “To be on the podium is a very rewarding feeling.” Last but not least, Pace Zeiler wrestled to a sixth-place finish. Losing his consolation round match, he had to take some risky shots in the final period. “They were a little sloppy,” he said of his moves in the and the 6-2 loss. Still, Zeiler felt good about being strong from the bottom with his standup. And like the rest of his teammates, he has his eyes on the postseason. “I want to make it to the sectionals and place in the top six,” he said. FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 SPORTS MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 23 FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM @MAHOPACSOCCER FOR THE LATEST NEWS! For More info visit mahopacsoccer.com KINDERGARTEN SOCCER...$60* IN-HOUSE 1ST-9TH GRADE...$100* STARTING APRIL 13th Coaches and volunteers needed at all levels Season set to start on April 13 for K-9th Grades Registration for Pre-K, Summer Camp & Travel Tryouts Coming Soon! MAHOPAC SOCCER SPRING REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! MAHOPAC SOCCER SPRING REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! *early bird pricing ends 2/2, registration closes 3/23 17 Miller Rd. Mahopac 845-621-1222 RooneyOrtho.com Rooney Orthodontics Children & Adults Will Melendez PHOTO: RICH MONETTI Charles Przymylski PHOTO: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL WRESTLING FROM PAGE 22
PAGE 24 – MAHOPAC NEWS SPORTS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR The Mahopac varsity gymnastics team is taking some momentum into the postseason after a strong performance against Scarsdale at Eclipse on Senior Night (Jan. 25). “Another outstanding team effort,” said coach Vin Collins. “It was our Senior Night and we always try a little bit harder for our seniors. Our seniors, Alessia [Gristina] and Kaitlyn [Palange] led the way with Alessia having her best vaults of the season and Kaitlyn having her best competition this season in the all-around.” Wolf Pac gymnasts won all four events, with Lexie Castrataro topping the score sheet for the vault and floor exercise and Kaitlyn Palange taking the honors on the bars and beam. Mahopac was especially strong on the floor, with Castrataro, Palange, Lia Dimase, Anna Carinci, Kelsie Thimm, and Riley Hughes locking out the top six. “We had our highest team score on floor with Kaitlyn, Lexie; Lia, Anna, Kelsey, and Riley having their best routines of the season,” Collins said. “They are all Mahopac gymnastics squad shines on Senior Night Sophia Lombardi prepares to start her beam routine. Lexie Castrataro performs her floor routine. PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL Kaitlyn Palange SEE GYMNASTICS PAGE 25 FOR ALL YOUR PLUMBING, HOT WATER HEATER & GAS NEEDS 60 Years of Excellence 719 Rte. 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 • 845.628.3924 • beeandjay.com TAKE $25 OFF YOUR NEXT SERVICE CALL! VALID ON CALLS OVER 1 HOUR. Happy Valentine’s Day! 650 Lee Blvd., Jefferson Valley Mall 914-719-3347 Winter School Break Open 7 Days 2/17 - 2/25 _ 2 Locations for For Fun! SWIFTIE PARTY FRI 2/16 • Taylor look a like contest • Friendship Bracelets • Karaoke etc. Weekday hours during winter school break COME AS YOUR FAVORITE TAYLOR
Senior Alessia Gristina performs her beam routine. FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 SPORTS MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 25 Kelsie Thimm performs her beam dismount as coaches Castrataro and Collins look on. PHOTOS: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL adding difficult tumbling passes and executing them well. Coach Jamison has done a great job with all of our floor routines.” While Mahopac dominated on the floor, Collins said there’s been progress across the board. “Anna, very quietly, had her best allaround competition of the season, and our seventh grader, Elia, had her best floor routine of the season, and Sophia had her best beam routine of the season,” he explained. “Lia has added more difficulty on the floor and had her best routine of the season, and Lara had her best uneven bars routine of the season. Kayla and Keira had great floor routines as well. “This is the point in the season when you want to execute well with your most difficult skills and have some fun – and we’re doing that,” Collins added. “The coaches are proud of the great individual and team effort!” Mahopac was set to compete in the divisional tournament on Tuesday (after Mahopac News’s deadline) and the sectionals today (Feb. 8). The state championships take place in Buffalo on March 2. GYMNASTICS FROM PAGE 24 Anna Carinci
PAGE 26 – MAHOPAC NEWS SPORTS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Join us for a fun night of trivia and laughs to support the local community programs of CoveCare Center! Thursday, March 7th - 6:30pm $25 per player Invite your friends & family - HOST A TRIVIA PARTY - Support a great cause! Prizes for the Winning Team & Best Team Name We are in need of EVENT & TRIVIA ROUND SPONSORS! To sponsor or register, scan the QR code or visit: https://covecarecenter.org/covecare-virtual-trivia-night-2024/ For more details contact: [email protected] Join us for a fun night of trivia and laughs to support the local community programs of CoveCare Center! Thursday, March 7th - 6:30pm $25 per player Invite your friends & family - HOST A TRIVIA PARTY - Support a great cause! Prizes for the Winning Team & Best Team Name We are in need of EVENT & TRIVIA ROUND SPONSORS! To sponsor or register, scan the QR code or visit: https://covecarecenter.org/covecare-virtual-trivia-night-2024/ For more details contact: [email protected] Join us for a fun night of trivia and laughs to support the local community programs of CoveCare Center! Thursday, March 7th - 6:30pm $25 per player Invite your friends & family - HOST A TRIVIA PARTY - Support a great cause! Prizes for the Winning Team & Best Team Name We are in need of EVENT & TRIVIA ROUND SPONSORS! To sponsor or register, scan the QR code or visit: https://covecarecenter.org/covecare-virtual-trivia-night-2024/ For more details contact: [email protected] www.aonpt.com GOODROW BUILDING 862 Route 6 Mahopac NY 10541 (845) 208-0963 MILL POND OFFICES 293 Route 100 • Suite 107 Somers, NY 10589 (914) 276-2520 BREWSTER 3 Starr Ridge Road Brewster, NY 10509 (845) 279-9288 The Road To Recovery Starts Here BY SKIP PEARLMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER The Wolf Pac boys basketball team picked up a couple of impressive road wins last week in Dutchess County, with Mahopac opening the week at home, and taking care of business against RCK, 62-48, in one of three league victories. Mahopac traveled to Arlington last Friday night and handed the Admirals a 41-31 defeat, and the next night the Wolf Pac picked up an impressive 38-32 victory in a defensive battle against Poughkeepsie in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament at Dutchess Community College. Mahopac (16-1, 8-0 league) also clinched a league title with Saturday’s win over the Pioneers. “I’m just super proud of them,“ Wolf Pac coach Matt Calabro said. “That game was a big test, a good opportunity to be part of a good cause, and play on a college court. And Poughkeepsie played well. “A night earlier at Arlington was also an emotional night,” Calabro added. Arlington had a pre-game ceremony for a former player who died in a car accident recently. “They (both teams) showed a lot of class,” Calabro said. “And we controlled the game from the tip. We opened strong and played really well. Our defense has been keeping us in every game. Saturday (against Poughkeepsie) we came out flat, and went down 19-7 in the second quarter. But I was very proud of the way we responded.“ That response came in the form of a 31-13 run to close out the game. Senior Daniel Dedvukaj led the charge with 21 points, and senior Danny Koch added seven. At Arlington, Dedvukaj had the hot hand with 18 points, Koch added nine, and John Kearney had eight, as the Indians built a 23-14 halftime lead, and carried a 36-24 advantage into the fourth. “We played strong tonight,” senior captain Liam Scanlon said after the win. “We dominated from start to finish and got great play from Daniel (Dedvukaj) down low. John and Danny were awesome, as usual, and Matt Reilly’s been stepping up recently, so it’s been a real team effort.” Scanlon said the team has been keeping a low-key, “we-haven’tdone-anything-yet,” approach to the record. “We’re just trying to win as many games as possible,” he said. “None of us really care what the actual number is. We’re just hoping to carry our best ball into February, and March.” Hot Pac boys roll into final week of regular season hoping to fine-tune for playoff run Danny Koch (3) glides to the rim last Friday night at Arlington. PHOTOS: SKIP PEARLMAN Mahopac senior Daniel Dedvukaj (23) led the Pac in scoring in three wins last week. BASKETBALL SEE BASKETBALL PAGE 27
Mahopac opened the week at home the prior Wednesday with a routine, 62-48, win over the Storm. Dedvukaj led Mahopac with 22 points, Scanlon added 14, and Connor Ferrieri had eight. The team got contributions from many sources last week as a bug traveled through the group, and took out several team members during different games. Dedvukaj found his scoring touch in three wins last week, and the Pac has been getting solid contributions from soph Matt Reilly and senior Jalen Jones. “I think Daniel has been starting to feel healthy, and feel good again,“ Calabro said. “And our seniors (Scanlon, Kearney, Koch, Ferrieri) continue to play their butts off. We feel like we are the best rebounding and defensive team in (Class) AA. “Matt Reilly has also been giving us really good minutes, coming into his own,“ the coach added. “And Jaylen has been playing really well. Last week when Koch was sick, Kearney did an awesome job at point guard. He played very unselfish, and moved the ball well.“ The Wolf Pac had three games remaining in regular-season action, and was scheduled host John Jay EF Tuesday (Feb, 6) on Senior Night, play at Carmel Thursday (Feb. 8) at 6:30 p.m., and Mahopac host Somers (12-5, and a potential second-round playoff matchup) 1 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 10). FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 SPORTS MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 27 BY SKIP PEARLMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER The Mahopac HS girls picked up a 51-49 win last Monday (Jan. 29) over Poughkeepsie, and the Pac followed that up with a 72-50 loss to RCK Wednesday and a 45-40 Senior Night victory over Arlington last Friday night at home. In Friday night’s win, the team honored seniors Fiona O’Boyle (12 points), Giana Puckhaber (9 points) and Adrianna Pranzo (8 points). Soph Mady Ford added 8 points in the win. The prior Wednesday at RCK, O’Boyle led the Pac with 21 points, and Puckhaber added 11 in the loss. Ford led Mahopac (12-6) with 11 points in the win over Poughkeepsie, O’Boyle added 10, and Puckhaber had 7. “I feel like we’re looking good at 12-6, toward the end of the regular season,” coach Mairead Hynes said. “It’s been nice to see our players step up in some close games. “We have two big games coming up that can impact our playoff standings,” Hynes added of games vs John Jay EF (Feb. 6) and Lakeland (Feb. 8), “and we’re still looking to get better each day, and use what we have learned from these games in our sectional games.” Mahopac girls top Admirals, Pioneers, fall to Ketcham Seniors Adrianna Pranzo, Fiona O’Boyle, and Julianna Mangione PHOTO COURTESY MAIREAD HYNES BASKETBALL BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 26 Senior John Kearney (21) turns the corner at Arlington. PHOTO: SKIP PEARLMAN Fundraiser to benefit people with disabilities Friday, April 12, 2024 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm Travelers Rest, 25 Rte. 100, Ossining, NY 10562 $75 per person includes: 6:30 - 10 pm - Beer & Wine Open Bar 6:30 -7 pm - Appetizers 7 - 8 pm - Buffet dinner, dessert, soda/coffee 8 - 10 pm - 9 Comedians For tickets go to: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/b832fde8-d716-4a4f-af98-c73a84064a2a Or scan the QR code: CAREERS Support Solutions is a private non-profit that finds productive employment for individuals with disabilities. We provide on-the-job training and ongoing support services at no cost to our clients, their families or employers. Sponsorships Available Be Prepared. For Life. Strengthening our youth through Scouting. For more information check us out at Facebook or contact us at [email protected] Adventure Awaits! Join Troop 173 Yorktown! Troop 173 Yorktown— Enriching the lives of our youth through leadership, service to the community, and outdoor adventures. BSA Troop 173 Yorktown Serving the Community since 1965.
PAGE 28 – MAHOPAC NEWS SPORTS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY BRETT FREEMAN PUBLISHER In the competitive world of high school wrestling, reaching the 100-win milestone is a remarkable achievement that few wrestlers attain. Nick Greco, an 18-year-old senior at Mahopac High School, has joined this elite group, notching his 100th win on Jan. 27. This achievement highlights not just Greco’s skill and dedication to the sport, but also marks him as one of Mahopac’s finest athletes in recent years. Greco’s journey in wrestling began in the third grade and has spanned over a decade. His commitment to the sport, coupled with a rigorous training regime and strategic mindset, has led him to this significant moment in his high school wrestling career. As he looks towards the future, with college on the horizon, we caught up with Nick to discuss his wrestling journey, training routines, and the challenges and triumphs of his high school wrestling career. As of this interview (which was conducted on Jan. 30), Greco was undecided on which college he would be attending and whether he was going to continue his wrestling journey, as there were several factors in play. But the 160-pound middle-weight, who was 33-5 this season when we spoke, reflected on the past decade of wrestling. So first of all, congratulations on your hundredth win. How long have you been wrestling? So this is actually my 10th year, so it’s a decade of experience now. I started in third grade. How often do you train and do you train year round? So for the first, I’d say seven or eight years of my wrestling career, I’d be training year round, whether it’s with the Mahopac youth or if it’s with a club team called Empire. But for my junior and senior year, I started just training for the season. It’s kind of just based on time, you know, not to say that I didn’t enjoy giving up all my time for the sport, but at a certain point it becomes a lot, especially when I have to focus on school and grades as well as getting a job. Do you look for a better practice partner or someone you can beat, or are there advantages to both? You know my dad used to always tell me that you have to make the best of your wrestling partner, whether you’re better than them or they’re better than you. You can focus on what you’re not good at or what you are good at. So if you’re going against someone who’s better than you, you don’t always have to be on the defensive. You can always look for your shot or what you’re best at and see if it was able to work on those higher level guys. But then at the same time when you’re going against those lower level guys, you can try and switch it up. Something that I always tried to do was make it as if I’m ambidextrous and I would wrestle with my left leg forward or I would try and work things on the opposite side that I would normally do. And it’s definitely helped me out a lot as I am now in high Nick Greco grapples to glory Mahopac wrestler reflects after hitting century mark ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT SEE SPOTLIGHT PAGE 29 Nick Greco PHOTO: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL WHY DO WE ADVERTISE IN HALSTON MEDIA’S TO ADVERTISE WITH US, CALL BRETT FREEMAN AT (845) 208-8151 LOCAL NEWSPAPERS? “People recognize us all over town and compliment us on our advertising. Our ability to reach patients and inform the community about different aspects of our practice has allowed us to grow.” - Drs. Richard Bridgham and Anita Barr Perrone Family CHIROPRACTIC 925 Route 6 • Mahopac, NY 10541 • Tel: (845)628-3805 Serving the Mahopac Community for Over 25 Years We will take care of you like family. FOR A LIMITED TIME CALL US TODAY FOR DETAILS GET 10% OFF UP LOSE TO 40lbs IN 42 DAYS! AND OUR PROGRAM IF YOU WANT: Less Pain, to Feel Great, and Better Health... CALL US TODAY! We utilize many different types of therapy and treatment to get you feeling your best. Chiropractic • Massage Therapy • Acupuncture Spinal Decompression • Neurofeedback • Weight Loss
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 SPORTS MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 29 SPOTLIGHT FROM PAGE 28 Nick Greco is congratulated by his coach after winning his 100th match. PHOTO: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL SEE SPOTLIGHT PAGE 32 school, especially in top and bottom. You know on top I switch sides and it kind of messes with the other person’s mental a lot. What’s more important, strength or endurance? I would say that in the beginning of the match, strength is definitely a good factor. So if you do have a better opportunity or you know, a chance comes where you are able to utilize that strength, it’s definitely very important. But at the same time, if you’re going to get someone who’s around the same skill levels you are, you’re going to need that endurance or unfortunately you’re going to come out on the bottom end of that arrangement. What do you eat on the night before a competition and on the day of a competition? Dinner ends up, at least around the season, being the same meal. It’s always going to be grilled chicken, get a vegetable on the plate and maybe a quick carb like some white rice. And then every day after weigh-ins, immediately I have an everything bagel with cream cheese, which, you know, obviously isn’t the best thing, but it’s kind of a routine and a habit that I’ve built for the past four years. So I’m sticking with it; seems to be somewhat of a ritual for me. So, a little bit of a superstition? Yeah. What advice would you give to youth wrestlers? I would say the biggest thing is to always stick with it. I’m a firm believer in that everything great has to come with consistency. So if you’re not consistent with something that you want to be exceptional at, you’re never going to get to where you want to be. So I’d say the first and most important thing is just to stay with what you’re doing. How much of wrestling would you say is mental and how much is physical? I would say that mental is a very big part and much more than it is for other sports because when it really comes down to it, it’s just you versus the other person. So if your head’s in a bad spot before a match, it could be a detriment in your match. The physical obviously plays its own parts too. But at the same time, you could be weaker or slower than someone and still come out on top of a match. What do you prefer, top, bottom or neutral? We’re always taught to choose down because you know, it’s a life or death situation when you’re on bottom and your only choice is to get out. So essentially it’s just a free point. Do you plan a match ahead of time or do you improvise based on your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses? If you’re trying to look for certain things and that’s only what you’re going for, it’s just not going to happen. So you have to go off of what you have and what you’re given instead of just forcing something into existence. Who has been the most instrumental in your development as a wrestler? I’d have to say my father. He’s the one who’s gotten me into the sport and over the time, at least in my youth career, he was always the one in my corner as my coach. And did your dad wrestle as a kid? He did. He wrestled in high school and now he’s pretty much the only one I’m Elder Law Wills, Trusts & Estates Estate Planning Medicaid Applications Guardianships Probates Elder Law & Estate Planning A Tradition of Excellence in Elder Law (845) 621-8640 thefellergroup.com 625 Route 6, Mahopac NY 10541 We make home & hospital visits Contact the team today! (845) 621-8640
PAGE 30 – MAHOPAC NEWS LEISURE FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 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 CLUES ACROSS 1. One point south of due east 4. Coagulated blood 8. Fortifying ditch 10. Devotee of Hinduism 11. Trunk of a tree 12. Bank note 13. Capital of Guam 15. Study again 16. Covered with hoarfrost 17. Opening 18. Legendary Rolling Stone 21. Stray 22. Computer storing system 23. Signal 24. Pitching statistic 25. Human being 26. Malaysian isthmus 27. The “Blonde Bombshell” 34. A gland 35. Bluish greens 36. Endangered 37. Three-dimensional 38. In a way, precipitated 39. God associated with dissolution 40. Blemished 41. Flow or leak slowly 42. Disco legends The Bee __ 43. Midway between south and southeast CLUES DOWN 1. A way to board 2. Get down 3. Highly seasoned sausage 4. First day of month 5. Eurasian shrubs 6. The organ that bears the ovules of a flower 7. Small lake 9. Belief 10. Sunrooms 12. Metric weight unit 14. Vasopressin 15. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! 17. One-time family room staple 19. Got back together 20. Anger 23. Sang merrily 24. Sea eagle 25. Military men 26. Kilo yard (abbr.) 27. Found in the sea 28. Protects from weather 29. Type of medicine 30. City along the Rhine 31. Animal disease 32. Martini ingredients 33. Get away 34. Lack of disunity 36. One-time European Commission officer PUZZLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF 01/25/24 It’s that much more fun when hosting or attending a game watch party for the Big Game, as food and fellow fans only add to the enjoyment of the competition on the field. Though many foods are at home during game watch parties, perhaps no dish is more associated with football than chicken wings. Wings make the ideal food when watching football, and this recipe for “Grilled Buffalo Wings” courtesy of cookbook author Katie Lee Biegel and The Food Network can make a delicious addition to your game day spread. Grill some wings for the Big Game Grilled Buffalo Wings Yields 6 to 8 servings 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 3 pounds whole chicken wings 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/3 cup hot sauce 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon honey Directions 1. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a large bowl, toss the wings with the salt mixture to evenly coat. 2. Preheat a gas grill to medium heat (about 350 F). 3. Place the wings on the grill, crowding them together so that they are all touching (this goes against the conventional wisdom of giving meat room so it doesn’t steam; you want them to steam so they stay moist). Grill, flipping the wings every 5 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes of cooking. 4. In the meantime, heat the butter, hot sauce, vinegar, and honey in a saucepan over low heat and whisk to combine. 5. In a clean large bowl, toss the wings with the sauce. Turn the heat up on the grill to medium-high. Use tongs to remove the wings from the sauce and put them back on the grill until the skins crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Put the wings back in the bowl with the sauce, toss and serve.
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 31 the submerged land to the Putnam County Supreme Court in 2010, but it was moved to nearby Westchester because the Putnam County judges recused themselves due to a conflict of interest. Justice Francis Nicolai of Westchester County Supreme Court ruled in July 2010 that the town “has the right to regulate the construction of [the] docks and slips.” The Appellate Court reversed that decision, effectively siding with the Melchners and the state’s—not the town’s—jurisdiction of the Marina docks and the land beneath Lake Mahopac. In 2016, the Melchners discovered that the town had withdrawn the 2008 criminal proceeding without telling anyone. But according to Isaacs, the town was not allowed to do that. The Supreme Court granted a motion to restore the case and then later dismissed the charges. In July 2017, the Melchners filed a malicious prosecution complaint against the town and various individuals, including former and current members of the Town Board and some town employees. In this week’s 18-page decision, Judge Victor Grossman ruled in favor of the Melchners, writing that “In the face of substantial evidence that jurisdiction for the 2008 criminal prosecution was wholly lacking, [the town has] not [averted] as a matter of law all questions of fact on the issue of probable cause. Effectively ignoring the clear-cut legal precedents cited above, the defendants focus instead on the course of prior proceedings by the town against the Melchners. “This is unavailing,” the judge continued. “Unlike the 2008 criminal proceeding, which was directed exclusively at docks located in state-owned navigable waters, the prior proceedings concerned...walkways and other structures on the Iand over which the town possessed regulatory jurisdiction. Moreover, those proceedings commenced before the Melchners acquired a submerged land license from the state Offices of General Services for the operation.” The judge did, however, grant a summary judgment and dismiss several defendants named in the case because they were not on the Town Board in 2008 and had no involvement in the 2008 prosecution; they included Doris Stahl, Connie Munday, Norman Marino, Robert Ravallo, Frank Lombardi and Frank Delcampo. Melchner Sr. said lawyers and reps from the insurance company will convene this month to set a trial date in which a jury can affirm the charges against the town and set damages if it chooses. Melchner Sr. told Mahopac News he is dismayed it all turned out this way. “There is no satisfaction in any of this at the end of the day,” he said. “I came here from the Bronx with no money, and we started our own business,” he said. “This place is our home, and we feel terrible we had to go this route and have been forced into this position. We are happy this is finally going to end and there will be some compensation. But this is not what we wanted by any stretch of the imagination.” Melchner said at the root of the problem were some powerful, manipulative people who tried to control things from the shadows. “We didn’t do anything wrong. That is the problem,” he said. “If you look into the politics, you will find the same names keep coming up. People who had power and influence over the community and the people kowtowed to them. {Now] it is going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money.” Issacs called the decision “a well-reasoned and thoughtful analysis of applicable law.” “We’ve been looking forward to our day in court for a long time,” he said. Melchner attorney Dan Issacs said he expects the town to file an appeal, but he will move forward with the jury trial. The original suit sought $30 million in damages, but if any compensation is awarded, a jury will decide the amount. “The town claims there was no malice [in its prosecution of the Melchners], but the court found that not to be true,” Issacs said. “If the jury agrees, it can then award damages.” Charles Melchner Sr. FILE PHOTO MELCHNER FROM PAGE 7 Starting our 44th year serving Yorktown children Family Owned And Operated, Owners Always On The Premises. WWW.PIEDPIPERSCHOOLYORKTOWN.COM 2090 Crompond Road - Yorktown Heights For more information call 914-962-5196 or 914-815-5281 PRESCHOOL • Ages 18 months to 5 years • Operating Hours 7am to 6pm • New York State Certified Curriculum • Before & After Care Available BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL ADVENTURES • Ages 18 months to 10 years • Large indoor and fenced in outdoor playgrounds • Homework Assistance • Bus Transportation Provided By The Yorktown School District • Food and drinks provided SUMMER CAMP • Ages 18 Months To 10 Years • Flexible Days, Weeks & Times • Indoor Air Conditioned Playground • Weekly Themes And Activities Including Sports, Arts & Crafts, Music, Cooking And Theatre. • Bls, Cpr, Rit First Aid, Epipen & Mat Certified Check out our new website. Call today and sign up for a tour. Our family can’t wait to meet your family! Enrollment Opens for 2024-25 on February 1st MUSINGS FROM PAGE 19 New Parents Support Group Mahopac Library will host its weekly virtual (Zoom) support group meeting for new parents every Friday from 11 a.m. to noon. The New Parents Support Group provides no-cost, professionally-facilitated support for all who seek professional advice, peer companionship, and kind support. This warm and welcoming group is co-facilitated by Katherine Whiteside (CPD:CBI) and Dr. Rachel Lemonik (PsyD) and is open to all residents of Putnam County. To join this weekly group, email [email protected] to request a Zoom invitation. Learn to Save a Life The Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services offers training in lifesaving skills from community professionals. Original and refresher basic life support (EMT) training is available. You can learn more and register for these courses at putnamcountyny. com/life. For more information and directions, call 845-808- 4000.
PAGE 32 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Mahopac Varsity Bowling celebrated their seniors on Thursday, Feb. 1, at Fishkill Bowl. Pictured are coach James Carroll, Isaiah Cintron, Richard Settembrini, Christopher Sapienza, and Emma Long. Long will be competing as an individual in the sectionals on Monday, Feb. 12 at Fishkill Bowl. Pac bowlers celebrate senior night PHOTO COURTESY DIANA LONG SPOTLIGHT FROM PAGE 29 The Mahopac varsity cheer squad earned another major achievement late last month with as signature win at the Westchester County Center cheer competition. Twenty-seven cheerleading teams from Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties competed Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the 74th annual County Center Cheer event. Mahopac won first place in its division (varsity class B) to advance to the Grand Championship round, where the top five teams competed for the title. Mahopac topped them all for the school’s first-ever overall victory in the competition. “Grand Champion is the highest-scoring routine of the event,” said coach Adrienne Leblanc “It was such an exciting night for the team.” Mahopac will be competing again in the Sectionals on Feb. 24 at Mahopac HS. Cheer the champs! FRIDAY FEB. 16TH — 7:30 PM SHOWTIME! 1500 Baldwin Rd • Yorktown Heights, NY. • 914-962-9300 Service: 914-669-9679 Auto Sales: 914-485-1195 Fax: 914-669-9685 6 Dingle Ridge Road - North Salem, NY 10560 meccanicshop.com looking for to being there at the matches or at least he’s a high level importance when I’m wrestling. Anything else to add? You know, it’s a very rewarddriven sport. So you’re gonna get out what you put in. If you’re trying to look for something or if you think that you’re expected something or it’s just going to be handed out to you, that’s just not going to happen with the sport of wrestling. If you’re not going to be putting out everything that you have and leaving it all out on the mat, you’re just not going to get the same results because there’s always going to be someone who’s working harder than you. I have to ask you, since you are a wrestler, what is the best thing about a basketball court? Putting a mat down on top of it. Exactly.
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 33 Scan Me! Read your local news online now!
PAGE 34 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER For more than 30 years, parts of Yorktown’s woodlands served as an off-the-grid abode for Yorktown native Dean Girling. Known as a local historian and a veteran of Marine Corps, Girling, 79, was found dead by police on Dec. 29 at the campsite he called home in the woods in the Crompond-Cortlandt area. The cause and exact date of Girling’s death remain unknown, but police and the Westchester Medical Examiner have said foul play is not suspected. Police discovered Girling during a wellness check that was requested by a concerned friend. Known by some as “Mountain Man Dean,” Girling may been off the grid but he was not outside of society. He was a familiar face around town despite living off the beaten path. According to Girling’s friend Robert Mulvey, Dean was frequently seen riding around town on his black 10-speed bike with a long hawk feather in his hat. The homegrown history buff was known to spend his spare time collecting artifacts from the land in town. According to Mulvey, Dean had a shoebox full of arrowheads that he found while digging outside. Mulvey said Girling’s love for Yorktown and its history played a role in his choice to live off the land. Although he lived by himself in the woods, Girling was active in the community. Another friend of Girling, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Dean was involved in local historical societies and often attended their meetings and functions. He also attended Veterans Day festivities in town, went to veterans events in White Plains, and dropped in at the senior center in town for lunches. He also went to service at the Cavalry Bible Church on Hanover Street. Mulvey also recalls regularly seeing Girling at the 11:30 morning mass at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church during the late 1980s. Describing his appearance as “something straight out of the ‘60s,” Mulvey said Girling occasionally served an usher at mass. Dean’s story Born in February 1944, Dean was raised in Yorktown Heights and attended Yorktown High School. He ran track and field, wrestled, and played football at the JV and varsity levels. He took up weightlifting to train for all three sports, according to his senior yearbook. Wrestling was apparently his favorite of the three. His senior biography in the yearbook, written in the third person, said that art was his favorite subject. Later in his life, Girling’s sculpture would win prizes at the Yorktown Grange Fair. The story of ‘Mountain Man’ Dean A veteran, historian, and friend Dean Girling The inside of Dean Girling’s tent Dean Girling at his site REGIONAL SEE DEAN PAGE 35 845-279-9555 • TankRemovalServices.com Before you place your home on the market, contact ENVIROSTAR about replacing your aging underground storage tank (UST). It is required by most insurance companies prior to insuring property. We replace above ground tanks as well! Call us today for a free estimate and evaluation of your current above ground tank. WINTER SPECIAL! $100 OFF IN-GROUND TANK REMOVAL With this coupon only. Coupon must be presented at the time of the estimate. Not to be combined with any other offers. Expires 3/31/24 FREE ESTIMATES WE WILL MATCH OUR COMPETITOR’S ADVERTISED OFFER! We are the name you trust for environmental needs Since 1998 DON’T GET CAUGHT WITH AN AGING OIL TANK! Show Love, Shop Small EVENT BUNDLE APPRECIATION OFFER Sign up for both the 2024 Spring Festival & Car Show (Sunday April 28th) and the 2024 Fall Festival & Car Show (Sunday October 13th) and receive $50 off the total registration price! visit yorktownchamber.org to register and to check out other space options! Offer ends March 1st CALLING ALL VENDORS!!
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 35 85 Myrtle Avenue, Mahopac, NY 10541 845-628-7500 • www.pineg rovecou ntrydayscho ol .com Certified by NYS Department of Education/NYS Department of Social Service • Infant (6weeks - 12 months) • Wobbler/Toddler (12-36 months) • Preschool (3-5 yrs) • Pre-K (older 4’s) • Before & After School (5-12 yrs) Now accepting CAMP REGISTRATION for Summer 2024! Now accepting CAMP REGISTRATION for Summer 2024! Russell Girolamo Jr. Stephanie Girolamo Burke Jennifer Thorp Auto | Home | Business | Life (914) 962-9777 www.girolamoagency.com 60 YEARS IN BUSINESS EST. + 1962 Russell Girolamo Jr. Stephanie Girolamo Burke Jennifer Thorp Auto | Home | Business | Life (914) 962-9777 www.girolamoagency.com 60 YEARS IN BUSINESS EST. + 1962 “Pleasant and dependable, you are an individual we have been proud to know,” the bio said. After graduating high school in 1964, Girling enlisted in the Marine Corps. While serving until 1968, he was stationed in the Caribbean and Panama. His rank is unknown. While he was known for his ubiquitous bicycle, Girling also was the proud owner of a red 1968 Corvette, which he worked on even while living in the woods. The friend who requested anonymity said he knew Dean for around 10 years, and told Yorktown News that the historian had a strong interest in the local environment and town. Girling also loved fishing and had a row boat on the reservoir. He had bright blue eyes and was described as keeping a neat, clean-shaven appearance, “contrary to what you’d think of someone [living] in the woods.” From a house to a campsite Girling ended up in the woods by choice when the family home on Crompond Road, across from the police department, was sold after Dean’s father and brother were admitted to the VA hospital in Montrose. Mulvey was the real estate agent working with the family to sell the house. While selling the home, Mulvey tried to help Dean find housing. Nothing appealed to Dean in the area, but his love for Yorktown was strong and he did not want to leave. Girling’s dream was to live in a log cabin. Rather than buy a more conventional home, Girling built and moved into a campsite in the local woods. The log cabin would remain an unfulfilled dream for the rest of his life. His first site was in the woods by Hanover Farms, and Mulvey recalls being impressed by the site Girling created. Mulvey didn’t visit the site, but Girling brought pictures to his office around two months after the sale of the family home. Mulvey said Girling showed his teepee that was around 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide made of special fabric that was provided to him by “Buddy” from Mitchell Hardware on Crompond Road. He added that the teepee was on a neat, cleared out area that was surrounded by stones to keep water away. He also had a galvanized tub connected to a tree to catch rainwater for bathing. Girling suspended his groceries in crates into the air so animals were unable to get into them. Girling slept in his tent on a cot. “He’s been the true boy scout for 23 years,” said Mulvey. “He was a Yorktown townie, and always will be.” Mulvey said he often he thought of Dean during the harsh winters but remembered a conversation where Girling told him that his wood-burning stove heats the teepee so well that he can sleep in his shorts. According to a 2006 “North County News” article by Martin Wilbur, Girling had to relocate his site after the land at Hanover Farm was sold to Westchester County and New York State. According to that story, Girling cooked the deer and turkeys that he hunted with a bow and arrow in a cast-iron wood-burning stove or an outdoor pit. Photos supplied to Yorktown News of the inside of Girling’s tent show pots and pans, sneakers and boots, books, cans of food, and various tools. The tent, which was kept warm by a wood stove, was his rustic version of a studio apartment. While no burial plans have been confirmed, there’s a chance that Girling may be laid to rest alongside his family members at Amawalk Cemetry. Cavalry Bible Church is also hoping to hold a service to remember him. DEAN FROM PAGE 34 A galvanized tub in a tree was used to catch rain water for showers. Dean Girling with a buck he shot with a bow and arrow PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY A FRIEND
After four years of delays, Hudson Valley police departments are finally receiving $10 million in drug forfeiture funds owed to them by the federal government. Congressman Michael Lawler joined Senator Chuck Schumer, Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco, and Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville for a press conference earlier this year in calling on the Department of Justice to release needed funds to local law enforcement. He also sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding the release of the funds. The funds will be allocated to police departments and law enforcement agencies across the Hudson Valley, including $1.8 million for the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, $1.6 million for the Orangetown Police Department, $1.5 million for the Westchester County Police Department, and $1.3 million for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. These agencies and others comprised the DEA’s Westchester Tactical Diversion, providing staff and resources to help combat the scourge of drug trafficking in our communities. “I am pleased that these Hudson Valley law enforcement agencies are finally receiving funds that the Department of Justice should have provided them in 2019,” Lawler said. “These local agencies dedicated thousands of hours and resources assisting with a historic takedown, but the DOJ had put them in a holding pattern.” “I was proud to work across the aisle with Senator Schumer along with our Rockland and Putnam County Sheriffs to demand that Attorney General Garland and the Justice Department right this wrong,” Lawler continued. “These long-overdue funds will go a long way to assisting our law enforcement officers in their critical work, from protecting our neighborhoods to tackling the opioid crisis. I will always have the backs of these heroes and will never stop fighting for the funding they need and are owed.” Article courtesy the Office of Congressman Mike Lawler PAGE 36 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Feds to release overdue drug forfeiture funds to local law enforcement Congressman Michael Lawler speaks as Senator Chuck Schumer and local law enforcement officers and officials look on. PHOTO COURTESY THE OFFICE OF REP MICHAEL LAWLER Charles MacDonald Jr. Charles A. MacDonald Jr., affectionately known as Charlie, Ola, Chal, Tuna, and even Carlitos, but NEVER Chuck, passed away on Nov. 20, 2023. He was born at Mahopac Hospital on Lake Mahopac on July 1, 1961. He spent his childhood days riding his bike and camping out in the garage with his neighborhood pack of friends at Nanny’s house in The Falls, or climbing trees and playing in the woods with the Cherry Hill gang where he grew up. He was a champion pitcher and first baseman for the Putnam Printing Little League team and a Boy Scouts Webelo, but he quickly moved on to more adventurous pursuits—waterskiing, downhill skiing, snowmobiling, and was a champion motocross rider appearing leading the pack as 89X in a 1977 issue of Motocross Magazine. As a boy he worked for his dad, Charles Arthur Sr. (Art), at the family marina, MacDonald Marine on Lake Mahopac, first pumping gas and then as head mechanic in his teens. He would water ski after work and was known for putting up massive spray—often swamping the docks. The Hamlet of Mahopac and all of our lives changed when he got his driver’s license in 1977. He was obsessive about his cars and motorcycles, disassembling every nut and bolt to keep them spotless. His 1970 Nova SS 396 was his pride and joy in high school, and he led the local cops on more than one high-speed chase, which was a source of amusement for his dad. He totaled at least 10 of his dad’s personal and marina vehicles and contributed a pop-out dent to his sister’s car in the driveway but never put a scratch on one of his own cars or sustained any serious injuries in the process. In June 1985, Charlie met the love of his life, Patricia Corbett (Tish), at the Mahopac Inn a few weeks before her birthday. He took her for boat rides on the lake, to Jones Beach, and out for steak and lobster. They were immediately inseparable—engaged by November and married on Feb. 22, 1986. He moved his bride to Jupiter, Fla. shortly after their honeymoon in the Poconos. They had a son, Charles Kenneth, and settled into their forever family home in Palm Beach Gardens Country Estates in 1987. Charlie was self-made. In 1993 he established Power Repairs Inc. in Jupiter, named for his father’s first small engine shop in Mahopac. Charlie was sought out for his flawless marine repair work and for several years ran service for Jonathan’s Landing in addition to his own shop. He was a perfectionist and worked late into the night every night. Those who visited his shop also knew it was his hangout. He was enamored by all things fast and loud. Motocross remained his passion and he reserved every Saturday night to watch the races at his shop with his son Charlie who shared all of his interests. He was a collector. He acquired road and dirt bikes, sports cars and trucks—duallies, Corvettes, a Roadrunner, and his prized Dodge Viper—all of which he spent countless hours customizing and consumed space in his shop. He loved metal music, attended all the best concerts, and began collecting guitars with an obsession. They quickly overflowed his man cave at home and were stacked sky high in the shop. He had so many beloved toys that he began doing his work outside in the parking lot. Everyone loved Charlie. He was a 6-foot-4 blonde Viking with smiling blue eyes, his Dad’s dimples, and Peep’s Cheshire cat grin. He was always fun to be around. His good looks and intimidating stature did not reflect the tender heart inside. He loved Christmas to a childlike degree and reserved his shopping for Christmas Eve, showering his wife, son, granddaughters, mom, and sister with carefully curated gifts. An artificial tree would never do, even in Florida. He was kind and friendly to everybody he met. He took the time to have meaningful conversations and formed lasting relationships with everyone he ran across in his daily routine including his postman, bank tellers, and OBITUARIES SEE OBITUARIES PAGE 38 Service... Integrity... Compassion Family owned and operated We began with a mission to celebrate life and serve families. There is much peace to be found here, and we invite you to find yours. Explore more. Take a tour. Read our story. Share in experiences. Anthony J. Guarino Family Owned & Operated 945 East Main Street • Shrub Oak, NY 10588 • (914) 962-0700 YorktownFuneralHome.com • [email protected]
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PAGE 38 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 Publix deli counterman who admired his Skull emblazoned mask during COVID. Charlie left us abruptly on Nov. 20, 2023, after finishing his last big job for the year at the shop. He left everything in impeccable order for his wife, whom he adored and the son he was so proud of so they were perfectly cared for. With all of his passions and love for his ‘stuff,’ nothing came close to the love he had for his family. He gave amazing bear hugs and never missed an opportunity to tell his family he loved them. As a final testament, he left behind 39 voicemails on his shop machine spanning almost 20 years—all from his wife Tish, Mom Anita, Dad Art, brother Ken, and sister Merri, so he could start his day hearing their voices before listening to any new business messages which were quickly dispatched. Charlie is survived by his wife Patricia, son Charles and his wife Sara, three grandchildren Carissa, Charley, and Maverick, his mother Anita, sister Merri, her daughter and husband Shelbi and Kevin Heady, and their two girls Olivia and Violet, his brother Ken, his wife Jacqui and their three children Kendall, Quinn and Caden, cousins Dawn, Kelli, Bruce, Jackie and Michelle and their families. A Celebration of Life took place earlier in Florida. Carmen F. Raffa Carmen F. Raffa of Summerville, S.C., formerly Mahopac,, passed away peacefully at the age of 82, at home on Dec. 5, 2023, surrounded by his family. Carmen was born Aug. 22, 1941, in Dobbs Ferry.. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and sailed on the USS Northampton out of Norfolk, Va. He married Gerri Pritchard at Sacred Heart Church, on Feb. 21, 1963. He successfully ran Statewide Auto in Uniondale, Long Island for 44 years until his retirement in 2018. He is survived by his wife Gerri of Summerville, S.C., and their five daughters, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Cheryl (Cosmo) Zappoli, of Summerville and their children Chiara and Cosmo; Christine Raffa of North Scituate, R.I.; Lisa (Brian) Yurko of Mahopac and their children, Mitchell and Madeleine; Lori ( John) Maxwell of Mahopac, and Lori’s children Crysta Smith, Ashley Smith (predeceased) her daughter, Kyra Bogart; Ryan Smith and partner, Didi Dagnone and their child Kenzo Smith, Leah (Dominick) Montello of East Rockaway, N.Y., and their children Carmine, Vincenzo, and Giovanni. He is also survived by his sister, Virginia Gemma of Fort Myers, Fla., and his brother, Joseph Raffa (predeceased) of New York. Carmen’s memory lives on through his family and friends, he will be dearly missed. OBITUARIES FROM PAGE 36 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. 2023 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. said. “What they store inside is fine. But the ones that store stuff outside are problematic. Cleaning this property up is of significant advantage to us but we need to clean it up with a use that is clean and tidy. So, the notion of how the site is to be used has to be defined quite clearly. Our approval is going to have to be very clear based on what these buildings are to be used for.” Cleary also noted that the Bucks Hollow Road side of the property abuts the bike trailway and the view from the path must be addressed. “We Have two options,” he said. “You can screen the heck out of it so it’s not visible or make sure the buildings are really attractive so if you do see them from the trailway it is not a visual issue. And security issues have to be addressed— lighting, type of fencing, etc.” Planning Board Chair Craig Paeprer agreed. “Going down that [area of the] bike path [the view] is very industrial. Not just very industrial but very sloppy,” he said. “This is an opportunity. When we get done with this project we should have a nice-looking front yard for the bike path.” The Creccos said they understood the aesthetic concerns. “It is a junkyard, I agree,” John Crecco said. “But we will turn it around in three months if given permission.” Cleary said it’s not just the exterior of the project that must be in compliance and help beautify the area, adding that what goes on within the “contractor condominiums” is important as well. “If they do work in the unit, that is manufacturing or fabrication and that is something completely different,” he said. “All that has to be clarified and documented so we know what we’re approving.” Adam Thyberg, a project landscape architect with Insite Engineering, the design firm overseeing the project, said they will provide the board with all the information it needs regarding usage at the property. “With our next submission we will include a use table for the site plan, and we will break down the employees and the types of businesses we are proposing,” he said, noting that traffic won’t be increased by the plan because it “is not a steady in-and-out retail kind of space.” The Creccos said their reputation in town is strong and they will meet all the requirements for site plan approval. “I think we have proven ourselves,” John Crecco said. “We are always one step ahead and doing everything that we can to beautify the area for the community, especially [with it] being so close to the bike trail.” The Creccos and Insite Engineering will now address the concerns laid out by the Planning Board and town officials and return with an updated plan at a future meeting. BUCKS HOLLOW FROM PAGE 8
FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 MAHOPAC NEWS – PAGE 39 Check out our Facebook & Twitter pages! 845-225-7777 • www.puthumane.org Open 7 days a week from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Winona This little girl was found outdoors. About 4 y/o, she’s dainty, enjoys snuggling, and easily engages with staff. She has some special needs; please ask Stacy for more information. In the prime of her life, this 6 y/o girl has the lean agile form and energy of a youngster, and her run is more of a glide, beautiful to behold. Observant and curious, sweet and soulful, she’s also very shy and will need you to bring her out of her shell. When she knows you, she’s a trusting and loving companion. Lucie THIS AD WAS GENEROUSLY DONATED BY HALSTON MEDIA. 68 Old Rt. 6, Carmel ORDER ON OUR ONLINE STORE AND PICKUP LO CALLY! BEST PRICES IN THE AREA! PICKUP HOURS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! www.american-arms.com [email protected] 1928 Commerce St, Suite C Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 NRA Basic Pistol/Personal Protection UTAH Concealed Firearms Course Private Lessons Permit Assistance Refuse To Be A Victim™ Group and Private Classes Gun Sales & Ammunition Gun Accessories FFL Services & Transfers 914-455-4210 BOARD OF EDUCATION PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX EXEMPTIONS FEBRUARY 13, 2024 7:P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held on February 13, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mahopac Central School District High School Auditorium, 421 Baldwin Place, Mahopac, NY for public commentary on whether or not the Board of Education should adopt resolutions modifying the existing resolutions granting partial tax exemptions for veterans, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, volunteer firefighters, and volunteer ambulance workers pursuant to §458-a, §466-a, §467, and §459-c of the Real Property Tax Law. Copies of the proposed resolutions can be requested from the office of the District Clerk, Melody LaRocca, via email at [email protected]. NO NEWS... 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. We need you to subscribe. It’s FREE & It’s Easy! is NOT necessarily good news! # 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 Mahopac News YES, I really enjoy Mahopac News 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.) Last (Required) City: State: ZIP: Name: Signature: Email: Snowbird Dates (if applicable): Date: Phone: Address: (Optional for TAPinto E-News) (Optional) Mail to: P.O. Box 864 Mahopac, NY 10541 While we need your Full Support to keep this newspaper strong, we include the option for Basic Support because we don’t want financial reasons to get in the way of our readers receiving this newspaper. Basic Support vs. Full Support Basic Support Full Support $100 $50 $20 other or visit www.halstonsubscribe.com OR or visit www.halstonsubscribe.com Checks payable to Halston Media LLC. Please include this form in your envelope. Please include the following additional papers as part of this subscription: North Salem News The Somers Record Yorktown News The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times The Katonah-Lewisboro times
PAGE 40 – MAHOPAC NEWS FEBRUARY 8 – FEBRUARY 28, 2024