VOL. 13 NO. 28 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE 27 CLASSIFIEDS 26 ELEPHANT’S TRUNK 4 LEGAL NOTICES 26 LEISURE 19 OBITUARIES 21 OPINION 8 SPORTS 16 Blessing of the Animals pg 14 ST. LUKE’S Visit TapIntoSomers.net for the latest news. BY KRISTEN NORTH CONTRIBUTING WRITER Alumni from the Somers High School Class of 1993 will gather on Saturday, Oct. 14 for their 30-year reunion and a chance to share and remember. Normally, most reunions will bring happy recollections of formerly young high school men and women looking toward the future. But the Classes of 1992 and 1993 were different. This event will be a combined reunion and celebration of life to commemorate two cherished classmates whose lives were sadly taken at young and impressionable ages. On June 23, 1992, Somers Class of 1993 alum Mike North ( Junior) and Class of 1992 alum, Jeffrey Ianiello (Senior), good friends and caddies at the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club, finished work and embarked on a trip to a friend’s house for a Somers yearbook meeting. Heading north on Route 22 near Katonah, they encountered a southbound dump truck coming from a nearby construction site. They accidentally swerved into the path of the truck. Neither survived the accident. This cast a very dark shadow over Somers within the school system and the community, as the tragedy occurred just prior to prom and graduation. Newspaper coverage quickly spread the devastating news to the residents in Somers and surrounding towns. These boys were dear friends and mentors to many. Both boys were soccer players for Somers High School and were very active in clubs and other sports, and were highly accomplished academically. Following the accident, they even had an athletic and academic scholarship established in their names. One of their most memorable, collaborative achievements was during a soccer tournament against Goshen. Somers defeated Goshen, 1-0 in the Class B regional final on November 9, 1991. North served the winning assist, tricking the other team, and Ianiello received the ball and scored the winning goal in the final minutes of the game. This victory made headlines across Westchester and made Somers proud. These two boys left their indelible marks on Somers. Trophies won by their team still adorn the hallways inside the school, and coaches remember them fondly and respectfully, and continue to sing their praises. In the fall of 1993, friends of the boys from the Class of 1992 built a bench and plaque in their honor. Both were placed near the original soccer field, but years passed, and the buildings and grounds underwent transformations. The soccer field was relocated. On Oct. 12, 2012, the new Somers High School soccer field was erected. This newly established playing surface, now known as the Andrew Strauss Soccer Field, was named for their soccer coach. A beautiful tree was planted by the field and dedicated in loving memory to these two amazing individuals, who set high standards and examples for future students to lead the way, both on the ball field and in the classrooms. A wonderful ceremony was held as folks gathered to honor and remember these fine young men. Unfortunately, more repairs and construction were needed to continue to enhance the quality of the Somers High School grounds, and much to the dismay of the Classes of 1992 and 1993, A reunion and a celebration of life SHS alumni remember classmates lost to tragedy Mike North Jeffrey Ianiello PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRISTEN NORTH SEE REUNION PAGE 20 CamScanner
PAGE 2 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 291 Route 100, Somers • 914.277.8539 • Route100market.com Join us as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary as Route 100 Market! Tex-Mex Tasting October 14th • 11am-2pm Open 24/7/365 Visit Us At Route100market.com See you there!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 3 HOME, AUTO, BUSINESS, LIFE & HEALTH 914-232-7750 www.forbesinsurance.com Jacob & Jay Hansmann, on winning the Somers Golf League! Congratulations BY EMILE MENASCHÉ CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Vinny Pastore has a problem. He’s exactly on time for our Zoom interview to talk about his Thursday, Oct. 19, show at Lucy’s Garage in Pleasantville. But it’s a Friday in the fall of 2023, and that can only mean one thing: It’s raining. Hard. “My cellars are flooded,” said the actor, bandleader, and raconteur best known for his award-winning performance as mobster Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on “The Sopranos.” Did he want to reschedule? “Nah, let’s do it now,” he said. “I’ll clean it up later. The water’s bad out there. I had to move my car twice.” At 77, Pastore remains active on stage and off: He continues to act (most recently in “Spinning Gold,” about Casablanca Records) and is a regular in the stage show “In Conversation with the Sopranos” with fellow former cast members Steve Schirripa (Bobby Bacala) and Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti). He’s appeared on Broadway and in dozens of other films and TV shows. But today’s mission relates to a passion that started before his acting career took off: Music. Pastore’s band the Gangster Squad delivers a blend of classic rock, soul, blues, and standards that traces back to Pastore’s days running The Crazy Horse in New Rochelle. Coming just before Halloween, this month’s show will also feature a Soprano’s lookalike contest. Despite the flood, Pastore was ready to talk. Perhaps it didn’t hurt that the interview was arranged by mutual friend Duke Cavone, who books Lucy’s Garage and is also my longtime bandmate in the Garage’s Legendary Tuesday Night Jam Band. But if the thought of his car floating off of City Island was bothering Pastore, he didn’t let it show. The former club owner, who came to acting in middle age, has the barman’s gift for making you feel comfortable from word one. Tell us about the show at Lucy’s I used to be a club owner...in the ’80s in New Rochelle. I had a place called The Crazy Horse, and I have a bunch of musicians that still run around with me, and now I call these guys The Gangster Squad. They’re musicians who played with me back in the ’80s. Benny Harrison (keys]), Al Orlo (guitar, Ben E. King), Eddie Denise (bass, Alen Roth, Dion), The Barron on sax, Kevin Tooley (drums), who is the new guy on the block. Killer Joe is my special guest [on vocals and harmonica], and there’s [singer] Tommy Buddah Blues. It’s rock and roll, it’s classic rock. It’s from Van Morrison to Sam and Dave to some standards that I do. The Garage is an intimate space. What brings you there? I love Duke—he’s great. And the Garage reminds me of my old venue, The Crazy Horse in New Rochelle. And what we decided to do this year is to pump it up a little and say: “Hey, it’s Halloween: Come in dressed as a Soprano.” Duke has these T-shirts that say, “Big Pussy’s not dead, he’s at The Garage.” Yeah, I’ve seen those. I hope he gave you a T-shirt by now. Do you know Duke? You know he doesn’t give out anything for free. Are you kidding me? (Indignant) He should send you five of ’em! What got you excited about music and inspired you to put together this show? When I was a club owner, I had live music six nights a week. I had the best jam in Westchester. Mine was on Tuesday nights. My jam was my most productive night. Justin Chambers and Harvey Brooks met in my club and we put a band together, the Chambers Brooks Band. It was a really hip room, and these are the guys that still play with me. Benny Harrison who plays with the Rascals, and Al Orlo, who runs around with Sam and Dave. Kevin Tooley, who plays with that television group. I mean these guys are pros. [De Baron]. We just have a good time. Who picks the setlist? I go like this: “What do you want to sing?” And you give me your songs. And I say “OK, we can do those, give me your keys.” And I put the show together. It’s almost like when I had the club. I had a DJ booth and I used to spin records between the [live band] sets. It’s kind of like me programming the music again. We open up with [Booker T. and the MGs’] “Green Onions” to get warmed up. And then I usually hop up there and knock out [George Benson’s] “On Broadway,” do a couple of standards, and then we pick it up. This is a rock and roll show. We do a meet and greet before that, sign pictures and stuff. But when people come to see the Gangster Squad, they’re not gonna see the Sopranos up there. They’re going to see my musicians from the days before [the show]. Good frontmen and women are often good actors. Did music lead you to acting? I started off doing musical theater while I was running my club. My bartender was an actor, my sound guy… My stage was like [legendary NYC club] The Fillmore East with the lights and This Soprano sings Vincent ‘Big Pussy’ Pastore brings his Gangster Squad to the area What: Soprano’s Character Costume Party With Big Pussy Where: Lucy’s Garage, 446 Bedford Road Pleasantville When: Thursday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m. How much: Tickets: $20 (in advance) $25 (day of show) More info: vincentpastore.eventbrite.com, lucyspleasantvilleny.com Vinny “Big Pussy” Pastore and Gangster Squad perform at Lucy’s Garage. PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCY’S GARAGE PHOTO COURTESY OF VINCENT PASTORE SEE PASTORE PAGE 6
PAGE 4 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 The Staff EDITORIAL TEAM Tom Walogorsky Editor: 914-302-5830 [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 The Somers Record The deadline for advertisements and editorial submissions for The Somers Record is the Thursday before the next publication date. For more information, call Tom Walogorsky at 914-302-5830 or email [email protected]. Subscribe To request The Somers Record 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 Somers, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Somers Record at 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 (ISSN 2330-1597) Published Weekly by Halston Media, LLC at 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2023 Halston Media, LLC Somers Library Foundation 11th Annual 5K Trail Run Sunday, Oct. 15 Run, Jog, or Walk for the Somers Library at Reis Park! Bring your friends and family to enjoy a morning in the park. The 5K Race starts at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 1-mile Family Fun Run at 10 a.m. The medal ceremony will be held at approximately 10:30 a.m. If running is not your thing - then come volunteer with the foundation! You can help set up the course, register the runners, hand out t-shirts, give out water, or just cheer on the runners. Proceeds from the race will be used to fund projects like the new Teen Area at the Somers Library. Come lend your support! Details can be found on the Somers Library Foundation website at www.somerslibrary foundation.org 3rd Annual Crossroads Plaza Halloween Party Friday, Oct. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. Featuring Trunk or Treat! Kids are welcome to wear their costumes and spooky masks and collect treats from each decorated trunk! Sponsored by Keller Williams Realty partners. To be held at Crossroads Plaza, located at 57 Route 6 in Baldwin Place. Church of the Good Shepherd 39 Granite Springs Rd. in Granite Springs Senior Saturday Luncheons Saturdays. Oct. 14 & 28, at 12 p.m. The Church of the Good Shepherd will host two non-denominational, free lunch gatherings of local senior citizens at the church. At each luncheon, a delicious hot meal will be served, and will be accompanied by companionship, conversation and community! The meal will conclude with dessert and coffee. A second meal will be given to everyone attending to take home. RSVP is required by calling 914-248-5631 or emailing seniorssaturdays@ goodshepherdny.org. Somers Volunteer Fire Department www.somersvfd.com Open House Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn more about the SVFD and have some fun! Featuring activities for both children and parents, including food, demonstrations, fire truck and ambulance tours, a LifeNet appearance, and more. Come meet the SVFD who serve our community each and every day. To be held at the Lincolndale Fire House at 119 primrose Street. A Message from The Friends of the Somers Library The Friends of the Somers Library is dedicated to supporting and enriching the Somers Library. Over the years, the library has played an essential role in the Town of Somers by providing access to knowledge, fostering literacy, and serving as a gathering place for residents of all ages. Our organization has been working to fund the library’s resources and programs. We have witnessed firsthand the positive impact that the library has on our community, and we are committed to ensuring its continued success. To that end, we are reaching out to you to request your support in our mission. The financial support of town residents has played a pivotal role in the growth and improvement of the Somers Library over the years, and we are grateful for the continued dedication. Your generous donations have enabled us to: Enhance Educational Programs: Through your support, we’ve been SEE TRUNK PAGE 6 ELEPHANT’S TRUNK DR. AMANDA WIECHERT, DMD & DR. FELICIA NICOLAS, DDS. 1855 COMMERCE STREET YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY 10598 (914) 302-7717 www.northeastdentalny.com [email protected] Dentistry with the personalized touch EXPERIENCE THE NORTHEAST DENTAL DIFFERENCE Long-time Yorktown dentist Dr. Amanda Wiechert founded Northeast Dental in 2014, with the idea that patients should be #1. 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BY CAROL REIF STAFF WRITER Somers officials took a moment last week to acknowledge the elephant in the room – both figuratively and literally. This spring, the town unveiled a beautiful new bronze statue of its beloved mascot, Old Bet, the star of Hachaliah Bailey’s early19th century traveling menagerie and in whose honor he erected a granite obelisk topped with her image. Various iterations of pachyderm-topped pillar have stood in front of The Elephant Hotel, aka Town Hall, at the intersection of Routes 202 and 100 for 196 years. A couple of years ago, Old Bet made it into RoadsideAmerica. com, a site famous for featuring oddities and quirky attractions. The original effigy was carved out of wood. The latest version was made of concrete and it too eventually succumbed to the elements. Large cracks were plainly visible in its legs and concerns were raised about safety. Last year, the Somers Historical Society commissioned a new Old Bet. Funded by the family of the late Joseph and Barbara Wittmann and cast in bronze by local sculptor Luigi Badia, it was unveiled to great fanfare at a celebration of World Circus Day in April. Sometime over the summer, the concrete Old Bet was removed from the monument and reportedly stored at the town’s Highway Department. (At 450 pounds, it was simply too big to cart up the stairs to the Historical Society’s Museum of the Early American Circus.) The new Old Bet remains camped out in the Town Hall meeting room and many folks have been wondering why it hasn’t yet been formally and physically elevated to its place of honor. The statue occupies exactly the same footprint as its predecessor, according to Grace Zimmerman, of the historical society’s Old Bet Committee. However, it’s probably 200 pounds heavier than the original. The state Historical Preservation Office has told the committee that it’s fine with the project but in order for the monument to retain its landmark status it has to “look the same,” she said. In a short explanation posted on its website, the town explained that it was seeking “professional engineering guidance” to determine if the new statue could “rest safely” upon the current wrought iron frame. (The monument has been hit by a car at least once in its lifetime.) DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS The town gave its blessing to the project in 2022 and the foundry where the beast was created had a timetable to follow, so the new Old Bet stomped into town before any engineering studies were sought. Whether that should have happened earlier was a topic of discussion at the Town Board’s Oct. 5 meeting. At any rate, folks seemed to conclude that it’s moot at this point. Steve Robbins of Woodard & Curran, the town’s engineering consultants, presented a proposal to design and oversee the construction of a new concrete foundation for the monument. The firm would also partner with a local artisan on any modifications needed to the iron scrollwork. Gesturing at the bronze Old Bet, he noted that the goal is to ensure that the “lovely elephant” gets back in place and stays there for at least another 100 years. There’s very limited information on how the original pillar was built and it does not appear to be adequate to support the new, heavier statue, Robbins noted. Those services would cost around $21,900 and the sum for the materials and labor are estimated at $20,000. Councilman Rich Clinchy asked Robbins when he realized that “this thing’s not going to work with what they’ve got planned.” THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 5 Grand Lux Realty is one of the region’s largest independently owned, local, family-style real estate brokerages. Large enough to service all your real estate needs and small enough to provide you with our award winning personalized “Golden-Glove Service." Jeffrey Kuduk Joseph Stasko offices in: Chappaqua, Ardsley, Mamaroneck, Stony Point, Fishkill, Bedford Hills and Goshen 361 Rt. 202 Somers, NY 10589 845-617-3010 CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION TODAY. The Somers office is proud to anchor our Homes for Heroes affiliation, recognizing our community heroes with a “Thank you for your service” reward check for buyers or sellers. More information at GLRHeroes.com. OPEN HOUSE SAT. OCT. 14 WHERE STUDENTS BECOME THEIR BEST SELVES. Grades 6–12 with 5-day boarding for 9–12 in Katonah, NY harveyschool.org/OpenHouse A base for Bet Engineers present plan for new elephant statue Somers sculptor Luigi Badia created the town’s new Old Bet statue. PHOTO: CAROL REIF SEE OLD BET PAGE 22
PAGE 6 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 845-600-8004 | www.bellmech.com SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO! WHAT IS A HEAT PUMP? Heat pumps will help you find the perfect balance of comfort and savings all year round, while reducing your carbon footprint. These all-in-one heating and air conditioning systems optimize the temperature throughout your home to use less energy, and can save you thousands on your cooling and heating costs. ENJOY 0 DOWN, 0% FINANCING! Upgrade your comfort & efficiency! CALL US TODAY! DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE to lock-in these incentive savings! FEDERAL INCENTIVE: 30% off the total cost STATE INCENTIVE: $5,000 UTILITY COMPANY INCENTIVE: Up to $20,000 HYBRID HOT WATER HEATER: $1,000 Rebate SUPER SAVINGS on your Heat Pump project while program funding lasts... CALL NOW TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFY! Purchase a new HVAC system and WE’LL BUY BACK YOUR OLD SYSTEM! Up to $1,000 Don’t miss out on this LIMITED-TIME OFFER Expires 10/20 able to offer engaging and educational programs for children, teens, and adults, including author talks, workshops, and live events. Improve Facilities: Your contributions have helped us make vital improvements to the library ensuring a comfortable and welcoming environment for all visitors. Promote Involvement: Your donations have enabled us to launch initiatives aimed at community involvement in our town, including summer reading programs for children and educational programs for adults. As we look ahead, we are eager to expand our offerings. To achieve these goals, we kindly ask for your continued financial support. To make on online donation, please visit the library’s website at www.somerslibrary.org and click on the “support” tab in the menu. Follow the prompts to the Friends of the Somers Library. To donate in person, there are membership flyers available at the front desk of the library that you can fill out and leave with one of the librarians. If you received one of our mailings, you can send a check in the envelope provided. Your donation, will make a significant difference in helping us fulfill our mission. Donating to the Friends of the Somers Library is an investment in the future of our town. Primrose PTA Holiday Happiness Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Primrose PTA proudly presents Holiday Happiness at Primrose Elementary School! Featuring a tag sale, free fun zone, snack sale, food trucks, a silent auction, crafts, holiday photos, raffles by local merchants, live music by 3 Limes & a Coconut, and over 100 vendors! Organizers are also seeking local businesses to donate to the silent auction. Vendor spaces are still available for $60 each. For any questions regarding this event, contact Nora at [email protected] CoveCare Center 2023 Imagine Gala Friday, Nov. 3, from 6 to 10 p.m. CoveCare Center invites the community to attend its 2023 Imagine Gala at Salem Golf Club in North Salem. CoveCare Center provides mental health and substance use prevention and treatment services to adults, children, families, and seniors. All proceeds from the event directly benefit CoveCare Center’s programs and make it possible for the agency to continue to offer accessible and affordable services. At the event, CoveCare Center will be celebrating the career of Michael Piazza, Putnam County Commissioner of Social Services, Mental Health, and Youth Bureau, and presenting him with the Sid Gibson Imagine Award. The evening will include a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing, and music by Tony T Entertainment featuring The City Express Band. An exciting silent auction will be held, including a host of valuable items, such as sports and entertainment tickets, vacation accommodations, gift baskets, and more. In addition, CoveCare Center will display their Giving Tree, which will give guests the opportunity to see the many programs and services their donation could impact. For more information, to purchase tickets, or become a sponsor to the event, please visit www.CoveCareCenter.org, or contact Development development@ covecarecenter.org TRUNK FROM PAGE 4 SEE TRUNK PAGE 20 everything. So I brought that [sense of theater] into the club. I always had an interest in acting. But I didn’t decide to go after it until – and it’s in my play, which I’m trying to revitalize, called The Crazy Horse – but I went belly up because that’s what happens in the club business. I let vices take over my life, I let demons take over my life. So here I am, driving taxi cabs, and limousines, delivering furniture at night. I picked up the theater magazine Backstage and I started to get into it again. And I started off with auditions and lowbudget movies. And then boom boom, boom boom boom, and I worked my way up. But it all started me coming away… you know it’s almost like the [movie] “Carlito’s Way,” you get caught up with the old guys. In my career with the music business, I came out of the disco business. Everything was wide open. You know, and I went over to a little side street in New Rochelle and I opened up a venue that had a capacity of 90 people. But I survived there, and I was happy for seven years. These are guys that still play with me. Tell us about the Sopranos costume contest. What are some tips for Sopranos dresser-uppers? What’s gonna work and what’s not gonna work? They got to wear sweat suit; they got to wear a suit with a tie to look like Tony Sirico [a.k.a] Paulie Walnuts. You could come in looking like Tony Soprano, a lotta times he would just wear those Tommy Bahama shirts. I want to see…It’s really a Big Pussy lookalike contest. That’s what I’m really looking for. Who can come in and pull it off where he’s standing next to me and he could be my double? But I can’t tell you how to dress. [Sopranos character] Artie Buco was a chef! People are gonna dress like Carmela [Soprano, played by Edie Falco]. Duke is gonna give out T-shirts. I hope he’s not cheap and gives the winner a bottle of champagne or something. Are you going to come? Why don’t you come as [connected record label owner] Hesch? Wasn’t there a character, a Czech sanitation guy named Emile, who got killed in an episode? Come in as a Russian gangster. We’re gonna have fun! My guys are going to learn to play the Sopranos’ theme song. So are we going to have a velour sweatsuit shortage in Westchester because of this? One of the conditions is I take all the wardrobe – so I got plenty of sweatsuits. PASTORE FROM PAGE 3
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 7 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 understand the difference between an irrevocable and a revocable trust? BY KEN FREEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Are you dismayed by all the partisan battling and dysfunction in Washington and beyond? Well, you are apparently joined by many who feel the same way. The Somers Library hosted a crowd of about 30 people on Sept. 28 to watch a 50-minute documentary showing how Braver Angels, a grass roots organization with members in all 50 states, is working to reunite Americans across the heated political divide. The film and discussion event was led by Heritage Hills resident Randy Freeman, the New York State Coordinator for Braver Angels. Katonah resident Don Scott, another active Braver Angels member, joined Freeman in providing introductory remarks. Freeman explained the organization’s inception, which began immediately following the 2016 presidential election. Seeing the gloomy reaction of his Manhattan neighbors to the election result, Braver Angels founder and President David Blankenhorn phoned David Lapp, a friend in Lebanon, Ohio, a small industrial town 32 miles north of Cincinnati, and heard about the positive reaction to the Trump election among many of his neighbors. Responding to America’s heated partisan divide, the two recruited University of Minnesota Professor Bill Doherty, a specialist in couples and family therapy, to join with them in establishing Better Angels, named for President Lincoln’s “better angels” reference in his first inaugural address. (The name was subsequently changed to Braver Angels due to a legal trademark conflict.) Their objective was to learn more about the divide and how they might cool the heated rhetoric, without changing anyone’s core beliefs, to restore civil dialogue and respectful listening between people with different political views. Freeman, a retired psychotherapist also with considerable couple and family therapy experience, became involved with the organization in 2017, after learning about it in a professional journal. “I got tired of seeing the dysfunctional polarization on the news and Bridging the gap Braver Angels work to reunite America Primrose Elementary has a new batch of kindergarten meteorologists as students learned about the sun’s effect on ice cubes. Students first went on a “solar walk” to learn how the sun heats various surfaces by using their hands as thermometers. From there, they extended their research to discover if white or black solar mittens and paper would absorb the sun’s heat or melt ice cubes at different speeds. “We put some ice cubes in the sun, and it was a fair test,” said Kimberly Zambrano. Finally, they put their teamwork and engineering skills to the test. “We’re making a structure to save the ice cubes from the sun,” said Juliette Mora. Students were provided six pipe cleaners, five popsicle sticks, a small square of netting, a piece of aluminum foil, and some modeling clay. “We’re going to put the foil over the ice cube. We’re making a shade,” Joseph Bertorelli said when describing his structure. Working in small groups, they built different styles of sun protection for their ice cubes and then put them to the test outside. Results varied, but students were excited to try out their designs to see what worked best. Article provided by Somers Central School District. Primrose students warm up to science Students learning about the effects of the sun. SOMERS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SEE ANGELS PAGE 24
Opinion 118 N, BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2023 Halston Media, LLC Letters to the editor and op-ed submissions may be edited. The views and opinions expressed in letters and op-eds are not necessarily those of The Somers Record or its affiliates. Submissions must include a phone number and address for verification. Not all letters and op-eds will necessarily be published. Letters and op-eds which cannot be verified or are anonymous will not be published. Please send your submissions to the editor by e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, call the editor at 914-302-5830 Brett Freeman, Publisher Tom Walogorsky , Editor Tabitha Pearson Marshall, Creative Director Editorial Office: 914-302-5830 [email protected] PAGE 8 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 Change, as they say, is the only constant. In the dynamic world of media, it’s essential to adapt, evolve and innovate to better serve our communities and partners. Today, I’m thrilled to announce an exciting evolution for our TAPinto websites. For years, our five hyper-local TAPinto websites have been the go-to online sources for community news, each focusing on its own unique town and school district. While this approach has served us well, we believe it’s time to unite these websites under a single, more expansive umbrella: Halston Media News. You can now access this consolidated platform at news.halstonmedia. com (please note, “news” is in lieu of “www”). Why the Change? Our primary motivation is you, our readers. By bringing together content from neighboring communities, we aim to offer a richer, more diverse reading experience. Imagine being able to seamlessly transition from news in your town to an interesting event in a neighboring community. This regional approach not only fosters a sense of interconnectedness, but also satiates the natural curiosity we all have about the world just beyond our doorstep. For our advertisers, this change is equally promising. A website that offers varied and engaging content naturally encourages longer visits. The more time readers spend on our site, the more visibility your advertisements receive. It’s a win-win. The Numbers Speak Over the past year, our five sites collectively garnered an impressive average of 239,911 monthly page views and attracted an average of 61,166 unique monthly visitors. We are confident that by transitioning to a regional website, these numbers will see a significant uptick. A unified platform means streamlined content, easier navigation and a broader audience reach. Welcoming The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times Another exciting addition is the inclusion of our newest newspaper, The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times. Since we launched The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times in 2022, it never had a dedicated website. Now, it has a prominent section on Halston Media News. This ensures that readers of this publication aren’t left in the digital dark and can access its content alongside our other offerings. Expanding Our Horizons Our vision for Halston Media News isn’t just limited to the towns we currently cover. We aim to attract readers from periphery towns with comprehensive news about Westchester County, Putnam County and eventually even broader updates from New York State. This expanded scope ensures that whether you’re looking for local news or state-wide updates, Halston Media News is your one-stop destination. Continuing Our Partnership with TAPinto While we’re excited about this new chapter under our brand, our partnership with TAPinto remains strong. We will continue to utilize their robust platform, ensuring that our readers get a seamless and user-friendly experience, and our advertisers get the best possible exposure. TAPinto is a network of nearly 100 sites in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida with more than 20 million annual unique visitors. Nearly a decade ago, we chose to attach ourselves - digitally - to the coattails of TAPinto, and we’ve never been disappointed. They are constantly investing in new technology and new ways to attract audiences, and I believe their franchise model is far superior to some of the other regional and national community website brands. Moving forward This transition is more than just a change of name or website address. It’s a reflection of our commitment to our readers and advertisers. It’s about ensuring that every time you visit our site, you leave with more than you came for. It’s about making sure our advertisers see tangible results from their partnerships with us. And above all, it’s about staying true to our mission of delivering top-notch journalism while continuously adapting to the changing needs of our community. I invite you all to join us on this exciting journey. A new chapter for Halston Media News BRETT FREEMAN PUBLISHER’S MEMO I visited a Palestinian “refugee” camp during the spring semester of my junior year in college, back in the year 2000, when I attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. At 20 years old, I knew very little about the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but as a young Jewish American with liberal sensitivities, I wanted to keep an open mind. That was a good thing, as I was able to observe Middle Eastern society without any sort of preconceived notions, much like an anthropologist. During the semester, I also spent time visiting Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. The accusation that Israel is an apartheid state is false. While the Jewish population itself is incredibly diverse, including Jews from Ethiopia, there are also Muslim and Christian Arabs with Israeli citizenship, many of whom are proud Israelis and even serve in the Israeli government. Just like America, it’s an imperfect society, filled with infighting and division. But that’s I stand with Israel and I’m angry Sadly, prepare for American equivocation in the coming days BRETT FREEMAN PUBLISHER’S MEMO SEE FREEMAN PAGE 9
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 OPINION THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 9 Licensed by the State Department of Health. Eligible for Most Long Term Care Policies. Equal Housing Opportunity. AT T H E B R I S TA L Experience FALL FLAVORS AT T H E B R I S TA L Join us at any of The Bristal communities for a festive fall weekend. Indulge in the flavors of the season, prepared by our talented culinary team. Take a tour, view our beautifully appointed apartments & learn more about life at The Bristal. To let us know you’re coming, give us a call at 844-953-3599 or scan the QR code to visit: thebristal.com/fallflavors OCTOBER 21 22 SATURDAY & SUNDAY Stop by the community of your choice between 10:00AM - 2:00PM Take advantage of our fall savings special this weekend only! also what makes it an advanced democracy; infighting exists because it’s permitted. Many Americans may not understand this, but the Palestinians don’t live in Israel. They live in their own country, which has limited sovereignty due to the ongoing conflict. The Palestinian Authority is the governing authority in the West Bank and Hamas is the governing authority in the Gaza Strip. When I visited the “refugee” camp in the Gaza Strip, I of course had compassion for the families that I met, as they were living in squalor. But I didn’t quite understand why there were some Palestinians living in luxury while there were other Palestinians who were refugees inside their own territory. I learned that these Palestinian “refugees” were descendants of Arabs who lived in Israeli territory before Israel’s war for independence in 1948. In the Israeli Declaration of Independence signed on May 14, 1948, the authors called for “the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.” There were about 160,000 Arab-Israelis who stayed, while Israel was attacked on all sides by its Arab neighbors. But anywhere from 472,000 to 650,000 Arabs fled their homes at the urging of the invading Arab militaries. The Arabs who fled their homes — the so-called “refugees,” — now live in Gaza, the West Bank and in neighboring Arab countries. It’s unclear how a refugee status can continue to exist for 75 years. In the years following Israel’s independence through 1972, neighboring Arab countries expelled 820,000 Jews, whose families also lived in the Middle East for centuries. You don’t hear of Jewish “refugees” because the Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, who were forced to flee their homes, were welcomed with open arms as they resettled in Israel as full citizens. This also shows that the notion that Israel consists of a bunch of white European colonists is false. There has been an uninterrupted Jewish presence in the Middle East since the days of the Old Testament, including in what is modernday Israel. Unfortunately, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, both undemocratic, corrupt organizations, have tragically used the “refugees” as political pawns and human shields since 1948. The “refugees” will continue to exist until Israel is conquered. My semester in Israel immediately preceded the Second Intifada, and tension was in the air. When I returned home to the States following my semester, the Second Intifada erupted soon thereafter, and many of the places I had frequented had been bombed. I ate almost daily in the cafeteria at Hebrew University, which was bombed by Hamas on July 31, 2002, killing nine people, including five American students. I had been to the Sbarro Pizzeria, which was blown up by a suicide bomber, who killed 16 people, including several children and a pregnant woman. Israel’s tourism minister was assassinated by terrorists at the hotel across the street from my dormitory. In the ensuing years, several Israeli prime ministers have made untold concessions, pretty much offering a sovereign state to the Palestinians, who have rejected the offer every time. Why? Because the one thing Israel won’t concede is its own annihilation. Last summer, my parents took my daughter to Israel, where she met several second and third cousins. I write this column one day after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and I’m sad and angry. I sit here writing this with tears welling up in my eyes, hoping our cousins are safe, but also wrapping my head around the fact that these Hamas terrorists wouldn’t have hesitated to pull the trigger and murder my then 13-yearold daughter. I take zero solace in President Biden’s solid statement in support of Israel last Saturday, as future events are all quite predictable. In the coming days, possibly by the time this newspaper hits mailboxes, the administration will start to equivocate as they see the bodies of Palestinian human shields paraded through the streets of Gaza. Emotions will take over as our short attention spans and most Americans’ total lack of historical knowledge will begin to dictate our response. We’ll start hearing administration officials call for the end to the “cycle of violence.” The administration will be shielded from criticism by organizations like the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), which long ago abandoned its fight against anti-Semitism in favor of partisan posturing. Soon thereafter, the American foreign policy establishment will blame Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel’s “right wing” for all the violence, and the United Nations will open investigations against Israel for alleged human rights abuses (even though Israel is the only country in the history of the world that warns its enemies before striking). All of this will transpire as surely as the day will dawn, and President Biden will again call for the resumption of the two-state solution. But nobody will ever identify what a Palestinian state ought to stand for. One state, Israel, will remain a multiethnic, multi-religious advanced democracy, which celebrates the human rights of women and the LGBTQ. The proposed state of Palestine will be none of these things. There will be no democracy, no rights for women, and like Nazi Germany before it, Palestine will insist on being Jew-free. The proposed Palestine will continue to murder gays and lesbians. And every American advocating for a state of Palestine will turn a blind eye to this hypocrisy. FREEMAN FROM PAGE 8
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Up to Halloween is just around the corner. I look back on this magical day with very special and happy memories. Let me share a few with you as you think about your costume for this “trick or treat” experience. Many years ago, we lived in a five-story apartment building in White Plains. On Halloween, there was a bustle of activity getting my guys ready for the big night. The kids didn’t have to go outside to get their goodies; this was a prime location with built-in customers—and a safe and secure one! Carrying old pillow cases, the boys and their buddies started on the fifth floor and thundered their way down the stairs to the first floor—elevators were too slow--loaded with all kinds of good stuff. One or two parents would stand guard on each floor to keep some semblance of order and nip any mischief-making in the bud. When they got home, the merry trick-or-treaters rushed into the living room and emptied their pillow cases. There was a flurry of activity sorting out these delectable sweets, and some were quickly devoured before I could play interference. “Don’t forget, Mom gets the Baby Ruths and Good & Plentys,” one would always yell! They knew how much I loved these candies. They also remembered that their grandfather had told me as a youngster that the candy bar was named after me! We knew that wasn’t so, but it was fun to hear and part of Dad’s/ Grandpa’s legacy. So, there was my pile of Baby Ruths waiting for my tasting pleasure; thrown in were Good & Plentys because licorice was not a favorite with my guys. I’d sit on the floor with them, dole out a few candies to each, and listen to their Halloween stories while together we enjoyed these lip-smacking delights. If memory serves me correctly, I might have been about 11 or so when, after much begging, my parents agreed that I could have a Halloween party—I could be very persuasive and relentless when I wanted something (as you’ve read in previous columns)! Mom suggested the refreshments: get some pumpkins and pierce them with knitting needles; then thread all manner of scrumptious donuts through the needles and everyone could choose their pleasure. She would make cupcakes and we’d serve cider. Great tasty treats! But, I needed some real Halloweenish entertainment! Got it! A haunted room! I decided the basement was perfect. You had to see it to believe it: the only warmth came from the furnace and when Dad would be tinkering at his lighted work bench. The rest of this dark, lowceilinged and gloomy cellar was well-suited to creepy Halloween offerings, very nasty. After some research and my own vivid imagination, I had a plan to really spook my pals: Dad helped me strategically place bowls of warm spaghetti (worms) and peeled grapes (eye balls); very fine thread hanging from the stair well and rafters (spider webs); eerie music on the stereo and a full-sized doll dressed in black in a coffin-like box (vampire), back lit with dark and chilling lighting. Dad and I carefully led the guests down the wooden basement stairs into the candle-lit haunted room. My pals squealed as the spider webs brushed softly over their faces; there were actual screams when we guided their hands through the worms and eye balls. The vampire doll pushed them over the edge and they rushed up the stairs. They barreled into Mom’s warm, cozy kitchen and her comforting hugs. Everyone calmed down, sat at her cheerfully decorated table and inhaled the donuts, cupcakes and cider. My friends were impressed with my creativity and admitted to being “scared to death” when going through the haunted room. I have to admit: I had the “willies” myself. Dad had a great time helping set up the “room” and added a few “boos” as my friends came slowly down the stairs. Gotta say this: even without decorations, the basement was a very scary place and my brother, sister and I pretty much didn’t go down there. Quite a few years ago, I went trick or treating with my three then-young grandchildren (Nick and Brennan are now in college and Brie is in high school). Maybe you remember that Halloween night? It was after the sudden blizzard, which left most neighborhoods without power, and it was cold and damp. We bundled up in coats, scarves and gloves and carried flashlights. My then 3-year old granddaughter refused to wear a coat or sweater over her princess costume; she insisted on wearing her plastic princess high heels and carrying her scepter. However, after a “pit stop” with mommy, she returned nice and cozy in a warm jacket, boots and gloves. I marveled at her tenacity and bravery. Me? I was frozen! A couple of dads and their kids had joined us on our tour. I told one who wore a Batman mask and cape the Baby Ruth story. He especially liked the part about my father telling me the candy bar was named after me. As we were heading home, this young man came over and gave me a Baby Ruth. “I want your Halloween to be complete, just like your father would,” he said as he hugged me. I was touched by his thoughtfulness and sensitivity. For my own happy memories and those of my kids and grandchildren, Halloween will always be filled with whimsical, magical, nostalgic and happy memories. And Baby Ruth will reign as queen in all her sweetness and glory, followed closely by Good & Plenty! Some of my favorite Halloween memories RUTHANN SCHEFFER WHAT WAS I THINKING?
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 OPINION THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 11 Your Family Car Care Center! LOCATIONS: Baldwin Place • 44 Route 118 • (845) 628-7900 Croton Falls • 1 Center St • (914) 769-3206 Visit us at www.ProperService.com For over 100 years of combined auto experience, Joe Ferone and his sta of Proper Service have been serving the community, creating releationships, and building a remarkable company with an amazing team of employees! Find out why Joe Ferone of Proper Service needs to be YOUR Go-To Automotive Service Center! Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce! Best. Relationship. Ever. OMG it’s a LTR with tons of PDA! I had to look up what PDA means because last time I checked it meant “personal digital assistant.” And LTR? I know it’s only been two weeks. But if you type “Taylor Swift and...” into your web browser, the following names come up, plus Travis Kelce’s: Joe Alwyn, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner, Tom Hiddleston, Lucas Till, John Mayer, Calvin Harris, Matty Healy and Rick Melén. I had to type in Rick Melén myself- we aren’t technically seeing each other because I don’t have my glasses on. So if you want to date Taylor Swift, you only have so much time with her, and you had better make the most of it. She doesn’t wait long enough for familiarity to breed contempt before she breaks up with you. Familiarity isn’t even pregnant yet and you’re out the door. How’s the weather, have you read any good books lately, where do you want to go for dinner? We’ll need to skip all of that. Arguments over that aren’t going to break up a relationship, and that’s where we need to get to faster. Not on the first date, maybe the second, let’s discuss having children, getting a house together, who won the battle round on “The Voice.” These two are still getting past the small talk. “Travis, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” “Well, once I refused to autograph a baby.” “Travis! How could you turn down a little baby? Where did they want you to autograph it?” “Right in the parking lot. What about you?” “Well, once I tried to walk onto the red carpet unnoticed, but I wasn’t wearing concealer. Travis, may I call you Kelce? This is such a beautiful moment. Let’s take a picture together to capture it.” “Hold on, Taylor, are you going to let all those girls that are with you into our special picture?” “Travis, don’t be so selfish- after all this is a SELFIE we’re talking about here. Now what’s your best side?” “Definitely potato skins with bacon in them.” Kelce probably knows that if history repeats itself, there will eventually be irreconcilable differences, possibly ones that rhyme. And when that day comes, there will be a song written about you, and millions of teenage girls will be singing all your bad qualities for years to come. If I were him, I’d change my name to “Orange,” since there’s hardly anything that rhymes with it. He’s a receiver, and a lot of things rhyme with “pass.” Some of them are not good news, but I won’t go into any more detail here. My skeptical side can’t help thinking that this relationship is simply a cross-branding coup for the pop culture-spewing icon machine that is Taylor Swift. Taylor was seen up in a skybox watching the Chiefs game, with all of her “Swiftie” friends and Kelce’s Mom. There could soon be NFL tie-in merch, or maybe even a sit-com. It also means Travis will have to go to one of her concerts with his football buddies and Taylor’s Dad. The whole thing just seems strangely unnatural to me. If they ever tie the knot, it will be more like a corporate merger than a wedding. The same thing happened to Pete Davidson when he got engaged to Ariana Grande- his bankability quotient quadrupled, and all of a sudden the most beautiful and eligible bachelorettes in the land started looking at him thinking, “Really? Well, I guess so.” They’ll need a hybrid name. There was Brangelina, there was Bennifer, there was J-rod, there was Kimye. Will this new super-couple be called Travlor? Tayvis? Taylce? By the way, if Stefani Germanotta married John Rzeznik, she’d be Lady Gaga Goo Goo. But that’s what a relationship is all about. You absorb from each other. Taylor is going to learn things she never knew she needed to know, like how to achieve success in a triangle formation offense, with an inside slot receiver and a running back released to the weak side. And Travis is going to find out how to stand so that your legs look longer. And don’t make a half-hearted effort or only one of your legs is going to look longer. I could be wrong, maybe this is the real deal, but I felt I had better get these things off my chest within a week to be on the safe side. Maybe Kelce will announce his wishes to her Dad at the big concert. “Mr. Swift, I’m going to ask you for your daughter’s hand in marriage,” Travis says. “WHAT? I can’t hear a damn thing with 18,000 teenagers yelling in my ear.” “I’m asking you for your daughter’s hand in marriage, sir.” “Fine, just leave the rest of her out of it.” Join Rick and No Options for a Halloween rock & roll-fest at Back Nine in Cortlandt, at 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Say hello at [email protected]. Taylor + Travis 4ever RICK MELÉN MAN OVERBOARD Contact Us The Somers Record is located at 118 N. Bedford Road, Suite 100, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. You can contact us at 914-302-5830 or email [email protected].
PAGE 12 – THE SOMERS RECORD OPINION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 Somers Police Department 100 Primrose St. (Route 139) For questions, contact Kathy Cucchiarella [email protected] MEDICATION MEDICATION TAKEBACK TAKEBACK DAY DAY Somers Partners in Prevention cares about our community & the environment! Now Accepting New Patients We Are In-Network With MetLife, Delta Dental, United HealthCare, Cigna PPO, and Ameritas PPO, and We Accept Other Insurances 914.277.3518 380 Route 202 at Junction of 116 (across from Heritage Hills) PaulHarbottle.com Excellence in Dentistry In Somers Since 1990 Paul D. Harbottle, DDS VOTED TOP DENTIST 2009-2019 by his Peers as featured in SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2023 JAVIS CENTER, NYC FREQUENT TRAVEL CONSUMERS • How to plan a life changing vacation — that won’t break the bank • Hidden Gems of Travel • Live your wildest dreams using miles and points SATURDAY 10/28 SESSIONS NEW ITS2023 BENEFITS PRESENTERS INCLUDE: Darley Newman • Pauline Frommer • Dave Grossman MilesTalk • Michael Luongo • Nancy Barkley DON’T DELAY, REGISTER ONLINE TODAY VIEW THE SCHEDULE ON OUR WEBSITE Use featured ITS2023 Attendee Systems to increase the effectiveness of your participation • Attendee Appointment System • Info Retrieval System nyinternationaltravelshow.com TO ATTEND Visit: NYINTERNATIONALTRAVELSHOW.COM Click: the ATTEND Tab to register for the Consumer Day Exhibition & Seminars on Saturday October 28. Promo Code: Use Promotion Code ITSNYN to save $5 off $25 attendance fee. Why not ask your customers? Or in the case of town government, your constituents. As many of you know, I’m in a campaign running for a town board seat in a neighboring town. It’s not my first trip around the track in a local election. I’ve won a few and lost a few. Winning is a lot more fun. Every campaign is different though, which keeps it interesting. I enjoy the voter contact. A lot of babies to shake and hands to kiss, or is it the other way around? People are mostly friendly and receptive. The conversations generate lots of ideas about what town government can do to help improve our quality of life. This time around, I got the idea to collaborate with my running mate to create and publish a list called “101 Ideas for Bedford.” Although built with our community in mind, most of the items could apply to any town in our area. In fact, several ideas were borrowed from other towns. I never hesitate to steal an innovative idea regardless of where it comes from. One of the 101 ideas called “Senior Uber” recommends creating a point-to-point rideshare system for the town. It’s an idea that could be a fit for any community in our area. I started thinking about the idea when Westchester County started tinkering with the Bee-Line bus system, which has–to say the least–a light footprint up here in the north country. Who rides the bus? Folks who don’t or can’t drive, I imagine. It must be hard – near impossible – getting around these parts without a car. But for many, that’s the reality and there aren’t many options if you need groceries, have a doctor’s appointment, or need to get to the train station or work if you don’t have a car. A couple of volunteer organizations provide some assistance getting seniors around the area: FISH - Friends in Service Helping, and RideConnect, a not-for-profit program of Family Services of Westchester. Both organizations are always looking for volunteer drivers, so the service must be scheduled well in advance. Neither group provides service to non-seniors in need of local transport. Cabs are spotty and Uber Service is inconsistent. Also, it’s expensive if you do that every day. The city of Peekskill may be onto something in this regard. Remember, never be afraid to steal an innovative idea. In partnership with Sustainable Westchester (a nonprofit consortium of local Westchester County governments facilitating sustainability solutions), Peekskill won a grant for a “micro-transit” pilot program. The service called Bee-Line on demand “will be the first fully electric on-demand transit service of its kind in Westchester County. It aims to expand access to convenient, sustainable and affordable transportation for Peekskill residents who live and work far from the existing local fixed route bus network.” The Transit tech company Via is providing the software for the new service. According to their press release, “Via’s intelligent algorithms will enable riders to book a ride to a location in the city, and then direct them to a ‘virtual bus stop’ within a short walking distance – allowing for quick, efficient shared trips that provide more flexibility than traditional public transit’s fixed routes and schedules.” The company is already serving over 500 communities in 35 countries, so they must be onto something. Something like that could work here. Towns should investigate forming a coalition to provide a local rides system to seniors and others in need of help. By using an app or calling a central number, How about an on-demand ride share app for seniors? DON SCOTT IN CASE YOU MISSED IT SEE SCOTT PAGE 13
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 OPINION THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 13 LOOKING FOR A REAL ESTATE AGENT? Now is the time to sell! Let me help you get top dollar for your home while demand is still high! Call me for a free consultation today! Kayleigh Mayer Licensed Real Estate Salesperson [email protected] M: 914-879-2949 Kayleigh Mayer is a licensed real estate salesperson affiliated with EXP Realty. EXP Realty is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity Laws. www.aonpt.com The Road To Recovery Starts Here 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 NEW LOCATION BEDFORD GRAVEL & LANDSCAPE SUPPLY 27 Norm Ave., Mt. Kisco (next to Kohl’s) www.bedfordgravel.com 914-241-3851 FIREWOOD One Face Cord (Single Row 4’x8’) . . . $189 Two Face Cords ($187 each) . . . . . . . . $374 • Small amounts available for pick-up • Fatwood firestarter & kindling wood DEER FENCING, NETTING, POSTS & REPELLENT Gravel • Mulches • Topsoil • Fieldstone Serving the Area Since 1949 Endorsing candidates running for public office used to be a standard practice in the media, notably by local newspapers. The trend in recent years, though, is that fewer and fewer media choose to endorse. As reported by journalism trade journal Editor & Publisher, by 1996, 70% of newspapers had exited the presidential endorsement game. When I served as publisher 15 years ago of a local newsweekly that historically had issued endorsements for local races, I came to the same conclusion that was pithily put forth by the periodical Mental Floss (.com): “With so many avenues available for voters to get to know the candidates, it seems rather quaint to think of anyone voting how an editor tells them to.” To glean some insight into how much impact, if any, that endorsements have on voters and on election outcomes, we went to Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) bot, named Bard. It tells us, for example, that endorsements can wield greater influence when candidates are less known. Another variable, logically, is the perceived credibility of the endorser in the eyes of the voter. INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS Academic analyses on the effect of endorsements, says Bard, produce inconclusive results. A University of Michigan study found that endorsed candidates stood a better chance of winning. More specifically, the University of California said that endorsements by unions significantly helped candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. (A subset question we’ve heard is whether civil service unions, whose compensation is funded by taxpayers, should issue endorsements at all?) Research by the University of Chicago, reports Bard, concluded that newspaper endorsements “had no significant impact on the outcome of presidential elections.” The general consensus, via Bard, is that the value of endorsements varies according to circumstances. They mean more, supposedly, in local elections than in national, where the candidate has a low profile, and when the endorser is trusted by the voter. GO WITH YOUR GUT Of course, in the end, says Bard, it is the voter’s own political beliefs and values that determine to what degree endorsements make a difference in how each ballot is cast. Harking back to what Mental Floss opined about the rich trove of information available nowadays to assess candidates, we all should do as much research as practical in the interest of rendering the best-informed decision on who is most equipped to represent our interests. Some voters will place ideology above a candidate’s resume by reflexively voting party line. Others (notably non-affiliated independents, like yours truly, who do not subscribe to any political party) are more comfortable voting for the person, regardless of which political labels they wear. In that regard, it’s not an oversight when a candidate does not list their party affiliation on campaign materials; they’re logically looking for crossover votes by not pigeon-holing themselves. Whatever your process, your ballot does count. Whatever the election outcome, the right to vote is a gift too precious to squander. Whether or not endorsements from third parties influence how you cast your ballot, the truest path is to vote your conscience, not someone else’s. Bruce Apar is a writer, community volunteer and actor. He can be seen on stage Nov. 3-5 in the title role of stage play “Tuesdays with Morrie” in New Haven, Conn, at Powerhouse Theater (Town Players of New Canaan). For more information, contact him at 914- 275-6887 (text or voice) or bapar@ me.com. Do you endorse endorsements? Own your own vote BRUCE APAR BRUCE THE BLOG SCOTT FROM PAGE 12 this service could provide point-to-point service for appointments, shopping and connections to Metro North. As evidenced by the lack of bus ridership around here, trips don’t fall conveniently along the fixed route. Fewer and fewer Westchester County services make their way up here to the north country. Cutting Bee-Line service is just another example of the trend. Solving the transportation challenge, for seniors and others who can’t drive, is an opportunity for local leaders to craft a solution. That’s what local government is there for: to find local solutions to local problems. The suggestion box is a wonderful place to find some of those ideas and solutions.
(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! Pick your play and order today! (Gasp!) Don’t have tickets? Don’t miss out! SEPT 28 - OCT 21 • 10 dierent shows to choose from • Matinee and evening shows • 9 Nyack stages LiveArtsInNyack.com For program details & tickets: 833-681-4800 ®NYSDED NEW YORK HOHELP IS AVAILABLE EVENROOFING | SIDING | WINApproved applications will have the work completed by a qNot affiliated with State or Gov Program888-2or visit NYPNEED HELP WITH EXWE MATCH YOU WITH FUN...but it won’t last! Enrollment is Programs, appointments, and instaACT NFranche Straus with Raji, Bill Straus with Bodhi and Father Mike Watson Grace Marcella with Roscoe Sebastian GillenVivian Peters with Lily All creaturgreatand smaSt. Luke’s Episcopal Church held their annual blessing of the animals on Oct. 1. Held in the St. Francis Garden on the church grounds, Father Mike Watson offered a blessing to all of the pets who attended. Other activities that morning included pet photos, fall refreshments, and a presentation of the story of St. Francis. PAGE 14 THE SOMERS RECORD – TH
Elder Law & Estate Planning Wills, Trusts & Estates Small Business • Real Estate Matrimonial • Criminal Personal Injury • Commercial SOMERS • YONKERS Evening Appointments & Home Visits Tel: 914-964-6806 www.marralaw.com • [email protected] Owned and operated by two Registered Nurses with over 80 years of combined experience! Proudly Serving Putnam and Westchester Counties www.ecstaffingsolutions.com CALL US TODAY for a free phone evaluation! Route 202 Suite #3 Somers, NY 10589 914.265.4299 Dementia Care In-Home Evaluations Companion Care Respite Care Nursing Care 24 Hour Care Overwhelmed Caring For Your Loved One? Call us today! OMEOWNERS: N IF YOU COULD PAY CASH NDOWS | DOORS & MORE! quality repair crew provided by: HOMEOWNER FUNDING. ms. Contractor License: NY: #2719-h14 254-6006 ProgramFunding.net XPENSIVE REPAIRS? NDING YOU CAN AFFORD. only open during a limited time. allations are first come, first serve. NOW! Magic and Chase receiving their blessing. Alison Minton with umbrella cockatoo Chris with Shantih Julie Cirioni, Donna Conte with Breea, and Justin Cirioni with Max Father Mike Watson offering blessings in the St. Francis Garden. Matt Gross with Joy res t all PHOTOS: CAROL REIF URSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 PAGE 15
Sports PAGE 16 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 The CONFIDENCE LIGHT UP THE ROOM to That's the BBO difference Call for your FREE consultation today 293 Route 100 Suite 209 Somers, NY (914) 277-1111 www.BBOsmiles.com GIRLS SOCCER Somers 3, Horace Greeley 0 Tuesday, Oct. 3 Somers blanked the visiting Quakers, with Julia Arbelaez (2 goals, 1 assist), Tiana Righetti (1 goal), Annie Maguire (1 assist), and Isabella Wissa (1 assist) powering the offense. Somers 3, Byram Hills 0 Wednesday, Oct. 4 The squad kept things rolling the following day, with Arbelaez netting a hat trick for the Tuskers. Maguire and Lindsay Ulaj added assists. Somers 1, Yorktown 0 Saturday, Oct. 7 Somers went on the road and picked up a huge win against the Huskers. Annie Maguire scored the deciding goal off an assist from Marley Hawkins. BOYS SOCCER Eastchester 2, Somers 1 Monday, Oct. 2 The Tuskers opened the week by dropping a close game at home. Lucas Arbelaez netted the Somers goal off an assist from Seth Klayman. Somers 5, John Jay-Cross River 0 Tuesday, Oct. 3 Soccer squads keep rolling Field hockey falls to Lakeland Julia Vecciarelli heads up the field. PHOTO: ROB DIANTONIO VARSITY ROUNDUP BY RICH MONETTI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Fans can certainly look at a schedule and know which opponents are stronger. So the game against Brewster on Friday, Oct. 6 probably had the home crowd feeling pretty comfortable. But while the notion may trickle down to the players, the mindset never changes at Somers, according to Matt Klee. “Every practice, no matter who we are playing, we always give 110 percent,” said the lineman, and the diligence again translated to business as usual under the lights at Somers High School. Somers scored the first 31 points, and despite two late touchdowns, the boys easily prevailed 31-13. Still, the night began on defense and didn’t last long. An incomplete pass and two Barrie Mohammed runs that went nowhere had the Bears in punt formation. The kick away, Somers took over at their own 42, and the offense actually took their time. Mac Sullivan hit Miguel Iglesias, Andrew Kapica and Luca Ploger for short passes, and the Tuskers were on their horse. 22 yards away, the flight plan then gave way to the local. Mason Kelly ran twice to the three, and Sullivan did the rest on the keeper. At 6:41, Brewster hoped to meet the 7-0 score by getting Mohammed to gobble up some ground. Unfortunately for the Bears, the running back had his fill with two more no gains and a five-yard reception. No mercy forthcoming, Dean Palazzolo was up first. He ran the punt back 16 yards to the Brewster 39, and after Sullivan hit Nick Conti to the 27, a screen right to the sophomore receiver had Somers at the 15. Two plays later, a third and Tuskers take care of business against Brewster FOOTBALL Pat Mullins PHOTO: RICH MONETTI SEE ROUNDUP PAGE 18 SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 17
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 SPORTS THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 17 FOOTBALL FROM PAGE 16 five was no bother for Sullivan. He rolled right and threaded the ball to Andrew Violante in the corner for the touchdown at 2:56. Luke Cukaj added the extra point, and the 14-0 lead essentially meant it was now or never for Brewster. The Bears didn’t make Somers wait an eternity for an answer either. Three plays, and Palazzolo was back doing double duty on the punt return. This time he wasn’t pulled down until the Brewster 20, and the nail was about to enter the coffin. With Iglesias taking the snap, he hit Ploger over the middle to the four, and the hammer was passed to Kelly. He headed up the middle, bumped right and yielded a 21-0 lead with 46 seconds remaining in the first. No surprise, Brewster followed with three plays and a punt. But just because the lead was still very safe, quarterback Mac Sullivan did not give himself a pass on the next two unsuccessful drives. Fumbling when he seemed to take his eye off the snap on fourth at the five, he followed by throwing an interception on the subsequent possession. “I left a lot of points off the board so personally I’ve got to clean some stuff up,” said the senior. “It’s on me, not the rest of the team.” Another stalled drive at the end of the half probably didn’t have anyone in the stands judging the QB so harshly, but Cukaj’s 22-yard field goal sent the Tuskers into the locker room happy enough. Glee was next when 15 seconds into the third, the field goal kicker was out there again, and he had Palazzolo to thank. The all-purpose back took the kickoff, ran straight up the gut and the resulting 31-0 lead allowed Klee to put a bow on it. “This is a game to get experience,” concluded the senior. “We use this to look forward to that bigger, better team in the future. And again, we don’t settle for anything less than a big win and experience.” Andrew Kapica PHOTOS: RICH MONETTI Luke Cukaj Mason Kelly fifffflffifffflflffffiflfffflflflfflfflffiflflfffflffi ffl flffffifflfl fflffiffiflfflffifflfffflfflfflfflffl fflflfl fflffl fflffi fflffifffflfflfflfflffl ffifffflffiffl flfffflfffflffi fflfflflffl flfffflffiffl fflflfffflflflffiffl flfflffifflflfffflflfffflffflfflffiffl fffflfflfflflffffl ffl ffl flfflffiffl flffffiffl ffiflff ST E P FORWARD fifffflffiflfffflffiflflffi JOIN US >>fifffflffi fifflflflfififflflflfl fiflflfflff ffi fi ffifl ffl flfifl flfl fl flfl flflfl flfl flflfl flflfl flflfl fl flfl flflfl fl fl fl flfl fl flfl
PAGE 18 – THE SOMERS RECORD SPORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 4 Heritage Hills Plaza, 202 Ctr. • Somers, NY 10589 914-277-4222 • www.somerssmiles.com A new generation of family dentistry The end of the year is fast approaching. DON’T FORGET TO USE YOUR BENEFITS! 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. FALL 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 11/30/23 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! ROUNDUP FROM PAGE 16 The squad came out swinging on senior night, battering the Wolves behind stellar performances from Brady Leitner (3 goals), Lucas Arbelaez (1 goal), Daniel Cho (1 goal, 1 assist), and Harrison Mellor (1 assist). Somers 5, Brewster 0 Thursday, Oct. 5 The Tuskers kept the momentum going on the road with a balanced offensive showing. Manny Perez (2 goals), Brady Leitner (1 goal, 1 assist), Hyugo Todo (1 goal), Daniel Nikac (1 goal), Lucas Arbelaez (1 assist), and Nate Cohen (1 assist) all helped power the win. Somers 3, Lakeland 1 Friday, Oct. 6 Somers ended the week with another road win, swatting the hornets behind great efforts from Cohen (1 goal, 1 assist), Leitner (1 goal), Perez (1 goal), Nicak (1 assist), and Matthew D’Ippolito (1 assist.) FIELD HOCKEY Lakeland 7, Somers 0 Thursday, Oct. 5 The Tuskers couldn’t get the offense going on the road, taking a tough loss to the Hornets. Willow Browne had 11 saves in the cage for Somers. VOLLEYBALL Somers 3, John Jay 1 Tuesday, Oct. 3 Somers was sharp on their home court, handling the Wolves 25-18, 17-25, 26-24, 25-11. Reilly Pittman (24 assists, 14 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace, 1 block), Caroline Conti (10 kills, 1 ace 2.5 blocks), Bridget Pittman (7 kills, 3 aces, 8 digs), and Taylor Luks (15 digs) all chipped in for the victory. Somers 3, Brewster 0 Thursday, Oct. 5 The Tuskers picked up a big road win behind strong performances from Reilly Pittman (17 assists, 5 kills, 4 aces, 6 digs, 0.5 blocks), Caroline Conti (11 kills, 1 ace, 1 assist, 2 digs, 3 blocks), and Taylor Luks (10 digs, 3 assists, 1 ace). Willow Browne makes the save. Gabriella Valderrama chases a loose ball. PHOTOS: ROB DIANTONIO Somers coach Shannon Scavelli gives instructions in between quarters.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 LEISURE THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 19 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. Information 5. Seaport (abbr.) 8. Agricultural disease (abbr.) 11. Riding horses 13. Boxing’s GOAT 14. Hurt or discomfort 15. A small sharp knife to trim vegetables 16. A beaver builds one 17. Horizontal passage into a mine 18. Self-immolation by fire rituals 20. Chain bar with lots of games (abbr.) 21. Goo Goo Dolls’ hit 22. Agreeable 25. In an early way 30. In a way, struck 31. ItÕs there in the morning 32. County in the S. Pacific 33. Central Florida city 38. Numbers cruncher 41. Mexican beers 43. Lawyers say you can indict one 45. Capital of South Australia 47. Wings 49. Drug used to treat HIV/AIDS 50. Fencing sword 55. Capital of Qatar 56. Portable bed 57. Afflicted 59. Lying down 60. Midway between northeast and east 61. Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation 62. Inflamed 63. Soviet Socialist Republic 64. Impudence CLUES DOWN 1. A way to fish 2. Greek mythological figure 3. Scarlett’s home 4. Assist 5. More doleful 6. Premeditated 7. Dish featuring minced food 8. San Diego ballplayer 9. Eight 10. Unwelcome picnic guests 12. Human gene 14. Bucket 19. Make full 23. Dirt 24. Person cited as ideal example 25. A part of (abbr.) 26. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet 27. Very long period of time 28. Gas usage measurement 29. North American native people 34. It says “moo” 35. Folk singer Di Franco 36. Resinlike substance of certain insects 37. Residue 39. Grand homes 40. Popinjays 41. Man who behaves dishonorably 42. Figures 44. One who watches over children 45. Expressed pleasure 46. No longer living 47. Hebrew calendar month 48. Part of the ear 51. Swiss river 52. Prejudice 53. Italian Island 54. Resist authority (slang) 58. Criticize 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 The Somers Record YES, I really enjoy The Somers Record 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 Mahopac News Yorktown News The Mt. Kisco-Bedford Times The Katonah-Lewisboro times
PAGE 20 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 it was recently discovered that the boys’ tree was destroyed, and the bench and plaque were missing from the area. The classes and community were disheartened by this update and have decided to gather together for another special event at the high school on Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. - a combined ceremony and reunion to rekindle friendships, share stories, and keep the cherished boys’ memories and accomplishments alive and known to future classes by adding a new memorial. We are warmly honored and grateful to acknowledge the many people who lovingly remember Mike and Jeff, and we welcome all to join us as we fondly reunite to celebrate them during the Class of 1993 reunion weekend. REUNION FROM PAGE 1 Chabad of Yorktown 2629 Old Yorktown Rd, Yorktown Heights Please RSVP for events by calling 914-962- 1111 or visiting www.Chabad Yorktown.com Chabad Hebrew School Meets Sunday Mornings Children, acquire a broad knowledge of Judaism through a motivating and challenging venue. Students gain an appreciation for the joys, values and traditions of the Jewish heritage as it is vividly brought to life by the dedicated and enthusiastic teachers whose creativity and dynamism make every lesson a unique learning experience. Visit www.ChabadYorktown.com/ HebrewSchool for more info or to try a free, no obligations class! Somers Parks & Recreation Department Fall Programs Now Online To register, visit www.somersny.com, then click “Parks & Recreation” and scroll down to “Program Registration Site.” Available programs can be found in the orange tab. Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry Fundraiser The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, a weekly choice pantry with a 32 year history, will hold a fundraiser on Sunday, October 15, from 1 - 4 p.m. at the Captain Lawrence Barrel House in Mount Kisco. Come enjoy suds, sliders and songs while supporting the incredible work of this predominantly volunteer run community mainstay. This past year saw a staggering increase in the number of guests - over 92,000 ‘person visits’, 28% of which were children and 12% seniors. This is up 40% since last year. Food for over 1.2 million meals was provided, purchased at inflationary prices. There is no expectation of the need decreasing or prices of food falling. Individual tickets and sponsorships are available. Please visit www.mountkisco pantry.org or email outreach@ mountkiscofoodpantry.org for more information. Somers Lions Club In 1966, the Somers Lions Club was chartered and has grown exponentially with dedicated men and women who volunteer their time, skills, and energy to make a difference in people’s lives, both in our community and for the charities we support. Lions can be found working on “hands-on” projects, fundraising, and running numerous community events in and around Somers. If you are in need of assistance, there is a good chance that the Lions can help. Visit www.somerslionsclub.org for more information. Follow on social media @ somerslions. The Somers Lions would like to welcome its newest members and are proud to serve alongside you. Wolf Conservation Center Howl-O-Ween Costume and Dance Party Saturday, Oct. 28, from 7 to 11 p.m. Join in for a spectacular night of drinks, dinner, dancing, and dessert at Pound Ridge’s Conant Hall, all to benefit the Wolf Conservation Center! $125 per person includes drinks, dinner, dancing, and dessert. Costumes are strongly encouraged. This program is for adults 21 years old and over, pre-registration is required. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit www.nywolf. org or call 914-763-2373. TRUNK FROM PAGE 6 SEE TRUNK PAGE 22
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 21 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 FUNERAL PREARRANGEMENT Both pre-payment and no-payment options Serving all Faiths since 1858 Cremations and Burials DANIEL B. McMANUS ~ Proprietor BRUCE E. REISDORF ~ Licensed Manager JOSEPH M. McMANUS ~ Director RONALD P. CERASO ~ Director www.clarkassociatesfuneralhome.com 4 Woods Bridge Road, Katonah • (914) 232-3033 • Only 1/4 mile from 684 exit 6. • Only 1 block from the Katonah Railroad station. • Less than 60 minutes from N.Y. City. • Parking facilities for over 100 cars • Monuments & inscriptions available. Joseph Riley Campbell Joseph Riley Campbell (Joe) gently left this life on October 1, 2023, with his beloved wife Anne at his side, at the age of 93. Joe was born in Brooklyn, NY on November 26, 1929. In his youth, his family moved to Glens Falls, NY where he attended St. Mary’s Academy. He developed a passion for sports, playing baseball and football. After High School Joe studied for the priesthood with the Maryknoll Fathers Seminary in Ossining, NY. He left the seminary to enlist in the US Army, was accepted into Officer’s Candidate School and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. The Korean War/Conflict ended just before his overseas deployment. Joe’s life was dedicated to his faith, his family, and in service to others. After an honorable discharge from the Army, Joe graduated from Springfield College and turned his profound love of sports into a job as a physical education teacher in Pelham, NY. He also ran a boys day camp out of his station wagon. A gifted mentor, Joe was awarded a Master’s Degree in Guidance from Queens College, and was employed as a guidance counselor for Ossining High School. He eventually completed an Administrator’s Certificate at NYU, and guidance counseling turned into school administration. Joe was the Asst. Superintendent/Director of Pupil Personnel for the Mount Vernon School District until his retirement in 1989. He said that his most important job was to help troubled kids find a path to success. Joe and Anne (Carrigan) met on a blind date in April 1959 and were married in June 1960. They had four children and the family lived for many years in Bronxville, NY. Joe was devoted to his wife and family and taught his kids every sport he knew. They traveled often with their dog, Smokey, in the family station wagon, but their favorite vacation destination was Huletts Landing on Lake George. In 1971 Joe constructed much of what became the family summer home, aka “the Red House.” At Huletts, Joe ran weekly golf tournaments for adults, hosted golf lessons and softball games for kids, and ran annual North-South tournaments for teens. He loved handing out trophies. Golf was Joe’s favorite sport, and he succeeded in sinking three holes in one. He was an active member of the Huletts community and served on the Golf Committee and as Treasurer of the homeowners association for many years. “Skipper Joe” also enjoyed driving his boat, Soupy, on the Lake and was an incredibly patient water-skiing instructor. During his working years, Joe also spent time coaching CYO basketball, was a high school basketball referee, and taught ESL night courses. After his retirement, Joe and Anne loved to travel. They divided their time between Huletts Landing and Somers, NY, spending winters in Port Charlotte and Fort Myers, Florida, while planning trips to US Cities, National Parks and European destinations. In between, Joe volunteered as a Eucharistic Minister to nursing homes for St. Joseph’s Church in Somers. In Florida, he enjoyed golf and bocce, and volunteered his time helping retirees file their income taxes. Joe also spent many years researching Campbell family genealogy, before the internet was widely available, visiting government offices and churches in the U.S., Ireland and Scotland to scour the archives. He enjoyed family games around the table and jigsaw puzzles. Most recently Anne and Joe resided in Southbury, CT. Joe is survived by his cherished wife of 63 years, Anne, and their close family: daughters Joanne Keenan and her husband Patrick; Jeanne Eliseo and her husband Mark; and Kathy Campbell and her husband Dave Sheppard; son Joseph R. Campbell, Jr. and his wife Jennifer; and extended family Susan Conaty (Tom), Cathy Ann Flanagan and her children Kevin, Sean and Sarah; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Joe especially delighted in watching his 12 grandchildren grow up: Kristen, Patrick and John Keenan; Matthew (Steph), Keriann (Kevin), Mary, Mark and Dan Eliseo; Ben Sheppard; and Collette, Lauren and Katherine Campbell. He recently met his first great-grandchild, Mabel Jean Eliseo. He is predeceased by his parents, Helen (Dolen) and Riley Joseph Campbell, sister Alice (Albert) Sarrantonio, and brother James (Veronica) Campbell. Calling hours were held at the Clark Associates Funeral Home in Katonah on Thursday, Oct. 5. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Joseph’s Church in Somers, on Friday, Oct. 6. A private burial followed in Huletts Landing, NY. Donations in honor of Joe Campbell may be made to the Huletts Golf Club (Venmo @ Huletts-Golf-Club) or to a charity of your choice. The family extends their sincere appreciation for the loving care and compassion expressed by the staff at the Watermark Assisted Living facility in Southbury, CT and Regional Hospice of Danbury. OBITUARY
PAGE 22 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 fifffffflffiflffflffiff THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Community Service hours are available [email protected] for this event! KEEP SOMERS BEAUTIFUL elephant hotel Sat & Sun OCTOBER 21st & 22nd 9-12 Supplies at Town Hall SOMERS NEEDS YOU to KEEP SOMERS BEAUTIFUL! Westchester Bluegrass Club www.westchesterbluegrassclub.com Mark Cosgrove and Good Medicine Saturday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Mark Cosgrove’s distinctive, creative flatpicking sound has been heard all over the US and Europe, as well as in Australia and Japan. A lot of this exposure and travel is due to Mark’s association with Americana and roots music icon David Bromberg. In addition to touring with the Grammy nominated David Bromberg Quintet and Big Band, Mark had the great good fortune to be featured on the three most recent recordings of David’s, the latest of which, Big Road, reached Number One on Billboard’s Blues Chart for multiple weeks. The previous release, The Blues, The Whole Blues, And Nothing But The Blues, was selected by The Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll as 2017 Blues Album of the Year. In the Bromberg bands, Mark plays acoustic and electric guitar and mandolin, and sings harmony vocals. Doors open at 6 p.m., acoustic jam from 6 - 7:15, Open Mic 7:15 - 8, Mark Cosgrove and Good Medicine 8 - 9:30 p.m.Donation: $25. Please bring a small snack to share! Somers Library Foundation Needs You Are you a passionate supporter of the Somers Library and looking for a way to help improve the services and capabilities? The Somers Library Foundation is looking for new board members. There are lots of opportunities to use your talents and build new skills. Send the foundation an email at [email protected]. Watch the Somers Library Foundation website (https://somers libraryfoundation.org) for details on upcoming meet and greet events to learn more about the Foundation and what it means to be a board member of the board. TRUNK FROM PAGE 20 “Well, the devil’s always in the details,” the project manager responded, explaining that Woodard & Curran’s agreement with Somers is always for “as-needed services.” In other words, until the firm had all the statue’s stats and was actively engaged by the town, it wouldn’t have been able to investigate and offer a professional opinion, Robbins said. Councilman Tom Garrity wanted to know if the statue’s weight was only known after it was completed. Supervisor Rob Scorrano said original concreate critter tipped the scales at approximately 450 pounds, and the town had been given an estimate of around 650 for the new one. (The new Old Bet’s exact weight couldn’t be pinpointed at press time.) “We said, ‘Let’s test it and make sure it doesn’t fall off’,” he added. Garrity emphasized several times that everyone is 100 percent behind the new Old Bet and that his questions were in no way intended to be critical of anyone, especially not Robbins. “I just wanted to make sure that we learn from this,” and that “moving forward, that the details are taken care of before dollar one is spent so we’re not coming here and saying, ‘Oh, well, we have this beautiful 600-pound elephant and it’s going to cost us $40,000 to elevate it.’” Clinchy echoed that, admitting that “you learn from everything you do; that’s the value of experience.” “I blame myself. I didn’t ask the right questions. Are we sure it can support it? Should have thought of that. Are we sure we vetted this whole thing? Who can I ask on this. I mean, we’re up here; we’re not experts on too many things but we do ask questions,” he elaborated. Clinchy said the town sincerely appreciates the “energy” and the “willingness” of local volunteers who do the groundwork for these types of projects, however, in the end it’s the “town’s responsibility” to apply all research and resources available to make sure everything’s up to snuff. “I think there’s a lesson to be learned here,” he said. The board then unanimously gave Scorrano the go-ahead Thursday to execute the contract with Woodard & Curran. Town Historian Doris Jane Smith agreed that there is a “checklist” that has to be fully completed before anything’s installed. “You can’t ensure that one can come down and the other can go up quickly,” she said, adding that once all the T’s are crossed and the I’s dotted, the town will celebrate with a formal dedication ceremony. ON A LIGHTER NOTE The Historical Society revealed this week that it’s just been recognized by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network for its documentary, “Re-creating a Local Landmark -- The Old Bet Sculpture of Somers, NY.” GHHN “Awards for Excellence” go to projects that “exemplify creativity and professional vision resulting in a contribution to the preservation and interpretation of the historic scene, material culture, and diversity of the region,” according to the network. The video was made by Jeff Zimmerman and follows Badia “as he crafts a new elephant sculpture for the deteriorating National Historic Landmark statue of Old Bet.” The statue was cast at the Modern Art Foundry in Queens. The mini-documentary includes an historical overview featuring photographs from the Somers Historical Society’s collections. “Filming and production were an entirely volunteer-driven effort that contributed to preserving and interpreting a historical scene, increased public awareness and fulfilled the society’s mission,” the GHHN said. OLD BET FROM PAGE 5
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EAST CARMEL, NY 10512 www.EASTROADMOTORS.com 845-225-3503 PICK-UP AND DELIVERY AVAILABLE email: [email protected] * LEAF BLOWERS * LAWN MOWERS * STRING TRIMMERS * CHAIN SAWS * SNOWBLOWERS * GENERATORS * QUADS * SNOWMOBILES SERVICE & REPAIR yelling at my TV,” she explained. “And decided to try to do something about it.” Scott, having served in nonpartisan leadership roles in Katonah as Board of Education President and Fire Commissioner, was moved to action by the turn in recent years to greater politicization of his town’s historically non-partisan town council. The film they showed chronicled a two-day “Red/Blue” workshop, the organization’s first ever, in early 2017, in Lebanon, Ohio, bringing together about ten left-leaning individuals with ten right-leaning people. Over the course of the two days, individuals on both sides learned about one another and the life experiences that shaped their views. The divide between the two groups was clear at the start. As one workshop participant remarked, “I’m a liberal, and feel like I’m in enemy territory.” The groups referred to one another as “the opposing team.” But as participants opened up, shared their stereotypes about “the other,” asked questions to better understand why “the other” believed as they did, and acknowledged the kernel of truth about their own “team,” people started viewing one another as sincere, caring people. They began to recognize how much common ground they shared and even came to like one another. One participant remarked, “Congress should have to go through this exercise.” A particularly powerful illustration was the friendship that emerged between a staunchly conservative Evangelical Christian and an equally passionate liberal Muslim, both of whom went on to visit the other’s house of worship. Event attendees were moved by the film. Many expressed interest in participating in a similar Red/Blue workshop, which Braver Angels has tailored into an effective three-hour format. The Somers Library has asked that local Braver Angels members arrange for a Politics and the Family workshop before Thanksgiving, delivered via Zoom for maximum participation, while some event attendees shared their desire for in-person workshop options as well. For more information about Braver Angels, visit the organization’s website at www. BraverAngels.org. Those interested in getting involved can reach Braver Angels New York State Coordinator Randy Freeman by email (rfreeman@braverangels. org) or by phone at 973-449-3948. ANGELS FROM PAGE 7 BY CAROL REIF STAFF WRITER Folks have deployed everything from pesticides, traps, and sticky wraps to DIY soap-and-water sprays, oils, and plain-old stomping in the battle against the Spotted Lanternfly, scourge of valuable crops such as apples, grapes, and hops. Now they’ll have another weapon in their arsenal: high-powered vacuums. Earlier this year, Westchester purchased the devices to help control the invasive critter in county parks. The Spotted Lanternfly is actually not a fly – or a moth -- but a member of the Order Hemiptera. Think “leafhoppers” like cicadas and aphids. It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 and has now spread to New York and at least 13 other states. The theory that its egg masses had hitched a ride on a stone shipment from China. The Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation announced recently that it has designated 10 vacuums to be loaned out to local municipalities on a first-come, first-served basis. “We’re working together to combat this threat to our environment,” County Executive George Latimer said of the joint effort. Parks Commissioner Kathy O’Connor said the vacuuming tactic has seen “tremendous success” in controlling the colorful pest. It is hoped that data collected by the users of the vacuums will help pinpoint exactly where the interloper is lurking. Information can be shared with the county by simply scanning a QR code on the side of the device. The county is also urging homeowners who’ve managed to hunt down and kill the bug to report in to iNaturalist.org, a nonprofit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists. Westchester parks folks previously made use of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s so-called “Conservation Dogs,” pooches that are trained to sniff out the Spotted Lanternfly’s future offspring. The idea was to head off the next wave of the invaders before they get a chance to really settle in. The brown and grey eggs resemble mortar and can be smeared on almost any surface. Experts suggest using a hard, tapered, or flat scraper to remove the masses then kill the eggs by securing them in doubled bags, dunking them in rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, or using that tried and true method, smashing. Westchester officials look to combat Lanternfly problem REGIONAL
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PAGE 26 – THE SOMERS RECORD CLASSIFIEDS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 DIVORCE $389 - Uncontested divorce papers prepared. Only one signature required. Poor personApplication included if applicable. Separation agreements. Custody and support petitions. 518-274-0380 Drive Out Breast Cancer: Donate a car today! The benefits of donating your car or boat: Fast Free Pickup - 24hr Response Tax Deduction - Easy To Do! Call 24/7: 855-905-4755 HEARING AIDS!! High-quality rechargeable, powerful Audien hearing aids priced 90% less than competitors. Tiny and NEARLY INVISIBLE! 45-day money back guarantee! 855-598-5898 VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! 50 Pills SPECIAL $99.00 FREE Shipping! 100% guaranteed. CALL NOW! 855-413-9574 ATTENTION OXYGEN THERAPY USERS! Discover Oxygen Therapy That Moves with You with Inogen Portable Oxygen Concentrators. FREE information kit. Call 888-514-3044 My Caring Plan’s local advisors have helped thousands of families with unique needs find senior living. 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Plus over 40 regional and specialty networks included. NFL, College Football, MLB, NBA, NHL, Golf and more. Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV 1-888-534-6918 ATTORNEY AUTO DONATIONS HEALTH HOME IMPROVEMENT MISCELLANEOUS PUZZLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF 10/05/23 Your business card could be here. Call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151 to find out how. Advertise With Us When you advertise with The Somers Record, you are reaching thousands of households and businesses throughout the Town of Somers, including all of its hamlets and Heritage Hills. To advertise or to place a classified, call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151 or email [email protected]. Promote Your Charity Send us a press release at [email protected], or give us a call at 914-302-5830. NOTE: when putting thePromote Your Charity Send us a press release at somersrecord@halstonmedia. com, or give us a call at 914- 302-5830. Photo Submissions Photos submitted to The Somers Record need to be high-resolution. Images that are submitted at a low resolution cannot be published. Submit photos to The Somers Record by the Thursday before the next publication date. Submissons can be emailed to somersrecord@halstonmedia. com or mail it to The Somers Record, 118 N. Bedford Road, Suite 100, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you’d like your photo returned. Advertise With Us When you advertise with The Somers Record, you are reaching thousands of households and businesses throughout the Town of Somers, including all of its hamlets and Heritage Hills. To advertise or to place a classified, call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151 or email [email protected]. To advertise in The Somers Record, call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151 or email [email protected]. Notice of Formation of LMR ASSOCIATES LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 2023- 09-01. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to LMR ASSOCIATES LLC: PO Box 26 Croton Falls NY 10519. Purpose: Any lawful purpose Notice of Formation of GoTheDistance. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 2023- 08-17. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Danielle Santoro: 237 Hayward street Yonkers NY 10704. Purpose: Any lawful purpose NOTICE OF RESOLUTION INITIATING PERMISSIVE REFERENDUM Notice is hereby given that the Town Board of the Town of Somers, County of Westchester, State of New York, at a regular meeting held on October 5, 2023, duly adopted a resolution, an abstract of which is that, subject to a permissive referendum, certain unimproved real prope1iy identified on the Town Tax Maps as Part of Section 17.18, Block 1, Lot 1.2, Route 100, Somers, New York 10589, be purchased from the Somers Fire District for general municipal purposes at a purchase price of Eighty Thousand ($80,000.00) Dollars. By Order of the Town Board Town of Somers, New York Patricia Kalba, RMC, MMC Town Clerk Dated: October 6, 2023 Somers, New York PUBLIC NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Somers, Westchester County, New York will conduct a Public Hearing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 7:30 P.M. at the Somers Town House, 335 Route 202, Somers, New York, 10589 on the application of Gleneida Realty, Inc. for two variances. The property included in this application is located in an R-80 Residential District at 259 Route 100, Somers and is known and shown on the Town Tax Map as Section: 28.06, Block: 1, Lot: 15. All persons having any interest in the application are invited to attend and will be given an opportunity to be heard. BY ORDER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VICTOR CANNISTRA CHAIRMAN Denise Schirmer, Secretary October 4, 2023 MJS Capital Consulting LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/14/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Matthew Shaffer, 26 Pleasant Ridge Rd., Harrison, NY 10528. General Purpose 6746 Selfrige Street, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 9/25/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Malinda Khayat, 81 Marlborough Rd., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. General Purpose Old Horse Farm, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 9/7/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 25 Lake St., 5J, White Plains, NY 10603. General Purpose NOA CT Properties LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/17/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Orges Gjinaj, 90 Amsterdam Ave., Hawthorne, NY 10532. General Purpose 1 Edward Street LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/29/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 518 N. State Rd., Briarcliff, NY 10510. General Purpose Luciano Stefano Development LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/29/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Harfenist Kraut & Perlstein LLP, 2975 Westchester Ave., Ste. 415, Purchase, NY 10577. General Purpose Siberia 24 LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 9/6/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 342 N. Main St., Port Chester, NY 10573. General Purpose 1832 Commerce, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 7/25/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 81 Virginia Ave., Dunmont, NJ 07628. General Purpose Wessy LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/31/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Elahe Ohebshalom, 490 Bleeker Ave., Apt. 3H, Mamaroneck, NY 10543. General Purpose 51 Grove Street Realty, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 7/26/2023. Cty: Westchester. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Lynn Scott, P.O. Box 204, Mt. Kisco, NY 10545. General Purpose
Grand Lux Realty (GLR), one of Westchester’s County’s largest family-owned brokerages, has expanded into Somers, where it will also house its Homes for Heroes affiliate program. Homes for Heroes (GLRHeroes.com) is a nationwide program that gives back to community heroes, defined as the five service professions that serve our community – educators, healthcare/EMS, law enforcement, firefighters, military – and the administrative staff that support them. In 2022, Homes for Heroes paid nearly $18 million back to “community heroes” and a total of more than $100 million since its inception. With the addition of the GLR Somers office, housed in a historic building at 361 Route 202, Grand Lux Realty has grown to seven locations, including Chappaqua, Ardsley and Mamaroneck in Westchester County; Fishkill in Dutchess County; Stony Point in Rockland County; and Goshen in Orange County. Under the leadership of Principal Broker Michael Levy, Grand Lux Realty has grown to 228 agents. It is one of the top-producing brokerage firms in the lower Hudson Valley that is locally-owned and independent, unattached to a realtor franchise or national chain. GLR sold approximately 200 homes in 2022, for a total volume of nearly $100 million, a new highwater mark for the firm. “Our rapid growth is built on entrepreneurial spirit,” Levy said. “The birth of our new GLR Somers office is testament to that non-corporate culture. “Two of our top agents, Jeffrey Kuduk and Joseph Stasko, decided to open a branch office in Somers in alignment with GLR.” Levy said he proposed to the pair a special offer: if the Somers office grows to a predetermined size and level of production, it would birth a new company, with Kuduk and Stasko becoming partners with Levy in that office. “This is a unique approach to real estate brokering that GLR offers our agents,” Levy said. “When we say we want to help our agents take their careers to the next level, it’s more than talk; we walk the walk.” About Homes for Heroes Home for Heroes, Inc. began in 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack. It pays eligible home buyers and sellers a “Hero Reward®” when they work with an authorized Home for Heroes realtor such as Grand Lux Realty (GLRHeroes.com). The savings are derived from a percent of the real estate broker’s commission, a portion of which the real estate agent donates to the Hero and a portion of which goes to the Homes for Heroes Foundation, which gives grants in one of three categories – housing crisis, disaster relief, assistance for the health or the family of a Hero. “It’s a small way to give back to the community,” said GLR Somers Principal Joseph Stasko. With his business partner Jeffrey Kuduk, they run the newly minted office in Somers, and with local GLR Realtor Patricia Ephram, the three oversee the Homes for Heroes (GLRHeroes.com) affiliation. The team has a history of community support and volunteerism and look forward to introducing themselves at future community events. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE THE SOMERS RECORD – PAGE 27 One touch of a button sends help fast, 24/7. alone I’m never Life Alert® is always here for me. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! ® Help at Home with GPS! Help On-the-Go For a FREE brochure call: 1-800-404-9776 Saving a Life EVERY 11 MINUTES Batteries Never Need Charging. FINANCING AVAILABLE WITH APPROVED CREDIT Call today and receive a FREE SHOWER PACKAGE PLUS $1600 OFF With purchase of a new Safe Step Walk-In Tub. Not applicable with any previous walk-in tub purchase. Offer available while supplies last. No cash value. Must present offer at time of purchase. CSLB 1082165 NSCB 0082999 0083445 1-855-916-5473 REQUEST A FREE QUOTE CALL NOW BEFORE THE NEXT POWER OUTAGE *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions. (877) 516-1160 $0 MONEY DOWN + LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT OPTIONS REQUEST A FREE QUOTE FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* A $735 Value! Whether you are home or away, protect what matters most from unexpected power outages with a Generac Home Standby Generator. GLR affiliates with Homes for Heroes New office located at 361 Route 202 in Somers GLR Somers agents Jeffrey Kuduk (left) and Joseph Stasko. PHOTO COURTESY OF APAR PR GRAND LUX REALTY Grand Lux Realty Somers 361 Route 202 Somers 845-617-3010 Contact Us The Somers Record is located at 118 N. Bedford Road, Suite 100, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. You can contact us at 914- 302-5830 or email [email protected].
PAGE 28 – THE SOMERS RECORD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023