Westchester News Feeds

The Hudson Independent: News for Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, NY

Your first source for news and information about events and happenings in the diverse Hudson River villages of Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow and Irvington in Westchester County, New York. The Hudson Independent, reflecting its print edition, provides a comprehensive monthly listing of local events, as well as the latest stories ranging from government, politics, the schools, and infrastructure, to sports, businesses, and village people, as well as restaurant reviews, and variety of other topics.

Students Explore the World During Spring Break
by Elaine Marranzano During spring break in April, three separate groups of students from Sleepy Hollow and Irvington schools participated in school-sponsored trips to Spain, Egypt and London. An enlightened and inspired group of teenagers (and one fourth grader) who returned. Student strike a pose in Egypt. “Spain is nothing like America. Every single building, every block, has meaning because of the history and architecture,” said Weston Murphy, a junior at Sleepy Hollow High School who traveled to Spain, along with 10 other boys and 13 girls. “I loved it,” gushed Sleepy Hollow junior Lauren Zallo. “I want to move to Madrid or at least do a semester abroad.” The nine-day trip to Madrid and Barcelona was organized by the Sleepy Hollow Foreign Language Honor Society under the direction of Jaime Begazo, chairperson of the school’s Foreign Language Department. Last year the Foreign Language group traveled to France and is planning a trip to Italy next year. School-sponsored trips are typically organized by faculty, cost between $2,000 and $3,000 per student, and are paid for by parents, fundraisers and some foundation contributions. Since 1996, the African-American Heritage Club at Sleepy Hollow Middle/High School has been organizing trips to Africa “to dispel myths and encourage appreciation for Africa’s contributions to the world,” according to Dr. Cheryl Burton, a social worker at the school and co-advisor of the African-American Heritage Club. In years past, the group went to West Ghana and South Africa. This year, they traveled to Egypt. “Egypt was surreal,” said Kareen Ishmal, a senior at Sleepy Hollow. “It is one thing to look at pictures in a text book, but when you see the pyramids up close, that’s another thing.” “I noticed that women are treated differently in Egypt than in the U.S.,” said 15-year-old Violet Overn. “Of course, we had to wear head scarves, but it was more than that. It was little things like the policemen seemed to be more protective of women than they were of the men crossing the street.” Over 11 days, the group of 12 students and 19 adults (teachers and relatives) visited the Museum of Cairo, the ancient Pyramids of Giza and the tombs of King Tut, Queen Hatshepsut and Akhnaton. They rode through the streets of Aswan late at night in a horse and carriage, cruised for four days and three nights down the Nile River and visited an elementary school where they were taught the Arabic alphabet. “The kids said it was the trip of a lifetime,” said Dr. Burton. “They were able to see live what they had been studying about.” Fourth-grader Gavin Checchi was the youngest student who went to Egypt. “He asked the most questions,” said Dr. Burton. Larry Corio, music director at Irvington High School, escorted 117 members of the concert/marching band and flag team, along with 13 chaperones, to London for three performances in what he called “the single finest event we have ever attended in my 33 years of teaching.” The students in the...
Group Formed to Improve Athletics Program at Sleepy Hollow
by Rick Pezzullo In recent years in the Tarrytown School District, Athletic Director Chuck Scarpulla believes the district has focused on developing individual teams instead of improving the athletics program overall. Sleepy Hollow Middle School softball players cheer for their teammates. photo by Joe Golden In an attempt to change that mindset, an Athletics Advisory Committee has been established to find ways to encourage more student participation, increase competitiveness and place Tarrytown among the elite sports school districts in the area and the state. “Our goals focus on recruiting and retaining a large, demographically representative mix of student participants in our athletics programs, offering high quality athletics experiences to our students, and maximizing our potential to field competitive teams,” said Tarrytown Superintendent of Schools Dr. Howard Smith. Scarpulla is chairman of the committee, which includes three district coaches, a Sports Boosters Club representative, a member of AYSO, TNT and Wolf Pack and a trio of parents, among others. “What makes Sleepy Hollow a special place is the community is concerned about every kid, not just one kid,” Scarpulla said. “To compete, we have to try to work as a group—the community and the school.” One of the parent representatives is Karen Doyle, co-president of the high school/middle school PTA and a former girls travel basketball coach. A mother of two high school athletes at Sleepy Hollow, Doyle maintained better coordination of the feeder programs that serve younger athletes in the area would help lay the groundwork for more successful results at the high school level. “We need to show the elementary kids that these (high school) coaches are interested in what they’re doing,” Doyle said. “Forming this committee is such a positive step.” Scarpulla agreed with Doyle’s sentiments, saying “building a program right from the bottom up” was essential. “If there’s something out there that we can improve, that will be terrific, as long as I feel it’s for the betterment of our school,” he said. “It will be something we can put our teeth in. It’s going to be very positive and I’m excited about it.” One hot button issue the committee is not likely to entertain due to the difficult economic times is artificial turf fields on two multi-purpose playing fields at Sleepy Hollow High School and Washington Irving School. A $3.6 million proposition for the turf fields was defeated by voters in May 2007. Since then, the district has met with village officials in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown to discuss other alternatives in maintaining subpar and overused fields. “Unfortunately the use the fields get in Sleepy Hollow is three times more than they get anywhere else,” Scarpulla said. “Last year we met with a Fields Committee. They tried to develop a 10-year plan but we couldn’t go ahead with it because of the financial straits. Right now people are worried about putting food on the table, not a turf field.” The Athletics Advisory Committee is expected to meet about every other month during the school year. Its...
Eco-Friendly Gardening
by Mark Gilliland With Michelle Obama starting an organic garden at the White House, shouldn’t we all care about being eco-friendly in our own gardening practices? Why? In order to protect the health of our families, friends and future generations; to safeguard our native plants and animals by protecting their habitat and food supply; to improve the overall quality of our local environment by preventing excessive soil erosion, ensuring a healthy tree canopy to combat global warming, and reducing the risk of water contamination by fertilizer and pesticide runoff. Becoming an eco-friendly gardener is easier than you think. The first step is to change your mindset. Your garden is more than a collection of flowers, paths, decks and shrubbery: It’s a habitat, a home for beneficial animals like birds, bees and butterflies. Is your garden designed to attract and support them? Does it feature some local flowers whose nectar they can sip? Are there brushy areas where birds can safely nest? A good goal to set is to choose about 50% of your plantings from among regionally native species (or their cultivars), which helps support the locally evolved food web. [See sidebar for a sampling of native plants.] Even the soil itself participates in the food web, as it is rich with insects, microorganisms and fungi that help release nutrients from the soil. If you kill them, you kill the soil! Getting to know your soil will save you time, money and stress. It’s important not to over-feed your soil with chemicals—plants will not benefit and the excess will likely end up in our local water supply. To learn what your soil really needs (and what’s a waste or even counterproductive to add) have it analyzed. Call the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Valhalla: (914) 285-4620 to get instructions. The entire process is simple, fast and costs only $10. You’ll learn your soil’s pH, soil type and structure, nutrient content, and so forth. Add only those fertilizers or other amendments the report says you need (you’ll save money and protect the environment), and try to go organic-based slow release fertilizers, including bone meal, green sand and other natural amendments. In addition, compost, compost, compost! If you don’t want to buy compost, keep a small pile--you’ll reduce your garbage while you build and maintain your soil. Throw on your fall leaves, grass cuttings, old vegetables and produce scraps. (Don’t add any meat or dairy—that will make the pile smell bad and potentially introduce harmful bacteria.) Mulch your beds 2-3” deep with your compost, shredded leaves or other organically rich commercial mixture (such as Fundy Blend enriching mulch by Coast of Maine). Avoid using pesticides. Train yourself to tolerate a little bit of insect damage, but if bugs get too destructive, try horticultural oil, insecticidal soap or neem—or simply spray bugs such as aphids off your plants with a hose. Set out beer traps to catch slugs. Try introducing beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and tiny predatory wasps, which eat aphids, larvae and...
Sports
Sarah Moore of Irvington High School clears the high bar. photo by Joe Golden Daniel Kaplan fires a strike against Pearl River. photo by Joe Golden Irvington's Jessica Riehm looks in for a sign from the catcher. photo by Joe Golden Sleepy Hollow's Jamie Bucci focuses on the pitcher as the Sun sets on the Hudson River. Yonell Davis leaps over a hurdle. photo by Joe Golden Sleepy Hollow's Alexis Bateman tries to avoid a defender. photo by Joe Golden
Notice of Public Hearing Village of Sleepy Hollow
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held by the Village of Sleepy Hollow at the Municipal Building located at 28 Beekman Avenue, Sleepy Hollow, New York, on the 23rd day of June, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. to Adopt Local Law No. 3, 2009, titled Disciplinary Proceedings. The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the Village Board of Trustees of the Village of Sleepy Hollow to appoint a hearing officer to conduct hearings in disciplinary proceedings and to establish the rules of procedure to be followed in such proceedings. A copy of this proposed Local Law No. 3, 2009, will be available at the Village Clerk's Office, Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. All residents and taxpayers are invited to attend and comment. The Municipal Building is handicapped accessible. Dated: June 10, 2009 By Order of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Sleepy Hollow Sleepy Hollow, New York Anthony P. Giaccio, Administrator Acting Village Clerk