Village Views Christmastime 2014

Village Views Winter 2014

A Magazine for Port Chester, Rye Brook and Surrounding Areas

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Volume 29

‘On my honor’ Five local teens earn top Scouting awards for their community service

Patio plus picnic tables equals a perfect project P.C. boy freshened up PCMS garden area

Hug a teddy bear and remember a loved one P.C. girl sewed Memory Bears for grieving families

A much-used space made to look brand new P.C. boy gave back to OLM Church by refurbishing the room where his troop meets

Cleanliness is next to godliness R.B. boy organized church storage area

Making history come alive P.C. boy mapped graves, researched those buried in African cemetery

A Puzzle 4 You A crossword puzzle by Robyn Weintraub

The year of the 50-year firefighter Volunteer department celebrates half century of service by a dozen members Cover drawing by Leslie Salcedo

Publisher..................Richard Abel Editor.......................Jananne Abel Reporter............. Claire K. Racine Advertising............... Elaine Lesta Circulation............. Angie Brescia Office Assistant......Leslie Salcedo Christmastime 2014

Village Views

is published by Westmore News, Inc. 38 Broad Street Port Chester, NY 10573-4197 914-939-6864

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Village Views

‘On my honor’ Five local teens earn top Scouting awards for their community service

S

couting is a popular sport for boys and girls across the country.

The number, however, who persevere and reach the highest honor is much fewer. Only about seven percent of Boy Scouts earn the rank of Eagle Scout and even fewer Girl Scouts get their Gold Award.

Perhaps surprisingly, I am one of the few to stick it out, continuing with Girl Scouting all the way through high school.

I even put in the time and effort to earn myself a Gold Award, something that looks to be even harder today than it was when I participated about 10 years ago.

Port Chester Mayor Neil Pagano had the same thoughts about making Eagle Scout.

Nowadays in order for a Boy Scout to transition from Life Scout to Eagle Scout, the highest rank, he must first serve in a troop leadership position for at least six months and earn a series of merit badges.

When Pagano became an Eagle Scout in 1957, he had to earn the necessary badges but didn’t have to deal with the most well-known stipulation today: the extensive service project the Boy Scout must complete. Scouts have to plan, develop and lead the project to benefit a religious organization, school or community.

Christmastime 2014

Port Chester’s Adam “AJ” Monis recites the Eagle Scout pledge under the direction of his scoutmaster, Mo Acevedo, on Feb. 24, 2013.

Claire K. Racine|Westmore News

Furthermore, all the requirements have to be completed before the boy turns 18.

Girl Scouts, similarly, have until they turn 18 or the end of that school year to earn their Gold Award. In a difference from the Boy Scouts, however, it is only once they reach the highest rank— Senior or Ambassador—that Girl Scouts can attempt to earn their Gold Award.

Similar to Boy Scouts, girls have to

complete a series of prerequisites before planning and implementing an individual “Take Action” project that will provide a sustainable, lasting benefit to the girl’s larger community.

Throughout the entire process, both Boy and Girl Scouts have to uphold the tenets that scouting is based on, including leadership, compassion, respect and honor.

—Claire K. Racine 7

‘On my honor’

Patio plus picnic tables equals a perfect project P.C. boy freshened up PCMS garden area

By Claire K. Racine

D

uring the summer, hundreds of pounds of organic produce is harvested from the Giving Garden at Port Chester Middle School, much of it donated to help fill the larders at local food pantries. With its raised beds, fenced-in edges and stone patio, the setup looks to be straight out of “Better Homes and Gardens.” Only a few years ago, however, the community garden was little more than a couple of vegetable beds in the middle of a grassy field until a Port Chester teenager decided to breathe new life into the plot of land.

While the current appearance of the garden is not solely due to Adam Jensen Monis, better known as AJ, the Boy Scout did give it a fresh look in 2012 that encouraged others to sink more money and effort into the Giving Garden.

When brainstorming ideas for a service project to become an Eagle Scout, someone tossed out the suggestion of helping with the garden at PCMS where Monis had attended school. The initial idea had been to revamp the flower beds.

“It stemmed from there,” Monis said, but the end result went well beyond the original concept.

The finished stone patio at the Port Chester Middle School garden boasts two wooden picnic tables Adam “AJ” Monis also built.

Courtesy of Abe Monis had to refinance midway through.

“We sank between three and five grand in the project,” Monis explained.

To fund the supplies, Monis solicited donations from friends and family, most

Lending a hand to a leader

Paving pains Monis excavated a hunk of land next to the flower beds, making sure to carefully level the ground. He then installed stone pavers to create a patio and also built two wooden picnic tables to provide seating in the courtyard.

“The most difficult part was the initial planning,” the Husted Street resident said.

The necessary funding also tripped him up briefly. He underestimated the cost and 8

worked hard for this.”

The physical labor itself occurred in May and June 2012, right before Monis’ graduation from Port Chester High School. Working during his free time is not new to Monis. In order to dedicate the time needed to the garden project, he had to trade in the hours he would normally have spent working at A&P Fresh supermarket in Rye Brook.

Adam “AJ” Monis uses a weed whacker to clear the area at Port Chester Middle School where he plans to build a patio.

Courtesy of Abe Monis

of them from Port Chester and Rye Brook.

“For him to put the plan together and get the financial donations—I’m proud of him doing that,” his father, Abe, said. “He

For parts of the work, Monis also called on his fellow Boy Scouts for assistance. At the time, he was the senior patrol leader for Troop 400 based out of the Carver Center and named after the community center’s address on Westchester Avenue. (Carver Center, incidentally, is one of the locales to benefit from the Giving Garden’s produce.) As the patrol leader, Monis acted as the liaison between his fellow Scouts and the troop leaders, something that a younger Monis would have been surprised to envision occurring.

“I used to be shy,” said Monis, who Village Views

admitted he hated public Through the Boy Scouts, he overcome that fear, learning lessons and also making friends in the process. “It’s definitely changed my life.”

When he took up the leadership position, Monis had to overcome his reticence and act as a role model for the younger boys.

“Without AJ we couldn’t have done it,” said his longtime scoutmaster Mo Acevedo. “He was instrumental in leading the Cub Scouts into the Boy Scouts.”

Unsurprisingly, when Monis needed help, both the Boy Scouts and the younger Cub Scouts stepped up to aid their patrol leader.

speaking. learned to useful life

“It was just a nice thing to look at and to see that accomplishment that I’d spent the whole summer working on,” he said.

cluding Monis who had moved on to Westchester Community College—gathered back together to honor the hard work Monis had invested in the garden. Despite the focus on Monis, the Port Chester teenager said the credit was shared amongst everyone who had helped make his vision a reality.

“It’s very humbling,” he said. “I know it’s all about me, but it’s still about the guys.”

That being said, the ceremony was for Monis and his family gathered at the Port Chester Knights of Columbus hall to watch Port Chester’s Adam “AJ” Monis stands bracketed by his Acevedo bestow his award. mother, Josie, father, Abe, and scoutmaster, Mo Acevedo, at his Afterwards, Monis was shocked by his reaction to fiEagle Scout ceremony on Feb. 24, 2013.

Claire K. Racine|Westmore News nally reaching Eagle Scout.

End of an era After completing his project, Monis “It just feels like I passed through When it was completed, Monis held a did not find out he had been approved for something even more than turning 18 dedication ceremony on June 20 and in- his Eagle Scout award for several months. did,” he said. “It’s certainly the biggest vited all the Scouts who helped him out.

In February 2013, all the Scouts—in- accomplishment in my life to date.”

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‘On my honor’

Hug a teddy bear and remember a loved one P.C. girl sewed Memory Bears for grieving families

By Claire K. Racine

W

hen Emily Sammartino’s father died, she wanted something to remind her of him, something she could hold close. She and her mother came up with the idea of a teddy bear made out of one of her dad’s shirts. Years later, Sammartino decided to help other grieving families by creating Memory Bears made out of loved ones’ clothing.

“It’s for anyone who has lost a significant person,” she said.

The Port Chester resident was only nine when she lost her father to cancer.

“When my dad died, I really wanted a memory of him to have and something to cuddle with at night,” Sammartino, now 18 years old, said. “I just wanted something more than just a picture to look at.”

After she made her “Daddy Bear,” Sammartino found that it actually made a difference.

“I remember me and my mom used to put him at the Thanksgiving dinner table and the Christmas table to make it be like he was still there,” she said. “I really felt that was super helpful for me in my grieving process.”

Helping others As she got older, Sammartino decided she wanted to share the idea and help other people.

“I just know that was super nice to have and I wanted other people to have that,” she explained.

Sammartino began attending Canterbury School, a college preparatory, coeducational boarding and day school in 10

Emily Sammartino, an 18-year-old from Port Chester, holds two of the Memory Bears she created out of clothing of someone who passed away.

New Milford, Conn., when she was a sophomore. While there, she helped form a club that started as a grief group which transformed into the SOS group, for “stressed out students,” to help the teenagers there handle heartache and stress caused by being away from home at a boarding school. Sammartino thought her fellow students might benefit from bears of their own and shared the idea with her club.

“I brought in the bear I had and presented the idea to them to see if they were interested,” she said. They were.

“So then I reached out to the rest of the school community.”

A longtime Girl Scout with Troop

Courtesy of Denise Pirro

2680, Sammartino also spread the word about her project to the Port Chester and Rye Brook Girl Scout troops. “My mom also emailed with me the Girl Scout moms to see if they were interested because there’s a high loss in our community, too,” she added.

An award-worthy project Sammartino decided to take her initiative and turn it into a Gold Award project, the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn. In late September, she found out she had been approved for her Gold Award.

“That was really rewarding. I was really excited about that,” she said. “I called my mom I was so excited. It just Village Views

felt good to do something and have it all work out.”

So far Sammartino has made nine bears, but there are still requests coming in that she hopes to fill while on break from college. A freshman at the University of Rochester, Sammartino is leaning towards psychology and possibly molecular genetics but is still considering her options.

In the meantime, Sammartino plans to continue making bears to help people though their grief. She has made them for parents who lost grown children, children who lost parents, and even one for someone who lost a close uncle.

“Everyone loved them. They were so surprised by how well they turned out,” Sammartino said.

Hours of work, but worth the effort A Memory Bear takes Sammartino about 12 hours to complete, although

she often splits the cutting materials, stuffing and sewing into two six-hour sittings. Each bear ends up unique because of the piece of clothing that serves as its base. When she gets the material, Sammartino always asks if there is a certain part the person wants to preserve as it might evoke the strongest memories.

“That’s always interesting to me to see how I have to work it in case they

want a picture to stay on,” she said.

The original bear that started it all, Sammartino’s “Daddy Bear,” is still in prime condition and still as loved by the teenager even years later.

“I leave my bear at home in my room because I don’t want anything to happen to it,” Sammartino said. “I’m very attached to it, but when I’m home I cuddle with him. I’m very protective over my bear.”

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‘On my honor’

A much-used space made to look brand new P.C. boy gave back to OLM Church by refurbishing the room where his troop meets

By Jananne Abel

F

ollowing in the footsteps of his brother, Darel Franklin, and 11 others who came before him from Port Chester Boy Scout Troop 6, Clayton Powell Adams completed the requirements to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, culminating in his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on Nov. 1.

Adams, 18, a senior at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, surpassed the required number of merit badges by one— earning 22 in total. His favorite? Cooking.

“It was the first time I cooked for my family,” Adams said, and he was excited by their response. “It gave them joy

Gregory Adams, Clayton’s dad (left), works with former 21-year Troop 6 Scoutmaster Vincent Lyons to stain wood that would later replace waterdamaged wood in the walls of the allpurpose room at Our Lady of Mercy Church during the execution of Clayton’s Eagle Scout project this past summer.

Courtesy of Clayton Adams 12

Hattie Adams affixes the Eagle Scout pin to her son Clayton’s uniform while his father, Gregory, proudly looks on during his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on Nov. 1 in the all-purpose room at Our Lady of Mercy Church, the very space that was refurbished as Clayton’s service project.

Jananne Abel|Westmore News knowing I could cook them breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Starting in Scouting in 2009, Adams made it through the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class Scout, First Class Scout, Star and Life Scout, with all that they entailed. As a Life Scout, he planned, developed and led others in executing a service project. According to Scout guidelines, the project must be helpful to any religious institution, school or the community. For him to have the opportunity of making Eagle Scout, all of this had to be accomplished before his 18th birthday on Aug. 3.

“After witnessing my brother receive his Eagle Scout in 2004,” wrote Adams in the program for his Eagle Scout Court of Honor, “I realized that I could achieve the same success as my brother one day.”

Wracking his brain to come up with a project, Clayton didn’t realize that the perfect choice was actually staring him in the face. Refurbishing the all-purpose room at Our Lady of Mercy Church where his troop meets as well as the adjoining kitch-

en “was a long, tedious job,” said Vincent Lyons, who acted as master of ceremonies at the Court of Honor and was scoutmaster of Troop 6 for 21 years. He has only relinquished the title in the last year to Edward Lipowiecki. “We got it done, Clayton.”

“It was a great way to give back to my troop and the church for letting us use the room,” Clayton said. “We painted the ceiling, polished the wood [paneling], replaced windows, scrubbed and polished the walls, painted the walls in the kitchen and the door in the kitchen.” In addition, according to the program, they replaced waterdamaged wood in the walls, cleaned the floors, washed and painted the walls in the entranceway, painted the radiators, washed the blinds at the windows, hung handmade curtains and valances and replaced the plate covers for the outlets and light switches.

The project involved about 25 Boy Scouts from Troop 6 and Troop 400, friends and family and took 423 hours to accomplish. They started at the end of June and finished by the end of July.

Village Views

The materials cost more than $1,000, and Adams collected $359 in cash toward that total. “Most of it was donations,” he said. “The paint cost the most, and the paint was mostly donated.” Home Depot contributed $100, but friends and Scoutmaster Edward Lipowiecki, he said, supplied the nearly $1,000 worth of paint.

“I had sent out donation letters to people and businesses,” the Port Chester resident said. “Besides donations, I also held a 50/50 raffle that most people took part in and the prize was $120.”

The curtains and valances were made

by Rosemary Valenti, assisted by Leon Russell. Both are members of Our Lady of Mercy Church.

“This room now looks brand new,” said State Assemblyman Steve Otis at the Eagle Scout ceremony which was held there.

Clayton thanked his parents, Port Chester Trustee Gregory and Hattie Adams, who, he said, “were always there for me.” He thanked his mom “for teaching me the meaning of motivation” and

men from 18-89,” Port Chester Mayor Neil Pagano said at Clayton’s Eagle Scout ceremony. “They were all Eagle Scouts.

They are all part of a brotherhood.”

Pagano became an Eagle Scout himself as a member of Troop 11 out of Our Lady of Mercy Church in January 1957.

“Scouting does prepare [boys] for civic responsibility,” concluded the mayor. “You learn about yourself. You prove you can finish things. When people find out you are

an Eagle, there is a marked change in how they perceive you.” That change in perception includes an added level of respect.

Adams, who advanced to the rank of Eagle Scout on July 30, has applied early decision to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he hopes to pursue a degree in mechanical or chemical engineering.

“It has a great engineering program and I love the city,” he said. “I go every year.”

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours During this joyous season, please remember that for those who have suffered a loss, the holidays can be a difficult time.

If you know anyone who has lost a loved one, reach out to them. Your concern and support can make a world of difference.

Clayton Powell Adams takes the oath of Eagle Scout.

Jananne Abel|Westmore News

that “if you start something, you have to see it through.”

“When you see the boys come in, you know what kid is going to make Eagle Scout and what kid is not and kind of stay with them as they go along,” said Lyons, a Rye Brook resident whose wife Linda has been involved in Scout leadership for 26 years, starting when her sons, now 34, were Cub Scouts.

“A month and a half ago I had the opportunity to come to a gathering of 300 Christmastime 2014

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‘On my honor’

Cleanliness is next to godliness R.B. boy organized church storage area

By Claire K. Racine

C

leaning and organizing is not how many teenagers would choose to spend a chunk of their summer vacation.

George Tsamparlis, however, knew the time he spent volunteering at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Rochelle to be worth the effort.

The Rye Brook teenager got the concept to help out at the church while brainstorming ideas for a potential service project, a requirement to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program. When he was a child, the Cub Scout group he joined was actually a church organization that would eventually turn into Troop 325. Aiding the church as part of his final Boy Scout project brought the Rye Brook resident full circle.

Tsamparlis settled on the closet in the social hall at Holy Trinity because he knew from personal experience it could use the help. “I’ve been going to my church for my whole life,” he said. “Every time I went in it was always a mess.”

In particular, the upper storage area was a wreck. The lofted space required

Newly painted and organized, the lofted space in the closet in the social hall has room for people to move around.

Courtesy of George Tsamparlis 14

George Tsamparlis of Rye Brook and his friend George Jalyvas of White Plains teamed up to organize a large storage area at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Rochelle.

Courtesy of George Tsamparlis a ladder to reach it and was stuffed with chairs on the bottom as well as all the boxes up top—from the area so they boxes that were in poor condition.

“If someone wanted to go up there, there would have room to work. They cleaned was just boxes and it was messy, very disor- and dusted the space and then painted the ganized,” Tsamparlis explained. “Organists walls and beams to give it a fresh look. and custodians threw stuff up there.”

As some ceiling tiles had been damaged by water, they had to remove and then reTeamwork place those, too.

Organizing the area looked to be quite “There were a lot of steps to this projthe endeavor, so Tsamparlis decided ect,” Tsamparlis admitted. to team up with his fellow Boy Scout, The next one involved coming up with George Jalyvas of White Plains. a better strategy to deal with all the maThe two Georges first had to remove terials that were originally in the closet. everything—including the tables and After inventorying everything, Tsamparlis Village Views

project was for a church, Home Depot supplied a lot of the raw materials either for free or at a discount. “It was very nice.

It helped us purchase the heavy materials,” Tsamparlis said.

and Jalyvas decided to create more places to store it and consequently ordered metal shelving and large plastic bins. When it came time to build all the shelving, they drafted other boys from their troop to help with the assembly.

“It took a lot of people,” the Old Orchard Road resident said.

Recognition for his work

Clean and tidy With the new shelves in place, Tsamparlis and Jalyvas were able to put back the dishes, paintings and Christmas decorations, among other items. “We kept everything. The only thing we threw out were the old boxes,” the Rye Brook resident said.

Even with all the church belongings replaced, because of the organization, people could actually walk around the lofted space.

“The priests of the church appreciated it a lot and the custodian did too,” Tsamparlis said. “It was beautiful. It looked better than before.”

With all the effort they had put in, the duo did not want their hard work to be in

George Tsamparlis hands a sign down to a fellow Boy Scout as they clean out the closet. Courtesy of George Tsamparlis vain. They made sketches of where everything was placed so people could easily access and then replace everything.

In total, the venture took Tsamparlis and his friend about a month to complete and cost about $1,000. Most of the funds came from a poinsettia sale Tsamparlis held the previous Christmas. Because the

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Although Tsamparlis did the work for his project during the summer of 2012, he did not find out he had gotten his Eagle Scout award for a couple months and did not get to celebrate until the following year.

“We had the ceremony on March 24, 2013. It was with me and four other scouts that did their Eagle Scout projects,” he said. “It felt good.

“It was nice that it was also not just centered on me, which meant I had the chance of doing a shorter speech which I liked,” admitted Tsamparlis, who graduated from Blind Brook High School in 2013.

Besides the satisfaction of a job well done, Tsamparlis said the award probably helped him when applying to college.

The 19-year-old is currently studying— and loving—mechanical engineering at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y.

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15

‘On my honor’

Making history come alive P.C. boy mapped graves, researched those buried in African cemetery

By Jananne Abel

S

eeking to help make history come alive and honor the contributions African Americans made to the Rye Town community and to their country, a Port Chester teenager spent a good portion of his high school years in libraries, municipal clerks’ offices and a cemetery.

As the culmination of his Boy Scout career, Daniel Vitagliano mapped out all the graves in the African cemetery owned by the Town of Rye and researched the individuals buried there. This 1.4-acre plot of land, located adjacent to I-95 within the

Daniel Vitagliano kneels between two gravestones at the Town of Rye’s African cemetery within the grounds of Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye in May 2012, the month he completed his Eagle Scout project. The one he is touching belongs to Rufus Smith who died June 8, 1866 at age 28.

Jananne Abel|Westmore News

Daniel Vitagliano stands with his mother Debbie and father Aldo and a framed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves at the dedication of his Eagle Scout project in the African cemetery on Nov. 24, 2012.

Jananne Abel|Westmore News 16

grounds of Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, was donated to the Town in 1860

by Underhill and Elizabeth Halstead. All the burials took place there between 1860 and 1964. Vitagliano’s research showed 119 people buried at the cemetery, 28 of them veterans from the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Vitagliano, now 19 and a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island, had been given an original layout of all the plots by the African American Cemetery Committee and proceeded to mark each one of them. Prior to Vitagliano getting involved, the committee had already begun revitalization of the once overgrown and forgotten burial ground and had been instrumental in its cleanup.

“I went around and took pictures of all the gravestones and this is all on an interactive map on the Town of Rye website where you hover over the map and click on it and it opens up to a new page with a picture of the gravestone and all the information I found researching those individuals,” the Elizabeth Street resident said.

He used death certificates, obituaries, war documents and whatever other materials he could find from the Town of Rye, Port Chester, Rye City and Mamaroneck.

He went to clerks’ offices and libraries, using microfiche and looking at obituaries dating back to the 1800s.

Dave Thomas, a member of the Cemetery Committee and a consultant to the Town of Rye, “helped me a lot with Village Views

this,” Vitagliano said. “He got the word out there somehow and relatives of people buried there were sending in information.

It is still growing and he is responsible for keeping it going.”

Although Vitagliano said he did the bulk of the work himself over a period from October 2010 to May 2012, project helpers included other members of Port Chester Boy Scout Troop 6, families of troop members, his family, personal friends, older Scouts no longer in the troop, local volunteers, and family members of those interred at the cemetery. A total of 258 hours were clocked on the project from his sophomore year to his senior year at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.

There were outings to the cemetery with groups of volunteers who spread out and covered different sections to do the mapping. Those outings even included doing rubbings of the gravestones. In addition, time was spent by Vitagliano, a few other Boy Scouts in his troop and their family members in the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library doing research.

Vitagliano’s Eagle Scout project cost little money. “The only money I really had to raise was for basic supplies and feeding all my volunteers,” he said. “It wasn’t a lot of money but a lot more brainpower.”

Much was donated, he said, so “nothing really cost anything.”

“The initial map someone gave me, microfiche was huge in it and that was free of charge, pens and folders I brought from home and someone brought rubbing paper for the gravestones out of the goodness of their heart,” Vitagliano explained.

He officially earned his Eagle Scout award in September 2012, and the project was dedicated at the cemetery on Nov. 24 of that year in conjunction with a Veterans Day ceremony which had been postponed due to Superstorm Sandy.

“I personally find it quite remarkable that during the years it took to complete my project, and today as I speak to you, our country reflects upon the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves,” Vitagliano said at the dedication. “It marked a pivotal step forward for the progress African Americans made and rights they wouldn’t gain for about another hundred years.”

He spoke about some of those buried Christmastime 2014

Volunteers including Troop 6 Scoutmaster Vinny Lyons and longtime Boy Scout leader Linda Lyons work with Daniel Vitagliano at the cemetery to map the Courtesy of Daniel Vitagliano gravestones. at the cemetery. One was Rev. Eugene ation, following in the footsteps of his Rodgers, who died Mar. 19, 1950. A vet- brother John, also an Eagle Scout, who is eran of World War I, he was assistant pas- in his first year at Pace Law School, and tor of St. Frances AME Zion Church in his father Aldo, an attorney.

Port Chester.

Daniel absolutely feels having comAnother was Mrs. Laura Griffin, who pleted all the requirements to earn him the died at age 57. Her obituary stated that she rank of Eagle Scout has made a difference was “one of the oldest and most highly re- in his life. “The leadership skills I take spected colored residents of Port Chester.” with me forever,” he said. “It puts you in “These were ordinary people in our an elite class that not many are in.” community who made our commuFor her Silver Star project, Girl Scout nity what it is,” Vitagliano concluded. Anna-Kay Smikle of Larchmont took “These people ought to be remembered Vitagliano’s research a step further by just as everyone else who has passed creating an educational kiosk at the cemfrom this life.” etery which was installed and unveiled in Vitagliano’s Eagle Scout Court of May of this year in time for a Memorial Honor was held on Jan. 9, 2013.

Day dedication.

Currently studying Communications At that time Thomas said “there may at URI, Vitagliano plans to add Political be 300 people here, but there are only Science to his major. He has every inten- 79 headstones. There is a possibility that tion of going on to law school after gradu- there are slaves buried here.”

17

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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Village Views

ACROSS

DOWN

ACROSS 1. Chevy sports car DOWN 7. Part of a superhero's outÞt 1. It has 360 degrees: abbr.

11. Port Chester Hall and Beer Garden offering 2. Nail polish remover ingredient 14. Got slick, like a winter road 3. Interlocking 15. Slanted type: Abbr.

4. Decorates 16. Slip-on shoe, for short 5. Sheet often accompanying a board game 17. You might make these on 12/31 6. "Bloom County" penguin 19. Greek N's 7. 102 in old Rome 20. Separate grains from wheat, e.g.

8. Right away 21. Least messy 9. Group on a dais, perhaps 23. Brings together 10. "Let It Go" Queen 24. Abbr. on a business letter 11. Overused plot device in soap operas 26. Everest's continent 12. Crummier 27. Quaint hotels 13. Cloud-nine state 28. ___ whiz!

18. Mall store that owns Old Navy 29. Some Dust Bowl era characters 22. Direction to go on a short break 30. Ryan of "When Harry Met Sally" 23. Henson of Muppets fame 31. Side dish at "Q" 25. 1/1 arrival 33. ___-eyed (fatigued) 29. Hollywood's Ken or Lena 34. You might say this on 12/31 31. Coll. entrance exams 36. Pig noses 32. DJs used to spin them 39. Business school subj.

33. Word from a ghost 40. Chinese food additive 34. With 'The', Route 15, familiarly 43. Leans to one side 35. Value of an opinion?

44. Fannie or Sallie follower 36. People gazing rudely 45. Fly catcher?

37. Mr. Right, hopefully 46. Hard Rock band with an electrical name 38. It's said you can't teach them new tricks 47. Caution 40. Politically unstable region 48. Longtime married crooners, Steve and ___ 41. Swizzle stick 49. Lucille Ball, famously 42. Former AT&T rival 51. "Iron Chef" judge, say 44. Ad agency drama set in the '60s 53. A diva has a big one 45. "Hey, I go next!"

54. You might go there on 12/31 47. Forgo, as one's rights 57. Persian ßoor covering 48. Suffix like "-like" 58. Bowman, Willett and Midland 50. Footnote abbreviation 59. Puckered 52. Cleopatra's snakes 60. The 'S' of GPS: Abbr.

55. Body shop Þg.

61. It starts on Ash Wednesday 56. Last name on an ice cream container 62. "Who goes there?" asker

Robyn Weintraub lives in Rye Brook. Robyn’s puzzles have appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

Christmastime 2014

Puzzle answers on page 30 19

The year of the 50-year firefighter Volunteer department celebrates half century of service by a dozen members

J

ust like the number of months in a year, a dozen volunteer firefighters celebrated half a century of service with the Port Chester Fire Department, making 2014 clearly the year of the 50year firefighter.

“It seems 1964 was a banner year,” said Gerald “Gerry” Donahue. “’Course it was a very busy time and volunteerism was a lot different then, but the fact that

By Claire K. Racine so many guys are still in the department—not only still alive, but still in the department—is amazing.”

The men who joined in 1964 and stayed for the next 50 years came from different backgrounds and partnered with fire companies across the village.

Their reasons for joining may have differed, but over the next five decades they shared many of the same experiences—

Port Chester Mayor and fellow volunteer firefighter Neil Pagano presents a proclamation to Marvin Goldowsky of Breckenridge Avenue for his 50 years of service to Mellor Engine and Hose Company on Mar. 9.

Claire K. Racine|Westmore News

20

the fires they cannot forget even if they wished they could, as well as the fond memories about the “firefighter family.” The bonds they formed with their companies were even strong enough to bridge the distance between the men who moved away from Port Chester and the fire department they loved so much.

This year Mellor Engine and Hose Company, No. 3 celebrated Marvin “Butch” Goldowsky, who started off the slew of firefighters in 1964 by signing up in January.

Brooksville Engine and Hose Company, No. 5 had the most 50-year honorees this year starting with Richard “Dick” Bykowski and Stephen Mazurkiewich, who both joined in February, William “Bill” Jensen, who joined in August, and John Bykowski and Gerald “Gerry” Donahue, who both joined in December.

Putnam Engine and Hose Company, No. 2 boasted three celebrations this year: one for John Ferraro, who joined in May 1964, and two belated ones for Peter Malavenda, who actually joined in September 1962, and Charles Fierro from March 1963.

Similarly, George Marshall from Washington Engine and Hose Company, No. 4 actually came on board in September 1963.

Frank Thalheimer signed up first in 1964 with Reliance Engine and Hose Company, No. 1 and then his brother, Robert “Bob” Thalheimer, followed his Continued Village Views

George Marshall holds the plaque he received made out of 50 silver dollars in honor of his half century with Washington Engine and Hose Company.

Claire K. Racine|Westmore News Christmastime 2014

21

The five firefighters to celebrate 50 years with Brooksville Engine and Hose Company gather on June 26. From left: Gerald “Gerry” Donahue, William “Bill” Jensen, John Bykowski, Richard “Dick” Bykowski and Stephen Mazurkiewich.

Courtesy of Gerry Donahue

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Village Views

lead, becoming a member of the company in December.

All five engine and hose companies honored the service of those 12 men during 2014, inspiring many of the them to reflect on the past 50 years with the Port Chester volunteer fire department.

Getting involved Both Frank and Bob Thalheimer joined the same year, although months apart.

“My brother, he got in before me,” Bob Thalheimer said. “It was something to do, basically.

“Plus I thought it was a rewarding thing to do,” he added.

The Thalheimers were not the only men to get dragged into the volunteer fire department by family members.

“My family’s always been involved with the volunteers,” said John Bykowski.

His father served as an auxiliary police

officer and his oldest brother Stanley joined Brooksville after leaving the U.S. Navy. Stanley then talked their younger brother, Richard, into joining. Dick, in turn, brought John into Brooksville.

For Marshall, the man who encouraged him to join Washington Company was not his family quite yet but his soonto-be father-in-law.

“I was going out with his daughter,” Continued

Charles Fierro

Company | Putnam Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | March 1963

Fun fact | Owned his own electrical business

Stephen Mazurkiewich

Age | 75

Company | Brooksville Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | February 1964 Residence | Windsor Road Education | Port Chester High School Employment | Windsor Plumbing and Heating Wife | Leslie

John Bykowski

Age | 68 Company | Brooksville Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | December 1964 Residence | Riverdale Avenue Education | Edison School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School,

| J.M. Wright Technical High School

| in Stamford, Conn.

Employment | Electrolux Corporation, JBT Carpentry Wife | Dorothy Children | Karen, Lori, Joann, Patricia and John Grandchildren | William and Sarah

Fun fact | Served on fire brigade for

| Electrolux Corporation

Marvin “Butch” Goldowsky

Age | 69 Company | Mellor Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | January 1964 Residence | Breckenridge Avenue Education | Park Avenue School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School,

| Dean Junior College in Franklin, Mass.

Military service | U.S. Air Force 1966-70, 804th Combat

| Support Group, Strategic Air Command

| (SAC), stationed in North Dakota Employment | Fitzhugh Manufacturing/Quadriga Art,

| Jaclyn Marketing, Brewer Cantelmo

| Company, Capri Album Wife | Jaclyn Children | Joshua Grandchildren | Benjamin and Jacob

Fun fact | Used to train quarter horses

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George Marshall

Age | 72 Company | Washington Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | September 1963 Residence | Haines Boulevard Education | Park Avenue School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School Employment | Port Chester Electric Wife | Theresa Children | Sean and Katie Grandchildren | Kyle and Brianna

Fun fact | Enjoys building custom dollhouses

William “Bill” Jensen

Age | 73 Company | Brooksville Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | August 1964 Residence | Sandy Hook, Conn.

Education | Edison School, | Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School,

| Iona College Military service | U.S. Navy 1958-64, discharged

| with rank of store keeper 3rd class Employment | First National Stores, State National

| Bank, Pitney Bowes, Inc. Wife | Agnes Children | Christine and Karen Grandchildren | Ashley, Rianna, Jenna and Karah

Fun fact | Volunteers with Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue

Gerald “Gerry” Donahue

said Marshall. “In fact, we were engaged and he asked if I’d like to join the company. Best thing I ever did.”

Sometimes it was a close friend that dragged his partner-in-arms along with him into a company.

After years in an active Boy Scout troop that included many boys with firefighter fathers, Donahue joined up when a lot of his fellow Scouts did so, even though some ended up in different companies. After he got out of the U.S. Navy, Jensen came back to find many of the boys he knew as Scouts had become firefighters. He, too, decided to sign up and ended up in Brooksville with Donahue.

Richard “Dick” Bykowski

Learning the ropes

Age | 69 Company | Brooksville Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | December 1964 Residence | Hobart Avenue Education | Edison School then King Street School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Archbishop Stepinac High School,

| American Institute of Banking Military service | N.Y. Air National Guard 1965-71,

| discharged with rank of sergeant Employment | The County Trust Company,

| Bank of New York Wife | Nancy Children | Gail Grandchildren | Megan and Ryan

Fun fact | Recently got into photography

Age | 73 Company | Brooksville Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | February 1964 Residence | Sarasota, Fla. Education | Edison School,

| Archbishop Stepinac High School,

| Iona College Employment | Reader’s Digest Corporation Wife | Georgeann Children | Michael and Stephen Grandchildren | Marley, Marissa and MacKenzie

Once in the company, the new firefighters quickly learned the ropes from the department veterans.

“They told you what was expected of you,” Donahue said. “This was not a social club. You paid your dues. You had to go to your training. You had to be there for every meeting. You had to help out in the kitchen. You basically did whatever.”

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Village Views

The situation in Washington was very similar to what Donahue experienced in Brooksville. As the “low man on the totem pole,” Marshall had to climb underneath the fender on the truck to clean it out after fires and fetch ice whenever the firehouse was running low. “Good times,” he added.

While the older firefighters did give the new ones the jobs nobody really wanted, they also offered real-world advice and assistance.

“You respected the old-time members,” Marshall said. “They’re the ones that taught you how to fight a fire.”

There were company and intercompany drills, but most learning occurred through on-the-job training. Luckily—or unluckily—there were a lot of fires to provide that necessary training quickly.

“I think that’s how most of us old-timers learned,” Marshall said.

The future of firefighting Unlike when the 50-year members learned, nowadays all volunteer firefighters are required to attend official training.

Continued

John Ferraro and Peter Malavenda from Putnam Engine and Hose Company stand with Port Chester Mayor Neil Pagano at the dinner on Sept. 20 in honor of their 50 years of service.

Courtesy of Chris Petrowski

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25

George Marshall thanks the crowd who gathered on July 13 for his 50th service anniversary with Washington Engine and Hose Company and the Port Chester volunteer fire department.

Courtesy of Paul Cregan

“It’s a lot different now than it was back then,” said John Bykowski. “Back then the senior members of the firehouse taught you the ropes. Now everything is OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and you’ve got to be certified in this and certified in that.”

His fellow Brooksville firefighter agreed.

“It’s much more difficult to become a firefighter now,” Donahue said. “If a young person wants to come in now, they have to go to the state course which is 96 hours.” For a professional firefighter, spending that amount of time for his or her livelihood makes sense, he added, but for volunteers the situation is vastly different.

“Too many rules and regulations that we never had any problem with,” agreed Marshall.

Both Marshall and Donahue were uncertain whether they would have been willing to jump through all the hoops that are now required.

There are upsides to firefighting today, especially the new equipment available to help them do their jobs quicker and safer.

“The technology from then until now, it seems like every year they come up with something different,” said Bob Thalheimer. When he first started, air packs were considered newfangled gear and most men did not have them. “We fought many a fire with no air packs.

You always opened a window to get air,” he said.

Heat guns to tell firefighters where hot spots are is another change the Reliance Company member appreciates. “In my day you had to do it by feel and touch,” he explained.

Another change is how firefighters are alerted to blazes. Nowadays they have pagers or get calls on their cell phones.

Back in the day, however, they relied on an alarm or a radio that senior members kept in their homes. When the bell or horn sounded, the call for help was quickly circulated via a phone tree usually operated by the firefighters’ wives.

“Many a call I walked out on my family and missed dinner,” Bob Thalheimer said.

Continued

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Village Views

Continued

From Reliance Engine and Hose Company, Frank Thalheimer (right) and his younger brother, Robert “Bob� Thalheimer, hold the plaques they received from fellow volunteer firefighters Trustee Luis Marino and Mayor Neil Pagano.

Courtesy of Bob Thalheimer

Christmastime 2014

27

The fires they can’t forget The same thing happened to John Bykowski, who tried hard to balance being a firefighter, a father to five children and an employee at Electrolux Corporation— where he also happened to be in the business’s fire brigade.

“It’s a tug-o-war. I just tried to do my best,” he said. “I probably wasn’t the best fireman ever, but you can only do so much.”

Luckily for the Brooksville member, Electrolux was very understanding. “At work I told them that there was a large fire in town and they used to let me go,” he said.

One time John Bykowski had to bail from work to help out at the RB&W fire.

When the Russell, Burdsall & Ward Bolt and Nut Company on Midland Avenue ignited in 1973, it burned for days, fueled by the oil that had soaked into the wood and

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tunnels under the company.

“They say every captain has his fire,” Jensen added. “I’m a past captain and my fire was RB&W.”.

While RB&W was memorable for the multiple days it took to put out, the hardest fires to forget are those that involved a loss of life, and all the men who fought in the past century agreed on the worst blaze.

“Gulliver’s, number one,” said Bob Thalheimer.

Twenty-four people perished when Gulliver’s nightclub on Putnam Avenue caught flame in 1974.

“If you were inside the building carrying people out, it never leaves your mind,” Bob Thalheimer said.

The Reliance Company member had been on his way home from a party when he got the call. He didn’t even go home to change out of his brand-new Continued

Peter Malavenda

Company | Putnam Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | September 1962

John Ferraro

Company | Putnam Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | May 1964 Education | Archbishop Stepinac High School Military service | U.S. Navy Children | Vincent

Fun fact | His son is also a member of

| Putnam Engine & Hose

Frank Thalheimer

Age | 74 Company | Reliance Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | 1964 Residence | Sherman, Conn.

Education | Edison School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School Employment | Thalheimer Frank & Son Carpentry Wife | Regina Children | Brian, Kathleen and Jeanie

Robert “Bob” Thalheimer

Age | 68 Company | Reliance Engine & Hose Joined PCFD | December 1964 Residence | Hobart Avenue Education | Edison School then King Street School,

| Port Chester Junior High School,

| Port Chester High School Employment | Thalheimer Frank & Son Carpentry,

| Tee’s Putnam Service Station Wife | Connie Children | Heidi and Robert Grandchildren | Jenna, Tommy, Jorga, Johnna,

| RJ, Reina and Jack

Fun fact | Worked a paper route when he was 12

Village Views

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suit before heading over to aid his fellow firefighters.

“No matter what we did that night, we couldn’t move fast enough, and we tried our best to save as much as possible,” Jensen said.

The deaths of so many at once hit Marshall hard, and he found it difficult to shake the images from his mind.

“I got home, went in the bedroom.

Theresa just left me alone all day,” he said, referring to his wife.

While Jensen recalls the terrible blazes he battled like Gulliver’s, another fire that stuck with him had nothing to do with death and instead involved helping a little girl. “I remember there was one incident on Westchester Avenue across from headquarters,” he said. A little girl standing outside kept crying, “My baby’s up there.” Because of her age, “we knew she was talking about her doll,” Jensen said. They asked where her “baby” was and went and retrieved the doll for the little girl. “You should have seen, smiles galore. It really made her day,” he said.

“They had a major loss, but we did something nice for the girl, and we do that all the time,” he added. “I guess it’s to help others out.”

Bob Thalheimer, too, spoke about firefighting running through his veins.

“It’s got to be in your blood,” he said. “If it’s not, you’re not going to be a fireman.”

The firefighter family

Feeling a bone-deep connection to fighting fires and also to their fellow members is the main reason the men said they stuck with it for so long.

“I think the fire department is a brotherhood. You get very, very close to people when you’re inside a fire.

Your life depends on them and their lives depend on you,” Donahue said.

“Over the years you develop a very strong bond with not only the people in your company but other guys in the department.”

“It’s the camaraderie, the friendships that you make,” agreed Marshall.

Each company had bonding activities and some that permeated the enRobert “Bob” Thalheimer from Reliance tire volunteer department. There were dinner-dances, picnics and sports Engine and Hose Company poses in his leagues. uniform.

Courtesy of Bob Thalheimer “There was a lot of good times inin our blood. We want volved,” John Bykowski said, naming the bowling and softball teams he played on.

“We had our bad times, but we also had our good times,” Jensen agreed.

In 2003, Jensen moved to Sandy Hook, Conn. because of the high cost of living in Port Chester. “I miss the camaraderie of the from page 18 people in the firehouse,” he admitted.

He still tries to make the drive back for big events like the anO C A P E A L E nual meeting in April and the inspection every October.

P I T A L M O C Another major to-do is the yearly memorial Mass for the poU T I O N S N U S lice and fire departments as well as the memorial service in Lyon S H N E A T E S T Park to honor firefighters who passed away that year, explained Marshall, who currently serves as the fire department chaplain.

E N C L A S I A “We’re very blessed to have him as a chaplain,” Donahue G E E O K I E S said. “Not only was he a fireman, but now he tends to us [spiritually], and Lord knows we need that.”

L A W B L E A R Y Helping each other out is the norm in the fire department. If P P Y 2 O I 5 members needs help building a deck or fixing up a basement, S E C O N M S G they can always call on someone from the brotherhood, Marshall said.

M A E M I T T All of that is part of what it means to be a Port Chester firefighter and why the men invested 50 years in the volunteer deW A R N E Y D I E partment.

A D T A S T E R “It’s difficult at times, but it’s very fulfilling,” Donahue said.

I M E S S Q U A R E “Over that period of time you just meet so many good people. meet the guys and through the guys you meet their famiV E S P U R S E D You lies—” E N T S E N T R Y “—and become one big extended family,” finished Marshall.

Crossword Puzzle Answers C A M A I C E D R E S O T H R J O I N I N N S M E G H S N O U T I L T A C D C R E D H E G O R U G S Y S 30

R U L E S S A T S E T A L

Village Views

A Newspaper Just For Your Village Your guide to eating out in Port Chester, Rye Brook and surrounding areas

Dining Out & About

You don’t have to go far to find great food. Just look inside!

bout

A special pullout in Port Che section about dining ster, Rye and surr ounding Brook areas

Thanksgi sanitationving schedule

PORT C

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NEWS

Dining

Port Chester Rye B R ok & Rye Brook’s Westmo o re Oldest Dining Community Out & About R.B. res over receidents alarmed Newspapers Studen t direct nt b Out & About

Our 50 th Year

HESTER

Westmo

A Supplement to the

Dining Out & A

Your guide to eating out in Port Chester, Rye Brook and surrounding areas

Celebr

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You don’t have to go far to find great food. Just look inside!

NYCLU: could d Enrollment re eter im q migran uirements t stude nts Vol. 50

No.

Friday, No 47 • An edition of Westm vember 21 - Thurs ore News day, Novem

ber 27, 201

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Tues. & Wednesday.

He mid did Mo Fri. asking ant say he und n., family, exp ate Guisela There wil are unchan erstoo ged. lained waste col l be no bulk/g nizer for Marroquin, an Union’s d the Civil Lib ree lection the orgathis we n a birth cerreason that req erties The NY NYCLU. ek.

CLU rec districts chilling tificate could uiring ently rele hav eff ased a immigr unlawfully bar which is ect on immigr e a ant list of rin on it for students and g the enrollm district. not the goal ants, inc ent of deter immigrant of the Chester just that reason luded Blind wasn’t ano s, Marro “It’s Bro does the because same thin . Even though ok bring in.” ther clear cho quin said, “if stand rea important to ice of wh underthere lly the district. the NYCLU did g, it was not inc Port tion re is any at they cou “It’s sor Th luded ld immone,” he added. in Blind Brook no intenYork Sta ey only survey not investiga thing for t of a scary The to exc igrant chi te districts te school distric ed 20 percent of that cause the someone,” shething, an intimid ldren as district has alw lude the Union ts part of its ays New barriers would be parents might added, especiallyating found to this year, the student had Port Ch to start forced to body. beester wi study in immigrant you be putting up same answe wondering It is In Por ll look int ille Long Isla2010. After rec th during a statew gal all the not necessary r intrusive que if they Brook, t Chester, eve o it alte ent stio on n mo immigr ide rna firs ns. allegation dozens nd school dis s that a simply need tives, Marroqui t glance to list in the distric ant students re so than Bli of Latino tric t wa nd to n sai play a larg education s pre also acc say that children Even tho t. eptable. other doc d. Districts e role from rec venting ugh Por those 139 , the NYCLU on um eiv the list t Chest ents are ing decided many are offending sch to check an Blind Br President of offenders er was not inc ool in still out , lud ook ma of com districts and fou on look into Carolee BrakewBoard of Educa ed Blind That kes chan tion the ood ir require Brook and Port pliance with the nd when is exactly wh sai ges registratio knew abo d she wo bir Ch the n for ut the NY uld to prove th certificates. ester do not act law. NYCL y found out at Blind Bro CLU stu ms. While she ok did know the dis U’s they we trict wa with a pas a child’s age. They just need ually dy, she thin “On the list. re on Th a way did not sport or the cen gs that got oth s doing the sam registratio just sai baptism is can also be er New sured. n for d don al certifi York sch e sorts of cate—Bli e it to be ‘birth certificat m it had previo For mo ool distric “I certain ‘birth re photos e’ usl nd spa ts , page 10 ce limitat certificate or and we modif y paper bei ly don’t want ng ied bar other’ bec ions,” sai riers,” one of those to be cited aus d Blind Brook e of the rules. she said. “W districts put in the Board ting up e want We want to be Becaus e Please to do exactly wh following holiday of the Thanks turn to at giving on Thu page 10 the state 27, nex rsday,

A special pullout in Rye Broo section about dining and surr k, Port Chester ounding areas

No t deliveredweek’s paper v. wil on Sat., a day later tha l be Nov. 29. n usual

Port Ch even a ester native s fter cele til brating l loves to lea rn 100 th b irthday

By Clai re K. Charle raCi think the s Langworth, ne to have re a copy him. Bu is nothing spe Sr. may of to “It cial abo t ut how ’s about our read. from, the with a centur y ally has Rye Brook resideto draw oth we deal wit country and more tha h people er countr nt actustories to na ies share. few interesting Democrat. “W ,” said the life and long “I’m hen 00 why I’m a Demo people ask me man tha just an average De cra mo t’s lived wo t, Langwort to be 100 rking most cratic Party, tha I say, ‘The $ h, t’s done ,” for wh sai 00 o still live the wo home he d Som the rki Street in built on No s in the tha e people may ng people.’

Tel: 91 rth not agree t, 4-939-68 ing skills 1956, trading his Ridge the but I can poi with nt 64 rea wit out plu sons I bel Fax: 91 mbthe constru h other trad 4-939-68 ieve tha some of t.”

77 the plumb ction business.esmen in Editor@w Still im estmoren that’s my ing and heating “I did all ews.com by the De pacted because trade,” /Westmo he said.

Langw pression reNew For exa s mple, Fra Nov. 11, orth, who wa @west s born on Roosevelt 1914, gre nklin De morenew sev gua lano w en www.w ranteed s ban up bro estmoren that if on West thers—plus as one of ing k went under, a ews.com a a s 38 Bro Chester William Street sister— som there would be person’s savad Stree Port Ch Chester and attended in Port De eone who live insured. For ester, NY t pression, d throug pub the Port 10573h act 4197 “I quit lic schools. the ion the s ones tha old to go when I was t stick wit like those are Charles Locally It 16 h to wa Langwort Lan years work,” s at the gworth. owned De spi te he exp Depre start h and his and op era Langwortnot fin ish ing lained. sch ssion that Lan of the Great “Now I don’t hav late wif since 196 ted ool to fin e Const still the e to worry COUR especially h’s love of sch ool , 4 ance re d work. gworth left TESY OF “I wa learning, with. It’s what you’re bro , but it’s “I’m inte history, stuck They got FRANK LANGW still wit Here’s ught up ting litt s fortunate. I with him res thin ORTH h ted you le marrie kep kin wh late job and my in , the fru t g, you kno at’s ins People family’ current events. expenses,” s, enough to getgal 193 r and soon had d two years w?” ide ............ s been books,” he me Charles, 8 sai and the the rail et d. Bri Love on giving .... the 10573 Events.. .............2 His ma n Frank in 194 Jr. in the ska He doe centenarian sai me truck, road, driver of ckman for rria s tin ....

5. grass cut Nearby Th a ............ ge g rink ended up two. His not mean a d. ter at an fuel oil Lan ere was one Events .5 saving himand first son novel or Larchmont, living hig ............ gw est Wa Opinio wit h ort ate driver of r II. room point h rea during Wo h dur in nom truck— ..6-7 n ........ a produc all were rld ic years. ing those hard for ............ and non ding materials is filled to “I went Sports e job .....8-9 eco In get -fic . ............ zines are tion, books andFiction you . “Anything s he was glad met Constanc 1934, Langw - and I wa down for my ...........1 Police s ready orth a e Bisanz physical you cou ’d tak piled hig maga2-14 Briefs.... to gamut lett o, ld get grew up in Por h and job,” he e. You never ........ fro Arts & En t Chest who also I wo er from the boaleave and I got “I refused said.

“Twi lig m Stephanie run the rd tha tertainme .......15 uldn’t be a the met her at Pla er.

Th Religiou nt ...16-1 called now t told me skating I had a yland wh that see ht” ser ies —a Meyer ’s wa e Rye Brook s Servic rin 7 wif tch me bec k ere lth a rol res e and chi is now. ed the ause ou gh es ........

Classified worki rather tha d to be the Th ld rec ent ident has “Sh ler skating rin .16 exception but remem s ........ k then,” at was he sai ng in a defens and I was rec ess ion e was Clinton’s n the norm— bers wh ........18 e compan d. four to en one -19 got a cou pretty good. In he said. y,” latter is “Hard Choic Hillary “So people was out Langw fact, she es. me unemploy of able, let’ ple trophies. one he orth wa a fac I was pas is quite ” The me. times it stil s s put it ed. l stic When s- .30 tory in Bridge working at pleased that “I and .50 port ma looking I go shopping, ks with acq met her the way. cal kin re uai for bar I’m Co ibe g and nte nst r still d. Pretty she we anc gains,” soon we got on We e worked in lls while he said. out and we re stc we a goi hes fac nt Port Ch ester nat ng steady,” the Chester tha ter Avenue in tory ive said. t After the made parachute Port Please war was ove s. r, turn to page 10 he

You r You Village r , You Paper r New , s $

1 47

per co

py per ye ar

ratin g

NEWS Our 50 th Year

Vol. 50

No.

Friday, No 47 • An edition of Westm vember 21 - Thurs ore News day, Novem

ber 27, 201

urglaries

s

BBHS mus ical ‘Little Shop of Horrors ’

4

A zoning map of Brook sho Ry ws wheree the fou r burgl aries— and on burglary e attempted —took all in the place same genera of the villl area age.

More By Claire K. about thethan 75 Rye Bro raCine village recent burgla ok residents, wo He hig ry hal Officials l to learn mo spree, showe rried able jew hly sugges d ted mo ving any departme from the vil re about the cri up at Becau elry to anothe se r lag ers con nt took questio e and the mes. will not the burglars location in the valucer police are hou ma ones hit ned their hom ns from hom places. “T ke the effort professionals, se. eow . of loo es could the hey be the nexn“The Ry On Nov. ’re on a timefr king in differ y ent e ame,” 11, t Brook working Ha arrest of For the Po story, pag a tri-sta rrison police annWilson said. that alr day and night lice Departm targ te e 20 burglary ounced eting aff eady occ ent to solve future the crimeis for Rye Bro luent commu ring that had the burglarie urred as well been nities. s ok res said at as a commus,” Mayor Pau to prevent match the style idents, their Unfortunately night, No cri l Ro of nity me v. eting on senberg inv “That was the those in Rye mes did not Brook.

Four hom13.

Thursday estiga result of es in Ry a month burglariz surveillantion. Those e Bro sus s-long occurred ed since Oct. 11. ok so far hav ones in ce,” Chief Gr pects were e Lane, Mo in the same gen All the crime been each othRye Brook do eg Austin sai under s appear d. The Becaus er, how to Roof Dr hegan Lane, Lin eral region—Bhave e of the eve be A r, rel license holiday, the Tha plate rea chief added. ated to ners. An ive—and happencoln Avenue and irch crack there wil nksgiving no garbag tho der oth l be Re ed se cri d helped in sim Road wa er possible collection e or recycling the pol burglary ilar man- Rye Brook pol mes, and Ro During s interrupted ice hav technolog senberg ice on Winds Nov. 27. on Thursday, e from the evening hours, by the homeow or also inf y to gather been using the said Wedne Monday, Tue dat sday and sda the win rear of the hou the robber ent ner. munic ormation collec a in the villag same garbag Friday y, e ipaliti dow on se, usually ted fro ered e and the sam collection wil directly the bac breaking ies similar es that are suffer m neighbori l for the k door, to ng and bul e. Thursday gar remain ing tho exp ma fro and hea se in Ry ster ensive jew k e Brook. m burglarbe collec metal recycl bage elry wa bedroom where ded ing Sgt. Ter s stolen Debunk only Wedne ted on Wedne will rence . pear to sda ing rumo “It seems be profes Wilson said the be collec y recycling sday; rs that wh kno sio thieves “They Thursd ted on Tuesdawill ap- it wing what we en I look at calmly nals. ay recycl go y; the map go thr know abo feels les right collected ing on We will be good jewfor the jewelr ough things. commu s random and ut what hap and Friday dnesda y. rec the detect elry and what’s They know whThey the hom nity in terms of more internal pened, the sam ycling will remy. when in the ive said. at’s hom es it happen not no greene. There will be ain “They get good jewelr ed to,” sai it happened and e was one d a woma in and get y,” this we waste collec of the The pol ek; how tion out.” ice chief ones hit by the n whose will be sai bulk col ever, there burgla d the Please Wedne turn to y are following rs. sday thislection on page 10 all week.

Blind B don’t m rook and Port ean to bu Chester t could be at fa ult

Salvation Ar celebrates se my Port Chester rving families Paper a da y late

A Supplement to the

Celeb

Thanksgi sanitatio ving schedule n

Paper a da

y late

Becaus e holiday of the Thanks giv on Thu 27, nex rsday, No ing t deliveredweek’s paper v. wil on Sat., a day later tha l be Nov. 29. n usual

NYCLU: Enro could deter llment requirements immigrant students

Neith By its registrer the Blind Bro Claire K. r aCi denying ation packet forok nor Port Ch ne ester education inc to immi oming studen school distric t cra grant chi ts Blind B ldren. Th with the intent fted rook be doing ey may inadve ion of and Po cording just that, how rtently rt Chest r, acer Liberties toUnthe New Yoeve don’t m rk Civil ion. ea 00 Some but coul n to birth cer thing like asking per co tifi d for a py age might cate to prove $ at fault be a 00 grant fam intimidate an child’s ily, im per ye miexplain The NY Marroqui Tel: 91 ed ar 4-939-68 the enroll CLU recently NYCL n, an organizer Guisela 64 for the Fax: 91 for just ment of immigrareleased a list of U. 4-939-68 tha it was not t reason. Even nt students and districts unlawful 77 Editor@w included though ly barrin Charles includ estmoren district.

Langwort ews.com They onl ed because the Port Chester doe Blind Brook on g /Westm h and his dis y NY it s tric sur the sam CL oreNews ts vey late wif up illegalthis year, the sam ed 20 percen U did not invest e thing, e Const @westm COUR t ance TESY OF orenews 2010. Af barriers to im e districts the of New York Staigate that FRANK www.w migrant ter Un te LANGW rec ion estmore sch ent preventin found to ool youth dur ORTH allegat news.co 38 Bro m the NY g dozens of La ions that a Long ing a statew be putting ad Stree ide study CL Port Ch districts U decided to tino children fro Island school in ester, NY t dis and m che trict wa receiving 10573found ma ck in on s Blind 4197 an ny tho tificates. Brook and Po are still out of se 139 offend education, rt Locally Charles be done They just need Chester do not compliance wit ing school owned B y Clai Langwort and op with a pas h the law a wa act him. Bu era a visa— h, Sr. ma re K. raCine . sport or y to prove a ually require t since 196 ted Po y has more with a century like a doc rt Chester. Bo baptismal cer child’s age. Th birth cer4 to dra think there is than a few tifi th is tor ’s rec nothing “I’m intere w from, the ord to also list “other cate—Blind Brocan also Even Here’s Langwortjust an averag sting stories Rye Brook res special about ok—or what’s packet—lif one place— answer the que ,” allowing for e to ident act lik People stio someth insid in 1956, h, who still liv working man share. ually immigra ists a birth cer e the introduct n of age. ............ ing es in the that’s liv trading tifi nts ion ............ e cat 10573 , stru letter his plu Marro hom e as ed to ction bus of what .....2 Events.. they cou quin said, “if required, it can in Port Chest iness. “I mbing skills e he built on No be 100,” sai my ............

Nearby tra er’ wit ld d be the did de,” he rth Rid s “It’s sor bri eno h oth .....5 re wasn’ all the plu Events t of a sca ng in.” t anothe ugh to deter Langwort said. ............ she add mbing ander tradesmen in ge Street Opinio ry r cle ..6 ed, thi n ........ the -7 ar choice seven bro h, who wa heating ............ they wo especially bec ng, an intimida Sports s born because conthers— uld be for .....8-9 ause the ting thi on ............ and tha plu Nov. 11, attende t’s s a sister ng for ced to parent It is not ...........1 Police 2-13 Briefs....

“I quit whd the Port Chest —on West Wi 1914, grew up Marroqui necessary answer intrusives might start wosomeone,” lliam ........ on er pub as one Arts & En ndering not finish en I was 16 are also n said. Distric first glance questions. if tertainme .......15 years old lic schools. Street in Port Ch of ts simply to acceptabl stuck wit ing school, La Religiou nt ...16-1 ester need to list all the alte e. ngworth’sto go to work, s Servi 7 say that rna ” he giving meh him. “I’m int ces love of Classifie other doc tives, ereste learning, explained. Despi books,” ds ........ .........16 Blind Br uments He doe the cen d in curren especi te ........18 That is ook ma -19 exactly reading s not mean a tenarian said. t events and my ally history, kes chan what Bli ma nov fam ter el ily ials. Fic ges or two. ’s been piled hig nd Bro tio His ok did Please ries—a h and run the n and non-fictio living room when the turn to lthough gamut fro is filled n, books y found page 10 tha Hillary with and ma out Clinton’s t seemed to be m Stephanie Me gazine to have the a copy “Hard Choices. exception rath yer ’s “Twilig s are of to rea ht” ” The latt er d. er is one than the norm—sehe is qui to Please te please turn to d page 10

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