Library News: Scarsdale Library Receives Grant and Unsold Books Donated to Charity
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4897
The Scarsdale Foundation's $50,000 grant to Scarsdale Public Library for its transformative renovation helped the Campaign for Excellence reach a new milestone with over $5 million committed in gifts and pledges. "A great Village needs a great library!" said Foundation President Emily Sherwood, "so it seemed only right that the Scarsdale Foundation partner in advancing a project that defines the spirit of Scarsdale." The Scarsdale Foundation's mission supports institutions and individuals that encourage educational and human development and mutual understanding. The grant will be matched by generous donors effectively doubling its impact with construction scheduled to begin in 2018.
Where Do Unsold Book Sale Materials Go? To Numerous Charities
Every year the book sale organized by the Friends of the Scarsdale Library sells thousands of books to raise funds to support expanded library programs. And every year there are unsold copies as our community donates many books. This year, the Friends along with Steve and Barbara Kessler came up with a plan to donate the unsold books to not-for-profits and senior citizen homes. Steve is a Library Trustee and Barbara is a former librarian and current library volunteer.
Members of the Friends and Library Trustees are contacting charities they know to see if they would like donated books. The response has been wonderful and bookshelves in numerous locations will have many additional fiction and non-fiction books.
The books will be available to all not-for-profits through Friday, September 22, and can be picked up at the Scarsdale Library.
Among the organizations and institutions receiving books are: P.S. 43 in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx, White Plains Hospital, The Riverdale Atria, The Denver Jewish Community School. The Bronx VA Hospital is being contacted.
"Both Barbara and I have a keen interest in the wonderful library we are fortunate to have in Scarsdale that provides extensive programs and services for people of all ages in the community," Kessler said. "We thought it would be a marvelous idea for the Friends to organize a program to donate the books to organizations and institutions whose users truly appreciate having the books."
"The Friends of the Library Book Sale is a major event every year in Scarsdale and being able to expand its reach and provide books to a variety of worthy not-for-profits is wonderful," said Kathy Gray of the Friends.
For additional information contact Gray at kgrayclapp@aol.com.
Candidates Needed for the Citizens Nominating Committee
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4021
The Procedure Committee invites eligible Scarsdale residents to run for election to the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC). Those who are elected will join 20 current CNC members to choose candidates to run for Village Mayor, Trustee and/or Justice under the banner of the Scarsdale Citizens Non- Partisan Party in the March general election. This year, the CNC will meet 4 or 5 times on Tuesday or Wednesday nights in December and January to select candidates for three Trustee positions.
CNC members are expected to attend all CNC meetings for three years and to serve the following year on the Procedure Committee. The meeting dates for 2017-2018 are: Tuesday, December 5 (organizational meeting); Tuesday December 19; Wednesday, January 10; Monday, January 22; and, if necessary, Wednesday, January 24.
A candidate for the CNC must be a qualified voter and a resident of Scarsdale for at least two years. A CNC candidate may not be a member of the Procedure Committee, the School Board Nominating Committee, the School Board Administrative Committee, the Scarsdale School Board or the Village Board. For more details on qualifications, see the Non-Partisan Resolution, which defines the rules for CNC candidacy, on the Procedure Committee website www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org.
Residents in each of the five elementary school districts (Edgewood, Greenacres, Fox Meadow, Heathcote and Quaker Ridge) may run for one of two open positions in their district. Candidates must file with the Procedure Committee a short biographical sketch and a nominating petition with 10 signatures of registered voters from their district. Forms and filing instructions for both may be downloaded from the Procedure committee website www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org. Hard copies may be obtained at Village Hall and the Scarsdale Library as well.
The deadline for filing both forms is Saturday September 30; after this date, additional candidates for any school district will be accepted only if there are fewer than two candidates for each position in that school district. The CNC election will be held at Village Hall on Wednesday November 15.
For help in filing or more information, potential candidates are welcome to contact the Chair of the Procedure Committee Jim Pullman, jpullman@verizon.net, the Vice Chair Robert Schechter, schechter.robert@gmail.com, or one of the current committee members. They are: from Edgewood, Elissa M. Bookner, David Irwin, Eli Mattioli, Ed Morgan, and Elaine Lamb Moreno; from Fox Meadow, Brian Nottage, and Bruce Wells; from Greenacres, John Baer, Mary Blumenthal-Lane, and Neil Kanner; from Heathcote, Leonard Benowich, Lauren Mintzer, B.K. Munguia, and Myra Saul; and from Quaker Ridge, Michael Gorelick, Howard Nadel and Anna Paternoster.
High School Sweethearts Wed in Connecticut
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 9535
SHS Alums Sarah Bushin and Ethan Carey were married on August 5th.
The Scarsdale Forum Invites You to a Conversation about Schools
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4842
The Scarsdale Forum's Education Committee invites you to a conversation about Scarsdale schools at an event to be held Thursday, September 7, 2017, at 7:30 pm in Rutherford Hall of the Scarsdale Village Hall, 1001 Post Road. This back-to-school event will include a live poll providing current Scarsdale students, Scarsdale alumni, parents, empty nesters and the community at large the opportunity to answer a variety of questions about Scarsdale schools. Responses will be shown in real time on a screen visible to both audience members and home viewers. Those who plan to attend the event should bring an electronic device (such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop) to participate in the polling. There will also be a public comment portion of the evening so that audience members can discuss the live poll's questions and answers. The qualitative and quantitative information collected during the live polling will be used in reports and articles that the Education Committee plans to issue during 2017-2018. The reports and articles will be made publicly available.
The Scarsdale Forum is actively gathering data that can be used to inform residents, as well as school and Village decision-makers about relevant topics in our community. During May-June 2017, the Forum's Education Committee conducted a village-wide online survey soliciting Scarsdale residents' opinions on topics the Education Committee should research and report upon during 2017-2018. Respondents from all five neighborhoods ranked 12 topics in order of priority: "Need for a Long-Term Financial Plan" and "Program Evaluation Process and Metrics" ranked first and second, respectively. Tied for third place were "Financial Literacy" and "Community Design Initiative: Involving All Stakeholder in Designing Education Goals."
Additionally, the online survey revealed five issues respondents wanted addressed: better communication with the school district, a clear framework to compare Scarsdale schools with other school districts, facilities renovation, more math and science in the elementary schools, and more foreign language instruction.
According to Education Committee Co-Chair Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez: "Now that we have these school topics ranked, we would like to deepen our engagement with the Scarsdale community to really understand what educational priorities exist. Also, we need to probe how residents feel about how much we want to spend to continue including innovative programs in our schools."
The September 7 event will provide the Education Committee the opportunity to explore the Scarsdale community's educational values and priorities in more depth. Co-Chair Carlos Ramírez said: "We encourage residents of Scarsdale and the Mamaroneck Strip to attend the event and have their voices heard. As a community, we are empowered to participate in important discussions about our schools and to insure stakeholder involvement happens."
Visiting Day Smiles and Fun
- Details
- Hits: 7778
Emma Glaser and her sister Jane (author) at Camp Timber Tops.
Do you have a visiting day photo to share? Please email it to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com and we'll include it here.
Charlie Milberg and his dad Dan at Camp Greylock. Katie, Abby, and Ethan Fehrenbaker with their parents Allison and Larry and their grandparents at Camp Wayne. Eric Glaser with sisters Remy and Maya at Camp Winadu. Ryan Leitner with little brother Jaxson and parents Debbie and Kenny at Silver Lake. Vince Hellegers and his sister Ginger at Camp Watitoh. Daniel Love and his dad Jonathan at Greylock. 
