News from the Nominating Committees: CNC Election on November 12 and Candidates Needed to Run for the School Board Nominating Committee
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The Citizens Nominating Committee Election will be held on Wednesday November 12 from 7- 9:30 am and 2 – 9 pm. Scarsdale residents are eligible and encouraged to vote. For those who cannot come to the polls on Wednesday, mail-in ballots are available at Village Hall and The Scarsdale Library. a mail-in ballot was also sent to each household by mail this week. Those elected to the CNC select a slate of candidates for the Village offices of Trustee and Mayor. Support Scarsdale's non-partisan system by voting on Wednesday at Village Hall.
Candidates Needed for the SBNC (this note was forwarded to Scarsdale10583 by Bennett Josselsohn and Mindy Tucker, Committee Chairs of the SBNC.)
What are you doing Sunday afternoons during the cold, dark winter (end of January through mid-March)? How about meeting some people and serving our community to boot? Join the SBNC!
HELP! SERVE! HAVE FUN! Please help to maintain our excellent Scarsdale schools and serve our community by volunteering to run for the SBNC. It's rewarding and interesting to participate, with a focused time commitment. (Plus you get to sneak in a couple of munchkins and chocolate chip cookies that your spouse can't see!)
HUH? The School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is an elected group of 30 members who identify, propose and nominate qualified candidates to run for the Scarsdale Board of Education. The 30 voting members represent each of the five elementary school neighborhoods. Each year, ten new members (two from each elementary school neighborhood) are elected to serve a three-year term. The SBNC meets for Sunday afternoons from end of January through the middle of March. (You get to spend time with adults! Make new friends! Need we say more?)
EASY! It's easy to become a candidate – just complete two forms by November 18, 2014 and submit them to either of the e-mails listed below or via mail to the addresses on the forms. The first is a biographical form and the second is a candidate petition, with signatures from ten residents in your elementary school district. These forms can be downloaded from http://scarsdalesbnc.com/join-the-sbnc/ , where further information on the process can also be found. The forms are also available at the Scarsdale Library and Village Hall. (You get to talk about yourself! How does it get better than that?)
MORE QUESTIONS? If you are interested in becoming a candidate or have questions, please visit the SBNC's website at www.scarsdalesbnc.com . Also, feel free to contact the SBNC Administrative Committee Co-chairs: Bennett Josselsohn at bjoss100@aol.com or Mindy Tucker at mindytucker8@gmail.com.
NO TIME TO VOLUNTEER? If you are too busy on Sunday afternoons with work, or driving your kids to sports, or watching football on the couch, you can still help. Please consider a contribution to the Administrative Committee's election fund! The Committee organizes and administers the SBNC election at significant expense. The cost of producing and mailing the brochure to every Scarsdale resident is not included in the School budget, the Village budget or any other source of public funds. Donations can be made by Paypal or by check payable to "SBNC Administrative Committee" and sent to our post office box (PO Box 172H, Scarsdale NY 10583). Donations are used solely for running the SBNC election and do not benefit any individual candidate. We rely on the community's financial support to sustain our non-partisan system of robust and contested elections for the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee.
SO, NOW WHAT? Run for the SBNC. Have fun. Donate to the SBNC. Do good. Run for the SBNC and donate to the SBNC. Have fun and do good!
Turn Your Clock Back Saturday Night
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Here are two safety notices from the Scarsdale Fire Department: As the time change approaches on Sunday, November 2, the Scarsdale Fire Department wants to remind residents to make another change that could save their lives: Changing the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of 75 percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke detectors. Non-working smoke detectors rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke detectors is worn or missing batteries.
Changing smoke detector batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working smoke detectors nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke detectors every 10 years.
To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Scarsdale, the Scarsdale Fire Department has joined forces with Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the 26th year of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery® campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke detector and carbon monoxide batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on November 2.
"The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most families are sleeping," says Fire Chief Thomas Cain. "Smoke detector maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke detector can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely."
In addition, Chief Cain recommends residents use the "extra" hour they save from the time change to test smoke detectors by pushing the test button, planning two ways out of their home, and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.
Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:
➢ Children – Approximately 500 children under the age of 14 die each year in home fires.
➢ Seniors – Adults 75 and older are 2.8 times more likely to die in a home fire.
➢ Low-Income Households – Many low-income families are unable to afford batteries for their smoke detectors. These same households often rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating equipment – a main cause of fatal home fires.
Fire Department Installing Fire Hydrant Markers for Winter
On November 1, 2014 the Scarsdale Fire Department will begin installing red markers on every fire hydrant in the Village, to assist the Department in locating the hydrants during heavy winter snow accumulations. Installation of these highly-visible three-foot tall metal rods will be performed by career and volunteer firefighters working together to ensure that each of the nearly one thousand fire hydrants in the Village is properly marked. The flag markers will be removed by the Water Department in the spring during their annual hydrant maintenance program, to be re-installed again prior to the next winter.
These markers are being installed to enhance public safety. Fire hydrants serve an extremely critical role in the rapid and successful extinguishment of fire, and accumulated, drifting or plowed snow often results in difficulty locating hydrants, especially at night and/or during inclement weather. Precious time can be lost searching for a hydrant buried by snow, and the intent of these tall flag markers is to assist firefighters in locating the hydrant quickly.
Residents with fire hydrants on or near their property can assist the Fire Department in this regard by shoveling snow away from the hydrant. Clearing the snow away from your fire hydrant is a quick and easy way to assist the Fire Department toward helping you and your neighbors. Your assistance is appreciated!
For more information about fire safety, contact Fire Inspector Albert Mignone with the Scarsdale Fire Department at 914-722-1215 x 3.
Walk to School Day
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdale Middle School students and teachers participated in the annual Walk to School Day early on Wednesday October 8. Teachers met students at assigned departure points to gather and walk to school.
Sponsored by the Scarsdale Middle School Physical Education Department this national event promotes the following:
- Physical Activity
- Safe pedestrian skills
- Awareness of our walkable community
- Concern for the environment
- Reduced traffic congestion and speed near schools
- Sharing faculty time with students
We caught up with physical education teachers Melissa Zeiler and Kevin Roemer who met a group of students at the Metro Deli on Palmer Avenue where some ordered breakfast before they walked to school.
We also saw groups of students and teachers making their way to school in groups along Mamaroneck Avenue. Scarsdale's neighborhood schools were originally designed to permit students to walk to school and the event proved how easy it can be.
To read more about this program, click here. 
The Class of 1974 - Forty Years Later
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- Written by Michael Blumstein
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Is it really four decades later? Some 102 members of Scarsdale High School's class of 1974 (plus 32 spouses) mulled that (im)possibility at their 40th reunion on October 11th. Classmates relived their youth at the Beckwith Point Beach Club in New Rochelle -- right down the street from the site of their 6/21/74 prom. The evening, no surprise, featured long hugs, funny reminiscences and serial conversations about careers and kids. In a serious moment, George Branche, (pictured front and center) senior class council president and one of the reunion's organizers, recalled the importance of his high school's years and acknowledged the group's generally good fortune. Over the following few days, classmates jammed Facebook with photos of the evening, including this group shot.
SOWE Brings Smiles to Scarsdale
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The scale of the Southern Westchester Food Festival in Scarsdale on Sunday September 21 was nothing short of mindboggling. When I rode into town on my bike on Sunday morning I couldn't decide which way to turn first. The food tent looked even bigger than last year, extending the entire length of Spencer Place and Chase Road. There was a band playing and a variety of activities going on in Chase Park and beyond that was an appealing natural foods tent, a wine tasting village and if that wasn't enough I learned I could even win a television or a car.
Rich and Stacey Baumer and their kids think big and brought the show to end all shows to our
often sleepy village. They started out last year with a one-day event in Scarsdale, and this year added a full day in Mamaroneck, a big event on the preceding Friday night at the Infiniti dealership on Central Avenue as well as several other tastings in the weeks leading up to the big weekend.
How a small staff and an army of volunteers could manage all this remains a mystery. The massive tents went up when no one was looking, trucks and cars carrying the booths and food were nowhere to be found and the impressive schedule of events seemed to flow without a hitch.
After watching a few food demonstrations on the large stage we toured the tent trying to decide how to make the best use of our food tickets. At $50 for 10 tickets – a price increase from last year – we wanted to be sure we sampled wisely. We immediately came upon the largest pan of paella we had ever seen, tended by chefs from the Culinary Institute of America. That was a hit and the line remained long until the last clam was consumed. Someone tipped us off to crab crostini from Jean Georges, served at the booth from the Inn at Pound Ridge and it lived up to its reputation. We also liked the guacamole and pork carnitas from Mambo 64 in Tuckahoe and sampled a smoky lobster corn chowder from the newly reopened L'Inizio in Ardsley. What else did we see? Tuna tartare, meatballs, and pizza fired in a wood burning oven brought into town for the occasion. There was far too much to mention – no less eat!
We happened into the Healthy Food tent and found some innovations with new ingredients. There was a Chia drink in a squeezable container, sorbet with no cream, no sugar, no nothing. A woman who was sampling it claimed that you could actually lose weight while eating it. Motto Sparkling Matcha Tea was bright green, light, refreshing and delicious. Scarsdale Chef Jen Rossano was demonstrating healthy home cooking and of course we came upon some kale.
On from there we wandered into the Wine Village that featured a dazzling array of vintages. Wearing wine glasses around their necks, oenophiles were sipping reds, whites, roses, champagnes and more from domestic and international wineries.
Too full to take another bite, we waited on line to have our photo taken at the Infiniti booth where we were told that we had been entered intro a drawing for a new car. The picture was cute but we're still waiting to hear who won the car. No word from Baumer or Infiniti on that question.
So – was the event good for Scarsdale, profitable for the Baumers and worth a third attempt? We
can't say. We did note that some people felt that the ticket price was high and simply walked through the festival without purchasing tickets. Others had no beef about it and felt that the event was a big gift to the community.
Commenting on the second SOWE in Scarsdale, Lewis Arlt, President of the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce said, "When the Chamber of Commerce first sat down and discussed this event with Rich, Stacey and Casey, we had some sense that it would be big, but we had no idea how big, how successful, how community-centric, how service-supportive, nor how many restaurants, food vendors, sponsors, volunteers, and foodies in general would participate. It is incredibly gratifying to see SOWE blossom into this wonderful village event. More than one long-time visitor said to me, "This is best thing that ever happened to Scarsdale." We are so proud to be associated with the event, and so grateful to village leadership for facilitating it, and to the Baumers and their incredible team for working so hard, and offering this gift with such apparent ease."
At the end of the day we ran into two couples from Greenacres who actually took the train from Hartsdale to Scarsdale to get to the festival without driving. They joked that the conductor actually charged them each $1.50 for the one-way trip. But when we saw them they were so full that they decided to go home the old fashioned way – on their own two feet.
