The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

Three Important Dental Safety Tips!

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dentistDr. Alexandra Chan Katz in Chappaqua recommends:

  1. Bringing in your baby on his/her first birthday for a visit. “We do mommy/daddy lap exams! 
Get your baby to know us early on! No regrets !”
  2. A check up every six months for a cleaning and exam. Dr. Katz’s experienced staff will give you a “personalized demo” on “home care and maintenance.”
  3. Floss only the teeth you want to keep and floss them “the right way!” “Healthy gums are so important; we  will show you the safe way to brush with a 
soft brush and floss!”

For an appointment, call: 238-8552

Meet Skip Beitzel, Armonk’s Citizen of the Year

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Skip Beitzel, proud owner of Hickory & Tweed.
Skip Beitzel, proud owner of Hickory & Tweed.

by Miriam Longobardi

When Skip Beitzel began working at Hickory & Tweed as a Horace Greeley High School freshman, he never dreamed he would one day own the store, let alone have the distinction of being named Citizen of the Year by the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. Yet, what started as regular family outfitting excursions (Skip, his parents and brother and sister are all avid skiers) soon led to Skip’s ongoing employment (he worked throughout his high school years, during college breaks and summers). And employment led to a deep and lasting friendship with former Hickory & Tweed owner Jimmy Ross.

After graduating college, Skip worked in the advertising business, living and working in New York City for several years. He had always kept in touch with Ross but was nonetheless completely taken by surprise when the two ran into eachother on vacation. Their chance encounter led to more than casual conversation; as they were catching up, Ross mentioned he was thinking of selling the store and asked if Skip might be interested in its purchase. At the time, Skip thought there was no way that his friend would really sell as he had founded the store and developed the business. He asked Ross’s wife if she thought her husband was really serious and she assured Skip that he was. That conversation sparked his interest, causing Skip to consider all the “what if’s.” Within six months, the transaction was complete! Jimmy Ross moved to Aspen, and Skip (reverse-commuting to Armonk until his apartment lease ended) found himself the proud new owner of the store in which he was practically raised.

Inside Hickory & Tweed with Michaela Beitzel (center) between two other fashion buyers, Debbie Coldwell (left) and Geri Moore (right).
Inside Hickory & Tweed with Michaela Beitzel (center) between two other fashion buyers, Debbie Coldwell (left) and Geri Moore (right).

Knowing the business he built was going to his long-time employee and friend must have been a source of comfort to Ross upon retiring. Unfortunately, retirement was all-too short-lived. Several years after moving to Aspen, Ross passed away. Skip’s sadness over this loss was still apparent to me when we spoke. “Jimmy taught me absolutely everything I know,” Skip recalls, speaking fondly of his late friend. “It’s still hard to believe he’s no longer with us.” Skip strives to maintain the wonderful traditions and standards of excellence that Ross began noting that the store’s continued thriving success is as much a testament to Ross’s mentorship as it is an ongoing personal and professional satisfaction.

Today, 25 years later, Skip and Hickory & Tweed continue to outfit generations of families. Skip’s wife Michaela is the buyer for the store and keeps the merchandise fresh and innovative. Skip and Michaela have three sons and they too are all avid skiers. The older two, Mac and Chase, both in their twenties, work in the city. Their younger son Ryder is in high school.   In addition to his children, Skip says he has been blessed with mentoring many local young men and women who have worked for him over the years. Some of his employees have gone on to get married after having met and gotten to know one another in the store. In fact, Skip was recently at a wedding of a former employee who is one of four brothers, all of whom worked at Hickory & Tweed. Having siblings from the same family all coming to work for him is another testament to Skip’s character as a fair and caring employer.

Quality merchandise and outstanding customer service keep a loyal customer base. “In the fall, it is not unusual to have three generations of the same family all shopping here together. Grandparents with their children and grandchildren all share a sport together. Once we even had four generations!” Skip’s commitment to his customers and contribution to the community are well-known amongst the people of Armonk (and well beyond), so it is little wonder that he was recognized by the Armonk Chamber of Commerce with the prestigious Citizen of the Year award. Chamber of Commerce Vice-President Christopher Carthy describes Skip as someone in whom one can place a lot of trust. “Today buying a bike is a really big deal, much more so than years ago. When I went to buy a bike I went straight to Hickory & Tweed. I knew Skip would tell me everything I need to know,” he said. “When I need to bring the bike in for service appointments I know he stands behind what he sells.” Indeed, everyone who walks into his store knows they are in good hands with Skip Beitzel, and that they can look forward to many more years of excellent selection and service.

Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, fourth grade teacher and single mother of two daughters living in Westchester. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for the American Cancer Society, has completed four marathons and travels the world. Follow her on Twitter@writerMimiLong.

Swimming Pool Safety Advice: A Must Read

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chris-poolsBy Christopher Carthy

The party line may be that parents must watch their children, but swimming pool safety is really about protecting young children when the unexpected happens. Nothing is better than a good fence around a pool with operable self-closing gates. After researching fatalities around the country, I almost always find fence protection was broken or nonexistent. I have built many pools where we fence the property line and not the pool so that there is no fence between the house and the pool. Homeowners sometimes request this for aesthetic reasons (preferring no gate to open from the back of the house), but honestly, it is not as safe as a fence that encompasses the pool area.

An automatic cover does provide a safe barrier when it is closed, but it is not the equivalent of a good fence because a cover can be left open. Automatic covers are expensive and require a fair amount of maintenance. However, they are wonderful for heat retention.

Pool alarms are rarely effective; I would not rely on them. Diving boards get a bad rap: I would argue a pool is safer with a diving board as it designates an area from which to dive. A correctly placed diving board on a correctly designed pool promotes safety. On the other hand, diving rocks are not safe. They typically protrude into the pool and present the risk of a swimmer hitting his head on the rock.

Anti-entrapment safety measures guard against the rare possibility of someone getting entrapped by the suction of a pump. To guard against entrapment, be sure all your suction ports have a good (if possible VGB compliant) cover.

Finally, kids should not stand on rafts in a pool or they may fall and hit the edge of the pool. Remember the lifeguard from your youth yelling “Don’t Run?” Well, it is true, running and pushing can be dangerous around a pool. Like many things, good common sense goes a long way toward a fun and safe pool.

Christopher Carthy is the principal of Pools Of Perfection in Armonk. He is a Certified Building Professional by the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals. Pools of Perfection has rendered many thousands of service calls in the last 25 years and have built magnificent poolscapes in the Armonk and Chappaqua community. For more info, email: ccarthy@PoolsOfPerfection.com or call 914-273-SWIM (7946)

How to Avoid Cuff Injuries

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By Matthew Marucci, PT, MSPT, OCS, CSCS

NCPT-Cuff-storyThe rotator cuff is a group of four muscles whose primary function is to stabilize the shoulder. Given the amount of mobility our shoulders afford us (painting a ceiling, scratching our back) stabilization is no small task. The shoulder’s stability also depends on the strength of muscles attached to our shoulder blades. For more literature on avoiding cuff injuries and videos of the exercises listed below, please visit New Castle Physical Therapy’s Facebook page.

Reach smartly. There are obvious limits to this concept, but just as you can lift with your knees to protect your back, you can alter the way you reach to protect your shoulders. Two simple modifications are reaching with your thumb facing up and getting as close to the target object as possible.

Keeping your thumb up when reaching makes it less likely your rotator cuff will impinge on the top of your shoulder blade. Moving closer to the target object or using a step stool can result in significantly less motion required from your shoulder.

Take breaks. No one enjoys washing windows or painting ceilings, so most of us try to work quickly. For repetitive tasks, minimize risk by making the movement as low stress as possible. Take breaks. Even well designed movements can fatigue your cuff over time and place it at risk for injury.

Know your body. Most people would stop a particular activity if they felt discomfort in their shoulder, but many are unaware that a large number of cuff injuries cause pain lower down the arm. Pain halfway down the outside of your arm can be a hallmark sign of a cuff injury, even in the absence of any additional shoulder pain. Perform each exercise here three times per week; three sets of 12 repetitions.

Scapular Retraction: Using a resistance band, gently squeeze your shoulder blades together, taking care not to shrug.

Using a light weight (2-3 lbs), lift your arms (with your thumbs up as if the weights are ice cream cones) to the height of your shoulders.

Side Lying External Rotation: Lie on your side with a small folded towel between your shoulder and side. With your elbow bent to 90 degrees lift the weight (2-3 lbs) from your stomach until your forearm is parallel to the ground.

Matthew Marucci, PT, MSPT, OCS, CSCS, a partner at New Castle Physical Therapy & Personal Training, is also Chair of the Hudson Valley District New York Physical Therapists Association. Visit www.newcastlept.net or call 914-488-5440

 

Safety and Beauty in Musical Expression

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Janet Angier
Janet Angier

As the long time director of Music in Chappaqua, Janet Angier’s approach is one of nurturing students and unleashing the creative eager to surface in every budding musician.

At Music in Chappaqua, that is accomplished in a safe, non judgmental environment. Imparting the rudiments of music and exploring avenues to musical enrichment do not have to rely on memorization and forced instruction, she insists. As such, Angier has cultivated the concept of teaching through a freer and more passive route to musical enlightenment.

“What I’ve seen in public schools and in the many generations that have passed through my teaching and school is that the way music is often taught through the written page, works for some, but not all,” Angier explains. She envisions one day articulating her alternative methodology to public school music teachers and hoping that they will embrace it as fervently as she has.

Accentuating the positive, rewarding successes along the way, and reveling in the joy of creating music supersedes traditional study for many and is their preferred route to fluency, she says. “I’d like an approach where the intellectual level is reduced and the ‘feeling’ is more embraced,” she adds. Allowing students to choose a few chords and give them a rhythm to play with can set them on the road to understanding and improvised creativity. “It’s instant gratification,” she adds.

Angier’s own visits to Nashville have confirmed her observations: “I’ve seen how they teach bluegrass and the same applies in such things as African drumming circles. The non-Western approaches are very successful, and socially based, rather than intellectually based. This could be very gratifying” if offered as an alternative in the regular public school music curriculum, she feels. Angier champions the idea of students relying on self-expression early on in their study, rather than waiting years for their teacher to say “Add expression.”

“In teaching, it’s important to notice the good things: What you see and what you focus on is what develops. If you notice what the student is doing right, they’ll notice that as well, and it will grow. I encourage everyone to see the good, and not to focus on the things that are not.”

For more information about registering, write to mail@musicinchappaqua.com, or call 914-238-3123