The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Sarah Ellen Rindsberg

An Olympic Hopeful – trained in Chappaqua

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John Orozco in action

When John Orozco was eight years old he began making the journey from his home in the Bronx to Chappaqua on a regular basis.  He had set his sights on becoming a world class gymnast and chose World Cup as the place to do so.  Today, Orozco, 19, is living and training at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

The program at the Center is extremely rigorous.  All athletes are required to attend two sessions of training daily for a total of five hours.  “It’s a very intense period of training leading up to the Olympic games,”  Orozco observed.  “We’re trying to make my routine and skills very consistent,” he added.  Improvement is facilitated by the coaches and video monitors in the gym which allow the athletes to replay footage instantly.   After the completion of the Olympic trials on July 1, ten gymnasts will be selected to represent the US at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Upon graduating from high school, Orozco weighed his options and choose the Olympic Training Center.  “There will be time for college after I achieve my dream,” he said.

Whenever Orozco returns to NY, he carves out time to visit his friends at World Cup.  “Chappaqua NY is like my second home,” Orozco mentioned.  He thoroughly enjoyed  being a member of the boy’s team and found the ambiance in the gym to be both competitive and supportive.  When hunger strikes, he can often be found at Pizza Station or Mario’s Pizza, polishing off a slice.

Jason Hebert, the head coach of the boys’ team at World Cup remembers distinctly the day when Orozco first came to the gym.  Hebert saw Orozco’s innate “raw talent” immediately.    “This was a really special, talented kid,” he noted.

Beautification

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Planting at Gedney Park

On May 1, skies were cloudy and rain poured down.   The dreary conditions did not deter the volunteers of the Chappaqua Garden Club.  Armed with shovels and trowels, clad in rain jackets, gloves and boots, the volunteers toiled for hours.  The result of their labors is the beautified September 11 Memorial in Gedney Park.

In keeping with the spirit embodied in the Memorial, a patriotic design prevails in the garden.  “The theme is red, white and blue,” Garden Club President Chris Wolff noted.  The plants in this color scheme are all deer resistant.  Local gardeners may glean valuable information from this site by noting the types of plants and looking for them at a  local nursery.  The club’s selection includes:   nepeta, shasta, monarda, lambs’ ear, brunnera and coreopsis.  As a further precaution, deer tech stations which emit high frequency sounds and an herbal scent, have been installed by Savatree along the path leading up to the memorial.

Club member Mary Lynn McRee predicts that the plantings will increase the visibility of the Memorial and draw more people to the site:  “They’ll see flowers as they pass by. They’ll be attracted to come over.”   After admiring the flowers along the path, visitors will discover the memorial at the summit.  A fountain and waterfall surround the steel remnants.  “It’s very peaceful.  A little oasis,” McRee added.

There are many ways to become involved with the club and new members are always welcome.   The ambiance is always congenial and educational opportunities abound.  “It’s a really nice group of people,” Wolff mentioned.  “Everybody’s really cooperative.”  There are workshops on flower arranging and guest speakers on topics including raising orchids and landscape design.

Protecting Our Autistic Children

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All parents shudder at the thought of a missing child.  For those whose offspring are autistic, the fear is particularly prevalent.  In recognition of the need to protect this segment of the community, the New Castle Police Department has become an active participant in a novel venture entitled:  Kind Find.

Officer James Dumser, program manager for Kind Find in the town of New Castle learned about the program recently when he attended a seminar called “first responders and individuals with autism; averting crises and preventing disastrous consequences” on March 27.  The mission of Kind Find is to have all parents with children on the autistic spectrum register their children with the police department.  This will insure that when the department receives a call regarding a certain child or residence, information will instantly appear on their screen, advising them of where the person falls on the spectrum of autism.  This knowledge will in turn inform the manner in which the department approaches the individual.  “Kind Find will help us out immensely,” Dumser observed.

The program is mutually beneficial for families and the police department.  According to Dumser, the interpretation of responses from an autistic individual are not always self-evident.  Sometimes, “We think the person is trying to harm us when they are not,” he related.  Officers are trained to understand that one-word answers are not always the result of a negative attitude.  Instead, they may be the dominant way in which a person communicates.

Information on triggers; actions that set off an autistic individual such as approaching too closely or touching, are especially helpful.  Additionally, any insight into what the child responds best to such as trains or video games, will facilitate the department’s efforts to assist.

Registration forms are available at the police department and at ncpd.info/forms.  Extensive information on the program is at kind-find.com.  Officer Dumser may be reached at 238-4422 or jdumser@town.new-castle.ny.us.

Eight Girl Scouts Receive Gold Awards

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Gold Award Winners

Story Walk and Reels and Reads.  Perhaps you know a lucky kid who participated in one of these popular activities at the Chappaqua Library this year; but do you also know that the masterminds behind these projects are Girl Scouts?   A record number of eight girls received their gold awards today at town hall.

“I helped coordinate a story walk with different books for every season,” recipient Lindsey Brosnan related.  The walk was developed to captivate children meandering along the nature trail at Roaring Brook Elementary School.

Aparna Nathan created Reels and Reads to encourage middle schoolers to expand their minds through reading.  She held events at the library to discuss books and cinematic adaptations.

Megan Marie Maher delivered 65 knitted blankets to Blythedale Children’s Hospital and Hope’s Door.  Knitting instructions were accessed via her website by many volunteers.  Katie Duncalf provided assistance for inmates and children at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and founded “Hope”, a new club at Greeley, whose members  joined in her endeavor.  In Seniors Make a Wish, Megan Elizabeth Enright coordinated visits to the elderly.  Rebecca Fischer was thrilled to see how “the kids expanded their vocabulary,” via her signs at Wagon Road Camp.   Julia Friedland showed the community how to to use recyclables in artistic creations.  Putnam Hospital Center benefited from Neha Gupta’s Making a Kid-Friendlier Hospital.

A bevy of local dignitaries attended the ceremony.  Assemblyman Robert Castelli told the recipients:  “You have reached the pinnacle of girl scouting.”  He presented citations on behalf of the New York State Assembly.  Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz proclaimed April 29 as Lindsey Brosnan day.  The next 7 days were assigned to the other honored girl scouts. Town Supervisor Susan Carpenter praised the girls and  related her history with scouting.  “I was a girl scout.  My mother led my troop,” she said.

Shortened February Break in 2013

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Here’s one topic that parents and children agree upon:  the traditional full week of vacation during February will be sorely missed next year.   The break will run from Monday, February 18 to Wednesday, February 20.

The district calendar for the academic year 2012- 2013 was approved on February 28 of this year.  The following is an account of the history of this break and an explanation of the rationale behind the change; designed to assuage the adjustment process.

Residents have grown accustomed to having the entire week off in recent years.  Since the 1999-2000 school year, the district has been closed for the entire Presidents’ week.  From the fall of 1995 to the summer of 1999, the February vacation consisted of only one or two days.

Superintendent Lyn McKay explained the reasons for the shortened break, “It depends on when the various holidays fall, and of course, on the state requirements.”  In the coming year, Labor Day occurs early in September on the third, the Jewish holidays fall on school days and Christmas is on a Tuesday.  The district adds five days to the 180 mandated by the state for a total of 185 days of instruction.  Administrative Assistant/District Clerk Theresa Markley elaborated further on the mechanics involved in designing the calendar, “We are one of the 18 component school districts in Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES.  We try to coordinate as much as possible.”  This is important for a variety of reasons including allowing students to attend classes at BOCES and scheduling sports competitions.

To those families who may be inclined to extend their vacation, McKay offered advice and a glimmer of hope for the future.  “We’re hoping people will understand that it was necessary this year to make a shorter February vacation.  When possible we’ll give the whole break.”