The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

New Castle News

A Dunk Tank and So Much More Anticipated at the Rotary Club’s Community Day in Chappaqua on September 9

by

New Castle Community Day is always such a blast with so much warmth, good will, and surprise activities to experience, I didn’t think it could sound any more fun than it has in the past, well, not until the Dunk Tank event caught my attention on Facebook. I thought I’d inquire for more info about the event taking place on Saturday September 9th which begins 10 a.m. and wraps up about 5 p.m.  Because who doesn’t want to watch a Town Supervisor get dunked?  A mystery School District representative? The Police Chief ? Or the Rotary President, herself?  Or, or.. well, a local publisher?  In my exchange with Holly McCall, the Rotary Club of Chappaqua President, I ended up volunteering too!   Full Dunkin’ schedule of volunteers below.

With that spirit of community, I asked Holly McCall, President of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua, what residents can expect this Saturday at the Rotary’s signature event, Community Day!  More from Holly and the Rotary’s schedule below:

Holly McCall: “Community Day is an annual tradition in New Castle. It’s an opportunity to explore everything that makes New Castle a great community. For over 40 years, we have enjoyed bringing community groups together along with opportunities for fun and games. This year will be no different – With local bands providing music, a magic show for the kids, slides and rides, ice cream, face painters and more – there is something for everyone this year. We are thrilled to partner with the Farmer’s Market and a food truck event to make this a day full of food, fun and community!”

“We are grateful to all of our sponsors and community groups for their support in making this event possible. Please stop by, celebrate New Castle and support the service work of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. For more information on Community Day and the Rotary Club of Chappaqua, visit our website at rotaryofchappqua.com  Very importantly, consider donating a non-perishable to the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry. 

 

Along with an opportunity to meet dozens upon dozens of the sponsors at their assigned booths, Community Day visitors can expect the following: 

  • Stage Schedule (music times approximate)
    • 10 a.m. Magic Show Presented by Sari Shaw of Compass
    • 11 a.m. Music by the Mike Risko Band 
    • Noon Music by Music in Chappaqua
    • 1 p.m. Music by Bourbon & Britches
  • Community Tables open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Dunk Tank Schedule – huge thanks to those who have volunteered!!
10-10:30 a.m. TBD
10:30-11 a.m. CCSD
11-11:30 a.m. Lisa Katz
11:30-Noon Ally Chemtob
12-12:30 p.m. Jeremy Saland
12:30-1 p.m. Jim Carroll
1-1:30 p.m. Grace Bennett
1:30-2 p.m. Holly McCall

 

  • Rotary hot dogs will be available for purchase during the event.
  • From Noon-5 p.m. a Food Truck event will be held adjacent to Community Day.
  • We will be hosting the County’s Passport Truck
  • We will be assisting with a collection of non-perishable goods to support Mt. Kisco Interfaith Pantry.
    • cereal
    • oatmeal
    • cans of red and black beans
    • bags of dried beans
    • low sodium soups
    • pasta
    • peanut butter
    • jelly

World Cup Gymnastics Athletes Sawyer Robertson and Victor Dyakin Take Home Bronze Medals at the 2023 Eastern DP National Championship

by

World Cup Gymnastics’ finest competed April 28-30 at the 2023 Men’s Eastern Developmental Program National Championship held at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Along with the Western Championship which took place in Galveston, TX, nearly 1,500 gymnasts competed in this prestigious event. 

Sawyer Robertson, of Mount Kisco, NY competed in the Men’s Level 7 Youth and took home the bronze medal for High Bar with a score of 10.85 and a 7th place medal on Floor with a score of 11.20.  He received a final medal by placing 8th All Around with a score of 64.55.  Teammate, Victor Dyakin from Scarsdale, NY, competed in the Men’s Level 7 and also took home a bronze medal for his work on Floor earning an 11.65 and an 8th place medal on Bars with an 11.35.  Stamford, CT resident Albert Sturhahn added to the collection with an 8th place medal on high bar with a score of 11.2.

Two other World Cup Gymnastics’ athletes, Gabriel Zybert of Pleasantville, NY and Ryan Englander of Scarsdale, NY did not take home medals but received a great deal of respect from their coaches and teammates for earning the right to compete at such a high level event.

“Brushing their nerves aside, the boys were able to complete their mission and perform their best routines of the year,” said Jason Hebert, Director of World Cup Gymnastics.  “We are so proud of all their hard work and dedication.  Winning medals at nationals is just the icing on the cake,” he added.

World Cup Gymnastics has been training State, Regional and National Champions for 30 years and is deemed one of the most revered recreational and competitive gymnastics programs in the state.  They also offer mommy and me classes for infants, pre-school gymnastics and tumbling for cheerleaders.  For more information, please call 914-238-4967 or visit www.worldcupgymnastics.com.

News courtesy of World Cup Gymnastics

 

 

Greeley Boys Swim & Dive Team Wins State Championship Title Second Year in a Row

by

Chappaqua, NY – On March 4, 2023, Horace Greeley High School’s Boys Swim & Dive Team earned the State Championship title at the 61st annual NYS Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Boys Swimming & Diving Championships held at Ithaca College. This is the second year in a row that the team has won the title. They are the first sports team in Greeley’s history to win back to back state titles. With a final score of 247 points, Greeley won the meet by 50 points over the second-place competitor.

Greeley also won the divisional and sectional titles for 2023. NYSPHSAA is made up of public high schools divided into 11 sections, as well as the NYS Catholic High School Athletic Association, and the NYC Public School Athletic League. Greeley competed as part of Section 1, comprised of teams from Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties. In total, 433 athletes from teams throughout NY State competed at the meet.

Four Seniors and six Juniors of the 35-member Horace Greeley Swim & Dive team represented the team at the two-day championship meet by achieving qualifying time standards throughout its regular season of eight dual meets, divisionals, and sectionals. All ten members of the team qualified for finals in the meet. This was a true team effort, with all team members contributing points to the final score.

The 400 free relay team (Hudson Chung, Erik Nadecki, Oliver Engel, and Connor McHugh) swam a 3:05.53 and came in 1st place, achieving a school, section, and state record and qualified for automatic All American status (top 100 times for the year). In addition, the team’s 200 medley relay (O. Engel, Nadecki, Jack Moran, and Trey Schlomann) came in 4th, and the 200 free relay (Lawrence Gulotta, Jamie Lynch, Schlomann, and McHugh) came in 8th.

Other top 20 finishers include:

Hudson Chung: 12th in the 200 free and 19th in the 100 fly

Jack Cornish: 9th in the 500 free

Eric Engel: 18th in the 200 free

Oliver Engel: 13th in the 200 IM and 7th in the 100 back

Connor McHugh: 7th in the 50 free and 6th in the 100 free

Erik Nadecki: 3rd in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 100 breast (All American consideration in both events)

In addition, McHugh was honored for Sportsmanship for Section 1, Chung and Lynch were named as Scholar Athletes, and Chung and Moran were elected as Captains for the Section 1 team.

To learn more about Greeley Sports Boosters, visit https://greeleysportsboosters.org/. To learn more about NYSPHSAA, visit https://nysphsaa.org/sports/mswim.

News courtesy of Greeley Sports Boosters. To learn more about Section 1 Swimming, visit http://www.section1swim.com/

New Castle Fire District No. 1 Announces Bond Referendum to be Held April 25

by

Bond Referendum would Authorize Borrowing Funds for Fire Station Addition

Project Designed to Ensure the Safety and Health of Volunteer Firefighters by Providing Space to Accommodate Modern Emergency Apparatus and Decontamination Facilities

CHAPPAQUA, NY (March 2023) – The New Castle Fire District No. 1 has announced that a bond referendum vote will be held April 25 to authorize the Fire District to borrow funds for construction of a 13,000-square-foot addition to the current fire station in Chappaqua.

The modernization and expansion would provide the Fire Department with the space to accommodate modern emergency apparatus and equipment as well as decontamination facilities. It will also ensure the safety and health of the volunteer firefighters of the Chappaqua Fire Department. The project is estimated to cost approximately $15.2 million with construction starting November 2023.

The current fire station, which was built in 1954 and expanded in 1979, is grossly inadequate to meet the legal requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and  the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). As a result, current conditions expose Chappaqua and its taxpaying residents to costly litigation in the event of a serious accident or death of a volunteer firefighter.

“The Fire District’s proposal is not what the Fire Commissioners WANT but rather what they are REQUIRED to provide under the law,” said Brian Murphy, Chairman of the Fire District’s Board of Commissioners. “The Fire District has been studying the fire station space needs for nearly 20 years. Since the project was first studied in 2003, construction costs have nearly tripled. The sooner this project begins, the better,” he added.

Based on the 2022 average assessed value of $178,508 for all taxable residential parcels in the Town of New Castle that are served by the New Castle Fire District, the estimated average annual tax increase would be $282. For the parcels in the Town of Mount Pleasant served by the New Castle Fire District, the estimated annual increase would be projected at $225. These estimates are subject to change based on interest rate and other market fluctuations.

Prior studies dating back to 2003 recommend additional bay space to accommodate future needs; drive through bays to accommodate 7 or 8 vehicles; adequate storage space; decontamination capability and bunking for up to 10 firefighters. The current fire station bays are too small for today’s larger and wider apparatus. The space between the modern fire-fighting apparatus in the current fire station is less than 3 feet. A firefighter in gear can barely pass through the bay, creating a dangerous and potentially deadly situation. Studies recommend 8 feet between each piece of apparatus.

Lack of adequate decontamination facilities is another issue to be addressed in the modernization project. When materials burn, they release a number of carcinogens  including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Firefighters may also encounter other known carcinogens such as asbestos and diesel exhaust. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “the fire department shall provide for the cleaning of protective clothing and station/work uniforms by a fire department facility that is equipped to handle contaminated clothing. Fire departments shall provide facilities for disinfecting, cleaning, and storage in accordance with NFPA 1581, Standard on Fire Department Infection Control Program.” The current fire station does not have NFPA compliant equipment for disinfecting, cleaning and storage.

The new addition is being designed by Mitchell Associates Architects which has more than 40 years designing buildings and 30 years designing fire stations. The firm has designed 193 public safety projects, 331 facilities and 77 fire station renovation projects. The firm has a full-time staff dedicated solely to fire station and emergency facilities design.

More about the District’s hopes for a fire department addition can also be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/809065743/f90f65b36e

The April 25th vote will be held at the fire station at 491 King Street from 12 noon to 9 pm. For more information about the bond referendum vote and the proposed modernization project, please visit www.ncfd1.org

News courtesy of the New Castle Fire District

Holocaust Survivor Helga Luden Relates her Story of Escape, Rescue and Survival

by

“I always listened to my mother.”

Helga Luden Speaking at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day Event Sponsored by the Horace Greeley High School Club ENOUGH and the Town of New Castle Holocaust and Human Rights Committee 

New Castle Holocaust and Human Rights Committee Co-chairs Stacey Saiontz (right) and Alexandra Rosenberg with Helga Luden and members of ENOUGH, the student group at Greeley. Inside Press photo.

January 27, 2023–In a panel on the stage at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center yesterday eve, Helga Schmitz-Fernich Luden–holding multiple documents and pictures to help relay details–shared her harrowing but ultimately triumphant and inspiring story of herself as a very young girl (she was born in 1934) surviving the Nazi invasion. Her family was the only Jewish family in Ulmen (a town in the Rhineland region of Germany).

Despite her family’s rich history as residents of the town, she and her mom after being separated from her father–who was sent to a slave labor camp–were sent to the Gurs transit camp in the Basque region of southwestern France.* There, her mom, growing increasingly aware of the Nazi plans, each day actively coached her young daughter to prepare for a daring escape–instructing her ‘to play dumb’ with her German-sounding name, and also promising to join her.

While of course terrified at the prospect, Helga also offered, “I always listened to my mother.”

As the dangers escalated, her mother finally sent her daughter on her way with money hidden in her clothing too (the money had been saved in the wires of her mom’s girdle!). This part of the journey was painful to contemplate, an exceptionally young Jewish girl traveling alone in the rolling hills of Europe, in dire danger. She described being found passed out in a field but, miraculously enough, revived by a group of French Jewish partisans who helped her find refuge first in a convent and later in an orphanage.

Helga Luden, Members of the Greeley Club ENOUGH with New Castle Town Supervisor Lisa Katz (lower left) and (lower right) with New Castle Holocaust and Human Rights Committee co-chairs Stacey Saiontz (left) and Alexandra Rosenberg, Helga Luden, and state Senator Peter Harckham. Inside Press photos

True to her word, her mother (who eventually escaped Gurs too) and she were reunited there! From another safe haven in Marseilles, Helga and her mom boarded the famous ship, the Serpa Pinta, which was heading to North Africa–it held 750 Jewish men and women in its hull in secret and these refugees were rarely allowed to come on board, Helga explained.

Helga related another miracle as she and her mom found her father among the refugees too, having survived and escaped from a slave labor camp. He was emaciated but alive. A challenging (to say the least) journey, the ship would span two continents over six weeks as they were turned away from different countries for refuge, including sadly, from the New York Harbor in the United States.

Eventually, the ship was accepted in the Dominican Republic, its government saving its Jewish refugees, after 100 or more of whom had already perished from typhoid and other life threatening conditions (funerals were held daily on the ship, Helga related, through tears). Their journey to freedom began in earnest as they settled into farm life in the seacoast town of Sousa.*

In 1946*, the family, which now included a young sister to Helga, was finally allowed to emigrate to the United States, bringing the family to the melting pot neighborhoods of Inwood and later, the Lower East Side of Manhattan–where Helga also related a touching and funny story of how she met her ‘beshert’ and came to have three children, 12 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Throughout her presentation, Helga communicated gratitude for the incredible strokes of luck that aided her family’s survival.

The Town of New Castle Holocaust and Human Rights  Committee and the students of Horace Greeley High School’s ENOUGH club made this inspiring presentation possible. Helga’s story was relayed after remarks from students of ENOUGH,  from New Castle Town Supervisor Lisa Katz, and from state Senator Peter Harckham.

*Additional facts about Helga’s story are from the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, www.hhrecny.org  Helga is member of the Center’s Survivor Speaker’s Bureau.