The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

New Castle News

Wee Zee Does it!

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Louise Weadock made Belle of the Ball look oh so Wee Zee last night at the grand opening of  WeeZee World,  a 16,000 square foot “sensory play space” of pure fun, joy and opportunity at 480 Bedford Road in the Chappaqua Crossing Business Development. I arrived expecting the ordinary and ran smack into the extraordinary: I was struck by the sheer number, some 35 in fact, of highly engaging, interactive and imaginative sensory experiences available  to kids from babyhood through early adolescence.   I was given a tour of various individual stations, and snapped photos, but in this case, ya really gotta see it to believe it!

The emphasis throughout is on sensory learning.  With such stations as the “Rainforest & Storm Zone,” “Vibration Station” and “Cyber Action” Floor, the emphasis in virtually every area is on “sensory learning,” according to Weadock, a registered Child Psychiatric Nurse and owner of Access Nursing & Health Care Services, who created  her “family’s fantasy come to life.”  Weadock, whose daughter was diagnosed with a severe Sensory Integration Disorder, became fascinated with the effects multi-sensory experiences had on her child’s ability to understand, accept and adapt to her world.  She purchased a diverse variety of sensory equipment and created a playground in the basement of her home for all the neighborhood kids to enjoy with her daughter.

Sixteen years later, she has opened Wee Zee World which is intended to be “the largest and most cutting-edge indoor play space for cognitive development in the county and the entire New York region.”   “We want the sensory adventures and social relationships discovered inside WeeZee to inspire each child to believe, “Yes, I can!”  Some 100 full and part time individuals are expected to staff WeeZee in fields including coaching, therapy, education, design and clerical. Hours are 8 a.m.- 9 pm.  For more information, visit www.weezeeworld.com   — Grace Bennett

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NY WORKS DELIVERS SAW MILL FLOOD MITIGATION FUNDING, $98K PROJECT ANNOUNCED FOR NEW CASTLE

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As part of a $5,690,200 investment announced today by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for ‘NY Works’ projects that will allow for 15 flood control system and dam repair projects in the Hudson Valley, Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli highlighted a $98,000 project announced for the Town of New Castle.

For years, flooding along the Saw Mill River Parkway has been the bane of our existence in Central Westchester, and has morphed from minor annoyance to serious safety hazard,” Castelli said. “The October Nor’easter and Hurricane Irene further demonstrated the inadequacy of our failing flood control infrastructure, and I applaud Governor Cuomo for making these infrastructure upgrades a centerpiece of this year’s budget, which will create jobs here in Westchester.”

According to Cuomo, the Budget which Castelli supported, continues their commitment to fiscal responsibility while creating jobs and strengthening communities across the state. It closes a multi-billion dollar deficit with no new taxes, fees or gimmicks, limits spending growth to two percent or below for the second year in a row, and launches the NY Works Task Force to invest billions of dollars to rebuild the state’s roads, bridges, parks, and other infrastructure and create tens of thousands of jobs.

“For the second year in a row, New York State has passed a transformative and balanced budget that holds the line on spending, while focusing on job creation and government efficiency,” Governor Cuomo said. “The centerpiece of this budget is the New York Works program, which will help rebuild our aging infrastructure, including our dams and flood control systems, to protect people and property throughout our state.”

NY Works is designed to reinvent state economic development with innovative new strategy that will put New Yorkers back to work rebuilding the state’s infrastructure. The Task Force will help create tens of thousands of jobs by coordinating comprehensive capital plans, overseeing investment in infrastructure projects, and accelerating hundreds of critical projects across the state.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) maintains 106 flood control projects, of which 91 have been rated “minimally acceptable” or “unacceptable” by the Army Corps of Engineers. Additionally, DEC owns 577 dams statewide. Of the DEC-owned dams, DEC engineers classify at least 24 dams as “high” and “intermediate” hazard structures, where failure poses serious threat to human life or significant property damage.

The New York Works Funds will designate $102 million, leveraging more than $100 million in matching funds, to repair aged and otherwise failing structures. The $102 million will include $18.5 million to repair state-owned dams, $56 million to perform maintenance of flood control facilities such as levees, and $27 million to implement coastal erosion and inlet navigation maintenance projects, plus over $100 million in matching funds.

In Chappaqua, for example, $98,000 has been announced to fund the mapping, and surveying of a flood control project on the Saw Mill River, where the river runs between the Saw Mill River Parkway and Washington Avenue. The funding also provides for the purchase of an access easement, which will allow for maintenance, and possible future improvements to the flood control project, which was built in 1982, deepened and widened a 30 foot channel, and built a retaining wall.

Additional state funding was announced for DEC flood control projects relating to the Saw Mill in Ardsley, for $109,200, in Mt. Pleasant, for $130,000, and in the City of Yonkers, for $67,000.

Board of Education adopts budget (a CCSD announcement)

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Dear Community Member:
At a meeting on Tuesday, April 10th, the Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the 2012-2013 school budget of $112,202,888.  The adopted budget represents a $754,400 or a 0.68% increase over the current budget.  Highlights of this budget include:
  • Maintaining class sizes at all levels
  • Retaining the team teaching approach at the middle school level
  • Saving $1 million in instructional expenses
  • Sustaining the breadth and depth of both core course and extra-curricular offerings at Greeley
  • Reducing $1 million in non-instructional expenses
  • Moving toward greater maintenance and energy efficiency
  • Reducing overtime expenses
  • Keeping under the 2% property tax levy cap
In these difficult economic times, and in the fourth consecutive year of major constraints for school budgets, it indeed has been challenging to find the right balance between advancing the goals of the district, maintaining the district’s commitment to class size and addressing federal and state learning standards.  I am confident this adopted budget will provide the Chappaqua Central School District with the resources necessary to continue on its course of delivering outstanding educational experiences to all students while at the same time demonstrating fiscal restraint.
Residents will now have an opportunity to vote on the school budget on Tuesday, May 15th between 7am and 9pm in the Horace Greeley High School Gymnasium.
Best,
Lyn McKay
Superintendent of Schools

Upcoming dates regarding the budget
Tuesday, May 1st
Budget Hearing
8:15pm at HGHS (academic commons)
Wednesday, May 2nd
Community Q&A on the adopted school budget – sponsored by the Chappaqua PTA
9:30am and 7:30pm at 7B (lower commons)
Tuesday, May 15th
Budget Vote and Board Trustee Elections
7am-9pm at HGHS (gym)

Board of Education adopts budget (a CCSD announcement)

by

Dear Community Member:
At a meeting on Tuesday, April 10th, the Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the 2012-2013 school budget of $112,202,888.  The adopted budget represents a $754,400 or a 0.68% increase over the current budget.  Highlights of this budget include:
  • Maintaining class sizes at all levels
  • Retaining the team teaching approach at the middle school level
  • Saving $1 million in instructional expenses
  • Sustaining the breadth and depth of both core course and extra-curricular offerings at Greeley
  • Reducing $1 million in non-instructional expenses
  • Moving toward greater maintenance and energy efficiency
  • Reducing overtime expenses
  • Keeping under the 2% property tax levy cap
In these difficult economic times, and in the fourth consecutive year of major constraints for school budgets, it indeed has been challenging to find the right balance between advancing the goals of the district, maintaining the district’s commitment to class size and addressing federal and state learning standards.  I am confident this adopted budget will provide the Chappaqua Central School District with the resources necessary to continue on its course of delivering outstanding educational experiences to all students while at the same time demonstrating fiscal restraint.
Residents will now have an opportunity to vote on the school budget on Tuesday, May 15th between 7am and 9pm in the Horace Greeley High School Gymnasium.
Best,
Lyn McKay
Superintendent of Schools

Upcoming dates regarding the budget
Tuesday, May 1st
Budget Hearing
8:15pm at HGHS (academic commons)
Wednesday, May 2nd
Community Q&A on the adopted school budget – sponsored by the Chappaqua PTA
9:30am and 7:30pm at 7B (lower commons)
Tuesday, May 15th
Budget Vote and Board Trustee Elections
7am-9pm at HGHS (gym)

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.”