By Justin Ellick
Despite the rain on Monday, visitors and residents of Chappaqua gathered with great anticipation and excitement along King Street and Greeley Avenue for the annual Memorial Day Parade. The rain worried some parade attendees that the festivities might be cancelled, but after the green light was given, all systems were GO!
The Victory Corners Ceremony kicked off the parade at around 10:45 a.m. from the corner of Ridgewood Terrace and Bedford Road, with Grand Marshal James McCauley calling the attendees to attention followed by Rabbi Maura Linzer’s opening prayer. The Presentation of the Wreath was next, as Girl Scout Troop 2395 came to the podium. The ceremony closed with the playing of “Taps” by the Horace Greeley High School Buglers, along with one final appearance by Reverend Holland for the closing prayer.
Following the closing of the Victory Corners ceremony, the line of March was set and ready to begin its trek down King Street and into the heart of Chappaqua. The question of whether the Clintons would be in attendance had been answered earlier when the Clintons emerged from their limousine for their traditional meet up with the town board and greeting of avid fans and longtime supporters, all pre-March, so as not to upset the parade schedule. The Secret Service and New Castle Police Officers directed the parade past the Chappaqua Fire Department and onto King Street, with former President Clinton–former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-Governor Andrew Cuomo, and State Assemblyman David Buchwald, Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein, and town board members Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky.
The parade moved through the middle of town to the delight of everyone along the way, with iPhones and cameras ready to support the marchers in every category, whether they were Brownie Troops, our First Responders, or the Clintons, all along the route leading to the Chappaqua Train Station, the parade’s final stop.
The Marshal then called the parade to attention for the Memorial Plaza Ceremony. Right around noon, the sizeable crowd, still well into the hundreds or more gathered around the Memorial at the Chappaqua train station, where a small podium was set up, along with a few chairs for the parade’s esteemed guests and veterans. Invocation would follow with the help of Reverend Dr. Martha Jacobs from the First Congregational Church.
Next, the students of Horace Greeley High School band flawlessly performed their renditions of the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful. Kevin Moore and the Kerry Pipers followed the performance with their rendition of “Amazing Grace,” which acted as an opening for the two readings that would follow, each of which an oral history of a New Castle veteran who had passed.
Samantha Morrison, from Girl Scout Troop 1033, recited the first reading in honor of Gerald Helm who was formerly a part of the U.S. Air Force.
“On November 24th, 1943, Gerald’s family received word from the Air Force that their son was reported missing after taking off from Shaw Airfield on a basic training mission,” read Morrison. “On September 23rd, 1946, over two years after Gerald had gone missing, a skeleton was found near Shaw Airfield and it had been identified as Cadet Gerard Helm.”
Following the readings was the traditional Honor Roll of names that were added to the Memorial at the train station, as the Marshal and a few of his fellow veterans recited the additions to the Memorial.
To conclude the festivities, Girl Scout Troop 2320 approached the front of the podium for one final Presentation of the Wreath and the 5th New York Regiment—Revolutionary War Squad, executed the Musket Volley. It was at this point, after one final rendition of “Taps,” that the Marshal brought the parade back to attention to conclude the ceremony. This marked the end of what was another wildly successful and fun Memorial Day Parade here in Chappaqua.
Greeley grad Justin Ellick, who has completed a junior year majoring in Media and Communications Major at Ursinus College in Philadelphia, joins Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines for a second internship this summer.
For a full gallery of our photos of the 2017 New Castle Memorial Day Parade, please visit us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/theinsidepress/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155358951498669
Prevention Advice Regarding Ticks and Lyme Disease
from a Global Lyme Alliance Forum held at the Chappaqua Library to Spread Awareness
By Justin Ellick
Chappaqua, NY—The Global Lyme Alliance recently held a forum at the Chappaqua Library offering tips to the audience on how to prevent Lyme disease from the get-go. The forum was sponsored by the Town of New Castle’s recently formed Health and Wellness Committee.
The Global Lyme Alliance, which was originally formed by the merger between the Lyme Research Alliance and the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance, is a leading private nonprofit organization across the United States that is dedicated to finding a cure and more accurate testing for the disease. Today, the Global Lyme Alliance has gained national recognition for its commitment to shifting the course of Lyme disease. They’ve accomplished this by funding ground-breaking research, while also expanding education programs for the public and physicians.
While it’s possible to to catch the subtle disease in its early stages,” said Global Lyme Alliance Board Member Derin Walden, “in many cases, the disease can be active for months before it becomes noticeable.”
“Lyme disease wasn’t even a thought,” continued Walden when she spoke at the forum. “There was no tick-bite or rash and it just did not occur to either myself or my doctor. After three to four months of my symptoms just rapidly increasing, with the help of the internet, I finally approached my doctor and asked her to test me for Lyme disease.”
As Walden pointed out when she spoke, there was no rash or infamous bulls-eye mark to provide her with a red flag. As a matter of fact, fewer than half of the people who contract the disease ever develop a rash or a bulls-eye, which has historically served as the universal way to tell whether you’ve caught Lyme or not.
Because of this, it’s important for people to be somewhat educated when it comes to the several possible symptoms of Lyme besides just the rash, as well as adopting safe and efficient techniques to prevent the disease altogether.
The forum was of special import to parents in Chappaqua, as attendees learned from the Global Lyme Alliance presentation that children are at the greatest risk for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The presentation also offered several prevention tips for parents to implement into their daily lives, as ticks can be a problem all year round, not just in the spring and summer months. One technique the Alliance recommended was to apply EPA-approved repellents like DEET or permethrin to clothing, skin, and shoes as directed. One audience member at the forum shared her experience using one of these repellents, which she says works great for her and her kids.
“I spray my kids’ baseball bags, knapsacks, winter coats, basically their entire wardrobe”, said the Chappaqua mother. “Once it’s dry, the repellent can last up to six weeks. It’s really saved me and my family a lot of stress when it comes to ticks and Lyme disease.”
Besides equipping parents with prevention techniques and tips, the Global Lyme Alliance has also developed a curriculum called “It’s Time to Be Lyme Alert” so that kids of all ages can learn about the disease in a fun and interactive way. The curriculum was designed by the Alliance in partnership with educators to be shared with kids while in the classroom, at camp, or any other youth-focused organizations. The program, available in three age-group levels, includes a student workbook that outlines the objectives and key talking points, along with a supporting teachers’ guide.
Parents and children alike need to learn more about Lyme disease, how to recognize early symptoms and how to prevent it, especially because medical professionals are still learning about it themselves; it’s vital to be vigilant or yourself and your children, the speaker urged. “We want people to be able to recognize early symptoms so that they can be their own advocate when it comes to the disease. Medical professionals are now learning more and more about these tick-borne illnesses, but you have to be your own advocate for yourself and for your kids.” For more information, visit www.globallymealliance.org
Greeley grad Justin Ellick, who has completed a junior year majoring in Media and Communications Major at Ursinus College in Philadelphia, joins Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines for a second internship this summer.
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For the March/April ’17 Spring edition, I focused on ‘strong starts’ in different community arenas—in particular with a special cover story on area libraries written by past Inside Press Editor Beth Besen and photographed by Gary Sapolin. I so admire how our libraries rose to the ‘virtual world’ challenge with a hyper-focus on programming to become safe, nurturing havens for human contact and lively exchanges.
