Bronxville and Scarsdale region

The Westchester County Track and Field Championships were held at The New Balance Armory in Manhattan earlier today.

Look for the story in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. For a gallery of online photos, click here.

Despite the cold weather outside, things heated up on the mat in Section One high school wrestling

Mount Vernon’s Delano Kirton battles Eastchester’s Joe Negro during the 152 pound final of the Super 16 tournament in Yonkers Jan 30, 2010. Kirton won the match. Click here for  a gallery of photos and check out Jake Thomases story in the Journal News or here on LoHud.com for all the final results.

Sorry about the pun.

The Bronxville Board of Education last night agreed to allow Kenstar Construction to finish a boiler room upgrade that was suspended about a month ago after the original contractor failed to adhere to his contract.

The school board hired Xavier Contracting of Scarsdale in June as general contractor for an aboveground boiler room, but canceled its contract in November after problems with the company.

After the termination, subcontractors continued doing what work could be completed without the general contractor’s input, but work was suspended in December pending a new general contractor’s appointment.

The district’s bonding company, First National Insurance Company, had the option to choose a new general contractor, and last night named Kenstar. The board approved the new contractor, and work was expected to get under way as soon as weather permitted.

The original completion date was to have been Labor Day this year. The new completion date is set as Oct. 31, 2010.

The orginal subcontractors will stay on the job. Cost has remained within the bond amount, despite the new company and timeline.

Bronxville’s initial plan called for using the old boilers until the new ones were up and running, and that hasn’t changed. The switchover from old to new boilers is expected to happen shortly after the new boilers are installed and tested.

The village of Scarsdale is seeking residents interested in serving on a variety of village boards and councils.
You can nominate yourself or someone else. The new terms are slated to begin April 5.
Nominees must be Scarsdale residents, have an interest in village affairs and skills relevant to the board in question.
Those interested are encouraged to submit a brief list of their community service as well as details of their professional background. The information may be submitted either through the village Web site at www.scarsdale.com or by sending it to Robert Steves at Village Hall, 1001 Post Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583. All submissions must be recieved by Feb. 26.
For any questions, contact Donna Conkling by telephone at 722-1175 or by email at dconkling@scarsdale.com.

This is a list of the boards and councils with openings, and the terms: (more…)

The Scarsdale Teen Center will host it’s annual art show on Feb. 6 from noon to 7 p.m.

All artwork by youth must be submitted by next Thursday. For more information, contact Program Director Tashica Clarke at STCProgramming@gmail.com or call 914-722-8358.

The Scarsdale Teen Center is located near the village train station, at 862 Scarsdale Avenue.

This was sent in recently from Maria Cocucci from Tuckahoe schools PTA:

Friday, the Bensen-Scott Orchestra will perform American Songbook standards in the Tuckahoe Middle/High School auditorium for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

Featured vocalist is Robert Pappalardo — Eastchester residents might know him better as Bob Larro, who performed at town hall for the Eastchester Summer Concert Series. Pappalardo has two grandchildren in the district.

The Bensen-Scott Orchestra includes professional musicians from Westchester, and from New Jersey, Connecticut and other New York communities who have joined the group to create music at home in the New York jazz scene, with a touch of Big Band music from the ‘40s swing era and the Latin/jazz tradition.

Here’s a link to their Web site: http://www.bsbbny.com/

The performance is not open to the public.

Read Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin’s most recent weekly column below:

Until I joined Village government, I did not have an understanding of the complexities of hiring public employees.  The system, in my view, is esoteric at best and by no means mirrors corporate hiring practices because a vast majority of public sector hiring is governed by the New York State Civil Service System.

For those planning to have their children bused to private school next year, here’s a note from Eastchester schools:

“All requests for transportation of non-handicapped children to non-public schools for the 2010-2011 school year must be submitted April 1, 2010. (Families who move into the district after April 1st can apply within 30 days after establishing residence).

Application forms are available at the Eastchester Union Free School District Board of Education, Transportation Office, 580 White Plains Rd., Eastchester, N.Y. 10709.  The forms are also available on the Eastchester School District website (www.Eastchester.k12.ny.us ).

Please make sure to review all the forms on the website since the procedure for Transportation requests has changed.

Those presently receiving transportation will be sent the forms automatically.  A new written application must be made annually for each new school year.

To qualify for transportation, the school must be not further than 15 miles from the child’s home.  For elementary children (grades kindergarten through five) the school must be at least one-half (1/2) mile away.  For secondary pupils (grades six to 12 inclusive) the school must be at least one mile away.

For additional information, please contact the Transportation office at 914-793-6130, ext. 4444.”

The Greenburgh  Nature Center has received a $10,000 grant extension from the Westchester Community Foundation to continue support of a stormwater management and drinking water protection plan for municipalities in the town of Greenburgh.

The Greenburgh Nature Center initiated the project last year in partnership with Groundwork Hudson Valley/Saw Mill River Coalition and the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.

In the coming year, the project will focus on:
1.  reviewing village codes and ordinances relating to stormwater

2. identifying site design elements and principles to incorporate in the code review process

3.  investigating shared stormwater engineering consulting services among the municipalities

4. public education to develop support for a regional watershed perspective

The Greenburgh Nature Center—a 33-acre nature preserve with trails, pond, orchard, and gardens—is located at 99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale. For more information, visit the website www.greenburghnaturecenter.org.

Eastchester schools leaders are looking for community input before they finalize any budget numbers for the 2010-11 school year.

A budget forum to collect information and input is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 28 in the high school auditorium. After a brief summary of the school’s economic situation, participants will meet in small groups to discuss where they feel the school’s priorities ought to be and where cuts can be made.

The meeting is free and open to the public. It is expected to last no more than 90 minutes, and the results of the discussions will be collated and available to the community by Feb. 8.

Administrators ask that those who plan to come call or e-mail the district: JoAnn Martucci, 914-793-6130, Ext. 4201 or jmartucci@Eastchester.k12.ny.us