Bronxville and Scarsdale region

The JCC of Mid-Westchester i sholding a Studio Cycling fundraiser, SuperCycle, from 8 a.m. to noon  Feb. 5, at the JCC’s indoor cycling studio, 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale.  All proceeds will support the organization’s Revitalization Campaign.

Participants are invited to cycle for an hour or more, under the direction of one of the JCC’s indoor cycling instructors.  The instructors, all of whom have donated their time for this event are Ophira Cukierman of Scarsdale (8 to 9 a.m.), Leslie Murray of Edgemont (9 to 10 a.m.) and Michael Nieminen of Tuckahoe (10 to noon).  Fourteen bikes are available for each hour.

Cyclists may split their time with family and friends (16 years+) if they don’t want to ride the full hour.  All are welcome to participate for a minimum contribution of $72 per hour per bike.   Advance registration is required.  For additional information, please contact Leslie Murray, 914-472-3300, Ext. 356 .

The Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester, a beneficiary of UJA-Federation of New York, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the community by providing cultural, social, educational and recreational/fitness programs, human services and Jewish identity-building opportunities to people of all ages and backgrounds.  For additional information, visit www.jccmw.org

The Westchester chapter of the New York Society of CPAs is holding a free, no-obligation seminar on college financial planning from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 24 in the fifth-floor atrium of 800 Westchester Ave. in Rye Brook.

The program will feature one-hour sessions followed by questions and answers that includes a detailed timeline for applying to colleges and what students and parents need to do and when to do it. The timeline includes selecting a college, college visits and the admissions process.

Guest speakers include CPA Gary Carpenter, who will talk about funding sources, education tax benefits, financial aid and other cost issues; and student coach Al Hoffman.

Seats are limited. Register by calling 914-949-2990, Ext. 3377, Patricia Galistinos, or email pgalistinos@citrincopperman.com.

On Sunday, November 13, teens from the JCC of Mid-Westchester partnered with teens from JCC Manhattan and Shorefront JCC (Brooklyn), to participate in Food on the Table, a community service project to prepare and serve kosher meals. The teens, eleven of whom were from Westchester, prepared, delivered and served the hot, kosher meal to clients of three New York City shelters. Pictured, left to right, are Molly Sullivan, Scarsdale; Lauren Hendel, Scarsdale; Mallory Cohen, Edgemont; Allison Recht, Edgemont; Sam Glick, Bronx; Adam Rosenbloom, Sleepy Hollow; Melissa Strauss, Scarsdale; Juliet McAdam, Sleepy Hollow; Heather Colley, Sleepy Hollow; and Daniel Greenberg, New Rochelle.

Alexa Russo, working on her Gold Award as part of Girl Scout Troop 1870, recently completed part of her requirement by running a clothes drive to benefit the North Yonkers Boys and Girls Club, and painting the club walls, cleaning up the gym and painting a mural.

(Alexa Russo with her mural. Photo courtesy of the Russo family.)

Russo, 16, is president and founder of the Habitat for Humanity Club at the school and had the guidance of Habit for Humanity of  Westchester for her project. She has participated in several Habitat projects throughout the county.

She is a senior and a member of the varsity volleyball team. Her plan is to study architecture in college.

Westchester County’s Youth Board will honor 10 outstanding high school seniors — including four from southern Westchester, tonight with the 2011 Milly Kibrick Youth Service Awards. Fair warning: reading their bios supplied by the county will leave you amazed at their energy, not to mention their accomplishments.

The local honorees are:

• Benjamin Ackerman of New Rochelle High School, founder of New Rochelle High School’s chapter of Best Buddies, a club which creates the opportunity for one-to-one friendships for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He is an active member of Hope from the Heart, which raises money in support of cancer research, was the president of his Junior Class, is an active member of the New Rochelle Youth Bureau and has served on the city’s Youth Court since eighth grade. He also volunteers in a mechanical engineering lab at Columbia University, has organized an annual holiday toy drive and visited with the elderly at Willow Towers Living Facility, established a cooking program at the New Rochelle Boys & Girls Club to educate elementary school age children about the benefits of healthy eating and volunteers at the HOPE Soup Kitchen.

• Zoe Parower of Edgemont High School, who has been involved in the fight against breast cancer — a disease that runs in her family — for almost 4 years. She has volunteered at “In the Pink,” a breast cancer support organization in Valhalla where she did office work and helped at events for breast cancer patient’s families, and started “Care during Chemo” a free babysitting service for children while their mothers go to their chemotherapy appointments or take time for themselves. She is an intern at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization in New York City and sits on the committee of Teens for the Cure, an organization made up of high school students whose families have been personally affected by breast cancer. They work together on the yearly event, “Tickled Pink,” which has raised more than $285,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the last 2 years. She also started the breast cancer awareness club, Think Pink in Edgemont, www.thinkpinkinedgemont.org.

• Michelle Prakash of New Rochelle High School, who is treasurer of the Key Club, participates in cancer walks, park clean-ups, hospital visits, and fundraisers for charities. She has held the position of Secretary for the Asian club, and, as President of P.A.S.S. Tutoring, coordinates the tutoring program at her school, is a mentor in the IGNITE peer mentoring program, and is part of the Science Honor Society which tutors kids in science and assists teachers. She is a member of the Math Honor Society which encourages members to help those struggling in math. Michelle is also in the National Honor Society which instills in its members a desire to excel in academics and to partake in community service. Outside of school, she is a member of, and Co-President for the New Rochelle City Youth Council, where her efforts have included helping organize a Halloween Bash, collecting food for Thanksgiving baskets and organizing the Give-A-Gift program during Christmas. She volunteers weekly at the St. Gabriel’s HOPE soup kitchen, and also volunteers at the Sound Shore Hospital Medical Center Emergency Room and as a Community Service Coordinator for the Youth Fellowship at her church.

• Catherine Van Eyck of Mamaroneck High School, whose volunteer efforts have supported “Queen For A Day,” a non-profit group that provides play therapy programs for pediatric oncology patients in hospitals to raise the self-esteem and self confidence in young cancer patients. For her efforts, Catherine was named the international organization’s Volunteer of the Month. She also formed C.H.A.T., Chatsworth Homework help and Tutoring, an officially recognized club at Mamaroneck High School that tutors elementary students at no charge. She has also begun working with the high school club Students for Senegal, founded by Mamaroneck High School science teacher Amary Seck, conducting fundraisers and collecting items for distribution abroad.

The JCC of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale is holding its fourth annual look inside the college admissions process with a special discussion set for 7:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 18.

The discussion, moderated by Mamaroneck-based college admissions consultant Betsy F. Woolf,  features deans from several top colleges and universities and is designed for parents and students interested in finding out how college admission decisions are made. This year’s guest speakers represent Binghamton University, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, Union College, the University of Chicago and Vanderbilt University.

Advice includes how to make a student’s application stand out; the impact on today’s economy on college admissions; how grades, connections, athletics, interviews, essays and scores are weighed; and the difference between a well-rounded student and a well-rounded class.

Pre-registration is required. Pre-registration and information is available at www.jccmw.org.

The JCC is at 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale.

Local residents will gather next week to walk, laugh and remember the courageous teenager that inspired a community to join the fight against cancer.

Tay-Bandz, a local charity devoted to raising awareness and funding research for pediatric cancer, will host a “Relay for Tay” on Sept. 17. The fundraiser — named after 16-year-old Taylor Matthews, who died from cancer in 2008 — invites residents to walk eight laps around the track at Edgemont High School in support of the charity.

There will be a minimum $10 registration fee and food, drinks, T-shirts and other items will be sold. The registration fee is tax-deductible and all donations will be used to fund cancer research, said Sue Matthews, Taylor’s mother. Tay-Bandz was founded by Taylor in 2003 and has raised $1.2 million, Matthews said.

“From the minute she was diagnosed we’ve had tremendous support from the Edgemont community,” said Matthews, president of the charity. “The outreach and outpouring of support, there are truly no words.”

The charity walk is being organized by students from the high school and will run from 9 a.m. to noon, Matthews said.

This summer, Tay-Bandz also partnered with the LF clothing store in Scarsdale to produce “Runway to Remember” fashion show to raise money.

Photo: Taylor Matthews, photographed in 2004. ( Mark Vergari / The Journal News )

Four Bronx men accused of ripping open and stealing the contents of a Federal Express box left at a Penny Lane home have sparked an investigation of similar thefts in the Edgemont section of Greenburgh.

The men were stopped after two neighbors called police to say that a maroon sedan was driving suspiciously past homes on Delhi Road near Longview Road and on Scarsdale Farm Road near Fort Hill Road at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Greenburgh police stopped the car at Fort Hill Road and Penny Lane while Officer Richard Maguire checked homes along Penny Lane for anything suspicious. He found an open, empty FedEx box on the front lawn of a Penny Lane home.  The packing slip was still inside and its contents — three Perry Ellis polo shirts — were found inside the maroon car, as well as a Tom Tom GPS system allegedly taken from a car parked on Penny Lane.

Police arrested Delmar J. Briggs, 32; Maurice Pickett, 25; Theodore J. Treasure, 20, and Andre P. Stewart, 28, and charged them with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor.

Police said the neighbors’ alertness and detailed description of the car were key to making the arrests and recovering the stolen goods.

This just came in a bit ago:

Head Lice Hero is offering free head lice checks to Westchester residents at their Eastchester location on Aug. 30 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“Children are returning from camp,” says Joe Munoz, president of Head Lice Hero, “and many parents are concerned about what they may have picked up in the country. Our free screening will give parents peace of mind and keep our schools lice free for the first semester.”

The screening takes place at 233 Main St., Eastchester. No appointment is needed—just turn up. For those parents who can’t make the screening, discounted $25 lice checks are available by appointment. Call 888-966-5423 for more information.

Expect detours as the Popham Road bridge over the Metro-North railroad tracks is expected to be closed to vehicular and foot traffic from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday to allow the contractor repairing the bridge to install structural steel.

If the work is not completed that night the bridge will be closed again from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes, and local police departments plan to send officers to the area to cope with expected traffic backups.

Pedestrians will have to use the Metro-North and Freightway Parking Garage pedestrian bridges to cross over the Metro-North Railroad tracks.