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Land Conservancy promotes Dave Prosser

The Pound Ridge Land Conservancy has announced the promotion of Dave Prosser to director of land stewardship. 

Since joining the PRLC in April 2023, Prosser has demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to PRLC’s work in land conservation and environmental education, the group said.

In his new position, Prosser will lead stewardship and grant writing for PRLC, manage all volunteer programs, and oversee the care and maintenance of 20 preserves with over 12 miles of trails. 

“In less than two years with PRLC, Dave has grown tremendously in the scope of his work he is doing for us as he extends his already-strong skill set with experience in Pound Ridge,” said Jack Wilson, president of the group’s board. “We rely on Dave’s leadership and judgment in areas far beyond his initial responsibilities and we want his title to reflect the expansion of his role with PRLC.”

Prosser is enthusiastic about his new role.

“I am honored to step into this leadership position and am eager to continue working with our dedicated board and the community to promote environmental stewardship and land conservation,” he said.

The promotion comes as the land conservancy celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of land preservation and environmental advocacy.


Caramoor president leaving at end of March

Caramoor President and CEO Edward J. Lewis III will leave the organization March 31 to pursue new opportunities closer to his home in Washington, D.C.

IN BRIEF

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John Jay pulls out a 38-35 victory over Lakeland on senior night

Feb 21

Clockwise from top, Sela Halaifonua drills a three-pointer for John Jay. Amanda Riolo fights for a rebound. Jane Brennan drives baseline for John Jay against Lakeland. Natalie Ellrodt hits the floor for a loose ball. Jaime Bartley-Cohen gets ready to make her move.


By JIM MACLEAN

Every coach admits that senior night can be a tough game to navigate, an emotional evening for the seniors, their final home game of the regular season, family and friends cheering them on in a pregame ceremony, it can be hard to focus on basketball.

That was the scenario facing the John Jay girls varsity basketball team as the Wolves hosted Lakeland Feb. 13.

With seven seniors on the roster, including all five in the starting lineup, John Jay coach Matt Gallagher knew it could be tough against a good Lakeland team. John Jay fell behind early and trailed the Hornets by five at the half, but the seniors on the roster have a lot of pride and they were determined to make it a happy ending on senior night. The Wolves came out strong to start the second half and pulled out a 38-35 victory.

“It’s a high all day long, high energy, high emotions, it takes awhile to get going on the court,” Gallagher said of the challenge of senior night. “Sometimes that happens, but we were able to grind it out and get the win.”

Even before the opening tipoff, Gallagher was anticipating a battle against a Lakeland team that the Wolves had defeated earlier in the season on their home court with a late rally. The Hornets were out to even the score and came out strong.

John Jay fell behind early and had to work every possession to keep the game close, trailing by five points at 22-17 by halftime.

“Lakeland is a good team and they wanted it,” admitted Gallagher. “It was a close game throughout, never got to a double-digit lead for either team. Down five at the half, we had to knock down some shots and finish plays and make a run.”

The game also had playoff seeding implications as both teams entered the game with identical 9-10 records. After the halftime break, the John Jay seniors came out with determination and turned it up a notch. The Wolves jumped out to the lead early in the third quarter and never looked back as the shots began to fall.

Senior captain Sela Halaifonua once again led the way with another big game for the Wolves, finishing with a game-high 23 points overall and six steals on defense. However, she fouled out with a couple of minutes left to play and it was up to the rest of the Wolves to finish it off and hold on for the victory. Senior Jaime Bartley-Cohen dominated on the boards and finished with seven points and 16 rebounds to lead the way down the stretch.

“Sela is unbelievable and she’s playing really well right now,” Gallagher said of Halaifonua. “They all stepped up. Defensively we did a nice job and that was massive. Jaime (Bartley-Cohen) never stopped fighting on the boards. The ball hit the rim and she made something happen on both sides of the court, she was big down the stretch.”

With the victory, John Jay finished the regular season with a 10-10 overall record. That is pretty impressive for a team that started out 0-5 and 1-7, and Gallagher credits the turnaround to the leadership provided by the senior class.

“They came in and got to celebrate with their families, and to get a win on senior night is always special,” Gallagher added. “They are just awesome good kids that work hard every day and want to succeed. They’ve had a lot of success in all the sports they play and that culture outside of basketball shows on the court and they are definitely going to be missed. To go from 1-7 to 10-10 is incredible, they just never gave up, never rolled over, and that’s a credit to the seniors. Even in this game, the second half we clicked, the seniors were determined to win this game, and that goes to show the type of leadership and determination they have shown all season long.”

John Jay now enters the Section 1 Class AA playoffs as the No. 11-seed, and the Wolves will face No. 6-seed Clarkstown South on the road, Saturday, Feb. 22, in the first round with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 27.

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