The New York Unit of the Herb Society of America returned to the grounds of Caramoor on Saturday for its 73rd annual Herb Fair & Market. It featured a roster of makers, artisans, herbs and flowers, as well as workshops and presentations from herbalists and horticulturalists. Pictured top left: Nicoletta Salvi Pickup and Mary Ellen Baker. Top right, The Farm at Cabbage Hill’s Anne Kupferberg and Eileen Zidi.  Second row, left Emily Pickup helps a customer.

JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS Clockwise from top left, Fox Lane’s Annabel Smith on her way to victory in the breaststroke. Mia Levey swims freestyle race for Fox Lane against SHEDI. Natalie Lovig on her way to victory in the backstroke. Maddie Nurenberg wins the 200-yard freestyle race for the Foxes. By JIM MACLEAN  The Fox Lane girls varsity swim team went on the road to Tarrytown to take on the combined team of Sleepy Hollow, Hastings, Edgemont and Irvington at the EF Foundation swimming pool, and it looked like the Foxes were up against a small army. The SHEDI squad filled the lanes and entered multiple swimmers in every event for multiple heats, but in the end the numbers didn’t match up against the quality of the Fox Lane swimmers as the Foxes pulled out an 89-79 victory. “It was close to the end, a very exciting meet,” admitted Fox Lane coach Laurie Kelleher. “We never swam them before so I didn’t know what to expect, but we pulled it out.” Of course, it helps when you have a senior captain who is a defending New York State champion, and Annabel Smith did her part as usual to lead the Foxes to the victory. Smith won the 100-yard breaststroke race, and she also anchored the 400-yard freestyle relay team to victory for the Foxes and she was second in the 100-yard freestyle. “She’s very confident now, a defending state champion, a team captain, she’s happy to set a good example for the rest of the team,” Kelleher said of Smith. While Smith sets the tone, the Foxes have a deep talented team with several returning veterans in the lineup, even though they are still young. “Maddie Nurenberg, Natalie Lovig, Kelsey Grayson are all doing awesome and swimming great,” added Kelleher. “We still have a lot of young talent, so we’ll continue to be good. The eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders are all very strong and getting better every meet.” Against SHEDI, Nurenberg was victorious in the 200-yard freestyle event, and she finished second in the 100-yard butterfly race. Grayson won the butterfly race, and she was third in the breaststroke. Novig was victorious in the 100-yard backstroke race. Mia Levey was second in the 500-yard freestyle and third in the 200-yard freestyle race. Clara Cattanach was second in the 200-yard individual medley race with teammate Isabel Valenzuela in third. Eva Orscher was second in the 50-yard freestyle race and Elise Rubakh was third. Madeline Oh was third in the 100-yard freestyle. Fox Lane won two of the three relay races, with Nurenberg, Sophia Oh, Cattanach and Orscher teaming up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay, while Nurenberg, Cattanach, Grayson and Smith were victorious in the 400-yard freestyle relay event. Fox Lane also defeated Suffern to open the season with a 98-77 victory on the road. Grayson was a double winner for the Foxes as she swam to victories in the butterfly and individual medley races. Smith was a winner in the 100 free and breaststroke. Nurenberg won the 200 free and was second in the 100 free; Levey won the 500 free and was second in the 200 free; and Cattanach was second in both the individual medley and butterfly races. Editor's note: The Sept. 20 print version of this story, misspelled the last name of sisters Madeline and Sophia Oh. It has been corrected here.

By ABBY LUBY // The most poignant scene in the new film, “Sing Sing,” is when its main character, John “Divine G” Whitfield, an incarcerated individual played by award-winning actor Colman Domingo, fully depicts his personal anguish after being repeatedly denied parole. Physically escaping imprisonment from Sing Sing, the infamous maximum-security prison in Ossining, is never an option. But Rehabilitation Through the Arts, a theatrical program within the towering barbed-wire enclosure offers a different kind of escape, one that has saved the soul of Whitfield and countless others during the program’s 28 years.  Preparing for a performance is where incarcerated persons can learn to shed their inner turmoil, tap into their unique sense of creativity and experience emotions typically suppressed while struggling to maintain self-preservation in a justice system based on punishment.  “Sing Sing” was viewed last month at a special screening at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, just a few miles away from the prison. With the exception of professional actors Domingo and Paul Raci, all performers were formerly incarcerated RTA alumni playing themselves.  Whitfield, the character played by Domingo, served time for a crime he didn’t commit. In the film, he clashes with another incarcerated person, “Divine Eye.” Their scenes together are strained, but both come to accept one another and share moments of laughter.  In real life, Whitfield was later acquitted and released from prison. He has a cameo appearance in the film as a book fan asking Domingo to autograph one of his novels.  The high success of the RTA program is seen in the low recidivism rate for participants, with less than 3% of RTA members returning to prison compared to the national recidivism rate of over 60%.  “The life skills you learn in the theater are applicable to everyday life and show that you can take authority in conflict resolution,” said RTA founder and Katonah resident, Katherine Vockins, who launched RTA at Sing Sing 28 years ago.  Vockins attests to how the film portrays the humanity and how incarcerated persons “came out of the yard into the program and their lives were changed. They have gotten behind the mistakes they made and moved themselves to life’s new chapter.”  The New York state correctional facilities offering the RTA program include Bedford Hills, Collins, Fishkill, Green Haven, Sing Sing, Taconic and Wallkill.  “Sing Sing” was shot in 18 days and premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. It was picked up by A24, an American independent entertainment company. The film opens Friday, Aug. 16, at Jacob Burns Film Center.  One of the film’s producers is Karin Shiel, a resident of Pound Ridge. Shiel, along with Katonah resident Allison Chernow are both RTA board members. They have spoken publicly about RTA in the town of Bedford.   In 2019, the town created a Prison Relations Advisory Committee to connect with the women’s prisons Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and Taconic Correctional Facility. The initiative was a joint venture of the Interfaith Prison Partnership Program, the Bedford town supervisor and the superintendent of both women’s prisons.  Shiel and Chernow also co-produced two short films about the RTA program. “Unlocked: The Power of Arts in Prison” and the award-winning documentary “Behind These Walls.”  “There are so many misconceptions of the criminal justice system,” said Shiel. “Audiences of our films understand what a little respect coupled with art can do for marginalized, huge populations of people who are invisible.”  Many scenes in “Sing Sing” were shot at the decommissioned Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill. For former inmates of that facility who were in the movie, that was especially difficult. Shiel described one scene with Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin where Maclin is alone in a cell that was below the cell where he actually served time. “Clarence remembered how he felt then at age 17 and how traumatizing it was,” Shiel said.  In a recent interview with The Recorder, Charles Moore, RTA director of programs and operations, described his RTA experience while serving 17 years at Sing Sing. Moore, who is the first RTA alumni to work full time for RTA, said the film shows the humanity of those incarcerated.  “The process of learning to perform reveals emotions and how we care about each other. A new sense of morale develops and depicts our human side and what goes on inside a correctional facility,” he said  Moore, who holds a bachelor’s degree in human services and a master’s degree in professional studies, moderated the Q&A session after the JBFC film screening. On the panel was Maclin, the film’s co-star, along with RTA alumnus Peter Gomez and Dario Peña. Moore asked what they hoped would be the film’s ultimate impact. “The message I would like people to get from this film is that people who are incarcerated are exactly that — people,” said Maclin. “They are human beings. People with emotions, with families, friends, people with ambitions. They are just like you and I.”  Maclin added that learning trust from the RTA program changed him. “Every time I was asked my opinion it seemed like it was valuable; they gave me back a piece of my dignity,” he said.  Peña, who now works at Columbia University teaching a free, online course for web development, said the film had many nostalgic moments. “RTA served every aspect of my personal growth as a guy on the inside. That’s where I learned to become a human being,” he commented.  Gomez, who was released from Sing Sing five months ago, said the film really hit home. “I got emotional when Divine G hit a breaking point,” he said. “A lot of us go through that. But seeing Divine G overcome that, that was the key. When I was in that RTA room, I felt alive, I felt freedom.”  The high point for Maclin was working with Domingo. “Domingo was a great guy,” he said. “We instantly clicked through our Zoom rehearsals held during the pandemic. He wanted to become one of us and there was a bonding.”

By JEFF MORRIS  A years-long process intended to replace the Peckham Industries asphalt plant in Bedford Hills with new technology appears to have met its demise. Bedford Planning Director Jesica Youngblood confirmed to The Recorder that Peckham “provided correspondence requesting application withdrawal.”  She did not provide any details, but suggested reaching out to them directly for additional information. Attempts to reach Peckham’s attorney, Charles Martabano, have thus far been unsuccessful. The asphalt plant, located off the Route 117 Bypass — which it predates — between the Saw Mill River Parkway and Interstate 684, has been a fixture in Bedford Hills for decades. When the plan to replace the plant was first brought to the planning board in July 2021, it was described by Martabano as “a unique opportunity for the town of Bedford and its climate action plan.”  That was because the existing plant is what is known as a hot asphalt batch plant, while the new one would be a drum style plant. The applicants claimed the upgrade would have environmental benefits, including “appropriate controls and storage to meet the demands of modern asphalt pavement products and evolving regulations focused on reduced emissions and lower carbon footprint.” The plan called for the new plant to be built on an adjacent piece of property that contained a garden nursery, and for the existing plant to be demolished. There was some dispute as to whether the adjacent property was, in fact, a separate parcel, or if the entire site was considered one property; researching and resolving that, in itself, caused delays in the approval process. At the time, Peckham executives noted batch plants are from the 1940s, and drum mix plants, which they said have been developed within the last 10 years, would save 900 pounds of CO2 a year, with a long list of emissions improvements.  Martabano also stated there would be less noise and greater opportunities for recycling. Increased space for truck queues to prevent backups on the Route 117 Bypass was also cited as a positive outcome. However, with the planning board serving as lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review Act process, it stretched over several years. Peckham returned to the board multiple times with extensive documentation regarding expected environmental impact, while board members continued to question whether the replacement industrial plant, which would be an expansion of a nonconforming use, was really appropriate in an area close to residences, small businesses, schools and the two state women’s prisons. Peckham abruptly canceled its last scheduled appearance before the board July 22, at which members were to vote on adopting an already drafted negative environmental declaration.  In that draft, the board stated it had “considered a multitude of reports and submissions from outside agencies, special project consultants, and the Applicant;” had “retained a consultant, GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. to review various aspects of the Proposed Action, evaluate the operations of the relocated asphalt plant, and provide recommendations with respect to the proposed mitigation of any potential adverse environmental impacts from such operations;” had “held numerous work sessions and a public hearing on February 26, 2024 with respect to its SEQRA review related to the Site Plan and Steep Slopes application, and, at which the public was given ample opportunity to comment with respect to the potential environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action and the Planning Board carefully considered such comments;” and had also considered written comments from the public. The board concluded, “after due discussion and deliberation, the Town Planning Board, in accordance with SEQRA, and applying the established rules of review under SEQRA, and upon review of the EAF, all other application materials and correspondence prepared with respect to the Proposed Action, hereby adopts the attached Negative Declaration with respect to the Proposed Action, having determined there are no potential significant adverse environmental impacts resulting from the Proposed Action.” But the resolution never came up for a vote. No explanation was given for why Peckham canceled its appearance at that meeting, nor has any yet been given for why the application is being withdrawn. It is also unknown whether Peckham plans to maintain the existing plant, or what its intentions may be. When the plan was introduced in 2021, Richard Williams of Insite Engineering said the old plant would remain open while the new one was being built, because it was important to the local community and to New York State Department of Transportation, among other municipal organizations, that the plant continue to operate. Asphalt cannot travel more than about an hour from where it is produced and still be usable, he said.  Peckham Industries, headquartered in Brewster, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Its closest manufacturing plant to Bedford Hills is in Carmel, where it produces hot-mix asphalt, warm-mix asphalt, and aggregates. Editor's note: The Recorder has received funding from the Peckham Family Foundation.

By MARC WOLLIN One of our great joys of any summer season like the one just wrapped up is spending time outdoors with family and friends. Often that is at some kind of performance on the grass at Caramoor or the Playhouse or Ridgefield, usually music spanning the gamut from pop to orchestral to folk, and often accompanied by dinner and drinks. At these varied events we see lots of like-minded folk. And just as their dining arrangements vary... some have sandwiches, others takeout, others tables laid with full sets of china... so too does their seating span the spectrum. And while I am always curious what others are having for dinner, I am just as curious as where they are parking their butts. After all, it's hard to think of anything that hasn't changed so much in 20 or 30 years that the newer thing is not seriously better. This is not about style: some prefer higher or lower hems, flatter or puffier coats, wider or tighter jeans. This is about advances in the underlying technology that renders stuff that is decades old obsolete, dangerous or just plain quaint. In many cases it's not like you even wanted these advanced capabilities. Steve Jobs famously said, "Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do." He's wasn't wrong. I didn't know I needed a mapping system that wasn't a folded-up piece of paper before I had it. Now I find myself keying in an address even if I'm just going 10 miles to find the least trafficked way to get there.  But in other cases, I don't know if I need all that new stuff. Call me old fashioned, but my kettle boils water just fine. There are many other products that count their age in decades or longer that work just fine, and any advancements don't seem to do a whole lot in the way of advancement. Which brings us winding back to folding chairs.  Ours have some serious history on them. Not the sand models that sit low that one uses for the beach, nor the higher version from backyard barbeques in the sixties made of nylon webbing that that leaves waffle marks on your thighs, they are as basic as can be. They have an aluminum strut arrangement like a squared off teepee that folds up, capped by a nylon seat and back. On each arm is a cutout for a drink, though at this point the mesh that makes up that pocket is ripped and disintegrated to be basically useless. For sure we could upgrade... perhaps there is a better way to perch. As I look around at any event, I see the range of advancements that seating scientists have turned into the state of the art over the past 20 years. Over there is a model that sports a footrest. Over there is one that has hydraulic struts on the rear legs so that the chair effectively is a rocker. That one there has a canopy that flops over, while that one has two wide arms, each capable of supporting a plate with a slice of pizza. And that one there extends from the size of stout travel umbrella to what looks like a bucket seat. I watched the owner put Strut A into Slot B, Strut C into Slot D, Cross Brace F into Channel Y, and slide Collar M over and through Assembly CKG. Or was that into Channel JWP? As Ed Norton put it on the classic "Better Living Through Television" episode of "The Honeymooners" as Ralph demonstrated his Handy Housewife Helper, "Zip, zip! It's zipping the modern way. Amazing!" The question is a simple one: for all their zipping, are any of them any better? Envy being a terrible vice, I have to say that from afar I coveted my neighbor's chair, indeed, several of them. One at a time I ordered them from Amazon, set them up and test squatted in them in the backyard, only to pack each up and send them back. I have come to the conclusion that I am a simple man with a simple butt. Or as attributed to Satchel Paige but ultimately traced to a Maine fisherman in the 1900's, "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits."  Marc Wollin of Bedford is still looking for a better chair. His column appears weekly via email and online www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/ and marcwollin.substack.com/ , as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

By DAVID SHEINGOLD  Home values keep rising across large swaths of northeastern Westchester County as the region continues to benefit from a decade-long housing market boom that has touched virtually every neighborhood in the area, much as it has throughout the United States. From Goldens Bridge and Cross River to the priciest country lanes of Bedford, home prices went up last year in a majority of locations throughout The Recorder coverage area, increasing as much as 20 percent. An analysis of sales data by The Recorder revealed that from 2022 to 2023, median home values climbed in four of the six areas with enough sales to review in Bedford, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge. The increases ranged from 2 percent in Katona, and an area covered by Goldens Bridge and Cross River, to 20 percent in the southeastern section of Bedford. Medians ticked downward only in Pound Ridge, by almost 3 percent, and in a combined area of Bedford Corners and Bedford Village, by 7 percent.  For this analysis, Waccabuc was combined with South Salem, Cross River with Goldens Bridge and Bedford Corners with Bedford Village; that was done because some areas had too few sales to generate valid medians. Bedford Corners shares a zip code with a portion of the Village of Mount Kisco. Data from 2024 also remains too limited to draw conclusions about the path of prices this year. Over the two-year period from 2021 to 2023, typical values were up everywhere in the three towns except the combined Bedford Corners-Bedford Village area in the western section of Bedford. Last year’s trends contrasted somewhat with a more mixed pattern in nearby communities. Those included Armonk and Chappaqua, where values commonly dipped last year; and North Salem and the rest of Mount Kisco, where values rose by double-digits. Market gains cool  The increases last year were relatively tame compared to earlier years in the past decade, especially during the pandemic. That reflected national trends showing price spikes moderating throughout much of the U.S. Still, median values continued rising across a large portion of the region. Leading the way was the10506 zip code in southeastern Bedford. There, the median price rose 19.8 percent in 2023, to $1.24 million. The next largest gain came in the Waccabuc-South Salem area, where the typical price went up 6.8 percent to $830,000. The only declines from 2022 to 2023 showed up in Pound Ridge, which saw the median dip 2.7 percent, to $1.17 million, and the combined Bedford Corners-Bedford Village area, which absorbed a 6.6 percent decline, to $682,000. Despite the dropoff, Pound Ridge’s typical value remained up almost 14 percent from 2021 to 2023. Waccabuc-South Salem’s was up 10 percent over that period. The only two-year decline across the three towns came in the combined Bedford Corners-Bedford Village area. The $682,000 median in that area stood 9 percent below the level from 2021. How this analysis was conducted The analysis for this article is based on home-sales data maintained by the New York State Office of Real Property Services. Transactions were included if they met the following criteria: sales of occupied residential property with prices at least $200,000, listed as “arm’s-length” transactions representing the true market value of a home. Arm’s-length transactions exclude situations such as sales of damaged property, sales between relatives, deed transfers to simply change the name of an owner or sales that are part of larger transactions.

By THANE GRAUEL The Pound Ridge Town Board on Tuesday night, Sept. 17, voted unanimously to extend the maximum age of new part-time police officers from 55 to 70. The minimum age remains 21. The town’s police force is part time, mostly with officers who have retired from law-enforcement careers in New York City and thereabouts looking to earn a little extra money or keep busy. But under New York state rules, they are restricted to earning no more than $35,000 a year without impacting their pension income. That’s been a problem for small towns statewide, in Pound Ridge (population roughly 5,000) and elsewhere in northern Westchester. Many small communities are trying to avoid going to full-time police forces because of the much larger budget requirements and likely impact on local taxpayers. Before Tuesday, the maximum age for new hires in Pound Ridge was 55. It is now 70.  Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan told those at the town board meeting the change would increase the pool of candidates. Lately the roster has been shallow, and income limits made staffing shifts an ongoing challenge, he said. Lt. Kieran Murray, who has been with the Pound Ridge Police Department for 12 years and is retired from the New Castle force, recounted some hiring difficulties with those rules. “Our stance is if we could kind of raise that, and if you’re good and you want to come in and serve the community and be a good asset to the town, why should age be a thing?” Murray said. “Especially, in Connecticut, you can hire somebody 50, full time, 60, whatever.” Someone in the audience asked if the age increase helped with the state’s pay issue. “No,” Hansan replied. “This only helps us with the fact that we can physically get more part-time police officers to fill the void of not having enough.” “Because we continue to lose the part-time police officers we do get to Connecticut, to school resource officers, because they’re not restricted on the $35,000 maximum they can make on top of their retirement benefit that they’re getting,” he continued. The town has sought to have the limits on part-time officers increased through the state Legislature, but those legislative efforts were unsuccessful. If they were successful, Hansan said at Tuesday’s meeting, the town could have met the staffing needs without more officers. “This will now give us the opportunity to hire more because, you may have even noticed at some of the Food Truck Friday events, you’ve seen more County Police and sheriffs because we physically don’t have enough officer shifts available to do all the staffing that’s required in the town of Pound Ridge,” the supervisor said. Hansan told The Recorder after the meeting that the state still needs to address the issues faced by municipalities like his. “This will help,” he said of the local law tweak, “but it won’t fix the issue.” Cannabis hearing closed, vote delayed Also at the meeting the board held a public hearing on a proposed zoning regulation governing new cannabis dispensaries in town. But it held off on a vote because some questions were raised about whether the four-page document clearly addressed potential places where marijuana could be smoked, and hours of operation. New York state legalized the recreational sale of marijuana products in March 2021. The state offered municipalities an opt-out window, which closed Dec. 31, 2021, but Pound Ridge let the deadline pass without action. The town board later asked the state Legislature to reopen the opt-out window, but the effort was unsuccessful. The proposed change to zoning regulations would prohibit a new dispensary’s opening within 500 feet of public or private school grounds, within 500 feet of a public youth facility, or within 200 feet of a house of worship. Also, it states cannabis dispensaries and consumption sites “shall not be located within a 2,000-foot-radius of another cannabis dispensary or consumption site.” The town has one existing dispensary, Purple Plains, located at 32 Westchester Ave. Given the small size of the town’s business district, the measure’s passage would likely make it the only dispensary in town, and perhaps block any consumption site. John McCown, who has been outspoken on the cannabis issue and unsuccessfully ran against Hansan in November on this and other matters, spoke at the meeting. He said the latest any retail establishment is open in Pound Ridge is 8 p.m. “I strongly recommend that we keep that for any cannabis store,” he said.  He also said that keeping those hours would make it less likely a consumption establishment might come to town.  Alex Goldfarb, another speaker, questioned how the proposal would treat marijuana consumption.. “It was unclear if the town is allowing, like, cafés, like in Amsterdam, to set up,” he said.  Goldfarb said anyone who’s been to a Grateful Dead concert might understand the marijuana smell is part of the experience. “But I don’t think people walking around Scotts Corners want to experience what we experience when we come out of Grand Central [Terminal] every day,” he said.  He said he was unclear whether consumption was allowed or not under the proposed zoning changes. “I read it both ways,” he said. Malcolm Simpson, a planning consultant who helped draft the ordinance, said any establishment hosting both sales and consumption would need two separate permits from the state. “Consumption sites statewide have pretty stringent restrictions,” he said. “The special permit language that’s included here prevents any kind of outdoor seating for those consumption sites.” He said the ordinance states that a retail-only site could not have on-site consumption. However, he also noted that the town cannot ban consumption sites if their owners get licenses from the state for such use. Town Attorney William Harrington said there was “a phalanx” of state regulations for such establishments, including installing an air-treatment facility to prevent any odor escaping outside. “And second, our local odor laws would apply,” he said. The town board voted to close the public hearing but delayed a vote to go over the questions raised. Hansan said later he expected a vote to be taken at the next town board meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m.

By JEFF MORRIS  Penny Berk, the owner of Rescue Right and Northwind Kennels, is scheduled to appear in Bedford Town Court on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 3:30 pm. The court appearance was originally scheduled for Aug. 28 but was postponed. Berk was arrested July 18 by the Humane Law Enforcement Unit of SPCA Westchester and charged with five counts of animal cruelty. She pleaded not guilty. According to Ernest Lungaro, head of the enforcement unit, on Oct. 3, 2023, several witnesses had alerted SPCA Westchester officials to “a dire situation” regarding four sick Bernese mountain dog puppies who were being denied proper medical care at Rescue Right, an animal rescue organization colocated with Northwind Kennels on Route 22 in Bedford. SPCA officials and staff discovered four puppies and their mother all suffering and in critical condition, with one puppy barely able to breathe and non-responsive. All were found to be suffering from distemper, and over the next six days, despite round-the-clock care in a veterinary hospital, all had to be euthanized. Distemper virus is described by the American Kennel Club as highly contagious and potentially lethal, and also one of the most preventable diseases. It is spread through direct contact with an infected animal or object, through airborne exposure, or through the placenta. The SPCA said the female originated from an Amish puppy mill in Pennsylvania and was brought to Rescue Right along with an unneutered male Bernese mountain dog. Sometime after their arrival in Bedford, according to SPCA, the unneutered male was co-kenneled with the female, who was unspayed and subsequently impregnated.  Lungaro said an investigation had been ongoing since October, and the decision to make an arrest in July was made in consultation with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. No reason for that timeline was given. Rescue Right is a nonprofit that operates within Northwind Kennels, a business founded in the 1920s which was bought by Berk and her husband, Dr. George Berk, in 2006. In late 2021, Berk was the focus of a GoFundMe effort started to raise money to pay back taxes for Northwind, which at that point had fallen seriously into arrears and was facing eviction. That crisis was averted, with arrangements made to have donors keep both the business and nonprofit afloat. She has been something of a lightning rod, eliciting many negative and positive opinions. A large number of posts on social media allege that animals at Rescue Right have been abused and neglected for years, used for breeding, and that conditions were awful. Some claim to have been volunteers at the shelter who left because of the conditions. Yet others who posted amidst the accusations defended Ber k ,  and predicted she will be cleared once all the facts are known. Some say they have had very good experiences with animals adopted from Rescue Right. The two sides will be presented in court next week.

By NEAL RENTZ The Lewisboro Planning Board on Tuesday moved closer to approving construction of 12 more units at the Villas at Vista in Cross River. The board set a public hearing for the project forTuesday,  Oct. 15, and could vote to approve the project following the closing of the hearing.  Previously, at its August meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve a “negative declaration of significance” for the proposal. They would be built at Building 9 A/B on the site, 920 Oakridge Commons.   Counsel to the planning board, Judson Siebert, said previously that the body cannot close a public hearing on the project until after the Zoning Board of Appeals makes its decisions regarding the plan. Robert Eberts, principal architect with Cross River Architects, told the planning board this week that his client’s project is scheduled to go before the ZBA Wednesday, Sept. 25. The project was recently approved by the Architecture and Community Appearance Review Council, Eberts said. Eberts said the plan calls for the continuation of the stone face, which is a feature of the outside of the current housing on the site.    Planning Board Chairwoman Janet Andersen said the board is seeking a written memorandum on the project from Vista Fire Chief of Department Jeffrey Peck. Among the issues the chief will comment on is the effect of new housing units on the ability of a firetruck to turn around on the site, she said. It would “be great to get something” from the Vista fire chef, she said.  Phil Pine, a managing member of Smith Ridge Associates, said the fire department would not need a ladder truck in the event of an emergency at the property because the height of the roofs on the buildings would preclude the use of one. On another topic related to the project, Pine said his client would be open to allowing residents of the development to store their electric bikes in a storage area in the proposed large lobby, which would have a sprinkler system.  Andersen told the representatives of Villas at Vista that additional information about the proposal, including an outdoor lighting plan, was needed by the town.  Aside from scheduling the October public hearing, the planning board instructed town staff to create a resolution to approve the project, which could be approved as early as next month if the plan receives ZBA approval and the public hearing is closed.

By JIM MACLEAN  Fox Lane was on a mission. The Foxes wanted to send a message, and they did with an explosive start on their way to a big victory over host Yorktown on Sept. 14, to win the Yorktown Tournament title. The fast start led to a 3-2 win for Fox Lane over a very good Yorktown team as the Foxes improved to 3-1 overall on the season. Fox Lane had started the week with a win over Pelham in the first round of the tournament, but then the Foxes suffered a 4-1 loss to Mahopac on Thursday, so they were determined to bounce back strong in the finals against Yorktown. Fox Lane came out flying and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and held a 3-1 lead at the half. The defense did the job in the second half with Yorktown scoring with just 30 seconds left to play as Fox Lane held on for the victory. “We had a tough week with three games against three really good opponents. They played with good energy, a good effort, and I’m really proud of the boys today,” said Fox Lane coach Mike Tomassi. “They were disappointed how they played against Mahopac, and that showed today, they came out with a lot more passion. It’s a work in progress, just trying to get better every game, and I think this team can be really good.” Fox Lane sent a message early as Kenny Mejia-Lopez scored an early goal to give the Foxes a 1-0 lead. Just two minutes later it was 2-0 as Daniel Troksi scored for the Foxes with 33 minutes left to play in the first half. After Yorktown scored to cut the lead down to 2-1, Fox Lane responded with more pressure and intensity, capped off with a goal by Fredy Contreras as he headed the ball in off a cross from Gavin Morales to make it 3-1. The second half was up to the defense to hold strong and it did the job as Eli Daglio played the first half in goal and Drew Bagley played the second half to combine for the win. Mejia-Lopez was named MVP for the tournament as he dominated the action at midfield for the Foxes. Mejia-Lopez and the Foxes knew Yorktown was a tough team and they had to come out strong and play well against their rival. “Yorktown is a tough squad, we came here and had to show who we are. We tried to fight our hardest. This year we have a good squad and we want to go far and we’re ready.” Tomassi admits having Mejia-Lopez back for his senior year adds a big weapon to the Fox Lane lineup as he earned his MVP trophy. “It’s a shame that the secret is out. He played Academy the last two years and came back for his senior year, and people are finding out he is one of the best players in the section. He’s that good. He changes us, he makes a lot of big plays for us, and today was his best game overall.” Tomassi also points out that Mejia-Lopez is not the only one playing well for the Foxes. It took a team effort to defeat a team like Yorktown, and Tomassi likes what he sees from his lineup all across the field. “We’re deep, we’re young, we’re motivated and slowly building for the playoffs,” Tomassi said. “Contreras and Morales were great tonight. Defensively we have a lot of returners and Troksi, Hannes Fernqvist and Connor Cox all played fantastic and were steady all game, and we have two really good goalies. I’m proud of the whole group. They executed very well tonight, a nice win.” Left to right, Fredy Contreras makes his move upfield for the Foxes. Connor Cox clears on defense for the Foxes in win over Yorktown.

Dismayed by town board’s handling of cannabis To the Editor: We have lived in Pound Ridge for 22 years and raised our four children here. It is with great dismay that we have watched the town board led by Kevin Hansan operate at a level of incompetence and disregard for voters’ wishes that surprises everyone who learns the facts.  From likely violating state laws with respect to the town’s finances  regarding repo rting and disclosure to ignoring voter sentiment to push their own agenda, they do not act in a way that demonstrates a basic level of performance to hold the office.  With the documentation of their actions becoming more public, it should bring to light this sad state of affairs in Pound Ridge. Robert Smock Pound Ridge

Several police agencies and other first responders converged at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Tuesday, Sept. 10, after sundown to locate a missing person.  The hours-long search involving people on foot and in off-road vehicles in the sprawling 4,315-acre park, Westchester County’s largest, ended successfully.  The 72-year-old man was reported missing by his wife. She told police he planned to hike the trails but advised her his mobile device was running out of battery and he was unsure he could find the parking lot. He told her to call the police if he wasn’t home soon.  The Pound Ridge police and fire departments were among the agencies involved.  Bedford Police Department’s utility terrain vehicle was requested at approximately 10 p.m., to assist the Pound Ridge first responders. Bedford Police said on their Facebook page that Detective Matthew Whalen from the Emergency Service Unit responded and teamed up the UTV team from the Westchester County Police Department. UTVs, like all-terrain vehicles, are off-road vehicles, but larger. “After about an hour of searching they arrived at a section of woods that they could no longer traverse in the UTV and had to continue on foot,” the Bedford Police Department’s post said.  “Call outs were made for the missing person and eventually his voice could be heard off in the distance,” it said. “They continued further into the woods on foot, where they were able to successfully locate the missing male. He was transported to an awaiting ambulance in our UTV.” He was evaluated by EMS, found to be thoroughly chilled, but otherwise in good condition. “Great team work by all the agencies involved leading to a positive outcome in difficult conditions,” posted the Bedford Police.