Volunteers Needed for Village Boards and Councils
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Scarsdale volunteers are needed for Village Boards and Councils and the Scarsdale Village Board would like to remind residents how to apply by visiting the Village Website at www.scarsdale.com and click on " read more " under Volunteers Needed for Boards and Councils. On the next screen, complete the online application form and follow the on-screen instructions .
The site contains information on the seventeen Boards and Councils that serve the Scarsdale community and the Scarsdale Village Board. Over 150 village residents serve as volunteers on these Boards and Councils. By volunteering and serving, Scarsdale residents have the opportunity to be involved and provide input to the Village Board.
This year 70 current volunteers are up for reappointment or they may retire, creating a number of openings on all Boards and Councils. All positions are important and there are several key positions that need applicants: the Board of Architectural Review needs to fill two open positions, preferably with architects. The Town Assessment Review Board has one 5 year term open, the Committee For Historic Preservation has one 3 year term open and the Associate Village Historian position is open for a one year term.
With an application deadline of Friday, March 1, residents are encouraged to apply as soon as possible so the Personnel Committee has time to review all applications. Applications can be sent via the website or delivered to Village Hall. If residents have questions or need a printed application, please feel free to contact Trustee Bob Harrison, Personnel committee Chair at 914 725-0962 or by e-mail at proscars@aol.com.
Trustee Bob Harrison
Personnel Committee Chairman
Greenburgh Police Searching for Accused Rapist
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Greenburgh Detectives are investigating a rape that occurred at the Marriott Hotel in the Tarrytown around 1 am on February 13, 2013. The alleged attack occurred inside the room where the victim was staying as a registered guest. The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his mid thirties 5'6" to 5'8" tall, medium build, dark complexion with very dark hair combed forward. He has a scar on his temple and a mole on the left side of his face near his jaw line with several tattoos on his arms. He was wearing a tan Carhartt type jacket with hood, jeans and dark boots.
The suspect, pictured here, was a visitor to the room. The 29 year-old victim sustained injuries as a 
result of the attack including bruising to her face and cuts to her neck. She was treated at the scene by Greenburgh Police EMS and transported to the Westchester Medical Center.
Photos obtained from surveillance video of the suspect are shown here. Anyone who may recognize the suspect or may have information concerning this investigation is asked to contact Greenburgh Detectives at 914-682-5331. All calls will be kept confidential.
Co-Work Space Now Available in White Plains
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The Digital Arts Experience, a creative learning hub focused on promoting digital literacy, is now offering its state of the art facility as a modern day workplace solution through two simple and affordable plans. Membership costs are less than $10 per day. Located at 170 Hamilton Suite 100 in White Plains, the space is convenient and offers parking.
Rob Kissner, President, and his team at The DAE recognize that individuals who work out of the home often complain that they miss the social aspect of working in an office around other professionals. Kissner says, "Home Base provides a productive, collaborative, and creative workspace in which professionals can work by side with other professionals without the high overhead costs of a renting an office."
Home Base offers important office amenities such as print/scan/fax and conference rooms, as well as unique features including an on site professional recording studio, photo/video studio, and computer labs equipped with state of the art Apple computers loaded with Adobe CS6 & other pro software. In addition, Home Base has an in house creative team, offering production services in all forms of media, including graphic & web design, video production, audio production and photography.
Kissner is confident that between the low cost membership options, the flexibility of the facility, and the unique amenities, Home Base will provide the ideal workspace solution for creative professionals. To learn more, visit http://www.workhomebase.com.
Coworking is based on the values of collaboration, openness, community and accessibility. Rather than being isolated at home, surrounded by distractions, coworking enables individuals to work side-by-side with productive, professional, creative people. It makes for an environment where ideas are shared freely and establishes a community of active professionals that prefer working, learning, and growing with each other rather than alone.
Learn more by calling 914-227-2221 or visiting http://www.workhomebase.com
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Survey Results: Your Thoughts on State Testing and Teacher Evaluations
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In January Scarsdale10583 ran a short survey to gauge reader's opinions on state testing, teacher evaluations and the mandated purchase of computers for the administration of state tests in local schools. Though we only had 45 respondents, our open-ended question on the survey did yield many interesting comments. Here are the overall survey results as well as a sampling of some of our reader comments on these controversial issues:
Question #1: I think that New York State mandates too many tests for student in my district:
Yes: 77.7%
No: 20.0%
Comments:
Not in this school district. We should have "tested" out of this after 100 years of stellar graduation rates and top notch students ..... Can we see the balance sheets for the company who distributes and grades all of these tests? They must be laughing all the way to the bank!
There is a need for oversight. While Scarsdale may be doing it right not every district is. We should not fear the testing because if our philosophy works we should have good outcomes.
For the amount of state aide Scarsdale receives- tell the state to keep their directives
I think our schools are so great that we should be able to opt out. I think it's obvious that Scarsdale, and to some degree Edgemont are the pinnacle of education. We should be left alone.
Other countries are way ahead of US on testing. We disadvantage our workers and the brightest students by not testing enough, unless tests in the US are poor (vis a vis China, UK, Finland), which is possible. Bad tests should give way to mor
Question #2: I believe that teachers should be evaluated based on their students' results on standardized tests:
Yes: 6.6%
No: 22.3%
To a degree: 60.0%
Comments:
Students are shaped by parents, other adults, peers, programs, games, their own aptitudes and much more. To load all of that on a teacher, especially in a class of diverse kids (language, nationality, disability), makes little sense, but timed, sequential testing for each student's growth by teacher should be looked at as an important tool for critical review of teacher competence.
I do think we need to evaluate teachers but tests should only be a small factor.
Question #3: Since the state has mandated the purchase of laptops for each student, I would be willing to pay for the laptop(s) for my child(ren).
Yes: 42.2%
No: 53.3%
Comments:
Most children in Westchester have access to a laptop, note-pad or smartphone equivalent. I hope the state is cognizant of how to use minimal technology to accomplish its goals.
I don't want my children to have portable computers that can leave common areas of the house.
Seriously, either way we end up paying - either buying a laptop ourselves for our children or funding it through a hike in the school tax. Maybe it is more straightforward to buy it ourselves - we can probably get a better deal and have less added overhead cost than putting it on the school budget
General Comments:
The state is not thinking of districts like Scarsdale when they come up with these ideas. I'm sure there are many areas in NY State where unless a laptop is purchased for each child, there may be no good computer access for that child at home. Likewise concerns about evaluating teachers are greater elsewhere. Our concerns are those of the 1%.
I think the use of technology is important, but not at the expense of hiring and keeping good teachers and also providing for their continuing education (the teachers'). It seems counterproductive for schools that are struggling to spend money on a device that has a limited "life expectancy" before it becomes obsolete (as most computers do.)
If the state wants each school to have a computer per child, they better let us have a bigger tax cap or give us money or loan the equipment for the testing!
The current testing craze from the state and federal government is so misguided. There is no research to support that student tests results are a valid measure of teacher quality. It is mostly the opinion of politicians who know little about education.
Testing is ok when it is not too much. I don't want my kids' learning experience become test prep experience (like in China). Now kids are too busy with their eyes. We should ask kids to close their eyes to feel the world with their heart and think about it. There are a lot of things that can not be learned from book and in school.
Too many tests, too much technology. The best way to evaluate a teacher or student is observation and overall results.
Many students freeze during tests. Many students have other issues and need to be tested differently. Many students have some type of learning disability and computer based testing may not be appropriate or show their true ability.
Friends of Animals Advocates a Humane Solution to Geese Control
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Edita Birnkrant of Friends of Animals: Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization founded in NY State in 1957 has received many calls and emails from upset and concerned Scarsdale residents over the town officials' plans to roundup and slaughter the geese at the pond behind the library. In recent days we've put out action alerts to our members and supporters, sent out a press release and contacted local officials in response to the wrong-headed, intolerant scheme.
Last Friday I had a private meeting with Village Manager Gatta and also spoke to Jason Marra, Asst. Superintendent of Recreation, urging them to adopt the non-violent, proven strategies such as habitat and landscape modification at the pond and surrounding area, in addition to adopting policies and strategies to simply clean up goose droppings and foster tolerant attitudes towards geese and wildlife.
I presented both Gatta and Marra with several copies of Friends of Animals' informative Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual, written by renowned ornithologist Don Heintzelman. The manual contains examples of successful scenarios in suburban and urban areas in which habitat modification, public education and fecal cleanup plans resulted in an end to the perceived conflicts between humans and Canada geese. The manual details this process. None of these strategies had even been considered by Scarsdale officials, but now they have been made to understand that killing geese and/or continually harassing them out of the pond area will not work, as more geese will merely replace the killed or chased geese, thus being counter-productive financially and as a practical matter.
Goose roundups are monstrous. USDA agents typically enter the pond area during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. It was stressed to Gatta that removing the geese from the pond area will create a vacuum that will be filled as more geese are drawn back to the landscape, unless changes are made. Geese are attracted to areas with short, mowed grass with open sight lines as safe nesting areas. Growing grass longer in areas, planting native shrubs and trees to block sight lines (geese like to watch for predators), will deter geese from ponds, shores and parkland -- reducing the time they spend in any one spot.
Village Manager Gatta informed me during our meeting that he will not be signing a kill contract with the USDA, and that he is in the process of writing a memo that will include new, respectful ways of dealing with the geese in Scarsdale, as a result of our advocacy and the outcry from local residents and from others around the country. Within two weeks Gatta will be conferring with the Superintendent of Parks (and presenting the memo) with a plan of action regarding the geese, but it seems that killing is off the table now—a big victory for advocates and local residents, and the geese. Friends of Animals intends to keep the pressure on Scarsdale officials until we are fully assured that Canada geese will be spared a senseless and mean-spirited slaughter and harassment campaign.
The message was made very clear to Gatta: Habitat and landscape modification are the only environmentally sound and long-term ways to deter geese from areas where they are seen as problematic, and that's clearly what's needed in Scarsdale. Co-existence with geese and other wildlife is required as a part of civilized suburban living,
Edita Birnkrant
NY Director
Friends of Animals
1841 Broadway, Suite 350
New York, N.Y. 10023
www.friendsofanimals.org
We asked Village Manager Al Gatta to comment on the letter, and here is what he shared: "Edita has carried our conversation a little too far, but we did meet and discussed habitat change and the manual she dropped off looked to be very helpful. We are now looking at some of the alternatives, but no final decision has yet been made. The contract with the USDA Wild Life has not been signed and we are again looking at that method along with a few others. No final decision has been made, but it may be worth one more try with alternative measures."
