Strange Doings from the Greenburgh Police
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Fight Continued: Neighbors on Elizabeth Street continued to spar in a dispute centering on the location of the property line. This past week, on the morning of 9/19, one family put some chairs out in the driveway for pick-up by the sanitation department and the other party moved the chairs to another part of the driveway, claiming that the chairs were on his property. Police advised the neighbors to keep their distance from each other. On 9/22, the trouble continued when Michael Marom claimed that his “no parking” sign was missing and that his neighbor’s garbage cans were blocking his driveway.
Dealing: On 9/23, John Joseph Trace, age 46 of Sprain Valley Road was arrested for criminal possession of controlled substances with intent to sell after a search of his home revealed he had a large stash of pills in his home. He was booked and released on $1,000 cash bail.
Driving: At 6 pm on September 20, police stopped a 2004 Honda on Central Avenue because neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seatbelts. A search of the driver’s license revealed that there were two active warrants for the man for selling a controlled substance and another warrant in Massachusetts for burglary. He was identified as Jose Santiago of Yonkers, and brought into headquarters and found to have a hypodermic needle. Since the Massachusetts authorities did not want to extradite him he was released.
A 77 year-old Hartsdale man drove his car into a tree and fence on Crosshill Road in Hartsdale at around 5 pm on 9/22. When police arrived they found the 1998 Subaru lying on its passenger side next to the tree. The fire department came and helped the man get out of the car and the car was removed by Glen’s Towing. The man’s daughter believes her dad put the car into drive rather than reverse.
Thefts: At the Hartsdale Gardens apartments on Central Avenue, a resident said he found a suspicious package that had no address on September 20. He took it inside, opened it and found that it contained 2 batteries and quart of motor oil. Thinking that the contents of the package were suspicious he called the police. But in a strange twist of events, police contacted the building super who told them that someone had been stealing packages and that he had put the unlabeled package in front of the mailboxes in an attempt to catch the thief. He suspects that he found the right guy!
The mother of an Edgemont High School student reported that her son’s headphones and $120 in cash were taken from his gym locker at the school on September 15th. The lock was picked and his possessions were stolen. She reported that this was not the first time lockers were vandalized.
A Yonkers woman reported that her credit cards had been stolen out of her pocketbook when she was shopping at Shop Rite on Central Avenue on Friday 9/23. She had left her bag in the shopping cart for a short time while she asked for help and when she turned around the cards were gone. By the time she returned home, her credit cards had already been used at Home Depot and at a gas station.
The store manager at Morton Williams in Hartsdale reported that two women stole 6 cans of Similac and fled the store on the night of 9/17. The manager provided a description of the women from the store video.
At Walgreens on 9/25 two women stole an unknown amount of merchandise, leaving the store without paying for the items they placed in a bag.
A therapist who works on Central Avenue reported that two computers were stolen from her office sometime between 9/16 and 9/21.
Fieldstone Drive residents were away from September 10 -17. When they returned they found that almost $3,000 in jewelry was missing and that someone had tampered with their front door.
Parents MIA: An Edgemont High School student called police at 9 pm on Wednesday 9/21 when her father failed to pick her up from school. Her mother was away on business and her father had no cell phone and could not be reached. Police drove the girl home, called Child Protective Services and instructed the girl to call police if her Dad did not return. He came back five minutes later.
Identity Theft: On 9/22 a 75 year-old East Hartsdale Avenue man reported that someone had placed fraudulent ads in his name in several newspapers. The ads offered a motorcycle for sale. Though he was not charged, the ads gave his name and address.
Say What? The mother of a 10 year-old girl who lives on Clubway in Hartsdale reported that on 9/23 her daughter got a suspicious phone call from a woman who claimed to know her from sleep away camp. She asked for the girl’s email address and when the girl asked if she really went to the camp, the woman hung up.
On Monday morning 9/19 a 20 year-old Old Army Road woman reported that a man approached her at the bus stop on Central Avenue and asked her for money. After she responded that she did not have any, he walked away, but then returned, blew her a kiss, licked his lips and got onto a northbound bus.
Police were called to assist at a Cherry Lane home in Scarsdale on the night of 9/23 where an 89 year-old woman had locked herself inside her bedroom and did not respond to knocks on the door. The home health aid could not hear the woman or get her to open the door. Police pushed in the door, damaging the lock, and found the woman asleep in bed.
Inside the College Admissions Process at the JCC
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What really happens behind the closed doors of the Admissions Office? On October 18, 2011 from 7:30-9:00 p.m at the JCC of Mid-Westchester, 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale, the deans and directors of a number of top colleges and universities will open those doors and dispel the myths about what it takes to get into college. This is the fourth year in a row this program is being presented.
The free community-wide event – “Inside the Admissions Office” -- is sponsored by the JCC of Mid-.Westchester. Students and parents will hear the real story behind how decisions are made from the deans and directors of Binghamton University, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, Union College, The University of Chicago and Vanderbilt University. The evening will give the public the opportunity to learn the differences and similarities in how decisions are made by selective universities and liberal arts colleges. Advance registration is required at www.jccmw.org
Moderated by Mamaroneck-based college admissions consultant Betsy F. Woolf of Woolf College Consulting, students and parents will learn:
· What makes a student’s application “stand out”;
· The impact of the current economic reality on college admissions;
· How an admissions staff makes the ultimate decision to admit, deny or defer;
· How colleges weigh grades, test scores, family connections, athletics, campus visits, interviews, essays and other factors;
· The institutional needs and policies behind the decision-making;
· The difference between a well-rounded student and a well-rounded class – and why that is important in college admissions;
· Whether declaring certain majors gives students a leg up in the admissions process;
· How admissions committees treat the application of a student who discloses his or her learning difference or ADHD.
Betsy F. Woolf is a college admissions consultant and an award-winning editor specializing in higher education and secondary school. She is a magna cum laude graduate of NYU and holds a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA.
Where Does Your Donation to the PBA Go?
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We received several inquiries about the Policemen’s Benevolent Association(PBA) from residents who were solicited for contributions by phone and via the mail. People wanted to know whether or not it was mandatory to give, and if they did make a donation where the funds would go. Since local taxes are high, others wondered why supplemental payments to the department were necessary.
We spoke to both Scarsdale Police Chief John Brogan and Sargeant Jose Santos, President of PBA of Scarsdale and here is what we learned. Both Chief Brogan and Officer Santos asked us to assure residents that donations are not compulsory and that whether or not you give, you’ll still receive the same treatment from the Scarsdale Police. And what about the stickers the PBA provides to donees? Will having one of those on your windshield cause the traffic officer to give you preferential treatment? Certainly not, according to Officer Santos.
The Scarsdale Police Department and the Scarsdale Police Benevolent Association are two separate entities. Money that is donated to the PBA does not go to the Scarsdale Police Department. The Scarsdale PBA is the official bargaining unit for Scarsdale Police Officers and the treasury of the PBA is controlled by elected union officials. That said, the PBA will donate items to SPD from time to time for equipment that would otherwise be funded with the taxpayers money, including bulletproof vests, gym equipment for the Public Safety Building, and furnishings in the Public Safety lobby.
When asked what donations are used for, Santos provided the following accounting:
- Bullet-proof vests: these cost about $700 each and the paddles inside the vests need to be replaced every four years. The PBA purchases between four to seven new vests each year. Phone solicitors usually lead with the appeal for funds for bullet proof vests – however this appears to account for only a small portion of PBA expenses.
- Retiree benefits: Since the Village retirement package for policeman does not provide for dental and vision care insurance, the PBA makes supplemental funds available to retired officers for dental and vision care.
- Charity: The PBA gives generously to a variety of causes including “Navigating the Spectrum” for autistic children, The Hemophilia Association of New York, Toys for Tots and My Sister’s Place. In fact, over the last four years the PBA donated $150,000 to Navigating the Spectrum from funds donated by Scarsdale residents. In addition, the PBA supports Family Assistance Centers at Walter Reed Military Hospital and West Point Academy where injured veterans often stay for a year. The PBA purchases prepaid telephone calling cards to allow recovering soldiers to contact family and friends. They also purchase plane tickets so that families can visit the vets and supplied funds for needed equipment for the patients.
The PBA declined to provide an accounting of total revenues or expenses, but given the $150,000 donation one can surmise that revenues are substantial.
It is important to note that the telemarketing agency that calls on behalf of the PBA retains 50% of your donation, which Officer Santos assured us is standard for the industry. So, if you are giving to the PBA in the hope that your funds will go to one of the good causes they support, realize that at best 50% of what you spend will be delivered to these charitable organizations. Giving to the PBA who will in turn give to another charitable group is an indirect path to giving.
The Scarsdale PBA will hold their annual Golf Outing at Scarsdale Golf Club on Monday October 3rd. To learn more about the event and the association, click here: http://www.scarsdalepba.com/index.html
SVAC to Pilot Lifesaving Program
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Emergency Room nurse Sue Cannock, has seen it countless times: an ambulance arrives with a patient in distress who cannot communicate his medical history, which medications he took that day or even an emergency contact number. The ED staff evaluates and treats the patient with the knowledge available, but sometimes critical information that could influence the course of treatment is unknown.
Cannock, who has worked in the White Plains Hospital ED for the last 15 years, thinks she has found a solution to this problem, modeled on a program she learned of while speaking with one of her online classmates who works in a Florida hospital. The solution will be called “The File of Life” and will be launched October 1 as a pilot program run in conjunction with Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
The File of Life itself is a magnet with a small, plastic pocket that can be stuck onto one’s refrigerator. In the pocket there is a form where participating members can fill out medication and allergy information, emergency contact numbers and more. A small sticker with the EMS Star of Life will be placed above the doorknob on a participant’s front door, indicating to the Volunteer Corps that the File of Life is on the refrigerator. Should an emergency occur, ambulance personnel will know to find the file and bring it to the hospital. In addition to the window sticker, Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps will input into its computer system that participants have a File of Life so they will be instantaneously alerted to retrieve the file.
To educate the public about this program, the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps is sending a mailing to 6,500 homes throughout the village. As people respond, members of the Corps will deliver the File of Life to homes personally and even assist residents in filling out the requested information.
“We believe that this will help us serve the community better,” said David Raizen, President of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps. “Having a patient’s medical information immediately accessible to us will expedite treatment in the ambulance and at the hospital. We are pleased to partner with White Plains Hospital and hope that if we are successful, other community ambulance agencies and hospitals will adopt the program.”
“The File of Life should help us treat patients appropriately and quickly,” said Cannock. “We believe that this pilot program will show that with more information comes better medical results. We hope to collaborate with EMS agencies in other towns and make this a Westchester-wide program.”
For more information about “File of Life” please contact (914) 722-2288.
Scarsdale Synagogue to Hold Event for Lauren Spierer
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The Spierer family remains determined to find their daughter Lauren, missing since June 3rd from Indiana University in Bloomington. They are keeping her in the local and national spotlight through the media and by planning an upcoming event in town.
On September 3rd, the Spierer’s marked the third month of her disappearance and her mother's birthday with a letter on the newsonlaurens.blogspot . The letter is addressed to whoever is “responsible for Lauren’s disappearance” and charges them with a “heinous crime.” Charlene Spierer vows that they “will never give up” and ends by saying, “I am waiting to hear from you.” You can read the entire letter here.
On Monday September 5th Robert and Charlene Spierer appeared on the Today Show. They had recently been out to Indiana to clear Lauren’s things from her apartment and seen students returning to school for the fall semester. They ventured out on the streets of Bloomington in the early morning hours and saw students involved in risky behavior. Despite Lauren’s fate they saw many drunks students and a girl walking home alone. In a blog post about that night, Charlene Spierer wrote, “Recently, we decided to explore the environs of Bloomington at 3:00 a.m. It was shocking to see a lone girl walking home with no shoes shortly thereafter.
You can see the Today show interview here.
On the local front, Scarsdale Synagogue, where the Spierer’s are members, is hosting an awareness day for their missing congregant. The will hold a Bike/Walk for Lauren on Sunday September 18. They are asking supporters to meet at the Synagogue on Ogden Road in Scarsdale at 11:15 am for a moment of sharing, followed by a bike ride or walk on the Bronx River Parkway. The suggested donation is $54 and the funds will be contributed to the “Help Find Lauren Fund” at Indiana University Hillel.
