Board may switch cuts in proposed school budget

Written by Matt Dalen
Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

Arts proponents may be able to start, cautiously, rejoicing. After two weeks of debate and heated public outcry over Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle's proposed 2010-11 budget, school board members last Thursday signaled their willingness to restore some proposed cuts to the elementary school arts program in exchange for cuts to the elementary school foreign language program and the eighth grade team structure. While the board’s opinions are not final, a majority of the board said they would like to restore two elementary school music teachers and one elementary school art teacher, at an estimated cost of $241,000 for the music teachers and $101,500 for the art teacher.

Download the superintendent's proposed budget here.

Lipton to run for re-election to school board

Written by Matt Dalen
Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

The first candidate in the 2010 school board election has thrown his hat into the race. One-term board member Mark Lipton has announced that he will be running for re-election.

“In this budget year, with so much going on, I feel like I’ve finally got enough experience that I can really make a difference when the district needs people who can make a difference,” Mr. Lipton told The Ledger. “I’ve got a daughter in the system, she’s got a hundred friends in the system, and it’s hard to pass up an opportunity to do that much good for that many people.”

What is the Kitchawan Wolf?

Written by Matt Dalen
Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

Wolf? Dog? Hybrid? Dubbed the “Kitchawan Wolf” by Wolf Conservation Center Managing Director Maggie Howell, an unknown canine was photographed on Lake Kitchawan last month by resident Abel Mendez. Mr. Mendez had been watching a pair of coyotes devouring a deer carcass on the frozen lake surface.

“All of a sudden, we see this other creature coming out, which is not a coyote,” Mr. Mendez told The Ledger. “The coyotes ... took off and were nowhere to be seen.”

Dooley's duties: More than just catching canines

Written by Jane K. Dove
Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

In the course of her myriad duties as Lewisboro’s dog warden, South Salem resident Joan Dooley has pursued a speedy great Pyrenees on foot down Route 35 in Cross River; solved the 18-month-long case of a wandering male yellow Lab that was looking for love in all the wrong places; and provided testimony in town court on many chronic barking and wandering dog disputes among neighbors.

Ms. Dooley, who reports to Town Clerk Kathy Cory, has always been an animal lover. She and her husband Bill have three dogs and two horses, including a one-ton percheron.

Land Trust seeks 'preserve stewards'

Written by Matt Dalen
Thursday, 18 March 2010 11:32

Want to be the Westchester Land Trust’s eyes and ears? The trust’s director of stewardship and conservation science, Damon Oscarson, is hoping to gather a group of volunteers to inspect and maintain trust-owned preserves, in a new “Adopt-A-Preserve” program.

Download a guide to the Adopt-A-Preserve program.

Download the program's monitoring form.

Town may revisit 'bubbles'

Written by Jane K. Dove
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 10:17

Katonah-Lewisboro school board member Peter Treyz came to the Town Board work session on Monday, March 1, to discuss ways the Town Board and the school board could interact to improve services and save money. Two ideas floated included putting “bubbles’ over town tennis courts and the town pool. “I think year-round recreation would be very appealing to town residents,” said Town Board member Peter DeLucia. “This is worth investigating.”

Town negotiating employee furloughs

Written by Jane K. Dove
Sunday, 14 March 2010 01:00

The town’s union and association members have yet to finalize the six days of planned employee furloughs the Town Board plans to implement. The furloughs are intended to help plug a shortfall in the town’s 2010 budget.

Town Supervisor Charles Duffy said Monday night that the town was still negotiating with the groups but no final decision as to furlough timing had been made. He has said in the past that he cannot implement the furloughs for some of the town’s approximately 50 employees and not the others.

Still no arrest of Goldens Bridge man who allegedly threatened police with machete last week

Written by Ken Mastro and Matt Dalen
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 10:53

Monday 2:52 p.m.

Police still have not yet arrested a Goldens Bridge man who allegedly threatened state police officers with a machete and drove his SUV through his garage and into a parked state trooper vehicle last week before finally being subdued by Taser. State police have told The Ledger that Steven Wengrover will be arrested once he is no longer under medical care. Also, The Ledger has learned from local police that Mr. Wengrover injured himself with an axe, cutting his arm.

Some houses still without power

Written by Ken Mastro
Sunday, 14 March 2010 23:06

As of 10:50 p.m., there were still houses without power in Lewisboro and Katonah as a result of yesterday’s storm.

In Waccabuc, houses did not have electricity on East Ridge Road, Perch Bay Road, and Tarry A Bit Drive.

In South Salem, outages were reported on Lake Kitchawan Drive and Lake Shore Drive.

And in Katonah, there were outages on Big Rock Loop, Forest Range Road, Outpost Road, South Mountain Pass, and Woods Ridge.

County revises plan to build affordable housing units

Written by Ken Mastro
Saturday, 13 March 2010 01:00

The county sent a revised implementation plan to meet the terms in last year’s affordable housing settlement yesterday, after it’s original plan was rejected by a federal monitor last month.