The Hudson Independent: News for Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, NY

Sleepy Hollow is Halloween

And it all begins at the Old Dutch Church

Steve Sears
For The Hudson Independent

When ancient Gaels in Europe wore costumes and masks on Oct. 31 to appease the deceased — whom they believed caused sickness and hardships for the living — could they ever have envisioned a headless Hessian wreaking havoc and fright on “a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world”?

Washington Irving may not have, but he paved the way for future busy Octobers, although he at the time probably didn’t realize it. And call it what you will — an ancient house of worship, or one of the most legendary churches in America or indeed the world — the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow found a permanent place in many tourist guides following the 1819 publication of Irving’s “The Legend of Sleep Hollow.”

Rotary Club Honors Chairman of Editorial Board

The Rotary Club of the Tarrytowns recently announced that Robert Kimmel, founding member and chairman of the editorial board of The Hudson Independent, would be its “Person of the Year.” Kimmel and the newspaper will be honored at the club’s 8th Honoree Awards ceremony Nov. 12 at Tappan Hill.

According to JoAnne Murray, Rotary member and president of Allan M. Block Insurance, the Rotarians recommend people or organizations in the community that they feel emulate “service above self,” the club’s motto since 1910.

“The Hudson Independent and Bob Kimmel were chosen this year because of their dedication to the community,” Murray said. “Providing news to the community is [their] job [but] The Hudson Independent goes above and beyond by providing the non-profits with an opportunity to reach the community to let them know about their fundraisers, which in turn allows the community to support these events and the non-profits.”

Where Dinosaurs Rule the Night

Rob Schweitzer
For The Hudson Independent

Dinosaurs will roam the earth once gain this month in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. Only this time, they will be made of hundreds of pumpkins. Yes, pumpkins.

A massive Jurassic display is likely to be the key showstopper for this October’s Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor, where a team of artists come together to carve and display more than 4,000 pumpkins, many of them fused together in enormous and elaborate constructions, such as those that will make up the life-sized dinosaurs.

A Taste of Europe

Linda Viertel
For The Hudson Independent

When Sicilians shrug back their shoulders with a slight upward movement, tilt their head to one side and express bewilderment, they say, “Bo,” which means, “I don’t know.” When rivertown residents, coffee lovers and gelati aficionados say “Bo,” they mean Bo Café on Cedar Street in Dobbs Ferry, a new, casual, European wine bar and coffee house that is attracting folks who like an informal place to enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Freshly made muffins, Danish, croissants, coffee cake and signature scones are made daily by Executive Chef Marie Evans, previously at Tavern on the Green and an ex-member of the Pastry Chicks. Savoring a white chocolate raspberry scone is a gloriously decadent way to start the day, but for those who watch their calories, a low-fat raisin bran muffin is another choice.
 

The Play’s the Thing

Cagle McDonald is a gentle tour de force for community theater

Marcy Gray

If you or someone you know has been involved with community theater in the rivertowns during the past 15 years, the name Cagle McDonald is probably familiar.

McDonald, artistic director of the Clocktower Players, Irvington Town Hall Theater’s resident company, has been a driving force behind the quality and quantity of shows put on in the area.

Culinary Adventures

Jerry Eimbinder

The new airy bistro corner at William Winstanley’s Il Sorriso in Irvington offers wine by the glass for $5 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. plus free antipasto and a new $5-per-dish small plates menu. Wine choices abound and include pinot noir, merlot, cabernet, chianti, montepulciano, pinot grigio and chardonnay.  Bellinis, Mojitos and Daydreamers (Malibu rum, pineapple juice and sloe gin) are priced at $8. The small plates menu includes Little Neck clams baked with herbed bread crumbs, fried calamari accompanied by marinara sauce, mushrooms stuffed with onions, celery, bread crumbs and peppers, a grilled vegetable and mushroom plate with garlic scented olive oil and Bruschetta. Call 591-2525.

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Tarrytown School District Pledges to Fix Problems

Robert Kimmel

The Tarrytown school district is moving quickly to adjust technical flaws and some inadequate purchasing procedures found in a routine audit performed by the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, according to district authorities.

The audit covered the period from July 2006 to November 2007. The school budget for the fiscal year audited was more than $50 million. 

The district will “develop whatever policies and procedures are necessary to be in full compliance with all state regulations,” according to School Superintendent Howard Smith. “We are certainly taking all of the findings of the audit report very seriously,” he said in an issued statement. 

Tarrytown Development Watch

New homes on Unification Church property, a super supermarket proposal and waterfront issues

The summer calm is long over, and new development applications are hitting village hall.

The main action is at Tarrytown’s south end, on the Unification Church’s Jardim sites, all in Gracemere’s R60 zoning district. Seven of the initial 14 Emerald Woods homes are occupied or nearing completion. Site plan approvals have been issued for an additional five lots on the private road leading to Broadway, and another approval is pending. The original cluster subdivision included one additional lot, for which plans have not yet been submitted.

Irvington School Photo Wins Award of Excellence

The Irvington school district was recognized for outstanding achievement in educational communications by the New York School Public Relations Association with an Award of Excellence for “Tug of War,” a photograph taken by Debra Keiser, Irvington’s school communications specialist.

“Tug of War” catches a moment of joy as students celebrate Bulldog Day at Irvington’s Main Street School. The surprise in the photograph is the presence of school principal Raina Kor, whose face is seen in the background.

Keiser’s photo won in a contest that is among the largest of its kind in the nation with approximately 400 entries in 14 categories throughout the state.

The Support Connection

Tarrytown woman gives back after surviving cancer

Rick Pezzullo
For The Hudson Independent

Heeding advice from her mother, Harriet Bettman has kept the trials and tribulations during her 74 years of life in perspective by adhering to a simple Hebrew term, “bashert,” which means destiny, or as Bettman often refers to it, “what will be, will be.”

“My mother taught me life is not a bowl of cherries. Life has its pits,” said Bettman, whose family spans five generations in Tarrytown. “You have to roll with the punches. You have to rise above it."