2015 Salutes and Salvos

Salute to Buchanan resident Nancy Vann for standing by her principles and refusing to budge from a tree on her property that Spectra workers were prepared to cut down to make room for an expanded gas pipeline.

Salvo to Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino for allowing Spectra to rip through county-owned Blue Mountain Reservation in Cortlandt and tear down hundreds of trees.

Salute to Yorktown Town Clerk Alice Roker for her 25 years of service. It may be goodbye for now, but it’s likely not farewell to her career in politics.

Salute to the Hendrick Hudson School District for publicly displaying the colleges its graduating students are attending on the message board in front of the high school.

Salvo to local school districts that continue to mislead students and parents by claiming they don’t rank students when, in fact, they do. Incidentally, such lists are part of every student’s official transcript and can be obtained for college applications.

Salute to Somers High School freshman Jared Heller for taking an active role in raising awareness about juvenile diabetes.

Salvo to the Cortlandt Parks and Recreation Department for tying up soccer goals at Sprout Brook Park, preventing residents from playing friendly pickup games.

Salute to Cortlandt Councilman Frank Farrell for spearheading the creation of the Cortlandt Rowing Club, which has quickly garnered community interest.

Salute to Yorktown Councilwoman Susan Siegel for her comprehensive recaps of town meetings that provide an invaluable service to residents on the inner workings of government.

Salvo to Kohl’s and other department stores that have eliminated giving out boxes with purchases. And then they wonder why more people do their shopping online.

Salute to Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina for setting up a fund to help families when a fire left them homeless.

Salvo to Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for acting like a punk and initiating fights throughout the game vs the Carolina Panthers, setting an awful example for so many youth who admired him for his gifted skills catching the football.

Salute to Cortlandt WATCH for 30 years of advocating responsible development and supporting many environmentally-friendly ordinances.

Salute to the customer service employees at ShopRite in Cortlandt for consistently demonstrating what customer service means.

Salute to The Quiet Man Public House in Peekskill for sponsoring the annual Polar Plunge for the last four years to support the This Is Me Foundation.

Salute to Yorktown Councilman Vishnu Patel for his tireless support of local scouts and enthusiastically sharing his knowledge of science with students in area districts.

Salvo to the Section 1 football committee for pulling its championship games out of Mahopac without so much as a hint of a Plan B for “Championship Weekend” last November.

 

Salute to Croton-Harmon hoops Coach Bill Thom on his well-deserved induction into the NYS Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

Salute to Lakeland field hockey Coach Sharon Sarsen and the Hornets on an unprecedented 7th NYS Class B championship.

 

Salute to Ossining girls’ basketball Coach Dan Ricci on an unprecedented third-straight NYS Class AA championship.

 

Salute to Husker gird star Nick Santavicca on becoming the all-time rushing leader at Yorktown.

 

Salute to Somers basketball Coach Chris DiCintio on getting the Tuskers back to the Section 1 Final 4 for the first time since 1992.

 

Salvo to any of the local school districts that think an Athletic Director’s position should be a part-time gig.

 

Salvo to manufacturers who issue coupons requiring the purchase of two or more items.

Salute to all volunteers and veterans for their selfless dedication and sacrifices.

Salute to local businesses who advertise in Examiner Media and make it possible for us to keep delivering the small news that is big news for the municipalities we cover.