WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. March 31, 2004, Updated 2:20 P.M. E.S.T.: A 30 year old man, living at the Open Arms Shelter & Social Service Center at 86 East Post Road, is being considered a suicide by police after he fell into the path of a pedestrian at the corner of Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Martine Avenue, apparently, police said, falling from East Garage of The Galleria at 10:20 P.M. Tuesday evening. He was taken to Westchester County Medical Center Trauma center and died at 12:30 A.M.

Deputy Director of the Open Arms Shelter, Terri Dicosmo, told WPCNR Wednesday afternoon, that she did not recall the person, and that homeless people are welcome to stay at Open Arms until 10 PM each evening when they are then bused by the Department of Social Services to the county homeless shelter at Westchester County Airport. She was checking to see if the man had registered Tuesday evening before he fell to his death.

Lieutenant Nick Kralick of the White Plains Department of Public Safety said no note had been found at the scene, and that the man had not been wearing a shirt when he fell. Officer Kralick told WPCNR friends of his at the Open Arms Shelter had reported that the man, Claude M. Riddick, 30 years old, “indicated he may have been depressed.”

Kralick said nothing in the medical report indicated the man had been inebriated, but the police were waiting for toxicology reports from the Medical Examiner. Kralick reported that “a woman with the same last name,” had reported a conversation with Mr. Riddick, in which he talked about “the saving power of God,” and that he seemed “depressed.” Kralick said the police were attempting to find out if Mr. Riddick had been receiving medical help for depression. “At this time, we’re looking at it (his death) as a suicide,” Kralick said.

When asked if Open Arms Shelter had counselors on duty at the time of  Mr. Riddick’s fall, Kralick said, no counselors were available at that time of night at the shelter. 

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 31, 2004, UPDATED 3:00 P.M. E.S.T.: Mack Carter, Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority, said today that Operation Early Read, would not end early as theorized in a news article on the Early Read program last Sunday. “I had a pleasant conversation with Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors Tuesday, and the program will continue. The School District is going to work it out. We’ll come up with the money ($10,000).” Carter told WPCNR Wednesday morning. “It was just a small blip.”

That Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Connors,  speaking to WPCNR Wednesday afternoon said, “As I told you Monday night, this is a program the Board (of Education) is very supportive of and is very successful. Had Mack and I had a chance to discuss this, we would have all been on the same page.”

Connors said the program costs the School District $38,000 to administer, and that it was the Housing Authority decision to bus the students over to Berkeley College at a cost of $10,000. He said that he did not know at this time whether the Housing Authority was going to contribute, but Connors expected to use Federal Dollars in terms of Title I if they were available to assist in paying the extra $10,000. The Superintendent said he is having the School District Business office examine if there is any Title I money still available, but that the funding would be found. “It will go to the end of the year,” Connors said.

Connors added that The Journal News should have checked with the School District before reporting the program would end early.

Mack Carter, Executive Director of the Housing Authority, had been reported by The Journal News as saying the Early Read program that tutors over a hundred youngsters on Saturdays would end early.  Asked why he had not discussed this previously with Connors and how the paper could have gotten that impression, Carter said “That was the way they chose to report it.”

Superintendent Connors was disturbed Monday evening that a news report had been circulated by the Housing Authority that the Early Read program was ending early, without anyone from the Housing Authority talking to him about it since the School District runs the program and pays for it.

Asked what the money problem was, Carter said, the transportation costs (to Berkeley College in White Plains from the Winbrook complex) were too high. “I said there was the possibility we might have to end it a couple of weeks early,” Carter said.

Carter would not say where the money was coming from, the School District or the White Plains Housing Authority, just that “We’re going to work it out.”

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. March 30, 2004: The White Plains High fastpitch softball season began Tuesday, weather permitting with a pair of games at White Plains High School. Ted O’Donnell’s Varsity softball team and John Jay (Cross River) tied 1-1 in a scrimmage today at 3:30 on “O’Donnell’s Bluff” and the Junior Varsity under Alberto Minotta came back to tie, 5-5 on the lower softball field, playing in Arctic conditions. WPCNR talked to Coach O’Donnell about the make up of this year’s Varsity that was 17-5 last season. One thing is sure you’re going to see good starting pitching.

 

 

THE 2004 WHITE PLAINS HIGH VARSITY SOFTBALL TEAM: Photo by WPCNR Sports

Frozen Fast Pitch Season Starts.

 

 

O’Donnell said in an interview Friday that this year’s varsity was a “dedicated, hardworking group of kids excited to get on the field and play.”

 

He said he had not made up his mind on any particular lineup combination and was looking to this past weekend scrimmages in the Minisink Valley to make up his mind and see what order combinations worked the best.

 

He described the lineup, no matter what combination, as one “with no weak links,” with the ability to “string a lot of hits together.”

 

Taking the picket duty first, O’Donnell said he sees Erin Cook, a sophomore in left field, whom he described as an excellent outfielder with a lot of range. Offensively, he said, she gets better every year.

 

Captain Kelly O’Neil, one of four seniors on the team, is at first base. O’Donnell described her as a first team All County First Baseman as a Junior. At 5’ 11” in height, O’Donnell said her long arms and long legs are ideal for first base, giving her the ability “to bail out a lot of those throws wide or in the dirt.” He says she handles the bunt very well. At the plate he sees O’Neil as a clean-up hitter with power who doesn’t strike out a lot.

 

Abbotts Up the Middle: The sister combination of Sophomore Carrie Abbot at shortstop and  Junior Candace Abbott at second is “strong in the middle” O’Donnell said.

 

Coach Ted described Carrie Abbott,  as having “really grown in last year as a shortstop,” and that she played every inning of every game during the summer season. He says she has been getting stronger by working out, and that her arm is a lot stronger even since the summer and is very accurate. He describes her as totally fearless, able to hang in as runners bear down on her at second. At the plate he notes she is tough offensively, “coming into her own last year.”

 

Sister  and Captain Candace Abbot , a Junior,  starting for the first time at the keystone sack, is expert on the bunt rotation, according to the coach, coming in to cover first when first sacker O’Neil crashes the plate on a bunt attempt. At the plate, the coach says the summer experience helped give her confidence. He describes her as having “a tremendous eye-hand coordination, rarely strikes out, and explodes out of the box, going from 0 to 60 very quickly.”

 

Danielle Szabo, a freshman, is seen as a third sacker who can handle every single play at third. “She’s got quick reflexes, a strong arm and honed skills.”

With a stick, he says, she has power, bat speed, good hand-eye coordination

 

Behind the plate, Camille Marquis takes over the catching duties. O’Donnell said she caught all summer long and has become an excellent catcher with the reflexes to get out and handle the bunt well. He says she’s working on her mechanics, but has a gun for an arm that gets the ball “down there in a hurry.”

 

Marquis, O’Donnell says, “has so much power, good quick hands.” Marquis also plays the outfield.

 

Sandra Mastrangelo, an eighth grader, who catches and plays the outfield, O’Donnell says “is ready for the varsity experience,” because she impressed him in her stint in the 16-and-under games she played this past summer, and has grown “tremendously as a player, and instilled confidence.”

 

“That’s what summer ball is for. The summer experience (with his 16-under team), benefited her. It’s about getting experience at a highly competitive level with very little pressure. I don’t care about winning in the summer. What matters is the experience.”

 

Pitching: The Usual Suspects

 

Senior  and Captain Tara Pollard, starting on the Varsity since 8^th grade, twice all State Pitcher as a sophomore and Junior, will be the number 1 starter, with Sophomore Kelsey Kulk in the Number 2 slot.

 

“Every year Tara keeps getting better,” O’Donnell said admiringly. “She’s been competing for so long, I expected some drop off in motivation. But, she has such a strong work ethic, this year she’s worked harder than every to be the best she can be.”

 

League 1-A hitters will not rest easy knowing that Tara the Tiger has a new drop curve to go along with a rise, change, and curve. “She’s a warrior,” O’Donnell  said.

 

When Tara is not in the circle, she will play third base, where O’Donnell describes her as “excellent.” He also rates her 2004 stick as “the best I’ve ever seen of her offensively.”

When Tara is not in the circle, Kelsey Kulk of the Brooklyn Beach Girls will be on the hill. Kulk has played all over the country with the Beach Girls this winter against top gun fastpitch teams in California, Arizona and Florida all winter long, hitting over .350, and brings not only a mean competitive demeanor to the mound, but a bat that’s strong.

 

O’Donnell describes Kelsey as giving White Plains two strong pitchers, and recalled how she came in against Lakeland last year, stopped the bleeding, and ignited a comeback resulting in an extra inning win.

 

He said Kelsey is an excellent outfielder and will be the regular starter in centerfield.

 

 

 

COACH O’DONNELL WATCHES Ashley Encarnacao hit on “O’Donnell’s Bluff” at Friday’s Tiger Fastpitch practice. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

Ashley Encarnacao, a sophomore, also a pitcher is seen as an outfielder. He says Ashley has bought into being a member of the team, and is accepting her role in the outfield as in the best interest of the team. “It’s a new position for her,” O’Donnell said, “She can play, has tremendous bat speed and power.”

 

 

Christine Younkin, a Junior,  in her second year on the varsity, plays the outfield, and brings more power to the plate, and O’Donnell says he is “anxious to see that power.

 

Emily Lettieri, a senior, in her second year on the varsity is a veteran of many summers on O’Donnell’s summer team, playing on it since eighth grade. He describes her as an experienced player, able to play the outfield and the infield.

 

A Smaller Grittier League 1-B (Renamed AGAIN!)

 

You can’t tell the leagues without a decoder in Westchester-Rockland sports, because they change the league alignments and the names every year.

 

O’Donnell described the new League 1-B which will see the Tigers competing with New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Ossining, Scarsdale, Ursuline and  Yorktown. He sees New Rochelle as being very strong, and a formidable “contend-a.” He  singled out Ursuline as another fastpitch force, which features Vickie Sconzo and Tara Kushman, two White Plains players on the club.

 

 

THE WHITE PLAINS HIGH VARSITY SOFTBALL SCHEDULE. Photo by WPCNR Sports

 

 

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 30, 2004: Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors flat-out denied a published report that the School District plans to cancel a reading program (Project Early Read) it administers for Winbrook-based students at Berkeley College Saturday mornings. Angrily swatting the front page of the Sunday Journal News Local News section, Connors told WPCNR, “This is wrong.” He said he would be contacting Mack Carter, Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority to work out a solution to the transportation problem that he said is behind the problem.

The article conveying the impression the School District was cancelling the program was a blindside to Connors. “We run this program and we have no plans to cancel it,” Connors said, and at no time did the District ever inform the Housing Authority or Berkeley College it was stopping the program. The District runs the program at a cost of $40,000. Winbrook advocate, Ron Jackson, contacted by WPCNR wondered why The Housing Authority’s Thomas Slater Center couldn’t host the program, rather than Berkeley College, if transportation was suddenly a problem.

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WPCNR MAMARONECK AVENUE AMBLER. By John F. Bailey. March 29, 2004: Famiglia, an immigrant success story, opened at Mamaroneck Avenue and Martine Monday, and donated all of Monday’s proceeds (not just profit), to the St. Agnes Children’s Hospital in White Plains. The family owned business that has 9 stores in Manhattan and occupies choice New York Gateway locations Newark Airport and LaGuardia Airport, and is the official pizza served in Yankee Stadium gave media freeloaders a taste of the Famiglia difference.

 

A REPORTER’S REPORT: Freeloading scribes sampled slices of Pizza Fresco: a delicious tomato and basil combination on ricotta Monday noon at brand new Famiglia on the Mamaroneck & Martine crossroads. Two out of two journalists agreed Famiglia’s crust is light and tasty, ingredients full-bodied, and seasoned to perfection. “Best Pizza crust I’ve ever had,” said Jim Benerofe of suburbanstreet.com. The difference: their crust is made with pure virgin olive oil imported from the Frosinone region of Italy (between Naples and Rome). The tomatos are from California, the sauce home made. There is no lard or vegetable oil in the dough, and you can tell because it leaves  no greasy, fatty patina on your fingers.. The restaurant, one of whose owners, Dad Tony Kolaj lives in White Plains, opened Monday and turned over all Opening Day receipts to St. Agnes Children’s Hospital. They are open 10 AM to 10 PM. They also serve a full 18″ Large Pizza for just $18. Photo by WPCNR GourmetCam.

 

 

RUSTY SCISSORS:  George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer commented the Mayor’s opening day ribbon cutting scissors were getting worn out from the number of openings Mayor Joseph Delfino is presiding over lately. Right to left at Monday’s Famiglia Opening are: John Kolaj, Chief Operating Officer, Paul Kolaj, (red shirt) President of Famiglia-DeBartolo, Mayor Delfino, Pascal Daka, (in hat) uncle to the Kolaj sons, his sister, Jane, and Rosa Kolaj, their mother, whose name appears on the Famiglia Extra Virgin Olive Oil that makes their pizza dough so outstanding, and Theresa Romano of the Mayor’s Office, (holding the ribbin.) Photo by WPCNR GourmetCam.

QUALITY CONTROL THE DIFFERENCE: Famiglia owns 27 stores around the country. John Kolaj (of Armonk)  told WPCNR that in order to maintain the “New York taste,”  New York water is shipped to all their stores nationwide to use in Famiglia pizza dough. Tomatos are imported from California. His brother Paul, President of the chain said that the firm was recently joined by the Dibartolo Corporation, which is now a 50% partner in the operation. The Dibartolo family owns the San Francisco 49ers football team, and Eddie Debartolo, Jr., became familiar with the Famiglia taste when introduced to it at George Steinbrenner’s luxury box at Tampa Legends Field where the New York Yankees train. The Famiglia brothers ran into the Debartolos again at a national restaurant convention in Las Vegas, had some talks and Mr. Debartolo bought half the business. Kolaj said that Debartolo told him that the taste of Famiglia and its concentration on original Italian ingredients “reminded him of family,” and that was a major factor in persuading Mr. Debartolo to partner in the business.  Paul Kolaj added that the firm has plans to expand to university markets, too, they currently furnish pizza to Photo by WPCNR GourmetCam.

Look for Mama Rosa’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil when you vist Famiglia at Mamaroneck & Martine. Famiglia is open from 10 AM to 10 P.M., seven days a week, does deliveries, and may be reached at 328-4444. The website for the business chain is www.famousfamiglia.com. Photo by WPCNR GourmetCam.