THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR MAIN STREET LINE. From Rick Ammirato, The Mayor’s Office. October 15, 2003: Throughout the month of September, the residents of White Plains, NY took the advice of Mayor Joseph Delfino and Real Simple magazine by cleaning out their cluttered closets, overstuffed garages and messy basements in a unique community-wide fund raising effort to help get organized for their own good and to benefit a good cause – Family Services of Westchester.

ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, THE COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER on the streets of downtown White Plains to celebrate getting organized and shop for some bargains from among the nearly 10,000 items collected from the community.  And shop they did.  The campaign raised $50,000 to benefit Family Services of Westchester, a non-profit organization that has been serving the Westchester community for 50 years.  Specifically the funds will be used to renovate and modernize the client services waiting area of FSW’s White Plains office and turn waiting time into productive time. Official City of White Plains Photo By Rick Ammirato, The Mayor’s Office.

HANDING “THE HANDLE” ON OVER: Grant Schneider of White Plains, Associate Publisher, Marketing, Real Simple Magazine presents a $50,000 check to Tom Sanders, President, Family Services of Westchester. L to right are Scott Hancock, Advertising Manager, Palm Inc.; Anne Martin, Marketing Director, Westpoint Stevens; Casey Preist, Vice President Marketing, The Container Store; Grant Schneider, Tom Sanders, President, Family Services, and “America’s Favorite Mayor,” Joseph Delfino. Official City of White Plains Photo by Rick Ammirato, The Mayor’s Office.

“We appreciate the support of Mayor Delfino and are honored to be the beneficiary of Real Simple magazine’s Get Organized America,” said Tom Sanders, President of Family Services of Westchester.   “Just like Real Simple magazine and Mayor Delfino, our organization is dedicated to improving lives.  This contribution will go a long way to help a lot of people.”

Residents shop in one of the big tents on Main Street last weekend. Official City of White Plains Photo by Rick Ammirato of The Mayor’s Office.

Real Simple magazine’s Get Organized America made it easy for residents to donate their clutter.  The month-long donation drive offered house calls; drop boxes for small items and a manned donation center.  To give residents the tools and know-how, Real Simple and its sponsors, The Container Storeâ, MasterCardâ, Martexâ, Volkswagen and Palm Inc., distributed free organizing kits and hosted a series of free organizing seminars.

For more information visit WWW.GETORGANIZEDAMERICA.COM  or call 1-866-4-DECLUTTER (1-866-433-2588).

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. October 15, 2003: City Hall reports that a male deer with a full set of antlers was first spotted about  10:15 A.M. Tuesday morning, clip-clopping at a good clip down Martine Avenue having just cleared a wooden barrier. The deer was in a panic, George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer reported, amd sought refuge by bolting into the Creations Plus beauty salon on Martine Avenue.

TASER GUN: Photographed at a recent WPPD News Conference on the Crime Rate. White Plains Police Officers carry this crowd control device which they used to immobilize the deer cornered in Creations Plus Tuesday Morning. WPCNR News File Foto.

Officers responding used a Taser dart to stun the animal. Gretsa said it was a tough situation for the police, reporting the deer to be a medium sized animal. “Obviously, they could not shoot it,” Gretsas explained given the number of persons in the area. He said an officer used a Taser gun which shoots a dart on an electric cord to shock and temporarily immobilize. While the dear was stunned, officers “hog-tied” the deer, in preparation for relocating it to the woods, but unfortunately, Gretsas reports, the animal expired. He was to be buried in the Gedney yard.

Gretsas described the police as very sad they could not save the deer, and said that perhaps the stress of the situation proved too much for the animal.

Jim Benerofe, of suburbanstreet.com, notes that deer have wandered into White Plains before. He recalls one jumping into the window of a jewelry store about a decade ago on the first floor of the Bar Building. Five years ago a black bear wandered into White Plains, along Mamaroneck Avenue near Bryant. Then the Police were able to tranquilize the bear with a sharpshooter’s tranquilizer dart and were greatly admired and praised for saving the bear’s life.