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 SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2012:

 At the Final Board of Education meeting of the year, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Clouet commented on the Food Fight “incident” that Clouet said took White Plains High administrators by surprise when it erupted in the high school cafeteria last Thursday. He said names of the students involved would not be released to the media 

Clouet indicated the fate of the identified participants is uncertain, pending Superintendent’s Hearings for each student. Previously senior participants in the unprovoked food fight (it was just started as a so-called “senior prank,” deteriorating to the point where  “water” balloons of urine were alleged to be thrown, according to students who were there.

No parents addressed the Board during the public comment portion of the meeting expressing concern about the incident.

Clouet told the attendees at the Board meeting,  the so-called senior prank

“went a little awry and unfortunately a food fight that developed and it was an embarrassing situation, and just like  in any family some things happen that you’re not proud of. This would be that kind of moment for us.”

“With that said, most of the kids at the high school were not even aware of it (the food fight) at that time, certainly regulatory had no information of any kind. It did not result in any kind of fisticuffs or arrests or things like that, but it was unseemly that type of behavior.  The high school administrators and the teachers did a great job getting  kids  back in the classrooms safely. The rest of the day was uneventful. There were no serious injuries.

“In any event, we were not happy about it. The investigation into who was responsible for organizing it  is  well underway and there already have been some suspensions and we have already scheduled Superintendent hearings to discuss further acts of discipline .

“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. It does not reflect most of the kids in our school. Take one of those (copies of The Orange, the high school newspaper), with you (and he opened to the center spread showing college acceptancees’ pictures) in the middle you will see a listing of all the seniors and all the colleges going to. This is what represents White Plains High School. Not that unfortunate incident.”

Clouet told WPCNR before he spoke to the meeting  that 6 Seniors had already been suspended, but it has not been decided whether those seniors will be excluded from participating in High School graduation June 21 as had been previously told to WPCNR by sources  who said they were familiar with calls that went out to parents of those seniors.

Clouet said some  students from other classes had “high-jacked” the event, and they are in the process of being identified and Superintendents’ hearings  scheduled. WPCNR asked how many, Clouet said 10 to 15 students will be talked to about participation in the incident.

He said that the high school nurse had reported two him two injuries, a girl with a “badly sprained ankle, (not broken),” and a student whom Clouet did not know was a boy or girl, hit upon the head with an apple. He said no student was hospitalized.

Asked if slingshots had been used to launch projectiles of food, Clouet said he was uncertain. He said White Plains Police did not play a role in stopping the incident and were only asked to come after the incident was over, to assure that that the incident did not start again during school dismissal.

Asked to comment on the YouTube videos posted by students after the incident showing students stampeding down the halls with no sounds of public address system announcements heard, Clouet said there were announcements, but bullhorns were  not used by security personnel. He said administrators were called in from other schools in the district. He reported it took  10 to 15 minutes to stop the food fight.

He assured WPCNR  that next year’s senior class would be told in no uncertain terms  to “make sure this  doesn’t happen again.”

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WPCNR Theatrical Review by  John F. Bailey. June 9, 2012:

 

Westchester’s living “Hall of Fame” of musical theatre, Westchester Broadway Theatre staged a wallapaloosa revival of the 1968 Tony Winner, George M last night in a solid, star-spangled Independence Day treat for the entire family. 

 

 

The Man Who Owns Broadway:

John Scherer as the man who created musical theatre, George M. Cohan 

Photos Courtesy, Westchester Broadway Theatre by John Vechiola

 

GM is as big, brash and bold as George M. Cohan himself. This express of a musical takes you from vaudeville to modern Broadway Theatre is stopping in Elmsford only to July 1,  so get your ducats now at (914) 592-2222 or go to www.broadwaytheatre.org. You have no time to waste. Call now!

 

 

WBT has even brought back Mr. Cohan himself – the flying footed, hard- tapping, indefatigable, belting, brash, confident, swaggering, charismatic John Scherer who is George M himself. He has the persuasive chatter of the legendary showman:  “It’s all true, but it’s going to be,” he tells his landlady Mrs. Grimaldi (when he and his family are struggling to pay the rent). He’s the bluster, the swagger, the spirit, the hope of America itself.

 

 

Mr. Scherer belts all the Cohan classics: from the signature Give My Regards to Broadway (above) when George M is heading to England to bet his all on his first  real musical: Little Johnny Jones, to his patriotic spectaculars that never fail to lift the heaviest heart: You’re a Grand Old Flag, Over There, Yankee Doodle Dandy (composed after his breakup with his first wife),  and his wonderful Irish duet with Jim Walton (who plays George’s father) in a mock fisticuffs number, Harrigan — the best I’ve seen staged of that song.

 

Scherer brings the audience to a hush in the dramatic scene in Act II when, coaxed to come back to the stage late in life, he realizes the musical theatre he invented has changed.This is an aching, poignant moment. His moves of realization are just right, the audience feels his anguish as they feel his joy. Not many musical leading men can turn that believable schmaltz on…but he can. And the audience still goes home happy.

This musical takes you from Vaudeville to the  Broadway musicals of the 20s and 30s which followed the format George M. Cohan invented.

 

 

The choreography of  Jonathan Stahl is consistently entertaining sold by the hardest- tapping, furiously footing stylish dance team in months (the raised stage platform which rises from the stage was trembling during the  Grand Old Flag above)

 

The lighting by the magician, Andrew Gmoser, showed so many variations on red. The scene change from Lyric Theatre to Old Glory waving was spectacular, stunning the Opening Night crowd who were just awed.

 

The scenic device of using different prosceniums of different theatres as Mr. Cohan and the three other members of  the Cohan family travel from town to town, is a stroke of genius in design from setman John Carrell. The costumes– evoking the glamour, the parasols, the waist coats, the tuxedoa, the “class” of the period– by Leon Dobkowski–simply gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

The Cohans auditioning in Act One before a producer without vision : Jim Walton as father Jerry, Melodie Wolford as Nellie Cohan, John Scherer as George M. and the belter, Amanda Trusty as sister Josie

 

In Act One, Jerry Cohan, is seen performing a vaudeville act in Providence from the back of the stage looking out at the imaginary audience.  Nine yearold Victoria Dennis of Mt. Kisco runs on stage to tell him his son, George is being born. Thoughout the show the different stages are as much of a star as this dream team giving this show their all. 

 

You see performances from the side, from the front, each theatre stage using the the rotating proscenium stage. Last night’s GM at WBT is a tour de force of how theatre makes “make-believe” real.

 

Mr. Scherer is backed with another WBT galaxy of complimentary actors who perform many swing roles as GEORGE M creates the show biz of the past

 

ANNIE-ESQUE!

 

Katherine Heaton(right) playing the actress Fay Templeton, is with scene stealer Gabriella Palminteri of Bedford. Little Ms. Palminteri, daughter of actor Chaz Palminteri played the role on the performance WPCNR saw and was delightfully precocious, poised and perky, showing excellent comic timing in her appearance in Act I telling George M’s father during a performance of George M’s birth, while forthrightly singing Mary’s a Grand Old Name to demonstrate to Ms. Templeton how good the song was. Very “Annie-esque!” 

 

Katherine Heaton as Templeton radiates turn of the century pulchritude in a spectacular emerald green dress lit immaculately in enchanting emerald hue.  agrees to play in George M’s and Sam Harris’s first production when she sings Mary’s a Grand Old Name in Act Two. The audience is so moved by Ms. Heaton’s rich colorature voice and haunting treatment of this marvelous ballad. She thrilled the audience, producing sentiment and wonder — easily the most striking solo performance in the show. What a voice Ms. Heaton has!

 

The entire scene in Harris’s offices is a comic delight to start the second act as George M fast-talks and sells his musical Forty-five Minutes from Broadway to backers and lures Ms. Templeton. Gary Lynch as Sam Harris is a game comic foil to Mr. Scherer’s bombast in this Act II opener.

 

Scherer’s rapport with father, Jerry, played by Jim Walton is very believable. Scherer and the three other dancing Cohans, Nellie (Melodie Wolford) and sister Josie (Laura Schutter) makes an attractive family. The scene where George M is celebrating Opening night at Rector’s Restaurant  where they sing All Our Friends is particularly winning to the audience. In it George M bequeaths half his creative works to his father. Well-played.

 

Act One shows how Cohan fights through rejection and continues to believe in his talent, defending his creations, being loyal to his family, and his lesser-known songs acquaint us with the show biz life.

 

From the opening notes of You’re a Grand Old Flag starting the show, the stage band of Leo Carusone and his sidemen (Patrick Kelly, keyboards; Ken Ross, percussion; Ron Kozak,reeds; Ron Raffio,Bass; Dave Olson, trumpet) deliver a bed that is supportive, just right, and makes the “grand old bigger-than-America songs” glitter and gleam beneath the cast’s fill-the-theatre voices.

 

The glamorous scene, The Man Who Owns Broadway is distinguished by various marquees of the theatres Cohan owned, The Lyric and The Savoy,  is played so well by the irrepressible Mr. Scherer, as he refuses to accept unions, and decides to retire. The company sings about The Man Who Owns Broadway.

 

Mr. Scherer owns this show.

 

This loving, hard-working, fun-loving revival shows why Cohan is one of a kind.

 

George M. Cohan still can give you more fun and good feelings about your country and yourself to this day — 120 years after the songs in this show were written.

 

They couldn’t stop clapping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WPCNR DUMP NEWS. By John F. Bailey. June 4, 2012:

 

A spokesperson for the New  York State Department of Conservation confirmed to WPCNR this week  the cost of  sealing and closing the Tri Chloral Etylene-contaminated Gedney Landfill is going at least $2 million more beyond than the  $8 Million to $10 Million price  originally told the Common Council, which has yet to authorize financing for the entire clean-up.

 

Wendy Rosenback, spokesperson for the NYDEC told WPCNR that Martin Brand, Program Director of the Division of Materials Management for the DEC estimates the cleanup, scheduled to begin in July, will cost the city $10 to $12 Million.

 

WPCNR has been told by sources that the Common Council has been informed privately in a non-public meeting  within the last three weeks with the city Department of Public Works the cleanup could cost as much as $14 Million and a request to float more in bonds for the additional financing was met with dismay to say the least. Whether the figure is  as high as $14 Million has not been confirmed by any member of the Common Council, but the DEC today confirmed it is going to soar higher than the $8 to $10 Million the Department of Public Works originally estimated.

 

When WPCNR contacted Common Council members to see if the $14 Million figure had been related to them, Councilmen David Buchwald, Dennis Krolian, and John Martin all said the cleanup project was still in the bid process and they had not heard that price from the Department of Public Works.  Councilwoman Beth Smayda said she did not recall a meeting on that topic and Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona wrote  WPCNR she was not at any such meeting. Councilman Benjamin Boykin did not respond.

 

WPCNR called Joseph Nicoletti, Commissioner of Public Works and left a message  and asked him if the DEC’s Brand was correct, and if the $14 Million figure had been disclosed to the Council or was closer to $12 Million. Mr. Nicoletti so far has not responded.

 

The  DEC and the City Department of Public Works have been formulating a plan for remediation, sealing and closure of the dump since 2005 when the DEC informed the city it has to deal with the TCE-contamination that had been seeping into the Mamaroneck River estuary flowing through the dump. The city had previously ignored the TCE-contamination since 1976, which was left over from when a dry cleaning establishment was located adjacent to the dump. As part of the process he city has also been directed by the DEC to resod the Our Lady of Sorrows Softball Field adjacent the dump

 

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TO RENT VACANT OFFICE SPACE, OF COURSE!

WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. June 6, 2012:

Our Roving Photographer captured this tour of a inquiring family of Canadian Geese this afternoon crossing busy Mamaroneck Avenue.

Johnathan Denet, A Good Samaritan, and owner of Westchester Gutter Supply (914-552-8134)stopped his van (left), exited his vehicle and halted traffic to aid the inquiring visitors, at his own risk.

JONATHAN DENET, WHAT A GUY!

Mr. Denet said he saw several cars whiz by, honking at the geese and had to do something. “I’ve always been an animal lover and I didn’t want to see them hurt.”

Mr. Denet’s brother is a White Plains Police Officer.

WPCNR is pursuing an inquiry at City Hall to see whether the city is going to install geese crossing lanes at key intersections.

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WPCNR MILESTONES. June 6, 2012:

Sixty-eight years ago this morning, thousands of troops stormed the beaches in Normandy, France in the largest invasion in history.    The bloody assault against a heavily defended coastline, requiring incredible courage and sacrifice by allied troops, landing craft, paratroops, signalled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich and the regime of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The quiet beaches of Normandy today. The hundreds of rows of white crosses in cemetaries around the little town bear silent eternal vigil to the sacrifice of those brave men and women who fought, died, and triumphed this day 68 years ago today.

We can in no way, or through any motion picture know what any veteran experienced. The veterans who still are with us do not like to talk about their combat experiences. And they do not.

One veteran of D-Day, asked what he thought of Saving Private Ryan and the realism of it, said the real D-Day was worse. However, veterans we have interviewed remark that they think of their combat experience every day. It is always with them.

It is inconceivable to me that I could ever be able to do what these men and women did. I would like to hope I could. However, the veterans have.

They left ordinary lives as office workers, factory workers, farmers, accountants, and what have you and were able to go to war and “rise to the occasion,” or as they say today, “step it up to the next level.” The highest level.

Few of them are left now. But today their sacrifice should be remembered.