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 ROCK AND ROLL RADIO with KKIX’S BIG MELVIN MEAD, Host of Your Rock N Roll Party on Big Music Radio 1440, the Man in the Crazy Sport Jacket. October 27, 2008: Hey, Gang, White Plains Own Westco Productions threw a Saturday Night Rock N Roll Party honoring Pamela Rapp, Managing Director of the Irvington Town Hall Theater rocking Ms. Rapp for her role in restoring the ITHT (a replica of old Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.) and turning it into an arts “destination” on the Hudson River with original programming and they did it with two originals and a host of rock all-stars, Flo and Eddie – the Turtles!

I NEED SOME GAS MONEY! Flo (Mark Volman) left, and Eddie (Howard Kaylan)  “The Turtles” reprise the obscure gem Saturday night at “The Irv”  with New Ro’s Donnie Ice on Bass of Alice Cooper, Rick Derringer and Shondells fame,  and Greg Hawkes of The Cars on the Keyboards

Steve Sledzik (left), President,  and White Plains Susan Katz, Executive Director of Westco Productions (celebrating its 29th Year), present Pamela Rapp with her “Westie,” Star for her service to the Irvington Town Hall Theatre since 1983 where she lead the complete restoration of the Theater from seating to sound system and has created a community and county “theatre destination.”

 New Yawk’s own Glen “660 Man  (6 Jokes In 60 Seconds)” Anthony opened the evening. He told  200 jokes in 45 minutes, keeping the laughs and the hoots coming, one after another. The jokes are a comic’s perfect jokes. Mr. Anthony tells all the great Henny Youngman gags and modern absurdities in the one-liner style Henny made famous he has made uniquely his own. Anthony has mastered the perfect joke: short, fast funny and you forget them immediately after you’ve heard them, so when you hear them again they’re funny all over. Sample:  “I saw an ad in the paper: If you have a drinking problem, call this number. I called, it was a liquor store.”

Flo (foreground) and Eddie reprise The Cars hit You’re Just What I Needed, with original Car on Keyboards, Greg Hawkes.

Happy Together — The Turtles finish off the concert with their classic “Happy Together” to a standing ovation from the throng.

 Then came the legends — the Turtles – who brought back their unique feel good driving sound of the 60s with their steady rocking founders Flo and Eddie rockin  da house with one hit after another.

Howard Kaylan (Eddie) spotted an album held by an audience member in the front row and showed the historical artifact to the audience and explained what it was. After the concert, a unique highlight of Westco concerts, the autographing signing (below) continued where Flo and Eddie signed Turtles original albums, pictures and pieces of the rock and roll past.

My main lady,  Susie the K (for Katz) the woman who springs rock live on unsuspecting stuffy Westchester  welcomed the near sellout throng of Flo and Eddie fans who brought their Turtles albums for Mark Volman (Flo) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie) to sign.

The Turtles take over the house and wake up your dormant rockin souls ripping them out of your body and get the heart of rock roll beating again, getting you moving in your seats with their cascading sound. Flo and Eddie the legends are backed by an all-star rock team with them for years: Meat Loaf’s legendary drummer,  Joe Stefko who lifts you out of your chair with his swashbuckling thunder swats and smashes;  Greg Hawkes, keyboardist of The Cars, bringing the liquid rock organ cascades so unique to 60s upbeat hits; the clear-as-bell boss bass New Rochelle’s Donnie Ice (Kisselbach) formerly with Alice Cooper, Rick Derringer and Tommy James and the Shondells; and lead guitarist Joel Hoekstra of Big Brother and The Holding Company, REO Speedwagon,Stykx.  His chords just snarl at you. The Turtles turned the ITHT into a rockin good time fraternity party.

Flo flying on Guitar.

 They had everybody moving like they could 40 years ago – especially on the classic B side gem – “I Need Some Gas Money.”  They opened the show with “You, Baby, You,” “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” “She’s My Girl,” “My Obsession,”  and the feel good hits  that were the soundtrack of baby boomer lives in the late 60s and early 70s brought back in that sweet time before top 40 went all-talk.

Flo and Eddie who’ve been rocking for 46 years on the road always rock. Their humor and banter with the audience was engaging, and the show was non-stop straight ahead.

Mr. Sledzik and Ms. Katz listen as Ms. Rapp thanks Westco for the award.

Howard Kaylan (Eddie), Mr. Sledzik, Ms. Katz, Ms. Rapp, and Mark Volman (Eddie) Saturday night.

The event was followed by a toney After Party at Doubltree Hotel in Tarrytown  which saluted Pamela Rapp and also celebrated Westco’s 29^th anniversary.  Ms. Rapp was awarded the coveted “Westie,” crystal Star for her service to Irvington Town Hall and the arts.  

Mr. Volman and Mr. Kaylan  graciously circulated with the after party crowd, signing albums, posing for pictures and talking about their 46 years on the road. And, they said rock and roll would never last. Well, it has.

Your deejay was leaving the theatre after the show and we encountered two young people in their late teens who had come to the show, and I asked them if they liked it and they said they sure did. Rock and Roll is here to stay!

Suzy the K with Howard Kaylan.

I asked Mr. Kaylan (Eddie) how he kept rocking in his 60s. Kaylan said the band never rehearsed, because the songs on his “playlist” – which they jokingly refer to throughout their show – require down deep and mellow all the way to rasping, shouting lyrics (“No, No, No, It Ain’t Me, Babe.”). He said if they rehearsed their voices would not be able to handle the performance. He emphasized the need to go into each performance with a spontaneity that makes the hits the same but different  every night. He said that word quickly gets out among promoters if you’re just strumming the songs and mailing it in “In rock, it’s real or it’s not,” he said.

I asked Mr. Kaylan the story behind the very timely tune “I Need Some Gas Money.” It was a song I’d never heard before. Kaylan reminisced, saying he and his friend of 46 years, Mark Volman  listened to records (“all kinds of music”)when they were children in California, when Mark’s brother left home to go in the Navy he left a ton of 45 RPM records (the little records with the big hole in the middle), and they found “Gas Money on the B side of an old Jan and Arnie record. Years later they decided to record the song with all the band playing different parts. It was a song that electrified the theatre Saturday night! At least me, anyway.

Another great moment was the reggae song, I’m In a Dancing Mood, that Flo and Eddie recorded with the Whalers when they lived in Jamaica. This was another soul-swaying-theatre-involving moment, especially when they weaved the Bobby Freeman hit, Do You Wanna Dance into the tropical tempo.

We learned about Flo and Eddie’s 46 years of rocking on the road. They still do 50 performances a year. Flo and Eddie told us what happened to the Turtles when they dissappeared.

 It seems the Turtles got into a dispute with their record company and were sued and prevented from performing with the name, The Turtles. They were invited to join Frank Zappa for a 2 week gig and they stayed with Mr. Zappa touring the world for 2-1/2 years. Flo and Eddie eased into an astounding medley about those times (Don’t You Miss Your Hot Mama) of songs from the movie 200 Motels. The movie became   a cult hit that made fun of life on the rock and roll road. The medley captured the ethereal, psychedelic, psychotic, scintillating Zappa style with a mean hard suggestive beat that was rock and roll soul involvement at its best. It sure sounded good Saturday night.

White Plains Candyce Corcoran,left, and Brenda Starr were on the scene.

Saturday night the rock was real. Which raises the philosophical question, is rock and roll the only real honest thing left in America?   Have we become a country where the classic rock musician cares about honesty, purity and flavor, in an era where accountants cannot count, stockbrokers are broke, bankers cannot bank, and wealth is an illusion? But that’s for a Times columnist to decide.

Susie The K.

This is a busy week for my buddy, Suzie the K. Tomorrow Ms. Katz (a 1965 graduate of WPHS) as officially inducted into the White Plains High School Hall of Fame for her foundin of Westco Productions, at a ceremony at old WPHS at 3 PM Tuesday afternoon with companion inductees Philip Kent, ’72 CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, Lawrence Graham ’79, author and posthumously Dr. William Homan, ’65, surgeon.

Coming up next in the spring on Westco’s “soundtracks of your lives”  are Jay and The Americans (Come a Little Bit Closer), plus a double rockin bill featuring Orleans (Still The One) and the Buckinghams (Kind of a Drag, Susan, Don’t You Care ), and back by popular demand Gary Puckett.

 Remember, until Westco’s next rock n roll party, this dedication goes out to Susie the K, who through Westco Productions introduces Westchester’s kids to the performing arts, entertains the young in hospitals,  and through her concerts preserves  America’s music culture heritage.  Keep rockin’ gang, and remember “it’s not good-bye, it’s just good night.”

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. From Rob Tamboya. October 26, 2008:  The White Plains Downtown Residents Association will meet Monday evening at Vintage Cafe, 171 Main Street at 7:30 P.M.. focusing on real estate in the downtown. We have been doing much better than most areas of Westchester County. Regardless if you own or rent, or if you think it is a good time to sell, move, or perhaps someone told you it’s a buyers’ market, it is hard to get a fixed rate mortgage, WDRA will present three speakers to clear up your mind. 

Ann Bernstein, a top producer with Houlihan-Lawrence Realty will be discussing tends in the White Plains real estate market, and what we all should know and do in this market.

Dean Curtis, a mortgage broker in Bronxville will give a speech about mortgage financing and what’s great about our city in relation to other parts of the state and the country.

Susan Fitzpatrick, property manager for the Ritz-Carlton will be our last speaker, and she will talk about how the Ritz is coming along, and their plans to be outstanding neighbors.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE By John F. Bailey. October 23, 2008: Nineteen days Before  last Sunday’s fatal hit and run accident in Haviland Lane in White Plains,  Sheldene Campbell, the person charged with leaving the scene of that fatal accident,  was involved a police chase through three New Jersey communities.

New Jersey Police  monitored Ms. Campbell on a controlled pursuit  from Old Tappan through  the New Jersey communities of Park Ridge, Montvale and ending in Woodcliff Lake,  a distance of about 10 miles Tuesday September 30,  between 7:30 AM to 8:30  AM,  September 30, according to Woodcliff Lake Police Chief, Anthony Jannicelli, speaking to WPCNR today.  

Ms. Campbell was charged with Driving Under the Influence in the New Jersey pursuit, when a drug expert observed her behavior as consistent with drug induced symptoms, according to the Chief, toxicoilogy results are being awaited. The Chief said he immediately directed his arresting officers to notify White Plains Police of the New Jersy incident this past Monday, upon learning of the White Plains fatality.

Woodcliff Lake Police Chief  William Jannicelli told WPCNR News today his department first became aware of Ms. Campell when she had put her grandmother and 9 year old son out of her car in Old Tappan when Tappan Police reported that incident over the universal dispatch system in effect in Bergen County. He said Old Tappan has charged her in relation to that case.

Jannicelli said, Campbell’s  subsequent progress  through the three towns was followed on the police central dispatch system, and during Ms. Campell’s “erratic” driving, citizens reported to police she had  run over a person’s lawn and  a jogger reported just missed being hit by the red SUV Ms. Campbell was driving at the time.  Jannicelli said his officers saw Ms. Campbell turn onto the Garden State Parkway where they apprehended her.

In the car with Campbell, the chief said was a three year old  girl, her daughter.  The chief reported Ms. Campbell upon her arrest ,  was given a breathalyzer test, which was negative, however a drug expert suggested she be sent to Bergen Regional Hospital for evaluation. Jannicelli said they are awaiting toxicology tests back. Campbell, he said spent a week in Bergen Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office  asked if the warrant on Ms. Campbell that emerged Tuesday, had anything to do with the Woodcliff Lake incident, said he could not confirm whether the warrant as reported by the Journal News, was related to the incidents in Old Tappan and Woodcliff Lake. Previously the District Attorney’s office contacted by media would not disclose the nature of the warrant on Ms. Campbell.

A call is in to Old Tappan Police to see whether the warrant was issued by the Old Tappan Department.

Ms. Campbell’s unexplained reckless driving from Old Tappan to Woodcliff Lake occurred 19 days before the fatal hit and run accident in White Plains Sunday.

White Plains Police Wednesday afternoon say they are continuing to investigate the fatal accident Sunday  in which pedstrian  Marie Bucci, 65 died and in a separate incident, Roseanne Schiavone, 45, was injured.

White Plains Police have said that at this point they do not have information on what Ms. Campbell who is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in connection with the accident, was doing in the Havilands Lane area. The Police say there were no other persons with her in the car at the time of the White Plains accident.  They report no alcohol was involved.

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WPCNR TRACK SIDE. By Tim Sheehan. October 1, 2008: White Plains High School boosters who needed a warm up to the afternoon football game got to the High School in the morning to stave off the rain and cheer on the Tiger harriers to a 2^nd place finish for the women and 3^rd place finishers for the men at the 13^th annual Fred Gressler Cross Country meet.

Already making preparations for the arrival of over 25 area teams, WPHS Cross Country coaches Fred Singleton and Carlos Agudelo got a pleasant surprise when Cross Country powerhouse Pearl River called and advised that their scheduled Long Island race was cancelled; could they come over and run up and down the short but deviously steep hills of the WPHS course, set over the upper three levels of the expansive school property? “Come on over” was the reply and area running fans were able to watch Pearl River stars Mike Hickey and Chelsea Kushner capture the Varsity I race titles with times of 16:41 for the men and 20:20 for the women. 

The White Plains women’s’ team finished second to Pearl River in the Varsity I race, with freshman runner Elizabeth Trelstad finishing 6^th, sister Eleanor Trelstad finishing 8^th and sophomore Kelly Maguire finishing 10^th.  On the men’s’ side, White Plains finished third in the Varsity I race, behind winner Pearl River and second place finisher Yorktown.  Seniors Brian Broderick (3^rd) and Mike Dapice (7^th) and junior Matt Soyk (14^th) led the way for WPHS.  

Fred Gressler was the Girls’ Cross Country Coach at White Plains High School until his sudden death in June 1995, at age 48.  All proceeds from the meet benefit the Fred Gressler Scholarship Fund. 

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Andy Spano today asked heating oil companies in Westchester to work with their customers to renegotiate fixed-price contracts now that the cost of home heating oil has dropped dramatically.
       A survey of home heating oil prices released by the county’s Department of Consumer Protection just today shows the average price has dropped to $2.78 per gallon. That’s down 46.3 cents per gallon from the last survey on October 6, and down $1.689 per gallon from the peak in mid-July. 

       Typically, oil companies send out fixed  10-month contracts in June to customers. This year,  the typical home heating oil per month price rose 50%,  going in one case from $600 a month to $900 a month. This is  a story WPCNR first told White Plains about last June. In one instance fuel oil went from $2.10 a gallon last year to $4.40 a gallon this year. 

             “Some customers, particularly seniors who were worried that there was no end in sight to the cost of oil,  locked in rates over the summer when they were at their peak – about $4.50 a gallon,’’ said Spano. “These consumers are now locked into sky high prices, even though much lower-priced heating oil is available.’’

             In a letter to 69 home heating oil companies that do business in Westchester, Spano is asking them to be sensitive to customers in this situation. Spano said that while he understands that many oil companies are in the same boat since they purchased the oil at those higher prices, companies may have some leeway in pricing and should consider assisting customers, particularly those on fixed incomes.

         “We urge the companies to work with these customers and agree to terms that are more affordable, and will enable both the customers and the oil companies to make it through these tough times,’’ Spano said.

           Spano added that consumers should approach their companies to try to work out a deal. Companies may be willing to either reduce the fixed price or allow the customer to switch from a fixed-price contract to one with a price cap or variable rate. They may also agree to reduce the cancellation fee that is customarily charged to customers who cancel a fixed-rate contract.  But Spano said even if the fee is not waived, consumers might still save hundreds in oil costs if they cancel and renegotiate at the now lower rate.