Sound Shore

The Westchester County Track and Field Championships were held at The New Balance Armory in Manhattan earlier today.

Look for the story in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. For a gallery of online photos, click here.

Antoine Mason (14) of New Rochelle goes for a shot against Mount Vernon Jan. 30, 2010 during the New Rochelle Varsity Basketball Rivalry Tournament in New Rochelle. New Rochelle won 62-58. Click here to check out more photos.

Tom McConnell is one of the many Americans mourning the loss of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Lee A. Archer, a New Rochelle resident and decorated member of the Tuskegee Airmen.

McConnell had a special connection to the Tuskegee Airman, America’s first black fighter group in WWII. They saved his life, and the lives of other bombardiers, many times during their service in 1944 and 1945, he said. The Tuskegee Airmen flew alongside bomber planes, making sure they got through their missions and returned.

The airmen never lost a bomber over some 200 missions.

McConnell said he was horrified by the poor treatment and discrimination the Tuskegee Airmen faced when they came back to the US. He met Archer years later, when they were both on a television show, and told him he was sorry for that.

Archer died Wednesday at age 90. Read Noreen O’Donnell’s story here.

From a press release:

The US Census office in Southern Westchester County is recruiting applicants for temporary positions with Census 2010. Most jobs pay $18 to $20 hourly, offer flexible hours and the convenience of working close to home. Bilingual skills are a plus. To qualify, applicants must be at least 18 and pass a multiple-choice employment test. The tests are offered daily throughout Westchester, including Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Port Chester and Rye. To register for a test, call (866) 861-2010 or (914) 705-5290.

Census forms will be delivered or mailed in March, and households will be asked to return the forms by Census Day—April 1, 2010. Census workers will visit households that do not return forms to take a count in person.

For more information about 2010 Census jobs, visit http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs

Shakespeare never goes out of style. And now Shakespeare-inspired works are coming to a stage near you.

The New Rochelle Council on the Arts has secured a $6,000 grant from a state arts group to host the Sound Shore Shakespeare Festival this spring. The festival will include performances, concerts, lectures, films and an art exhibit all inspired by the famous scribe. Professional and student artists 16 and up will be invited to submit interpretive works for consideration in the festival. The  goal of the festival to give local cultural groups a chance to interpret Shakespeare and to involve young people in the process.

The festival will take place over six weeks in April and May and details and dates be released soon. The Council on the Arts was one of 22 arts and culture programs around the state that got a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.

Port Chester firefighters battled a house fire at 47 Sands Street on Thursday afternoon.

Flames shoot out a third floor window at 47 Sands Street in Port Chester as firefighters arrive on the scene Jan. 28, 2010. There were no injuries reported. The top floor of the multi family home suffered extensive damage, and the rest of the home suffered smoke and water damage. ( Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News )Port Chester firefighters battled a house fire at 47 Sands Street in Port Chester Thursday afternoon.

To see more photos from the fire click here.

Emmy-award winning composer and original Trans-Siberian Orchestra member Mark Wood, and his band, the Mark Wood Experience, will teach and perform with Harrison music students.

Wood, who has performed with Celine Dion and Billy Joel, has made special arrangements for the Harrison High School Band. He will also be teaching Harrison Avenue, Purchase, Preston and Parsons Elementary Schools string instrumentalists and the Louis M. Klein Middle School orchestra in workshops on Feb. 5.

His visit will culminate with a performance with 325  Harrison music students on Feb. 6 at the Harrison Performing Arts Center, 255 Union Avenue.

Tickets are available for Electrify Our Band! The Mark Wood Experience at www.HBPAEVENTS.com or by calling (914) 552-8005.

Sound Shore Assemblyman George Latimer will host a community forum on Gov. Paterson’s proposed budget and invites the public to discuss it.

The hearing will be held Feb. 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Osborn, 101 Theall Road.

People’s comments will be limited to 4 minutes. No sign-up required. Statements will be shared with Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Call Assemblyman Latimer’s office at 777-3832 for more information.

(Photo by Ricky Flores)

The Pelham Art Center is partnering with the Pelham Public Library to hold a free art workshop series for seniors 60 and older. Reflections: Inside/Outside the Box is a series of workshops designed to enable participants to create memory boxes with artist Susan Kaufman and compose original poetry with writer Bill Wertheim. The project, sponsored by the Westchester Library System and Lifetime Arts, Inc. is free and will end with a public exhibit, reading and reception.

Workshops take place Wednesdays, Feb. 24 to March 24 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Pelham Art Center, 155 Fifth Ave., and on Mondays from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Town of Pelham Public Library, 530 Colonial Ave.  A ten-week minimum is required. To register or for more information, call 738-1234 or email contactus@pelhamlibrary.com.

Knotz Hair Studio in New Rochelle will host Hair for Haiti on Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The salon will offer haircuts for $20 and the proceeds will be donated to UNICEF. The salon is located at 241 E. Main St. Call 576-3931.