Sound Shore

Suzanne Clary, president of Jay Heritage Center, is charging that Westchester County recklessly drove through an area of John Jay’s childhood home believed to be an archeological site before dumping trash-filled dirt in the property’s empty pool.

“It’s a blatant disregard for the historic nature of the property,” Suzanne Clary of The Jay Heritage Center said of Friday’s pool dumping and tire tracks through what may be colonial slave gardens and an American Indian site.

A county spokesman  says the dirt was taken from Rye Playland is not toxic and the plan to fill the 11-foot-deep pool has been in the works for a while.

He also disputed that anything underground was damaged, adding the county plans to fix the tire trenches.

Read more about this in tomorrow’s Journal News.

Rye High School senior Amanda Owens has become the school’s first Intel Science Talent Search Competition semifinalist for her Alzheimer’s disease research.
“I wasn’t expecting it, so it’s pretty exciting,” the 17-year-old said last week as she eagerly waited to find out if she was among the 40 national finalists.

She will receive a $1,000 award as one of 300 semifinalists chosen from 1,736 high school students nationwide.

The high school also gets $1,000.

Owens spent a year at Weill Cornell Medical School in Manhattan studying with Dr. Paul Szabo for her project called “The Effect of IVIg on Human b-Amyloid and Amylin Aggregation.”

To find out more about Amanda’s project, read this Thursday’s Sound Shore Express.

(Photo by Carucha Meuse)

New Rochelle High School is hosting College Goal Sunday Feb. 7 which is an opportunity for students and families to complete financial aid forms online. Financial aid counselors will be available to answer questions, explain the financial aid application process, and help students submit an online financial aid application. College Goal Sunday is from 11AM to 3PM. The event is a service project of the NY State Financial Aid Administrators Association, and the NY State Higher Education Services Corp, the State financial aid agency funded by the Lumina foundation for Education. To participate, register online at www.collegegoalsundayny.com.

It would cost between $23 to $29 million transform a city-owned Boston Post Road property into a police station and courthouse, according to study findings made public last week.

What to do with 1037 Boston Post Road was hotly debated during November’s election when it was revealed the site, which now houses a children’s clothing store, may not be suitable for a new police station and courthouse because it floods.

With no clear plans for the property and facing a dismal real estate market, the city was forced to defer a $5 million balloon payment due in June.

The $25,000 study of the property, commissioned in 2008, was kept in the dark because it outlined possible plans to also acquire the parcel at 1031 Boston Post Road, councilmembers said last week.

New Mayor Doug French said it was important to finally make the study public and figure out what to do with the problematic site.
“It was more important to get it out to the public than any real estate deal that may or may not happen,” he said.

Read more about this in tomorrow’s Journal News.

(Photo by Theresa Juva)

Newburgh Free Academy defeated Iona Prep 71-63 during the Harry Jefferson Holiday Showcase tournament at White Plains High School today.

Iona blew a double-digit second half lead, briefly re-took the lead, but couldn’t hold on to it, as Newburgh tightened their defense to secure the win. Look for Jake Thomson’s story in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. For a gallery of photos from the game, click here.

Iona’s Thomas Nolan celebrates his first period goal against Fordham with teammate Sean McArdle on the ice at the Playland Ice Casino in Rye. The Gaels went on to defeat the Rams 3-1.

Check out LoHud.com for the latest scores and results from around the Lower Hudson Valley and a gallery of photos from this game.

I photographed the Iona Prep vs Archbishop Stepinac basketball game tonight in front of a packed house in New Rochelle.  Iona Prep beat Stepinac 56-49.

Brian Voelkel of Iona Prep tries to get past Mike Soriano of Stepinac during the Archbishop Stepinac at Iona Prep basketball game in New Rochelle, Jan. 22, 2010. ( Mark Vergari / The Journal News )

See more photos from the game here on the LoHud.com sports photo gallery.

A Mamaroneck woman is raising money for the Haitian relief effort and will be hosting a fundraiser next weekend. Danielle Sajous Yergo, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, said Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, a private equity firm based in Rye, will be donating money to Partners in Health in conjunction with the fundraiser, and she is seeking additional corporate sponsors.

The fundraiser, “Cocktails for a Cause,” is scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29 at the American Legion, 1 Locust Ave., in Larchmont. The suggested donation is $25. The event will include raffle items and a DJ. All proceeds will benefit the Partners in Health charity. Make checks only payable to Partners in Health. Reservations are not required.

Partners In Health (PIH) works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world.

Pelham Manor Republicans hold their party caucus tonight at 7:30 p.m. at village hall, 4 Penfield Pl., to nominate candidates for two open seats on the village board. Republican Mark Bruckmann is seeking re-election. Trustee Christine Emerson is not. The Democratic party will hold its caucus Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the same location. The village election is March 16.

Students stood out in the cold this morning when a basement smoke condition caused the brief  evacuation of the Murray Avenue School in Mamaroneck.

A small, smoldering trash pile that police said was not even ablaze was the culprit of the 10:45 a.m. evacuation. The cause was deemed accidental.

The children, grades kindergarten through five, were quickly allowed back into the building as Mamaroneck firefighters cleared the situation.