Sound Shore

Local firefighters will be holding a recruitment drive next weekend as part of the upcoming National Volunteer Week.

Rye is planning an event at the Milton Point Firehouse April 22, and you can read up on the opportunities and requirements on Rye’s recruitment page. For other events, see here.

The Recruit NY page of the Firemen’s Association of New York has more information.

Rye residents: Are you aware that it’s illegal to idle your car for more than 3 minutes at a time?

Such rules will be highlighted April 23, the first Sound Shore Community No Idling Awareness Day.

Rye Police Commissioner William Connors explains in a news release:

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The City of Rye Police Department reminds our residents and visitors that §45-1 of the Rye City Code prohibits idling a vehicle engine longer than three minutes. There are a number of reasons to avoid unnecessary idling – especially when a vehicle is unattended:

• Idling vehicles can be easily stolen or can cause damage if accidentally engaged (This is especially worrisome if a child is left alone in an idling car. (more…)

Dogs frolic at Playland Beach today. That’s the pier in the background. 

Dog owners converse as their pets play at Playland Beach on Friday, March 23.

Today’s summer-like weather brought the dogs out. Lots of owners took their dogs to Playland Beach and Rye Town Park next door. It felt like summer along the boardwalk. And it’s March 23rd. Amazing.

Frank Alvarez, school superintendent in Montclair, N.J., will become Rye’s next schools chief, the district announced today. The board will approve a five-year contract Tuesday. He replaces Edward Shine, who is retiring after leading Rye schools for a full 16 years.

Alvarez has 18 years’ experience as a superintendent, the last nine in Montclair and previously in River Vale and North Caldwell, N.J. He began his career as a teacher, and later headed the Urban Initiative: Operation School Renewal for New Jersey’s Department of Education. He has master’s and doctorate degree from Columbia University Teachers College.

Alvarez is the latest in a wave of New Jersey educators to come to New York, along with Superintendent Edward Kliszus in the neighboring Port Chester district.

For more information read the news release on the Rye schools website.

I started following the Twitter feed for Rye police recently, before realizing that these officers were stationed in the United Kingdom. The Rye Neighbourhood Policing Team is part of the Sussex Police force, which uses social media extensively.

So that explains the recent tweet about an Icklesham man who was fined 80 pounds after falsely reporting a bicycle theft and wasting police time. The police use Twitter to seek tips on criminal activity and alert the public to incidents, road hazards and patrols.

Rye in East Sussex looks to be a lovely port town, home to medieval historic sites. I’ve learned that one local issue is unauthorized driving on Camber beach, and that an officer, after stopping for tea this morning, patrolled a car park and found no valuables in view.

For police alerts from Rye, N.Y., meanwhile, subscribe to Nixle.com.

Rye firefighters received a star for their efforts to help the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital over the last decade. They were singled out as one of the facility’s most loyal and consistent supporters.

Golf tournaments, “boot drives” and other campaigns have raised more than $65,000 for the hospital, part of Westchester Medical Center. The donations tallied $9,000 in 2011.

Hospital representatives visited the Locust Avenue firehouse on Friday and shared this photo of the Bravest.

Sunday is the 31st annual Rye House Tour, raising money for the Rye High School Parent Organization.

Tickets are $50, or $75 including a luncheon at Manursing Island Club. The money goes toward scholarships, arts and athletics programs.

For details, and a slideshow preview of some very lovely homes and gardens, see the website or Facebook page.

Soon, there shall be sharrows.

Rye is planning to add these painted markers and lanes to Forest Avenue this summer. They are a safety measure that simply reminds drivers of their obligation to share the road.

Here is an image of the symbols, included in a report by Rye’s Shared Roadways Committee.

The idea is explained in this four-page document by Rye’s Shared Roadways Committee on the city website. Other recommendations, for sidewalk improvements and other elements of the Complete Streets approach to urban design, are listed in this report and others.

The Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester and Putnam is also promoting sharrows.

California Road in Eastchester has sharrows. Have you seen or ridden across others in the NYC region? What do you think of them?

Several local people who have worked hard to raise money for cancer support and research will be honored at the upcoming gala to benefit southern Westchester cancer patients and their families.

The benefit, set for 6 p.m. April 19 at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, is titled “A Season of Hope.” Funds will benefit the non-profit Cancer Support Team. Tickets start at $300 per person.

Josh Glantz of Scarsdale will receive The Wald-Lee Vision Award for his volunteer efforts on behalf of Swim Across America and as one of the founders of the Long Island Sound Swim 20 years ago.  Along with his twin brother Jeremy, Josh started the swim as a fundraiser for cancer research in memory of Larchmont resident, Kathy Webers.

“When I started the swim, Kathy Webers was probably the first person I knew well who had to fight against cancer,” he said.  “Now I hear about new battles all too often.  Cancer Support Team is so unique in how it puts patients and their families at ease so they can focus on their individual fight.  That’s why I continue to swim and will continue to raise money for this cause.”

Jack Wheaton of Fairfield, Conn., Mildred Wheaton of Jupiter, Fla., and Christie Philbrick-Wheaton and Dede Philbrick-Wheaton, both of Larchmont, will receive The Barbara Melamed Memorial Award for their ongoing support of CST’s nursing services.

In 2008, the Wheaton family established the Barbara Philbrick Memorial Fund at CST in memory of Jack Wheaton’s wife, Barbara Philbrick, who died that year from cancer. The Fund supports CST’s program of in-home nursing assistance.

“We understand what an emotional toll it takes on a family when a loved one is battling cancer,” Jack Wheaton said. “Through our support of Cancer Support Team, we not only honor Barbara, but also help those families who on their own may not be able to obtain proper care and counseling.”

The Benefit Co-chairs are Lisa Edmiston and Christina Staudt of Bronxville and Mark Rice of Rye. Honorary Co-Chairs are Sherry and Robert Wiener of Mamaroneck.

In addition to the benefit gala, CST receives financial support from individual donors and grants, Swim Across America, The Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe and other foundations and community groups.

The non-profit Cancer Support Team, fully licensed by the New York State Department of Health, provides services to southern Westchester cancer patients at any stage of disease, free of charge and without regard to insurance coverage. Services include nursing care management, social work counseling, education, advocacy, information about community resources, transportation and financial assistance.

 For more information about Cancer Support Team’s services, the 2012 Benefit, volunteering or providing financial support, go to www.cancersupportteam.org or call 914-777-2777.

The Rye City Lions Club and The Osborn Retirement Community are collecting unneeded eyeglasses this month for the nonprofit New Eyes for the Needy. You can drop them off every Tuesday in March at Miriam’s Attic, The Osborn’s Resale Shop, 101 Theall Road in Rye, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Here’s what happens to your glasses, btw:

The glasses are sorted and prepared for distribution by hundreds of adult and student volunteers and then distributed free of charge to several hundred thousand poor and under-privileged people in developing countries around the world.  New Eyes for The Needy also purchases new eyeglasses for poor children and adults in the United States and distributes them in partnership with social service agencies and optical dispensers across the country.

Also at The Osborn, the Easter Bunny is making an appearance on the south lawn on April 7, and the public is invited to an Easter egg hunt, starting at 11 a.m.