Welcome to the Op-Ed Section

Op-Ed—Greeley Spirit: “Put Some Clothes on!”

December 18, 2009
by Lee Seham

In this Great Recession, one of the best entertainment values going is a Greeley basketball game. And I’m not just saying that because it’s free. Nor am I saying it because my kids play basketball – they don’t.

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Op-Ed: How much do you know about the current schedule at Greeley?

May 1, 2009
by Katri Backman-Koster

When the new schedule was first proposed, I trusted that the administration knew what they were doing and that it was going to be a change for the better.

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Op-Ed: The new schedule at Greeley: Has it worked?

A student’s perspective
May 1, 2009
by Brandon Azoulai

At the start of this year, 45 minute “mod” classes were replaced by 60 to 80 minute long blocks, which met less frequently. Both teachers and students were apprehensive about the change and many were overtly opposed to the concept.

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Op-Ed: Spacewalks in Your Home?

April 24, 2009
by Mark Kramer

I suspect that many readers in New Castle are unaware of the fact that NASA has a dedicated television channel available for public viewing. It operates 24 hours a day and carries a wealth of fascinating material, including live coverage of space shuttle launches and landings, spacewalks and other events of interest.

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Op-Ed: Two birds with one stone


Practicing for Town Clean-up Day
April 24, 2009
by Bruce Cranston

It was early on a beautiful Saturday morning. I lay in bed thinking about all the things I might do today:  re-grout the tile in the laundry room; unclog the kids’ toilet; I could even clean out the guinea pig cage. 

Or I could just roll over and go back to sleep.

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In Memoriam, James Pomerene (1920 - 2008)


February 6, 2009
by Bruce Gilchrist

Editor’s note: James Pomerene, born June 22, 1920 in Yonkers, New York, died December 7, 2008 in Chappaqua. Bruce Gilchrist, a former resident of Chappaqua, knew him well and has written this recollection in his memory. 

I will always remember Jim, who was one of my early mentors in the computer field. We were both in our thirties at the time; even then computers were a young person’s business.

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Op-Ed:  Requiem for The Big Rock


September 19, 2008
by Joan Corwin

Alas, our “big rock” will soon be gone, and so many memories with it.

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Op-Ed: Dangerous trees: Whose responsibility?


At the corner of King and St. Johns Place
September 5, 2008
by Bill McGovern

Dead, diseased or overgrown trees and limbs hanging over the road way seem to be everywhere.

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Op-Ed:  Should New Castle continue to fluoridate its water?

August 8, 2008
by Susan Rubin, DMD

We can all be proud that we live in a community with a state-of-the-art water plant. Our water is some of the best in the country. However, two toxins are added to that water after it’s been cleansed and purified at the plant in Millwood. Those two toxic compounds are chlorine and fluoride

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Op-Ed:  An emergency situation at home

July 18, 2008
by Gene Nadel

Most readers are well aware that “911” is the number to be dialed in case of an emergency, but few think that at some point they may actually be the one finding it necessary to make that stressful call. Like so many things in life that are simply taken for granted, minimal thought is given to a possible problem until, suddenly,  assistance is needed and immediate action is required.

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Op-Ed:  Out of the wild, into our hands


June 27, 2008
by Terry Michelotti

I was very happy to read the article about the rescued baby fawn at Bell School the other day. I really commend the New Castle Police Department for their quick response and caring efforts. I also would like to say thank you to the school nurse for her help.

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Op-Ed:  Tim Russert

June 20, 2008
by Warren Gottlieb

Tim Russert, the beloved moderator of “Meet the Press” and Washington bureau chief of NBC News, died suddenly of a heart attack at age 58 this past week. He was one of my heroes.

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Op-ed: Schedule change, maybe not so bad

May 30, 2008
by Zach Schonfeld

There has been no shortage of criticism concerning the imminent Greeley schedule change, which looms on the horizon like some loose storm of dreaded proportions.

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Op-ed: The joys of the New Castle10K run

May 23, 2008
by Andy Sparks

I’ve just run up and down the hills on Hardscrabble Road.

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Op-Ed: “We’re Not Moving” Party


by Mark S. Tulis
April 18, 2008

Recently we had a party at our home to celebrate the fact that, after living in New Castle for 30 years,  my wife Elaine and I are not moving away even though our youngest child is about to graduate from Greeley. The reason we are not moving is because our love for the town has not changed in those 30 years and we believe our connection with the town does not end with our youngest going off to college. 

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Halloween: No Tricks – Just Treats


October 30, 2009
by Mark R. Banschick, M.D.

It is a special time of year. The senses are treated to brilliant colors, cool breezes and sweet smells.  It is autumn and the days are getting shorter.  The air no longer carries the heaviness of late summer; it is now crisp and light. On the best days, the sky is somehow cleaner – a beautiful endless blue. And after the past few weeks of unusual warmth, we feel the change even more strongly.

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Op-Ed: The community bears 100% of the risk in school enrollment calculation

October 9, 2009
by Gregg Bresner

My personal view as a resident of Chappaqua, not as a school board member nor on behalf of the Board of Education, is that I find the Chappaqua Crossing residential proposal deeply troubling. It is a very serious mistake to equate physical school capacity with the reality of school operating expenses.  If there are enrollment declines going forward, which may or may not happen, the Chappaqua School District has the ability to adjust its budget expenses accordingly to take into account any such enrollment declines and pass along any savings to the community in the form of reducing the tax burden or re-investing in our educational programs.

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Op-Ed

Olga and the Aliens, A Valentine to My Wife
February 20, 2009
by Lee Seham

With grace and solicitude, the tall, slender, green-eyed woman served savory beef stew to the homeless men.

Wait a minute!  That’s no woman, that’s my wife!

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A Response to the Common Application


Look familiar?
November 28, 2008
by Rachel Turkel

Editor’s note: Rachel Turkel won third prize in the creative non-fiction category in the Chappaqua Library’s 2007 Young Writer’s Contest with this essay. We reprint it now as a humorous diversion for Greeley seniors plugging away at their college applications this Thanksgiving weekend.

Please choose from one of the following essays:

NOTE:  This essay is not required; the Common Application essay fulfills our writing requirement.  Your response will not weigh heavily in our admissions process, though you should keep in mind that we do not consider applicants who have not responded to one of these questions.

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Op-Ed: Homecoming fading away


October 31, 2008
by Jim Nottingham

Homecoming in the United States has a long tradition of being a community-wide weekend event where former residents and alumni are welcomed back around a central event that is usually a sporting contest, most commonly a football game.

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Op-ed: Stuck on the bridge; a plea for better communication


June 27, 2008
by Tom Kasulka

If all goes according to current plans, sometime soon you will drive across our historic Quaker St. Bridge and notice that the canopy of trees lining the gateway to our hamlet being marked for removal. Over the next few weeks you’ll then witness the gathering of cranes, bull dozers and back hoes as construction of a 265-foot-long great wall and new road commence where the trees and a grassy hill once stood.

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Op-Ed: PTA offers a big “thanks” during Teacher-Staff Appreciation Week


March 9, 2008
by Victoria Tipp

Ask most people why they moved to New Castle and they will tell you that it’s because of the schools and the quality of education their children will receive.

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Op-Ed: Paterson’s governorship seen as an opportunity for change in Albany

April 11, 2008
by Stephanie Grayson

In the wake of the sex scandal involving former governor Eliot Spitzer and the Emperor’s Club VIP, an upscale prostitution ring, attention has turned to his replacement, Governor David Paterson, who was sworn in on March 17. While many see this Albany upheaval as an opportunity for change, others wonder if it will only lead to more of the same.

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Op-Ed: MOMA’s “Design and the Elastic Mind,” a must-see exhibit

April 4, 2008
by John Ehrlich

The Chappaqua Neighbors Club headed to New York City last Friday March 28 to experience “Design and the Elastic Mind,” the Museum of Modern Art’s much-heralded exhibit celebrating “Techno-Art,” which focuses on the interaction between design, science, art and technology. This must-see exhibit displays every day objects as Warhol-like cultural artifacts; presentation graphics as art; and technology as a new form of artist palette for design.

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Op-Ed: Aren’t you the lady with the husband with two wives?

March 7, 2008
by Rosheen Taylor

Well, a funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago.

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Op-Ed..Community supported agriculture yields yummy produce

By Deborah Weiss
November 16, 2007

I love Wednesdays! On this day, from June through December, my neighbor and I make a weekly pilgrimage to our local community supported agriculture site to pick up our produce for the week.

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Op-Ed: Veterans Day should be every day

By Shelby Monroe
November 9, 2007

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Op-Ed…. Don’t Stand Idle

By Amy Barone
November 9, 2007

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Op-Ed…New schedule, new math

By George Benack
October 26, 2007
No one should expect that the implementation of a new schedule at Horace Greeley High School will come off without a hitch.

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Op-Ed ...The Race Is Still On, but the Competitors Have Changed

By Abe Khan
October 26, 2007
Math and science skills must be nurtured in our children from an early age in order to make a real difference in our future.

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