Holocaust Remembrance Day In Somers NY

"Sitting here I cannot believe I am alive. It is hard to explain and to tell things what had happened," said the keynote speaker at Holocaust Remembrance Day, according to a recent LoHud.com story.    

The annual event sponsored by the Somers Holocaust Memorial Commission was held on May 5th at Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, NY.   The Evening of Remembrance included prayers, music and a candle lighting ceremony.  Student project awards were presented to students from Kennedy Catholic, North Salem and Somers High Schools.  The keynote speaker was Benjamin Levin, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Ossining.

Read the May 12 LoHud.com story by Barbara Livingston Nackman, Annual Holocaust memorial held in Somers.

The program is at the web site of Somers Holocaust Memorial Commission.

This excerpt from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum briefly describes the Holocaust: 

The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire." The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community.

During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority": Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others). Other groups were persecuted on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals.

LINKS:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011105120321

http://www.somershmc.org/Events.html

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143

Obituary: "Mickey" Oliver, Beloved Citizen Of Somers

Funeral Procession for Florence "Mickey" Oliver
May 13, 2011.  Photo from NCNLocal.com. 

Florence "Mickey" Oliver died May 6 at her home in Somers, NY. She was 96.
Mrs. Oliver was the official Town Historian for Somers.  More than that, she was a “kind woman with a great smile who many described as a pillar of the Somers community”, according to the obituary in NCNLocal.com posted on Thursday. On Friday, hundreds of family, friends, and community members attended the funeral and quarter mile procession from St. Luke's Church to Ivandell Cemetery.   The flag at the Town hall flew at half-mast. Before her death, the Town Board started the process to dedicate the original Farmstead at Angle Fly Preserve in her name.
At the LoHud.com Guest Book, David Murphy from Carmel, NY expressed the sentiments of many in saying:
Mrs. Oliver was one of those special people maybe you are lucky enough to encounter once in your lifetime. Every conversation with her was more interesting than the last. I am honored to have known her. She will be missed by many.


NCNLocal.com has two stories, Somers Town Historian Mickey Oliver dies at 96, and Hundreds process down Route 100 for late Somers Town Historian. 
The LoHud.com obituary is here.

LINKS:
http://ncnlocal.com/ncnlocal_news/article_e70eaf40-7d10-11e0-8a86-001cc4c002e0.html
http://ncnlocal.com/ncnlocal_news/article_16bacc98-7dbf-11e0-bafc-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lohud/obituary.aspx?n=florence-s-oliver-mickey&pid=150970696

Obituary: Hanna Monte

After an extended battle with cancer, 2008 Somers High School graduate and Lake Purdy's resident Hanna Monte passed away on Monday, March 28, according to the Somers Track and Field Blog. The Monte family has asked for privacy and plans to hold a celebration of her life later this month. For more information about the celebration or to leave or read tributes, go to Hanna Monte at CaringBridge.org.

Here is a letter from the Monte family in the journal section of that web site:

MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011 4:48 PM, CDT

Dear friends and family,

This morning, our beloved Hanna passed away. She was asleep in her bed at home with her family around her. We must not grieve her passing for the body is just a shell and her spirit continues to live on. She was so strong for the past year, struggling through tremendous pain to stay with us for just a little while longer. She gave us such joy, endless love and happiness, and she will continue to be with us, forever in our hearts. She is free from her suffering now, and finally comfortable and peaceful.

We would like to thank you all for the wonderful support you have given us over the last year. We are blessed to have such a kind and caring community surrounding us. Hanna had the amazing ability to touch the lives of people around her. She has inspired us all to find happiness in our lives. We must honor her by living lives full of compassion and joy.

We would like to especially thank Dr. Mark Brauning, Dr. Michael Rosen and Dr. Jonathan Goldberg of Mount Kisco Medical Group as well as Linda Fraser of the visiting nurse service and CORAM healthcare for their continued care of Hanna. Your friendship and unwavering attention are cherished.

Please respect our need for some privacy at this time. We will be preparing a celebration for Hanna that will be held in a month or so. We will post more information as the time approaches. In lieu of sending flowers, please feel free to make a donation to the organization Friends of Karen, who have been invaluable over the last year. You may visit their website at http://www.friendsofkaren.org/make-a-donation

Love,

the Montes

Read our blog post from October, Somers rallies again for cancer-stricken college student.

LINKS:

http://somerstrackxc.blogspot.com/2011/03/hanna-monte-has-passed-away.html

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannamonte

http://somersspectator.blogspot.com/2010/10/somers-rallies-again-for-cancer.html

Crash Victim A Marine

Mourners gather for the funeral of Lance Cpl. Joseph Schiano, 23, at St. Catherine of Siena church in Riverside, CT on Thursday March 24, 2011. Schiano had served in the Marines for four years and did two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He died Sunday in a motor vehicle accident in Somers, NY. Photo: Shelley Cryan / Shelley Cryan freelance; Greenwich Time freelance

Obituary: Donald B. Derr, avid hiker

The Town Board in Somers, NY observed a moment of silence at its last meeting to honor Donald B. Derr, who died on March 6 at the age of 84. After he retired in 1990 from IBM, Mr. Derr worked for Somers for 20 years and helped create the Town’s record management system. He was an avid hiker and conservationist. The obituary at LoHud.com says:

Mr. Derr was an avid hiker and was involved with hiking, conservation and historical preservation organizations including the New York / New Jersey Trail Conference (serving as president from 1978 to 1984), the Appalachian Trail Conference, the Westchester Trails Association (serving as president), Teatown Lake Reservation, the Somers Historical Society, the National Maritime Historical Society, and others.

Read the complete LoHud.com obituary here.

LINKS:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lohud/obituary.aspx?n=donald-b-derr&pid=149158379

Town Board Meeting Recap: Shenorock, Dog Park and Heritage Hills Water District

Here are some highlights from the Town Board meeting of March 10, 2011.

Shenorock Park District Procedures In Place

Over two hours of rancorous comment by Shenorock residents did not bring the two sides closer to compromise in the feud about creating a park district for Lake Shenorock to build a swimming beach and bath house. Opponents say the $1.4 million project is a luxury that residents should not be taxed to fund, noting that cleaning the lake of muck is a far cheaper first step. Proponents of the project say most residents want the project and want the matter put to a vote. The Town Board would love to see a compromise, but that is extremely unlikely.

As reported previously, the Town Board in December rejected as "flawed" the first petition to create a Park District. The Town decided that the best procedure would be for the petition to reside with the Town Clerk for approximately 60 days. The Town Clerk will oversee the signing process, verifying that each signer is an owner of land within the boundaries of the proposed park district. This is not a head-count vote. For the petition to succeed, 51% of owners as well as 51% resident owners must sign the petition The percent is determined by assessed value.

Dog Park

A group of residents has offered to fund the fencing costs of a dog park on Town-owned land. Fencing is by far the most expensive cost involved in building a dog park. The Town Board asked the Parks and Rec department to draw up plans for the Board to consider. Councilman Harry Bolton is the liaison. The location of the proposed dog park is on land near the Highways Department garage.

Heritage Hills Water District

The Town of Somers, NY is thinking about acquiring the Heritage Hills Water and Sewer District from a private owner. The overwhelming consideration said Supervisor Murphy is whether the residents in that District would save money. The asking price for the plant and infrastructure is over $18 million. On the back of an envelope analysis, Richard Benedict, President of the Heritage Hills Society, thinks the deal makes sense because revenues are likely to grow. The service area includes the Heritage Hills condos, a shopping center, a school and any new homes built in the area, The Town will further study the financial issues involved using an outside consultant. The financial advisor for Somers is worried about lost property taxes as a municipal district is tax exempt. However, other water districts in Town already enjoy tax exempt status.

Prevailing Wage Law

In discussions about paving roads and repairing the library roof, Councilman Bolton commented that the prevailing wage causes the Town to spend significantly more money on work put out to bid.

Moment Of Silence

The Town Board observed a moment of silence to honor Joanne Garrity and Don Derr, both of whom passed away this month.

The video of the Town Board meeting is available at the Town's web site.

LINKS:

http://somersspectator.blogspot.com/2010/12/back-to-square-one-for-shenorock-lake.html

http://www.somersny.com/Pages/SomersNY_TownMtgVideos/TownBoard031011

Obituary: Joanne Garrity, former School Board member and Friends of Library founder

Joanne M. Garrity, a spirited volunteer dedicated to education in Somers, NY, died on February 28 at the age of 79. Although a resident of Florida at the time of her death, interment is at Amawalk Hill Cemetery. Services were scheduled for March 7 at New St. Patrick’s Church in Yorktown Heights.

The NCNLocal.com obituary provides this information her volunteerism:

Mrs. Garrity was elected to the Somers Central School District Board of Education in the 1970s and continued as a member of that board for 11 years, four of them as president. She followed that with five years as a member of the Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Additionally she was a president of the Westchester/Putnam School Boards Association. ... She was also a member and past president of the League of Women Voters in both New York and Florida, a member of the Somers Historical Society and founding president of the Friends of the Somers Library

Read the complete NCNLocal.com obituary of March 3, 2011, Joanne M. Garrity, formerly of Somers.

LINKS:

http://ncnlocal.com/obituaries/article_13a9a01c-45af-11e0-9fa9-001cc4c002e0.html

Obituary: Somers Native John Keefe, A Curator At New Orleans Museum of Art

John Keefe, a native of Somers, NY and the curator of decorative arts at New Orleans Museum of Art, died on January 31. An obituary published on February 2, 2011 is at the New Orleans Times-Picayune web site and can be read here. A brief excerpt follows:

John Keefe, a New Orleans Museum of Art curator who brought high amounts of knowledge and enthusiasm to exhibits he organized on such varied items as antique glass, Wedgwood china, Fabergé eggs and extravagant perfume bottles, was found dead Monday at his Covington home. He was 69.

***

A native of Somers, N.Y., Mr. Keefe started collecting when he was a child, said his brother, Chris Keefe. “He filled up his bedroom, he filled up mine and the barn, and he was off and running. “He just somehow felt that this was filling a void in his life, and the more he collected, the more he knew. He was the kind of kid who was reading ‘War and Peace’ when he was 12, so it was not a stretch for him to get interested in furniture and its provenance and everything about it.”

***

LINKS:

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2011/02/john_keefe_69_curator_of_decor.html#comments