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Patch Picks: 'My Brother Martin'; Cartoonists Against the Holocaust; Lawrence Jaeger Ping Pong Tournament

There is something for everyone to do this week in the Hudson Valley.

Reading Time with Fergus at KVL! Jan. 12. 4:30 p.m. Sign up your first through fifth grader for a session with the Katonah Village Library's special reading partner, Fergus. Sessions are 1 minutes each from 4:30pm-4:45pm, 4:45-5pm, and 5pm-5:15pm. Call the Katonah Village Library Children's Room and and sign up today! 914-232-1233. Katonah Village Library, 26 Bedford Rd, Katonah. FREE.

Lawrence Jaeger ping pong tournament. Jan. 13. 7 p.m. Help raise funds for battered women at the annual Lawrence Jaeger Ping Pong Tournament. Montefiore Medical Center - Larchmont Women's Center, 2345 Boston Post Rd, Larchmont. FREE.

Kid's Kingdom Pajama Party. Jan. 16. 6:30 p.m. Get the kids dressed in their pajamas and ready to party at the Kid's Kingdom Pajama Party. They'll eat pizza, play games, play in the "Kingdom" and watch a movie. Bring a sleeping bag and pillow. Kid's Kingdom, 121 W Nyack Rd, Nanuet. $25.

Cartoonists Against the Holocaust: Art in the Service of Humanity. Jan. 13. Now through the end of the month view the "Cartoonists Against the Holocaust: Art in Service of Humanity" exhibition of 17 panels of political cartoons created in the 1930s and '40s to alert Americans of the plight of European Jews at the onset of the Holocaust. The show is sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center at the New Rochelle High School’s Museum of Arts & Culture. New Rochelle High School, 265 Clove Rd, New Rochelle. FREE.

Golden Apple Chorus Seeks New Members. Jan. 15. 7 p.m. If you love to sing, join the Golden Apple Chorus women's barbershop chorus, a chapter of Sweet Adelines International. Rehearsals are open and singers perform songs from the 20s to the 2000s. Rehearsals are every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Hawthorne Reformed Church Hall, 65 Broadway, Hawthorne, NY. For more information, call Carol at 914-739-5782, or Roe at 914-592-4691, or visit our website, www.goldenapplechorus.com65 Broadway, Hawthorne. FREE.

 Jan. 14. 4:30 p.m. Bring your K through 6th grader to a reading of Christine King Ferris' book My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, followed by activities. White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave, White Plains. FREE.

BLOOD DRIVE. Jan. 15. 1 p.m. Donate blood at Putnam Ridge's first blood drive of 2013. Call the receptionist to make an appointment at 845-278-3636. Donate and receive a voucher for a free pound of Dunkin' Donuts. Putnam Ridge, 46 Mount Ebo Rd S, Brewster. FREE.

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Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:14 am
I loved all the music - the band belting out 'Sweet Caroline' was great!
Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:12 am
Heather, thanks! I saw you in the crowd! These are awesome. It was a perfect night for it! I'll addRead More a link to your post from mine.
Josephine Ziegler presented the school board with the petition at the May 9 meeting.
John Craig June 3, 2013 at 11:50 am
Regarding paragraph 5 -- the retirement incentive. I haven't read anything to suggest that theRead More retirement incentive and the insurance switch are related or that that KLDTA asked for one to get the other. When I read the initial release from the board, I saw them as 2 different cost savings initiatives. ---The district indicated that each retirement saves a net of $32,500 per year. Early Retirement Incentive Plans (ERIPs) are fairly common stuff among downsizing private organizations. I think it makes sense to use them here to accelerate cost savings. ---The original petition was well written. Now that we have addressed point #3, I think it's time to make further progress on point #2 -- a financially sustainable contract. ---And, experience suggests that if you really want to move forward in a collaborative way, you have to let go of the past. Continuing to harp on past mistakes undermines point #5.
Sara Weale June 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Thanks for your comment. I agree that we all need to move forward -- but in my opinion, althoughRead More this side agreement made a long-overdue change in health care carriers (while maintaining a high level of health care benefits/access to teachers, retirees and their dependents), the KLDTA again asked for retirement incentives in return - just as they did for the December 2010 MOA that extended the terms of their contract for two years and avoided going to Triborough. Under the 2010 MOA, KLDTA requested a $10,000 retirement incentive and 21 teachers took the offer (including the current leader of KLDTA) -- resulting in an outlay of $210,000 by the district. Although some savings might have been realized for "early" retirements, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount because the district has no way of knowing when a teacher would have retired without the incentive. If 20 additional teachers take the new retirement incentive which was increased to $17,500 for some reason -- that is a total cost to the district of $350,000. Don't forget that regardless of the incentive, teachers retire with full pension and retiree health care benefits. Yes - the district will realize some savings from the incentives -- but we likely would have realized similar savings without incentives and natural attrition/retirement of our teaching staff. What I think we need to pay attention to as a community is that it seems the only way that KLDTA leadership will agree to changes in the status quo is if they get something in return. The last two agreements with the KLDTA will likely result in approximately $500,000 spent by the district in retirement incentives over a five year period -- money in my opinion, better kept in the district system during these difficult economic times and in the tax-cap environment. In my opinion, finally switching health care carriers did not merit financial rewards for teachers likely retiring in the next three years anyway.
Katonah19 June 6, 2013 at 08:08 am
For more insight, take a look at BOE Member Charles Day's statement on retirement incentives inRead More exchange for KLSDTA's agreement to changes in Health Care here: http://bedford.patch.com/groups/opinion/p/days-statement-on-kl-union-contract-changes