Fr. James Gardiner shakes hands with Rev. Doug Leonard, center, as members of the Peekskill Area Pastors Association (PAPA) gather at the Hacienda Sauza Restaurant in Mohegan Lake as they honor Rev. Doug Leonard, pastor of the Reformed Church of Cortlandtown.

Leonard was the pastor for the past seven years, and left in October to become director of the Al Amana Centre, an interfaith center in the Sultinate of Oman. (Mark Vergari / The Journal News )

Check out Gary Stern’s story in an upcoming issue of The Journal News and on the web, LoHud.com.

Juan Lesende, a Peekskill Department of Public Works employee, attaches the bow to a wreath he and his crew installed on one of the new lampposts in Peekskill Nov. 19, 2009.

According to Juan, the city is installing about 100 of the holiday decorations and the work will be finished by next week. Click here to be linked to our daily photo gallery at Lohud.com to see more photographs. ( Joe Larese / The Journal News )

The Open Door Family Medical Center is now accepting donations for its holiday toy drive. The toys are for Open Door patients, ages infant to 14.

Toys should not exceed $20 in value and can be dropped off from now through Dec. 7 at any Open Door site: Ossining, Mount Kisco, Port Chester and Sleepy Hollow. Large pick-ups can be arranged and monetary donations are welcome. Visit the Open Door’s Amazon.com wish list under award@ood.org

For more information, contact volunteer coordinator Alicia Ward at 914-502-1468 or award@ood.org

The city of Peekskill is seeking applications to fill seats on various boards and commissions. Interested individuals can send a resume and letter of interest by Nov. 30 to: City Clerk, Pamela Beach, 840 Main Street, Peekskill, N.Y. 10566 or via e-
mail at pbeach@cityofpeekskill.com

The following is a list of the vacancies:

Artist Certification Committee
Board of Ethics
Conservation and Parks Advisory Council
Historic & Landmarks Preservation Board
Historic Preservation Advisory Board
Human Relations Commission
Peekskill Housing Development Fund
Use of Force Review Board
Youth Board
Zoning Board of Appeals

Fred Johannsen of the Viking Boat Yard moves the yard’s boatlift in Verplanck Nov. 18, 2009. The lift uses slings that lower to cradle the boat’s hull.

The mild weather has been beneficial to boaters removing and winterizing their vessels. Click here to see more photographs from our daily photo gallery at Lohud.com. ( Joe Larese / The Journal News )

Organizers are hoping for strong turnout at a forum tomorrow night on the county’s affordable housing/False Claims Act settlement.

The settlement requires the county to build 750 units of affordable housing in communities like Yorktown that fail to meet minimum percentages of black and Hispanic population, 3 and 7 percent, respectively.

“The purpose of the forum is basically educating the public about the settlement,” Ken Belfer, Yorktown’s Community Housing Board chairman, said. “There is a lot of fear and a lot of misinformation about the settlement. I wanted people who could talk facts and answer questions.”

The forum starts at 7:30 p.m. in Room 16 at the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center, 1974 Commerce St.

The Salvation Army of Peekskill is in need of turkeys, 30 of them, to be precise.

The organization collects the frozen birds for the Peekskill Area Pastor’s Association (PAPA) annual Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday. The dinner typically sees 130 guests for the sit-down meal and another 125 meals are delivered to the homebound. The dinner, held at the United Methodist Church in Peekskill, is open to the public and can accommodate up to 160 guests.

Turkey donations are now being accepted through Monday at the Salvation Army which is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 117 Nelson Ave., Peekskill. PAPA is also accepting donations of apple and pumpkin pies that will be collected at the Methodist church, 1040 Main St., on Thanksgiving eve between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

For more on the story, check out lohud.com and The Journal News tomorrow.

Photo provided by Butterball appeared in The Journal News in 2005.

A college student from Cortlandt Manor, Matthew Ferri, has been awarded a science scholarship. Ferri, who attends the University of Connecticut, was cited by the Louis G. Nappi Construction Labor-Management Scholarship Program, which provides funding for students in math, science, technology and architecture.. Nappi worked for many years in concrete supply and construction, and he set up the scholarship to advance the studies of engineering, architecture and the applied sciences of mathematics. The scholarship award is $2,000. Six students from the region were given scholarships.

A big-screen TV and a foosball table sit in the middle of a locked and otherwise empty room next to the Yorktown Teen Center.

Both, like the room itself, sit idle in the wake of the summer’s heated competition for space at the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center.

The Teen Center, stripped of its funding and spun off from its nonprofit sponsor, hoped to share what was once a double-room with the Yorktown Enrichment Center, which in turn eyed the entire space to launch a middle school program.

When the town opted to split the space, a dividing wall went up, the Enrichment Center eventually walked away and the Teen Center was left to reinvent itself in half its former space.

Photo: From left, Max Hutton looks on as Mike Montaruli on drums and Jason Gierer on guitar play Guitar Hero at the Yorktown Teen Center Nov. 16, 2009. (Brian Howard/The Journal News)

From left, students Michael Fasulo, 16, Peter Guzzo, 17, Michael Schnittert, 16 and Rebecca Lisella, 17, film their video ” Beware” at Walter Panas High School.

The project is part of the school’s television and video production curriculum that teaches photography, lighting, video software, audio and scripting. Future projects will include short films, documentary and commercial production. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Yorktown/Cortlandt Express for more photographs and click here to be linked to a gallery on our Lohud.com site. ( Joe Larese / The Journal News )