Yorktown and Cortlandt region

Fundraisers were the order of the day on a bright, sunny Saturday morning in Yorktown, as young people took advantage of the weather to promote causes near and dear to them.

Jessica D’Amato and friends staged a tag sale in front of her family’s Gomer Street home from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. All proceeds were to benefit Young Yorktown Advocates United, the charity created in memory of D’Amato’s sister Lauren and other Yorktown youths who’ve died in recent years. The goal is to provide outreach and support to youths struggling with issues of drugs, alcohol and depression, among other challenges. Pictured here are, from left, Traci Santoli, Cathy D’Amato (Jessica’s mom), Rachael Marchewka, Jessic D’Amato and Mike Cutler.

Meanwhile, members of the Yorktown Leos, the youth arm of the Yorktown Lions club, held a hot dog sale at the Yorktown Police Station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

The sale was meant to raise money for town’s D.A.R.E. programs in the Yorktown and Lakeland school districts. Pictured above are, from left, Leo President Ali Fein, V.P. Jackie Buzzi, Event Chairman Vinny Poggioreale, V.P. Taylor Tuccito and PR rep Meghan McGowan.

Photos: Brian Howard/The Journal News

The Town Board is poised to appoint its first female police sergeant.

Officer Julieanne Vicinanza will be appointed Tuesday, retroactive to Monday, when she begins supervisory training for her new assignment.

Currently Vicinanza is the school resource officer at Lakeland-Copper Beech Middle School and the wife of Yorktown Police Sgt. John LaPlaca. In 1996 she became only the department’s second female officer, after the retired Det. Margaret Guinan. She is one of just three women on the 56-officer force, along with officers Kathryn McGuire, Claudine Rosenbergen.

“All the candidates were outstanding candidates, and it was a difficult choice,” Supervisor Susan Siegel said. “We’re very pleased and look forward to working with her.”

Councilman Nick Bianco said he was happy for Vicinanza. A former Yonkers police detective, Bianco said he served alongside that department’s first female detective.

“I’m excited that we have a fine person becoming a sergeant, and it even makes it better that she’s a female,” he said. “It just adds so much dimension to the police department.”

The Garden Club of Yorktown announces its annual plant sale next Saturday, May 7th, from 8 am to 2 pm, in the Yorktown Green (K-Mart) Shopping Center, in front of Suburban Wines & Liquors. Unique plants specially selected by the Club’s Master Gardeners will be available for sale. Garden Club members will be there to answer questions and give planting advice.

“This is an opportunity for gardeners to learn more about plants that perform well in this region,” said Lou Ann O’Brien, president of the club, “and the bonus is that by buying at our sale, they are helping us with the annual plantings of our community gardens throughout the town.

On Yorktown High School’s Civic Interns, Krissy Kopans and Ciara Galligan, will host a Volleyball Tournament benefiting Yorktown’s three food pantries. All net proceeds benefit our food pantries.

The event runs from 2 to 4 p.m. on the grounds of Sports Barn sporting goods, 2918 Crompond Road (Route 202) and is hosted by owners Don & Karen Peters.

Participants can come with a team or join other players. Adults are $15; students, $10; children under 12, $5.

Soft drinks, snacks, burgers and hot dogs will also be sold.

The Board of Education will hold the 2011-2012 Public Budget Hearing on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lakeland Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak. The public will be able to comment on the budget at the public hearing.

The Lakeland Central School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a proposed budget for the 2011-2012 school year at its April 7th meeting. The budget will be voted on by the community on Tuesday, May 17th. The proposed budget totals $157,235,514. It represents a 1.74% (excluding transfer to capital). The districtwide tax levy will increase 2.57%.

More budget details are available at the district web site lakelandschools.org.

The Yorktown Leo Club and the Yorktown Police Department will be selling hot dogs at the police0 station to raise money for town’s D.A.R.E. program.

The event runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30. The station is at 2281 Crompond Road (Route 202).

Proceeds will benefit the D.A.R.E. programs in the Yorktown and Lakeland school districts. Drug Abuse Resistance Education aims to teach kids to resist the pressures of drugs. For more information, yorktownpd.org or the D.A.R.E. website at dare.com. The Yorktown Leos are the youth arm of the Yorktown Lions Club, an all-volunteer service organization. The club is online at yorktownleos.org.

File photo of the Yorktown Leos from another community event last fall. The Journal News.

The “Shop Cortlandt Weekend” is kicking off at Cole’s Market at 3 p.m. Friday. The market is on Route 9A in Montrose.

The initiative to encourage residents to shop at local businesses is a partnership between the town of Cortlandt, the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce and the Corltandt Manor Rotary Club.

People who pick up a “shopper’s card” can take them to participating businesses, where they will be entered to win prizes in a raffle. The shopper’s cards are available at Coles, the Croton Library and the Hendrick Hudson Library.

As staff writer Dwight R. Worley reported today, 53 of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam’s public school districts have proposed spending a combined $4.5 billion 2011-12, an increase of about 2 percent, according to new data from the state. Should voters approve all of those budgets, tax levies would rise by 2.6 percent to $3.6 billion, $90 million more than 2010-11.

Will you support your district’s budget on May 17? Share your plans with us in our Editorial Board poll below:

On Sunday, we report the findings of a three-month investigation into the reconstruction of Interstate 287 through Westchester, a project two years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget. The report examines the contractors, the bids, the overruns and an entire system that has allowed construction practices like those of the 287 project to become status quo.

Look for it in The Journal News and on LoHud.com.

Don’t bother trying to figure out the anagram.

The sign outside the Yorktown Community Cultural Center originally advertised the Yorktown Museum’s latest exhibit, “Time Passes.” But vandals not only rearranged a few letters but removed a few as well to leave this disconcerting display. The offending result was quickly removed, but for a time this morning passersby on Commerce Street likely did a double take.