Upbeat run-walk honors slain student

in playoffs The Rams earn the Bryan Higgins Memorial Trophy for the ninth time in the past 10 years and clinch a postseason berth in Class AA after Carmel 9s Travis Blakeslee tips away a pass as time runs out. Preston Soeprasetyo led the Rams 9 offense with 130 receiving yards on 10 catches, resulting in two touchdowns. Carmel, which finished the regular season with a 6-1 record, will open the playoffs later in the week with a trip to North Rockland.<br><br> Mahopac finished out of postseason contention with the loss. Details, 1C Mahopac High School cheerlead- ers per- form dur- ing yester- day 9s home foot- ball game against Carmel. Mark Vergari The Journal News MUM 9S THE WORD GLENN CLOSE KEEPS QUIET ON FINALE OF 8DAMAGES 9 | 1D " RE-ENACTING A BATTLE ON ANNIVERSARY| 3A " DEPRESSION MORE PROMINENT IN CERTAIN PROFESSIONS| 10C WESTCHESTER FINAL " MOTORCYCLIST DIES IN CROSS COUNTY CRASH| 3A " CHECK OUT LOHUD NIGHT LIFE ON 8THE CRAWL 9 LoHud.com Desiree Grand The Journal News MOUNTVERNON 4 Principal StephenJacksonwalksoutintothe grassyfrontyardofMountVernon High School every afternoon at dismissal time to ensure students make it onto their buses or start their walk home safely.<br><br> It doesn 9t take much time, but Jackson, who greets the school 9s 2,220studentseachmorning,feels he needs to also say goodbye at day 9s end. Ononerecentwalkhespotteda shirtless young man. cOh,no, dtheprincipalmuttered.<br><br> cThat 9s not one of my kids. He 9s got to go. d The principal confront- ed the man, who crossed the street. cSo go, d Jackson said.<br><br> cHe can 9t be in front of my building like that. d When Jackson 4 the school 9s fifth principal in seven years 4 took over last year, his goal was to turn the place around. Mount Ver- non High School is the county 9s second-largest high school and is plaguedwithviolence,highabsen- teeism, low graduation rates and poor performance on state tests. Jackson, 48, is determined to change that.<br><br> He has pushed for school uniforms, set up security measuresandusheredinchanges like a cfreshman academy, d which isolates freshmen from older stu- dents, and smaller clearning com- Please see KNIGHTS, 6A INSIDE Tomorrow in Life&Style At 55, Chazz Palminteri makes his Broadway debut in his memory play, cA Bronx Tale. d © 2007 The Journal News For home delivery: 800-942-1010 Main number: 914-694-9300 0 40901 10841 Classified 5D Comics 2D Crossword 9D Dear Abby 3D Lotteries 2B Movies 4D Obituaries 4B Opinion 6B Scoreboard 9C Television 4D Today: Sunny, 81 Tonight: Cloudy, 51 Weather, 7A Coming up " Health and Fitness: A new field of dreams for young soccer stars. " Behind the microphone at World Radio. Watch 5-7 p.m.<br><br> on RNN-TV. C CHECK OUT LOHUD.COM / MVHS NOW FOR THESE ADDITIONAL FEATURES Photos by Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News Stephen Jackson, principal of Mount Vernon High School, shakes hands with Azaniya Jeffers, 18, after school.<br><br> Jackson is in his second year as principal. ThenewMt.VernonHigh KNIGHT BECOMING A PRINCIPAL PRESIDES OVER CHANGING SCHOOL About this series cBecoming a Knight d is a multimedia project aimed at capturing the essence of Mount Vernon High School, a diverse institution often pigeon- holed as either a launching pad for talented ath- letes or a place where violence runs rampant. Reporter Desiree Grand and photographer Carucha L.<br><br> Meuse are spending time throughout the year at the 2,200-student school, filming and interviewing students, teachers and support staff. The resulting articles, pictures and videos will be published in print and online at LoHud.com, with new content added every week. " A video interview with Princi- pal Stephen Jackson.<br><br> " A video introduction from the project 9s authors. " Mount Vernon High School pic- ture of the week. " Download data on the school 9s crime statistics.<br><br> " Hundreds of images in the special picture galleries. " Communi- ty forums 4 share your opinions on the school. " First in- stallment in the cKnight Cam d series.<br><br> " Related Web links to the PTA Web site, blogs, more. LoHud.com Uniforms, learning academies tried in bid to alter a violent atmosphere Connecticutman missesbird, wounds 17-year-oldKentboy Jonathan Bandler The Journal News PATTERSON 4 Seventeen- year-oldEamonnHanleywascam- ouflaged, sitting at the base of a tree in the Cranberry Mountain Wildlife Management Area, hop- ing the turkeys he and his dad were hunting yesterday morning couldn 9t spot him. Unfortunately, a third hunter, ManuelPereira,didn 9tseehim,ei- ther 4 and birdshot from Pereira 9sgunmissedthepheasant he was aiming for and struck the Kent teenager in the left arm.<br><br> cItburned,ithurt,likesomeone punched me. It didn 9t feel like a bullet, d Hanley said later, after he was treated at Danbury Hospital. The accidental shooting oc- curred shortly after 8 a.m.<br><br> about 120 yards from the Stage Coach Road entrance to the park. Pereira, armed with a shotgun, and his brother and a nephew, us- Please see SHOOTING, 7A Hunter 9serrantshotstrikes teenagerinPattersonwoods Annual event raises money, awareness to keep women safe Brian J. Howard The Journal News ELMSFORD 4 Sarah Mullin and Kate McNamara looked around at the growing crowd around them and concluded this was exactly how their friend Lind- sey would have had it.<br><br> The third annual 5K Run-Walk for PEACE OUTside Campus, the Lindsey M. Bonistall Foundation, was again a festive gathering that celebrated the memory of a viva- cious young woman while raising moneyandawarenesstokeepcol- legestudentssafe.Bonistallwasa 20-year-old student at the Univer- sity of Delaware when she was at- tacked and killed by a stranger in her off-campus apartment on May 1, 2005. cI feel like it 9s something every- one can relate to, d said McNama- ra, a White Plains resident and 2005 Quinnipiac University grad- uate.<br><br> cEveryone 9s been in college. It could happen to anyone. d A judge on June 6 sentenced Bonistall 9skiller,JamesCookeJr., to death. Her family established the foundation to promote safety nationwide.<br><br> cI think it 9s fitting, d Mullin said. cIt 9sforagreatcause,andLindsey was a great girl. d Thefoundationhaschapterson Please see BONISTALL, 7A Upbeatrun-walkhonorsslainstudent cI feel like it 9s some- thing everyone can relate to. d Kate McNa- mara of White Plains New $20M building stands out as other hospitals struggle, close Gerald McKinstry The Journal News SLEEPYHOLLOW 4Theprognosisforhospitals isn 9t so great these days, and executives at a Lower Hudson Valley medical center say the best way to stay healthy is through growth. Phelps Memorial Hospital Cen- ter recently opened a new $20 mil- lionbuildingoverlookingtheHud- son River, adding yet another tool, a very large one, to its proverbial medical bag.<br><br> cOur success is because we con- tinuetoexpandandinvestinservic- es for our patients, d said Keith Safi- an,presidentandchiefexecutiveof- ficer,citingmanychallengesfacing thehealth-careindustry. cYoucan 9t have a really good hospital if you don 9t have good economics. d Phelps 9 growth comes at a time when many regional hospitals are closing and struggling with state and federal cuts. A state commission, for exam- ple, recommended last year that nine hospitals be shut, including CommunityHospitalatDobbsFerry.PascackValley in New Jersey, which is popular with Rockland resi- dents,announcedearlier thisyear that it wasclosing because of financial challenges. Safian and others at Phelps say that while they Phelps 9 growth garners success Please see HOSPITAL, 7A On LoHud " See a video of the latest ad- vancements at Phelps at LoHud.com /view.<br><br> LoHud.com

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