Pearl River Week in Review: Tommy Lollipop Project Launches

, which she organized in memory of her close friend Tommy Scognamiglio, who died from cancer in October.

She worked with classmates and neighbors putting together backpacks and tote bags full of presents for children battling cancer, which they are delivering to Montefiore Medical Center today.

Diane Coffey shared pictures of them working over the weekend in preparation for today's delivery.

That was just one of the stories we brought you on Pearl River Patch over the past week:

• Patch provided ongoing coverage of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. That included local reaction such as Pearl River Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Morgano's letter to the community. 
• Orangetown honored 28 new graduates in its Youth Court program Dec. 11. 
• Fourth graders from Franklin Ave. Elementary School presented what they learned while reading "How Full is Your Bucket?" during a presentation to the Pearl River Board of Education Dec. 11.  
• The Pearl River School District announced the hiring of Colleen Doria as a special education teacher at last week's board of education meeting. 
• Stacey Maher shared her pictures of the Pearl River Middle School winter concert, which was held last Wednesday at the high school. 
• The Orangetown Council voted to accept with regret the reitrement of Orangetown Police Sgt. Sean Russo at its final meeting of 2012. 
• Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef vetoed many of the amendments the county legislature made to his proposed 2013 budget. The legislature is currently debating an override of his veto. 
• Orange & Rockland Utilities announced that it's Neighbor Fund had opened for the winter. The Neighbor Fund provides grants for customers who are unable to pay their heating bills due to an emergency. 
• The Shops at Nanuet are still on target to open October 2013. 

For more on the latest in Pearl River Sports, check out today's notebook. We also covered the Pearl River girls basketball team's home opener, a 70-40 victory over Scarsdale that pushed the Pirates' record to 2-0.