Friday, January 31, 2020
Vol. 79, No. 5
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SERVING BETHPAGE, OLD BETHPAGE, AND PLAINVIEW
EAST STREET SHINES
Water District gets grant to remove contaminant BY GARY SIMEONE
The East Street School is celebrated in this week's installment of "Telling Our Story" on page 22. Above, a third grade student learns bowing techniques in music class at East Street.
Police: OB man stabbed parents
Myron Mycio
Nassau County Police have arrested an Old Bethpage man for allegedly stabbing his parents during a domestic dispute on January 26. According to detectives, Myron Mycio, 24, became involved in a domestic dispute with his parents, a 62-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman. Police say that during the disturbance, Mycio stabbed both of his parents with a knife.
Upon police arrival, Mycio was located in the home and placed under arrest. Both victims were transported to an area hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening wounds. Mycio is charged with two counts of Assault 2nd Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th Degree.
The Hicksville Water District received good news this month after the district was awarded a $14 million grant from the state. The grant money will go towards the construction of two new treatment facilities to help remove toxins from the water. Paul Granger, Superintendent of the Hicksville Water District, said the new state-of-the-art treatment facilities, are being specifically designed to combat the man made chemical and likely carcinogen, 1,4 dioxane. “This grant money will allow us to take immediate action with the new treatment system,” said Granger. “It will help our ratepayers in the long run by helping to combat this contamination that was caused by the result of others.” The total investment for the project is estimated at $23.4 million. Granger said that the grant would help to cover 60% of the total capital costs associated with the installation process which include an advance oxidation process (AOP) and granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment systems. “Construction is currently ongoing at the two sites which are located at Newbridge Road and at Bethpage Road." The well at Newbridge Road was shutdown for a period in 2016 because of concerns of elevated levels of chemicals at the site. "Even though at the time it was found that the levels were below regulatory limits, the well was taken
offline to be on the safe side," said Granger. He said that the grant money will be beneficial in three key areas. They include the purchasing costs of the treatment equipment, modifications to the infrastructure and the physical construction of the well head and treatment system apparatuses. The new regulations that have been proposed by the state to reduce the levels of chemicals such as 1,4 Dioxane and other emerging compounds have been estimated at $60 million in capital improvements needed to complete the necessary upgrades at the district's 10 impacted wells. Nicholas Brigandi, Hicksville Water District Commissioner, said that he was appreciative of the funding offered by the state to offset the costs of building the new treatment facilities. "We are appreciative of this significant level of funding, but we don't want our residents to lose sight of the fact that much more funding is needed to offset the necessity of future water rate increases, " said Brigandi. "As we have been doing for the last couple of years, we will seek out all potential avenues for more funding and will continue our legal pursuits to hold the polluters accountable for the treatment related expenses." The grant was announced in early January and it will become available in the next 30 to 60 days which lines up with the current construction of the new treatment facilities.
Central Blvd. School sends valentines PAGE 23 Outstanding writers are published PAGE 8