Friday, September 22, 2017
Vol. 94, No.1
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Rookie robotics PAGE 75 n Cathedral ordination PAGE 48
Village to study fire stations’ structural conditions
TROJANS ON A ROLL
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
The Garden City High School Trojans beat MacArthur High School with a resounding 27-3 score last weekend, for the Trojan's 14th straight win. The team plays at Bellmore JFK this Saturday.
School District finds drawbacks to changing school start time
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
According to a report presented by new interim Superintendent of Schools Alan Groveman, moving the start time at Garden City High School to 8:30 a.m. could cost up to $550,000. His presentation to the school board at its work session on Wednesday, September 6, indicated that there would also be questions on managing the afternoon time for Garden City Middle School students who would start school at 7:40
a.m. if the high school moved to 8:30 a.m. The school board asked questions on the specifics, and it has planned to take action at its Tuesday, October 17 meeting at Stewart School and vote on the proposal to change the starting time for the 2018-2019 year or defer the matter. A key part of the discussion involving additional costs to the school district, ultimately falling to taxpayers, is that Garden City Public Schools saw an unplanned uptick in
enrollment this summer. At the Central Property Owners’ Association September 12 meeting, Heineman said there’s an uptick in school enrollment to consider. Over 100 new students enrolled in Garden City Public Schools between June and the first days of September. She said the totals were 45 new students into the primary schools (Hemlock, Locust, and Homestead Schools); 25 more students in the two elementary schools (Stewart See page 49
At the Western Property Owners’ Association meeting on Tuesday, September 19, Village Trustee Robert Bolebruch announced plans for the village to study infrastructure conditions at each of the three Garden City firehouses – Station No. 1 (headquarters) adjoined to Village Hall, at 347 Stewart Avenue; Station No. 2 in the West at Edgemere Road and Stewart Avenue, and Station No. 3 in the East at St. James Street North and Clinton Road, immediately north of the restored Rainbow Division Monument. Trustee Bolebruch, who serves as the Board of Trustees’ designated fire commissioner, said he has spoken with Chief Brian Gallo and the assistant chiefs, and his idea of a best practice is completion of work one station at a time. He suggests starting with the fire headquarters (Station 1, which has received many facility upgrades approved by the Board of Trustees since 2015) and then Station 3 in the East, and finally addressing Station 2 in the West, which Bolebruch said is definitely in the worst condition of the three. T.J. Michon, a career fireman, WPOA director and president of the Garden City Professional Firefighters’ Association, nodded in agreement a few seats to Bolebruch’s left. He turned to Michon and said items that could be addressed at each station include every crack, leak or mold issues to bigger items such as infrastructure design. “Everything that needs to be done, we will do that. We will go from the firehouse requiring the least amount of work to the one requiring the most amount of work (in the West). These are thing we need to do. It does not matter if they are volunteer or professional firemen; the bottom line is these people need to have the equipment and safety, and everything they need to keep our village safe,” Bolebruch said. He explained that the fire trucks of today are much longer and larger than their predecessors, as in 2016 a new truck (apparatus) was approved by the Board. He feels they carry more technology and equipment, which should be safeguarded in a garage from outdoor weather conditions. “For some of them we can’t fit those trucks in the existing buildings that we have. One of the things I am pushing for as village fire commissioner is to have an engineering firm to go in and inspect every single thing that has to be done. The firehouses design and structure of the buildings are not in line with the needs of the present day and the future,” he said. Bolebruch spoke with WPOA residents about possibly having an addition to firehouse No. 2 in the East. A resident asked if any station could be demolished and rebuilt. Bolebruch said for the East station the addition was discussed as a favorable alternative to rebuilding it. See page 49
GCPD: Avoid thefts, keep your vehicles locked PAGE 18 Property Owners Assns. remember Bobby Menges PAGE 3