Friday, November 22, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 47
$1 30 Berry Hill
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Syosset Board considering illuminated signage at schools
SQUEAKY CLEAN
BY RIKKI MASSAND
The fifth grade at Robbins Lane Elementary School recently hosted a car wash to raise funds for the PTA. See page 16.
Broadway comes to Jericho temple BY GARY SIMEONE
It will be a Hanukkah party like no other at the Temple Or Elohim in Jericho on Sunday, December 15. A joyous holiday party is planned for the community reform congregation, complete with Broadway actors and actresses and a Hasson-catered hot breakfast. The event is scheduled to take place from 10:30 a.m to 1 p.m. “What makes this event so unique this year is that we have stars from Broadway coming to perform for us,”
said Laurel Fried, organizer of the event. “They will put on a cabaret performance which is open to both temple members and members of the public.” The Broadway stars who will be attending the event include Brayden Bratti, a fifth-grader who is currently starring in “Matilda” at the John Engeman Theatre in Northport, and Amanda Swickle, a Jericho teenager who recently received a Young Artist Award scholarship.
The two performers are part of the 'Shine Theatre Arts Project,' a performing arts training intensive for kids and teenagers. The STAP is located in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts, and works to cultivate Broadway's next generation of talent through instruction support and advice. Fried said that of the congregation’s 300 members, there are some adult Broadway actors in the mix, but this See page 8
At its meeting on Monday evening, November 18, the Syosset Board of Education discussed the potential of adding new light-up signage akin to LED-lit message boards in front of many high schools, that would face roadways leading to and/or in front of Syosset’s school buildings. Sign costs, their specific locations, functionality as a means of communication, the aesthetics of electronically-lit signage -- plus encasing signboards in brick/masonry stands, and what that costs -- are all part of this ongoing school trustees’ discussion ahead of project plans. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Rogers explains that light-up sign boards cost around $25,000 per side, with a dual-sided (to face traffic in either direction) would cost $50,000. Dr. Rogers noted the costs of installations and upkeep, which are not able to be specifically examined unless a site on property and in front of a district school are identified. The Board resolved to direct Rogers to further discuss opportunities for sign locations and specific designs with consultants to the school district from H2M Architects + Engineers. Rogers says he will request three proposals for signage displays. The potential height and width of the light-up signs was not mentioned during
the school board’s discussion on Monday. School Board President Tracy Frankel says she has no specific objections to having “lighted signs somewhere” but the costs are a concern, noting the capital and infrastructure projects on the horizon with the next school budget’s formulation coming up. The district administration continues researching the costs and availability to outfit Syosset Central School District properties with lighted roadway signs. But timing is not ideal for the project, she told her fellow trustees. “The questions remain, where we get the funds, for what, and what facilities projects we may or may not anticipate right now that will require moving around money -- I am not so sure that NOW is the time to talk about spending $50,000 on a double-sided sign anywhere,” Frankel said. An update she delivered this week is that the library is unable to accommodate any lighted road sign for the district. School Board Trustee Andrew Feldman asked for more specifics on the potential looks of LED-lighted signage and whether they would appear as a setting, in masonry, or as a temporary road or construction sign might catch the eye. Dr. Rogers confirmed there is only an option for See page 8
Musicians selected for All States PAGE 18 Commitment Day for HS athletes PAGE 14