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Friday, December 26, 2025
Vol. 85, No. 52
Jericho water official honored at retirement
Jericho Cares named Chamber charity of 2026 BY RIKKI MASSAND
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino, third from right, recently honored Jericho Water District Commissioner James Asmus on his retirement Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino recently honored Jericho Water District Commissioner James Asmus as he retired after 9 years of exceptional service to the District and the Jericho community. His work ethic and leadership contributed to the completion of essential projects related
to emerging contaminants and the advancement of the district-wide cellular meter change-out program. “For nearly a decade, James has been a steady and principled voice as within the Jericho Water District, helping safeguard one of our most vital resources. His commitment to environmental stew-
ardship, long-term planning, and public service has left a lasting impact that will continue to benefit Jericho residents for years to come. On behalf of the entire Town of Oyster Bay, we thank Commissioner Asmus for his dedication and distinguished tenure.” said Supervisor Saladino.
The Jericho Syosset News Journal is published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801Telephone 931-0012 - USPS 3467-68 Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Syosset Jericho News Journal, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208, Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris Publisher
Five and a half years ago, one of Long Island’s — and the country’s — most prestigious public school districts and communities was divided over concerns about transitioning residents who would send children to the local schools, raising issues of inequality, economic disparities, taxpayer rights and even race. As conversations turned ugly at times, local moms, including Fran O’Connor, decided to take action. “We started in August of 2020, and there was a Jericho motel that was proposed to become a transitional family housing center. There were Jericho residents protesting it as they did not want homeless people living in the community, but right down the block we already have motels people do live in. I went on a Zoom call about this. Their major issues stemmed from being against a homeless shelter – and meanwhile, we did have homeless kids living in Jericho who saw those signs as they rode on school buses each day,” O’Connor said. She commented during the 2020 Zoom meeting, asking people to take down the offensive signs, but was met with more antagonistic views, and some residents decided to make even larger signs. O’Connor said she was mortified and shared her grief over the commu-
nity debate on social media. Other local moms took the same position, advocating for kindness and compassion — especially for the children she mentioned. “We all connected through social media, and then had a Zoom meeting to see what we could do. The choice was to check with the Jericho School District about the homeless and transitional housing (motel resident) families, and there were about 17 with kids in the schools. To start, we reached out to the John Theissen Children’s Foundation – a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Wantagh – we got backpacks for these children, and John’s wife teaches in Jericho UFSD. We held a drive for toiletries and household items, working in my driveway during the pandemic. We packed those items and gave them to the school district to distribute to the families,” O’Connor said. She continued her advocacy by publishing an editorial in local media. After seeing her column, a supporter representing the Lions Club came forward and informed O’Connor that, on Saturdays, the Lions regularly dropped off food for families staying at the Edgewood Motel, 38 Jericho Turnpike. That effort led to the creation of a small food pantry in O’Connor’s basement, and the discussion soon See page 6
81 inducted into Natl. Honor Society PAGE 4 Gingerbread houses bring family fun PAGE 10