Friday, June 3, 2022
Vol. 82, No. 22
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SERVING PLAINVIEW, HICKSVILLE, AND LEVITTOWN
TOB beach restoration project Superintendent to retire after 23 years of service BY GARY SIMEONE
Town of Oyster Bay officials unveiled at project to restore sand to TOBAY Beach in time for Memorial Day. With Mother Nature eroding TOBAY Beach over the past three years and the Army Corps. of Engineers unable to deliver sand this season, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and members of the Town Board conducted the largest beach restoration project on Long Island. On a daily basis, trucks filled with screened, cleaned and processed sand place it at TOBAY Beach in time for Memorial Day weekend. In totoal, 33,000 tons of sand were placed at TOBAY Beach. Prior to these efforts, high tide reached and threatened the center ocean pavilion, as well as the dunes that protect Ocean Parkway.
Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “The men and women of the Town of Oyster Bay workforce have saved the summer! We’ve literally moved a mountain of sand to fortify the shoreline at TOBAY Beach and ensured residents have a new, clean beach to enjoy this Memorial Day Weekend. My colleagues on the Town Board and I understand how beloved the beautiful TOBAY Beach is to our residents. That’s why we immediately sprang into action to save our beach and save the summer.” In recent years, Town workers combed sand from the west end of TOBAY to the east, helping
increase the shoreline – especially at the center pavilion. With conditions further eroding annually, Town officials met with Federal officials and entered into a contract with the Army Corps. of Engineers to bring sand from the Fire Island Inlet to TOBAY Beach. The project was set to commence prior to the 2022 beach season; however, the contractor retained by the Army Corps. of Engineers backed out of the full dredging project this year – causing sections of the Fire Island Inlet to go un-dredged. For TOBAY Beach, this meant no new sand and a See page 13
The Mid-Island Times & Levittown Times is Published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Tel 931-0012. USPS 3467-68 Postmaster: Send Address Changes to: The Mid Island & Levittown Times 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208, Garden City, N.Y. 11530. Meg Norris Publisher
Levittown School Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald has spent the entirety of her career in the educational field. After twenty-three years of service, she is retiring from the Levittown School District to spend more time with her family. “I felt it was the right time to retire after spending a long and prosperous career in the educational field,” said Dr McDonald. “I think what I’m going to miss most is all of the staff members who work in the district and of course our great students. Through the years, everyone here has become like a second family to me.” After graduating from Adelphi University with a BS in social sciences and obtaining a master’s degree in social studies education, Dr. McDonald began her educational career at Division Avenue High School as a Social Studies teacher in 1995. After spending multiple years in the district, she moved onto the Plainview school system, where she served as assistant superintendent for business & administration from 2008 to 2014. In 2014, she returned back to her hometown of Levittown, where she took on the role of Superintendent of Schools. “People might not know this, but I’ve been a Levittown resident since I was in sixth grade. I went through the whole school system, graduating from the former Levittown Memorial High School in 1977. My husband and I then raised two sons, who also went through this wonderful school system.” Dr. McDonald said that some of the fondest memories that will stay with her from her years as superintendent will be observing the students in the classrooms and speaking to the teachers about the educational process. “Every year since I’ve been here, there was one subject that I’d pick and I’d watch the teachers and students delve into the process,” said Dr McDonald. “It was really something I enjoyed, to watch the learning process play out in front of me in real time.” She said she’ll also miss the special events that take place See page 13
Celebrating Greek gods at JFK school PAGE 19 Hicksville math teacher wins award PAGE 24
