Friday, March 24, 2017
Vol. 93, No.29
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
STEM grant PAGE 25 n “Chemagination” PAGE 24
Coach’s age discrimination case filed in federal court BY RIKKI N. MASSAND Garden City’s former baseball head coach is facing his first spring away from local dugouts since the early 1970’s, but his age-discrimination claim against his former employer, the Garden City Union Free School District, just got called up to the big leagues. After headlines in the New York Post, Newsday, USA Today’s high school sports and the New York Sportswriters Association appeared between March 19 and March 22 and spread concern among residents, more questions about an 11-month long saga and the actions of the Garden City Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen and Athletic Director Dawn Cerrone have surfaced in the village with new force: an age discrimination lawsuit filed days ago in Brooklyn’s U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Rich Smith is the former 44-year head baseball coach of Garden City High School, and he was hired in 1966 as the JV coach for six See page 28
Well wishes as mayor, trustee finish terms of office BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
St. Joseph School held its decades old tradition of the St. Patrick’s Carnival on March 17, this year with St. Patrick himself in attendance. Here Nursery A and teacher Mrs. Mulderrig with assistant Mrs. McManus host St. Patrick/ Jack McKenna who treated them to a personal visit.
Schools, sports groups meet to coordinate BY RIKKI N. MASSAND A letter last month from Garden City Recreation and Parks and the heads of all the major Garden City sports organizations, from Centennials’ soccer to the GCAA, resulted in a friendly, informative and productive dialogue in front of the Board of Education at their Tuesday,
March 21 meeting. In attendance were Kevin Ocker, chairman of the village’s Board of Commissioners of Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and his colleague Sandra Young, recreation program development supervisor and scheduler. The school board started an open discussion with Ocker and Young and before
long, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen and the district’s athletic director, Dawn Cerrone, facilitated a conversation that established ‘common ground’ and built momentum for planning field usage in the village going forward. Twenty-five parents, PTA members, school administraSee page 28
The Thursday, March 16 meeting of Garden City’s Village Board of Trustees concluded with a lineup of accolades, applause and high praise for outgoing Mayor Nicholas Episcopia, who has served in civic leadership positions since 1998 and will be replaced on April 3 by Deputy Mayor Brian C. Daughney as the top village elected official, and as a village trustee by Mark Hyer of the EPOA. The compliments and thanks Episcopia received from staff and residents was equaled only by the kind words bestowed upon the other departing village trustee, Deputy Mayor Richard V. Silver, who will be replaced by the new Central Property Owner’s Association trustee, Louis Minuto. The first person in the room to acknowledge the special occasion last week was Fire Chief Thomas Strysko, sitting at the executive staff table in front of the Board of Trustees. Strysko presented well wishes and good luck to the mayor “in his retirement from village politics.” After his comments, thanking Mayor Episcopia on behalf of the chiefs’ ranks, firefighters, volunteers and officers of Garden City Fire Department, the rest of department heads were compelled to take to the microphone, each one turning to address Mayor Episcopia and Deputy Mayor Silver at their last meeting in their respective positions. See page 29
GC Jewish Center celebrates Purim PAGES 52-53 Community Theatre takes the stage PAGE 48