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Friday, January 13, 2017
Vol. 77, No. 2
Nine Jericho students named Regeneron Scholars
Nine Jericho seniors were named Regeneron Scholars on January 4, the highest amount from any Long Island school and a number that is tied for the most at one school nationally. A total of 300 students nationally were named Scholars. This contest was formerly known as the Intel Science Talent Search and the semifinalists are now known as scholars. The students are listed below with the title of their project.
Ruiwen Fu
Potent Treatment of Renal Fibrosis: A Novel Inhibitor of Hipk2- Smad3 Interaction
Grace Hu
Advanced Au-SPIONs: Synthesis and Comparison of Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Personalized Nanomedicine
Justin Kim
Tannic Acid and its Synthetic Derivatives for Enhanced b-Lactam Antibiotic Susceptibility Through b-Lactamase Inhibition
Nathaniel Lee
Novel Femtosecond ZnSe Ceramic Based Optical Parametric Oscillators: Cost-Effective Lasers for Infrared Spectroscopy Applications
Sandra Li
Elucidating Cancer Racial Health Disparities: The Differential Response of African and Caucasian American Colon Cancer Cells to Vitamin E
Adam Pahlavan
Connecting the Spin-Diluted Ising Model to Bacterial Chemotaxis: A Cluster- Based Approach to Characterizing See page 20
Photo by Denise Nash
(Back row, left to right) Justin Kim, Zhitong Wang, Brian Sang, Grace Hu, Nathaniel Lee, and Adam Pahlavan. (Front row, left to right) Ruiwen Fu, Sandra Li, and Archana Verma.
Town Supervisor resigns amid political scandal BY GARY SIMEONE
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, who is under indictment on federal corruption charges, officially resigned from his position last Wednesday. The former Supervisor said in a statement to the public, that it was in the best interests of the town and its residents that he resign and focus on clearing his name. Deputy Supervisor and Councilman Joseph Muscarella has been acting as interim Supervisor since Venditto left office. In his statement to the public which was issued after the announcement of his resignation, Venditto said “I realize that a number people have formed an opinion of me over the past year or so, particularly in light of the federal charges that have been brought against me. However, those who truly know me understand that I have never sought
to personally profit from my time in public service.” He added as an example that he began drawing pension in January of 2016, two years after he was eligible to do so. “I reduced my Town salary by the amount of my pension so that my total compensation remained exactly the same. All of this was done at a substantial savings to our already hard-pressed taxpaying residents, and also to avoid any appearance of double-dipping.” As a result of the indictment and the federal corruption charges brought against him he said that, “I have decided to leave my position as the Oyster Bay Town Supervisor. I now feel that it is in the best interests of the Town and its residents for me to do so, especially since it will be difficult, if not impossible, for me to function as the Town Supervisor going forward, as I focus on clearing my name.”
Town Councilman and interim Supervisor, Muscarella, said of Venditto’s decision, “Supervisor Venditto dedicated many years of his life to public service and can look back upon many positive accomplishments during his tenure. We wish him well as he addresses the personal issues that are before him.” Many residents had differing opinions on the former Supervisor’s decision to resign from his post. Amanda Field, the new Plainview Water District Commissioner, said that, “Venditto resigned to take this time to focus on clearing his name. The courts will decide the outcome of this story.” Another resident said on a Fa cebook page calling for his resignation, “He should step down... He barely won the last election. And in January he started collecting his pension. Many will say he did a lot of things for the TOB. But at what cost? The town is broke and has a
Junk Bond Rating. He sold the Highway Dept. building in Syosset after spending millions of dollars to update the property. What’s it going to cost us to relocate them when the lease runs out? We can’t keep mortgaging our kids future!” Yet another resident exclaimed, “What’s best for the town and its residents is a resignation!” A special meeting was called this past Friday at Oyster Bay Town Hall to consider the selection of a new supervisor to replace Venditto. The meeting was postponed to Tuesday, January 10th however because half of the Town Council failed to show up at the meeting. Muscarella said he is not seeking the Town Supervisor’s position and that he wants to continue to serve the public in the capacity that he serves.
Syosset chef honored by BOCES Barry Tech PAGE 21 Robert Seaman School Winter Concert PAGE 12