January 4, 2023 Farmingdale South

Santa Makes A Special Visit To Madonna Heights Homeless Shelter

Santa arrived early at the Madonna Heights Homeless Shelter in Dix Hills. Women’s Club of Farmingdale Welfare Committee Chairs Rosemary Emigholz and Judy Vilas gathered with club members Tina Diamond, Barbara Hoerner, Linda Kreussling, and Anna Ievolo to

assemble holiday gift bags filled with books, stuffed animals and blankets which were then donated to Madonna Heights mothers & children in need, making their holiday a little brighter.

Luncheon Chairs

Valerie Thieke and Ingrid Hernandez hosted a very festive Christmas

Party on 12/1/22 at Tre Scalini Restaurant in Farmingdale. Beautiful poinsettias adorned the tables, as President Barbara Hoerner and the general membership approved a $300 donation to the Farmingdale School District Welfare Fund. Members and guests enjoyed a delicious

4-course lunch and, in addition, our luncheon chairs supplied a tray of holiday cookies for each table. They also included a free raffle of a large holiday basket. Guests included two new prospective members, Gail and Linda and associate members Hilda Carman and Mary

O’Toole. Members were led in singing Christmas carols by Rosemary Emigholz, Lynne Cahill, Fran Rotondo, Loda Romanelli, Ingrid Hernandez, Judith Vazquez and Angelina Dunlop to the wonderful music of organist Jack Contrell.

The Women’s Club

of Farmingdale, a local philanthropic organization, is always interested in welcoming new members. For more information, please email: lodaromanelli@gmail. com. #IAMGFWC

Submitted by Maria Ortolani, WCF Publicity Chair

Home Ideas

(NAPSA)-You can feel more secure that your home can weather any storm if you’ve got a generator to keep the lights and appliances on in an outage. To learn more about generators, visit www.briggsand stratton. com/safetyfirst.

L-R: Judy Vilas, Tina Diamond, Rosemary Emigholz, Barbara Hoerner, Linda Kreussling, Anna Ievolo (in back)

L-R: Luncheon Comm. Chairs Valerie Thieke and Ingrid Hernandez

Jack Contrell, Rosemary Emigholz, Lynn Cahill, Fran Rotondo

Helping You Help Others

By Noelle Lambert

The Charity of the Month for January is Pal-O-Mine Equestrian

Pal-O-Mine

Equestrian is a local non-profit organization that began in 1995 as a therapeutic horseback riding program for individuals with disabilities and other vulnerable populations. They grew from having two programs, eight horses and 80 students per week to 11 programs, 25 horses and 400 students per week - and they continue to grow today! “Our mission has been, and continues to be, to provide a comprehensive therapeutic equine program using horses to facilitate growth, learning and healing,” said Lisa Gatti, Founder and CEO of Pal-O-Mine Equestrian. “We proudly serve individuals with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, the military and the impoverished.”

Their location in Islandia offers an unequaled setting for equestrian activities, with a 20-stall barn on 13 acres, handicapped accessible bathrooms, a 100’ x 120’ indoor arena with state-of-the-art-footing and a rider hoisting system, 3 outdoor riding arenas, classrooms, accessible playground, a greenhouse and a wellness center. They offer the following programs:

Lessons: This program provides quality adaptive riding and unmounted lessons that benefit individuals with cognitive, physical, emotional and mental disabilities. Each one of their riding instructors excels in their field and continues with training and certification throughout their careers.

Equine Assisted Learning: This program incorporates horses experientially for educational and emotional growth and learning. Using unique approaches to create positive and constructive learning experiences for children and adolescents who are at risk of failing in the traditional academic setting, this program has changed the lives of countless individuals.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: This follows a model designed by EAGALA,

Inc., the leading international EAP training and certifying organization.

Currently, Pal-OMine Equestrian has 7 Licensed Mental Health Professionals and 11 Equine Specialists who are certified in this model. Groups that are participating focus on the following issues: grief, trauma and abuse, eating disorders, substance abuse, addiction and codependency.

Speech & Occupational Therapy: Clients respond well to therapy incorporating activities with animals, and a variety of therapy goals can be addressed using this treatment strategy. Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists run this program to provide therapy services with the assistance of wonderful animals.

Military: For more than four thousand years, horses have been an integral part of warfare. Today, horses are still playing an important role in war, this time in the recovery of military veterans who have suffered emotional and/or physical injuries. This program is an EAGALA designated Military Program and offers individual, group and family sessions to help people heal.

Corporate Leadership: The way individuals interact and react with horses is very similar to the way they interact with their clients, customers, peers and work groups. People interpret horse behavior/emotions through the lens of their personal perception. How they interpret horses can often be a metaphor for their work, attitudes and relationships. Pal-O-Mine Equestrian is proud to offer a Corporate Leadership program.

For more information about this organization and all they offer, please call 631-348-1389 or visit www.pal-omine.org. Don’t miss next week’s article to learn about how you can get involved and help others in your community.

PSEG Long Island is sharing tips for customers to save money and reduce their energy consumption every day of the year.

National Cut Your Energy Costs Day was launched to encourage consumers to explore energy- saving opportunities. In the past eight years, since PSEG Long Island was established, business and residential customers throughout Long Island and the Rockaways have

Money And Energy Saving Tips

done just that. More than $380 million in rebates have been distributed to customers through PSEG Long Island’s energy efficiency programs. That’s a savings of more than 2.1 billion kilowatts of energy since 2014 – and enough electricity to power more than 270,000 homes for an entire year.

These tips can help customers save money and energy any time of year:

· Replace inefficient

incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs since, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting accounts for about 15% of the electricity used in the home, and LEDs use approximately 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer.

· Reduce “phantom power” by using energy efficient power strips or unplugging electronic devices when they’re not in use. Items plugged into outlets use electricity even when they’re turned off.

· Use a programmable thermostat to automatically manage your home’s heating and cooling needs.

ENERGY STAR estimates that properly used programmable thermostats can save about $180 a year. In

addition, PSEG Long Island offers rebates on smart thermostats.

· Lower your thermostat by just one degree to potentially reduce your heating bill up to 3%. Lowering it two degrees during the day and five to 10 degrees at night will save even more.

· Install timers and motion detectors to automatically manage indoor and outdoor lighting and help ensure lights are not on when they’re not needed.

· Ceiling fans can be used to save energy in winter. Setting a fan to rotate clockwise on low pulls cool air toward the ceiling, pushing warm air down into a room.

· Seal windows and doorframes with weather stripping or caulk, and

remove or cover window air conditioners to help to prevent drafts that waste energy and money.

· Install a high efficiency air source heat pump (ASHP) to lower energy usage, save money and provide greater comfort in cold and hot months. Robust rebates are available from PSEG Long Island’s Home Comfort Program for ducted ASHP units, ducted geothermal heat pumps and ductless mini split systems. Additionally, PSEG Long Island’s Home Comfort PLUS program offers enhanced rebates for customers who meet certain income qualifications.

· More moneysaving ideas and rebate information are available at https://www.psegliny.com/ saveenergyandmoney/

energystarrebates.

Independent annual evaluations by Demand Side Analytics (DSA) have found PSEG Long Island’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to be costeffective and energysaving. DSA’s 2020 evaluation showed that PSEG Long Island Energy Efficiency Program, including rebates, generated $1.74 in benefits to society for every $1 in costs to operate the program.

For additional information, visit: https://www.psegliny. com/efficiency. Join the conversation online using the hashtag: #CutYourEnergyCostsDay.

Medicare Lowers Premiums And Deductibles

Written by Barry Klitsberg, Nassau County Medicare Counselor, FCA

For those of us who are enrolled in the Medicare program, there is good news on the horizon. Medicare has made significant changes to its premiums and deductibles, lowering the cost to the beneficiary.

While the cost of just about everything has gone up, the monthly Medicare Part B premium has been reduced for the first time this century, from $170.10 to $164.90, for a yearly saving of $62.40. What’s more, the Medicare Part B deductible has gone down from $233 per year to $226. These two reductions have broken a string of yearly increases.

Medicare Part B generally covers medically necessary services, that is, services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition and that meet accepted standards of medical practice. Part B also covers a wide range of preventive services from shots to screenings to prevent illness (like the flu) or detect it at

an early stage, when treatment is most likely to work best.

In addition, due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare will finally be able to negotiate prescription drug costs directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers. While this section of the law doesn’t go into effect until 2025, in the interim, beneficiaries who are insulin dependent can have their insulin costs capped at $35.00 per month. This can save hundreds of dollars a month. Also, the Inflation Reduction Act calls for out of pocket prescription expenses

to be capped at $2,000 annually.

In order to determine which type of plan works best for you, you should call the Nassau County Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance Program, HIICAP hotline. This is a free service that will guide you to the best plan for you. We have no affiliation with insurance companies, agents or brokers. Our number is 516-485-3754. While we are quite busy during Medicare Open Enrollment Season, we strive to return every call on our voice mail within two working days, and usually call sooner.

FCA can help. Answers to your Medicare questions are just a phone call away.

Barry Klitsberg is an Assistant Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance (HIICAP) Coordinator at FCA in Garden City and an Aging Services Program Specialist at US Department of Health and Human Services.

PUZZLE ANSWERS:

Successful Donation Drive

On Monday, December 19, 2022, Noelle Lambert and The Bryn Elliott Team concluded their Holiday Donation Drive, which ran for four weeks and had drop-off locations throughout Long Island. The drive brought in countless donations, all of which were given to a local non-profit organization, the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless (LICH).

“It was such a great experience and people didn’t hold back,” said Noelle Lambert, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “I received calls, texts and emails from people who heard of the drive and wanted to donate, many of which ended up giving so much that they couldn’t bring it all into a drop-off location in one trip. Although it’s a very sad reality that many individuals are experiencing homelessness and other hardships right here on Long Island, it was really refreshing to see our community come together and do something about it.”

The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless strives to end homelessness on Long Island, and to alleviate the issues associated with homelessness and poverty for homeless and at risk persons in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The organization’s distribution center where the donations were brought is located at 600 Albany Avenue in Amityville,

and is also known as their boutique. People in need can make an appointment to come to the boutique and leave with clothes and other items, such as non perishable food and personal care products for free. LICH is here to work directly with people in need, as well as with case managers, shelter staff members, school employees, church members and the like who are helping these individuals.

”This organization does so much good and it was a pleasure to contribute towards their important mission,” said Bryn Elliott, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “So many people have clothing and miscellaneous items that they aren’t using, while others are in real need; it’s just a matter of coordinating a collection. However, it’s clear that the holiday spirit helped our drive quite a bit. I want to express how thankful we are to all who donated, as well as for the businesses that allowed us to use their locations for the drive, which includes USA Auto Body in East Patchogue, The Fish Store in Bayport, Long Island Media Group in

Farmingdale and Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Smithtown and Farmingville.”

“We are so very grateful for this drive that Noelle and The Bryn Elliott Team put together,” said Bailey Riekkinen, Community Engagement Specialist at LICH.

“The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless will continue to advocate and serve until we achieve our mission of ending homelessness on Long Island. In 2022, we referred over 700 households for permanent housing through Coordinated Entry, a system that ensures the most vulnerable Long Islanders are prioritized for permanent, affordable housing.

Affordable housing is scarce on Long Island, and we are consistently working hard at connecting Long Island’s most vulnerable to the available resources. Additionally, we received and distributed over 10,000 pounds of food and toiletries along with countless clothing items to locals that are homeless and at-risk on the streets and in shelters through our boutique and pantry.”

Together we can make a true difference in our community.

If you would like more information about starting a donation drive with the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, please contact Bailey at 631.464.4314 x125. For more information about LICH and all they offer, visit www. addressthehomeless.org or call 631.464.4314.

Donations collected from the drive

Noelle Lambert & Bryn Elliott

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Residents Reminded To Turn ‘Trash Into Cash’ This Holiday Season

Oyster Bay Town

Supervisor Joseph Saladino joined his colleagues in Town government Councilman Lou Imbroto, Councilwoman Laura Maier and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato to bring good news to Town residents who receive Town recycling collection. Beginning in January, the Town will return glass to its recycling collection, allowing residents to place plastics, metals and glass all in their yellow collection pail. In addition, officials reminded residents to help turn ‘trash into cash’

by recycling cardboard, which should be bundled and placed beside recycling containers on collection day.

Supervisor Saladino said, “Residents can help protect the environment and turn trash into cash by recycling glass and cardboard boxes on their regular recycling collection day. In addition to expanding the recycling program to include additional types of plastic, we will also return glass to the recycling stream. The Town of Oyster Bay is committed to being a regional recycling leader

and I thank you in advance for helping us reach that goal.”

Officials also reminded residents to bundle their cardboard and paper products beside their yellow recycling pail, either broken down and placed inside a larger box or bundled with string. Residents can expect to see individual pickups for these items, with separate collections for cardboard from other recycling.

For more information, visit www.oysterbaytown. com or call (516) 6775848.

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‘TRASH INTO CASH’ THIS HOLIDAY SEASON - Beginning in January, the Town will return glass to its recycling collection, allowing residents to place plastics, metals and glass all in their yellow collection pail. Pictured above: Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino (second from left) joins with Town Councilman Lou Imbroto, Councilwoman Laura Maier and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato remind residents to begin recycling glass in the new year, as well as bundle cardboard beside their recycling pails.