The Massapequa Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated Center Stage Music Center's 5th anniversary with a
cutting ceremony at its Massapequa Park location. The event marked a significant milestone for the
which has become a beloved part of the community, offering music lessons and fostering
Wantagh Bird Walk
Join the South Shore Audubon Society for a bird walk at Mill Pond Park in Wantagh, starting at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 1 . The Park is on the north side of Merrick Road, 4 blocks west of the Wantagh State Parkway . The group will meet at the gazebo. Bring binoculars. Walk leaders and other birders and nature enthusiasts will be happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. The bird walk is free of charge.
To register, text your name and contact information to 516 4679498. Rain, snow or temperature below 25 degrees F will cancel the bird walk. Text regarding questionable conditions.
BLACK FRIDAY NAME BRAND JEANS
Center Stage Music Center’s 5th Anniversary
CENTER’S
- The Massapequa Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated Center Stage Music Center’s 5th anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Massapequa Park location. The event marked a significant milestone for the business, which has become a beloved part of the community, offering music lessons and fostering creativity for local musicians of all ages. The event was attended by Massapequa Park Chamber President Robin Hepworth, Treasurer Karen Gawrych, Chamber Board member Isabelle Rapacciuolo, Chantel Rapacciuolo, Town of Oyster Bay Councilman Tom Hand, and Center Stage employees, who came together to celebrate the music center’s success and growth. Owners Veronica McCormick and Angela Munro, who founded Center Stage Music Center in 2019, were on hand to cut the ribbon and thank the community for their support over the years.
Holiday Coloring Contest!
Oyster Bay Town
Supervisor Joseph Saladino and the Town Board announce that children can send their ‘holiday wish list’ directly to Old St. Nick at the North Pole through a special network of Santa’s Mailboxes which arrived in Town facilities from the North Pole. Mailboxes will accept letters now through Monday, December 16th. The Town of Oyster Bay will forward letters to Santa at the North Pole. Letters received by Monday, December 16th with a legible name and return
address will be answered by Santa before the holiday. No postage is necessary. Colorful red mailboxes will be accessible during regular business hours (9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.) at the following locations: Town Hall North, 54 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay Town Hall South, 977 Hicksville Road, Massapequa Ice Skating Center, 1001 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage For more information about Santa’s Mailboxes, call (516) 624-6380 or visit www. oysterbaytown.com.
Did You Know?
Only certain veterans can get the complete comprehensive caregiver benefit package through the VA. DAV (Disabled American Veterans) is working to change these laws and correct this inequity. Many Americans are asking their legislators where they stand on the issue.
Available to order!
All Natural, Hormone & Antibiotic Free, Fully Cooked, Whole Young Turkey (Vegetable Diet Fed)
Antipasto Choose One
• Traditional Antipasto Platter
• Handmade Mozzarella Caprese Platter
• Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
First Course Choose One
• Manicotti
• Meat or Cheese Lasagne
• Stuffed Shells
• Baked Ziti
• Penne alla Vodka
• Linguine Frutti di Mare
Salad Choose One
• Garden or Caesar
• Spinach & Goat cheese w berries
Holiday Feast - Order by Dec. 19 For Christmas Eve Pickup
Town of Babylon Councilman Terence McSweeney would like to encourage your participation in his Toy Drive. Please Drop off a new & unwrapped toy, book or game at Babylon Town Hall Lobby, 200 East Sunrise Hwy. in Lindenhurst, to help bring the joy of the holiday season to those less fortunate. This annul event in run in collaboration with the U.S. Marine Corps., who distribute the items to children in need. For more information, please call 631-957-3081
THURSDAY, NOV. 28th
THANKSGIVING DAY
9:30AM-12:30PM OYSTER BAY TURKEY TROT BY THE BAY
The Longest Consecutive Turkey Trot in the Tri-State. All Proceeds go to Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. Start Line: 36 Audrey Ave. Oyster Bay. For more information, please call 516-531-3323, Brendan Dagan.
9:15AM-12:00PM
MASSAPEQUA TURKEY TROT 5K Thanksgiving Day November 28, 8:30AM Fun Run - 9:15AM 5K Start Rain or Shine. John J Burns Park 4990 Merrick Road in Massapequa. Additional race information can be found at http:// www.massapequaturkeytrot.com
HOLIDAYS
3rd - Daylight Savings Time Ends
5th - Election Day
11th - Veterans Day
28th - Thanksgiving
MAKE A SUBMISSION!
Events must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event date and will run free of charge on a space available basis. For more info, call 631.226.2636 x275 or send events to editorial@longislandmediagroup.com
SATURDAY, NOV. 30th
9:00AM-4:00PM CRAFT & VENDOR MARKET
St. Bernard Craft & Vendor Market, 3100 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown. Fresh Wreaths, Christmas Decorations, Sports Memorablia, Candles, Baked Goods... and so much more! For more information, please call 516-731-4220 or parish@stbernardchurch.org
12:00NOON-5:00PM WANTAGH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WINTER WONDERLAND
The Sixth Annual Wantagh Chamber of Commerce Winter Wonderland is graciously sponsored by the John Theissen Children's Foundation. Vendors, Food Trucks, Holiday Crafts and Treats, Santa Claus, The Grinch, Entertainment, Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting and more. Location: Wantagh Preservation Society, 1700 Wantagh Ave. in Wantagh. For more information, visit info@wantaghchamber.com or call 516-679-0100
UPCOMING DECEMBER EVENTS
SUNDAY, DEC. 1st
WINTER ON WELLWOOD
Rain date: December 8 Lindenhurst Village Square Park and Gazebo 12:00 - 3:00 PM - Santa in the Park and FREE Carousel
sponsored by Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce (Photos with Santa ends at 2:30 PM) 12:00 - 5:00 PM - Christmas Kindl Market, Community Wreath Display, Interactive Story-walk, Ice Sculptor & Carolers
4:30 PM - Holiday Parade Followed by Village Gazebo Tree Lighting
5:00PM
ADVENT LESSONS AND CAROLS Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 210 So. Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst, celebrates the First Sunday of Advent with Scriptures and beautiful music led by the adult choir, youth choir, cantors, and instrumentalists. Reception to follow in the School Auditorium. Join us as we prepare for the coming of Christ into our hearts. For more information, please call 631-226-7725
SATURDAY, DEC. 7TH
10:00AM-3:00PM
ST. MARK'S CHRISTMAS FAIR
754 Montauk Highway (across from the Oconee Diner) in Islip. The fair is held in the office building’s Gathering Place. Santa, Decorated Christmas Trees, Wreaths, Ornaments, Toys, Craft Items, Jewelry, Cookie Walk, Raffles, Sweepstakes, Bake Table. December is a very busy time for Santa–but he’ll be at the Fair from around 11:00 to 12:30. For more information, please call 631-581-4950, https://stmarksislip. org
Celebrating our 15th Year in Copiague
L 1.
L 2. Kwyatio
L 3.
L3A. Pad Ki Mao (Drunken
$10.25
stir-fried board rice noodle with basil, onion, scallion & bell peppers (Choice of chicken or beef)
L 4. Lar Nard ............................. $10.25
Stir-fried broad rice noodles topped with chicken or beef & Chinese broccoli in brown gravy
L 7. Khao Pad Supparot $10.25 (Pineapple Coconut Fried Rice) Coconut fried rice with chicken topped with ground peanuts & fried onions.
L 8. Pad Ruom Mitt $10.25
House special stir-fried mixed vegetables & tofu with basil & chili paste
L 9. Ma Khue Puag (Eggplant) ...... $10.25
Eggplant stir-fried in sweet chili sauce & lime leaves
L 10. Tua Yau (String Beans) $10.25
String beans stir-fried with dried tofu, scallions, garlic & soybean
L 11. Pad Nor Mai (Asparagus) $10.25
Asparagus with bamboo shoots, shitake mushroom in brown sauce
ENTREES SERVED WITH RICE
L 17. Gai Pad Bai Ga Prow ......... $11.50
(Spicy Basil Chicken)
Spicy basil chicken with pepper, onion and chili pepper
L17A. Mango Chicken
$11.50
Mango, red onions, pepper, sweet pea pod, chicken, sweet and sour.
L17B. Garlic Chicken
$11.50
Chicken stir-fried with Shitake mushrooms, scallions & bamboo shoots.
L 18. Gai Pat Prik King ...............
$11.50
(Chicken with String Bean)
Chicken stir-fried with string bean, basil, chili paste & soy bean.
L 19. Gai Kana
(Chicken with Chinese Broccoli)
CURRY SERVED WITH RICE
L 12. Gaeng Keo Wahn Plak ...... $11.25
Mixed vegetables with green curry in coconut milk
L 13. Gaeng Keo Wahn (Green Curry)$11.25
Green curry with chicken or beef, pepper, eggplants, basil & coconut milk
L 14. Gaeng Masman ................. $11.25
Masman curry with coconut milk, onions, potatoes & peanuts (Chicken or Beef)
L 15. Gaeng Panang (Panang Curry) $11.25
Panang curry with chicken or beef with basil, lime leaf, pepper & coconut milk
L 16. Gaeng Goong Sapparod $11.95 (Pineapple Curry Shrimp) Panang curry shrimp with string bean, pepper, bamboo
$11.50
Sauteed chicken with Chinese broccoli & baby corn.
L19A. Peanut Chicken
$11.50
Chicken with carrot, red onion, pepper, sweet pea pod, peanut and brown sauce.
L 20. Gai Pad Kieng (Ginger Chicken)
$11.50
Chicken stir-fried with young ginger, black fungus, scallions, bell pepper, onion, bamboo shoots, carrot, baby corn in a ginger sauce.
L 21. Gai Pad Prik Haeng
(Cashew Chicken)
$11.50
Chicken stir-fried with mushroom, bell pepper, bamboo shoots & dry hot pepper.
L 22. Gai Pad Nor Mai
(Chicken or Beef with Asparagus)
$11.50
Chicken or beef sauteed with asparagus with shitake mushroom in oyster sauce.
Why Supporting Local Small Businsesses Matters
The holiday season is a time of year when shopping takes center stage. While online giants and big box retailers seem to be everywhere, offering an endless array of products with the convenience of low prices, small businesses provide a range of benefits that go far beyond the ease of a mouse click or mountains of merchandise. Shopping local retailers is more than just a transactionit is crucial for maintaining the economic foundation of local communities.
Let’s take a look at the many ways it pays to shop small businesses during the holidays and all year long.
offer, and many give back in other ways as well. Small, locally owned businesses often sponsor schools, sports teams and charities. This helps foster a sense of belonging in the community.
· Innovative offerings: Small businesses are not beholden to corporate policies or franchise restrictions, so they can more readily bring new life to existing ideas and trends. Small businesses can offer customers different options that larger retailers cannot match.
· Enhanced customer service: Owners and employees of small businesses have a keen interest in keeping customers happy. They often do so by providing superior customer service. Tailoring recommendations, exhibiting a willingness to accommodate special requests, offering a more engaging shopping experience, and being more friendly and connected with regular customers sets many small businesses apart.
· Support the community: Small businesses serve the community through the products and services they
· Strengthen the local economy: A large percentage of the money spent at small businesses stays in the community. That’s because these businesses often are owned and operated by local residents who are invested in the community themselves. Various studies indicate that for every $100 spent at a small business, roughly $70 stays in the community.
· Job creation: Small businesses employ a significant percentage of the workforce and frequently provide jobs that might not be available in larger corporate settings. The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy says small businesses have generated 12.9 million net new jobs over the past 25 years, accounting for two out of every three jobs added to the U.S. economy. Keeping residents working helps strengthen local communities.
There are numerous benefits to shopping at small businesses this Small Business Saturday and throughout the year. Such firms help to establish a more resilient, diverse and bustling local community.
Birch Lane Students
Show Their Unity And Heart
Kindness is a year-round expectation for students and Birch Lane Elementary School in the Massapequa School District and one day a year it gets some extra emphasis. The school celebrated World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 with an assembly and recess activities.
Singer and songwriter Jared Campbell visited Birch Lane for a pair of programs that emphasized kindness, compassion and responsibility through sing-alongs. During recess,
students from grades K-4 took a kindness pledge by signing one of the letters in “Unity,” while fifth graders added their names to a large heart. These will hang in the cafeteria along with the words from the past two years, “Kind” and “Include.”
The PTA hosted games that fostered collaboration and cooperation. Students also wrote kind messages and drew cheerful pictures on the blacktop with sidewalk chalk. There was also a Be the “I” in Kind
photo station.
“While we celebrate World Kindness Day on Nov. 13, kindness is something that is celebrated every day at Birch Lane,” Principal Stephen Aspetti said. “Educating children about the importance of kindness and empathy is one of our greatest responsibilities. When we see our students going out of their way to help a classmate, it fills us with pride and reminds us that the efforts we are making are having positive results.”
CLUES ACROSS
1. Long piece of squared timber
5. Emaciation
10. “Bewitched” boss Larry
14. Combining form meaning “different”
15. Current unit equal to 10 amperes
16. Older
17. Large, stocky lizard
18. Ringworm
19. Actor Pitt
20. Indian hand clash cymbals
22. Data at rest
23. Jeweled headdress
24. Indicators of when stories were written
27. Check
CLUES DOWN
1. Piece of felted material
2. Ancient Greek City
3. Aquatic plant
4. Potentially harmful fungus (Brit. sp.)
5. Body art (slang)
6. One who follows the rules
7. Ordinary
8. Honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining one’s title
9. Relaxing space
10. Japanese socks
11. Indian city
12. Rip
13. Icelandic book
30. Cigarette (slang)
31. Arctic explorers (abbr.)
32. Yearly tonnage (abbr.)
35. Delivered a speech
37. A place to bathe
38. Postmen deliver it
39. Surface in geometry
40. More (Spanish)
41. __ and Venzetti
42. Exclamation at the end of a prayer
43. Hawaiian dish
44. Aggressively proud men
45. Fellow
46. Mark Wahlberg comedy
47. Mock
21. Satisfies
23. Where golfers begin
25. Small amount
26. Snag
27. Determine the sum of
28. A distinctive smell
29. Exposed to view
32. Stain or blemish
33. Small loop in embroidery
34. River herring genus
36. Large beer
37. Deep, red-brown sea bream
38. Partner to cheese
40. At a deliberate pace
41. Gurus
43. Of each
48. When you expect to get somewhere
49. Songs
52. Pair of small hand drums
55. Play
56. Sword
60. Evergreens and shrubs genus
61. Filmed
63. Italian Seaport
64. Ancient kingdom near Dead Sea
65. Pores in a leaf
66. U. of Miami mascot is one
67. Snakelike fishes
68. Pretended to be
69. Body part
44. Angry
46. Popular beverage
47. Flower cluster
49. Blocks
50. Those who benefitted from efforts of relatives (slang)
51. Polio vaccine developer
52. A (usually) large and scholarly book
53. Popular soap ingredient
54. NBAer Bradley
57. Popular movie about a pig
58. Musician Clapton
59. Not a sure thing
61. Recipe measurement (abbr.)
62. Father
STUDENTS SHOW THEIR UNITY AND HEART - Fifth graders, from left, Nikki Nicolaou, Christian Polanco, Angelo Ottaviano and Naya Raghunath showed the large heart signed by everyone in their grade. Photo courtesy of the Massapequa School District
BE THE “I” IN KIND - Emma Angelillo stopped by the Be the “I” in Kind photo station. Photo courtesy of the Massapequa School District
NFPA Urges Extra Caution When Preparing Your Feast This Thanksgiving
The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) urges added caution when cooking on Thanksgiving Day, by far the leading day of the year for home cooking fires. In 2022, an estimated 1,610 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments on Thanksgiving Day, reflecting a 399 percent increase over the daily average. Between 2018 and 2022, there was an annual average of three and half times more cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day than on a typical day of the year.
“Thanksgiving is a hectic holiday with multiple dishes cooking and baking at the same time, along with guests, entertaining, and other distractions that can make it easy to lose sight of what’s on the stove or in the
oven,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA. “With all these factors at play, it’s no surprise that the number of cooking fires spikes so dramatically on Thanksgiving.”
Overall, cooking is the leading cause of U.S. home fires and injuries, and the second-leading cause of home fire deaths.
Unattended cooking is the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
Following are additional tips and recommendations from NFPA to help everyone cook safely on Thanksgiving: Never leave the kitchen while cooking on the stovetop. Some types of cooking, especially those that involve frying or
sautéing with oil, need continuous attention.
When cooking a turkey, remain at home and check it regularly.
Make use of timers to keep track of cooking times, particularly for foods that require longer cook times.
Keep things that can catch fire like oven mitts, wooden utensils, food wrappers, and towels at least three feet away from the cooking area.
Avoid long sleeves and hanging fabrics that can come in contact with a heat source.
Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If a small grease fire starts, smother the flames by sliding the lid over the pan, then turn off the burner. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the
pan cool for a long time. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. Only open the door once you’re confident the fire is completely out, standing to the side as you do. If you have any doubts
or concerns, contact the fire department for assistance.
Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried. Hot foods and liquids should be placed away from table and counter edges.
In addition, NFPA strongly discourages the use of turkey fryers that use cooking oil, which can cause devastating burns.
GUTTERS
Pecan Pie
Makes 8 servings
1 9-inch unbaked frozen deep dish pie shell, thawed
1 1⁄2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extrac
Pecan Pie Makes A Perfect Dessert
AThanksgiving dinner table can be a sight to behold. For foodies and others who love the array of comfort foods on display come the second Monday in October (in Canada) or the fourth Thursday in November (in the United States), Thanksgiving is a day to circle on the calendar each year. While a mouthwatering turkey and sides like mashed potatoes and stuffing garner the bulk of the attention on Thanksgiving, the dessert table also can be a tempting place to direct one’s eyes. Though no dessert is off limits on Thanksgiving, pie is a particularly popular option on Turkey Day. With that in mind, those tasked with crafting something for dessert this Thanksgiving can consider the following recipe for “Pecan Pie” courtesy of Lines+Angle
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Spread pecans along the bottom of the prepared pie shell.
3. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.
4. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes until the filling has set. Pie is done when the center reaches 200 F. Pie center when lightly tapped should spring back. Remove pie from oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Serve.
