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Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2021
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Vol. 24 No. 8
Volunteers help seniors get vaccinated if more doses became available, but I was told I would have to start the process over again,” “I would go on the computer Lettie said. “It was arduous.” and be in a sweat,” Lettie Werbel The Werbels’ luck changed recalled. when they got an email from Last month, Werbel’s hus- Congregation Ohav Sholom, in band, Steve, 82, spent six days in Merrick, directing them to a the hospital after Google Docs form contracting Covidon the synagogue’s 19. The severity of we b s i t e. T h e re, his case panicked congregants put Lettie, she said, so their information when Steve became into a database, eligible for the vacwhich volunteers cine, “I wanted to use to secure vaccimake sure that he nation appointgot it.” ments for seniors But scheduling 65 and older. (Peoan appointment ple in that age proved to be diffigroup qualify for cult. The Merrick the Covid-19 vaccouple spent weeks shAWN GRoss cine under Phase looking for avail- Congregant, 1b of the state’s able time slots vaccination proOhav Sholom online, an effort gram.) that was often “It was somestalled when a website crashed thing that had to be done, and we or a phone line was busy. Lettie, just did it,” said congregant 75, was scheduled to receive her Shawn Gross, who spearheaded first dose of the vaccine from a the initiative. Having helped his Northwell Health facility in friends who qualified under Woodmere, but the appointment Phase 1a secure appointments in was canceled with two weeks to mid-December, Gross learned go. how to navigate the online “Because I was already in the scheduling systems, which he system, I called to see when I could get another appointment Continued on page 4
By AlYssA sEIDmAN aseidman@liherald.com
t
Courtesy Boy Scout Troop 186
tRooP 186 EAGlE Scout Amritha Jacob, right, of Bellmore, planted new greenery along with other volunteers outside Bellmore Presbyterian Church.
Teens among first female Eagle Scouts in the nation By ANDREW GARCIA agarcia@liherald.com
Boy Scout Troop 186 of Wantagh made history last week when three of its 28 female members rose to the Eagle Scout rank, scouting’s highest honor, achieved by only 4 percent of scouts. They are among the very first female Eagle Scouts in the nation. Amritha Jacob, of Bellmore, Julia Kirpalani, of Merrick, and Lea Feiner, of
Levittown, were officially awarded the rank at a special ceremony, known as a Court of Honor. The trio, along with Scoutmaster Mike Sarlo, gathered at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building on Feb. 11 to receive congratulatory certificates from County Executive Laura Curran. “It’s such a great honor,” Kirpalani said. “I never expected that in my youth I’d have the opportunity to do this — I thought maybe my
daughters might be able to do this. To be part of that change was unexpected, but it’s been an amazing opportunity and an amazing leap of faith.” “Getting to Eagle is rooted in service — that’s the whole point: to learn leadership and dedication to your community,” Jacob said. “Being able to say that we have achieved that highest level of service in scouting is a huge honor, and it means so much to me that we get to be an example for Continued on page 3
here were some nights we’d book 45 appointments in a matter of two hours.