_________________ bellmore ________________
HERALD Your Health
Farm stands are back at St. Francis
Abandoned ducks found in Bellmore
Inside
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Mental Health Vol. 25 No. 30
$1.00 $1.00
JUlY 21 - 27, 2022
Returning to LIIFE on the big screen By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
BEllmoRE moViES & Showplace hosted the 25th year of its Long Island International Film Expo, attracting filmmakers and audiences from across Nassau County and beyond.
A tight-knit community, of neighbors supporting neighbors means everything to independent filmmakers. That feeling was abundantly clear last week at the Bellmore Movies & Showplace with the Long Island International Film Expo. Now in its 25th year, the expo returned to the 107-year-old cinema on Bellmore’s Pettit Avenue on July 13, having already established itself as a well-respected festival in the independent film community. The expo — more commonly Continued on page 9
After years of neglect, World War I memorial is restored By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
In front of the original Merrick Library, on Merrick Avenue, stands a World War I Memorial that, since it was dedicated in 1924, has seen many years of neglect. The memorial features a plaque with a list of names that was covered in patina, a green film that forms naturally over time on copper and brass. The plaque is attached to a large rock, and was surrounded by unmaintained plants. Brandon Goldstein, 16, a rising junior at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore and a
Boy Scout working toward his Eagle rank, made it his mission to upgrade the 98-year-old landmark. Goldstein worked with Jewish War Veterans Post 652 of Merrick on the project. “My scouting career began at 10,” Goldstein said. “My older brother is an Eagle Scout. I fell in love with the idea of going out and helping out the community.” Goldstein, of Merrick, is a member of Troop 214, in Rockville Centre. His father, uncle and brother were members of the troop, so he joined it, too. The original library is a state and Town of Hempstead Historical Site. The Historical Society
of the Merricks, currently run by Acting President Joe Baker, is considering turning part of the building into a one- or two-room museum. Goldstein said that he read the story “Historical society mulls tur ning old Merrick Library into museum” in the Feb. 24-March 2 issue of the Merrick Herald about the museum proposal, and learned that Gary Glick, the JWV post commander, wanted to restore the memorial on the library’s grounds. Goldstein contacted Glick and Baker, who were receptive to his idea of organizing the effort for his Eagle project. Goldstein proposed cleaning
the memorial, adding a rock garden, collecting trash and laying new mulch. On July 3, after his project was approved, Goldstein, members of Troop 214, and family and friends gathered to begin the work. Due to the nature of the plaque, however, it needed to be cleaned in a certain way. Glick brought in Eric Spinner, a member of the JWV Post 652, to
help. Spinner used a natural solution of salt, flour and vinegar to remove some of the patina on the plaque. Returning to powerwash the rock and the plaque on Monday, Spinner told the Herald that after another treatment or two with the solution, he would use black shoe dye to help make Continued on page 15