_______________ east meadow ______________
HERALD $1.00
Kiwanis golf outing was tee-riffic
Meet EMFD Chief Paul Kosiba
Sharks sighted at Jones Beach
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VOL. 21 NO. 32
AUGUST 5 - 11, 2021
E.M. rallies for ‘Star Wars’ fanatic with MS ute to society. Its members often volunteer in hospitals, charity events and fundraisers. East Meadow exhibited true Weiss, 49, has been obsessed good-neighborliness by helping a with “Star Wars” since he was a charity garage sale come to life. child. The first movie in the Last Saturday’s Galactic Charity series premiered in 1977, when Garage Sale drew hundreds of he was 5. His father took him to residents who offered money see it, and the rest is history, he and other donations said. “It’s always just for Justin Weiss to o n i n t h e b a ck sell in order to fulfill ground,” he said. his dream of buying “It’s just fun, and it an authentic, screentakes you out of realaccurate “Star ity.” Wars” costume. We i s s s a i d h e Weiss, who has couldn’t count how multiple sclerosis, many times he has hopes to join the seen the “Star Wars” 501st Le gion, an movies. He has seen international organievery one in a theJustin Weiss zation dedicated to ater. “I sat through the creation and all the movies with wearing of detailed him when we met,” replicas of villains from the said his wife, Nancy. “Star Wars” universe. This Although the 501st Legion is includes Sith Lords, clone troop- not affiliated with Disney or ers, bounty hunters and other “Star Wars” creator George villains from the movie series. Lucas’s production company, There are legions worldwide. Lucasfilm, the companies are The New York City and Long familiar with it. Some members Island legion is called the were even hired as extras in the Empire City Garrison. Its motto Disney+ series “The Mandaloriis “Bad Guys Doing Good.” an.” According to its website, the In order to join the legion, 501st’s mission is to promote which was founded in 1997, a interest in “Star Wars,” facilitate screen-accurate costume is the use of costumes and contribCONTINUED ON PAGE 15
By MALLORY WILSON mwilson@liherald.com
Karen Millindorf/Herald
JUNIOR FIREFIGHTERS NICK Montoni, 17, from East Meadow, left, and Omek Kumar, 15, from East Norwich, worked on a dummy that’s used to teach trainees at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy in Bethpage how to treat fire victims. The 140-pound dummy is dragged out by probationary firefighters from a live fire as part of their training.
Hot stuff at Nassau fire camp Teens learn to extinguish blazes big and small By LAURA LANE llane@liherald.com
Seventeen-year-old Nick Montoni will major in fire science at Nassau Community College in Garden City this fall. The East Meadow resident said he hoped to become a New York City firefighter one day. That’s why he enrolled this summer at Camp Fahrenheit 516, at the Nassau Fire Service Academy in Old Bethpage. Curious about firefighting,
Montoni joined the East Meadow Fire Department juniors at 14, eager to learn how to put out fires and save people’s lives. A friend told him about the “cool” experience he could have at Camp Fahrenheit 516, and he said he learned a great deal there recently, including which fire extinguishers to use on different types of fires. Twenty-eight teens, ages 14 to 17, took part in the five-day camp July 26-30, a scaleddown version of the more
intense two-week camp for probationary firefighters, which is also run by Nassau County fire instructors. “I learned how to put the gear on properly, which was heavy, and how to put the ladder up properly,” said Montoni, a brand new East Meadow High School graduate. “I climbed up a ladder that was the highest I ever climbed — 22 feet — and then went through a window for the first CONTINUED ON PAGE 4