_______________ east meadow ______________
HERALD $1.00
Joplin tunes at Eisenhower Park
Calling the EMFD is always faster
Upholsterer marks big anniversary
Page 3
Page 4
Page 12
VOL. 21 NO. 35
AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
We learned we’re stronger together
By LAURA LANE llane@liherald.com
Fourteen-year-old Connor McKevitt remembers how hard it was to master the first three notes on the trumpet, which he started at age 9. Playing five different notes was tough, too. Now the engaging East Meadow teen can play lots of notes on a challenging instrument where lips, cheeks and lungs all come into play. So do proper posture and breathing. Taps is a total of 24 notes in
length, so it isn’t particularly long. The somber tone that it is meant to convey, however, is difficult to master. Connor, though, decided to give it a try when no one else could perform taps at last year’s Memorial Day ceremony in East Meadow. The community’s usual parade was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but a small ceremony was still held. Connor said he wanted to help because, he said, “I know all the hard work
veterans do for our country.” After performing taps on Memorial Day last year, Connor returned to play it again this May. Only a handful of veterans could attend last year’s ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park, but many more came this year. On Aug. 10, East Meadow’s American Legion presented Connor with a plaque to thank him for stepping in and performing on Memorial Day. “It touched us for a young boy CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
EA
www.liherald.com
M
A
Legion thanks teen for sharing his musical talent
E
CH
Playing a song to honor vets
MEAD ST
BE
RC
East Meadow Living in
2021-2022
Laura Lane/Herald
CONNOR MCKEVITT PRACTICED at his East Meadow home for weeks to perfect taps to honor veterans at East Meadow’s last two Memorial Day ceremonies.
The pandemic stretched us to our limits, but we never broke. We have been with you throughout, and our pledge is to remain with you until all of us return to normal life — or whatever our lives will be in the new normal. Producing the news, however, is a costly endeavor. We must pay the salaries of reporters, editors, photographers, graphic artists, a dve r t i s i n g a c count executives, press operators, drivers and managers. Now, more than ever, we are relying on you, our readers, to suppor t us, as w e h av e s u p ported you through this crisis. Please consider taking an annual subscription to the Herald. See our subscription ad in this week’s paper on Page 9. If you are already a Herald subscriber, thank you for your suppor t. We hope you are pleased with our coverage, and if you are, you might consider taking a two- or threeyear subscription. OW
The coronavirus pandemic sw e p t a c r o s s t h e U n i t e d States, including East Meadow, like a wildfire over the past 18 months, killing 617,000 of our fellow Americans. We mourn each and every one of these precious lives taken too soon. In recent months, however, w e h ave b e g u n t o emerge from this n at i o n w i d e c a t a s t r o p h e, a n d because of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, we are seeing a glimmer of hope. Though the C ov i d - 1 9 i n f e c tion and death rates have ticked u p re c e n t ly, we are far better off than we were one year ago. We also learned an important lesson during this crisis: We are stronger together. Throughout the pandemic, all of us at the Herald have strived to report the news of the day swiftly and accurately. Suddenly last spring, we were no longer a weekly newspaper. We were a daily, publishing the news online at liherald. com and in our newsletter. Hundreds of thousands of people a month came to our website for the latest news.
R O F CO M M
E
Laura Lane Editor