East Meadow
HERALD State honors real estate couple
EMFD remembers its own
Students selected for All-State
Page 5
Page 7
Page 6
$1.00
OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2020
VOl. 20 NO. 43
Cancer-free for 10 years E.M. man is hosting fundraiser to honor mother’s milestone By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Courtesy East Meadow School District
Making words into phrases Students are learning the foundations of writing in Janine Farinella’s first-grade class at Parkway Elementary School in East Meadow. Since Oct. 5, elementary school students have been back in class full-time, with safety restrictions like plastic desk guards.
Elisa Bevilacqua rarely missed a day of work from July 2009 to March 2010. She had worked in the office of what was then known as South Shore Radiology of Howard Beach for nearly 13 years. She was a single mother of three children, ages 23, 20 and 17. And she was battling Stage 2 breast cancer. “She said work kept her going because it kept her mind busy,” said Bevilacqua’s son, Anthony, now 33, who lives in East Meadow. “I think that’s a good point for a lot of people to realize . . . The more you take action and
keep your mind occupied, the better off you’ll be, and I think that shows, and this is what makes her strong.” “It was a very difficult time,” said his mother, trying to hold back tears. “But I had the support of my kids.” Bevilacqua, 58, now lives in Wantagh, and still works in Howard Beach, at what is now known as Prohealth Radiology. Her daughter Staci is a teacher, Anthony owns AB Fitness Center, which has locations in East Meadow and Massapequa, and her daughter Lauren works there as a personal trainer. And as of March, Bevilacqua had Continued on page 3
District to allow athletes to begin after-school practices By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
While student athletes in the East Meadow School District will not play competitively against other school teams until at least Jan. 4, Athletic Director Kristi Detor has come up with an alternative that will allow them to practice with teammates and coaches this fall. On Aug. 26, Section VIII, the gover ning body for Nassau County high school athletics, postponed all fall sports until January. The plan, which is subject to change, is to fit all three sports seasons in the months from January to June, when, it is
hoped, the threat of Covid-19 will have declined. At a Board of Education meeting on Oct. 14, Detor presented her plan for the district’s Out of Season Intramural Program. The goal, she said, is to allow students to train with their peers and coaches, while adhering to pandemic guidelines. “In our current time, we truly believe it’s essential to offer a program to provide students an opportunity to interact with each other and their coaches, safely,” she said. Through the program, which will begin on Oct. 26, student athletes will be separated into two groups that align with their
hybrid lear ning schedules. Those groups will be divided into fall and winter sport sessions, each meeting once a week. And students can practice in one fall and one winter sport session. All staff and students will have to complete a Covid-19 questionnaire before every practice, and students will be required to have a parent or guardian sign a permission slip to participate. All activities will take place outdoors, and will be canceled in inclement weather. Locker rooms will remain closed. Students will bring their own personal athletic equipment and water bottles. Shared equipment will be provided by coaches and
cleaned in between drills. Activities will be modified so that six feel of social distancing can be maintained, and students will be required to wear masks when that isn’t possible. Superintendent Kenneth Card Jr. said he supported Detor’s presentation, and described it as a compromise that will benefit the athletes without risking the safe-
ty of the rest of the community. “Kids are engaged in physical activity during P.E.,” Card said. “This is just an additional experience that kids should have, and must have, because if Section VIII and Section XI” — the governing body for Suffolk County high school athletics — “decide on Jan. 4 that we’re going to Continued on page 3