________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD
February 10, 2022
2022
HOMETOWN
HEROES
OK YEARBOOK BUSINESS
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Hometown Heroes Yearbook Inside
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$1.00
Vol. 24 No. 7
local nurse wins award for care
Funds secured for fish restoration
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FEBRUARY 10 - 16, 2022
NCPD rolls out tower plan Elmont water tower repairs still on schedule for early summer By RoBERt tRAVERso rtraverso@liherald.com
Courtesy Caron Cox
MEMBERs oF tHE Leading Ladies at the high school’s 2019 Homecoming.
H.S. club empowers women Leading Ladies group focuses on community service, female camaraderie By RoBERt tRAVERso rtraverso@liherald.com
When the pandemic forced Elmont Memorial High School to move student activities online, the Leading Ladies, a student organization dedicated to female empowerment, held true to its values of camaraderie and strength by continuing to hold events remotely and expanding its online reach. “Our mission is to empower the ladies with life skills,
education and guidance that will prepare them to lead wellrounded, balanced lives, in a world that does not always support women, and being the best version of themselves,” said Caron Cox, the high school’s pupil personnel services chairperson and Leading Ladies leader. The Leading Ladies club works to empower young women, which is necessary and often unaddressed in today’s society, Cox said. “The importance of knowing who
you are and knowing your worth oftentimes in young women is something that is not discussed as much as it should be,” Cox added. Par t of this mission involves organizing conferences and events for members of the club around topics that students involved in the Leading Ladies are passionate about. “Experts leading in their respective fields,” Cox said, attend the group’s empowerContinued on page 3
The Nassau County Police Department is planning to build a 200-foot tower to house police equipment currently mounted on the Elmont water tower, which has delayed the water tower’s repairs, originally scheduled to begin last year, according to a statement released by County Legislator Carrié Solages. Solages met with the police department and the Water Authority of Western Nassau County, which oversees the water tower, on Jan. 22. Elmont residents began calling for repairs to the water tower in the fall of 2020. Dwayne Palmer, who has lived in Elmont since 1996 and has led the effort, said in a previous Herald story that the tower’s north side looked “disgusting” and “dilapidated.” Palmer and Elmont residents have cited decreasing home values, as well as high taxes and water bills, as reasons to repair the tower. After the NCPD pledged to remove its antennas and other equipment from the structure by spring 2021, Palmer contacted the water authority in October, having noticed that it had not been removed. The authority
informed him that the NCPD had requested an additional nine to 12 months to remove the equipment. The antennas are key to the police department’s operations, and must be relocated before the repairs to the tower begin. “The water tower hosts vital NCPD communication equipment and an on-site generator to ensure police, ambulance and other emergency radios remain operational at all times,” Solages explained. Solages was told by the NCPD that the minimum height necessary for the equipment to function properly is 150 feet. The police department originally planned to move the equipment to another tall structure. “Over the past several months, NCPD officials have worked to find a location to house the equipment,” Solages said, “but, unfortunately, no existing sites provided the height for the range the equipment needs.” The water tower repairs were rescheduled for May to July of this year when the police department requested more time to remove the equipment. If the new tower is built in time and the new equipment is functional, Continued on page 9