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HERALD
Students study greats of history
locals tied to war condemn conflict
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Vol. 24 No. 11
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Mask order debate persists Communities disagree over cancellation of school mandate By RoBeRt tRAVeRSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Christina Daly/Herald
VolodyMyR tSyAlkoVSky, of the Ukrainian-American Society of Long Island, called the Russian war on Ukraine an “unprecedented disaster,” and said the donation of firearms is one way Americans can help end the conflict.
Hoping to help arm Ukraine
F.S. gun shop collects weapons for citizen fighters By RoBeRt tRAVeRSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Most groups have collected money. Others, clothes. But SP Firearms Unlimited wants to send something to Ukraine they say is far more useful in the wake of the Russian military invasion: guns. The Franklin Square shop has partnered up with Nassau County last week to collect weapons it expects to ship overseas in hopes of quelling
Russian aggression. “The Ukrainian people want to protect themselves, so let’s give them the resources to do that,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told reporters in front of the firearms shop. More than 200 civilians were killed in the opening weeks of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations, with the conflict expected to ultimately displace another 10 million peo-
ple. A 40-mile-long convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles was inching toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as county officials and the gun shop collcted weapon donations. Legally purchased “long guns” — including rifles, shotguns and AR-15s, as well as derivatives of the AR-15 — were eligible for donation. Weapons brought to the firearms shop were required to Continued on page 5
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to lift the state’s school mask mandate on March 2 was met with mixed reactions in the Elmont and Franklin Square communities. Hochul’s decision to remove the policy came two days after the Centers for Disease Control deemed Long Island part of a “green zone,” where masking is no longer required in schools or indoor public places. Hochul said she is confident in her decision because the number of positive cases statewide has fallen since the Omicron wave that began last November. O n S at u rd ay, t h e s t at e announced a seven-day average rate of below 2 percent that tested positive for Covid-19, as well as fewer than 2,000 hospitalizations – a number that has not been reached since fall 2021. Statewide, an average of about 2,400 new coronavirus cases are being reported per day as of early March, a figure roughly similar to early August 2021 and much less than the 74,000 cases reported per day in mid-January amid the Omicron wave. Hochul pointed to the school mask mandate as a reason for
districts see major drop in Covid-19 cases ■ The Sewanhaka Central High School District reported 23 cases between Feb. 18 and March 3, compared with a reported 752 cases between Jan. 3 and 16. ■ The Sewanhaka Central High School District reported 10 positive cases between Feb. 21 and 28, and seven cases between Feb. 28 and March 6. ■ Both the Franklin Square School District and the Elmont School District reported zero new cases between Feb. 18 and March 3.
the rapid decrease in positive cases since the peak of mid-January. “When I look back at what was going on just a short time ago, I am so happy that we did have a mask requirement in place for schools at the time,” she said following the announcement that the order would be revoked. “That’s how we kept Continued on page 4