________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Vol. 26 No. 29
Celebrating U.S. independence
Students share personal stories
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JUlY 11 - 17, 2024
$1.00
Town adds filtered water at local parks goats and more, and also has the highest summit on the South Shore of Long Island, Town of Hempstead parks offering those who visit the park panoramic views of Nasjust got a little bit greener. Schools are out and the sum- sau County’s bays, beaches and mer season is officially here, more. The park’s “roots” are in and last week the Town of Hempstead announced the recycling, making it the perfect addition of an eco-friendly place for the first hydration station to be installed. water bottle refill“We started seeing station at the ing a heavy Nor man J. Levy increase in foot Park and Preserve traffic during the in South Merrick, Covid-19 pandemic, helping to reduce as residents were the number of plaslooking for a safe tic bottles discardactivity to do outed at the park while DoN ClAVIN doors,” Clavin said. keeping residents Supervisor, “Attendance at the hydrated. Town of Hempstead park continues to Town Supervigrow, so we contins o r D o n C l av i n , who was joined by Town Clerk ue to introduce new initiatives, such as this eco-friendly way to Kate Murray and Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll, made keep residents safe and hydrated while combating the rise of the announcement on June 26. The preserve is among the single-use plastic bottles dismost popular recreational spac- carded at the park.” T he installation of the es in the Town of Hempstead. Tucked behind the town’s sani- hydration station was made tation facilities off of Merrick possible through a Marine Road, what is now a bustling Debris grant from the National preserve used to be a landfill, Oceanic and Atmospheric before it was transformed into Administration, in a bid to a park in 2000. It boasts walking reduce the amount of plastic paths, kayak launches, fishing discarded in waterways. The piers, a herd of Nigerian dwarf Continued on page 8
By JoRDAN VAlloNE
jvallone@liherald.com
T
his is a really good, green program.
Tim Baker/Herald
Salvatore conquers hot dog eating competition Roco Salvatore, of Franklin Square, ate 16 hot dogs and won the first round of the Town of Hempstead’s first-ever hot dog eating contest on June 29.
New Board of Education trustees look to the future By NIColE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
Franklin Square’s newly elected education board trustees Domenico Ciaccio and Anna McCombs took their seats after being sworn in at the board’s reorganization meeting July 2. Ciaccio and McCombs were elected May 21 replacing former trustees Helen Hoffman and Diane Hansen, respectively. Hoffman held her seat on the board since 2006 and Hansen was a board member since 2020. As a father of two Polk Street School students,
Ciaccio felt it was time a current district parent sat on the board. McCombs felt similarly n her campaign for education board, as a mother of a Polk Street student herself Ciaccio is excited to represent his fellow parents in the community on the board to ensure their voices are heard. He hit the ground running in his position, meeting with local organizations to get acclimated to his role. “I’m starting to feel that it’s really not a thankless job,” Ciaccio said. “It really does make Continued on page 2