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Vol. 22 No. 41
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Covid cases spread in local schools Elmont, Sewanhaka school districts report positive tests By MElissa KoENig mkoenig@liherald.com
Melissa Koenig/Herald
Max BRUNhUBER RodE his bike on the sidewalk during the inaugural Back the Blue walk.
Franklin Square ‘backs the blue’
Residents show their support for police in march By MElissa KoENig mkoenig@liherald.com
Hundreds of Franklin Square residents waved American and “thin blue line” flags as they followed a pickup truck playing patriotic country music from the town parking lot on Sobo Avenue to the Sept. 11 memorial on Naple Avenue last Saturday, in the inaugural Franklin Square Backs the Blue walk. “I didn’t think it would be this big,” said Marilena Cali, who held one end of a “Blue Lives Matter” flag while her
friend Anne Licata held the other. They both said they decided to take part in the march — which was organized by volunteer firefighters Joe Block and Chris Howard — to show their support for family members who are police officers. But the march wasn’t intended to be a protest or rally, the organizers told the Herald. “I would say it’s more on the lines of a spirit booster for them,” Howard said. “Just to let them know we still have their backs.” In January, the organiza-
tion Blue HELP, which focuses on police officers’ mental health, reported that 228 officers across the country died by suicide last year, up from 174 the year before. New York state had the highest share of police suicides, with 27. “Coming together is really important right now,” State Assemblyman Ed Ra told the crowd before the walk, “because we need to show the men and women in law enforcement that they have our support.” Nassau County was recentContinued on page 16
More students and faculty members in the Elmont Union Free School District and the Sewanhaka Central High School District have tested positive for Covid-19 as they enter their second month of in-person and virtual learning. According to data from the New York state Department of Health, the Elmont district reported two positive cases among students and staff as of last Friday, while the Sewanhaka district had a total of 10. The Franklin Square School District, meanwhile, had not reported any cases. On Saturday, however, Elmont Superintendent Ken Rosner announced that two more students at the Clara H. Carlson School had tested positive, bringing the district’s case total to four, and Sewanhaka Superintendent James Grossane informed parents on Sunday that New Hyde Park Memorial High School would be closed on Monday and Tuesday, as the district
Confirmed cases at local districts Sewanhaka: 10 Elmont: 4 Franklin Square: 0
awaited an administrator’s test results. The administrator, Grossane said, had displayed Covidlike symptoms and was advised to quarantine. The building was scheduled to be deep-cleaned on Monday, Grossane wrote in his letter. Once the status of the administrator was confirmed, he said, district officials would decide when to allow New Hyde Park students back into the building — and if the test came back positive, Grossane added, the Nassau County Department of Health would conduct contact tracing. “As always,” Grossane said, “the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff are our Continued on page 4