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HERALD Performing for our veterans Page 3 Vol. 24 No. 45
Time to fall back Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday
Remember to set your clocks back, and change your smoke and CO detector batteries
NoVEMBER 3 - 9, 2022
Elmont wins conference title Page 8 $1.00
Gift of Giving recognizes Elmont students By kEPhERD DaNiEl kdaniel@liherald.com
Courtesy Kenny Young
SEwaNhaka CENTRal high School board trustees listened as community members expressed issues of transparency.
Tempers flare after some call for pair of trustees to resign By kEPhERD DaNiEl kdaniel@liherald.com
Frustration with the Sewanhaka Central High School board of trustees reached a boiling point during a board meeting on Tuesday with several members of the Elmont community calling for the resignation of trustees Michael Jaime and Dr. Tameka Battle-Burkett. A petition on change.org has collected nearly 500 signatures calling for both members to resign. The Elmont Elementary School District comprises six elementary schools, which are represented by seven trustees, two of whom are selected among themselves to represent
Elmont on the high school level on the Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education. The high school district comprises five high schools, in Franklin Square, Elmont, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Floral Park. Jaime is president of the central high school district and Elmont Elementary School board, and both Jaime and Battle-Burkett were voted into the elementary board earlier this year. Jaime ran unopposed and was reelected with 701 votes and Battle-Burkett, vice president of the elementary school board, was reelected, defeating opponent Fiormelissa Johnson by a vote of 536 to 282. Both have three Continued on page 4
The Gift of Giving Foundation honored 11 Elmont students for completing the student ambassadors program at a luncheon at the Guggin Café and Grill in Elmont last Saturday. The students were awarded citations from Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages and a certificate from the Gift of Giving Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that helped teach high school students how to operate a business. Six students from Elmont Memorial High School and five from Sewanhaka High School were selected to be mentored under the leadership of local business owners each Saturday in October, and the program helped students with financial tools and the communication and customer service skills needed to run a business. The businesses that mentored the students during the month were A2Z Automasters auto repair shop in Garden City, and Belimage, a graphic design and printing studio in Elmont, as well as the 5th Precinct police department in North Valley Stream. Elizabeth Forbes, founder of
the Gift of Giving Foundation, said she was grateful to the businesses for participating. “They are always there for the students and the community and I am grateful for the guidance and the experience of being able to collaborate,” Forbes said. “It was something we thought was needed and it was better than expected. We look forward to many others like this.” Belimage owner Van Saint discussed what it meant to mentor the students. “It’s a great program and I loved the ability to teach, to show and, most of all, to inspire,” Saint said. “This is really what I’m here for, inspiring the youth. They are the next generation that’s going to pick up where I leave off.” Jessica Brown, director of the Elmont Student Ambassadors Program, spoke on the lessons the students learned from the program. “The program in itself has provided the Elmont student ambassadors with the tools that are utilized in each of their futures,” she said. “Looking back to where we all started, the young men and women have shown drive and have done outstanding work for the community.” Continued on page 19