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HERALD $1.00
Freeport honors Hispanic Heritage
Nazarene church’s 80th
School district peace concert
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Vol. 86 No. 42
october 14 - 20, 2021
Chamber turns its attention to the north by reiNe betHaNy rbethany@liherald.com
Reine Bethany/Herald
beHiNd tHe grill, from left, Nassau County Legislator Steven Rhoads, Freeport Chamber of Commerce President Ben Jackson and Jennifer Jerome cooked and served lunch for the Aug. 21 Bridging the Gap Field Day at Bishop Frank O. White Park. The chamber provided the food and the cooking equipment.
With updated programs and imaginative approaches, the Freeport Chamber of Commerce is not only supporting its members through recovery from the pandemic, but also actively promoting connection between Freeport’s northern and southern regions. Businesses in the northern sector, especially above Sunrise Highway, tend not to interact with businesses to the south. Wider streets in the south allow readier business interconnec-
tion. “The chamber becomes mostly south Freeport,” said Ben Jackson, proprietor for 40 years of Ben’s General Contracting Corporation, and the chamber’s current president. “So we try to get businesses — and we have been getting businesses — from north Freeport to join us, and make us a more diverse chamber.” Jackson himself visits neighborhoods that may be two or three miles removed from his own location, at 19 Suffolk St., in order to encourage busiContinued on page 4
Confident words from De La Salle students by reiNe betHaNy rbethany@liherald.com
When Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1680, he might not have foreseen that, 341 years later, young men would write about the benefits of his teaching methodology. The French educator established charity schools and reformatories for boys, believing that education was key to forging a productive and law-abiding life. The same concept prevails at 87 Pine St. in Freeport, where for 20 years the De La Salle School has proved the validity of the LaSallian tradition. This year, to pro-
vide a review of the 2020-21 school season, the administrators decided to let graduates do the talking in a series of essays. The essays provide honest snapshots of young people’s school journeys. Remote learning during the pandemic closures posed a major challenge for many of the students. “I got really lazy online and was slacking off,” Nasir Wilkerson said. “Even in the face of that, every teacher along with Mrs. Becker never gave up on me. . . . I improved and was very satisfied with how it turned out.” Jose Munguia achieved a place on the High Honor Roll in his second quarter of seventh
y
ou give somebody a glimmer of hope, you give them a reason to think positive and move forward.
William l. gault Executive director, De La Salle School
grade, “but then,” he wrote, “this new, deadly virus called Covid-19 struck the world. . . . I did not do
any work and was too lazy to do anything. All I would do is play video games, eat and sleep. That school year ended terribly, and I was waiting for eighth grade.” The return to in-class instruction helped, and Munguia graduated well. Jean Marie Becker is principal of the school, which serves boys in grades five through
eight. Her name was referenced repeatedly in the essays written by the 18 graduates, along with the De La Salle teachers. “Every lesson has been on how to live as a disciple of Jesus, which I carry for the rest of my life,” Steven Zavala wrote. “Along with other subjects, all teachers are great with their units and Continued on page 14