_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
COMMUNITY UPDATE Infections as of July 13
3,312
Infections as of July 6 3,306
$1.00
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
Prestigious music award for LHS
E.R. resident memorialized
Kindergartners move on up
Page 3
Page 11
Page 15
VOL. 28 NO. 29
JULY 15 - 21, 2021
Man cited for alleged tiger mistreatment risk of injury by allowing them to interact, and not installing adequate fencing to prevent him Former East Rockaway resi- from escaping. dent Larry Wallach caused a stir USDA officials did not, howevin the village in 2017 when he er, speak to allegations that Walwas cited for harboring a pet lach had shocked the animal wallaby, and he recently drew with an electric prod. The USDA the ire of the People for the Ethi- did not return a request for comcal Treatment of ment at press time, Animals and the b u t D r. M o n i c a U.S. Department of Bando, the captive Agriculture for his wildlife veterinarian alleged treatment of in the captive animal a pet tiger. l aw e n fo rc e m e n t According to division of the PETA P E TA , Wa l l a c h Foundation, said she allegedly posted vidwas disappointed eos on Facebook that officials had not that showed him confiscated the aniusing an electric DR. MONICA mal. prod to scare a juveWallach “has nile tiger named BANDO demonstrated a comSheba, keeping him PETA captive wildlife plete inability to in a rundown enclo- veterinarian safely and humanely sure and handling handle this wild anihim in a dangerous mal and should no and inhumane manner, which longer be able to keep or exhibit led the U.S. Department of Agri- this or any other wild animals,” culture to cite Wallach for viola- Bando said. “So the USDA cited tions of the federal Animal Wel- Wallach for multiple violations fare Act. of the federal Animal Welfare Violations included failing to Act, but he was given a free pass follow veterinary instructions to continue to use the electric for treatment of Sheba’s broken prod.” toe, confining him to an encloWallach said he uses the prod sure with broken floor boards, placing the tiger and a wolf at CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
By MIKE SMOLLINS msmollins@liherald.com
P
Tom Carrozza/Herald
Gold standard in scouting High-achieving Girl Scouts, from left, Bernadette Kilkelly, Abigail Loiselle, Sara Bahri, Christina Franco, Amber Wilkins and Marisa Welch celebrated their Gold Awards at the East Rockaway Senior Center July 8. Story, more photos, Page 4.
Village stung by $50K settlement Couple who lost beehive seek further damages By MIKE SMOLLINS msmollins@liherald.com
A couple who had their beehive confiscated by officials in 2017 recently reached a $50,001 settlement with the Village of Lynbrook. The case continues, though, as they seek damages for the legal fees that they have incurred. Daryl Altman and her partner, Robert Shepard, cared for thousands of honeybees in their
backyard hive for over a year, but village officials had the bees and the hive removed on June 26, 2017, which began a legal battle between the two sides. “It’s a civil rights case, a matter of invasion of privacy, lack of due process, search and seizure,” Altman said. “This is a constitutional case, and you’re usually entitled to legal fees, and that was a part of the deal that the settlement never specified.” Altman said that she and
Shepard originally sought more than $1 million, and have incurred up to $75,000 in legal fees. They would not accept the village’s offer of $50,001, they said, until officials also agree to cover their legal expenses. Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach said on Friday that he had not heard about an official settlement, and noted that the village confiscated the bees after neighCONTINUED ON PAGE 9
ETA is asking the USDA to strip Wallach of his federal license.