_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
GIFT and DINING GUIDE November 25, 2021
$1.00
Inside: Best of the holiday Season
VOL. 28 NO. 48
Seasonal events on tap in villages
Students support firefighters
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NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1, 2021
E.R. schools chief to retire at year’s end
assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Merrick and as the director of msmollins@liherald.com pupil personnel services in LevAfter developing and seeing ittown. She has been in educathrough a five-year strategic tion more than four decades. plan to make improvements, Ruiz said she was proud of helping to generate project many accomplishments, includideas for a bond that was ing increasing the percentage of approved by voters to upgrade students attending college; raisfacilities and seeing ing awareness about the East Rockaway student mental School District health and socialthrough the Covidemotional learning 19 pandemic, Superby adding programs intendent Lisa Ruiz and partnering with announced at the the Northwell Nov. 16 Board of Health Behavioral Education meeting Clinic; and increasthat she would retire ing the availability at the end of the of support services school year. for students and pro“I feel like I’ve fessional developspent almost 45 ment opportunities years in education, for staff. almost 42 years in LISA RUIZ She said she was public education, most proud of the East Rockaway and I just felt that district’s five-year for personal rea- superintendent strategic plan, sons, this was a good which put East time to move on to R o c k aw a y o n a that next phase in my life,” Ruiz course for long-range planning said. “. . . I was going to leave at and budgeting and aligned all the end of last year, but because building action plans and goals of Covid, I wanted to see the dis- through pillars of achievement, trict through its difficult time.” opportunity, innovation and Ruiz’s retirement is to take connection. The plan was develeffect June 30 next year. She oped by a panel of 35 communicame to East Rockaway nine ty members, which comprised years ago after serving as the CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
By MIKE SMOLLINS
T
Courtesy Charles Saladino
DAVID DONOVAN HOSTED his third HurriCon event Nov. 13 to raise money for Bethany Congregational Church. More than 100 people — and a couple of superheroes — attended.
‘Everyone is welcome there’
HurriCon fundraiser benefits Bethany Church By MIKE SMOLLINS msmollins@liherald.com
When his church needed his support three years ago, David Donovan turned to one of his biggest passions — comic books — to help it by coming up with the HurriCon convention fundraiser. The event has since grown every year, helping support Bethany Congregational Church in East Rockaway. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Bethany opened
its doors as a relief center for those in need. In the six months that people came to its gymnasium to drop off and collect donations, the floor was heavily damaged and needed repairs. During Sandy, the Grant Avenue Firehouse served as a refuge for people in need, but once the donations kept growing, Bethany leaders of fered the church as a drop-off site. With the storm spreading a mix of dirt, oil and sewage outside, people dragged it all in on
their shoes as donations from the Red Cross and United Way came pouring in. In 2018, with the help of his wife, Linda, Donovan hosted a comic book convention, which raised enough money to pay for half of the new floor. The church, built in 1885, still needs several upgrades, so Donovan has made the event an annual outing (excluding last year because of the coronavirus pandemic), and the third one CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
his is a very unique and special community, and it was the most fulfilling role I’ve had.