_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
HERALD $1.00
Narcan training in Malverne
Documenting l.I.’s Jewish history
Mostly Modest boutique in W.H.
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Vol. 28 No. 32
AUGUST 5 - 11, 2021
Swimming for a cause Swim Across America aids cancer research through fundraisers By MIke SMollINS msmollins@liherald.com
After the coronavirus pandemic necessitated changes last year, swimmers once again made waves for a cause in the Lynbrook Village Pool last Friday as Swim Across America came to the village. After switching to a virtual model for what would have been its 11th year in 2020, the pool was once again packed with people swimming laps, all of them doing so to raise money for cancer research as part of the annual event. It is par t of the larger Swim
Across America organization, which hosts hundreds of swims throughout the year across the country. Participants are asked to raise money beforehand, with a recommended $100 minimum, and there are prizes awarded to top fundraisers who reach certain thresholds. Last year, amid the pandemic, the organization hosted the SAA Personal Challenge, in which participants could create any challenge on the SAA website and pledge to complete it by October while garnering donations from sponsors.
Sue Grieco/Herald
lyNBrook reSIDeNTS, froM left, Rebecca Wolk, Jason Diaz, Joseph Wolk, and Steven and Sofia Michelakos raised $1,600 for cancer research as part of Swim Across America last year. Diaz, a student at Howard T. Herber Middle School in Malverne, is the second-leading fundraiser for Lynbrook. Jason Diaz, 13, a Lynbrook resident and rising eighthgrader at Howard T. Herber Middle School in Malverne, was among the top two fundraisers with $965 raised. He has participated in several previous events and said it felt “fantastic” to help people who are ailing. “I wanted to participate in
Swim Across America again because I like to help raise money to fight cancer,” he explained. “It’s important for me to fundraise because there are many people out there who are sick and are fighting cancer and I want to do my part.” To raise money, Diaz asked his friends and family mem-
bers to donate by sending them links to his fundraising page, and by making videos at the Lynbrook pool for his mother, Nikki Diaz, to post on social media. He said he loves to swim and that he looks forward to the event each year. Though the outing was altered in 2020, he and his friends still Continued on page 4
W.H. resident decries sizable bill after hidden water leak By NAkeeM GrANT ngrant@liherald.com
Last December, West Hempstead resident Kathy Myers was shocked when officials from the West Hempstead Water District determined that she had a subterranean leak under her home. The real surprise, however, was when her water bill ballooned to $970. “I’ve lived here for 27 years,” Myers said, “and my water usage was never this high.” Because of the leak, the water district agreed to reduce her bill $1.50 per 1,000 gallons to $1 per 1,000 gallons. But on July 28, Myers received a letter from the
water district stating that it was forced to place a lien on her property because she came up short on her payments. “I think if there’s a leak and water seeps into the ground, it’s not real usage,” Myers said. “I could understand if the water was running inside my house, but that’s not the case.” The leak spanned two billing cycles, or six months, according to water district Superintendent Jason Belle. Belle said that while he understood Myers’s concerns, once water passes through a resident’s meter, it is considered to be usage of the property. “Your specific situation is much more rare, and it is unfor-
tunate,” Belle told Myers during the water district’s July 28 board meeting. “As far as [the] lien process, that’s part of the town law, which happens on an annual basis. The liens are our only mechanism to receive unpaid water rents. As a district, we don’t shut water off under any circumstance, and we don’t charge late fees. If you don’t pay that bill, then your neighbors would essentially pay more to subsidize that usage.” The district, which serves more than 32,000 people, encompasses approximately two square miles, including a majority of West Hempstead, all of Garden City South and a large section of
Franklin Square. Belle estimated that subterranean leaks occur 10 to 20 times per year, and that water typically rises to the surface the same day. “I don’t know if it’s the soil at your house, but it did run for quite some time without showing its face,” Belle said to Myers. Myers urged the water district, which checks water meters
quarterly, to do so more frequently. “The procedure that the water company holds doesn’t seem to be right,” she said. “This is not a one-off. This happens. The water municipalities should make some kind of effort to make sure that residents are notified in a timely manner.” Frederick Kurz, the district’s Continued on page 5