_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
September 29, 2022
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HERALD Your Health Wellness
Inside
VOL. 29 NO. 40
Schools celebrate Homecoming
West Hempstead football begins
Page 3
Page 14
SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 5, 2022
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Park named in honor of fallen police sergeant By KYLE CHIN kchin@liherald.com
Joe Abate/Herald
Game faces on The Malverne Mules marched down the pathway toward the high school’s newly renovated field for the Homecoming game last Saturday. Malver beat Locust Valley 14-7.
Police Sgt. Thomas J. Winters, who died suddenly last year, was honored on Sept. 15, as the Village of Malver ne opened a memorial park in his name. Winters began his career in policing with the New York City Police Department, working in the Housing Bureau for 13 years. He then joined the Malverne Police Department, where he served the community for 21 years. Winters died unexpectedly of unknown causes on July 3, 2021, at age 55, leaving behind his wife, Julie, sons Brian and Christopher, and daughters Megan
and Kelsey. “It was a devastating blow to his family, the Malverne Police Department and the entire community,” said Winters’s fellow officer, Anthony Castellano, who serves as president of the Malverne Police Benevolent Association, a position that Winters once held. Winters was active in Malverne and the surrounding communities, serving in the Elmont Fire Department’s Truck Co. No. 1 for many years, as well as coaching roller hockey in Lynbrook. Naming the park in honor of Winters is the latest tribute to him over the past year. The MalCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Our Lady of Lourdes knits and crochets for a good cause By KYLE CHIN kchin@liherald.com
Members of Our Lady of Lourdes parish gather at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of the month to create shawls, blankets, hats, scarves and much more while trading stories, tips and tricks with one another. Four months ago, Ann Seccia and her daughter, Beth, put out a call in the church bulletin for anyone interested in knitting or crocheting for charity. Beth Seccia initially came up with the idea, and during the pandemic, she reached out to a number of larger charity knit-
ting groups, looking to participate or start a new chapter. Not finding much luck there, the mother and daughter decided to branch out on their own. The Seccias have assembled a group of about 20 women who now contribute their work. Members of the group bring their own wool, yarn, needles and other materials to the parish center twice a month to work together. While the group was originally envisioned as a “prayer shawl ministry,” they have expanded to create a variety of articles of clothing that people might need. “We don’t tell people what to do,” Ann Seccia said. “Nobody
has to do any specific thing. It’s whatever they’re comfortable doing. Some of them like to knit. Some of them like to crochet. And there’s one woman who works on a loom, and she makes hats and scarves on it.” The group’s creations go to a number of charity groups, particularly those serving the elderly and newborns. “We first got in touch with a nursing home, and then Momma’s House,” Beth Seccia said. “Now it’s kind of gone word of mouth, and charities like Meals on Wheels are reaching out to us.” Meals on Wheels of Nassau and Suffolk County recently
hosted a lunch for seniors at Saint Anne’s Garden apartment complex in Brentwood, and invited the Prayer Shawl Ministry to bring some of their knitted wares to give to the participants. “It was really, really great,” Ann Seccia said. “We enjoyed it more (than) they did, probably. They were trying on things that
they selected. They were modeling and getting pictures taken. And they said, ‘Come back another time. You don’t even need to bring anything, just come back to talk.’” The knitting group also has contacts with the Highfield Garden Care Center in Great Neck, CONTINUED ON PAGE 5