__________________ Merrick _________________
HERALD July 4 run returns after 2-year hiatus
Students prep for summer learning
Artists learn about water conservation
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$1.00 Vol. 25 No. 28 $1.00
JUlY 7 - 13, 2022
A pig’s tale Howard, a rescued factory farm swine, finds a new home By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Courtesy Karenlynn Stracher
HowARD, A fActoRY farm pig, was rescued last month by a team of wildlife rehabilitators, including Karenlynn Stracher, of Merrick, and John Debacker, of Bellmore, after he was found stuck behind a fence in Howard Beach, Queens.
What started as a tip from a Facebook group that there was a farm pig severely injured and stuck behind a fence in Queens quickly turned into a late-night rescue operation on June 23, led by Karenlynn Stracher and John Debacker, wildlife rehabilitators from Merrick and Bellmore, respectively. “I was in the supermarket,” Stracher recounted. “My group chat dinged — someone was walking by, heard rustling, got startled but went back to investigate. There was a pig, behind a fence, in Gateway National Park.” Debacker, who is well
known around Bellmore for his work with feral cats, found out about the pig on Facebook, and quickly got in touch with fellow rescuers, including Stracher. The two are friends, and have previously helped wildlife together. By 10:30 p.m., they were involved in a chaotic scene, with a number of people and wildlife rescuers attempting to retrieve a 2-month-old pig from behind a fence in the park. The Gateway National Recreation Area is federal property, and the rescuers were unsure how to get through the fence without damaging it, but eventually, federal police arrived and granted them permission to cut Continued on page 4
Gomez ready to begin tenure as assistant superintendent By KEPHERD DANIEl kdaniel@liherald.com
After undergoing a competitive and rigorous interview process, for mer Wellington C. Mepham High School Principal Eric Gomez began his new job as the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s assistant superintendent for personnel and administration on July 1. The district Board of Education appointed Gomez at its February meeting. Anthony DeMartinis, the former assistant principal at Calhoun High School, will take Gomez’s place as principal at Mepham. Gomez, 48, was born and
raised in Queens, and after earn- for six years. In the fall of 2010 ing a degree in Management at he became the assistant princiSt. John’s University and a mas- pal of Grand Avenue Middle ter’s in secondary School in Bellmoreeducation at Hofstra, Merrick, and was he added a master’s then the assistant in educational leadprincipal of guidership and adminisance at Calhoun for tration from the Colsix years. He has lege of St. Rose. been the principal at Gomez began his Mepham for the last career in education five years. 19 years ago in the Before his career N e w Yo r k C i t y in education, Gomez school system, teachwas in business and Eric Gomez. ing business at marketing for 10 Queen’s Vocational years, and his interand Technical High School for a est in human resources and peryear before coming to Baldwin sonnel moved him to apply for High School to teach business the assistant superintendent’s
position. “During my days in marketing, one of the areas that I truly enjoyed was the human resources aspect of the job,” he said. “Whenever we interviewed teachers or new assistant principals or chair people for the district, it was an area that I always enjoyed, because I felt like finding new talent and developing
them. Seeing them grow through the years is very inspirational for me, as a leader and getting into that role now as the assistant superintendent will allow me to do that on a much larger scale.” His experience in both education and business, Gomez said, will help him succeed in his new Continued on page 9