__________________ Merrick _________________
your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
With a focus on August 11, 2022
we lln es s
HERALD Your Health
Family Wellness Inside Vol. 25 No. 33
Comedy show draws large crowd
Southern State sees improvements
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AUGUST 11 - 17, 2022
Basketball league in danger of folding North Bellmore-North Merrick hoops organization needs new volunteers for upcoming season administrators, for a variety of reasons. Often it was because people were retiring he North Bellmoreand moving, or because their North Merrick Basketchildren were no longer in the ball League, which has league. Now, Oshan said, after been around since the the two-year hiatus, it is 1960s, is in danger of folding becoming increasingly diffithis year, due to a lack of volcult to find new volunteers. unteers to help lead The games are the program. non-competitive. Kirk Oshan, a “Every kid on board member, has every team plays been involved in the same amount the league for of time,” Oshan roughly 20 years, explained. “It’s he said. His chilmore about how to dren played in it, play the game, and he did, too, about sportsmanwhen he was a ship — and hopechild. fully, having fun.” At its peak, Todd Kamelhar, KiRK oSHAN Oshan said, the one of the league’s league had roughly Board member co-presidents, has 650 active boys and served on its board girls, from secondfor eight years, and graders to high school seniors. has been president for the last It was unable to have a season five. “I was really recruited by for the last two years due to a bunch of guys who had a the coronavirus pandemic, but passion to keep this league in 2019 there were 475 players alive,” he said. “My kids gradand enough active board mem- uated and I was already on the bers. board. I stayed on because of “Maybe in the last 10 years the great experience my kids or so,” Oshan said, “things had in the league. started to the change.” “We only have one director Coaches began leaving the league, he said, followed by Continued on page 9
By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
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Courtesy Alessandro Barsallo
AlESSANDRo BARSAllo, A 2021 Wellington C. Mepham High School graduate, is pursuing a degree in professional piloting at Farmingdale State College. Last month he completed his first solo flight.
Taking to the sky, Mepham High graduate completes first solo flight
By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Alessandro Barsallo has been flying on planes for as long as he can remember. His mother is from Brazil, and his father is from Peru. When he was just 3 months old, Alessandro was already taking six- or 10-hour flights to visit family, and “living at the airports in the summer,” he said. Fascinated by airports and airplanes, his introduction to them at a young
age is what later sparked his interest in flying — and last month he completed his first solo flight. Barsallo, 19, of Bellmore, graduated from Wellington C. Mepham High School in 2021, and is now a student at Farmingdale State College, where he is working toward a bachelor’s degree in Professional Piloting, which is part of Far mingdale’s School of Engineering. While at Mepham, he was also a student at Nassau
BOCES Barry Tech in New Cassel, studying Aviation Operations, a course offered to high school juniors and seniors. The program prepares students to take the Federal Aviation Administration Private Pilot Written Exam, and gives them aircraft flight training. Kathleen McCloat, Barsallo’s guidance counselor at Mepham, explained that BOCES offers several trade programs, and students with Continued on page 10
e don’t have a future if we don’t do something.