________________ OYSTER BAY _______________
HERALD Vol. 125 No. 18
Seniors dance to Motown hits
Headed to national T&F championship
Creative way to move forward
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APRIl 27 - MAY 3, 2023
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O.B. Cove board passes septic law the threat excess nitrogen poses to the area. Ott explained that the issue is The Village of Oyster Bay particularly important because Cove is the first municipality in much of the North Shore sits Nassau County to adopt a manatop the Oyster date requiring resiBay Special dents to update Groundwater Protheir septic systection Area, one tems, the result of of two areas in the a vote by the vilcounty where the lage board on April focus is on main19. The law, which taining open space is based on similar so filtered surface ones in villages in water can mainSuffolk County, is tain Long Island’s meant to combat aquifer system. excess nitrogen in The heart of the the community, Protection Area is which can wreak the Tiffany Creek havoc on the enviPreserve in Oyster ronment. Bay Cove, which T he county’s was cited within North Shore has CHARlES the law as a signifih a d a p ro bl e m cant factor in its goUlDINg with rising nitrodecision to pass gen levels for sev- mayor, Oyster Bay Cove the law. eral decades, “Tiffany Creek according to Lisa Ott, president is really important land to proand CEO of the North Shore tect,” Ott said. “When it comes to Land Alliance. The alliance and nitrogen, its runoff can impact other environmental groups, both the drinking water and surincluding the Nature Conservan- face water, and the reason to cy and the Nassau County Soil have low-nitrogen septic systems and Water Conservation District, is that they clean out as much as Ott said, have been working for 90 percent of nitrogen from the years to spread the word about Continued on page 5
By WIll SHEElINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
KATE DoERgE IS spreading the word about the foundation she and her husband, Chad, founded to find a cure for neurofibromatosis. Their daughter, Penny, died of the disease last November.
Penny’s Flight takes off on quest to find a cure for NF Foundation created after 16-year-old’s death By lAURA lANE llane@liherald.com
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ore than 1,100 people attended a celebration of Penny Doerge’s life last Nov. 18 at St. John’s of Lattingtown Episcopal Church. Most had not known how ill she was, because the 16-year-old, who died on Nov. 10 of a brain tumor, lived in the moment, and the treatments she received for neurofibromatosis, or NF, with which she was diagnosed at just 4 months old and that ultimately led to her death, were mere inconveniences for Penny. NF, a common genetic disorder, causes the growth of tumors on nerve pathways anywhere in the body. More common than cystic
fibrosis, NF, which has been historically underfunded, can be inherited or result from a spontaneous gene mutation. There is currently no cure. Despite the likelihood of a bleak future, Penny lived a full life in Glen Cove with her friends; her parents, Kate and Chad, and her brothers, Frankie and Henry. “Ever since Penny was a little girl, with her big, bright eyes, kind smile and bouncing curls, we knew she was very special,” Kate said at her daughter’s memorial. “After Penny’s first surgery, she would commando-crawl in her bright pink body cast across the room with a big smile and the determination of a little warrior that we would watch for so many Continued on page 19
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he impetus was becoming aware of the nitrate and chemical issues for runoff into Long Island Sound.