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HERALD
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Businessman of the year retires
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Vol. 57 No. 3
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
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Chef carries on father’s legacy
ING
Chamber names Janet Pearsall Citizen of the Year By tom CARRozzA tcarrozza@liherald.com
Courtesy Mike Graham
the year’s top business Flowers by Mike, owned by Mike Graham, a lifelong Oceanside resident, is the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year. Story, Page 4.
Janet Ellison Pearsall was raised in Merrick, only five miles from Oceanside, where she has made her home since 1985, becoming incredibly involved in the community. For this reason and more, she was recently awarded the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award. Pearsall holds a bachelor’s in human development and family studies from the Cornell University College of Human Ecology, a law degree from the Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo
School of Law and a master’s in social work from Adelphi University. Married to Keith for 37 years, together they have raised their children, Chris and Debbie, both Oceanside High School graduates. Janet worked for about 30 years in the Long Island and New York City foster care systems, including at the Nassau County Department of Social Services and SCO Family of Services. She worked in all aspects of child welfare, from line foster care and adoption casework staff to supervisor and director, working with children and famiContinued on page 14
O’side residents react to undoing of state mask mandate By CRistiNA ARRoYo RoDRiGUez, sCott BRiNtoN, KepheRD DANiel and tom CARRozzA kdaniel@liherald.com, tcarrozza@liherald.com
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who took office Jan. 3, signed executive orders on Jan. 6 directing local boards of education to vote this month on whether their districts should mandate mask use, while also lifting the mask mandate for all county agencies and the state’s temporary mask mandate in public places. The orders took effect immediately. Oceanside School District and Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital officials declined to
comment on Blakeman’s orders. Mary Messier, 43, of Oceanside, has two children at Oceanside High School, which has been difficult, she said, as she and her father, who lives with the family, have compromised immune systems. “My family would never forgive themselves if they were the cause of anyone passing away,” Messier told the Herald. “Please use common sense and wear the mask.” Brian Kammerer, 33, also voiced his worries for his infant daughter and his wife, Jennifer Mastrogiovanni, who teaches special education in New York City public schools. The young couple moved to Oceanside last
m
y family would never forgive themselves if they were the cause of anyone passing away.
mARY messieR Oceanside parent
year, and expect their daughter to start school in a couple of years. Kammerer said he wondered whether the schools could offer hybrid learning for those who did not want to wear masks. “Parents should have a say,
but ultimately the principals must manage this volatile situation week to week,” Kammerer said. “Going forward, maybe give the children and parents a choice in low-risk months and highly recommend [masks] in cold and flu season.” Still, many Oceanside residents applauded the county executive for his order, even if it does
not come to be, citing mask fatigue and skepticism. Blakeman’s orders read in part, “[G]iven the historical data on Covid-19 and the ongoing debate over whether masks are more harmful than beneficial to children and to school environments in general, we should protect the freedoms and statutory Continued on page 14