Hundreds attend annual Dinner Dance St. Agnes Cathedral School celebrates honorees for supporting Catholic education

Hundreds gathered at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale on Feb. 4 for the annual St. Agnes Cathedral School Dinner Dance. The annual event is held in recognition of members of the school community who have continued to show their support for Catholic education.

Carmine and Lynda Rubino were recognized for their contributions with the St. Thomas Aquinas award, which was presented by their daughters Victoria and Emily Rubino, both graduates of the St. Agnes Cathedral School.

Bernard and Margaret Mary O’Connell were presented with the St. Catherine of Siena Award, which was presented by their four children, Bernadette, Kathleen, Claire, and James O’Connell.

Principal Cecilia St. John presented Frances Barricelli, the library-media specialist at the St. Agnes School, with the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award in acknowledgment of her 18 years of service to the school with the Catholic grammar school.

This year, the St. Agnes Cathedral school also recognized two distinguished guests of honor — Bishop Bill Koenig, of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, and former rector of the St. Agnes Parish, and Dr. William Kaelin, a St. Agnes alum who received the 2019 Nobel Prize for medicine.

The ceremony concluded with closing remarks from Bishop John O. Barres, followed by dancing to the music of Silver Arrow Band.

Carmine and Lynda Rubino pose with Father Michael Duffy after receiving the St. Thomas Aquinas award during the St. Agnes Cathedral School’s annual Dinner Dance.

FranCes BarriCeLLi, the library-media specialist at the St. Agnes Cathedral School, was one of five award recipients honored at the school’s annual Dinner Dance soiree. st. agnes CathedraL School Assistant Principal Mary Brower, left, and Principal Cecilia St. John congratulate Margaret Mary O’Connell, center, and her husband Bernard O’Connell, along with Father Michael Duffy, and Robert Baulch, president of the St. Agnes Cathedral School Board.

Bishop John o. Barres gives the closing remarks during the St. Agnes Cathedral School Dinner Dance event.

Spousal Refusal - Just Say No

Spousal refusal is a legally valid Medicaid planning option in New York. By way of background, certain income and assets are exempt from Medicaid if there is a spouse. Generally, the spouse at home, known as the “community spouse” may keep about $3,700 per month of the couple’s combined income and up to about $150,000 of the assets or “resources”. Not included in those figures are any other exempt assets, such as a home (up to about $1,000,000 of the equity only) and one automobile. The spouse who is being cared for in a facility is known as the “institutionalized spouse”.

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