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Honored for his community service
Seaford football beats Wantagh
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Vol. 69 No. 17
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Combating hate through education Farrah Mozawalla, executive director of the county’s office of Asian American Affairs; Thom“I hope tonight is the opening as Joy, a Suffolk County police of a door of understanding,” officer and a member of the SufState Sen. John Brooks, a Demo- folk County Asian Advisory crat from Seaford, said as he Board; Sabrina Guo, a local began a virtual roundtable dis- activist and a sophomore at Syoscussion titled “Promoting Anti- set High School; and Gordon Hate and DiscrimiZhang, president nation Awareness,” and founder of the o n Ap r i l 1 5 , t o Chinese American address the increase Association and the in crimes against board director of the the Asian-American Asian American and Pacific Islander Coalition of Educacommunities. tion. At the start of the “We know that roundtable, Jeongsince the start of the eun Rhee, a profespandemic, the numSABRINA Guo sor at Long Island ber of attacks and University Post’s Panelist hate crimes against College of Educam e mb e r s o f th e tion, Information and Technolo- Asian-American and Pacific gy, began by calling out Long Islander community have Island schools for being “the increased,” said Dafny Irizarry, most segregated in the country.” who moderated the discussion. According to the State Educa- “But we also know that everyone tion Department, roughly 45 per- has a role in stopping hate and cent of Long Island’s student creating a safe and inclusive population comprises people of community. What everyday color, yet only 8 percent of teach- actions can community memers are people of color. Diversify- bers take to help combat hate?” ing school staff should be one of “I think that this conversaLong Island’s main priorities to tion right here, right now, is the combat systemic racism, Rhee first of many steps to push for said. change,” said Guo, who is also The panelists also included Continued on page 3
By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
T
Courtesy Seaford School District
Instead of 5 irons, flying discs Students at Seaford High School recently learned how to play frisbee golf in their phys. ed. classes. Dubbed “frolf,” the sport involves landing a frisbee in a basket, and follows rules similar to those of golf.
Supporting cops’ mental health
Seaford couple combats increase in police suicides By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Chris and Michelle Panetta lost their close friend Nick Mencaroni, a New York City police officer, to suicide in January 2019. Now the Seaford couple is striving to raise mental health awareness and reduce the rising number of deaths by suicide among first responders. Chris, 43, is an NYPD detective and Michelle, 34, is a Nassau
County probation officer. The two started the nonprofit Beyond the Badge NY in September 2019, and have since hosted a number of community events and charitable efforts for first responders. On Memorial Day they are planning a barbecue for the officers of Mencaroni’s precinct in his memory. “We want to let them know that even though Nick’s gone, his memory is still here,” Michelle said. “When somebody dies of
suicide, the best thing to do for their loved ones is to keep their memory alive.” This spring, Beyond the Badge is also hosting the inaugural Nick Mencaroni Memorial Scholarship, and will award $1,500 to family members of law enforcement officers who have died by suicide. Michelle noted that there are many scholarships for family members of deceased law Continued on page 3
ruly, there is nothing too small to make an impact.