__________________ SEAFORD _________________
HERALD Striding for a cause
Honoring 9/11 victims
Fun times for the High Holidays
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VOL. 71 NO. 39
SEPTEMBER 21 - 27, 2023
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Sixth-grader takes chance, earns praise By CHARLES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Courtesy Wantagh School District
Social studies teacher Bridget Montario encouraged Emily Dressler to enter the essay contest in which she received state recognition.
For Wantagh Middle School sixth-grader Emily Dressler, it’s always good to take chances, because you never know how far that might take you. In February, Emily, 11, took part in a fifth-grade essay contest, writing about the significance of the American flag. The Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization dedicated to historical preservation and education, organized the event. Her essay, “What the Flag Means to Me,” was selected as the winner by the group’s Wantagh chapter, and this month, it was awarded an honorable mention in the organization’s state competition for 2023. The win took Emily by surprise. “When I heard that I had won the whole thing, I was in complete shock,” she said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Sixth Alzheimer’s Walk coming to Eisenhower Park By JORDAN VALLONE jvallone@liherald.com
The “Walk To End Alzheimer’s” — one of the largest events to raise awareness and funds for the care, support and research of the disease — is headed to Eisenhower Park on Oct. 1. The walk takes place in 600 communities nationwide and will kick off at 10:30 a.m. in the park’s Field 6/6A. In the past, on Long Island, the walk marched through Belmont Lake State Park in Babylon, according to Tina Hardekopf, the director of development with the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island chapter.
“As time passed, we started realizing when we look at the people involved, we see that they’re traveling from Nassau County, the Hamptons and from the east end,” she said. “We realized that we needed one out east, so we added a Yaphank walk. As we started to grow the Yaphank walk, we realized that we needed something in Nassau County.” The Eisenhower Park walk is entering its sixth year, Hardekopf added, and its co-chairs are Edward Miller, a partner with Grant Thorton, a national accounting firm, and Armando D’Accordo. D’Accordo, a Wantagh resi-
dent and owner of CMIT Solutions, an IT company in Merrick, became involved with the Alzheimer’s Association because both of his parents have faced difficult journeys with the disease. His father, Vincent, succumbed to the disease last August at the age of 88, and his mom, Vincenza, 88, is still battling it. Alzheimer’s disease, D’Accordo said, affects the entire family. The Alzheimer’s Association offers families constant support, resources, advice and even reading material, so they can better understand what their loved ones are going through.
“It’s not a straight line,” D’Accordo said of the disease. “It’s not predictable. My advice to people, since I’ve gone through it, is try to make some decisions, try to get a plan in place. Be ready to change, because circumstances change. There’s so many variables.” D’Accordo described the walk as “one giant hug.”
“Everybody’s supporting each other,” he said. “Everybody’s at a different stage of their journey with their loved ones, and they really need each other. It’s really cathartic and it’s really helpful to be there.” Walkers can register individually, with teams started by families and friends, or with corpoCONTINUED ON PAGE 11