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Valley Stream clubs struggle to find volunteers By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
Volunteers Pattie Mercurio, far left, Mark Daley and Carmine Desio, parish outreach director Sister Margie Kelly and volunteer Isabelle Desio restocking the Saint Vincent de Paul food pantry.
Volunteer organizations are the touchstone of Valley Stream, but the numbers of volunteers providing service to the community appears to be dwindling. For those looking to volunteer in Valley Stream, there is a bevy of worthwhile options to sign up for, from its veteran organizations to cultural arts groups — some with a deep history and others far newer to the neighborhood. More service groups, however, are seeing membership and volunteer numbers thinning. Others, given their aging volunteers, foresee a potentially large shortfall ahead, making it vital to bring in new blood to keep their groups viable. According to Valley Stream Lions Club President Jim Zabatta, recruitment and retainment of new volunteers are the top priority. A once-leading volunteer organization in Valley ContInueD on Page 23
Village, hit by ‘unprecedented’ rain, slowly dries out By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
It was unlike anything residents have seen in recent memory. Potent rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia battered Valley Stream on Sept. 29, turning flood-prone roadways into rivers and neighborhood streets into small lakes. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service cautiously warned of potential flash flooding throughout the day, with an initial estimate of 5 inches of rain. When the rain ended, a record 9 inches had been dumped on the village, at a rate
that neared that of a major tropical storm. The rainfall began as early as 2 a.m. but many residents awoke to morning weather conditions that did not appear to threaten their regular plans. Businesses opened, students headed to school and residents went about their daily routines. But as the rain kept coming, it became devastatingly clear that flash flooding would bring the village to a standstill. By the afternoon, the banks of Valley Stream’s placid streams, running through its scenic parks, overflowed. Cars that tried to make it through the deluge were stranded, and
residents were marooned in their homes with some fearing the lack of a safe escape in an emergency. T hey watched as water poured into garages and basements, and salvaged what they could of appliances and valuables in the days of cleanup that followed.
The flood and its aftermath Resident Alfonso Castillo was driving his son, Chris, home from school when he found his entire street, Cornwell Avenue, flooded. “I couldn’t even park near my house,” Alfonso said. That’s when the pair spotted their
famous Blockbuster lending library box, stocked with a cache of DVDs to share with the community, partly submerged outside their home. A chain that kept the box secured to a utility pole was the only thing keeping it from being swept away. “My garage was entirely flooded, and water was getting
to the basement, which was a real problem, but somehow we identified the Blockbuster as the priority,” Castillo said. Chris grabbed his brother, A.J., and two cousins, Frankie and Nicholas Castillo, and sprang into action to hoist the kiosk, filled to the brim with about 100 movies and loading ContInueD on Page 10