Wantagh Herald 06-24-2021

_________________ WANTAGH ________________

HERALD Pull Out $1.00

Vol. 69 No. 26

Seasonal event series kicks off

Wantagh lacrosse loses county title

Page 3

Page 12

JUNE 24 - 30, 2021

Vessel capsizes amid boating safety presser said at the podium. “We’re pulling two people from the water right now.” Roughly 100 feet Two Seaford residents were behind him, flashing lights could rescued from the water off Want- be seen illuminating the water, agh Park on June 16 after their and the Marine Bureau boat 14-foot Capri sailboat capsized. pulled the sailboat in.

Joan Imbro and Robert DiehlDiehlmann, 65, said he had mann were unharmed, and had been operating the vessel in the to laugh when they vicinity of the Bellwere pulled to the more Channel Wantagh Park dock: when it overturned.

Ironically, the NasHe and Imbro fell sau County Police into the water, the Marine Bureau had Marine Bureau was come to their resdispatched to the cue during a news site, they were safeconference about ly brought aboard boating safety.

Marine 1 and their At approximatesailboat was towed ly 10:55 a.m., police in to the marina. responded to a They declined medreport that a strong ical attention at the patriCK rydEr gust of wind had scene. overturned a small Commissioner, After the duo vessel with two peo- Nassau County Police came ashore, Imbro ple aboard, a police said that Diehlreport stated. mann was an “expeCounty Executive Laura Cur- rienced boater.” Diehlmann said ran and County Police Commis- he got his first boat at age 25, and sioner Patrick Ryder appeared at is typically on the water every the Wantagh Park marina week. He noted that he had been around 11 a.m. for a conference sailing for about an hour before on boating safety procedures. the emergency call was made by Just before Ryder spoke, an a passerby, and added that the ambulance appeared at the scene water was warm. to respond to the emergency call.

Diehlmann’s advice to boat“This is not staged,” Ryder Continued on page 12

By KatE NalEpiNSKi knalepinski@liherald.com

Courtesy Wantagh School District

Celebrating the class of 2021 Wantagh High School senior Margaret Gates received her diploma from Board of Education President Adam Fisher at the commencement ceremony last Friday.

Wantagh High School student nabs Best Actress award

By StEphaNiE BaNat knalepinski@liherald.com

Wantagh High School senior Katriana Koppe, 18, saw her name in flashing lights in Times Square on May 27, when she found out that she had won the 2021 Roger Rees Best Actress award.

The award recognizes excellence in student performance in the metropolitan area, and is presented each year by the Dis-

ney Theatrical Group and the Broadway Education Alliance. It is named for the late Welsh actor and director who was widely known for his work on stage and television.

Koppe, of Wantagh, described the experience as “surreal.” “I was told that the board of the Roger Rees Awards wanted the nominees to come to Manhattan and take promotional pictures,” she said. “But when I got there, I was greeted by last year’s win-

ners of the award. They led me to Times Square and told me to look up. The billboard above me said [that I was the winner] … and then my face popped up.

Everyone in Times Square started cheering. It was a dream come true.”

Koppe (pronounced CO-pay) received the award for her performance as Cinderella in Wantagh High School’s production of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CinContinued on page 4

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June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

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Summer event series offers sense of normalcy

WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

By Mallory WilsoN mwilson@liherald.com

Community members gathered last Saturday night for the kickoff of the Seaford Chamber of Commerce’s annual Seaford Saturday Nights series.

Food trucks and craft vendors lined the Seaford Long Island Rail Road parking lot for the event, which ran from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. It featured music by the Long Island-based cover band Our Generation, and children’s activities, like “gaga ball” – or an alternative to dodgeball.

“The Seaford Chamber of Commerce has really done a lot these last couple of years to bring these types of events to Seaford,” Hempstead Town Councilman Chris Carini said. “The chamber called me right away, and tons of people called my office. They’re excited to get back out. People are ready to put this [pandemic] behind them at this point.”

Seaford Saturday Nights was the brainchild of chamber members Donna Jebaily and Celia Hanney in 2019.

“We saw that other people were having food-truck events in the area, and we said, ‘You know what? Why don’t we do something here in Seaford?’” Jebaily recalled. “So we decided to do it. We came up with the name Seaford Saturday Nights, and here it is. It’s like a big block party.”

While Jebaily focused on getting the food trucks and vendors, Hanney was responsible for arranging the band and setting up the sound system. “Donna put the permit request in around Christmas, and we just got it approved about a month ago,” Hanney said. “It’s nice that everyone is getting back out and everyone’s vaccinated now.”

“I love hearing all of the food-truck vendors say to me how much they love coming to Seaford, because the town residents are so nice and just love being here,” Hanney said. “At the end of the night, the vendors have nothing but positive things to say about the residents here, and that makes me happy.”

“Every single food truck said they wanted to come back this year because they love the people of Seaford,” Jebaily said.

Mallory Wilson/Herald

Despite raiNy Weather, Seaford residents attended the kickoff of Seaford Saturday Nights on June 19.

The kickoff also served as a reopening of sorts for the community after Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week announced that approximately 70 percent of residents over age 18 had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. That prompted the removal of social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing and cleaning mandates.

Despite the rain earlier in the day, roughly 150 people attended the event, many setting up tents and chairs to enjoy the entertainment and the company of others. “I came out to see my friends and enjoy the entertainment and food,” said resident Brian Semple. “Seaford’s a great town. It’s good to see things going back to the new normal, and people out and about and enjoying life again.”

Resident Lisa Brienza said she was eager to attend the event this year after it was canceled last year due to the

pandemic. “I said, you know what, it’s going to rain,” Brienza said. “But nothing is going to stop us, and here we are. My favorite part of this event is, of course, the food.”

“2020 has taught us … how much we need each other,” said County Legislator Steve Rhoads, who stopped by.

“We need events like this, and now that everything is open, it’s nice to be able to come out and see friends and neighbors and just be together as a community. I want to thank the Chamber of Commerce for providing this opportunity. Seaford Saturday Nights are now officially open for business.”

“The people love it,” Jebaily said. “Even tonight, we have a really great crowd, and the weather isn’t the greatest, but they were really waiting for this. We needed this.

Everybody needed this.”

Spirit of Nashville hits Wantagh this season

By Kate NalepiNsKi knalepinski@liherald.com

The country twang and grub from Nashville, Tenn., has inspired a weekly themed night in Wantagh — just as the area begins to return to normalcy.

Every Wednesday evening this summer, Craft Kitchen & Tap House will host “Nashville Nights,” which will bring live country music, Nashville-inspired barbeque dishes and specialty cocktails to the local eatery.

“The pandemic is coming to an end … and we’ve had the chance to change our menu for the summer during that time,” general manager Dennis Durdaller, of Rockville Centre, said. “We wanted to do something to change it up a little bit.”

Co-owner, Anthony Geraci said himself, Durdaller and co-owner Thomas Nicholas created the countrythemed nights at the Wantagh location because the genre is gaining popularity.

“Theme-nights are important, each night needs to have some kind of identity,” Geraci said, and nearly each night at Craft has its own theme. On Mondays, dine-in customers that are first-responders receive a 20 percent discount on their check. The restaurant has “Taco Tuesdays” with trivia and drink deals each week, and Thursdays through Saturdays typically have live music. Brunch deals are offered on Sundays, Geraci said.

“We know people are into country music, and after Covid-19, when people were stuck in their houses … we just thought this was a good way to do something dif-

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ferent to break up the week,” he said.

Durdaller said he believes that within this community, country-themed nights are hard to find. “Honestly, I know country music is becoming more mainstream,” Durdaller said. “I haven’t known or seen any places around Wantagh that have done this.”

As of now, the weekly themed nights will run from 7:30 to 10 p.m. If the series is successful, it may continue this fall, Durdaller said.

Some of the dishes offered earlier this month included: barbeque sliders, a Nashville hot chicken salad, barbeque pulled-pork macaroni and cheese, Memphis-inspired nachos, a barbeque brisket sandwich on Texas toast, and more, Durdaller said. The menu will change each week, but the southern staples, like the sliders and nachos, will be offered all season long, Durdaller said.

Restaurant-goers who aren’t a fan of the country flare can still choose from the regular American, grill and bar menu each week, Geraci said.

Musician Eric Annibale, who has performed at Craft’s Wantagh and Lynbrook locations, will take the stage most Wednesday nights. He said the business owners knew he loved to play country tunes, “so when they started up the Nashville nights, fortunately, they thought of me right away.”

Annibale said he believes that the live music will encourage community members to stop by.

“With reopening, I think people are craving the opportunity to get out,” Annibale said, “and live music is a catalyst for a good time.”

Courtesy Dennis Durdaller

MusiciaN eric aNNiBale, of Melville, performed last Wednesday at the restaurant. Annibale will take the stage most Wednesday nights.

Wantagh’s ‘Cinderella’ recognized in NYC about all the workshops they got to do and derella,” which was streamed virtually how they got to work with professional June 5 and 6. She won against 52 other actors for coaching. I was like, ‘Wow, I wish I could do that.’ Now I can.” nominees in the category.

In May, Koppe won the Wantagh Wantagh Theatre Director Kimberly Davis said that when Koppe was cast as Drama Parents & Alumni Association Cinderella, the district knew she would achievement award in the theatre arts catbring something “unique to the role.” “We egory and the Courtney Kernaghan also know that we can count on her to be Memorial Scholarship in recognition of the driving force of any play,” Davis said. outstanding performance. She was select“With the magic Kat brings to the stage, ed for the All State Treble Choir this year and the All State she is truly able to Mixed Choir in carry a show on 2020, due to her her own.” high scores at the Koppe said she 2 0 1 9 N ew Yo rk had an emotional State School Music connection with Association festithe character. “I val. was truly able to A d d i t i o n a l l y, connect with CinKoppe is the presiderella,” she said, dent of the Tri-M “because she uses Music Honor Sociher imagination to ety at Wantagh cope with the hardHigh and a memships she deals ber of the Internawith in life, and I tional Thespian do, too … which is Honor Society. She one of the reasons has played the vioI love performing. I lin and sung in love being able to school choruses ste p out of my since elementary actual being and school. become someone “I met Kat when else for a little Koppe received the 2021 Roger Rees she auditioned for while.”

Best Actress Award in Times Square.

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ in Koppe will repsixth grade,” Davis resent the greater New York region in the Broadway League recalled, “and she blew us away back Foundation’s National High School Musi- then. We had no idea she was going to cal Theatre Awards, also known as the come out with that voice. We knew right Jimmy Awards, next month during an away that she was something very speintensive week of auditions and profes- cial.”

Sameerah Cassidy, Koppe’s music sional coaching. The awards will be streamed virtually on July 15 on the teacher and the director of Wantagh High’s music program, described her as Jimmy Awards website.

Some previous Roger Rees award-win- “innately talented” and “truly the type of ners have gone on to star on Broadway. student that can sing anything.”

“Katriana is completely dedicated to Wantagh Theatre also received the PLAYBILLder Award, presented to senior Lau- what she does,” Cassidy said. “She’s very ren Merting, for designing this year’s involved in our music program. She’s posters and programs for the school’s taken every drama elective that the plays. school’s offered. She makes sure that she “The Roger Rees Award has always studies about a role as much as possible been my dream,” Koppe said. “In my before she performs it. She also makes freshman year, three of my friends were sure that she’s completely prepared vocalnominated for it, and they were talking ly for anything that she does.” continued from front page 1

Photos courtesy Katriana Koppe

Winners of the 2021 Roger Rees Best Actress and Actor awards, Katriana Koppe and Matteo Lizcano, with Frank Dilela, of the board of the Roger Rees Awards.

Koppe said she first became interested in music and theater at age 9. “I found my mom’s old ‘Phantom of the Opera’ CD one day and listened to all the music,” she recounted. “I instantly fell in love with it and with the idea of musicals.”

In 2012, she joined a summer theater camp offered by Oaks School #3 in Oceanside. Two years later, she took part in a community theater program at the Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts.

In 2015, Koppe moved to Wantagh with her family, and attended Wantagh Middle School. She continued with the local theater program, and joined school plays.

She stuck with acting throughout high school — even during the coronavirus pandemic, when shows were performed virtually.

Last August, she began participating in Raffaele Theatrical Productions, a community theater program in Massapequa.

Despite Covid-19 limitations, she has

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Serving Our Community with:

managed to work on college auditions.

She will attend Pace University in the fall, where she plans to study musical theater, and said she hopes to someday perform on Broadway or in film.

Her favorite part of performing, Koppe said, is the way she can make others feel.

“I feel like my purpose in life is to perform,” she said. “What I love about performing is that I can transport people from whatever’s going on in their lives for an hour or two and give them some positive feelings … allow them to escape their troubles.”

She encourages other teens who want to pursue careers in the arts to follow their passion and aim high. “You have to develop thick skin and trust yourself,” Koppe said. “Do what you love, because there’s nothing more important in life than doing what you love and spreading that love and positivity to others.”

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The Wantagh Herald USPS 16790, is published every Thursday by Richner Communications, Inc., 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Periodicals postage paid at Garden City, NY 11530 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address changes to Wantagh Herald, 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Newsstand Price: $1 Subscription rates: $50 for 1 year within Nassau County. Out of Nassau County: $60 for 1 year. Copyright © 2021 Richner Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

Outdoor Drive - In Movie in conjunction with Mobile Flicks 2 U Inc.

The Sandlot (1993) Elf (2003) Spiderman - Homecoming (2017) Miracle (2004) Frozen (2013) School of Rock (2003) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006) Happy Gilmore (1996) Star Wars (The Original, 1977) Open in case of cancellation

1135747

June 30th July 7th July 14th July 21st July 28th Aug 4th Aug 11th Aug 18th Aug 25th Sept 1st

June 24, 2021 — HERALD

6

Heralds honor Long Island’s top teachers

By Nicole AlciNdor nalcindor@liherald.com

The Herald Community Newspapers group held its first live Zoom awards show to honor Long Island teachers for their outstanding work inside and outside the classroom.

The Herald Head of the Class Long Island Teacher Awards ceremony was hosted by the Herald and RichnerLIVE, presented by Bank of America and sponsored by Geico.

Jordan Sabinsky, who teaches kindergarten at Searingtown Elementary School in the Herricks School District, won the Bank of America Rising Star Award.

Nancy Aquino, who teaches second grade in the Baldwin School District’s Steele School, took home the honor for top elementary school teacher.

Grace Dong-Janeo, who teaches at Hempstead Middle School, was the top middle school teacher.

And Rebecca Rodriguez, a foreign language teacher in the East Rockaway School District, was the top high school teacher.

Eric Feil, the Heralds’ director of business development, hosted the event, announcing the winners and interviewi n g t h e m a b o u t t h e i r a c h i e ve ments. “What a night this is going to be as we celebrate the top teachers across Long Island,” Feil told the online audience as the ceremony began. “We’ve all had a teacher in our lives who has made a lasting impact, who was truly special — whether they saw something in us that they brought out, inspired us, or gave us the confidence to go and learn something and apply something new to the world …

Now, tonight, we are here to honor them.”

Stuart Richner, president and CEO of Richner Communications, thanked viewers for joining in for the night and shared his view of the most influential teachers in students’ lives.

“Even before Covid-19 and even before teachers were declared essential workers last August, we all knew just how essential they were … It has always gone without saying that our schools are the true heart and soul of Long Island,” Richner said. “Top educators motivate students in countless ways and create atmospheres of understanding, compassion and curiosity.

The most influential teachers go above and beyond, and their impact is felt both inside and outside the classroom. The impact of a great teacher can last a lifetime.”

Richner shared how he still fondly recalls the lessons that his sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Stuart Brock, taught about being confident and taking the lead, and always sticking up for those without a voice.

When Richner first started holding discussions about the idea of honoring Long Island’s top teachers, he said he knew it would be vital to receive community input. The awards nomination process was open to the public and generated more than 300 nominees, from students, parents and teachers to local business owners.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen our educators meet countless new

Photos by Nicole Alcindor/Herald

JordAN SABiNSky, who teaches at Searingtown Elementary School in Herricks, won the Bank of America Rising Star Award.

challenges, and they are more deserving than ever of recognition for their passion, determination and dedication,” Richner said. “Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate a teacher and for sharing the moving stories about why you felt they should be honored.”

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, of Baldwin, who served on the Baldwin Board of Education before she ran for the County Legislature, spoke directly to Long Island’s teachers at the awards ceremony. “I’ve got kids in school myself, and I know how hard you all have worked this past year and a half pivoting, learning new technology on the fly, making sure that kids got the knowledge, resources, information and preparation needed to succeed,” Curran said. “I am truly grateful for all of your work and a huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists tonight.”

NANcy AquiNo, who teaches in Baldwin, was the top elementary teacher.

GrAce doNGJANeo, who teaches in Hempstead, was the top middle school teacher. reBeccA rodriGuez, who teaches in East Rockaway, was the top high school teacher.

7

Don Clavin

FREE

HERALD — June 24, 2021

Supervisor

and the Hempstead Town Board invite you to

Celebrate Independence Day with the

Salute to Veterans Concert featuring

THE COMMODORES

followed by a

spectacular fireworks display Saturday, June 26 • 7:30 p.m.

Rain date: June 27

Town Park at Point Lookout Supervisor

Frank Zangla Commissioner, Parks & Recreation

Council Members Dorothy L. Goosby Bruce A. Blakeman Anthony D’Esposito Dennis Dunne, Sr. Thomas E. Muscarella Christopher Carini

Kate Murray Town Clerk

Jeanine C. Driscoll Receiver of Taxes

1134859

Donald X. Clavin, Jr.

June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

8

events and activities

community update Friday, June 25

emailed a link to join a Zoom session.

Please make sure you enter the correct email when registering.

Defensive Driving Class Join Marty Hirschfield from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wantagh library for a defensive driving course. Registration is in person only. $34.00 fee is payable at the time of registration. Payable by check only to Marty Hirschfield.

Yoga with Vicky Join Yoga Instructor Vicky from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for Iyengar Yoga. This form of yoga encourages the spread of intelligence throughout the body, the growth of self-awareness, and the experience of the asana as a form of “meditation in action”. Please bring a yoga mat, three thick blankets, two yoga blocks, and a yoga belt. Class fee of $25 payable by check only is due at the time of registration. All registration is in-person only. Space is limited. This program will be held in-person at the Wantagh library. Wearing a mask is required in the library and to maintain social distancing.

Saturday, June 26 July-Dye Fun Show your creative side at Sensory Beans located at 3309 Merrick Road in Wanatgh from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Participants are welcome to tie-dye their own shirts and create an Independence Day-themed creation. Masks will be provided. Participants must bring their own shirts to dye. Reserve your spot online at www.sensorybeans.com. $30 per child is due at registration.

Friday, July 2 Shilelagh Law returns to Mulcahy’s

Jester Jim Join Jester JIm’s comedy show at Wantagh library from 11- 11:45 a.m. The show will be full of juggling, balancing, beatboxing and laughs. The event will be held outdoors in the library parking lot. All participants must wear a mask.

Contact sfinck@wantaghlibrary.org to register.

Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti Reserve your spot at Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall at 3232 Railroad Avenue in Wantagh to see Sal Valentinetti sing at 6 p.m. $89.95 per person and includes an open bar and a four course italian dinner. Doors open at 6 p.m., show starts 7:30 p.m. To sign up, email info@mulcahys.com.

Monday, June 28 Yoga and Meditation with Amanda Join Yoga Instructor Amanda’s online class from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Wantagh library to experience 40 minutes of vinyasa yoga and 20 minutes of deep, relaxing meditation. Accessible for all levels of yoga students. This class will be run simultaneously in-person and

l l l l l

Virtual Adult Summer Reading Kick-Off Join the Seaford Public Library in welcoming best-selling author Jamie Brenner at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 28. Brenner will be discussing her newest novel, “Blush.” Registration is online and participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the event. virtual. In-person reservations will be limited to eight patrons. A class fee of $20 is payable by check only at the time of registration. Upon completing your registration, you will be emailed a link to join a Zoom session if you are attending class virtually.

Bubbledad Bubblehead Show Children in grades 5-12 can join the Seaford library in this science show with bubbles. Bring straws, rubber bands and cardboard tubes. Registration is required and a Zoom link will be sent out the night before the event.

Tuesday, June 29 Zumba with Irene Join certified Zumba instructor Irene at the Wantagh library and dance to a

combination of Latin and international music while exercising. The program is held in-person from 7 to 8 p.m. A class fee of $15 is payable by check only at time of registration. The program will be conducted in the Wantagh library’s community room. Wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing is required in the library.

Virtual Craft: Beach Ceramic Join Rosemarie Attard live from the Wantagh library on Zoom at 7 p.m. to paint the word “Beach” just in time for summer. The program is $8 and registered patrons must pay and pick up their kits before the start of class.

Please log in at least 10-15 minutes before the class.

Book Discussion with Jack: Grant’s Tomb by Louis L. Picone

Join Jack from the Seaford libary for our book discussion from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m about a researched book where presidential historian Louis L. Picone recounts the full story. This program will be conducted in the library’s community room and through Zoom. All registrants will receive a Zoom link via email. Registration and wearing a mask is required in the library.

Wednesday, June 30 Virtual Tai Chi Join Marvin Berg from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.for a weekly virtual Tai Chi at the Wantagh library. Tai Chi combines slowmoving with deep breathing and is beneficial in increasing body strength, balance, and posture. Upon completing your registration, participants will be

Reserve your spot at Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall at 3232 Railroad Avenue in Wantagh to see the band Shilelagh Law perform. The seated show costs $20 per person. Please call 516-7837500 to make a reservation. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the band starts at 9 p.m.

HAVInG An eVenT? Items on the Community Update pages are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest.

All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number.

Submissions can be emailed to knalepinski@liherald.com

Movie Night At Wantagh Park series begins June 30 with “The Sandlot.”

Jones Beach Firework Show is on. Catch the show from 8 to 11 p.m. July 4.

Seaford HS graduation will be on June 26.

The Seaford Chamber of Commerce will hold its Fall Fest on Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.

The 2021 Patriot Award Dinner from the Seaford 9/11 Memorial Committee will take place June 29.

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WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

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HERALD Covid-19 NURSES MEDICAL WORKERS

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THEIR FRONT-LINE STORIES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

CLAIRE PATRICIA DESETTO DARESTA

ROCKVILLE CENTRE MASSAPEQUA Director, Peri-Operative Nurse, Nassau University & Emergency Services, Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center East Meadow

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have been a nurse30atyears, Mercyand Hospital forofalmost ’ve been a nurse for 26 50 years, Covid-19 trulycare/burn the worstunit crisisat them, I’veand been in the was critical that I have ever experienced.

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Covid-19 crisis began Mercy Hospital.

The burn unit is a at specialized field. the crisis my Emergency Department YouAsdon’t learnpeaked, it in nursing school; more staff were working incredible hours, moving from experienced nurses teach the younger. That one be sickintimidating, patient to another. were dealing with can but ifThey someone lasts more patients whoorcame talkinghere and within than a year two,inthey’re to stay.hours were ventilators.

They never questioned work In on a burn unit, there’s a need to develop load assignments; they just did what they had to trust. It’s a painful experience, and even doing In the morning, wethe tried to prayAnd together, ado. dressing may hurt patient. burn just to give usbecome strengthalmost to face family; anotheryou’re grueling patients in shift. for at

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Working alongside men least two weeks, and these I mayremarkable see patients forand a woman was truly an inspiration to me . . . I could year or more. seeWhen the fear in their buttothey wentclinic where Covid hit,eyes, I went an just outside they were needed most and they did what they to continue burn work, but the call came to do best toback give to thethe bestmedical care to center our sickest patients. come to help with I would with myabout daughter, who is Covid.

Nonetalk of daily us thought not coming also anit’sERjust nurse at another would back; what nurses facility. do. YouWe jump in in talk about PPE and how amazing all nurses an emergency. During 9/11, firemen ran tohave the been. We talked about the fear of bringing this scene. disease hometowith and to our families.

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You’d a patient pass away, their the disease. fortaken me was unimaginable. body wouldThe be fright quickly away, and a new Thankfully, shein. recovered in three weeks patient came Was it traumatic?

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In any crisis or tragic lifetime.

I always knew that nurses were amazing everybody chips in. people and true front-line workers, but it took Covid-19 to let the world know the same.

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HERALD HOMETOWN HERO

LAURA LUZ BENDETTOOTEROCALDERON RUGEN

LUZ SIMON OTEROCALDERON ULUBABOV BALDWIN FOREST HILLS Licensed Practical Nurse, Nurse,NUMC, Mount Sinai South Nasau East Meadow

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he yhospital, with therelatively Town short, nursingalong career’s been of Hempstead, created this project, theI went about nine years.

After nursing school Vaxmobile, to bring vaccines to different right to Nassau University Medical Center. I'm communities in Nassau are several from Forest Hills, but theCounty. medicalWe center is my LPNs, away and offrom all ofhome. them,My they chose home father is me alsotoanbeER an interpreter the Hispanic community. nurse here, andfor it was his influence that made day I can assure you that more than me Every a nurse.

50Ito 60tell percent of patients are Spanishcan you when that happened.

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For example, “It’s set atthem the wrong level,” he said.

I knew at a cook came up to me,to and gave him the that moment I wanted bewe a nurse. vaccine. asked himinflifuence he knows anyone Covid When had a Iprofound on me.

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I gotlive sickinwith shadows, and of only in that have the beginning March.

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BALDWIN FREEPORT Enfermera práctica Volunteer nurse, con licencia en Mount Sinai St. Elizabeth Ann Seton South Nassau School, Bellmore we been helpshortness many. Apart from being were veryable low;toI had of breath, a nurse, lend an extra handI was because many diffi culty Iwalking.

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(About month I got a clean bill of health I came from Puerto Rico 20 years ago, and on that.)

I did notthere speak English.

I was terribly afraid, Was any question of my returning and many people helped me.

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HERALD HOMETOWN HERO

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l hospital, junto con el Town of Hempstead, e’re a regional Catholic school that crearon este projecto, el Vaximóvil, llevar encompasses nursery through eighthpara grade vacunas a diferentes comunidades Nassau and serves families from Freeport toen BellmoreCounty. Somos varias y de todas ellas me Merrick, Wantagh, EastLPN, Meadow and more. escogieron mí para ser para laI was When thea pandemic hit,intérprete being a nurse, comunidad fearful of theHispana. school closing. But thankfully, los dÍas, yo te puede asegurar, que ourTodos principal, Ms. Leeann Graziose, and Ms. más Brandon, del 50-60 the porassistant ciento deprincipal los pacientes son Lynn . . . were de hablaprepared Hispana.for Muchos de los Hispanos already the shutdown.

The kids trabajan restaurantes y en otros were senten home with everything theylugares needed. queteachers no van astepped coger unupdía para ponerse The to libre do virtual learning una get vacuna.

Yo les Classroom. sigo molestando para que and on Google traigan personas.

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Vaximóvil hemos podido ayudar a muchos. just trying to support the front-line staff. I Apartego deinser enfermera, yo doy mano extra would and relieve them, be la with family porque muchos nomeds, sabengive usarpatients el teléfono, no members, give out baths, saben su número de teléfono, no on saben feed them or just help out nurses the nada floor dewhatever Inglés, noway saben escribir. in I could.

I’m blessed to be Me encanta lo que hago. Yo vine de Puerto working in a great place.

Rico 20 años, nooff, hablaba Onhace the days that yI’m I go toInglés. schoolYoand teníathe un assistant miedo terrible y mucha gente me help principal take temperatures ayudó.

Me coming frustré tanto hasta cogí drop clases, of children off theque bus.

I usually hicekids miloff cosas, trabajé cogiendo my at 7:30, I goentomil thelugares, bus side, and mi bachillerato y todo.toDemake la misma manera we take temperatures sure these kids quesafe. a mí me ayudaron cuando llegué aquí, are entonces para atrás la vida,I’m yo I’m defipara nitelypagarle an active mom ataschool. ayudo losSpirit demás. part of athe Board, which is similar to a PTA. School is a second home, a home away from home for our kids, so I want to make it the best it can be.

HERALD HOMETOWN HERO

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OCEANSIDE/ISLAND PARK HERALD — May 27, 2021

June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

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WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

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Sailboat capsized in Wantagh Park marina continued from front page ers? “Make sure you can get back in the boat!” he said. “And wear a lifejacket.”

At the news conference, Curran said that 80 percent of fatalities on the water are drownings, and 83 percent of the victims are not wearing lifejackets.

“We do not want a tragedy, we do not want a funeral because of carelessness,” she said.

In 2019, there were 4,168 recreational boating accidents in the U.S., involving 613 deaths, 2,559 injuries and approximately $55 million in damage to property, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast JOAN IMBRO AND Robert Diehlmann, of Seaford, Guard. That year, Nassau Coun- spoke to the media after they were rescued by the ty recorded seven boat acci- Nassau County Police Marine Bureau. dents. The number spiked to 32 tation devices for every passenger, a dislast year, with four fatalities, tress flag, U.S. Coast Guard-approved Ryder said.

“We’re approaching one of the busiest flares, a fire extinguisher, a radio and boating seasons of the year,” he said. proper registration.

He urged boaters never to drink and “You can’t find a boat to purchase out here right now — everybody’s on the operate a vessel. Just under 20 percent of all fatalities on the water involve alcohol, water.”

As it patrols county waterways this according to officials. “We have a zero tolsummer, the Marine Bureau will ensure erance for drinking and boating,” Ryder that all appropriate guidelines are fol- said. “Enjoy your time, but have the desiglowed. Ryder reminded boaters to have nated captain on the boat, and make sure the following items onboard: personal flo- everyone is wearing a lifejacket.”

Photos by Kate Nalepinski/Herald

ThE BuREAu’S MARINE 1 carried Imbro and Diehlmann and their sailboat ashore at the Wantagh Park marina.

Bringing local sports home every week

Herald SPOrTS Manhasset edges Wantagh for county title

By ANDREW COEN sports@liherald.com

Third-year Wantagh head coach Robyn Rooney hugged several of her players following the Warriors heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Manhasset in the Nassau Class C final on June 17.

It marked an emotional end for Wantagh’s 11 seniors who fell just short of their quest for a county title one year after having the 2020 season wiped out due to the pandemic.

“When you leave it all out on the field it makes the ending that much harder,” said Rooney. “It was an emotional season from day one dealing with Covid, injuries, huge wins and losses and fighting our way through arguably the toughest schedule in the country.”

The Warriors, who split with Manhasset during the regular season, rallied from an 8-3 deficit early in the second half with four straight goals capped by an Eva Ingrilli score assisted by Madison Aliamo with 11:51 left. After a Manhasset answer, Madison Taylor struck for her third goal of the game with 9:13 remaining, cutting the deficit to 9-8.

Taylor’s shot attempt to tie the game late against heavy defensive pressure was saved by Manhasset goalie Finely Collins with 1:15 remaining before the Indians ran out the clock to preserve their third straight county title. The Northwestern commit Taylor’s historic junior season was capped with 56 goals, 28 assists, 113 draw controls, 30 caused turnovers and 58 groundballs.

“This is a kid who gets it done on every ounce of that

field,” said Rooney of the junior midfielder, who recorded 47 goals and 59 draw controls as a freshman in 2019 when Wantagh also reached the county championship stage.

“She is just at another level.”

Wantagh fell behind 7-3 at halftime after Manhasset’s Grace Gately scored with just 0.4 seconds left. The Warriors mounted their comeback starting with a Jillian Balkunas goal with 17:19 left followed by a Shae Insigna tally just 34 seconds later cutting the deficit to 8-5. Ensuing back-to-back tallies by Leena Mousa and Ingrilli made the score 8-7 heading into the home stretch.

Manhasset dominated time of possession in the first half, but its offense was limited in the game’s final 25 minutes to just two goals and only one over the last 20:30 thanks to stout defense from MaKenna Boutin, Reilly Brady, Emma Gonsowski and Olivia Benedetto. Sophomore goalie Nicole Schaumloff registered eight first half saves to keep Wantagh within striking distance.

The Rutgers-bound Boutin exemplified the Warrior’s fighting spirit this season when she returned from a broken ankle suffered a Wantagh girls volleyball playoff match in late April to make her season debut June 1. Boutin is part of a large senior class that will always hold a special place in the heart of Rooney from guiding her debut season in 2019 as sophomores to battling back from the disappointment of last year’s cancelled season for a memorable final high school campaign.

“They set the tone for the future of Wantagh lacrosse,” she said. “They helped create our Wantagh identity and lived by it every day on and off that field.”

Ron Manfredi/Herald

ShEA INSINgA WAS one of 11 seniors who helped lead Wantagh to a second straight appearance in the county title game.

HERALD Covid-19

MEDICAL WORKERS

WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

MERRICK Nurse practitioner, owner, Total Care Adult Health, North Merrick

SEAFORD Nurse, Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, Oceanside

am currently an RN at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital. I work on a telemetry unit, and my duties include all aspects of patient care. I've been working for just about one year, after graduating from Molloy College in May 2020 and passing my boards last June. My experience at South Nassau has been amazing.

I'm lucky to have started my career here; the staff has been so welcoming and helpful to a new nurse.

I started my job in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a new nurse, it was very overwhelming to train in such stressful conditions. The safety protocols at my hospital were strictly implemented to keep patients and staff safe. It was also tough on the patients, because there were no family members or visitors allowed in the hospital for months, so

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AMY WALDMAN

MOLLY VANDUSEN I

THEIR FRONT-LINE STORIES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

I

keeping their spirits up became an important part of my job.

My hopes for the near future are to continue working at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on my unit and further develop my nursing skills. In the later future, I hope to work on becoming a nurse practitioner, and I’m leaning toward specializing in geriatrics.

opened Total Care Adult Health on April 5.

I wanted to better serve the health needs of the local community during the pandemic.

During the pandemic, the urgent care centers had exceptionally long lines of people getting tested for Covid-19. I was offered drive-up rapid tests in front of my house. There were so many residents in our community that were so thankful that I had done this and made it so convenient for them.

As a nurse practitioner, I have always considered opening my own practice. The decision was driven by the health needs of the community. I noticed that there was a lack of female providers as well as primary care offices that are still privately owned. Most solo practitioners have joined large hospital/ health systems, and as a result, it loses some

HERALD HOMETOWN HERO

of the human element. People have told me that they can't get an appointment with their provider for months, and when they do go in for their appointment, they feel rushed and feel that their provider isn't listening to them. In my practice, I give very comprehensive exams, listen to each patient, educate and develop an individualized plan for each patient.

Since I opened my practice, the feedback from patients has been extremely positive. I plan to add more specialties to this practice, but don't want to lose the community feel.

We don't overbook, and will make sure that we have enough staff so we can spend more time with our patients in our state-of-the-art primary-care practice.

HERALD HOMETOWN HERO

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Throughout the pandemic, healthcare workers, first responders, grocery and pharmacy personnel, and so many others, have been dedicated to supporting and assisting our community. They are true heroes who deserve our respect, praise and recognition.

As many remain on the front lines in 2021, we invite you to nominate a Hometown Hero to be featured in Herald newspaper editions throughout the year.

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June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

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Seaford grad appointed interim athletic director

By Kate NalepiNsKi knalepinski@liherald.com

Once a Seaford Viking, always a Seaford Viking.

Judy Ann Riccio, a 1992 Seaford High School graduate, recalled her days of “Viking pride”: she was once a member — and proud captain — of the SHS cheerleading team.

But she never would have thought that her “humble beginnings” with Seaford’s cheer squad would someday lead to two national, back-to-back champion titles with Sacred Heart University’s cheerleading team, she said, or her new position as

the Interim Director of Athletics at the university in Fairfield, Conn.

“Ultimately, the athletic director is responsible for all facets of intercollegiate athletics,” Riccio said. “NCAA compliance, Title IX compliance, competition and travel schedules, athletic scholarships, human resources, etcetera. I will oversee all 33 Division 1 teams, plus our spirit groups, like cheerleading and the dance team.”

Riccio was appointed Interim Director of Athletics at the private Catholic university on June 8. She has replaced former major league baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine, who earlier this month announced he would take a leave of

absence, according to the district. He was in the role since June 2013.

Riccio, of Trumbull. Conn., started working at Sacred Heart in 2004 as a financial analyst supporting enrollment, student affairs and athletic departments.

From there, she took the title of Executive Director of Budgets, and was later named Senior Woman Administrator – a position established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1981 to ensure that women were involved in the administration of college athletics, Riccio said. She will continue those responsibilities, due to the nature of the position.

“I am lucky to have a talented group of

I My Community Enjoy the best local news for your area with Herald Community Newspapers.

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administrators working with me who will assist in the day to day management of the athletic department,” she said.

“We are so proud to see a Seaford graduate and former Viking assume the leadership of a highly respected college athletics program,” Seaford School District’s Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics Kevin Witt said in a statement. “We wish her the best in her new Judy ann Riccio endeavor.”

T he Seaford native said one of the highlights of her Seaford High School experience was attending the school while her father, Steve Bongiovi, was teaching.

“My parents still reside in Seaford, so I get back as often as I can,” she said. “I’m still very close with my high school friends and we get together regularly.”

“We are fortunate to have Judy Ann, a highly qualified member of the SHU Athletics community who is ready and excited to take on the responsibilities of interim athletic director,” said Jim Barquinero, Sacred Heart University’s Senior Vice President for Enrollment, Student Affairs and Athletics. “Judy Ann’s vision, skills and work ethic were benefitting the department in areas far beyond the traditional purview of the SWA.” Riccio graduated from Fairfield University in 1996 with a degree in accounting, and received her masters in business administration from Hofstra University in 2000. She currently lives with her husband, Frank, and their two children, Ryan and Lauren.

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News brief Long Beach man arrested in Wantagh A Long Beach man was arrested in Wantagh last week after he was involved in a domestic dispute and found in possession of an illegal firearm, police said.

David Stockdale, 24, became involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, a 23-year-old woman, on June 19 around 7:01 p.m., police reports said. Stockdale punched the victim in the face numerous times while her 4-year-old son was present.

Police said the victim was medically treated at the scene. Responding officers placed Stockdale into custody without further incident.

A subsequent investigation of Stockdale’s home revealed that he was illegally in possession of a Haskell 45 caliber firearm, police said.

Stockdale was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, a felony, and two misdemeanor charges for assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He will be arraigned on June 20 in Mineola.

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WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

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Wantagh SEPTA honors school community

By Kate nalepinsKi knalepinski@liherald.com

Wantagh Union Free School District faculty, staff and community members were celebrated last week at the Friends of SEPTA’s annual Appreciation Awards.

The ceremony, which was streamed virtually on Wednesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m., honored students who positively impacted children’s educational or social experiences this year. Over 50 people tuned into the meeting.

Wantagh’s Supportive Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA) serves as a support group for community mem-

bers whose learning needs require special education. Board president Elizabeth Beatty said the ceremony is the board’s “favorite meeting of the school year.”

“It marks the end of the school year, which is great, but it also celebrates those who have made a difference in our children’s lives,” Beatty said during the meeting. “Year after year, I’m always so touched by the stories that are shared.”

All physical awards were delivered to recipients last week. Attached are each of the recipients and some comments that their nominees contributed during the ceremony.

septa appreciation award nominees christine Moran, physical education teacher at Forest lake elementary school Nominated by Marybeth Reynolds “Ms. Moran is more than her students’ physical education teacher and coach – she is a motivator,” Reynolds said. “She is an inventor. She is always inventing new games and activities for the kids to enjoy during P.E. class. … everything she builds is done with love and care.” christine torrellas, teacher at Forest lake elementary school Nominated by Belinda Rodriguez “You told me, first things first, I had to take care of myself,” Rodriguez said. “I did what you said. I took my minute...

But when I was done, I was ready to get to work. This was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given as a special parent, and one reason why I’m so thankful for you.”

Courtesy Wantagh UFSD Friends of SEPTA

Wantagh’s supportive education Parent Teacher Association annual Appreciation Awards honored 12 community members who made a positive impact on students.

Public Notices

LWAN1 0624

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that an Order granted by the Supreme Court, Nassau County, on the 28th day of May 2021 bearing the index number 21-000318, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Nassau County clerk located at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola, New York, grants me the right to assume the name of Luis Hortencio Sancez.

My present address is 1104 Oakfield Avenue, Wantagh NY 11793.

The date of my birth is July 9th, 1997; The place of my birth is Porlamar, Nueva Esparta,Venezuela; and the present name is Luis Hortencio Costa.

126443 To Place A Notice Call 516-569-4000 x232

LEGAL NOTICE Notice of formation of Myotherapy Alternative Physical Therapy PLLC, a domestic PLLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 4/19/2021.

Office location: Nassau. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the PLLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Andrew Vito Lentini, 2210 Maple Street, Wantagh, NY. Purpose: Physical Therapy and Muscle Activation Techniques.

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PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. Search by publication name at: www.newyorkpublicnotices.com

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO PROPOSERS The Board of Education, Levittown Public Schools, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, hereby invites the submission of sealed proposals for the following services: RFP #LPS-21-002 Athletic Trainer Services.

The District will receive sealed proposals on, or prior to 10:00 a.m. on July 8, 2021, at the Office of the Purchasing Department, Levittown Memorial Education Center, 150 Abbey Lane, Room 316, Levittown, New York, 11756.

Specifications may be obtained at the same office. Proposals will be opened on the stated date and time, but will not be publicly read aloud. Proposals shall be

irrevocable for a minimum period of ninety (90) days from the date of proposal opening. The Board of Education reserves the right to waive any informalities in the proposals, or to reject any or all proposals, or to accept any proposal which in the opinion of the Board of Education will be in the best interest of the School District. For further information call Bonnie Pampinella, Purchasing Agent at (516) 434-7014.

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PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.newyorkpublicnotices.com TO PLACE AND AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232

catherine Kennedy, occupational therapist at Wantagh elementary school Nominated by Helena McDermott “[My son is] able to talk to her about anything, they made such a strong connection,” McDermott said. “I feel like it’s really, above everything, impossible to do O.T. through virtual, but she found a way. And they always have fun while they’re on the call.” laura Megargel, teacher at Forest lake elementary school Nominated by Bridget Diano, Marybeth Reynolds and Sabrina Lydon Lydon said she’s watched her daughter grow this past year. That’s in part due to Megarel’s assistance, Lydon said.

“Her dedication, her impact …. Really makes her want to go to school and do well and do better and keep growing.”

Frank Muzio, district director of guidance Nominated by Pupil Personnel Services, ENL and Central Registration director Jeanne Love diane garey and lori puimellu, resource room teachers at Wantagh Middle school Nominated by Amy Smith victor torres, local Jiu Jitsu instructor Nominated by SEPTA member Debbie DeRupo amy smith, speech therapist at Wantagh Middle school Nominated by Kerri Marullo “Ms. Smith has been such a positive influence in my son’s life, and I know I’m not alone in that feeling. She takes the time to get to know her students on a personal level, and incorporates this into her lessons,” Smith said. steve simonis, security guard at Wantagh high school Nominated by Wantagh High School PPS “We couldn’t have been luckier when he was assigned,” said Iris McNulty-Kline, high school social worker and Homeless Liaison. “Steve is thoughtful, caring and great with students. He is always interested in how he can help, and what our student’s needs are.”

Jennifer Barrett, teacher aid at Wantagh high school Nominated by Daniel Beatty and Elizabeth Beatty ”She truly cares...her heart has an infinite amount of room, and she leaves a trail of kindness wherever she goes, “ Beatty said.

Join us…

PRESSROOM/WAREHOUSE HELP LI Herald has IMMEDIATE openings for a FULL-TIME Pressroom/warehouse helper in Garden City.

EMAiL RESUMES OR cOntAct infO tO

careers@liherald.com

Forklift a plus/heavy lifting required. Day and night shifts.

1133619

June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

16

17

Employment

CLASSIFIED

To pLACE your AD CALL 516-569-4000 - press 5

Fax your ad to: 516-622-7460 E-mail you ad to: ereynolds@liherald.com E-mail Finds Under $100 to: sales@liherald.com DEADLINE: Monday, 11:00 am for all classified ads.

Every effort is made to insure the accuracy of your ad. Please check your ad at the first insertion. Credit will be made only for the first insertion. Credit given for errors in ads is limited to the printed space involved. Publisher reserves right to reject, cancel or correctly classify and ad.

We hire the smartest people who can solve the hardest marketing objectives with an arsenal of solutions and a smile through the journey.

teacher aides & teacher aide suBs (HS Diploma Required)

NEED IMMEDIATELY

nysed Fingerprint clearance required for all positions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT HUMAN RESOURCES AT

295-7036 OR 295-7037

salary, commission, bonuses and benefits. must have own vehicle and valid driver’s license.

$18.50 NYC, $17 L.I., up to $13.50 Upstate NY!

1128591

If you need care from your relative, friend/ neighbor and you have Medicaid, they may be eligible to start taking care of you as a personal assistant under NYS Medicaid CDPA Program. No Certificates needed.

Phone: 347-713-3552

Civil Engineer, M&J Engineering P.C. (New Hyde Park, NY and various client sites throughout the US) Assist, plan and execute field investigation, monitor foundation and earthwork construction, identify and implement field and lab work solutions and prepare logs and reports.

Track task and project budgets, perform field tests, collect record and analyze data and prepare non-conformance reports (NCRs). Lead execution of tasks associated with preparation and modification of various engineering documents including cost estimates, design drawings, reports, Penfield Central School District seeks an experiencedspecification and site plans. Utilize gINT to Penfield Central School District seeks an experienced geotechnical boring database, Driadministrator to be the next Director of Humanities create administrator to be the next Director of Humanities venPile software for determining pile cawith the following qualifications: with the following qualifications: pacities and Bluebeam Revu to create asbuilt drawings and modify plans and drawPenfield Central School District seeks an experienced ings. Requirements: Bachelors • York New York State certification (SDA/SDL) New State (SDA/SDL) administrator to certification be the next Director of Humanities in Civil Engineering, plus 24 months of with the following qualifications: • Thorough knowledge of sound teaching and learning Thorough knowledge of sound teaching and learning experience in the job offered or as Staff Engineer. Must have 24 months of experipractices K-12 practices K-12 • New York State certification (SDA/SDL) ence with utilization of gINT software for Experience with NYSoftesting, Next Generation • Experience with NYS testing, Next Generation Learning geotechnical borings, utilization of Driven• Thorough knowledge sound teaching and learning Learning Pile software for static load capacities of Standards and Student Learning Objectives Standards and practices K-12 Student Learning Objectives piles, and utilization of Bluebeam Revu • Experience with NYS testing, Next Generation Learning Strong literacy background focusing on data-based • Strong literacy background focusing on data-based software to create as-built drawings and Standards and Student Learning Objectives decision making modify plans and drawings. 40/hrs per decision making • Strong literacy background focusing on data-based Experience with curriculum and program developmentweek. Reply to decision making • Experience with curriculum and program development akenku@mjengineers.com.

DIRECTOR OF HUMANITIES

• • • •

• • Experience coaching, teacher • Experienceinwith curriculumcollaboration, and program development • Experience in coaching, collaboration, teacher • Experience in coaching, collaboration, teacher development and professional learning development and professional learning development and professional learning

1135694

DIRECTOR OF HUMANITIES

Interested candidates please www.penfield.edu Interested candidates please visitvisit www.penfield.edu Interested candidates please visit www.penfield.edu EOE

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted $18.50 NYC, $17 L.I. up to $13.50 Upstate NY! If you need care from your relative, friend/ neighbor and you have Medicaid, they may be eligible to start taking care of you as personal assistant under NYS Medicaid CDPA Program. No Certificates needed. 347-713-3553

One phone call, one order, one heck of a good price to run your ad in any state, or across the country.

Call the

USA Classified Network today!

1-800-231-6152

DAYCARE ASSISTANT: F/T. Must Have NYS ID. Bilingual Preferred. Will Train.

516-220-4269 D E N TA L R E C E P T I O N I S T / I N S U EOE RANCE BILLER FT: Efficient, Personable Individual. Dental Experience Preferred. Good Phone/ Computer Skills. Knowedge Of Scheduling/ Insurance Billing Necessary. dental1292@gmail.com 917-435-7138 FACTORY WORKER PT/FT Needed For Awning Factory. Flexible Hours. Various Duties. 516-239-8090; tgawnings@aol.com HANDYMAN TRAINEE/ ASSISTANT PROPERTY MANAGER - P/T, Repairs Gardening. Car Necessary. Reliable, Trustworthy, & Work Alone. 516-485-6738

1134911

HERALD Community Newspapers

Homes

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5 e s t. 1 9 1 1

Ronnie Gerber 516-238-4299

OPEN HOUSES SUNday, 6/27/21

1135968

to join our outside sales team, contact Rhonda glickman. send your resume today. rglickman@liherald.com, 516-569-4000 x250.

liherald.com

school nurse early childhood center (September start date. Retirees welcome to apply.)

Part-tiMe cleaners & suBs (day and evening positions)

(We said it was simple. We didn’t say it was easy.)

real local, real news

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

1135450

RecRuiting a great sales team is Really simple.

LAWRENCE HERALD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MACHINE OPERATOR FT

Will Train. Precision Air Chuck Manufacturer. Northfield Precision Instrument.

4400 Austin Blvd. Island Park, NY 11558. Email resume to: sales@northfield.com 516-431-1112

HEWLETT 1592 Hereford Rd, 2-3:30, NEW EXCLUSIVE! 4 BR, 3 Bth Exp Ranch, Full FBsmt.

Att Gar. Beautiful St, SD#14 .......................................................................... $779,000 1714 Huntley Pl, 12-1:30, NEW! Spacious 5 BR, 3 Bth Exp Ranch, Open Layout.

Parklike 1/4 Acre, Full FBsmt. 2 Car Att Gar. SD#14 .................................... $999,000 1720 Union Ave, BA, NEW EXCLUSIVE! 3 BR, 2 Bth Ranch, Updtd Gran/Wood EIK, LR, DR, Den, Full Unfin Bsmt w/Hi Ceiling. 2 Car Att Gar. SD#14 ............... $699,000 1602 Hereford Rd, BA, NEW! Move Right In, Renovated 3 BR, 3 Bth Ranch, Full FBsmt. Open Layout, Att Garage. LOW TAXES! SD#14 ............................... $799,000 1610 Hilary Ct, BA, Beautifully Gut Renovated 4600 Sq Ft Colonial. 5 BR, 3.5 Bth, Full FBsmt, 2 Car Att Gar. SD#20. Tax Grievance Filed .........REDUCED! $1,279,999 1390 Broadway #102, BA, 2 BR, 2 Bth Coop in Luxurious Hewlett Townhouse. LR/ DR, Updtd Kit, Office/Den, Elevator, 24 Hr Drman, Valet Pkg, Pool. Priv Storage Area. Great Location Near Shops & Trans ................................REDUCED! $349,000 HEWLETT HaRBOR 7 Lake Dr, BA, NEW! Beautifully Renovated 4 BR, 3.5 Bth Col with Open Layout.

Mstr Ste Boasts New Bth, HUGE WIC, Deck Overlooking Golf Course. Full Bsmt.

2 Car Gar. SD#14 ........................................................................................$1,395,000, 105 Lake Dr, BA, Spectacular Waterfront Prop With Golf Course Views. 4 BR, 4.5 Bth 4500 sq Ft Contemp., Open Layout, Soaring Ceilings, 2 Car Gar, New Bulkhead, SD#14 .....................................................................................REDUCED! $1,850,000 236 Richards Lane, BA, 5 BR, 5.5 Bth Contemp, Acre, IGP. Open Plan. Full FBsmt.

Main Flr Master. SD14 ............................................................REDUCED! $1,499,000 267 Channon Rd, BA, 7 BR, 4 Bth Exp Ranch, Full FBsmt, SD#20. 2 Car Att Gar. Won’t Last! ............................................................................. REDUCED! $1,149,000 HEWLETT Bay PaRK 40 Heron Dr, BA, 10,000 Sq Ft Waterfront, Acre of Parklike Grounds. 5 BR, 5.5 Bth Contemp. Soaring Ceilings. IGP, Hot Tub. 285' Vinyl Bulkhead Raised, Redone Dock. 3 Car Garage...............................................................REDUCED!! $3,999,000 WOOdSBURGH 185 Bay Dr, BA, 5/6 BR, 4.5 Bth Exp Ranch on Parklike 1/2 Acre, Guest Quarters, Full Bsmt, 2 Car Gar. SD#14...................................................REDUCED! $1,420,000 WOOdMERE 4 Clubside Dr, BA, Renovated 3 BR, 3.5 Bth Townhouse in Cedar Glen. Updtd Gran/Wood EIK, Bths. HW Flrs. Fin Lower Level. Att Gar. Community Pool, Tennis, SD#14 .................................................................REDUCED! $699,000, Rent $5,000 EaST ROCKaWay 54 Rose Lane, BA, NEW EXCLUSIVE! PROPERTY LOVERS DELIGHT! 3 BR, 2.5 Bth Split, Over 1/2 Acre Parklike Prop, Waverly Park Area. Updtd EIK, Den/Fpl/Vaulted Ceiling, FDR, Mstr Ste/Updtd Bth, Sitting Rm. 2 Car Gar. SD#20 ............... $999,000

REAL ESTATE

MECHANIC NEEDED

Auto Experience A Plus Will Train Right Person

MARINA YARD HELP F/T

Year Round. Cleaning, Compounding & Wax, Bottom Paint. Must Be Handy With Tools, Have Valid Drivers License, Own Transportation.

Benefits Available

Oceanside 516-764-2552 Fax Or E-mail Resume To: 516-678-9087 butchbpms@aol.com OFFICE PERSON FT

Monday- Friday. Receive Calls, Input Orders, Fast-paced Environment. Computer Skills Necessar y. Paper Goods Wholesaler. Island Park.

Email Resume: appcoem@gmail.com 516-608-9200 Contact Eric

PRIVATE DRIVER NEEDED

Weekly Hours Vary. Occasional Overnight Stay. Use Of Company Car. Background Check And DMV Check.

Call For Details. Barbara 516-705-4804

Health Care/Opportunities

WE HAVE THE HELP YOU NEED!!!

HHA's, LPN's, Nurse's Aides Childcare. Housekeeping Day Workers No Fee To Employers

Evon's Svces: 516-505-5510

Open Houses EAST ROCKAWAY BA, 54 Rose Lane, NEW! PROPERTY LOVERS DELIGHT! 3 BR, 2.5 Bth Split on Over 1/2 Acre Parklike Property in Waverly Park Area.Updtd EIK, Den/Fpl/Vaulted Ceiling, FDR & Mstr Ste/Updtd Bth & Sitting Rm. 2 Car Gar. SD#20...$999,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman 516-238-4299 HEWLETT BA 1602 Hereford Rd.NEW EXCLUSIVE! Move Right Into This Renovated 3 BR, 3 Bth Ranch with Full Fin Bsmt. Open Layout, Att Garage. LOW TAXES! SD#14.$799,000 Ronnie Douglas Elliman 516-238-4299 HEWLETT 6/27, 12-1:30, 1714 Huntley Pl, REDUCED! Beautiful, Spacious 5 BR, 3 Bth Exp Ranch w/ Open Layout. Parklike 1/4 Acre Prop in Cul De Sac. Full Fin Bsmt.

2 Car Att Gar. SD#14....$999,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman 516-238-4299 HEWLETT BA, 1592 Hereford Rd, OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 6/27, 2-3:30,NEW EXCLUSIVE! 4 BR, 3 Bth Exp Ranch w/ Full Fin Bsmt. Att Gar. Beautiful St in SD#14 $779,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman 516-238-4299 WOODSBURGH BA, 185 BAY Dr, REDUCED!! 5/6 BR, 4.5 Bth Exp Ranch on Parklike 1/2 Acre Prop. Guest Quarters, Full Bsmt, 2 Car Gar. SD#14...$1,420,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman RE 516-238-4299

Apartments For Rent CEDARHURST NO FEE Pr ivate Entrance, Modern 1BR, 2BR, 3BR, CAC, W/D, Storage, Wall To Wall Carpeting, Indoor Parking Space. Starting At $1450 For O n e B e d r o o m W h e n Ava i l a bl e.

(516)860-6889/ (516)852-5135/ (516)582-9978 LYNBROOK: 1 BR, Lower Level, Working Kitchen, 3/4 Bath, Private Entrance, No Smoking/ Pets. Includes Gas/Electric. $1,600. 347-909-2153

Summer Rent./Share Avail.

LOOKING TO RENT Your Nickerson Beach Or Malibu Cabana FOR ONE WEEK. Email jimstiene@gmail.com Text 516-582-2500

Garages For Rent OCEANSIDE SECURE 2 CAR Garage.

Good For Classic Cars, Storage, Available Immediatly $650 Call 516-476-8787

Vacation Rentals/Prop.

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best selection of full/partial week rentals. FREE Color Brochure. Holiday Real Estate, Inc: 1-800-638-2102 Online reser vations: www.holidayoc.com. $75 discount - new rentals. Code: “ToTheOcean2021” (Expires 08-01-2021)

WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

HERALD

‘It’s just a deck’

Homes

HERALD

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

HOME OF THE WEEK

• To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

Rockville Centre

Attention to Detail!

Q. I don’t get why Ask The such a big deal is being Architect made about the deck that came with our house. My neighbor put up a 7-foottall fence and I looked it up on the internet and found that you can only have a 6-foot-fence, max. So I called an inspector, which took over 50 minutes to get onte eeper through, followed by a hang-up and then a try again the next day. The inspector came to the house, saw the fence and gave a “violation.” Next thing I know, I also get a violation, days later, stuck on my front door. At first I thought this was some kind of joke, but it turns out to be payback for the fence fiasco.

That’s where the whole things comes apart, because I called and was told I could make a sketch of how my deck was built, send it in and get a permit, end of story — except it wasn’t. I got a letter back that I had to file the sketch by email, get an application number, pay a fee and then wait. It took some doing, but I set up a portal with the help of my son, and made a PDF of my sketch. Two months went by, and I got a statement on the website listing chapters and sections in the code that my deck was in violation of, but the best part was that my sketch wasn’t accepted, and now I was going to have to hire an architect to have a stamped drawing signed and sealed to scale with details and structure notes.

It’s just a deck. So I called around, and only one of six architects even called back. The cost was $1,200 just for the sketch, which, if you ask me, was just a fancier version of my sketch with a lot more views and notes. The architect said the deck wasn’t built “to code,” and changes were needed for it to pass. The railings had spaces too wide and a child could fall through. The deck wasn’t in footings below ground, and there were no metal connectors at all the different places where wood meets wood. It is just a deck. Was there an easier way around all this? The inspector has been out twice, and rejected the work without telling me the whole story. He said I’d have to speak to the architect. Is this typical?

M

N

othing overlooked on this impeccably renovated white washed brick colonial. It is an open floor concept for today's living and entertaining with a separate family room. The eat-in-kitchen is equipped with Thermador appliances, granite countertops and a large island, perfect for the cook in the house. The home also affords 2 primary en-suites, one on the main floor, the second on the 2nd level with 2 additional bedrooms. Off the back of the house is an elevated patio with gas barbeque and gas fireplace. Lush manicured grounds complete this special home.

314 Sunrise Highway Rockville Centre, NY 11570 516-536-8100 www.CoachRealtors.com

Ailie Donlon Licensed Salesperson 516-662-5745

Carol O’Leary Associate Broker 516-205-4220

Rent Your Apartment I’ve joined Compass Helping you find your place in the world

Karen Elefante

Karen Elefante is a real estate agent affiliated with Compass. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by equal housing opportunity laws.

“Going Above & Beyond to find your Dream Home”

Rhonda Healy

*(private party only)

One phone call, one order, one heck of a good price to run your ad in any state, or across the country.

1-800-231-6152

Real Estate Salesperson, abR, SRS E: Rhonda.Healy.VW@gmail.com

L

A. It’s just a deck, but like any other structure, it has to be done right, done once and approved.

Welcome to my world. We’re hired for big work, and little things get in the way. A deck can collapse, be launched by high winds and burn, so safety is why you’re going through this. Done right, a deck can be

cated, because someone avoided regulations and an

John Lawlor, CBR, SFR

architect the first time. Good luck!

55 Merrick Avenue, Merrick NY 11566

NYS Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker

Michele Librett-Lawlor, CBR, SFR NYS Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

BestLiHomes.com • 516-418-3333

1133031

516-405-3918

cate things. This scenario is typically more compli-

Where Dreams Come Home

PRIME LOCATION!!!

CALL US TOdAy!

a simple thing, but people get creative and compli-

1135141

OneKey Multiple Listing Service

ROCKVILLE CENTRE OFFICES FOR RENT AMENITIES INCLUDE: • Shared Kitchen • Conference Room • Reception Area • Municipal Parking

through the Herald and PrimeTime Classified section. Call us for our great *specials.

516-569-4000, press 5 for Classified Dept.

Call the USA Classified Network today!

M: (516) 236-7269

Verdeschi & Walsh Realty 1025 W. Beech St. | Long Beach, NY

1135478

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson karen.elefante@compass.com 182 Seventh Street, Garden City, NY 11530 M: 516.398.5055 O: 516.408.2231

1134767

June 24, 2021 — HERALD

18

© 2021 Monte Leeper Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

19

Market Place • •

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

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HERALD — June 24, 2021

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FOR AN ESTIMATE TEXT:

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tel: 631-cut-tree 631-288-8733

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mention this ad and get $25 off

• Oil to Gas Conversions • Hot Water Heaters • Boilers All Plumbing & Heating Work For House Lifts • Licensed and Insured!

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Market Place HERALDStuff

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ALFREDO’S CONSTRUCTION Specializing

at

BLACKTOP

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senior Citizen Discounts

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• ConCrete • BriCk Patios • stooPs • stuCCo • Belgium BloCks • sidewalks • drainage ProBlems • Cellar entranCe • waterProofing • driveway sealing demolition • dumPster serviCe • Powerwashing • handyman rePairs

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the

in

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Residential and Commercial - All Surfaces Call Anthony Romeo “The Local Guy” “Anthony & J Home Improvement, Inc.” Also specializes in ★ Deck Renovation ★ Driveways ★ Siding ★ Masonry ★ Fences ★ Roofing ★ Interior/Exterior Painting.

(516) 678-6641 - Licensed & Insured

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Why Not Print

Adoption FAMILY-ORIENTED SINGLE WOMAN looking to welcome a child into her life. Any ethnicity welcome, expenses paid. Please call (347) 470-5228 or my attor ney: (800)582-3678 for information.

choose

RICHNER Printing Services

• Eco friendly facility • Environmentally safe soy based inks • Recycled paper • Help reduce the carbon footprint

Call Lou today at 516-569-4000 ext 223

Announcements

ACCEPTING SEALED BIDS FOR SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS UP TO JUNE 25, 2021

A nonprofit organization in Cedarhurst, NY is seeking sealed bids for sales and installation of security related enhancements. The project includes: entryway door replacements, installation of access control and ID systems, installation of security window film, installation of Closed Circuit Television equipment.

Selection criteria will be based on knowledge of surveillance and security, adherence to work schedule, prior experience, references, and cost.

Specifications and bid requirements can be obtained

by contacting us at secbid516@gmail.com

All interested firms will be required to sign for the proposal documents and provide primary contact, telephone, fax and email address.

Bids will be accepted until June 25, 2021 and work is to commence by: July 1 and completed by August 20, 2021.

Check out our Service Directory for all your repair, decorating, party planning, cleaning or moving needs, and much more!

HErald

Crossword Puzzle

• To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

MERCHANDISE MART

Home Improvement

Tree Services

Antiques/Collectibles

*MICHAEL LO BAIDO CONSTRUCTION*

T&M GREENCARE TREE SERVICE *Tree Removal *Stump Grinding *Pruning *Roof Line Clearing. Residential and Commercial. "We Beat All Competitors' Rates."

Lowest Rates. *Senior Discount. Free Estimates. *516-223-4525, 631-586-3800 www.tmgreencare.com

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SYL-LEE ANTIQUES www.syl-leeantiques.com 516-671-6464

Wanted To Buy FREON WANTED: We pay $$$ for cylinders and cans. R12 R500 R11 R113 R114.

Convenient. Certified Professionals. Call 312-291-9169 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

FINDS UNDER $100 Finds Under $100 BOYS CLOTHES: SIZES 3, 4, 5. New with tags. $7 each.

Merrick (917) 420-5814

Cement Specialist, Brickwork, Interlock Bricks, Belgium Blocks, Stoops, Patios, Basement Entrances, Pavers, Waterproofing. Quality Work, Lic./ Ins. Owner Always Onsite Free Estimates 516-354-5578 NEVER PAY FOR Covered Home Repairs Again! Complete Care Home Warranty COVERS ALL MAJOR SYSTEMS AND APPLIANCES. 30 DAY RISK FREE. $200.00 OFF + 2 FREE Months!

866-440-6501 THE GENERAC PWRcell, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services available. $0 Down Financing Option. Request a FREE, no obligation, quote today. Call 1-888-871-0194

Sprinkler Syst./Irrig.Wells

TEENAGE GIRL'S CLOTHES: Abercrombie, American Eagle, Hollister $1 each. Merrick (917) 420-5814

SERVICES Air Cond. & Heating All Central Air Installs/ Repairs

Ye a r l y M a i n t e n a n c e . F i n a n c i n g Available/ FREE Estimates For Installs.

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Decks DECKS DECKS Our Only Business COMPOSITES/WOOD Excellent References & Many Photos Lic./Ins. Free Estimates C & S DECKS 516-729-5859

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21

OpINIONS

he general public has little or no idea how government works. Citizens may go to a town, city council or village board meeting, but they’re usually there for a brief visit about some neighborhood issue, and after that there’s no longer any contact with the world of elected officials. Most of my service has been in state government, having spent 23 years in the State Assembly. When I contrast the State Legislature of my years to the current one, I must confess I have JERRY mixed emotions.

When I arrived KREMER in Albany in 1966, and through all the years that I was in office, the makeup of the Legislature was what I think the founding fathers would have approved. There were insurance agents, teachers, bankers, undertakers, merchants and former athletes, and there was even a legislator who drove trotting horses at night. They all had some things in common, which were either prior public service or they knew

O

what it was like to make a payroll.

Almost all of my colleagues understood that being an elected official required time and patience. Many of them who were committee chairs had a deep knowledge of their assigned subject, and their expertise was obvious during floor debates. I often found myself in awe at how a particular member had mastered a very complex area and could speak with such intimate knowledge about a pending proposal.

Luckily, I had the chance to either listen to or be a part of floor debates that were challenging and sometimes combative. Because I eventually rose to be the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, I had the opportunity to learn the inside workings of state government, which was an experience that I cherish to this day.

But sadly, today’s Legislature is no longer a carbon copy of the one I experienced. On the positive side, there are still many hard-working members who have a positive influence on the legislative process. They know what they’re talking about, and their many successes in creat-

A

ing new laws is proof of their effectiveness. The Long Island legislative delegation, headed by Sen. Todd Kaminsky, is a very effective group, and they display sanity and knowledge when they speak out on some important issue.

That’s the good news about today’s Albany. But there’s also a very unsettling side to the changes that are taking place. Every person has the right to run for office, and if they can get a majority of the voters to support them, they will have the exciting opportunity to serve. From time to time, some new members become a positive force in the Legislature and succeed by doing their homework.

But there are a growing number of new members who have no life experience, and are now in the public arena without a clue about what is expected of them. Some call themselves “progressive,” but their positions on vital subjects are far from progressive. New laws cost money, and there should be an understanding that the average taxpayer can afford just so much.

The newcomers focus on finding ways to tax the people that they consider

growing number in the Legislature don’t have a clue about what is expected of them.

“rich.” They advocate punishing tax measures that are a message to New Yorkers that if you can relocate, now is the time. The number of residents and businesses that leave the state is rising at a staggering rate. States like Florida are welcoming these disenchanted people with open arms.

I have had over a dozen conversations in the past six months with people who aren’t Jeff Bezos types but who are giving up on New York because they see what has happened and fully expect times to get even worse. It’s bad enough that so many people’s lives have been decimated by a year of Covid, and now they face punishing program after program that threaten their ability to survive economically.

There is no magic formula to change the direction of state politics. Maybe an aroused public will take action on Election Day, but that’s probably wishful thinking. What some people call good change I call a calamity.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years.

He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? JKremer@liherald.com.

Covid-19 took so much, even our words

nce upon a time, a superspreader was a nifty tool for installing grout during a tiling job. Then we blinked, a virus leaped from a bat to a person and the world wobbled on its axis. Within weeks we crashed from a functioning society, with reasonable expectations for living full lives, to a dysfunctional country coping poorly with a global pandemic.

In our new reality, superspreader has been repurposed to mean a social gathering where RANDI people sick with KREISS the coronavirus infect large numbers of other people. In the old times, you could buy a super-spreader for $31.88. And chances are it wouldn’t kill you.

Covid-19 has transformed not just the way we live and go to work and school, how we shop and how we access medical care, how we travel and how we raise our children. The virus has hijacked our language.

A mask is now universally recognized as a face covering to protect people from the coronavirus. The lowly cloth worn to

cover nose and mouth can also be a charged political statement. Not wearing a mask in a place where masks are mandatory is an act of defiance.

Only two years ago, face coverings were pretty much associated with surgeons, Halloween or certain religious observances.

Now we conduct our lives by where and how we wear our masks.

We need a dictionary of the pandemic.

What about the word refresh? You may think of a splash of cold water or running a comb through your hair, but I think of spending many hours for many days in a row trying to get appointments online for our vaccines. I would go to the designated site and then begin refreshing, over and over, hoping to land a shot.

Eventually I did, after an unreasonable amount of repetitive key clicking.

Before the pandemic, when I heard the world bleach, I thought of how much clothing I’ve ruined by splashing Clorox in the wrong places. But then, at the peak of the Covid surge around the country, there was the former president suggesting that people might inject bleach into their bodies to fight the virus. It was a singular moment in presi-

W

dential briefings; the lunacy of the suggestion prompted Dr. Deborah Birx, on the stage to one side of the president, to twist her face in a silent agony of disbelief. It erased for all time the notion that bleach is just bleach.

Will anyone ever hear the words refrigerator truck again and not flash back to the grim parade of trucks repurposed as morgues and lined up outside New York hospitals? Perhaps the new word associations are a kind of PTSD. I was driving on a highway recently, and when a refrigerator truck pulled alongside, I instantly recalled the dark days of New York City in the grip of the virus.

For all my life, Q has been the regal 17th letter of the alphabet. Now, Q, short for QAnon, is inextricably tied to the political fringe group that metastasized among millions of Americans, spreading false information about the pandemic and misinformation about the scientists on the front lines of fighting the disease. Not to mention that Q followers have challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election and supported the Jan. 6 insurrection at our Capitol. I cannot hear Q without feeling anxious for

ill you ever think of ‘mask,’ ‘refresh’ or ‘flatten the curve’ the same way?

our democracy and our ability to have free and safe elections.

How many of us were familiar with the term flatten the curve? And yet we heard that every day for months as scientists urged us to isolate and mask up to stop the awful surges of the pandemic.

Those three words are changed forever in my mind.

Even the word virus is heard differently. We have known viruses in our time, but this one quickly assumed Infectious Disease Hall of Fame status. We have protection from measles and polio and mumps. But for a long time, we were completely vulnerable to the Covid super bug.

Once upon a time, a pod was thought of as a covering of a pea or a storage unit. Suddenly a pod became a small, safe group of family members or friends who socially distance together to limit exposure to Covid. The word even became a verb: to pod with a friend in the interest of mutual good health.

Language is a living thing, evolving over time. The pandemic experience has co-opted our shared lexicon. It has appropriated words and led us to coin new ones to describe a time of profound loss and grief.

Copyright 2021 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

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That old town of Albany ain’t what it used to be

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Herald editorials

Wantagh

June 24, 2021 — WANTAGH HERALD

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J

ustice for George Floyd came swiftly in New York.

So began our June 18-24 editorial last year. We were referring to a 10-bill raft of legislation that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Among several measures, the legislation: ■ Repealed the state’s 1976 50-a statute, which shielded police officers’ disciplinary records from public view. (In the Floyd case, the Minneapolis police officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin, had 18 disciplinary infractions on his record.)

■ Banned police from using chokeholds.

■ Required state troopers to wear body cameras.

Cuomo also signed an executive order requiring local police departments to develop community-oriented policing

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A year of progress on police reform

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plans that were formulated with public input. Plans had to be submitted to the state by this April. The governor gave the people a role in determining how they would be policed.

There was much talk on the right of how such measures would impede police work and endanger officers. Quite the opposite, the legislation has only increased police transparency, slowly but surely building public trust. Tens of thousands of good police officers who do their jobs without incident had no problem with the state’s reform package.

Improving police relations in communities of color could take years, if not decades. The sense of unease and fear that too many Black people feel toward police had been brewing since the creation of the nation’s first police department in New York City in 1844. It will take time to heal. New York state is, however, headed on the right path.

At the same time, Nassau County and

Juneteenth comes to Nassau County

ov. Andrew Cuomo last June signed an executive order proclaiming Juneteenth an official New York holiday, on which state employees now receive a paid day off. It was the right move.

On June 17 this year, President Biden signed a measure designating Juneteenth a federal holiday. That, too, was the right move.

On April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, ending the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in American history, in which an estimated 498,000 soldiers died in battle. With the surrender of the South, slavery ended with the stroke of a pen.

But not quite. News of the emancipation of slaves did not reach Texas, a slaveholding state, until June 19, 1865. That day, Union forces arrived on Galveston Island to free Texas’s slaves, who rejoiced in the streets. Since then, Juneteenth — a blend of June and 19th — has been celebrated in Texas. It officially became a state holiday there in 1980, but as of 2019, only Texas had recognized it as a paid holiday for state employees.

There were, astoundingly, 14 Republican members of Congress who voted against the measure to create the national holiday, saying that they objected to the use of “Independence Day” in the legislation, or that the nation didn’t need another federal holiday. (There are now 11.)

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the Police Benevolent Association at last recently reached an agreement to require officers to wear body cameras. We wonder why it took so long, particularly given that the Village of Freeport had adopted them as early as 2015 — the first municipality in New York to do so — and why county officers will be paid $3,000 annually to wear them. Wearing a body camera, after all, requires no extra effort, no additional work, on an officer’s part.

We are pleased to see, though, that officers will be wearing them as early as this fall.

Undoubtedly, we, as a nation, have a long way to go before we finally achieve a racially just society. We have seen unarmed Black men killed by police in other parts of the country in recent months. Each death is a tragedy that we hope and pray will not be repeated.

The year since the death of George Floyd was a start toward reform.

letters Ranked-choice voting is my choice To the Editor: Re Jerry Kremer’s column “Ranked-choice voting? Not my choice” (June 10-16): Like Jerry Kremer, I consider myself somewhat old-fashioned in some respects, but unlike Mr. Kremer, rankedchoice voting is my choice indeed. It was hoped that the much-anticipated voting in New York City would proceed without problems or glitches, allowing the city’s primary voters to rank their choices for candidates and vote their consciences. Two RCV bills recently considered by the State Legislature would expand the system statewide and to general elections, not just primaries and special elections.

Ranked-choice voting is gaining momentum and traction.

RCV eliminates the “spoiler effect,” allowing voters to

There should have been no reason for dissent on this legislation. The United States did not truly become the “land of the free” until all of its people were free.

Until that June day in 1865, they were not.

The country should acknowledge that fact. A federal holiday forces us to confront our history.

Last weekend, it was wonderful to see people across Nassau County gathering in parks to celebrate with song and food or in the streets to march, reminding us that we have many miles to walk before we achieve the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a society in which “little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”

23

opinions

he Florida state Board of Education recently banned the teaching of critical race theory because all topics taught in Florida schools must be “factual and objective,” and CRT asserts that “racism is embedded in American society and its legal systems in order to uphold the supremacy of white persons.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an early contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, denounced CRT because, he said, it teaches children “the country is aLan rotten and that our institutions sinGer are illegitimate.”

Teaching CRT is also banned in Tennessee and Idaho.

In response to this assault on history, school districts across the United States are racing to report that they teach critical thinking, not critical race theory, although it is unclear whether the opponents of teaching U.S. history, with all its warts, inconsistencies and systemic racism, understand the distinction.

In a joint statement, the American Historical Association, the American Association of University Professors, the American Federation of Teachers, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Council for the Social Studies and 75 other educational organizations denounced a string of legislative propos-

als across the country that “target academic lessons, presentations, and discussions of racism and related issues in American history in schools, colleges and universities.” They charged that the bills infringe on “the right of faculty to teach and of students to learn”; “substitute political mandates for the considered judgment of professional educators”; and are designed to prevent an “honest reckoning with all aspects” of America’s past.

In some circles, vehement opposition to CRT has become the new code phrase for rallying white opposition to full rights and citizenship for AfricanAmericans. During the Civil War, white racists and anti-war Copperhead Democrats accused abolitionists and Republicans of promoting miscegenation, race-mixing leading to biracial children that would eventually replace the white race.

In a 1981 interview, Lee Atwater, a Republican consultant and confidant of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, explained how coded language worked. Because you could no longer openly use racially offense terms, “you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff,” but the people you are appealing to know exactly what you mean. When Reagan ran for president, he attacked “welfare queens” driving around in Cadillacs. A television ad for Bush associated his Democratic opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael

w

e shouldn’t just think of the history of white supremacy in the past tense.

LeTTers chose the candidates they actually prefer without fear of giving an advantage to candidates who are considered totally unacceptable. The system tends to give better representation to women, ethnic minorities and other groups that are traditionally under-represented in our political system. There is less fear of splitting votes among similar candidates by gender, ethnic group or ideology.

RCV elections also tend to be more civil, producing less caustic, negative campaigning. Candidates are motivated to avoid alienating voters who might give them a ranking that might actually elect them as the votes are transferred to them from losing candidates. Rankedchoice voting is more likely to result in a deeper discussion of the actual issues rather than personal attacks.

Ranked-choice voting is not old-fashioned, though it was used in the 1930s and ’40s for City Council general elections in New York City, Yonkers and Long Beach. For many, these elections exemplify a gold standard for democratic participation in the electoral process — RCV was combined with proportional representation, giving many groups and

Dukakis, with Willie Horton, a Black man convicted of murder who committed other serious crimes after taking part in a release program.

The controversy over CRT erupted in Commack when members of a group called the Loud Majority disrupted two public meetings, interrupting Board of Education members and speakers in the audience, including students who were trying to explain how they felt slighted in a curriculum that ignored who they were. Instead of silencing the disruptors or requiring them to leave, board members and district officials kept trying to explain the curriculum to people who were not interested in listening.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, who teaches law at UCLA and Columbia University and was an early proponent of critical race theory, described it as “an approach to grappling with a history of white supremacy that rejects the belief that what’s in the past is in the past, and that the laws and systems that grow from that past are detached from it.”

In the 1990s, social scientists and educational researchers began to employ CRT as a lens to understand the persistence of race and racism. It became controversial when then President Trump denounced CRT as part of his response to The New York Times’s 1619 Project. To rally his supporters during his re-election campaign, Trump declared, “Critical race theory is being forced into our

children’s schools, it’s being imposed into workplace trainings, and it’s being deployed to rip apart friends, neighbors and families.”

As a former high school social studies teacher, I embrace the effort by the National Council for the Social Studies to promote critical thinking based on an evaluation of evidence. I find CRT to be an important lens for engaging students as critical thinkers, and I believe it helps teachers involve students in a broader discussion.

The European Enlightenment is often known as the Age of Reason, because Enlightenment thinkers tried to apply scientific principles to understand human behavior and how societies work.

Many of the earliest Enlightenment thinkers were from England, Scotland and France, but the idea of using reason and science spread to other European countries and their colonies. In the U.S., Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are considered Enlightenment thinkers. Some historians, including me, point out that the Age of Reason in Europe was also the peak of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, when millions of Africans were transported to the Americas as enslaved laborers for plantations.

Dr. Alan Singer is a professor of teaching, learning and technology and the director of social studies education programs at Hofstra University. He is a former New York City high school social studies teacher and editor of Social Science Docket, a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies.

Framework by Christina Daly

political parties a true voice in government, proportional to their actual voting strength in their communities. The RCV/PR systems of that earlier, progressive time did much to eliminate — for a while — the entrenched bossism of political machines. The reform was unfortunately eliminated by the Red Scare movement of McCarthyism.

JIM BRoWN Secretary, Green Party of Nassau County

Are we really that racist, Randi?

To the Editor: I totally disagree with Randi Kreiss’s column “Are we immune to Texas-style xenophobia?” in the June 10-16 issue.

She repeats the rubbish that America is a terrible racist nation. That is not true, and she knows it!

How could Barack obama have been elected two times, and how could our current vice president, Kamala Harris,

A button sculpture in a secret garden — Sea Cliff

be in office if Randi is correct? She is mouthing the lies of the Democratic Party and helping them capture total power in our country.

I urge her to wake up and reconsider her position!

JAMES G. CoLLINS Floral Park

WANTAGH HERALD — June 24, 2021

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Critical race theory as critical thinking

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