_________________ WANTAGH ________________
CommUNItY UPDAtE Infections as of June 23
2,103
Infections as of June 20 2,102
$1.00
HERALD
Summer drive-in movies are back
local boat broker is arrested
Seaford High graduation
Page 5
Page 10
Page 15
Vol. 69 No. 27
JUlY 1 - 7, 2021
Woman critical after Seamans Creek accident By KAtE NAlEPINSKI knalepinski@liherald.com
Courtesy Kevin Regan
A 28-YEAr-olD womAN was moved from a Wantagh Fire Department ambulance to a helicopter after she was ejected from a personal watercraft in Wantagh last week. She was airlifted to Nassau University Medical Center.
A 28-year-old woman was in critical condition after she was ejected from a personal watercraft in Wantagh last Friday, according to the Nassau County Police Department. Police and the Wantagh Fire Department received a call for a medical emergency near Seamans Creek near the Wantagh Parkway at around 7:10 p.m., according to a report published by the Nassau County Public Information Office. The Wantagh F.D.’s 3rd assistant chief, Bill Stevens, was first
to arrive in the area, according to Public Information Officer Kevin Regan. The Nassau County Police Department’s Rescue Boat, the Marine Bureau 5, then discovered the woman, who had suffered a possible skull fracture and a broken leg. The rescue boat transported her back to shore. Due to the severity of her injuries, an NCPD helicopter airlifted her to Nassau University Medical Center’s Trauma Unit, according to Regan. The woman, who was not identified, was listed in critical but stable condition on Monday, as the Herald went to press.
A sea of black and gold at Wantagh H.S. graduation By KAtE NAlEPINSKI knalepinski@liherald.com
The Wantagh School District’s class of 2021 was recognized by school administrators for its ability to adapt amid the ever-changing educational terrain of the coronavirus pandemic. At Wantagh High School’s 66th annual commencement ceremony on June 18, on Lawrence Field, some 221 seniors received diplomas. In his welcoming remarks, Principal Paul Guzzone said the way the students carried themselves throughout the year was commendable. “You
have set a new standard that all classes will have to adhere to,” Guzzone told the graduates. Superintendent John McNamara called the ceremony the most important graduation to take place on Lawrence Field. “Today is about being reconnected to the world,” McNamara said. “It’s about us being together to celebrate.” Similarly, Board of Education President Adam Fisher said the togetherness of the ceremony was “a testament to how far we’ve come.” Members of the graduating class, Fisher said, are strong, having adapted to the Covid-19 envi-
o
ver the past four years, we were bent and twisted — but never broke.
HAYDEN mAItrA Salutatorian
ronment. The ceremony ended with a traditional mortarboard toss, marking the closure of a chapter of the teenagers’ lives. A dozen members of the g r a d u at i n g cl a s s re c e ive d scholarships from the Wantagh Dollars for Scholars
S ch o l a r s h i p F u n d : J i l l i a n Balkunas, Gina Calise, Amanda Ciaramella, Sierra Crowley, Lauren Daniels, Margaret Gates, Kaden Ireland, Grace Kane, Anjelica Meagher, Shannon Sullivan, Robert Spiteri and Melanie Volz. Salutatorian Hayden Maitra told his classmates that much of his time at Wantagh
had been filled with uncertainty. Although it was a difficult four years, he said, the class of 2021 endured. “Throughout all of the chaos, good and bad, over the past four years, we were bent and twisted — but never broke,” Maitra said. Continued on page 3