_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD $1.00
Wantagh F.D. builds community
New administrator welcomed
Haunted musical heads to Wantagh
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Vol. 69 No. 43
october 21 - 27, 2021
Legionnaires’ outbreak under investigation by Kate NalepiNsKi knalepinski@Liherald.com
Christina Daly/Herald
Flashes of pink Wantagh High School cheerleaders showed their support for the Warriors football team on Saturday afternoon before the Homecoming game. Wantagh defeated the Manhasset High Indians, 41-19. More photos, Page 3.
At least one person has died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease following an outbreak on the Wantagh-Levittown border, according to the Nassau County Department of Health. Roughly 10 people within a one-mile radius of the intersection of Wantagh Avenue and Old Jerusalem Road have fallen ill with Legionellosis. They ranged in age from 35 to 96, and were identified over the past three weeks. Legionellosis is caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella, which are found naturally in the environment and transmit-
ted by aerosolized water. People can contract the disease when breathing in a mist or vapor that contains the bacteria. “Unlike Covid-19, Legionnaires is not something that can be transmitted from person to person and is typically the result of inhaling water vapor from a contaminated indoor ventilation system,” County Legislator Steve Rhoads wrote in an emailed statement. The Department of Health stated that the bacteria are most commonly found in cooling towers, fountains, spray parks, hot tubs, whirlpool spas, showers and faucets. But it was unclear at press time what caused the Continued on page 4
Wantagh Public Library slated to close in coming weeks by Mallory WilsoN mwilson@liherald.com
The Wantagh Public Library will be closed for maintenance for about a month beginning Oct. 28 to address infrastructure needs in the building, officials said. Updates on the construction will be posted periodically on the library’s website, along with an estimation of how long it will be closed. As of now there is no set reopening date, because library officials want to wait until the work has begun to better gauge how much time it will take. The building, on Park Ave-
nue, will undergo major heating, ventilation and air conditioning modifications, with the replacement of all heating and air conditioning units. Library Director Shannon Marchese said that ceilings and electrical panels would also be replaced. The facility will be closed during the renovations for the safety of patrons and staff, Marchese said. “Due to the nature of the work, we can’t entertain anything on-site and we can’t do curbside,” she explained. “To protect the materials, everything has to be sealed and closed off.” Mobile book exchange services will also be unavailable while
renovations are under way. Books will be safeguarded so they aren’t damaged, Marchese said. The closure will follow the library’s Fall Festival, a part of its involvement in the statewide Great Give Back program. The Great Give Back is a community-service initiative created in 2017 by the Suffolk County Public Library Directors Association and the Suffolk Cooperative Library System with help from the Nassau Library System. The program expanded to all of Nassau County in 2018 and went statewide in 2019. According to its website, the mission of the Great Give Back
is to offer a day of opportunities in October for patrons of the libraries in New York to take part in service-oriented activities. “The Great Give Back gives us an opportunity, as patrons or our local libraries, to give back to the community,” Hempstead Town Councilman Chris Carini said. “Many of our local librar-
ies are giving back through food drives and partnering with nonprofits. I encourage everybody to give back to support their local libraries.” More than 50 libraries across Nassau County will take part in this year’s Give Back with a variety of service-oriented activi t i e s, i n cl u d i n g fo o d a n d Continued on page 13