______________
UNIONDALE _____________ LOWER YOUR ENERGY BILLS
HERALD
With No-Cost Insulati
on *
*for qualifying househo
BEACON
lds
Provided By State an d Local Energy Rebate Program
Comics, cosplay at Hofstra
Page 2
Page 10 JULY 17 - 23, 2025
CALL NOW! 631-426-6672 130 130803 7887 8
Superintendent heads to D.C.
s
$1.00 FREE
Opening doors to a college education By ALEXIA CROLL Intern
Courtesy Uniondale High School
Uniondale High School student Celeste Calderon, far left; Lisa Sayo, St. John’s University’s associate director of admissions; Uniondale High students Varsha Ramrookum, Yoseli Alvarado, Keyla Gomez and Briana Estrada; SUNY Delhi admissions counselor Rebecca Baldinger; and Uniondale High student Angie Cabrera at the college application workshop.
Nearly 50 Uniondale High School rising seniors kicked off the summer by diving into the college applications process at a four-day workshop hosted by the Uniondale Public Library June 30 to July 3. Students wrote personal essays, created professional resumes and filled out applications with guidance from admissions counselors and recent Uniondale high alumni. Jessica Kane, the college and career counselor at the high school, noted how important the workshop was for all of the students, regardless CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Boxing program suspended after decision by park official By STACY DRIKS sdriks@liherald.com
The Hempstead Boxing Club — a hub for young athletes and aspiring boxers in the village — has been suspended for over a month, leaving families, coaches and boxers in limbo. Held at Kennedy Memorial Park, the program offered more than just a place to train. It was a safe space where kids could stay active, build confidence and find mentorships. Its sudden suspension, on June 2, by park Superintendent Yolanda Hurcherson, has sparked frustration and confusion in the boxing community — and no
one seems to know when, or if, the club will return. Hurcherson was contacted for comment about her decision, but had not responded as the Herald went to press. “The district attorney, Denis Dillon, started the program to keep the youth off the street — it’s a youth program,” Coach Laurence Covington, who has been with the program for about a decade, said, referring to the former Nassau County D.A., who died in 2010. Founded in 1998, the club has long served as a training ground for amateur fighters from across Long Island. It has hosted regional tournaments,
mentored youth, and helped prepare some athletes for Olympic trials and professional careers. “Not everybody that goes to the gym wants to fight in matches,” 23-year-old Rolando Ramoz, of Hempstead, said. “Some people, like myself, are just fans of the sport. I thought it was one of the more fruitful programs this town had to offer.” Ramoz, a former track athlete at the University of Scranton and the winner of Hempstead’s annual Tyree Curry 5K in 2024, turned to the club after a stress fracture in his leg ended his running career. The
gym became a new outlet — mentally and physically — where he trained for more than a year. He credits the gym’s no-nonsense, military-style discipline — instilled by Covington, an Air Force veteran — for helping him prepare for the challenges of basic training and being a commissioning officer
in the U.S. Marine Corps which Ramoz will join in the coming year. “Kids need a third house … you have school, then home, but sometimes you need that third to really develop,” he said. “A lot of kids don’t have that. There is an absence of community, and we need someCONTINUED ON PAGE 5