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Polio found in North Hempstead wastewater

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

North Hempstead Town Hall. The poliovirus was discovered in the wastewater of the multiple villages within the town, officials said on Friday.

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Dr. Mary Bassett, the state’s health commissioner, said in a statement that immunization is vital. She saidthe vaccine is both safe and eff ective.

“If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real,” she said. “I urge New Yorkers to not accept any risk at all.”

She advised those unvaccinated to get immunized as soon as possible. This includes infants under two months old, those who are pregnant and anyone who has not fi nished their previous polio vaccination series.

Children in New York must receive the polio vaccine to attend school. Normally, one receives it through a series of four shots.

Additionally, handwashing with soap is also important. Many alcohol-based sanitizers do not work on some germs, such as polio.

Officials urge municipalities to repeal abortion restrictions

Continued from Page 3 not necessary at the outset of the meeting in response to a request by Supervisor Jennifer DeSena to describe the local law, Chapter 41A, its history and how applicable it is today.

“There is no actual eff ectiveness, it is unenforceable,” Chiara said. “It is a law in the books that is contrary to state law.”

The local law was adopted on Aug. 10, 1971, one year after the state Senate legalized abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy and two years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, which permitted abortions during the fi rst two trimesters of pregnancy in the United States.

At the time, North Hempstead had limited abortion access just to hospitals along with the cities of Glen Cove and Long Beach, the towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay and the Suff olk County towns of Babylon and Suff olk, according to The Times.

Since the law’s passage in North Hempstead, its applicability has been superseded by the New York State Public Health and education laws that overrule it, Chiara said.

Kaplan, during the town’s Sept. 1 meeting, criticized DeSena for her absence in August and the change in the reason she gave.

“Supervisor, I was disappointed that you weren’t able to be here last time because I know that so many of our residents are eager to hear whether or not you support a woman’s right to access an abortion in the Town of North Hempstead,” Kaplan said at the meeting.

Kaplan, who is running for re-election to the state Senate and previously served on the Town Board, later questioned DeSena’s claim that she missed the August meeting because she was on vacation.

“It’s worth noting that the Town of North Hempstead sets board meeting dates at the beginning of the year to avoid such personal SUPERVISOR, I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO BE HERE LAST TIME BECAUSE I KNOW THAT SO MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE EAGER TO HEAR WHETHER OR NOT YOU SUPPORT A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO ACCESS AN ABORTION IN THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD. Anna Kaplan

STATE SENATOR. (D-NORTH HILLS)

scheduling confl icts, and Supervisor DeSena did not mention she had a confl ict when the critically important item was added to the agenda for the August meeting,” Kaplan said.

Brian Devine, spokesman for the supervisor, said the scheduling for meeting dates differs from previous administrations.

“As has previously been reported, the supervisor had a longstanding prior family commitment out of state that was scheduled a year in advance. This is not new information, as this was included in Deputy Supervisor Scalero’s opening remarks on August 4th,” Devine said in a statement.

“The sad truth is that when this year’s board meeting schedule was crafted in December 2021, no one on the Town Board majority bothered to reach out to the newly elected supervisor or her transition team to gauge her availability for the potential dates being considered, which is in stark contrast as to how meeting dates were seemingly scheduled directly around the lives of the Town Board majority.”

DeSena slams town Democrats for missing files

Continued from Page 2 called the Town Board Suite.”

Lurvey said in a statement at the time DeSena has as many resources as she needs.

“Eight months into her term, the supervisor’s blaming her inability to manage the Town on paper fi les she believes are missing,” Lurvey said in a statement to Blank Slate Media in August. “She has a wealth of institutional knowledge at her disposal in the Town commissioners, department heads, and staff . Her failure to respond to resident requests or even communicate with her colleagues cannot be blamed on a manufactured controversy. I’m still waiting for her to provide any information from her ‘complete and thorough’ review of the Building Department.”

DeSena further clarifi ed her complete and thorough review was via interviews, meetings and other day-to-day duties as part of her responsibilities and not created through a tangible report she is withholding.

The next North Hempstead Town Board meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22.