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Friday, January 27, 2017
Vol. 2, No. 4
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Ex Port teacher sentenced
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Given 32 months for child porn BY ST E P H E N ROMANO A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Port Washington school district music teacher to 32 months in jail for possession of child pornography. David Kopstein, 70, who taught at the South Salem Elementary School from 2005 to 2009, was arrested in July 2015 on child pornography charges. He was charged with two counts of transportation of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography, records show. Judge Arthur Spatt of U.S. District Court in Central Islip also sentenced Kopstein, of Franklin Square, to five years of supervised release, ordered him to attend mental health counseling and fined him $5,000. At the time of his arrest, Kopstein admitted to “downloading images of nude minor girls,” court documents show. In a letter to Judge Spatt beContinued on Page 58
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PORT WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Chris Herren, a former NBA player who suffered from a drug addiction, talking to Port Washington students about his road to recovery.
Residents lay out ideas for town park Discuss access to water and sustainability for North Hempstead Beach Park BY ST E P H E N ROMANO Town residents gathered at the Port Washington Public Library last Wednesday to discuss possible plans for North Hempstead Beach Park, emphasizing a
need for sustainability, more access to the waterfront and a park that can be used year-round. “This is the start of a process,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “We’re starting with a blank slate and I think it will be a great, great process.” North Hempstead Beach Park, located along West Shore Road in Port Washington, has 90 waterfront acres overlooking Hempstead
Harbor, and 200 wooded acres across the street. About 46 percent of North Hempstead residents go to the park weekly, according to a survey conducted by Quennell Rothschild & Partners, the landscape architecture firm that will design the park. The meeting was the first of three for residents to learn about the architecture firm and relay ideas to town officials. Nineteen percent of resi-
dents said they visit the park for special events only, and 15 percent said they visit occasionally. Beth Franz, a senior associate with Quennell Rothschild & Partners, said a goal is to attract people to the park more often. “Our design team is eager to create a wonderful new waterfront destination for the town, drawing from the site’s history and insight of the residents, respecting the needs and desires of Continued on Page 65
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