Craig Papach, Kennedy High School's athletic coordinator and a 19-year phys. ed. teacher, had long heard the stories of poverty and loneliness, and he wanted to help. So, on Thanksgiving morning, he and his family piled into their car and made the trek from their suburban home in a quiet Wantagh neighborhood to a tiny church on Beach 94th Street in Queens. They went to lend their hands and, equally important, their ears to a day-long effort to aid the homeless. Papach was one of 10 Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District teachers who joined roughly 100 volunteers from Rock and Wrap It Up, a Five Towns-based nonprofit group founded by Syd Mandelbaum, to feed hundreds of impoverished street denizens, some of whom had not eaten for days. more

A woman at the wheel of an SUV swerved to avoid another vehicle and plowed into the front of Pizzelli's pizza/deli in North Bellmore at 6:15 p.m. on Dec. 3, according to police. more

North Bellmore’s Ragamuffin Parade was cancelled this year. The annual tradition, which has taken place on Thanksgiving morning since 1947, was called off due to "lack of interest," according to North Bellmore American Legion Post commander Frank Colon Jr. more

Outgoing County Executive Tom Suozzi began the process of handing over power to his successor, Ed Mangano, last week, a transfer that both say should happen as smoothly as possible. When the … more

The villages of East Rockaway and Lynbrook celebrated the arrival of the holidays with winter festivals on the same evening. There was plenty of fun, music and entertainment, with sleigh rides and great … more

Philip Williams, a longtime resident of Merrick and commander of American Legion Post 1282, was mourned by hundreds of his family members, friends and fellow veterans during a funeral Mass at Curé of Ars Roman Catholic Church in Merrick on Monday. Williams died last week after a four-week battle with cancer. He was 66. more

Arson is the cause of a roaring fire that gutted the former landmark Bellmore restaurant, Smithville Café, early Monday morning, police and fire investigators say. more

Slowly but steadily, paper ballots are being counted in an effort to determine who will serve as Nassau County executive next year. As of Wednesday night, incumbent Tom Suozzi trailed his Republican challenger, Ed Mangano, by 219 votes. more

Veterans, elected leaders, firefighters and Boy Scouts circled around the War Memorial at Newbridge Road Elementary School in North Bellmore on Wednesday to salute America's veterans. In a brief, but emotional ceremony, the crowd of about 40 marked Veterans Day on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Veterans Day was first celebrated as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, as a way to remember the end of Word War I. (Hostilities in what was then the world's largest armed conflict ceased on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.) President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day. In 1953, the celebration was later renamed Veterans Day to recognize the sacrifices of all members of U.S. armed forces. more

When Veronica Medina learned that more than 93,000 children on Long Island go hungry each day, she knew she had to act. Embarking on an 18-month, personal fundraising effort, the Bellmore resident raised just over $10,000 to sponsor a truckload of food and personal care items to help local families who have fallen on hard times. Medina's project became a reality as a tractor-trailer full of food recently rolled up to Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, and was then offloaded to Island Harvest, Long Island's largest hunger-relief organization. The group, in turn, distributed the goods to 50 of its member agencies, benefiting 400 Long Island families. more