Keyword: 'Deirdre Krasula' | Herald Community Newspapers

Dr. Mark Wiener, principal of Martin Avenue Elementary School in North Bellmore, is retiring at the end of the school year.

Martin Avenue Elementary School starts a new chapter

For Martin Avenue Elementary School Principal Dr. Mark Wiener, music and teaching have long been his life’s passions. Many at Martin Avenue have seen Wiener blast a few notes on his baritone saxophone with students at jazz ensemble performances, yet they may not realize how important music, especially jazz, is to the beloved principal. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/24/12

First-grader Sonny Stellmann picked radishes at the Park Avenue community garden while classmate Eliana Zagar runs by.

Out of the classroom and into the garden at Park Avenue Elementary School

“The way you know a radish is ready to pick is that they show themselves,” Park Avenue Elementary School kindergarten teacher Robin Obey told first-graders last Friday morning. Students eagerly dug through the dirt, pulling out radishes by the dozen and tossing them into a nearby basket. A garden bed over, other first-graders pinched at spinach plants, pulling off the tender leaves. The class wasn’t taking place at a farm, but outside the school’s doors at Park Avenue’s community garden. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/18/12

The Long Island Rail Road is expanding its presence at Penn Station.

Port Authority to break ground at Penn Station

It’s a proposal nearly every regular Long Island Rail Road rider has heard about at one time or another — expand Pennsylvania Station and return some of the beauty of the old neoclassical station before it was torn down in 1963. The plan to add a new terminal has stopped and started multiple times, but the Port Authority announced on May 9 that it would finally break ground on the project at the historic Farley Post Office Building. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/17/12

Six vying for two seats in N. Bellmore

Two seats are up for grabs in the North Bellmore Board of Education election, and in each case, the incumbents are being challenged by two candidates. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/10/12

Ava Stamm, 8, joined with fellow protesters on Sunday to show her concern about a feral cat community at Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore.

Town of Hempstead to postpone feral cats move

Protesters’ signs jeered at the Town of Hempstead on Sunday, calling a decision to trap and move feral cats in a colony at Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore “cruel” and “corrupt.” The town had planed to move dozens of feral cats from their makeshift protected shelter behind the baseball field at the park. The move was set to begin on May 1, but following the weekend’s protest, the town has postponed the relocation. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/3/12

Nassau weighs total ban on ‘synthetic pot’

It’s marketed as herbal incense at gas stations and convenience stores across the country, but what’s sold under brand names like Spice and K2 is really a combination of herbs and chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, according to the New York State Department of Health. While smoking the compound, users might suffer heart attacks, respiratory distress or kidney failure. more

By Deirdre Krasula | 5/3/12

Mepham High School senior Nina DiFranco with her adviser, Dr. David Kommor. DiFranco was recently named a finalist in a prestigious international science and engineering contest.

Mepham student scores big in international science competition

Those who know Nina DiFranco say that the Mepham High School senior isn’t one to back down from a challenge. DiFranco, 18, spent seven weeks in the Michigan State University High School Honors Science Program last summer. She worked for 40 hours a week with professors and doctoral candidates, evaluating a new water-filtration technology designed to remove viruses from water using a “photocatalytic membrane reactor.” more

By Deirdre Krasula, dkrasula@liherald.com | 4/26/12

Maps of the closed harvesting areas in the Town of Hempstead.

FDA, DEC shut down town shellfishing areas

South Shore residents accustomed to jumping in their boats and heading out for a day of clamming in Hempstead Bay will have to travel farther this spring and summer. At the recommendation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Town of Hempstead’s shellfishing areas west of the Wantagh Parkway were closed in February, with additional areas closed on April 1. Affected areas include the waters south of Bellmore, Merrick and Freeport. more

By Deirdre Krasula, dkrasula@liherald.com | 4/19/12

New brick-paved walkways surround the clock tower at the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Newbridge Road. Photos by Bill Kelly/Herald

N. Bellmore business zone gets a face-lift

The Jerusalem Avenue business district in North Bellmore has become a little bit easier on the eyes. The newly refurbished streetscape was unveiled last week by the Town of Hempstead and representatives of Nassau County. The revitalization project was a joint effort with the North Bellmore Civic Association. more

By Deirdre Krasula, dkrasula@liherald.com | 4/12/12

Elianna Palma, 3, was all smiles with the Easter Bunny.

Hippity hoppity up Bedford Ave. for Bellmore chamber parade

Showers couldn’t keep the Easter Bunny away from the Bellmores this past Saturday when the annual Chamber of Commerce Easter Parade stepped off from the firehouse on Pettit Avenue and made its way through Bellmore Village. more

By Deirdre Krasula, dkrasula@liherald.com | 4/3/12