Keyword: 'Community Parent Center' | Herald Community Newspapers

Among the volunteers collecting drugs were Allison Siegel, a Phoenix House social worker; Michael Reid, a Merrick Fire Department volunteer; and Dan Yngstrom, Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg’s aide.

A drug take-back event sponsored by the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, the Central High School District and the Heroin Task Force on Sept. 27 yielded more than 200 pounds of medications, representing hundreds, if not thousands, of the opioid prescription pain pills that a growing number of teenagers are abusing, according to Wendy Tepfer, the Parent Center’s executive director. more

By Scott Brinton | 10/1/14

Unused and unwanted prescription pain medications should be removed from the home immediately, according to Dr. Andrew Kolodny, chief medical officer for the drug-treatment agency Phoenix House.

Nation in crisis: painkiller progression

Patients should stop thinking of powerful pain medications like Oxycontin and Vycodin as slightly stronger versions of Tylenol and Advil. Rather, they should think of them as “heroin pills.” That’s according to Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing and chief medical officer for Phoenix House, a national, nonprofit drug treatment agency. more

By Scott Brinton | 9/18/14

Celebrating teen driver safety in the Central District

The message is simple –– Keep two eyes on the road, two hands on the wheel. Sadly, however, it’s too often ignored by teen drivers, with tragic consequences. Last year the State Farm insurance company began its “Celebrate My Drive” campaign to telegraph such messages to young people. Now the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center is urging students from the Central District’s five schools to join in the effort. more

By Scott Brinton | 9/12/14

Wendy Tepfer, front, executive director of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, is among the leaders sponsoring the first Bellmore-Merrick Drug Takeback Day on Sept. 27. She was joined at a meeting of the Bellmore-Merrick Heroin Task Force last Friday by, from left, Donna Nogid, legislative assistant to Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg; Pat Gleiberman, young adult librarian at the Bellmore Memorial Library; and Lisa Finn, director of clinical services and community outreach for Phoenix House.

Bellmore-Merrick Parent Center, heroin task force sponsoring drug takeback

Every day, 2,500 teens across the country, ages 12 to 17, get high off prescription drugs, and 70 percent of them obtain their narcotics from family members or friends –– most often by swiping them from bathroom medicine cabinets, according to Wendy Tepfer, executive director of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center. more

By Scott Brinton | 9/10/14

Anna and Emily Lawrence, 17, juniors at Kennedy High School in Bellmore, have organized an anti-texting-and-driving campaign that they’re calling STANDD-NY (Stop Texting and Driving-New York). Above, the twins in the Kennedy student parking lot.

Taking a STANDD against texting and driving

Anna and Emily Lawrence, 17-year-old twins who attend Kennedy High School in Bellmore, are alike is nearly every way. They certainly look alike. They’re also both leaders in the student government, … more

By Scott Brinton | 6/4/14

The Bellmore-Merrick Heroin Task Force has met since early March. Above, at the May meeting were, from left, Saul Lerner, the Bellmore-Merrick Central http://liherald.cms.communityq.com/images/icon-move.pngDistrict director of health, physical education and athletics; Wendy Tepfer, executive director of the Community Parent Center; County Legislator David Denenberg; David Seinfeld, Calhoun High School principal; and Neil Brown, the North Merrick Board of Education president.

Bellmore-Merrick task force takes on heroin

Larry Glenz, a retired Lynbrook High School history teacher, remembers the good times, when his son Kevin was healthy, before he became a heroin addict whose only thought, awake and asleep, was shooting up. more

By Scott Brinton | 5/14/14

With special goggles that mimic the effects of DWI, Kennedy High School students rode pedal cars around their gymnasium last week during a SADD club DWI and distracted driving awareness event.

Herald Video: Kennedy High lesson is deadly serious

Kennedy High School students played with blocks, threw darts and careered around their gymnasium in oversized pedal carts on April 24 and 25. So one could be forgiven for thinking they were horsing around. There was, however, a deadly serious message behind the fun and games. more

By Scott Brinton | 4/28/14

Felicia Schneberg, director of education and training at the Nassau County Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services, recently showed participants in a Central District seminar how to assemble intranasal inhalers used to administer Narcan, an opioid antidote.

Bellmore-Merrick Central District hosts ‘lifesaving’ seminar

A month ago, Calhoun High School Principal David Seinfeld reached out to Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District officials with a heavy heart. Saul Lerner, the district’s director of health and physical education, said Seinfeld called to say that he was worried because he had recently attended three funerals of former Calhoun students, all of whom had died of heroin overdoses. more

By Julie Mansmann | 4/9/14

Central, Parent Center to host recruiting forum

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, in conjunction with the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center and Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, will hold a panel discussion on the college athletics selection process on Wednesday, March 5, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Mepham High School in North Bellmore. more

2/21/14

Community Parent Center, Central District team up on safe driving

The Community Parent Center, Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg are sponsoring a “Driving in the Safe Lane” program at the Brookside School in North Merrick on Jan. 14. more

1/10/14