Surrounded by police and school officials, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano vowed during a news conference at Chatterton Elementary School in Merrick on Monday to catch the man or men who have approached and frightened Bellmore-Merrick children in recent weeks. In at least once incident, a middle school student reported that a man had attempted to grab him. more

The Nassau County Police Department’s 1st Precinct is investigating multiple recent incidents in which young adolescents were approached in the Merrick-Bellmore area by a man or men in recent weeks. more

Development of the Twin Rinks Ice Center has hit full steam at Eisenhower Park, as construction crews are working to build an 80,000-square-foot indoor facility, an outdoor rink and a sports recreational center. more

Editor’s note: Morgan is an eighth-grader at Merrick Avenue Middle School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. As everyone knows, the East Coast was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29. People lost power. Many lost their homes. Some even lost their lives. more

Hurricane Sandy came and went, decimating homes, trees, roads and practically everything in its path. more

Drivers traveling on Merrick Avenue in recent weeks have had their trips delayed owing to construction, as new curbs and sidewalks are being installed along parts of the busy thoroughfare. more

Strong winds blew vendors’ tents here and there, and there was talk of heavy rain pounding Queens and two tornadoes touching down in New York City, at the Merrick Fall Festival on Saturday. But the weather held, the annual festival carried on, and folks had a blast! more

“Where’s room 239?” “Dennis! Where’s your next class?” “I need some help.” Shouts and the sound of shuffling feet filled the halls of Grand Avenue and Merrick avenue middle schools last week during the annual seventh-grade orientation program, which gives students and their families a chance to get to know their new schools. more

Middle school is a time of change and turbulence in students’ lives –– a high-speed transition from late childhood to early adulthood. Ensuring that students make that leap in a way that respects their social and emotional needs while providing an academically rich –– and demanding –– environment is the job of the middle school principal. This coming school year, both Grand Avenue Middle School and Merrick Avenue Middle School will have new principals, each with years of experience as a classroom teacher and an administrator. more

Caryn Blum describes Merrick Avenue Middle School with a fondness she might reserve for her own home. The MAMS principal arrived at the school in 1999 after having served as a special-education teacher, department supervisor, assistant principal and principal in Brooklyn and Queens for 17 years. And over the past 13 years, she has worked to establish MAMS as a top-rated middle school not only on the South Shore, but also in national rankings. In 2008, MAMS earned the U.S. Department of Education’s highest distinction –– a Blue Ribbon. Now Blum is leaving, but she isn’t going far. more