Wendy Tepfer, executive director of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center since 2002, was recently honored by State Sen. Michael Venditto as a “Woman of Distinction.” more

When ticking off the many and varied phys. ed. programs that Saul Lerner has brought to the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, you quickly realize what a profound and lasting impact he has had on the lives of thousands of students, his colleagues say. Among the programs are girls’ lacrosse, boys’ badminton, bicycling in gym classes, and first aid/cardiopulmonary resuscitation for all students, a program begun with the Merrick-based Robbie Levine Foundation, to name just a few. Lerner is the Central District’s director of physical education, health, athletics, driver’s education and adult education. After 19 years in the district and 35 years in education, Lerner, 58, will retire on June 30. “It’s been a great run,” he said during an interview last week, “and I loved every minute of it, and I love the community.” more

Opioid-based medications and heroin are being abused in epidemic proportions. To combat the large number of Long Islanders dying of heroin and other opioid-related overdoses, the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center; the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District; the Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick elementary school districts; and the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence will host a free Narcan training for parents, families and community members. more

In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Mepham High School officials recently teamed up with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice to host AT&T’s “It Can Wait” assembly -- … more

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

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

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

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

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

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