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

Wendy Tepfer is such an obvious choice for the Herald Life’s Person of the Year, we wondered why we had not selected her before. Then it occurred to us: Tepfer, 63, is among the most selfless, humble people we know. But make no mistake about it: As executive director of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, and as a PTA leader and a dedicated sports mom before that, she has been an advocate for the community for three decades. more

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center and Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg will present a program about the college athletic recruiting process, “Does Your Child Dream of Playing Sports in College?” The event will take place on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Brookside School, 1260 Meadowbrook Road in North Merrick. more

They’re called “pharm parties,” short for pharmacy parties. A group of teenagers –– perhaps as young as 12 and 13 years old –– methodically swipe opiate-based pain killers like Oxycontin and Oxycodone from their parents’ and grandparents’ medicine cabinets, dump the pills into a big bowl when no adult is looking and take turns rolling a die. Whatever number comes up, that’s the number of pills a teen must ingest. more

Concerned parents are reserving their seats for “Dangers in Your Medicine Cabinet: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Children,” a parent-targeted substance-abuse awareness program that will be hosted by the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, in partnership with the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, the Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick elementary school districts, Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg and the Bellmore-Merrick Coalition Against Substance Abuse. The talk will be held at the Brookside School, 1260 Meadowbrook Road in North Merrick, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11. more

The scenario is tragic, gruesome and perennial. A high school senior, all of 16 or 17 years old, gets a driver’s license. His or her proud parents hurry out to buy their child a new car –– perhaps a fast car. Within days or weeks, the teen is dead, killed in a fiery wreck. more

Two Nassau County Police officers revved up the motor on a device not much larger than a lawnmower engine. As the machine roared last Wednesday afternoon, the officers used its cutters to slowly peel off the driver’s side door of a badly damaged minivan. No one was inside the van, but students at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville watched quietly and anxiously as the “Jaws of Life” crushed the car’s metal. more

The Calhoun High School gymnasium was a abuzz on Friday morning as students by the dozen strolled from station to station, learning how to live healthy. more