The Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District will host a Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mepham High School, 2401 Camp Ave., Bellmore. more

A Hurricane Sandy Storm Recovery Resource Fair will be held at Kennedy High School in Bellmore on Tuesday, May 26, from 5 to 9 p.m. more

Chaz Murray, 54, grew up in Merrick bounding through the woods near his home. He became a Boy Scout and went on to camp in the wild. He moved away when he turned 24 and returned seven years ago. On Sunday, he said he was horrified to see the derelict state into which Merrick’s forests off the Meadowbrook Parkway have fallen. Murray, a New York City paramedic, was one of 52 volunteers who came to the woods between Sunrise Highway and Meadowbrook Road in Merrick to clean up debris that had washed from farther north into the forest via the Meadow Brook or had been strewn there by vandals. He said he learned about the cleanup by reading the Merrick Herald Life. more

The Herald endorses Rita Kestenbaum in the race for the Nassau County Legislature’s 19th District. Kestenbaum, a Democrat from Bellmore, is running against Steve Rhoads, a Republican from Bellmore, in a special election to fill the seat left empty when David Denenberg recently resigned from the post shortly before pleading guilty to eight counts of federal mail fraud. The election is set for next Tuesday, March 10. more

One of Long Island’s largest nonprofit substance-abuse treatment agencies received three grants this winter that officials said will help them teach young people about the dire consequences of … more

Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, the Merrick Democrat accused by his former law firm of over-billing a corporate client for millions of dollars, was due in federal court on Jan. 21, after press time, to answer eight federal mail fraud charges. more

Chabad leaders’ vision for a Jewish Community Center at 2174 Hewlett Ave., neighboring the newly renovated Merrick Mall Stop & Shop, is becoming a reality. more

A Bellmore-Merrick breast cancer charity will hold its largest fundraiser of the year next week.On Tuesday, Dec. 9, Circle of Hope will host “Journey for a Purpose” at 7 p.m. at the … more

The race for the New York State Legislature’s 14th Assembly District pits the incumbent, Republican David McDonough, of North Merrick, against Gaspare Tumminello, a Democrat from Merrick, who is deputy chief of staff for the Nassau County Legislature’s Democratic minority. Tumminello, a native of Franklin Square, had previously run unsuccessfully for Nassau County legislator in the 8th District in 2009. This year, the Herald asked each of the candidates to fill in a four-question survey about their positions on salient state issues. The 14th Assembly District takes in all or parts of Freeport, Roosevelt, Merrick, North Merrick, Bellmore, North Bellmore, Wantagh, North Wantagh, Seaford and Massapequa. more

Johannes Laursen, former president of the New York Press Association and publisher of four community newspapers on the South Shore, died on Sept. 18, at age 98. more