The Senior Pops Orchestra, an intergenerational group under the direction of Stephen Michael Smith, will appear at the Brookside School in North Merrick on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2 p.m. The suggested donation is $5. more

Sister Lynn Caton, a pastoral associate in charge of social ministries at Sacred Heart Parish in North Merrick, began a garden for the first time this summer. It’s a small patch of greenery under her office window, with a handful of bushy tomato plants and soaring sunflowers. There’s also a bird feeder and a clear-plastic cross. She calls it her little “corner of heaven.” more

Leeann Graziose, principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Bellmore for the past 12 years, was at home when the envelope from the Diocese of Rockville Centre arrived last Friday afternoon. She … more

The Bellmore Movies once again hosted the Long Island International Film Expo, which presented a wide array of movies, from horror to comedy and mystery, by a variety of filmmakers, some local and some international. For the 18th year, the expo gave filmmakers an intimate opportunity to share their work with industry executives and movie-goers alike. more

Each night as a child, Connie Roberts stroked her white plastic rosary beads, recited her prayers and curled up in her comfortless bed at the Mount Carmel Industrial School for Girls, in Ireland’s Midlands region. She often heard screams echo through the cavernous institution. Now 52, Roberts can still hear them in her head. They were, she said, “the worst.” more

Jake Thomas and Alex Vargas, both 21, played baseball together in 2011 at Calhoun High School under legendary coach Joe Corea. In 2010, Thomas led the Colts squad that captured the Nassau County Class AA title. In 2012, Vargas played a critical role in the Colts’ victory at the Long Island Class AA championship. Major League teams recently drafted them both. more

Sixteen-year-old Sean Flynn, of Bellmore, called all 263 contacts on his cell phone on the afternoon of June 26, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution guarantees the right to gay marriage. He made the calls in rapid-fire succession. “Marriage equality is legal!” Flynn yelled into the phone. “Woohoo!” Then he moved to the next number, again and again, for two and a half hours. He was ecstatic, he said. more

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