Progress praised on ADA anniversary
Residents with disabilities share life's improvements
It's hard to imagine that just to cross the street, Jeanie Waters used to have to pull herself and her wheelchair up on the sidewalk with help from a parking meter. If there weren't any meters, she'd have to make her way in the street until she found a driveway.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, and took effect in 1992. The federal civil rights law was designed to prevent discrimination against people with a range of disabilities and to allow them to participate fully in society. The law requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for the disabled, and requires businesses and institutions - from restaurants and movie theaters to churches and libraries - to be accessible.
"There is no question that great progress has been made in Nassau County," said Don Dreyer, director of the Nassau County office for the physically challenged and a Rockville Centre resident for 10 years. Dreyer was at the White House when the ADA was signed 14 years ago.
Fire victim remembered as lover of life
The resident that burned in a fire in his apartment in Rockville Manor on June 20 succumbed to his injuries late last month. Raynold E. Bush was memorialized in a service on July 3. Family laid him to rest during a private military service at Calverton National Cemetery.
Mr. Bush's sister, Andrea Burnham, spoke to the Herald on what would have been her brother's 62nd birthday. She recalled a loving man who dedicated his life to helping others through his role as a nurse.
Mr. Bush was stationed in Japan for part of a three-year tour of duty in the Air Force. After returning from the military, he attended Nassau Community College and worked as a nurse, aiding senior citizens in various nursing homes on Long Island before becoming disabled himself.
Mr. Bush moved to Rockville Manor, a federal housing complex for senior citizens and the disabled, in the mid-1990s.
August
Transit tangle
Commuters brace for tie-up during GOP convention
Many South Shore commuters chose to deal with the Republican National Convention by not dealing with it. They stayed home instead.
When the convention opened on Aug. 30, at Madison Square Garden, four of Penn Station's six entrances, used by thousands of commuters every day, were closed.
"I'm working at home [this] week," said Cynthia Chambers of Rockville Centre. "I don't need the stress." Chambers doesn't even travel through Penn Station on her commute, but her stop, Hunterspoint Avenue, was one of three alternative routes the Long Island Rail Road suggested that commuters consider.
Brain Dolan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that LIRR officials expected normal service that week. The two exits remaining open -- the Amtrak entrance at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road entrance at 34th Street -- are used by 75 percent of Penn Station customers. He also stressed that the subway entrances would not be affected.
City cat livin' large
It must have been a frightening ride, but the death-defying act of a cat fleeing the big city scored a purr-fect payoff. Embarrassed by the fuss his hijinks caused, the cat, actually a kitten, declined to comment, but the humans involved were all willing to recount the tale.
It had been a typical work day for Rich Abbinanti, director of security for the New York City campus of Pace University. When he left work on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 5, Abbinanti's big plans involved mowing his Morris Avenue lawn in Rockville Centre. That was, until he heard the meow.
Climbing into his Acura SUV, Abbinanti began the 32-mile trek to his home, never realizing he had a passenger, a kitten.
When he arrived, he found one of his children's cars blocking the garage, so Abbinanti parked in the driveway. That's when he heard it, a faint meow. At first he thought the sound might have come from the bushes. He took a quick look and went off to mow the lawn.
Later, he discovered the kitten was stuck under the hood of his SUV. With help from neighbors, including the Morrisseys, they pushed and pulled the kitty out. Now Leo, as he was named, is living large with the Morrisseys'. A bath revealed pristine white paws and a calico body. In just a few days, the kitten was a litter-trained member of the family, ready to greet the Morrisseys' youngest child, Kyle, when he came home from camp.
Summertime and the learning was easy
From "Artistic Creations" to "Yippee for Yoga," the Rockville Centre School District offered plenty of choices in its summer program. There were 30 enrichment classes, as well as instructional courses in subjects like math, reading, English as a second language and Regents review.
Summer 2004 brought an enrollment of 876 students from the pre-kindergarten classes at Watson to high schoolers in Regents review classes at South Side High School. The core of the program was at South Side Middle School where grades kindergarten through eighth took enrichment and academic classes.
The last day of classes was Aug. 4, and visitors' days were held on Aug. 2 for the pre-k students and Aug. 3 for those at the middle school.
Susan DeRosa, a fourth grade teacher at Covert, marked her first year as principal of the summer program. Also guiding the students were two directors, Jacques Blain at the high school and Alexis Weber at Watson. "It's a nice atmosphere," said DeRosa of the program. Not only do the students shine, but many teachers from the district also get to show off some hidden talents, such as dancing and cooking.
County drinking water testing restarted
Standing in front of McDonald Pond in Hempstead Lake State Park as rain clouds gathered overhead, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi discussed the county's water supply at a press conference.
Suozzi also signed an agreement with the United States Geological Survey to re-implement testing of Nassau County's water supplies, including preserves, wells and natural waterways such as Hempstead Lake and the other tributaries that feed McDonald Pond. In all there will be 450 sites for testing and monitoring.
The USGS will test for saltwater intrusion in the drinking water supplies. It will also monitor the levels of groundwater and stream flows. The group had previously tested Nassau County's waters for 65 years, but due to fiscal constraints, the program was ended in 1999. Since then the county has done its own testing of the water supply, with standards that are different from the USGS.
Suozzi said that various environmental groups had pressured the county to reinstate the testing, and some were in attendance at the press conference, including Friends of the Bay, the Sierra Club and the Long Island Drinking Water Coalition.
Big trash day
RVC signs contract to haul East Rockaway garbage
Garbage is an expensive business. That's why Rockville Centre teamed up with East Rockaway to help transport garbage. The agreement between the villages is similar to one already in place with Lynbrook.
The two villages drop off their garbage in Rockville Centre, and then Rockville Centre uses its trucks to transfer the garbage to American Ref-Fuel in Westbury. This helps Lynbrook and East Rockaway save on man-hours and fuel costs. Rockville Centre would be making the trip anyway, and the agreement allows the village to fully utilize its transfer station.
Rockville Centre produces a lot more garbage than the other two villages and has its own trailers to haul the garbage to Westbury. East Rockaway gave Rockville Centre a lump sum of $150,000, which will probably be put toward buying a new trailer. Garbage trucks cost between $150,000 and $180,000.
East Rockaway also paid Rockville Centre about $25,000 a year, so Rockville Centre generates revenue from the agreement, according to Village Administrator Ron Wasson. East Rockaway, in turn, can use its personnel more efficiently and possibly cut down on overtime. Since the villages are so close to each other, they can use the same radio system, and Rockville Centre can call for the East Rockaway trash when it is ready to bring it to Westbury.
Coaches made to feel at home
The honking horns wouldn't have been out of the ordinary if the cacophony was filling Times Square late on a Friday afternoon, but these horns were honking along Peninsula Boulevard in Rockville Centre at noon on a Thursday. Families never had as much fun leaving a parking lot as when they drove out of the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex to the waving arms and hands and dancing feet of the NOGA coaches.
The Rockville Centre Soccer Club held its 14th annual community camp in partnership with the soccer-promotion company NOGA Aug. 9-13. Rockville Centre families once again had the opportunity to host the coaches in their homes for the week. The Hines, Stetson, Murray, Malizia, Leboff, Armellino and Breyer families all adopted coaches.
"It's lovely," said Madeleine Hougham, who, along with fellow coach Kelly McCullock, stayed with the Murray family. "They ask to do our washing." Hougham is from Edinburgh, Scotland, where she is studying to be a phys. ed. teacher.
After spending seven weeks in dorm rooms at Adelphi and Hofstra, the coaches looked forward to spending time in real homes with families. There were home-cooked meals, trips to the beach and barbecues with the host families. Hougham said that when one family did something, they invited all the "adopted" coaches along.
McCullock spent her third summer as a NOGA coach, and is also studying to be a teacher at home in Brighton, England. She stayed with a Rockville Centre family last year, too. After her week in Rockville Centre, she was back in the dorms at Hofstra. Hougham said that stories from weeks spent with host families usually make other coaches jealous, but they have a good time in the dorms, too.
Report from Athens
RVCer interns at Olympics
In Rockville Centre it was 3 p.m., and prime time for Olympics television coverage was still hours away. But in Athens it was 10 p.m., and Alexis Skelos had already watched the U.S. women swimmers win the 800-meter freestyle relay gold medal in world-record time.
Skelos, of Rockville Centre, worked as a runner for NBC during the two weeks of the Olympics. The former South Side High School swimmer did her best to keep swimming commentators Dan Hicks, Rowdy Gaines and Melissa Stark comfortable in 100-degree heat. She spent time at the swimming venue, at a broadcast trailer about 10 minutes away and at the international broadcasting center. Besides accommodating the broadcasters, Skelos has also helped the researchers who focus on finding out the history of the athletes.
She described her experiences in a phone interview. "It's been amazing," she said of watching Americans win gold medals, including the world-record relay team. Skelos, 19, is a junior at the College of William and Mary where she is on the swim team and majoring in elementary education and kinesiology. She competes in the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle as well as the 200 freestyle relay.
Skelos petitioned the Rockville Centre Board of Education to start a swim team at South Side in 2000. The whole Skelos family has chlorine in the blood. Both of Alexis's parents, Faith and Peter, swam in college, and younger sister Daphne has been on the South Side swim team since she was in seventh grade. "The Olympics is the ultimate goal," said Alexis, for swimmers and other athletes.
The weather was the talk of the 2004 Olympics. Skelos said that one day the temperature was 113 in the sun and 105 in the shade, according to the thermometer on an audio technician's watch.
September
Local Marine killed in Iraq
For Ronald Winchester, there were no endless discussions about what he should do with his life. It was always clear to him and everyone who knew him that he was born to be a Marine. He believed in the Corps, and was ready and willing to give his life to defend freedom. Last week, he did.
Winchester, 25, a lifelong resident of Rockville Centre, was killed by a bomb in Al Anbar Province in Iraq on Sept. 3, just eight days after starting a second tour there. He was the first villager killed in Iraq.
The hero was mourned at St. Agnes Cathedral. Mourners celebrated the young Marine's commitment to God and country even as they wept over his loss. He cherished a cartoon drawn by a Marine after the attacks that depicts a firefighter in the ruins of the twin towers, handing an American flag to a Marine, who says, I'll take it from here. Winchester used that cartoon to inspire his troops. The cartoon was reprinted in his memorial program.
During the service, Ronnie, as friends and family called him, was remembered as a man of action, with moral courage and a love of life.
Finding a fair fare Taxi ride could cost more in village
A dollar and a dream won't get you anywhere anymore. Everything from subway fares to the price of gas has gone up and All Island Taxi has asked the Village of Rockville Centre to allow for a 30 percent fare increase. The issue was discussed at a public hearing on Sept. 13.
The rate for a taxi ride was raised by 50 cents. A cab ride now costs $4. The Village Board also adopted a set fare for airport trips. The fare to LaGuardia is $36, to JFK is $28 and to Islip is $75 for the first passenger.
Old friends get new life
Bike drive to benefit needy people
One of the many childhood memories most Americans have is of the day they received their first bike, gleaming and majestic, whether it was new or a hand-me-down from an older sibling. For many, that bike became a good friend, always ready for an adventure. Then came the day that it was just too small, and a second bike arrived, its predecessor relegated to a dingy corner of the garage or dumped at the curb to end up in a landfill.
Amy Slavin still remembers her first bike and all the joy it brought her. She hates seeing bikes left at the curb for the dump truck, knowing there are still good years left in them and children whose families can't afford to buy them bikes. For years, the Rockville Centre mother of two thought there must be something she could do to stop this waste.
She was right. After some research, Slavin discovered Pedals for Progress, a nonprofit organization that saves bikes from America's landfills and sends them to needy people overseas. What is abandoned in America can mean the difference between an education and ignorance or food and starvation in a third-world country.
Tunnel to Towers gains momentum
Race honors RVC native killed on Sept. 11
Tunnels are the less attractive stepsisters of the more architecturally appreciated bridges. Often, the only mention they get is in traffic reports. The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, however, inspires feelings of respect and admiration among those who know the story of Rockville Centre native Stephen Siller.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Siller, a firefighter, heard what was happening in lower Manhattan on his scanner while he was driving home to Staten Island from his shift in Brooklyn. He had a choice that morning: the round of golf he was supposed to play with his brothers, or the chaos of a scene in which planes had flown into buildings and no one knew what might come next.
Siller chose to join his fellow firefighters at the World Trade Center, and had to run through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to get there. He was killed when the towers fell.
On Sept. 26, for the third year, the Siller family held the Tunnel to Towers Run/Walk. The annual event follows Siller's path through the tunnel.
"It's growing," said his brother, Russell, of Rockville Centre. The family was told that after a few years, interest in the event might fade, but instead it has steadily grown.
Lions Club celebrates 70 years
It's appropriate that both Donald Duck and the Rockville Centre Lions Club debuted in 1934. The Annual Duck Race has become the Rockville Centre Lion's most famous event.
This year the Lions Club celebrated its 70th anniversary. Tradition dictates that platinum and diamonds are the gifts for a 70th anniversary, but the Lions would prefer glass, the kind that makes the lenses of eyeglasses. The club collects prescription eyeglasses and refurbishes them for those that can't afford glasses.
The main fund-raiser for the Rockville Centre club is the Duck Race, which was in its sixth year. The race and Fall Family Festival took place on Oct. 2 at Mill River and Centennial Park.
The Lions Club movement was started in 1917. Helen Keller became involved with the Lions and encouraged them to help the blind. They became known as the "knights of the blind." The Rockville Centre club is among over 40 in Nassau County.
In addition to helping charities like the Guide Dog Foundation and the Long Island Bombers, a blind baseball team, the Rockville Centre Lions also donate to local charities. The Rockville Centre Community Fund, the Hispanic Brotherhood, St. Agnes Outreach and Adopt-a-Family are among the charities that benefited from the over $16,000 the RVC Lions raised last year.
Loyalty and leadership fostered by basketball league
It would never happen in the NBA. The season was winding down and the best player on the team spent the whole game passing to a teammate who had yet to score a basket. The player finally scored, and his dad jumped up and down in the stands.
Patrick Gordon, president of the Rockville Centre Basketball League, told this anecdote from last season with pride in his players. These kinds of small victories have added up over the past 50 seasons for the league.
The league began its first season in 1954/55 when Irving Matloff, Hank Lewis and Leo Merson decided to form the "Little Basketball League." Matloff was the league's first president, commissioner and treasurer. The founders wanted to foster values of loyalty, good behavior and leadership.
In their first season, there were 16 teams of boys between the ages of 10 and 12. Today, the league has over 1,000 participants in grades three through 12. The teams consist of 10 players so each child is guaranteed to play at least half the game. There are playoffs at the end of the season between the red and blue divisions. Having fun, learning fundamentals and sportsmanship are what's stressed, according to Gordon.
Fans still cheering for coach
St. Agnes gym dedicated to Frank Morris
Coach Frank Morris couldn't tape an ankle. That was just about the only fault his former players could come up with as they remembered their influential basketball coach.
Former players, friends and family gathered to honor Morris, who died last January at age 70, by dedicating the new St. Agnes Cathedral School gymnasium floor to him. The Friends of Coach Frank Morris are hoping to continue to refurbish the gym. The floor was redone and inscribed with Morris's name over the summer.
The group hopes that the floor was just the first step in upgrading the facility, which is now used by the elementary school and Catholic Youth Organization teams. Group members want to create more space outside the sideline areas by installing new stands farther from the court. They also hope to add new trophy cases in the foyer and a new scoreboard.
Morris was a phys. ed. teacher at the now defunct St. Agnes High School. The former Merrick resident wasn't a fan of the game when he started coaching basketball at the school in 1961, but in 26 seasons he won one state and 10 Catholic High School Athletic Association championships, four of them consecutively. The record of four straight victories stood for 30 years. It was Tim Cluess, a former Morris player who became the coach of St. Mary's, who broke the record.
October
Levinson proposes overhauling school taxes
Calling the current school property tax system "unjust" and "broken," Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson called for the creation of an income tax to pay for the education of Nassau County's children. He said that a change is needed to help seniors on fixed incomes and young adults just starting their careers.
With school tax bills going out, Levinson said that now was the time to revamp the system to provide relief next year. Similar proposals have been brought before state government many times in the past decade and always rejected, but Levinson said that school property tax rates are climbing at a pace that many homeowners can't meet. County-wide, property tax rates are increasing 8 to 12 percent per year, he said.
Levinson is also pushing for a revamping of the way commercial property taxes are dispersed. Under his proposal, an income tax similar to New York City's would be paid by all Nassau County residents, homeowners and renters alike. The money collected from residents in a school district would be directed to that district. Levinson felt most districts would collect enough funds to cover school budgets. He said the state should shift its billion-dollar school-aid package already in place to help districts with lower incomes that can't make budgeted commitments. He also recommended revamping the New York State Tax Relief Program, STAR, so that money allocated to it can be used to help the struggling districts.
State test results cause confusion
Think you like a challenge? Try figuring out the Rockville Centre School District results on the latest round of state math exams.
Although the state's eighth-grade math exam is meant to predict how students will fare on the state's Math A Regents, this was hardly the case for Rockville Centre students. While only 61 percent passed the eighth-grade exam, according to results released, 93 percent of those same students have already passed the higher-level Math A Regents.
The Rockville Centre School District has accelerated its curriculum so that the eighth-grade test is given in seventh grade and the Math A Regents, usually given to students across the state in 10th grade, is administered to Rockville Centre students in eighth grade.
This means that the students in question took the eighth grade test during the 2002/2003 school year when they were in seventh grade and took the Math A Regents last year, the 2003/2004 school year, when they were in eighth grade. The results for the exam they were given in seventh grade, which implied that only 61 percent of the students were on target to pass the Math A Regents, a year after those same students took the Math A Regents and 93 percent of them passed.
The district said students do poorly on the eighth-grade math exam because they are already being taught what they need to know for the Regents and not what is on the eighth-grade math test. Administrators don't believe it would be an effective use of class time.
'Little town' laws OK'd
Retaining the character of the village was on the minds of board members and residents alike at the Village Board of Trustees meeting. After years of discussion and debate, the Board adopted several new zoning laws, creating two new districts, Business C and Business C2 that will serve as a buffer between residential and business districts. The legislation pertains to areas along Maple Avenue, North Park Avenue, College Place, Quealy Place and North Village Avenue.
There are now fewer permitted uses in these areas, formerly zoned Business A. The theory behind the legislation, commonly referred to as the "little town" laws, is that it will provide a buffer zone between Sunrise Highway and nearby homes. In 1998, discussion about improving the zoning code in Rockville Centre began, and the new laws are one of many steps that have been taken and will be taken in the future. All the bills were approved unanimously, and had already been extensively debated by the board and the public.
The audience at the board meeting applauded after all the laws were passed. Because they were several years in the making, the board was satisfied that the laws had finally passed. Deputy Mayor Wayne Lipton said he hoped there would be more changes to the zoning code to keep the village from becoming too dense. Several residents also spoke, thanking the Board for its hard work in passing the legislation. "I appreciate what you've done," said Joe Kelly of the Maple Avenue Task Force
November
Flu shot fever
There was so much traffic in and around the Rockville Centre Rec Center on Oct. 29 that the police had to help direct the cars. There was also a line of bundled up senior citizens that zigzagged down Oceanside Road.
Word had spread that flu shots were available at Senator Dean Skelos's 2nd annual Golden Gathering and throngs of area seniors started assembling as early as 4 a.m., even though the event would not begin for another five hours. In cooperation with South Nassau Communities Hospital there were 1,100 flu shots given out at the Golden Gathering. To be eligible to receive the vaccine, seniors first had to meet Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, including being over 65 years of age.
Filomena Wraith of Valley Stream got on line with her husband at 7:30 a.m. and was still waiting to get her vaccine at 10 a.m. She came prepared with a lawn chair, a blanket and a Nora Roberts novel to pass the time. She waited for her husband, who was further back in line, near the entrance to the Rec Center. "I got tired of moving my chair," she said.
The 1,100 vaccines were a relatively substantial amount to be made available in one spot, according to Tom Dunham, spokesman for Sen. Skelos. Dunham said that when he arrived at the Rec Center at 5 a.m. there were already about 30 people in line.
Lady Cyclones take states
After a two-year title drought, the South Side Lady Cyclones returned to their sport's pinnacle, beating Oneonta 2-0 to win their 11th state championship since 1987. The victory came on the heels of a nail-biting semifinal game, which saw South Side outlast Section III champion Christian Brothers Academy.
Johnson wins statewide award
In the past few years, Rockville Centre's superintendent of schools Dr. William Johnson has fostered change on the state level, especially by spearheading the fight to fairly score the physics Regents exam in 2002 and again with the math A Regents in 2003.
Johnson was named 2005 New York State Superintendent of the Year on Nov. 15 by the American Association of School Administrators. The Rockville Centre Board of Education nominated him for the award and now Johnson is in the running to be named National Superintendent of the Year.
The awards were established in 1988 to recognize outstanding individuals in educational leadership. Board president Marcia Hirsch suggested that Johnson be nominated this year. It was so obvious that he was deserving, said Board member Meg Koch.
Ineligible to vote?
While seniors who were part of South Side High School's most recent graduating class received an unwelcome surprise when they opened their mail a week before the presidential election, an 11th-hour turn of events offered a reprieve for some, if not all.
A number of voter registration forms, filled out last spring as part of an Advanced Placement government class project, were never received by the Nassau County Board of Elections. Carol Burris, the school's principal, sent out letters signed by Richard Angler, the teacher who organized the drive, to every senior who graduated, informing them that they were ineligible to vote in this election. Burris estimated the number of students affected by the error to be around 25, but since she did not know who registered in school last spring, she felt that all students in the class needed to be notified. Dr. Burris, who was still in the process of collecting all the facts, said the cause was "pure human error."
After school officials contacted the Board of Elections, they spent hours on the phone, contacting the affected students and detailing the options open to them. Those options included going to their local polling places and casting their votes on paper ballots, which will be counted only in the event of a close election. Another option was to go to the Board of Elections in Mineola and plead their case in front of a judge who was aware of the problem.
A chance for peace
Local religious leaders weigh in on post-Arafat peace process
As the saying goes, there are two sides to every story. When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, two points of view is mere folly. With the death of Yasser Arafat, who died in November at a Paris hospital at the age of 75, local religious leaders had mixed, albeit definite, views about the man some reviled and others revered, and the peace process going forward.
Marc Gruber, Central Synagogue's reform rabbi, was hopeful that the peace process could be resumed if the Palestinian people united around a different kind of leadership. Despite media images of gun-toting young men in the streets of Ramallah, he believes there's "a large contingency desirous of peace."
After Arafat and the PLO agreed to recognize Israel in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, he and Israeli officials worked towards establishing peace. Those efforts were short-lived when former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's historic offer of 97 percent of the West Band and Gaza Strip was rejected by Arafat. By rejecting the offer that would have granted the Palestinians long-awaited statehood in August 2000, the wheels were set in motion for an Arab uprising, resulting in the deaths of 4,000 Israelis and Palestinians.
According to Gruber, "It wasn't an easy thing for the Israelis, but the Israeli population was prepared to make sacrifices for peace. Unfortunately, Arafat and his leadership didn't educate their people for peace."
At the Islamic Center of Long Island, located in Westbury, Dr. Faroque Khan, the center's president, had a different perspective. From what he could tell, Barak's offer, declined by Arafat, was nothing new, just a "sanitized occupation," with Palestinians being given a "discontinuous state with settlements throughout and no control over air and sea."
Signature Place project halted
Negotiations break down; litigation continues
Discussions regarding Signature Place, the 349-unit multifamily housing complex proposed for the former site of Darby Drug, broke down last week after months of negotiations between the Rockville Centre Planning Board and Chase Partners LLC, the complex's developers.
At its Nov. 16 meeting, the Rockville Centre Planning Board, after meeting with counsel, came to a swift and unanimous decision regarding the site plan findings on the proposed complex, concluding that the number of units allowed could not exceed 230.
Michael Faltischek, lead counsel for Chase, stated in a Nov. 16 press release, "The village Planning Board's refusal to reach a reasonable compromise leaves our client with no alternative but to seek judicial redress." Referring to the Nassau County Planning Commission's Nov. 4 decision to approve the project at 349 units, Faltischek added, "The likelihood of success is significant."
Gary Fishberg, counsel for the village, said, "The Nassau County Planning Commission, which is only an advisory board, went beyond their authority in approving the proposed 349 units, and that their recommendations have no binding effect on the [RVC] Planning Board."
December
Sacred Heart soccer stars
This year the soccer team at Sacred Heart Academy was like a Rockville Centre Soccer Club all-star lineup. Out of 22 players, 10 were from Rockville Centre. The team went undefeated for the season and not only won the Nassau/Suffolk County championship, but also went on to win the state championship on Nov. 13 against Nardin High School in Buffalo.
Not only are 10 of the players from Rockville Centre, but the coaches, Chris Chruma and Bobby Speck, whose daughters are on the team, are also from the village as is Sacred Heart's athletic director Mike Goetz.
"It was an honor to be with them on the field," said Goetz, adding that the whole team was a special bunch of girls.
The girls, Emily Boyce, Maureen Goetz, Tricia Graustein, Caitlyn Gunyan, Jenna Luvin, Kerri McGovern, Jackie Russo, Amy Speck, Lizzy Speck and Sarah Watterson all grew up in the Rockville Centre Soccer Club. Soccer Club official Peter Skelos has followed the girls' careers and attended games throughout the season, according to athletic director Goetz. Gunyan, Lizzy Speck and Watterson were the team captains.
St. Agnes still standing tall
Enrollment up at St. Agnes but down at other Catholic elementary schools
Catholic school tends to conjure images of plaid uniforms and Sister Mary Margaret in her black habit. After years of declining enrollment, Catholic elementary schools on Long Island are looking to beef up their image, hoping that the public will also associate highly-qualified teachers and the latest technology with Catholic schools.
St. Agnes Cathedral School bucks the trend of declining enrollment in the Rockville Centre Diocese. With 875 students, they are the largest school in the diocese. St. Agnes co-principal Helen Newman served on the Catholic Elementary School Study Committee, which recently issued a report showing that while enrollment at Catholic high schools in the diocese is way up, enrollment at elementary schools is going down on a whole. "It could be a variety of reasons," said Newman, as to why enrollment is down in the diocese. Finances are always a concern, and it could be that families decide to put the emphasis on high school and spend their money there.
Besides studying trends, the committee also came up with recommendations to increase enrollment. One important suggestion is that individual schools need to market themselves. According to Newman there are a lot of misconceptions about Catholic schools, especially about the quality of teachers.
Book in a bag
In 1815 Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to John Adams, in which he wrote, "I cannot live without books." That is the motto that is written on the sign that welcomes visitors to the Rockville Centre Public Library on N. Village Ave. To the library's staff, those are more than just words, they're words to live by.
The Library To Your Door program, which brings books to the homebound in Rockville Centre, is the embodiment of that motto. The way it works is simple. Every two weeks up to three books, regular or large print, are delivered in a large weatherproof zippered bag, via mail to the door of a patron who has been pre-qualified by a certified health professional. A reading preference questionnaire, designed by the library's staff, is included in the application, allowing people to choose from a wide variety of subjects in hardcover or paperback. The service is free, including the postage. The U.S. Postal Service has a free matter service for blind and visually-impaired people who can't read regular printed materials. For those who do not qualify for free postage from the post office, the library picks up the postage fee.
"We had a small, informal homebound program before, but we wanted to expand it," said Merrill Belson, who along with fellow librarian, Alene Paone, runs the program, which began in July and currently has 13 patrons enrolled. Part of the problem in getting the program off the ground was identifying the population who would take advantage of the service. This was no easy task, according to Belson, since the population that would benefit from the program did not come into the library.
Stamp of approval
Arbor Inn Homes and Villa Pointe approved by Board of Trustees
While there wasn't even a mention of Signature Place at the Village Board of Trustees meeting, the issue of real estate was still the primary focus of the board's agenda. This time the real estate in question was a pair of proposals for single-family homes, one on the south side of the village, the other a corner lot at 327 Lakeview Ave. After much discussion, the board voted unanimously to approve both proposals.
Villa Pointe... of contention
Residents speak their minds
It was pretty much business as usual until the village Board of Trustees meeting was adjourned. That's when most of the evening's action took place. Expecting to have an opportunity to speak publicly to the board, a group of residents protested the meeting's adjournment, arguing that a critical legal issue needed to be decided and that privilege of the floor was listed on the agenda.
Some 20 Rockville Centre residents were there to discuss the proposed building of two homes on a corner lot at Lakeview and North Forest avenues. Most of them live in the immediate vicinity of the proposed construction. There is currently a single home on the property that fronts both streets, but Villa Pointe LLC has already been issued building permits to construct one colonial and one Victorian-style home on the site. Architectural review took place at a public hearing Nov. 29, held by the village's Exterior Design Review Board, and the board unanimously approved the project.
Although the meeting had officially ended, several members of the board and village attorney Martha Krisel remained to listen to some of the residents' concerns. One point they raised concerned the notification process to neighbors who live within 200 feet of the property. Each resident was sent a piece of certified mail on Nov. 20. The records of building department Deputy Superintendent Tom Domanico, according to Krisel, confirm that there is a U.S. Postal Service certified-mail receipt postmarked on that date. But according to one resident, Jean Farnan Mulry, not everyone received the mailing, and the green card supplied by the post office was not returned by every resident in the area.
Pantry Diner owner Mavroudis remembered at annual Santa breakfast
If Santa, that globe-trotting giver of gifts, loves pancakes, then he came to the right place when he parked his sled at the rec center on Dec. 12. Christmas just wouldn't be complete for either Santa or the children of Rockville Centre without Breakfast with Santa's Helpers, hosted annually by the recreation department. Looking jovial as ever, the man in the red suit appeared right on schedule at 9:45 a.m.
He waved to the breakfast crowd before heading straight to the gym, where parents were treated to a photo-op as their children sat on Santa's lap to confide what they wanted for Christmas this year.
Since 1988, the children of the village have been dining with jolly St. Nick over a meal of hot-off-the-griddle pancakes, cereals, bagels, juice and hot chocolate. The pancakes, which were cooked to order on site, were donated courtesy of the Pantry Diner, namely the Mavroudis family, which has been contributing to this effort for the past 10 years. This year's event, however, was bittersweet for the family, as Tom Mavroudis, the diner's owner, died in his home at the age of 61 in early December. His wife, Jean, a native of Rockville Centre, was on hand to hear Mayor Eugene Murray's tribute to her late husband. Also attending was Mavroudis' daughter, Deena, and her children, Brianna and Dean. Murray said the family-owned business has been a landmark in Rockville Centre for 54 years.
School bond passes
After years of putting off most major capital projects and finally eliminating all funds for them in last year's budget, the school district decided to seek voter approval to issue a bond to pay for the many projects needed to repair and maintain school buildings and property. The vote on the bond issue took place on Dec. 14 and was passed by a narrow margin.
Discussions of what to include in the bond issue took place throughout the summer, with the Board of Education settling on a list of projects totaling $15,170,732. The district architect, the board and the administration started with a list that ran as high as $24 million and narrowed it down, keeping in mind the priorities of health, safety and repair.
