Local Marine killed in Iraq
First Lt. Ronald Winchester, 25, a lifelong resident of Rockville Centre and former student of Oceanside schools, was killed by a bomb in Al Anbar Province in Iraq on Sept. 3, eight days after starting a second tour there.
Winchester was a platoon leader, in command of as many as 75 Marines, during his first tour. Winchester came home last year and spent time with his family in Rockville Centre until he was called up for a second tour in August. He looked at going back as part of his duty, and told his father, I need to go there so they don't come over here.
The grandson of a Marine, Winchester grew up hearing stories of war and the brotherhood of men who band together to protect America's freedoms. His grandfather, Dominick Gatta, fought in Guadalcanal during World War II. At age 2, Ronnie, as his family called him, wore a Marine uniform to trick-or-treat on Halloween. Other family photos show him wearing fatigues at different ages as he grew up.
Winchester told the Herald in a letter to the editor from Iraq last year that he had been waiting to go to the Middle East since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His father, also Ronald, had worked in the World Trade Center. "I felt obligated to New York and all the innocent people," he wrote.
For Lt. 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 his family said he was ready and willing to give his life to defend freedom. In September, he did.
Winchester lived in Rockville Centre but attended Oceanside public schools before embarking on a distinguished academic and athletic career at Chaminade High School in Mineola and the U.S. Naval Academy.
"He died way too young," said Stephen Kriss, who was Winchester's principal at School No. 5 in Oceanside.
Traffic issues addressed on Austin Boulevard.
The Town of Hempstead posted no-left-turn signs on the east side of two side streets off Austin, Vanderbilt avenues and Broadway, each of which are without traffic lights.
These measures materialized after an elderly woman was killed in an auto accident on Austin in the summer of 2003 and Island Parkers stepped up their calls for increased traffic safety measures on Austin Boulevard in Island Park. Spearheaded by their Chamber of Commerce, they took representatives from the county and town on a walking tour of Austin this spring.
With no-left-turn sings posted to prevent accidents, the residents awaited the county's response to their original request to extend the timing of red lights on Austin. During their walking tour with county Legislator Denise Ford and Town Councilman Anthony Santino and their traffic engineers, the residents demonstrated that even when pedestrians push the button to delay the red lights, an average young man has just enough time to walk across Austin's six lanes from one side to the other.
O'sider deployed to Iraq
Capt. Daniel Meyers of Oceanside was deployed to Iraq to participate in the American-led effort to establish that nation's first representative government.
Meyers arrived with several other military personnel in Tikrit, Iraq, to work with personnel from the state department in the Iraq Project and Contracting Office. Meyers is acted as a liaison between contractors and international suppliers to help Iraq into the 21st century.
The PCO's mission is to serve both Americans and Iraqis by contracting for delivery services, supplies and infrastructure through the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Fund, a total of $18.4 billion in resources allocated by the U.S. government for rebuilding Iraq.
"He's the person who will ask the contractors about jobs, and he'll tell the PCO about them, and then have the contractors get in touch with the PCO," Alan Meyers, Daniel's father, explained.
Meyers graduated from Oceanside High School in 1994, and two years later, while at the University of Albany, where he studied urban planning, he signed on to an ROTC program. When he graduated in 1998, he entered the military as a second lieutenant, and was stationed in Bamberg, Germany. Meyers spent six months in the former Yugoslavia in 2001, delegating work to rebuild roads and bridges after civil wars tore up southeastern Europe.
Clergyman moves
to upstate parish
As he walked down the aisle in the sanctuary at the Oceanside Jewish Center, grief-stricken people asked the Rev. Jim Burton of the First Presbyterian Church to pray for the fireman, the John Does and the thousands of other victims who had just been killed days earlier in the terrorists attacks three Septembers ago.
That is but one indelible memory from his six years in Oceanside that Burton would take with him to his new parish in Hamburg, N.Y.
In addition to his pet cause of preaching volunteerism in Oceanside, Burton became closely involved with the chapter's Gift of Life and International Exchange programs. Gift of Life brings in ill children from impoverished countries and regions, such as Russia and Central America, for heart surgery at local hospitals; International Exchange is a cultural exchange program for educators, businessmen, scientists and others from such lands.
"Jim has been a heartbeat to our club," said Elliot Liebner, a fellow Rotarian. "I'm going to miss him."
While the feeling was mutual, Burton said that, above all, he'll miss the 250 worshipers at First Presbyterian, which he called "a loving, wonderful congregation."
Burton's normal routine was a single sermon he gave each Sunday at First Presbyterian. "The reverend has a very friendly, warm personality," said Anita Offner, a parishioner and member of the church choir. "During his sermons, he never really has to look at a piece of paper to speak. Everything he says comes from his heart, and he is given with such eloquence. And I think he kept everyone together to achieve the goals for the church. We're going to miss him tremendously."
Sailors light up scoreboard in first OHS night game in decades
In the first night football game at Oceanside High School since 1966, the Sailors were clearly acclimated to the heavy wattage, offering a shining example of smash-mouth football in dominating the Hicksville Comets, 33-13 on Sept. 23.
Coach Mike Janosko's play-calling was practically run-only, as the Sailors ran 54 times for 367 yards, while quarterback Bobby Engelhard threw just five times, completing four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
The brightest lights in Janosko's attack were running backs John Mirando and Brian Kirschner, who helped Oceanside open the game up with three unanswered touchdowns on as many possessions.
Kirschner scored first on a 16-yard run, and then his teammate, Joely Flores, booted a squib kick that Hicksville fumbled into the hands of Sailor Frank Vetere. The turnover led to Mirando's dash up the middle from the Hicksville 25, as he cut left and carried the ball into the endzone for a 14-0 Oceanside lead.
Joyfi Lopez then blocked a Hicksville punt, setting up the Sailors' offense at the Comets' 24. From there Kirschner continued pounding the ball up the middle, and on third-and-goal from the 1, Engelhard scored on a quarterback sneak.
All told, Mirando had 19 carries for 187 yards, and Kirshner carried 17 times for 103 yards. "When you run the ball that successfully," Janosko said, "Hicksville had to make a commitment to stop it, which opened up the passing game."
October
'Apprentice' deputy offers business advice at OHS
George Ross, Donald Trump's deputy and right-hand man on NBC's "The Apprentice," made a visit to the Oceanside High School to talk to students on Sept. 30.
Ross shared many facts and opinions about the popular reality TV show, his billionaire boss and the business world with students active in Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), a business-oriented program, in the school library.
Ross said "The Apprentice" has many lessons to offer, from the proper way to look, act and talk to other leadership qualities such as staying in control under pressure and interacting well with others.
Ross said Trump hires according to a person's complete package, with the basic standard being: "Do they have what it takes to succeed?" Ross said. The most important quality for success in business or any profession, he stressed, was to work at something you enjoy. "If you don't do that," he warned, "get out."
Ross described doing the show as "nine weeks of hell," explaining that "The Apprentice" involves a crew of 200 people, 16 cameras and 8 hours of work a day. His favorite show was last season's lemonade episode, when the male contestants were disoriented and the women used sex appeal when trying to sell their product. "I never saw such stupidity in my life," he said. He said that when firing employees, Trump never sugarcoats what for them is a traumatic experience. "You can't make it appear nice," he said his boss once told him.
One student inquired about what makes Trump a better businessman than others. "Donald has the ability to make very quick decisions," Ross replied. He explained that Trump is thoroughly engrossed in his work and loves the deals and action of business, and bluntly said "no" when asked if his boss will ever retire.
Said sophomore Jillian Cohen about Ross' talk, "I think what stood out for me most was when he told us to enjoy whatever you decide to do in life."
IP woman starts
campaign for Marines
After Hope Ragan of Island Park learned that some of her husband's fellow troops in the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines in Iraq received no care packages or letters from home, she thought of starting a letter-writing campaign for them in October.
Her husband, Sgt. Matthew Ragan, and his unit led the way to Baghdad from Kuwait at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While she sends her husband weekly care packages, filled with socks, cigars, olives and Godiva coffee, the are some who receive not a word from home.
"There's a good majority of soldiers who don't get anything, because they're not married, some of them don't have a lot of family," said Hope, who was born and raised in Island Park. "It's pretty sad."
Knowing how her care packages transform her husband into a kid in a candy store, Hope wanted to spread some of that childlike excitement to his fellow Marines, who were stationed in the Middle East for a collective 21 months.
Writing from his base in Camp Abu Gharyb, 10 miles east of Fullujah, Matthew noted that he observed lower morale in the Marines who receive no word from the States.
OMS short
on football helmets
When a crowd of students tried out for the football team at Oceanside Middle School this season, problems ensued. The school is equipped with 95 football helmets, but 115 boys signed up to join the team. At practices, the 20 boys without helmets participated in stretching and running drills, but with no head protection they couldn't get on the field to practice their passing, running and tackling.
"My kid got discourage and I can't blame him," said a parent of a helmet-less seventh-grader who eventually quit the team. "My beef is, How long do you expect kids to sit on the sideline and tolerate this? This is so unfair."
Unlike its baseball and basketball programs, OMS has a no-cut policy in football. If a student tries out for the team, he makes the team, a common policy in schoolboy football programs. And OMS typically works with a maximum of 95 players.
Superintendent Herb Brown agreed that having so many kids on a team is unfair to some of them if there's no possibility they are ever going to play. "I think at the middle school the kids are still trying to find what sport is best for them," Brown said, "and therefore the policy is to give everybody an opportunity to play, which works for 60 or 70 kids, not 115. Whereas in the high school it's varsity, and it's a lot more competitive, and typically the best kids play."
Brown added that the middle school would look into capping the number of kids who can join the team next year.
OHS teacher's book is latest in popular series
Hitting bookstores in October, "Images of America, Oceanside," by Oceanside High School teacher Richard Woods, features vintage photographs accompanied by lengthy captions filled with historical anecdotes. Families and individuals of note, buildings and houses long gone or still standing, landscapes, sports teams, schools, firehouses and places of worship are some of the many subjects offered in the slender, handsome volume.
Comprising 10 chapters, the book chronicles Oceanside from its geological origins, and the array of photos date from the horse-and-buggy era of the late 1800s, when the town was renamed Oceanville, to the present. Collectively, the photos and captions capture the town's evolution and development, reflecting its history and that of the nation.
"I wanted to write this book to give the town where I grew up the recognition it deserves," writes Woods, a lifelong Oceansider, in the introduction.
O'sider writes kids book about visually impaired
Rita Whitman Steingold's book, "Taking Visual Impairment to School," which aims to assist sighted children in understanding what everyday life is like for the visually impaired, was published in October.
The book tells the tale of a fictional blind girl, Lisa, and her independence in making her way around her home and school, including how she manages to get dressed, eat, roller skate, use a computer, and play violin. Lisa also learns Braille.
"All of this is very realistic," Steingold said. "I'm not talking pie-in-the-sky or that a blind person is going to become an airline pilot or anything outrageous like that. Just that there are many things that Lisa will be able to do when she grows up." The book additionally features quiz questions for readers and tips for teachers about visually impaired children, such as "Be Patient and Talk Naturally" and "Expect the Student to Follow Rules."
Four charged in
assault and robbery
Three Freeport men and a Long Beach man were arrested and charged with beating a man and stealing his car from the Oceanside Motel on Oct. 24.
According to police, several men entered a room at the motel at about 10 p.m. and assaulted the Oceanside resident. The subjects then left the room with the victim's car keys and fled the scene in his 1994 Pontiac, which was parked in the motel's lot, police said.
When the victim went outside to the parking lot, another suspect assaulted him and fled the scene. A short time later, police officers observed three of the suspects and placed them under arrest while they were still in Oceanside.
They were Sean McKenna, 25, Jesse Arias, 25, and Dennis Jones, 25, all of Freeport, who were charged with second-degree robbery, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree assault.
A fourth suspect, Brian Stark, was arrested near his home in Long Beach on Nov. 2. Stark was charged with second-degree robbery. At the time of the Stark's arrest, a fifth suspect was at large.
November
Teen charged in bogus hostage call
Michael Ramirez, 16, an Oceanside High School student, was arrested and charged with staging a bogus hostage incident in which he demanded a ransom for the safety of a fellow student on Nov. 3.
Police said that Ramirez used a cell phone stolen from a fellow student at OHS to call the victim's mother that morning and tell them he had kidnapped their son and wanted $5,000 in cash to ensure his return, according to police.
"[Ramirez said] basically, 'We have your son, we want $5,000, we'll be at Mario's Pizzeria [in the Brower Avenue shopping center], and don't call police or we'll shank him with a stick,'" aid Detective Bill Miller of the Nassau County Police's Fourth Precinct.
The victim's mother called the school to find out the whereabouts of her son, and was informed that he was in class and unharmed.
Earlier that morning, the victim's backpack, containing his cell phone and wallet, was stolen at school, and, according to police, the boy said he later saw a fellow student with the backpack. After this, the school got involved in the matter and called police.
IP Senior Center
to be retired
Members of the Island Park Senior Center learned in November that come the New Year the facility would close to merge with its sister center at St. Anthony's in Oceanside. While some Island Park seniors were resigned to the change, others have vowed to fight it.
"This is like another home for me, and they're taking it away," said senior Margaret Chestler. "This is something that belongs to Island Park."
Dispute over half-pound of pot led to gunplay
Police said a drug deal turned into a shooting in Island Park, and three men from the village were arrested in the incident on Nov. 17.
Felix Castillo, 22, of Lancaster Place and Wilmer Romero, 23, of Union City, N.J., were arrested and charged with first-degree assault. Police said they were trying to buy marijuana from Robert Schneider, 21, of Island Parkway and Patrick Mullare, 21, of California Place, who were arrested and charged with criminal sale of marijuana.
According to detectives, Schneider and Mullare were in a car on Lancaster Place when Castillo and Romero began a verbal argument during a drug transaction involving marijuana. Police said Romero shot Schneider in the right side of his head and right upper chest.
Schneider was taken to Long Beach Hospital where he was treated and transported to Nassau University Medical Center. After his release, Schneider surrendered to police at the Fourth Precinct in Hewlett on Nov. 18, and was arrested and charged with second-degree criminal sale of marijuana.
Mullare was arrested the night of the incident and on the same charge Schneider received. Both Castillo and Romero were arrested on Nov. 17 and charged with assault in the first degree.
Oceanside Rabbi to run Long Island group
Rabbi Mark Greenspan, spiritual leader of the Oceanside Jewish Center for the past eight years, was officially installed as president of the Long Island Rabbinical Assembly of Nassau and Suffolk County in a ceremony at his synagogue in November. He will preside over the 70 conservative rabbis in pulpit positions, as well as education and chaplain services in his jurisdiction.
Elected by his peers, Greenspan will hold the post for two years. As R.A. president, he will oversee the rabbis and their congregations and represent their interests in the community.
Rabbi Perry Rank of the Midway Jewish Center, international president of the R.A., installed Greenspan. "First of all, Rabbi Greenspan is a very talented rabbi," said Rank. "He has earned the esteem of his colleagues, which is why he has been named to this position."
The Rabbinical Assembly, founded in 1901, is an international association of conservative rabbis. It promotes the cause of conservative Judaism and works to benefit the Jewish community. It publishes scholarly texts and other works of Jewish interest.
OHS band earns crown at state and regionals
The Oceanside High School Marching Band were crowned New York State Champions and All-States (Regionals) Champion in November.
Lead by band director Michael Vetter, color guard Captain Elizabeth Diaz, and Drum Major Carl Misitano, the 45-member band soundly defeated the Deer Park in the states. At the regionals, held in Allentown, Pa., the Sailors went face to face against bands from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The Sailors earned Best Effect, Best Marching, Best Color Guard and Best Percussion.
Said Bob Brase, director of Fine and Performing Arts at OHS, "The band success is a true example of how great accomplishments can occur when you combine wonderful and hard-working students, dedicated staff members and supportive parents. "
DECEMBER
Long Beach man found dead in Island Park
Robert Calabrese, 24, of Long Beach, was shot several times in the back of the head and found near his still-idling 2003 Infiniti on Broadway in Island Park on Dec. 3.
Police found Calabrese after responding to several reports from residents and merchants who said they heard gunshots at about 8:39 p.m. that night. Calabrese was pronounced dead at the scene after police arrived, just before 9 p.m.
"He was essentially laying on his stomach in the street," said Detective Lt. Dennis Farrell, commanding officer of the Nassau Homicide Squad.
Calabrese, a mortgage broker and a one-time champion wrestler at Kellenberg Memorial High School, is the son of a police officer and Long Beach teacher. "The staff is in shock, because we all care so much for Kathy," Ronni Reimel, principal of East School in Long Beach, said. "It's such a horror." Reimel said that there were school psychologists and social workers on call for any children who had any questions.
McCarty wins
fire election
In his second run for the Oceanside Board of Fire Commissioners, Anthony McCarty defeated incumbent Dennis E. McGlynn by a vote of 461 to 409 in the Dec. 14 election.
McCarty ran on a promise to bring more open government to the board and to reopen the district's main training facility.
During his campaign for commissioner, McCarty said the commissioners discussed many items at weekly behind-closed-doors workshops that never came out at the board's public meetings, a claim McGlynn denied, countering that the board was more open to firemen and the public and had greater communications with them then ever before.
