VS Year in review

This community of 40,000 people and four school districts has seen it all since Robert Pagan looked at the valleys in the village¹s north and the streams in the south and coined the name that it bears to this day ‹ the only community in the United States to go by the name of Valley Stream.
January saw the end of an era for the Valley Stream Central High School District when Community Information Officer Arlene Hinkemeyer hung up her pad and pen after 20 years of service to the district. If there was any type of activity going on in one of the schools, Hinkemeyer would be there with a camera, snapping away. She was replaced by Martha Carney, who has since become a familiar face to many in the district.
Another institution bidding adieu is the Gibson Civic Association. After 60 years of serving the community, the association announced in the final edition of their newsletter Chatter that they were no longer able to sustain a viable organization capable of serving the community. The times have changed in Valley Stream, and the associate on was not able to adapt well enough to survive.
Mary Lou Murray left behind a lifetime of work and changed lives when she retired from Holy Name of Mary School in June. Murray taught three generations of Valley Stream students in her 42 years at the school. Local baker Hans Semder gave his final decorative icing exhibition at the Valley Stream Historical Society¹s Annual Gingerbread House Contest and Bake Sale. Semder had been delighting adults and children alike with his ability to make a gingerbread house come to life since 1988.
Long-time School District 24 attorney George Shebitz died in February after a long illness. He served as legal counsel for the district for 20 years. District 24 also lost PTA stalwart Marianne Zawislak to cancer in August.
Just 20 days after celebrating her 100th birthday, 60-year Valley Stream resident Dorothy Butcher died. She had been heavily involved with the Girls Scouts and Red Cross in the community, and raised three children in Valley Stream Schools.
The month of February saw John LaBarbera become the third person in Central High School¹s 75 year history to have his jersey retired. The student who touched the lives of so many with his kind words and smile died at the age of 16 in October 2005 after collapsing during an after school basketball clinic. A scholarship has since been instituted in the district in his honor.
The Nicalek family of Valley Stream became a worthy footnote to the year when their Amherst Road home was struck by lightning in July in a most unusual occurence. Luckily the family was alright. The same, unfortunately, could not be said for their house, which contractors estimated would take up to a year to repair.
A rather grim incident turned into a beacon of hope for the community in January after a black family found racial graffiti spray painted on their garage door on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Refusing to be intimidated, the Burke family moved into their North Valley Stream home after a clean up, and were embraced by a community eager to show that they detested the sentiments of the message left behind.
In one of the most publicized drunken driving murder trials in recent memory, Martin Heidgen of Valley Stream was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of 7-year-old flower girl Katie Flynn and limousine driver Stanley Rabinowitz. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said she hoped the case would bolster the chance for prosecutors to charge drunk drivers with murder in cases where deaths occurred.
Residents of Valley Stream gathered at the village¹s Sept. 11 Memorial in A.J. Hendrickson Park to join the rest of the country in commemorating the fifth anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks in New York and Washington that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Over 30 Valley Streamers were killed on that fateful morning.
On the brighter side, fireworks once again illuminated the sky over Firemen¹s Field on July 4 as the village approved their return after a one year hiatus. While some residents felt the display was too much for the area, residents overwhelmingly voiced their approval of a long-standing tradition that they felt rightfully made a comeback this summer.
All the school districts passed their budgets on the first vote, and voters approved the Central High School District¹s request to be allowed to establish a capital reserve fund to help with larger building projects in the future.
The high school district held the first of what they hope will be many community forums in May. ³Think Globally, Act Locally,² focused on exchanging ideas to increase community involvement in the schools and promote positive messages for the students.
North track star Theresa Rush competed for a third year in a row at the state level and was named to the All-American team, and Valley Stream schools garnered several honors. South won the boy¹s soccer county championship and the girls volleyball championship, while the combined district team won the county rifle championship.
South students organized Hoops with Heart to benefit their former classmate Eileen Flood, who has been battling cancer. The Hoops with Heart night they put together in November was an overwhelming success, and they hope there will be more benefits to come.
New field opening were held in several elementary districts and former New York Jets football player Marty Lyons was on hand at the Brooklyn Avenue School ribbon cutting in October. District 13 and the Valley Stream Little League established what they hope will be a mutually beneficial partnership when the two parties signed an agreement designating Howell Road School as the site of an official tournament-sized little league baseball field to be ready for the start of the 2008 season.
The Valley Stream Green Hornets honored former NFL All-Pro linebacker Stephen Boyd in a ceremony at Firemen¹s Field in October. Boyd got his start on the gridiron in Valley Stream¹s pee-wee football league. Residents showed up to shower Boyd with adulation and show their support for their favortie young athletes, who participated in an array of Homecoming games that crisp fall day.
Controversy continued to rage over the Gibson Avenue condominium development, which has been in the works for nearly two years now. After being given the go-ahead by a New York State Supreme Court decision, residents decided to take their case to the New York State Court of Appeals. That case will be heard some time next year. The 77-unit condominium complex to be built on the property of the former InFlight building was approved and the site is being cleared for construction to begin. No word yet as to when the project will be completed.
The saga of Xpressions adult store on Rockaway Avenue continues. While the store must cease operations indefinitely pending a court order ‹ it has been closed since Summer 2005 ‹ the village is awaiting an appeal by the store owners counsel regarding the permanence of that order. A decision has not yet been made by the courts.
In a year that saw voters turning against the Republican Party at the voting machines, there was no effect on local politicians. Assemblymen Thomas Alfano and Robert Barra were returned to their elected offices by voters, and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy handily beat her opponent, Martin Blessinger, by a nearly two-to-one margin on election night.
That¹s just some of what happened in Valley Stream in 2006. Hopefully you will enjoy the following pages which capture some of the most interesting moments, and photographs, of the year.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.