Maragos: The County Isn’t Broke

Brushing aside widespread assertions to the contrary, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos last week flatly declared: “The county is not broke.”

In a wide-ranging discussion with editors of Anton Community Newspapers in Mineola, the Republican comptroller declared, “Why can’t people believe that if we give an audited financial statement, performed by outside auditors and show that we have a surplus, why isn’t it real?”

Rotary Club Of Hicksville South News

The Rotary Club of Hicksville South recently celebrated the kick off of their second year of community literacy programs. Dr. Dev Ratnam, President of the Club welcomed the 35 participants who overwhelmingly participated in the Advanced Excel for Business session, a one of a kind expert-user group for Long Island’s professional community with focus on the small business.

“It is being a partner, we become a leader” said Mr. Quddus Mohammed, VP and Literary Program Chair, as he outlined the mission of “ROTA-PAAL” to promote and provide goal-oriented, lifelong learning experiences to the South Asian Community of Nassau County, NY. Dr. Ratnam congratulated Mr. Quddus and the entire team their community service, as Mr. Bhuvan Pasham, an IT Engineer and Mrs Madhuri Rallapalli engaged the participants in stimulating topics on the concepts of Advanced Excel for business application.

Writing Well

Believe it or not, cursive writing

still has a place in our schools

“Look at that handwriting!” many parents gasp in horror when their children take pen in hand. “When I was your age, I wrote in beautiful script.”

While Mom and Dad may be “mis-remembering” their own youth, there is some truth behind their consternation. After all, the need for proficiency in penmanship has diminished with the rise of technology. Laptops, iPads and smart phones have made communication so easy, that for many students, traditional handwriting has been relegated to the land of dinosaurs.

Local Talent: Kirk Larsen

Kirk Larsen is one to watch. Recently named one of the hottest artists of 2013 by the Creative Arts Studio of Sea Cliff, Larsen has acquired numerous accolades and is continuing to build up an impressive gallery of beautiful plein air paintings that capture the beauty in the world around him.

Larsen is currently working on a series of paintings for a May exhibit at the Hicksville Public Library. A longtime resident of Hicksville, and graduate of Hicksville High School, Larsen hopes to pay homage to his beloved hometown.

Hicksville-Jericho Rotary News

The Hicksville-Jericho Rotary Club was pleased to have Denward Collins, Jr., past president of the Hicksville Historical Society, speak today about the history of gold beating in Hicksville. Gold beating is the production of gold leaf and was a thriving business in Hicksville between 1850 and 1942.

Gold beating dates back over 5,000 years, to biblical times. Gold was pounded with a round stone to its thinnest possible thickness. The process was mostly unchanged and still done by hand back in the late 19th century. The only difference was that instead of a stone, cast iron hammers weighing between 5 lb. and 18 lb. were used. Gold beaters would swing those hammers for hours until the gold was pounded to 1/250,000 of an inch.

Girl Scout Night March 19

The Brownies of Hicksville Girl Scout Troop #3362 are partnering with Cedar Creek American Bar and Grill in Glen Cove for their first Girl Scout Night. On Tuesday, March 19, from 5 to 9 p.m., the restaurant will present a special chef inspired menu using Girl Scout Cookies. Cedar Creek will donate a portion of the sales to the Troop for their fundraising efforts. Then stop by the Scouts’ table to purchase boxes of cookies to take home, or to have donated to military troops, through Operation Cookie. Reservations for the event are necessary, call 516-656-5656. Visit Cedar Creek’s website for directions: cedarcreekli.com.

Hicksville Brownie Troop #336

GOP Passes Districting Map

Despite protests, Republican map passes legislature

The turbulent redistricting process in Nassau County came to an end last week with a party line vote approving a map drawn up by the Republican majority. But the strong possibility of a lawsuit by those opposed to the new map looms.

Republican legislators were booed by members of the audience as they voted for the GOP map. Critics of the map had held out hope that Legislator Denise Ford, who had voted against a similar Republican map in 2011, would vote against her caucus, but she voted with the majority.  The map passed 10-9.

They Speak Through Sign

Learn this language, and you can

break through the silence

Personal enrichment. Career Advancement. Family concerns. Their reasons may differ but a love of learning is shared by students in Russell Kane’s class in Level One Adult American Sign Language (ASL) at Mill Neck Services in Hicksville.

One couple registered for the class because their six-month-old granddaughter is deaf. Another student is the daughter of parents who are deaf. One woman is a special education teacher and another wants to make a career in the field of deaf education.

Local Lifesaver

Hicksville native and firefighter Doug Chiz knows what it takes to save a life – only in this case, he wasn’t battling a raging inferno.

Chiz was coming to the aid of teenager Angela Rugh, who was battling cancer.

In 2007, Chiz, a 2001 Hicksville High School grad, added his name to the National Bone Marrow Registry as he was finishing his training at the FDNY Probationary Firefighter Academy. All 236 of Chiz’s fellow firefighters added their names to the list, which required only a simple cheek swab, and Chiz was told the odds of being a possible match were slim.

Taxi Turmoil

Hicksville-based Sunset Taxi owner Phil Fortuna is suing the MTA and the Town of Oyster Bay, stating that parking spaces reserved for taxis have been illegally changed.

A 30-year veteran in the taxi industry and president of the Long Island Taxi Transportation Owners, Fortuna said that the MTA (which owns the land) and the town (which formerly controlled use of the space) violated the terms of a lease signed in 1965.