Wellness Walk

Legislator Judy Jacobs, (D-Woodbury) attended the recent Plainview-Old Bethpage CARES Project PACE NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) Walk sponsored by the Mid Island Jewish Community Center in Plainview. This Wellness Walk was filled with family activities, including face painting and a bouncy house. There was a community expo, a 50/50 raffle, live music and refreshments.

“It is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to come out, walk, get fit and have fun,” said Jacobs.

15 Get Tenure

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education unanimously approved of 15 tenure recommendations during a school board meeting last week. The boardroom was packed with family and friends of each tenure recipient. Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Timothy Eagen commended them for the employees’ “efforts, hard work with our children and professionalism.”

From JFK High School, guidance counselor Christina Rivas-Laline and teachers Owen Dugan, Michael Horun and Jennifer Santorello were recommended; teacher Linda Curran from H.B. Mattlin Middle School and JFK; teacher Amanda Gundling from POB Middle School and H.B. Mattlin Middle School; teacher Rachel Quattrocchi from POB Middle School; teacher Risa Henkel from POB Middle School and JFK High School; teacher Brian Gurney from POB Middle School; social worker Marc Galloway from Parkway School and Old Bethpage School; District Psychologist Jennifer Strangio-Lott, district teacher Jennifer Hoffman; teacher Dina Futterman from Stratford Road School; teacher Tara Gaudreault from Pasadena School and teacher Debra Lovett from Parkway School.

Beechwood Hearing Postponed

The Town of Oyster Bay voted to adjourn without date the hearing pertaining to the application of Plainview Properties and Beechwood POB LLC during a town board meeting last Tuesday, which was originally scheduled for April 29.

The proposed project has drawn both strong opposition and support over the past few years. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto explained that the hearing was adjourned because “there was concern among a significant part of the community that they didn’t have enough time to prepare - the one thing I never want to hear is ‘I didn’t have a full and fair amount of time to be heard.’”

POB Library Receives Fifth Five Star Award

Library Journal, the country’s oldest and most respected publication in the field of library science, recently named the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library a 5-Star Library for the fifth time. Based on data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Plainview-Old Bethpage was rated along with 7,268 libraries across the nation. Overall, the LJ Index scores libraries according to four per capita metrics that demonstrate public service: circulation, visits, program attendance and public Internet use. The top libraries are assigned five, four or three stars. Plainview-Old Bethpage is one of the 30 select libraries earning a 5-star rating in all of the last five editions.

School District Boosts Security

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education approved of a set of security recommendations from the district’s director of security, Nadine Eiring, and its director of facilities during a school board meeting last month, as a response to the recent bombings in Boston.

“School shootings are relatively rare, and the fact that they’re even happening at all is a major concern for every parent, student, teacher administrator, and community member,” Eiring said.  “The safety of our students is paramount to a successful learning environment, and a top priority in our community.”

Plainview Diner Welcomes All

The Plainview Diner is welcoming all residents to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, this year, where co-owners John Papavasilopoulos and Nicholas Kalamaras have operated the neighborhood favorite since 1972.

The diner will have a special Mother’s Day dinner menu, which will feature up to seven items, including steak and fish entrees. Their regular breakfast menu will be served, as well as daily discounts.

A Story Becomes A Book

Gabi Oliva, a third grade student at Old Bethpage Elementary School, was surprised on her birthday Tuesday afternoon when the Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School National Art Honor Society, during their induction ceremony, presented an illustrated book they crafted out of a story Oliva had written titled “Someday.”  

Led by Adrian Kim, who is valedictorian of the class of 2013, Kim said the NAHS took an estimated two months to complete the book, which is 20 pages and features colorful artwork.  Others in the NAHS who worked on the project include  Samantha Sheinwald, Jena Stark, Madeleine Schultz, Samantha Valenza, Christina Billias, Dori Gronich, Ariel Borowsky, Amanda Slomovitz, Farrah Su, Brooke Holoman, & Bing Ying Xia.

Plainview Water: Best Tasting Again?

The Plainview Water District Board of Commissioners announce that the District is celebrating National Drinking Water Week, a nationwide commemoration designed to celebrate the vital role the Earth’s most precious natural resource from May 5 to May 11.

The Plainview Water District will mark the week-long occasion by participating in the Long Island Water Conference’s 28th Annual Best Tasting Water Competition. hThe District is looking to defend its title as the region’s best-tasting water as the District’s water supply was the recipient of the 2012 Best-Tasting Water Award and was a semi-finalist of New York State’s Best-Tasting Water Contest in Syracuse, NY. The competition will be held in the First Stop Café at Farmingdale State College. The Nassau and Suffolk County winners will face-off on a yet to be determined day and time.

Students Celebrate Earth Day

Jen Temkin’s class read a folktale, discussed how the tribe, and we, respect each other, animals and their habitats. They did a writing assignment about this.

Mike Beinert’s class had a weekend assignment of “doing good things” for the earth and shared what they did. Then they explored the history of Earth Day via the Internet; children found interesting facts on Google safe search and shared those facts. One student wrote an Earth Day song that was shared and they all stood by the open windows and sang Happy Earth Day.” He reported that many of his students found the facts about recycling alarming and even discussed the book Silent Spring, which began the Earth Day movement.

‘Empty Bowls’ Filled

Stratford Road Elementary School recently hosted its third annual Empty Bowls Festival. The Empty Bowls Project is a grassroots effort to help feed the hungry. Stratford Road teachers, administrators and staff began planning the event last fall.

Students made homemade clay bowls with the help of artist-in-residence Cliff Mendelson at the school’s Day in Clay. With the direction of their art teacher, Debbie Mittleman, each fourth grader’s clay bowl was painted and fired by another fourth grader. The bowls emphasize the true communal spirit of Empty Bowls, and were used to serve food at the festival.