Officials at the Roslyn School District hoped that the 2004-2005 school year would be marked by, among other positive things, centennial celebrations for Roslyn High School. And some celebrations did take place. But along with that, the district and the entire Roslyn area were sent reeling by an embezzlement scandal.

The scandal remains under investigation by both the Nassau County District Attorney's office and the state's Comptroller's office. So far, close to $8 million may have been embezzled from several school district budgets.

Funds allegedly stolen by Pamela Gluckin, the district's former assistant superintendent for business, started the investigation. In the meantime, the sum total of the "suspicious transactions" continued to grow in number.

In early June, Dr. Frank A. Tassone, the longtime superintendent of the district resigned and was soon charged with grand larceny, as was Ms. Gluckin. Stories began filtering out about funds allegedly stolen for such expenditures as jewelry, furniture, rent bills, cruises, and trips to Las Vegas and Great Britain.

The embezzlement scandal became news in the entire metropolitan area, as mass circulation publications such as The New York Times and New York ran long feature stories on the school district and its troubles.

As a result, the board of education underwent a major shakeup. Within a few short months, the board had almost an entirely new look. Only three members----William Costigan, Pat Schissel and Maryanne Combs---remain from the pre-scandal board. Costigan, for instance, resigned his position as board president and announced that he would not seek re-election in 2005.

In the spring and summer, two board members, Michael Barkan and Ellen Seigel, both resigned their positions. In the May election, Ronna Niederman declined to run for re-election. Karen Bodner, the other board member up for re-election, ran and was defeated in a bid for another term.

In the May election, Stanley Stern and Judith Wilner were the two top vote getters in a field of five candidates. In July, Stern was voted by fellow board members to replace William Costigan as the board president, while Ms. Wilner was elected vice president.

Then, in October, a special election was held to fill the vacancies created by the Barkan and Seigel resignations. The winners of that election were Dani Kline and Clifford Saffron.

The scandal went beyond board members and the superintendent. In May, the 2004-2005 school budget was defeated by a 2,012 to 1,476 vote. A revised budget passed in July. In November, Dr. Jayson Stoller resigned as Roslyn High School principal, ending a decade-long tenure at the high school. He was replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Francis Banta. Before that, David Helme was appointed as interim superintendent.

Finally, in late October, Debra Rigano, a former account clerk for the district was also charged with grand larceny.

The scandal was not, of course, the only news story of the year.

In April, voters in the Roslyn School District rejected a $15 million bond, one designed to make significant renovations to the Bryant Library. There was opposition to the bond from both the Roslyn Heights Civic Association and the Roslyn Landmark Society. Public anger with the deepening embezzlement scandal also may have affected the vote.

In East Hills, the big news story of the year was the much anticipated groundbreaking on The Park at East Hills. In September, up to 3,000 people traveled to the village to take part in Groundbreaking Day festivities. For the coming year, village officials hope that the senior lounge is completed by the spring, with tennis courts, the tennis lounge, basketball courts, and jogging and nature trails finished by the summer. In the winter of 2005, village officials are hopeful that the athletic fields and children's playgrounds, plus the picnic areas, dog park, paths, parking areas, and landscaping are all completed. Finally, the summer of 2006 should see the completion of the pool and locker rooms.

On the perennial traffic front, The Bridge Task Force, a body made up of local residents, began expressing their unhappiness with the way the State Department of Transportation is conducting the Roslyn viaduct bridge renovation.

The task force is protesting a plan that would keep only three lanes of traffic open on the bridge during a renovation project that is scheduled to start later this year and last up to 30 months. The task force has even threatened legal action.

In Roslyn Harbor, the DOT did manage to install a left-turn signal at the intersection of Glen Cove Road and Back Road, thus reducing the number of automobile accidents that had been plaguing that intersection for months.

Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi got involved in another local traffic problem. In February, he unveiled a Glen Cove Road and Northern Boulevard Intersection and Improvement Project, one designed to explore possible solutions to ease the traffic flow in what is the county's most highly trafficked north/south intersection.

As far as local personalities are concerned, it appeared for a while that Roslyn might produce a future First Lady of the United States, or at least the spouse of the Democratic Party's standard-bearer.

As Vermont Governor Howard Dean moved into front-runner status for the Democratic Party's presidential nominations, stories surfaced on his wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg Dean who, as it turned out, is a native of Roslyn and a 1971 graduate of Roslyn High School. Mrs. Dean's idiosyncrasies--she preferred staying in Vermont and tending to her patients rather than being on the road with her husband---made news at least until her husband's presidential campaign fell flat after defeats in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, Jason Kleinman, a Roslyn resident and U.S. Army private received time off from his duty in Iraq to join his family for the Christmas holidays. While he was home, Pvt. Kleinman received a citation from the Nassau County legislature.

In April, Dr. Henry Viscardi, founder of the National Center for Disability Services in Albertson and one of the nation's most highly respected pioneers for the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, died at age 91.

Finally, in October, two prominent figures from Roslyn's recent past, Dr. and Mrs. Roger Gerry, were the subject of a biography by Ellen Fletcher Russell. Roslyn Restored: The Legacy of Roger & Peggy Gerry was published by Mount Ida Press in Albany and included numerous photos, many taken by Ray Jacobs, another longtime Roslyn mainstay.