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Friday, April 4, 2025
Vol. 84, No. 14
SERVING BETHPAGE, OLD BETHPAGE, AND PLAINVIEW
Town “Dune Day” draws record number of volunteers
MacArthur HS student finishes in 6th place in national competition BY GARY SIMEONE
Councilman Tom Hand (right), Councilman Andrew Monteleone (center) with volunteers from Cub Pack 338. The Town of Oyster Bay hosted its Dune Stabilization Day at TOBAY Beach, drawing record crowds to plant hundreds of stalks of dune grass to help protect the shoreline. This hands-on environmental initiative helps stabilize beach dunes by planting dune grass, which serves as a natural shield against storm surges
and erosion. Strong dunes mean a stronger coastline, protecting TOBAY Beach for generations to come. Dune Day is a fun and rewarding experience for families, school groups, and environmentally conscious residents. Volunteers worked alongside Town officials, including Councilman Lou Imbroto, Councilman Tom
Hand, and Councilman Andrew Monteleone, learning firsthand how simple actions can have a lasting impact on coastal preservation. For information on future environmental volunteer efforts, visit www.oysterbaytown.com/ volunteer.
The Bethpage Newsgram is published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Telephone 931-0012 - USPS 3467-68. Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Bethpage Newsgram, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208, Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris Publisher
It has been a whirlwind of a school year for a MacArthur High School senior who was chosen as a finalist for a renowned science competition. Melody Hong was named a finalist in the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search, a national science research competition for high school students. The gifted student recently earned sixth place in the national competition. For the talent search, Hong submitted her research project, which was entitled “A Bayesian Exploration into more Flexible Trans-Methylation Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping.” The project gleaned the results of statistical analyses to measure and identify genetic variants of complex diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Type I diabetes. Her analysis was to better study and understand how genes control certain diseases. Hong was one of over forty semifinalists from Long Island in the competition, which boasted more participants than any other region in the country. “I thought it would just be great to become part of such a really talented community of young people,” Hong said at a
recent school interview. The talented teen started on the project before her junior year and in June of 2024, she applied for the Regeneron talent search. On January 8th of this year, she was named a semifinalist and received a $2,000 scholarship for the school. Last month, Hong received even better recognition when she learned she placed sixth in the nation in the competition and won $80,000 prize money. Joe Sheehan, principal of MacArthur High School, said he was extremely proud of Melody’s accomplishment and that she has a bright future in store for her. See page 12
Melody Hong
Fire department installs new officers PAGE 3 STEAM Night brings learning to life PAGE 17