Friday, November 18, 2016
Vol. 93, No.10
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Off to the finals PAGE 66 n 13 inning thriller PAGE 65
HS Baseball gets new leaders, EEOC to review age discrimination claim
CHRISTMAS IS COMING
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND After 44 years at the helm and several months of uproar over the treatment of a recognized sports leader in the village, ‘official word’ signaling the end of Rich Smith’s era as GCHS baseball head coach came through a 4-0 board vote (with one board member absent) on Tuesday night, November 15 at Stratford School. Dave Izzo, the former JV baseball coach, was approved as the new varsity head coach and Ray Chaputian was approved as assistant varsity baseball coach during the monthly school board meeting. Although several former GCHS baseball players as well as current players and their parents have written Letters to the Editor, posted comments online, emailed school officials and attended board of education meetings from June through August seeking answers about the way in which the district decided to move on from Coach Smith, the vote was uncontested and no more about the baseball coaches was spoken at the board meeting. No member of the community out of a dozen See page 28
Check gifts off your list as you shop Friday Dec. 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and again in the evening at the “Sip and Shop” from 6 - 9 p.m., all in the St. Joseph School gym (entrance at 4th Street and Franklin Ave). There will be festive treats and raffles as well. Don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots! (Vendors please contact president@sjspta.com)
Board denies tax exemption for firefighters BY RIKKI N. MASSAND At the board of education’s monthly meeting held Tuesday night, November 15 at Stratford School a proposal to provide a tax exemption for certain residents was discussed. Garden City Fire Chief William Castoro had emailed School Board President Angela Heineman earlier this month to request, on behalf of the volunteer firefighters who live in Garden City, for
the school board to grant firefighters a property tax exemption. That idea did not resonate with the board, but elaboration on reasons against tax exemptions continued from prior school years when exemptions came up, with one prominent example. “They (firefighters) already receive a 10 percent property tax exemption from Nassau County as well as from the village. They are asking the school board to consider granting volunteer fire-
fighters who reside in Garden City with the same exemption,” Heineman announced Tuesday night. Before the new request for firefighters was denied by lack of any board motion or resolution, Heineman explained the history of requests for “status-based tax exemptions” that have come before the school district in the past few years, most notably with the Alternative Veteran’s Tax Exemption, last discussed at See page 45
School Board faces another coaching controversy BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
There’s more ‘to wrestle with’ as far as hiring coaches in Garden City go as the ultimate icon of wrestling in the village was denied a chance to impact the 2016-2017 GCHS wrestling program and instead, a novice was appointed as assistant coach at the school board’s November 15 meeting despite residents in attendance delivering their concerns to the board. Dave Foxen -- the only All-American wrestler to hail from Garden City’s school district – was at Tuesday’s meeting with his wife Leslie, and he followed three other parents who spoke to the school board about the decision to hire Brad Hepworth as the varsity wrestling assistant coach for the current season, which started on November 7. Foxen was a U.S. National Team wrestler in the 1970s, but first he’s a village lifer: a 1970 graduate of Garden City High whose mother graduated from the same school in 1942. He currently is an assistant wrestling coach for Port Washington High School, where he’s worked for the past seven seasons, and prior to that he was an assistant at nearby Chaminade until 2009. The Foxens currently have a son in high school wrestling as well. See page 28
West End Tree Lighting planned for December 2nd PAGE 20 GC Foundation plans pre-tree lighting celebration PAGE 18