Friday, November 25, 2016
Vol. 93, No.11
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Twain defeated PAGE 45 n County champions PAGE 62
Heated debate on changes to village building codes
STATE COMPETITORS
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
Garden City residents in attendance for the Board of Trustees’ meeting on Thursday, November 17 saw the culmination of two processes that have been building for the past year: preliminary recommendations from the Mayor’s Committee on Building Code Changes, presented by the committee representative James L. Bauer of Huntington Road, and strong opposition to the proposals. The contrast was most obvious on the Board of Trustees’ dais, seated next to each other, as comments from Trustee Robert Bolebruch and Deputy Mayor Brian C. Daughney challenged the validity of what the mayor’s committee is attempting to do. The lone procedural accomplishment with respect to the proposed code changes was setting a total of three public hearings for three code changes at the next Trustees’ meeting, on Thursday, December 1 at 8pm inside Village Hall. Each recommendation is detailed on the village website under “Proposed Local Laws – December 1, 2016” in the central, prominent Village Notifications and Alerts section. Mayor Episcopia promised that the village will “publish the information everywhere we See page 28
The Garden City High School girls swimming and diving team had its best finish ever in New York State Championships held at Ithaca last week. Above, the States Team with Coach Anne Sullivan: Elizabeth Fetherston, Olivia Ragusa, Rose Kelly, Melody Pompay, Gabriella Meringolo, Katie Lew, Mia Bonvissuto, Alana Brown, Lauren Kuzma. See page 64.
GCHS studies change to start time BY RIKKI N. MASSAND At its meeting on Tuesday, November 15th, the Garden City Board of Education discussed an ongoing investigation into moving the morning start time at Garden City High School to a later time due to research and findings about teenage cognitive function in relation to time of day. In his report to the school board Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen said since the board meet-
ing in mid-October, the High School Starting Time steering committee, including parents, students, GCUFSD administrators and High School Principal Nanine McLaughlin met to look ahead. Each school building has its own site-based committee to work with the district on the initiative’s potential. At the June school board meeting, McLaughlin provided an overview of the discussions and why the consideration is taking place. At the
time, Dr. Feirsen relayed how the transportation issues the district would need to address were evolving. Bus scheduling and coordination with lower grades based on starting time lingers as the most cost-related and calculable aspect of the school day. Steps have been taken this fall beyond having the concept presented to the school board and community. Collecting data that can potentially impact district financial deciSee page 27
With testing complete, schools plan lead remediation BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
After lead was found in Garden City school district water at multiple buildings and sources during the fall, the Garden City school district appears to have its orders for correcting potential water and health-related problems. At the November 15 school board meeting, the district announced that it has concluded testing on water sources including sinks Dr. Feirsen describes as “slop sinks” where mops are wrung out and floor washing water is obtained. He explained that from the custodial staff to the administration, it’s believed that nobody has tried to drink water from such water locations in many years. But after water from drinking spots such as fountains in the new wing at Homestead School were found to contain lead, results caused concern and the Nassau County Department of Health “decided” that the district had to test almost every source of water it has. “First we tested the places people usually get drinking water from including water fountains and faucets, and we found a few spots See page 28
GC Recreation wraps up roller hockey season PAGE 61 Community Park turf project reaches design phase PAGE 63