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BaBylon _______________
HERALD BEaCon
Also serving Babylon, Bay Shore, Copiague, Deer Park, Farmingdale, Lindenhurst, North Babylon, West Babylon, West Islip and Wyandanch
Lindy officials stand with firefighters
Bradley named Babylon AOH prez
Obituary: Carol Ann Sandick
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VOL. 60 NO. 4
FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2026
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TOB to add names to 9/11 Memorial Families asked to apply for those who died from related illnesses By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
Community gathers at Babylon’s 9/11 Memorial for services last year.
Photo/Herald newspaper
The Town of Babylon is accepting applications for inclusion in its Post-9/11 Memorial, honoring residents and individuals with ties to the town who later died from illnesses linked to exposure during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Town officials said the application process is intended to enCONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Lindenhurst school district proposes $57.8 million bond By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
Voters in the Lindenhurst school district will be asked to decide on a $57.8 million bond proposal to fund major building and infrastructure projects across the district — the first such bond referendum since 2017. Voting for the bond will in May along with the trustee election and budget vote. District officials say the proposal focuses on health, safety and long-deferred repairs, while limiting the tax impact by aligning the borrowing with retiring district debt. “It’s been nearly a decade since we’ve had a bond for major repairs — the longest stretch
in about 30 years,” said William Ludeker, the district’s assistant superintendent for business. Ludeker said the district hired architectural firm BBS two years ago to conduct a comprehensive facilities study, which identified approximately $193 million in recommended improvements districtwide. “After carefully reviewing all of those projects, we prioritized them and included only the items we believed were critical,” he said. Projects were ranked by urgency, with health and safety needs receiving the highest priority. Work that could be deferred was removed from the proposal to keep costs down, Ludeker said.
“We put off the work we could put off in order to be fiscally responsible and keep the tax impact low,” he said. One of the largest components of the bond is the purchase and installation of air-conditioning units for classrooms, driven by a new state law taking effect Sept. 1, 2025. The law requires schools to relocate students and staff from classrooms when temperatures reach 88 degrees or higher, and to take mitigation steps — such as using fans or closing blinds — when temperatures reach 82 degrees. Ludeker said those requirements can be disruptive to instruction. “Moving students to a gym
or other space raises questions about capacity and supervision,” he said, adding that the district faced similar challenges earlier this school year. School officials said the district has paid off a significant amount of older debt in recent years, helping to offset the financial impact of the proposed bond. If approved, the bond would increase the real property tax rate by about 1.5 percent, or $3.94
per $100 of assessed value, beginning in the 2028-29 school year. The district estimates the average homeowner would see an annual increase of $132.34. Since existing debt will continue to retire, taxpayers are not expected to see additional net increases for the remaining 14 years of the bond term, which runs through the 2042-43 school year. Superintendent Vincent A. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8