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This year’s Brumidi Lodge Scholarship winners Page 11 VOL. 75 NO. 27
‘No Kings’ rally in Babylon Town
Pride Parade
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JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2025
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Suffolk County officials honored By CHRISTIE LEIGH BABIRAD cbabirad@liherald.com
Christie Leigh Babirad/Herald
Trudy Fitzsimmons, chairwoman for Vision Long Island; Hon. Edward Romaine, Suffolk County Executive; Hon. Kevin McCaffrey, Suffolk County Presiding Officer; Tawaun Whitty, Co-Director at Vision Long Island; and Misolino Silva, Small Business Outreach Director at Vision Long Island.
The Crest Hollow Country Club was filled to capacity June 18 as Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey and S.C. Exec. Ed Romaine were among those honored at the 24th annual Smart Growth Awards, hosted by Vision Long Island. The two lawmakers were recognized for their efforts in bringing forward the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act. The Act includes bills creating a fund to restore clean water by connecting homes and businessCONTINUED ON PAGE 11
Babylon educators celebrate students and teachers as school ends By ALENA BERENBLATT Correspondent
The Babylon Board of Education closed out the 2024-25 school year with a celebratory meeting on June 9, recognizing students, teachers, and administrators for their achievements and contributions. Village Mayor Mary Adams joined the event to help honor the winners of the inaugural Babylon Village Driver Safety Video Contest. The student-led initiative promoted awareness of the new 25-mph speed limit within the village. “To advertise this new speed limit to our community, we thought, who better to help us
than our students?” said Superintendent of Schools Carisa Manza. “One of our goals on the Board of Education is to amplify students’ voices and to have our students take on active leadership roles. We were really impressed with our students’ submissions.” The contest was funded through a grant supporting safe driving initiatives, and prizes were awarded to the top submissions. A third-grade team calling themselves the “Babylon Guardians” — Kaiyah Tacahashi, Angela Scollan, Emma Rugolo, Claire Maebara, Julia Aldous and Lily Allard — earned first place and a $500 prize. Second place and $250 went to second
grader Leila Gonzalez, while 12th grader Alexander Minicozzi won $150 for third place. The winning video was shared with the school community via ParentSquare. The board also honored five retiring educators, who collectively devoted 158 years to the district: •Donna Hendrickson taught grades 2 through 6 over 32 years. •Nancy Murphy taught grades 2, 3, and 5 for 31 years. •Teresa Collins, director of English Language Arts, served 27 of her 31 years in Babylon. •Linda Fama, director of mathematics and a Babylon alumna, taught for 34 years in multiple districts including Bab-
ylon. •Angela Turk taught band to students in grades 4 through 12 during her 32-year tenure. Manza performed a song written to honor the retirees, who received a standing ovation from the packed audience. “We thank you so much for your service, and we wish you all the best in your retirement years,” Manza said.
Newly tenured faculty and staff were also recognized. Officially granted tenure at a prior meeting, the honorees were celebrated by their principals and the superintendent: •Elementary School: Teacher assistants Krista Metzger and Gina Ramalho, and guidance counselor Kristen Scheriff. •Grade School: Speech-lanCONTINUED ON PAGE 6