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Hempstead, EPIC LI partner Lifeguards, public safety officers to receive seizure response training Clavin, members of the town board and a handful of lifeguards and public safety offiThe EPIC Family of Human cials joined EPIC’s leadership Service Agencies in East Mead- to announce the training durow is partnering with the Town ing a Feb. 10 news conference at of Hempstead to provide spe- the agency’s headquarters, at cialized training for public 1500 Hempstead Turnpike. The lifeguards safety officers and and public safety lifeguards focused officers receive a on recognizing and breadth of training responding to indiin multiple areas viduals experiencof emergency, but ing a seizure. are not trained on The EPIC Family has been a lifeline how to respond to a for individuals facseizure episode. ing epilepsy, intelW h e n C l av i n lectual disabilities was 16, he said, he and mental health worked as a lifechallenges — offerguard in a pool in ing personaliz ed Va l l e y S t r e a m care and a supportwhen someone had ive community — suffered from a seifor more than six zure, and he did not decades. The agen- MISSY MIllER know how to c y h a s t h r e e Councilwoman respond. branches: EPIC “It was really Town of Hempstead Long Island, which intimidating,” he supports individurecounted. “I was als with disabilities; the Epilep- t r a i n e d f o r d r o w n i n g sy Foundation of Long Island; (response), I trained for CPR, and the South Shore Guidance but I didn’t have (seizure trainCenter, a mental health and ing). This is something that behavioral clinic in Freeport. takes place, and people need to The acronym, EPIC, stands have that training.” for “Extraordinary People In M o re t h a n 3 0 , 0 0 0 L o n g Care.” Continued on page 12 To w n S u p e r v i s o r D o n
By JoRDAN VAlloNE
jvallone@liherald.com
I
Courtesy North Bellmore School District
A fun — and slimy — day of play Students at Martin Avenue Elementary School embraced Global School Play Day earlier this month, an annual tradition in which each class was given time to let loose and take part in unstructured play. Above, second graders Arbion Dedushi, left, and Aidan Stadmeyer had a blast playing with slime. Story, more photos, Page 23.
JFK teens are battling for a cancer cure Paige Seltzer, Emily Kesler, Kayla Indich lead LLS campaign By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Three juniors at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District are teaming up to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2025 Student Visionary program. Through a variety of programs, the trio will raise awareness and funds to support critical blood cancer research and enhance patient services. Paige Seltzer, Emily Kesler and Kayla Indich, all 16, are the leaders of Battle 4 A Cure, and have assembled a team made up of friends and family to support their efforts in this year’s fund-
raising campaign, which officially kicked off on Feb. 6, and will close on March 27. Through personal asks and community engagement, the girls said they hoped to raise $50,000 over the sevenweek campaign. The Student Visionary program is designed specifically for high school students who want to make a meaningful impact in the fight against blood cancers, empowering them to develop and execute their own fundraising campaigns to support LLS’s mission. Kesler told the Herald that she was nominated by a former participant last fall to be a Student Visionary for 2025, and asked LLS if any other students were involved in her community. Both Continued on page 10
think it is so important that we make an active push to raise awareness so that we can get more funding for research.