Don’t Miss Your HERALD — it’s insiDe! _________________ bellmore ________________
Graduation Keepsake
HERALD
Edition
June 25, 2026
GRADUATES
Meet the
2026
Vol. 29 No. 26
The World Cup arrives in Nassau
Hoppin’ for frogs in the classroom
Page 10
Page 15
JuNE 25 - July 1, 2026
$1.00
Local extends softball career in Puerto Rico the first time. Guerrero, a former standout at Mepham, has been playeding W h e n H a i l e y G u e r r e r o softball since she was 7 years boarded a plane to Puerto Rico old. She attended Martin Aveearlier this summer, the Bell- nue Elementary School and more native wasn’t sure she Grand Avenue Middle School before starring at Mepham, was making the right decision. The 22-year-old Mepham where she helped the Pirates High School graduate had just win multiple county championcompleted her collegiate soft- ships and establish themselves ball career at Iona among Nassau University and was County’s elite propreparing for the grams. next chapter of her After graduating life. Then an unexin 2022, Guerrero pected opportunity be g an her collearrived — an invitagiate career at tion to play profesStony Brook Unisional softball in versity before Puerto Rico. transferring to At first, GuerreIona, where she ro wasn’t convinced completed her she should go. degree this spring. HAIlEy GuERRERo “I literally cried Like many colat first,” she said. “I Bellmore lege athletes, Guerwas not going to do rero expected her it, and everyone I talked to was competitive playing career to like, ‘You have to go. You’ll end after graduation. never have this opportunity “I was supposed to actually again.’” stop playing,” she said. “SoftNow, just weeks later, Guer- ball has been my whole life, and rero is helping lead Juncos, one I realized how much I would of Puerto Rico’s top softball miss it.” clubs, toward the league playThe opportunity to continue offs while discovering a deeper playing came through connecconnection to her Puerto Rican tions she made during her colheritage and learning what it lege career. A former teammate means to live independently for Continued on page 2
By HERNESTo GAlDAMEZ
hgaldamez@liherald.com
Holden Leeds/Herald
Bellmore Chamber’s block party blasts off Local band “Pour some 80’s on me” performed at the Bellmore Block Party on June 18, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores. Story, photos, Page 3.
OBITUARY
Susan Gruen Helsinger, philanthropist, realtor and heart health advocate dies at 75 By HERNESTo GAlDAMEZ hgaldamez@liherald.com
Susan Gruen Helsinger, a Merrick philanthropist, real estate leader and advocate for children’s heart health whose foundation helped identify potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions in Long Island students, died June 15. Helsinger, a former president of the Long Island Board of Realtors and the Herald’s 2016 Person of the Year, spent more than four decades transforming personal tragedy into a mission that touched countless lives across Long Island. After the sudden death of her 15-year-old son, Jason Gruen, from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 1985, Helsinger founded the Jason Gruen Foundation to support cardiac research, hospital programs and early detection efforts aimed at preventing similar tragedies. The foundation became a driving force behind
pediatric heart-health initiatives on Long Island, helping fund children’s heart centers at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Cohen Children’s Medical Center, supporting research into cardiac abnor malities and bringing heart screenings to local schools. Beginning in 2006, Helsinger worked to establish voluntary cardiac screening programs for middle school students, first in the BellmoreMerrick Central High School District and later in other districts across Long Island. The screenings helped identify dozens of children with heart abnormalities, some of them life-threatening, allowing families to seek treatment before a medical emergency occurred. For her efforts, Helsinger was named the Herald’s Person of the Year in 2016. A former nurse and entrepreneur, Helsinger built several successful businesses before enterContinued on page 11
I
think the biggest adjustment for me was the sense of independence.