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HERALD
Your Home is Your Sanctua ry.
Don’t Let High Ta Chase You Away!xes
DEADLINE MARCH 31ST
library holds Hindu festival
High school musicians excel
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Vol. 26 No. 12
MARCH 19 - 25, 2026
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Helping veterans step by step Building Homes for Heroes to host 5K in Eisenhower Park By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Mike Monahan/Herald file
Runners will have an opportunity to hit the pavement in Eisenhower Park on April 4 for a good cause in an upcoming 5K hosted by Building Homes for Heroes, an Island Park-based nonprofit.
Building Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit dedicated to providing mortgage-free homes for injured veterans, first responders and their families, is gearing up to host its second annual 5K Walk/Run at Eisenhower Park on April 4. The Long Island-based organization, which has significant national reach, is hoping to continue raising funds and spreading awareness for its mission and cause. With origins that trace back to the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center, Building Homes for Heroes’ founder Andy Pujol, a businessman and philanthropist, volunteered in search and rescue efforts at Ground Zero. As the U.S. responded overseas, Pujol wanted to find a way to support wounded veterans returning from service. Building Homes for Heroes was born with the hope ContInuEd on PAgE 11
Pitching legend Frank Viola returns to East Meadow By SEAN KENNEDY Correspondent
MLB pitching legend Frank Viola retur ned to his alma m at e r E a s t M e a d ow H i g h School on March 9, when the school commemorated its great student-athletes of both the past and present who earned honors at the annual Winter Awards Night. Viola, a 1978 graduate who played for the high school’s baseball team, is one of the most esteemed alumni to come out of East Meadow. Pitching for the 1987 champion Minnesota Twins, he was named the World Series MVP,
and a year later, he earned the prestigious American League Cy Young Award, given to the most outstanding pitcher. After three All-Star appearances and a legendary playing career, Viola returned to the place he called home throughout his childhood. “I had a lot of great things happen, all because of baseball,” Viola, nicknamed “Sweet Music” throughout his career, told a packed auditorium during awards night. “But baseball would’ve never happened, if it weren’t for East Meadow High School.” On a night when student-athletes competing in winter
sports were recognized for earning All-Conference, AllCounty, and other honors, they did so alongside an East Meadow legend. “I feel like we do a great job here, recognizing our athletes and also honoring our past,” William Brennan, the high school’s principal, said. “That’s why we brought (Viola) back — when you have an award-winning baseball player speaking to our kids, it’s truly incredible.” After the students received their awards, Billy O’Connor, the high school’s head baseball coach and a teacher there, who is a few years younger than Viola, described how he idol-
ized the first player to be drafted professionally out of East Meadow. “As kids, going up to the local high school games, (Viola) was our guy,” O’Connor said. “He was the guy that my entire grade looked up to. (The baseball team) got to meet him today in our practice, and I don’t think (Viola) understands
the impact of that on all of us.” After graduating from high school in 1978, Viola, now 65, elected to forego being selected in the MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals, instead accepting a scholarship to St. John’s University. After a 26-2 record pitching for the Red Storm, the Twins selected Viola in the 1981 ContInuEd on PAgE 5