Baldwin
WHEN YOU’RE HAVING AN “OUT OF MON EXPERIENCE” EY
HERALD
DEADLINE APR IL 30TH
Messages of hope for seniors
SupplI advances to national ranks
Page 16
Page 10
Vol. 27 No. 15
APRIl 9 - 15, 2020
THE LEADER IN PROPERTY TA X REDUCTION
Sign up today. It Apply online at only takes seconds. m or call 516.479. ptrg.com/herald 9176
Hablamos Espa ñol
18/21 itc FG Demi Condensed Page xx
Maidenbaum Pro perty Tax Redu ction Group, LLC 483 Chestnut Str eet, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
$1.00
Checking out federal loans Small businesses scramble to survive By BRIDGeT DowNeS bdownes@liherald.com
Christina Daly/Herald
The daily update Speaking last Saturday afternoon, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran reported 11 deaths overnight from the coronavirus. At press time on Monday, the state reported that 381 people in the county had died. “We mourn every loss,” Curran said.
Millions of Americans have filed for unemployment in recent weeks as Covid-19 spreads across the country, and small business owners are scrambling to stay afloat. About 10 million employees have been laid off as states like New York have closed “nonessential” businesses to slow the rate of coronavirus infection. Many businesses, including a number in Baldwin, are seeking loans during what is a tough time for small local companies. The Paycheck Protection Program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package enacted by the federal government, offers companies and nonprofit organizations
loans to cover payroll and other expenses. Ron Gerchen, who owns Ferring Deli in Baldwin with two partners, Paul Dolan and Thomas Martensen, said he was applying for a loan through the program. The deli remains open, with limited service. “We’re in the process of getting that going right now with my accountant,” Gerchen said. “If it works, it should really help out small businesses.” In some cases, the loan would be forgiven if the borrower retains its employees and does not cut wages. “Basically you can get almost a whole loan forgiven if you use it for certain things,” Gerchen Continued on page 5
Back from Peace Corps amid a pandemic By BRIDGeT DowNeS bdownes@liherald.com
Baldwin resident Tim Koch was supposed to serve with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia until September 2021, but the global outbreak of Covid-19 cut his trip short. He returned home to his f a m i ly i n m i d - M a rch , reducing to nine months what was supposed to be a 27-month posting. The a g e n cy a n n o u n c e d o n March 15 that it would suspend volunteer operations and evacuate all volunteers from their locations. “It was an interesting experience, but I under-
stand the rationale and everything,” Koch said of needing to pack up and leave early. The 27-year-old left for Ethiopia last June, stayed with a host family for three months while he trained to be an education volunteer, was sworn into the corps and then posted in Uka, in western Oromia, to begin his work teaching English to local students. As he acclimated and immersed himself in a new culture, he worked on learning the local langua g e, Af aan Oromo. An email from the Peace Corps on March 17 cut Koch’s adventure short.
“We had to prepare our things to get ready to go, but at that time it seemed like there was a longer timeline,” he recounted. “Then we had received a more urgent email that said we had to head to the capital as soon as possible, like a few days later.” Despite there being only a few cases of Covid-19 in his region at first, the situation was rapidly developing around the world, and especially in the U.S. “The health, safety and security of volunteers are the highest priorities of the Peace Corps,” agency officials said in a statement posted on the Peace Corps
website. “As Covid-19 continues to spread and international travel becomes more and more challenging by the day, we are acting now to protect the health of volunteers and prevent a situation where volunteers are unable to leave their host countries and return to the United States.” “The Peace Corps had to think of our safety first, so this was the necessary thing that had to happen, and I don’t feel scorned or something like that,” Koch said. “I’m happy that I did it, regardless of the ending.” Because he was far from the capital, Addis Ababa, it
was a two-day jour ney there via a domestic flight and a bus. “I had done that a number of times before,” he said, “so that wasn’t too stressful.” Then he boarded a flight home to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Now he is self-quarantining for two weeks, as instructed. Typically, returned volunteers undergo physical examinations to check the status of their health, but Koch said he was unable to get one. Now he is trying to have medical and dental exams done here, but it’s “kind of impossible at the Continued on page 3