INCORPORATING THE WEST HEMPSTEAD BEACON VOL. 75 No. 50
Second Class Postage paid at Post office at Hempstead, N.Y. 11550
December 11 – 17, 2025
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Cradle of Aviation welcomes Katie Ledecky Olympic swimming gold medalist is a Catholic Health ambassador By ALYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
Courtesy Shamel Harris/Pics in the Moment
the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season didn’t stop Santa Claus from making a stop in Hempstead village.
Chill winds fail to dim holiday spirit
Catholic Health joined teamed up last week with the legendary swimmer Katie Ledecky, a world record holder and a 14-time Olympic medalist, for a presentation at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. Ledecky, a New York Times bestselling author and the most decorated female swimmer in history, spoke to nearly 250 area Catholic middle and high school students, many of them swimmers, on Dec. 1. Welcomed by Andy Parton, president of the Cradle of Aviation, they crowded into the museum’s Catholic Health Sky Theater Planetarium to listen to Ledecky’s discussion with Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, president and CEO of Catholic Health, the nonprofit health care system. Ledecky was just 15, and the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team, when
she won her first gold medal at the 2012 Games in London. “I can think of no better human being than Katie Ledecky to personally inspire us with her journey,” O’Shaughnessy said. She shared some of the highlights of that journey, and discussed her role, since July, as a health and wellness ambassador for Catholic Health. She graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic school in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2015. “And I think I just really love all the messaging and the support that Catholic Health gives to this community, and the resources that you provide, and the opportunities — and, of course, the health care as well,” Ledecky told O’Shaughnessy. “So just to help spread that message and be a voice for healthy living, it’s such a great match, and I’m happy that this relationship has brought me here today, and we have a lot more on the horizon.” COntinued On Page 4
Students shine with songs and dance By REINE BETHANY Special to the HERALD
Near-freezing temperatures and a Nordic wind didn’t keep an enthusiastic crowd from celebrating the start of the holiday season at the annual tree and menorah lighting outside Hempstead Village Hall on Dec. 4. Hempstead’s state-of-the-art mobile stage staunchly spanned James A. Garner Way. Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr., Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels, Trustee William Whitaker, Legislator Olena Nicks, and Board of Education Trustee Joylette Williams each briefly greeted the crowd. Twenty-five third-to-fifth-grade students from Rhodes Academy Elementary School filed onto the stage and stood calm-
ly while their music director, Courtney Dunn, named the upcoming events for which the children had prepared. “They have been working so hard to prepare for this event,” said Dunn, “and for their winter concert on December 17 at 3:45 at Rhodes Academy (270 Washington St.). They’re also going to be performing at the Winter Wonderland on December 13 at Hempstead High School.” The children then belted out “My Favorite Things,” in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the movie release of “The Sound of Music,” and romped through a medley called “Winter Fantasy.” The audience clapped and cheered. The crowd reaction was no less enthusiastic when several young dancers from Joseph A. McNeil School, with unflagging COntinued On Page 3
Alyssa R. Griffin/Herald
Katie Ledecky and dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy discussed her partnership with Catholic Health as a health and wellness ambassador.