________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Elder scam alert in Nassau County
Scarfing clams for a good cause
Celebrating the Irish spirit
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Vol. 26 No. 35
AUGUST 22 - 28, 2024
$1.00
JSCA kicks off back to school with giveaway through, so giving a backpack is just phenomenal, to see them give that little smile when they With the start of school on receive it.” This year, the volunteers the horizon, a backpack giveaway hosted by the Jamaica with JSCA assembled 718 backpacks containing marble noteSquare Civic Association of Elmont saw more than 400 stu- books, pencils, crayons, markdents received bags filled with ers, rulers, glue sticks, scissors and other basic school supplies at school supplies that Hendrickson Aveelementary school nue Park on Aug. children need. 10. H o w e v e r, t h e r e The fourth annuwere approximateal event, coordinatly 300 backpacks ed by the Jamaica left at the end of Square Civic Assothe event that had ciation, supplied ElIzABETH not been handed b a c k p a c k s a n d WEllINGToN out. school supplies for JSCA Board member “We’ll definitely students in the use those for next Elmont school disyear,” JSCA president Claudine trict. A coordinated effort of volunteers assisted in donating, Hall said. “And I’ll be getting assembling the backpacks with calls throughout the week. I’ll supplies, and the distribution meet them at the park and give them a backpack.” to the students. Many groups contributed to “In my heart and in my soul, I feel very, very, very, very the backpack and school supply happy to know I can change giveaway. The Emanuel Baptist someone’s life,” said Elizabeth Church family, Class of ‘84 Wellington, who works for Nas- Sewanhaka High School alumsau County Human Rights and ni, employees at Town of Hempstead, the Retired Teachsits on the JSCA Board of Directors at the civic associa- ers of Elmont Union Free tion. “These little kids always School District, Sewanhaka need to smile. And we don’t High School teachers, elemenk n ow wh at t h e y ’ re g o i n g Continued on page 5
By REI WolFSoHN
Correspondent
T
hese little kids always need to smile.
Courtesy Peter Latorre
peter Latorre, a five-year veteran of the Marine Corps, decided that he would pursue a career as a mental health counselor for fellow veterans.
Elmont Marine veteran takes on boxing, counseling By NIColE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
Peter Latorre, an Elmont native who graduated from Sewanhaka High School in 2015, has taken on new frontiers, as a boxer and an aspiring mental health counselor for veterans after serving in the Marine Corps. Latorre, 26, was a Marine from 2015 to 2019, and was honorably discharged from Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina, where he was a corporal. He earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Nassau Community College in 2021, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hofstra University this
year. When he was stationed in Japan during his last deployment, his fellow service members knew where they could find him — hitting the heavy bag in the mixed martial arts room. When he returned home in 2020, he found a boxing home for himself at the Westbury Boxing Club, with his coach, Joe Gadgian. He now lives in Lynbrook. On Aug. 6, at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee, Latorre won his first official bout, over fellow welterweight Dustin Garret, who was also making his boxing debut, with a first-round knockContinued on page 4