Franklin Square/Elmont
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school officials talk reopening
Panel discusses higher education
Protesters demand answers
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Vol. 22 no. 35
aUgUsT 27 - sePTeMBeR 2, 2020
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Throwing a strike at Covid Bowling alleys, gyms reopen By Melissa Koenig, naKeeM gRanT and KaRen BlooM mkoenig@liherald.com
■ A new air-filtration system. ■ Ultraviolet lights to sanitize the register and employees’ masks.
Diane Horowitz was dropping off some supplies at Dani’s ■ 40 gallons of sanitizing alcoStrike Zone, in Elmont, on Aug. hol. 15 — the first day she ventured out into the community since ■ 1,700 cleaning wipes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York Horowitz also on Pause order bought a vacuum went into effect in to clean newly March — when installed carpetone of her ing, washed the employees said, ball-return equip“You must be so ment, waxed the h ap py. ” T h at ’s floors, put plastic how Horowitz wrap around the found out that Diane HoRoWiTz vending machine bowling alleys Owner, Dani’s Strike Zone and lane consoles, would be allowed and equipped to reopen the folemployees with lowing Monday, according to bags containing hand sanitizer, another announcement from the face shields, masks and gloves. governor. “I did everything that I could Fortunately, Horowitz, who possibly think of,” Horowitz owns the Strike Zone, was pre- said. “I just want everyone to be pared. She spent the nearly six safe.” months that it was closed orderThe renovations weren’t ing a slew of safety measures for cheap, however, and Horowitz its grand reopening, including: said her bills have been “unbe■ Plexiglas shields for the front lievable.” She closed the alley desk and tables. about a week before Cuomo’s
i
did everything that I could possibly think of.
Christina Daly/Herald
a smokin’ hot presentation “Vote for me and there will be a rib in every pot,” said grillmaster David Tillery, of RMD Food Adventures, as he kept the crowd laughing and eating during his barbecue demonstration at the Elmont Memorial Library last Saturday, which featured grilled chicken, baby-back ribs, grilled pineapple and salad. Story, more photos next week.
F.S. native is a ‘beast’ in the gym Woman enters muscle magazine cover contest By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com
Christa Wilhoit-Churco has long maintained an active lifestyle, and even played competitive tennis up until two days before giving birth to both of her children. But it wasn’t until a doctor told her that she needed to strengthen her legs and core in 2007 that she became a selfproclaimed “beast” in the gym. “I didn’t realize how hard I
was working out, and it paid off,” Wilhoit-Churco, a Franklin Square native who now lives in Georgia, recounted. She said she slowly learned how her body worked, began eating in moderation and more often throughout the day, and built up muscle strength along the way. She recently entered a competition to be featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine, after she saw a post about it on Facebook. “Once I saw the
$20,000 prize, I thought, ‘That’d be nice to win,’” Wilhoit-Churco, 42, said, though she noted that she isn’t normally the type of person to put herself out there, “so it was very out of my comfort zone.” The process of applying was easier than she expected, though. All she had to do, she said, was fill out some personal information and upload photos Continued on page 5
■ Six-and-a-half-foot-tall partitions to be installed between lanes. ■ A thermometer to check bowlers’ temperatures when they walk in.
shutdown order went into effect, out of an abundance of caution, she explained, and continued to pay her 20 employees for a few weeks until she ran out of money. Still, they all agreed to Continued on page 3