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Vol. 85 No. 37
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SEPTEMBER 10 - 16, 2020
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Residents rally for justice
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Encouraging all to be counted Officials urge communities of color to fill out 2020 census The census is a snapshot of the U.S. population that determines how congressional seats Local elected officials urged are apportioned and how more all Nassau County residents to than $675 billion in federal and complete the 2020 census at a state funds is allocated, and it is news conference on Tuesday in a source of information for busiRoosevelt. nesses, schools, nonprofits, U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice said researchers and journalists. that while Nassau Undercounts in has a 71 percent the census can lead response rate, the to shifts in the U.S. county’s communiHouse of Representies of color contintatives, alter state ue to be undercountlegislative districts, ed. city councils and F re e p o r t ’s re school boards, and sponse rate was 54 change where bilpercent; Elmont and lions of dollars for Roosevelt, 53 persocial services and cent; and the Village aid are sent. of Hempstead, 49 HElEN DoRADo Rice said that a 1 percent. percent difference AlESSI “I cannot stress Long Beach Latino could cost local govenough how critical ernments and it is that we get a Civic Association schools $110,000 in complete and accufederal funding. rate count in the To avoid inaccuracies and 2020 census for Long Island,” ensure that every person is Rice said. “From hospitals and counted, County Executive fire departments to Head Start Laura Curran formed a Comand the National School Lunch plete Count Committee last year, Program, there are countless comprising more than 30 nonservices and programs that have profit, labor, faith-based and their funding levels set by census community organizations to data. Even just a small under- overcome barriers to a full count will cost Long Island much-needed funding.” Continued on page 3
By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
Courtesy Freeport Public Schools
Next step: students New teachers in the Freeport School District went through the details of the district’s reopening plan and Covid-19 safety guidelines over the course of four days as part of the district’s annual first-year teachers’ orientation. Story, Page 8.
Community raises funds to help 97-year-old WWII veteran By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Members of the Freeport and East Meadow communities are rallying behind the Rev. Eugene Purvis, a 97-year-old World War II veteran, to help him and his wife, Dr. Sylvia Purvis, with long-overdue home improvements and health care assistance. Purvis, who described himself as a “simple country boy,”
was born in South Carolina in 1923. He enlisted in the U.S. military right before his 20th birthday, and joined the 435th Aviation Squadron, a unit of AfricanAmerican soldiers within the 20th Army Air Corps. His unit served in the Pacific, on Saipan in the Mariana Islands, where they were under constant fire from Japanese bombers. “My motto was always to be obedient,” Purvis recalled, explaining that his commanding
officer would see Japanese bombers approaching and shout, “Get in the foxhole!” This happened so many times that after a while, Purvis was the only soldier to quickly respond to — and it saved his life. He said he was the sole survivor in his regiment after a Japanese attack. Although Purvis and his fellow soldiers faced discrimination, he said he never had any Continued on page 4
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