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Page 3 Vol. 32 No. 5
JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 5, 2025
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Blues jam electrifies local bars in village By Ainsley Martinez amartinez@liherald.com
Courtesy Electric Rooster
Steve Tetro, bass and vocals; Tony Davenport, guitar and vocals; Adam Pleva, drums; and Lloyd Chrein, guitar and vocals, played last August. Electric Rooster will perform at Lilah’s Bar and Grill, in East Rockaway, on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Lloyd Chrein, of Lynbrook, plugged in his guitar pedals, preparing for a band rehearsal at Center Stage Music, on Newbridge Road in North Bellmore, on Monday night. The members of the band, Electric Rooster, all have families and careers outside the studio and their gigs, but music serves as their creative outlet, allowing them to unleash a cathartic wave of sound. Electric Rooster’ music has an upbeat and electrifying feel — as its namesake suggests. Most rock and blues fans ConTinuED on PAGE 11
Rhame Avenue creates healthy plates to foster happy students By Ainsley Martinez amartinez@liherald.com
In East Rockaway schools, the district’s standard for food service goes beyond state and federal regulations, steering away from frozen food and aiming to source products locally for students’ breakfast and lunch. At Rhame Avenue Elementary School, the kitchen staff starts preparing an average of 180 meals at 7 a.m., making salads, pizzas and a variety of menu items from scratch. Kerri O’Donnell, general manager of Aramark, East Rockaway’s food service vendor, oversees the daily opera-
tions at the school’s eve r y t h i n g f r o m cafeteria. O’Doncooking meals to nell, a re gistered keeping the kitchen dietitian, said that spotless, O’Donnell encouraging healsaid. thy, balanced eating Deliveries arrive habits is particularalmost every day: ly significant for the bread from nearby district’s youngest bakeries, milk from students. upstate far ms as “ H a v i n g t h e lAUREN TRIgo well as name-brand o p p o r t u n i t y t o Food service items like Tyson introduce foods that chicken, Eggo wafsupervisor, East the kids might not fles and Heinz prodRockaway schools see at home is really ucts. the most rewardAccording to the ing,” O’Donnell said. “Especial- New York State Department of ly when they try something and Agriculture and Markets, over they love it.” 40 percent of the state’s school The kitchen staff operates districts have embraced soon a tight schedule, handling called far m-to-school initia-
I
f you don’t have a full stomach, you’re not focusing in school.
tives, connecting local farmers with school cafeterias to provide fresh, locally grown produce and other foods. O’Donnell said that Aramark, and the East Rockaway school district, want to expand its use of local food, and hope to create partnerships with nearby towns and villages. Food planning goes beyond dishing out meals. The cafete-
ria at Rhame Avenue adheres to strict nutritional standards set by the school district to ensure that meals are both healthy and balanced, O’Donnell said. The guidelines align with federal regulations for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. According to the district’s 2023-2024 Nutrition Standards ConTinuED on PAGE 10