Merrick
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Vol. 23 No. 37
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Honorary MFD captain dies at 86 together. He was an absolutely fantastic person.” The couple raised four chilThough Mar tin Abrams dren — Theresa, Tina, Martin Jr. never served as an officer of the and Tami — in their home on Merrick Fire Department, he Lindgren Street. Tami once was someone younger volun- asked her mother why there was teers looked up to. He led by a nine-year age gap between her e x a m p l e, n eve r and Martin Jr., to complained and which Abrams strived to do the replied, “‘We found right thing, accordyou in a cabbage ing to ex-chief Paul patch,’” Agnes Waterman. recalled. “He had a For 53 years, good sense of Abrams’s calming humor.” influence inspired At 33, Abrams his fellow firefightjoined Merrick’s ers to do the job Hook and Ladder with respect and Co. 1 up the street regard for thembecause “he just selves and their felt that it was community, solidi- TiNA VAN WEll something he fying a legacy that Martin Abrams’s should do,” Agnes will live on. said. When he daughter Abrams died at w a s n’ t f i g h t i n g home on Aug. 7. He fires, he worked for was 86. the Town of Hempstead’s SanitaAbrams lived in Merrick for tion Department. the past 60 years. He moved to Waterman, who was born the community from Lakeview- into the fire service, recalled seeWest Hempstead shortly after he ing Abrams at the firehouse and his wife, Agnes, were mar- when he hung out there as a ried in 1954 — he proposed to her child. Once Waterman joined the three months after meeting her. company, he and Abrams “rode “He’s irreplaceable,” she said. the truck together many times.” “The years went so fast with all the amazing times we had Continued on page 10
By AlySSA SEidMAN aseidman@liherald.com
h
Courtesy Nicole Hollings
CAlhoUN hiGh SChool teachers Michael Pisano and Beth Finneran set up their shared classroom as custodian Abel Gomez put finishing touches on the desks’ plastic barriers.
High schools welcome back students amid a pandemic By AlySSA SEidMAN aseidman@liherald.com
Students and staff in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District returned to school on Tuesday. For some, this meant logging on to a computer for a designated day of remote learning; for others, it meant stepping into a school building for the first time since March. And for everyone involved, the first day of school marked the beginning of an unprecedent-
ed year ahead. The Central District will follow a hybrid lear ning model — in which students alternate between in-school and remote classes — for the first two weeks. The goal is to ease into full in-person instruction as teachers, students and staff adjust to new safety protocols. “Our whole being is wanting to support kids academically, socially and emotionally, so starting with half the population will help us get used
to protocols and procedures,” Calhoun High School Principal Nicole Hollings said. “The model that we have going forward is the best model we can have — now we have to actually do it.” If routines are perfected and it is safe to do so, the district has set a tentative full inperson reopening date of Sept. 21. The final decision on a full reopening will be made by Sept. 16. The Herald Life got a Continued on page 7
e always had a kind word to say and would give you the shirt off his back if he could.