Rockville Centre
HERALD Warm welcome for new rabbi
WWII veteran turns 103
School district promotes Sampino
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VOL. 31 NO. 38
SEPTEMBER 17 - 23, 2020
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Nancy Howard re-elected to village board By JILL NOSSA jnossa@liherald.com
Briana Bonfiglio/Herald
OLIVIA MOORE, A student at South Side High School, sang the national anthem.
Rockville Centre ceremony honors lives lost on Sept. 11 By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com
About 200 Rockville Centre residents gathered at the Sept. 11 Memorial on the Village Green on Sunday to commemorate the 2001 ter rorist attacks. Adults and children planted hundreds of small American flags in the grass along the pathway leading to the memorial. Then, shortly after 7 p.m., the annual ceremony began.
Mayor Francis X. Murray led the remembrance, which started with a procession and a display of the colors by the village fire and police departments. Local Girl Scout and Boy Scout troop members led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Olivia Moore, a South Side High School student, sang the national anthem. “Our hearts were broken on Sept. 11, 2001, and our village was definitely changed forever,” Murray said. “We recognize that no community
suffered more than Rockville Centre on that tragic, deplorable day. And yet, no community responded with more goodwill and generosity for those neighbors than in our village.” Mur ray thanked local elected officials for attending, including State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, Assemblywoman Judy Griffin and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, as well as Deputy Mayor CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Nancy Howard emerged as the winner in Tuesday’s special election in Rockville Centre, and will continue to serve as a trustee on the village board until July 5, 2021. Howard defeated challenger Michael Scalere for the open seat by a vote of 757 to 680. Howard, 60, was previously elected twice, in 2011 and again in 2015. She served as deputy mayor from 2011 to June 2017, when she stepped down to move to Florida, where her husband, Dave, was working. They returned to Rockville Centre in January 2019. They have lived in the village for more than 25 years, and have raised their four children here. Last June, when Trustee Edward Oppenheimer retired, Howard was appointed to the board to take his place. “My priority will be focusing on protecting the fabric of our community,” Howard said. “Infrastructure improvements have received steady attention; we’ve made great strides, which bolster our home values.” Howard was a human resources recruitment and managementtraining executive at RH Macy’s and Salomon Brothers. She then left work to take care of her chil-
Village Trustee results Nancy Howard (incumbent)
757 votes
Michael Scalere 680 votes dren. She has held leadership roles in the PTA, the South Side High School Booster Club, the Rockville Centre Education Foundation and the Community Fund. In Florida, she consulted on the campaign of a mayoral candidate in Fort Lauderdale, and was asked to serve on a civic advisory group on infrastructure and smart growth. “I will continue seeking grant opportunities, which have helped us keep village taxes down,” Howard said. “I’m now working with my fellow trustees to create regulations to beautify our downtown. I believe creating an upgraded and more unified commercial appearance that matches the charm and identity of our residential areas is important. I want to ensure that we do everything in our power to increase home values.”