______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
HERALD
Be S.M.A.R.T.
Save Money And Reduce Taxes
Get Results. Sign Up Today!
Welcoming the new school staff
Page 16
Page 3 SEPTEMBER 5 - 11, 2024
$1.00
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
Sign up today. It on ly tak Apply online at mptrg es seconds. .com/heraldnote or call 516.715.1266
Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Grou p, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Habl
1244491
VOL. 35 NO. 37
New administrator in Valley Stream
amos Español
Rabies virus resurfaces in Valley Stream By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
Courtesy Village of Valley Stream
Camp Barrett’s seven-week summer program in Valley Stream provides children and teens with a wide variety of activities, making it a popular choice for families each year.
Camp Barrett was, as usual, a summer must for V.S. kids By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
In a village chock-full of summer entertainment events and activities, Camp Barrett stands apart. Generations of Valley Stream families revolve their kids’ summer fun around its seven-week-long outdoor program. This year’s program, as in past years, was a sell-out. To be eligible, children and teens must reside within the incorporated village or the Valley Stream Central High School District. Among the droves who apply in any given year, some are regrettably waitlisted on account of limited space. But those hundreds of youngsters approved for a spot eagerly take to Barrett Park to soak in a boatload of fun from its in-house events and off-campus field trips. Jimmy Fitzano, village recreation director, says several factors have lent the pro-
gram its wide appeal and hometown cachet for nearly 40 years. First, there are the practical benefits to families. “It cuts on the travel time that a parent might have to take their child to a camp outside of Valley Stream, especially if they working,” said Fitzano and the quality and variety of programs with an affordable price tag puts it on par with any other major summer camp program.
The winning formula of this summer camp fixture “We try to do as much as we can to entice residents to stay and enjoy recreational activities within the village,” noted Fitzano. “The more we do here and the better we do it, the more reason residents have to stay.” Never entirely satisfied with the status quo, the staff led by Camp Director Nicole Winter and under the supervision of Fitzano are Continued on page 4
rates in the New York metropolitan area McNamara, who has three decades of industry experience, says “the three reports of rabies is not a huge public health concern.”
Two months ago, the Nassau County Health Department announced a reported case of something not seen since 2016: a feral animal with rabies. The Rabies on the rise? Experts animal — a feral cat discovered say, ‘Stay calm and vaccinate’ “By law, your pet in Cedarhurst by needs to be rabies the Town of Hempvaccinated because stead — tested posiif they were to bite tive for the disease. s o m e b o dy, t h e re Last month, two needs to be proof other animals: that the pet is vacanother feral cat cinated,” said and a raccoon were McNamara. Like confirmed with the viral diseases such v i r u s i n Va l l e y as polio and, more Stream. As the recently, COVID-19, county deals with high vaccination the sudden flare-up rates result in of rabies-ridden DR. JONAThAN robust herd immucreatures, the pub- GARELLEk nity. lic, and pet owners infectious disease So far, two of the in particular, are specialist, three rabies carril e f t t o wo n d e r : Northwell Health ers reported have should we be worcome from the wildried? Jenna McNamara, a veteri- roaming cat community. While narian technician in Manhat- gover nment officials do not tan’s Brilliant Veterinary Care, keep exact tabs on the size of says the short answer is no. the feral cat population, estiThat is, if the proper health mates in Nassau County commeasures and precautions con- fortably range in the tens of tinue. Thanks in large part to thousands. For years, a dedicatrobust animal vaccination Continued on page 5
W
hile the public health risk is low, rabies is a very dangerous infection.