______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
HERALD Somma goes to championships
Hofstra hosts election coverage
American Legion aims to grow
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VOL. 35 NO. 47
NOVEMBER 14 - 20, 2024
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H.S. District set to complete HVAC update installed air conditioning systems at North and South High Schools as of September. CenS u m m e r h e a t m a y b e tral High School and Memorial months off, but when it arrives, Junior High School are set to the Valley Stream Central High follow suit early next year, School District won’t have to pending the arrival of transfer switches expected by January. worry about stuTransfer switches dents wilting in ensure a seamless overheated classtransition between rooms. The district dif ferent power is nearing complesources, typically tion of a $4.9 milfrom the main utililion HVAC upgrade ty power to a backaimed at enhancing up power source air quality and like a generator. improving student McDaid noted comfort across its that securing the schools. necessary electriAssistant Supercal supplies posed intendent of the most signifiFinance and Operacant challeng e, t i o n s T h o m a s THOMAS McDAiD impacting the timeMcDaid explained Assistant line. The district’s that the project, superintendent, approach includes wh i ch b e g a n i n finance and energy-efficient S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 3 , operations commercial units, was driven by the aligning with statedistrict’s commitment to fostering more condu- mandated energy standards while providing cooling capacive learning conditions. “We wanted to allow stu- bilities that the previous sysdents to better concentrate in a tems lacked. When the hot months roll in comfortable environment,” said from early June to mid-SeptemMcDaid. The HVAC overhaul, which ber in the village, daily highs began with electrical upgrades ave r a g e ove r 7 4 d e g r e e s, last fall, has so far successfully Continued on page 10
By JUAN LASSO
jlasso@liherald.com
W
Alice Moreno/Herald
Boy Scout Jonathan Herrera’s pollinator garden will help Valley Stream’s future community garden become a thriving ecosystem.
Village community garden welcomes pollinator space By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
In recent months, volunteers steadily worked to level land, install fences, and test soil quality in the hope of turning a onceempty field between Newbold and Horton Avenue into a proper green space. But as winter puts the earth to bed, cutting off any new growth, progress on the village’s first community garden is inevitably reduced to a crawl. Yet the future community garden is primed to flourish come next spring thanks to a vital tool to grow and sustain its bud-
ding ecosystem — a pollinator way station. Boy Scout Jonathan Herrera led the design and installation of the way station for his Eagle Scout project. “I’ve always been interested in environmentalism and environmental conservation,” Herrera said. “So, when I had originally started drafting up Eagle project ideas, I knew one thing: it was going to be environmental.” The pollinator way station, built a few paces away from the future site of the community garden, is packed with native flowers created to entice pollinators — bees, butContinued on page 4
e wanted to allow students to better concentrate in a comfortable environment.