______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
HERALD Lawmakers push ‘Gio’s Law’
‘Bubbledad’ visits V.S. 13
Leaders talk up community
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VOL. 35 NO. 51
DECEMBER 12 - 18, 2024
$1.00
OBITUARY
Karen Selah, 76, helped preserve village’s history low members and an encouraging sign of progress toward her recovery. However, as fate would It was one of the Valley have it, this was Selah’s final Stream Historical Society’s big- public appearance. On Oct. 9, gest nights — its 50th anniver- just over two weeks later, she died at 76. sary celebration. S e l a h ’s at t e n Yet members temdance at the annipered their expectaversary celebration tions about whethrounded off er the event’s orgadecades of service nizer, Karen Vitale to a local instituSelah, would show. tion whose memSelah was a bers considered her stickler about a pillar. She leaves showing up, Billy behind a vacuum Florio, the society’s of leadership — president, noted, and an emotional but “we knew she absence — that Flowas sick.” Selah rio says will be was caught in the BILLy FLORIO impossible to fill. throes of intense President, “Frankly, I don’t chemotherapy Valley Stream think anybody was treatment for leukereally prepared for mia, facing extraor- Historical Society her to be leaving us d i n a r y p hy s i c a l this soon,” he said. strain. “We didn’t expect her to “They’ll never be a replacement for Karen. She’s too important show up,” he said. to the society. She’s too imporYet she came. “She had done her hair that tant to everything there.” Born in Brooklyn in 1948 to day because she wanted to look her best,” Florio recalled. Her John and Dorothy Vitale, Karen presence at the celebration was moved to Valley Stream as a a delightful surprise for her felContinued on page 8
By JUAN LASSO
jlasso@liherald.com
F
Courtesy Kathleen Bogle
Her sweetness only grows with time Valley Stream resident Mary Dorothy Jeray celebrated her 102nd birthday on Nov. 21. The joyful centenarian adores her 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Monthly open mic poetry night breathes fresh life into the arts By MOHAMMAD RAFIQ mrafiq@liherald.com
Spoken Wordz, a New York-based collective of poets, musicians and performers, has carved out a unique space in Freeport. The village’s Sparkle on Stage Cultural Arts Center has become a welcome venue for the group’s recurring spokenword poetry and musical open mic series. Founded by Valley Stream resident Paul Kretz, who is known by most as Paulie, the events blend poetry, music and storytelling in a facility that Sparkle owner Robyn Workman describes as a “home for creativity and good
vibes.” “About almost three years ago,” Kretz, a union building porter in Manhattan, said, “I was pretty much either (going to) die or just keep being on my BS, drinking, drugging, and all the rest of that. I went to rehab, and then … I tapped into writing.” “I started to realize my darkness contains a lot of light,” he added. After rehab, Kretz began attending open mics, where he realized his words resonated deeply with others. Spoken Wordz held its first event in February Continued on page 10
rankly, I don’t think anybody was really prepared for her to be leaving us this soon.