_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD Vol. 72 No. 40
A Rosh Hashana greeting
A passion for photography
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SEPTEMBER 26 - oCToBER 2, 2024
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Explaining how presidents are elected
at the NYU School of Law and a professor of constitutional law at the Benjamin N. Cardoza As Election Day approaches, School of Law. His research, teaching and advocacy focuses the League of Women Voters of East Nassau hosted a presenta- on voting, elections and the tion at the Levittown Public laws of democracy. He noted that most voters Library on Sept. 18 to educate voters about the Electoral Col- may not fully understand how lege and its role in selecting the Electoral College works. “It is that system that presidents. we know and love, The league is a or at least we think nonpartisan, grasswe know it,” roots organization Codrington said. that works to pro“And I’m guessing, tect and expand votto be frank, it’s not ing rights throughreally clear that we out the country. do love it.” According to East The Electoral Nassau member College, he Barbara Epstein, explained, which its goal is to eduselects the presicate communities and encourage peodent, was estabple to register to lished in the Convote. stitution, with elec“It’s important tors from each state for people to under- BARBARA EPSTEIN fulfilling their s t a n d w h a t t h e League of Women duties six weeks Electoral Colle ge Voters of East Nassau after Election Day. means and how it “Neither the 330 impacts how people million people livvote,” Epstein said. ing in the United States, nor the At last week’s meeting, legal 240 million folks of voting age, scholar Wilfred Codrington dis- get to choose the president,” cussed the history of the Elec- Codrington said. “Rather, it is toral College and how it has this extremely important task impacted presidential elec- falling on 538 people” — the tions. Codrington is a fellow at Continued on page 4 the Brennan Center for Justice
By CHARlES SHAW
cshaw@liherald.com
Holden Leeds/Herald
Serving the community for 125 years The Wantagh Fire Department celebrated its 125th anniversary by hosting the Sixth Battalion of Nassau County parade on Sept. 14. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Wantagh St. Patrick’s Day Parade grand marshal is announced By CHARlES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Tommy Shevlin, president of Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, has been named the grand marshal for the 2025 Wantagh St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Community members who attended the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day event, held at the Wantagh Inn on Railroad Avenue on Sept. 19, applauded when Shevlin’s name was announced. The Wantagh Chamber of Commerce hosted the event. Also in attendance were local elected officials, including State Sen. Steve Rhoads, Town of Hempstead Councilman Chris Schneider, Town Clerk Kate Murray and County Legislator Michael Giangregorio. According to Chamber President Cathy McGrory Powell, Shevlin has dedicated his career to helping fellow officers, and his passion to make positive change in the world is what
made him the right choice to lead next year’s parade. “I’m so immensely proud of him and everything he’s accomplished and everything he’s become,” McGrory Powell said of Shevlin. With a family background in law enforcement, Shevlin has worked for 26 years between the New York and Nassau County police departments, and accepted the role as the county’s PBA president in 2022. Prior to that, he was a counselor at the Nassau County Police Department’s Employee Assistance Office, where he provided mental health services to officers. As a counselor, he aimed to combat the stigma surrounding mental health within law enforcement. Shevlin saw how trauma, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder affected his colleagues and sought to help officers address these challenges. “His passion for mental health, helping first responders and families, has made a great differContinued on page 10
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t’s important for people to understand what the Electoral College means, and how it impacts how people vote.