_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
Celebrating local patriots
Plainedge edges lynbrook
lynbrook P.D. honors officer
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Vol. 32 No. 22
MAY 29 - JUNE 4, 2025
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E.R. cupola to be completed by September explained that using weatherresistant vinyl, instead of the unprotected wood used previVoters in East Rockaway ously, is vital for the cupola to approved a proposition on May withstand the weather. The funding supplements 20 authorizing the school district to direct an additional $313,000 approved by voters in $250,000 from the district’s capi- May 2023 for the High School tal reserve fund to Building Cupola Replacement project. Improvements and Repairs III, The total, $563,000, will cover construction, by a vote of 373 to equipment and 115. other associated The project, rencosts, with no addiovating the historic cupola at the East tional tax impact Rockaway Junioron di stri ct res i Senior High School, dents. is scheduled for the “It’s a symbol of 2025-26 school year, the community, and and the Board of a part of our histoEducation is authory,” Van Wart said rized to reallocate MICHAEl VAN of the cupola. component costs as Voters approved WART needed, provided the East Rockaway E.R. assistant there is no material schools’ $47 million superintendent change in the projspending plan for ect’s scope. n e x t ye a r — a n M i c h a e l Va n increase of 3.72 perWart, the district’s assistant cent over the current budget — superintendent of finance and by a vote of 347 to 155. operations for the East RockaIn the neighboring Lynbrook way School District, said the district, the $110.2 million budwork would start this summer get for 2025-26, 3.53 percent largand be completed by September. e r t h a n t h i s ye a r ’s, w a s Van Wart also noted that the approved by a vote of 764 to 270. bell tower would be refitted Voters in both districts elected with the original bell, which and re-elected Board of Educawas removed decades ago due tion trustees in an uncontested t o w e a t h e r d a m a g e . H e election.
By AINSlEY MARTINEZ
amartinez@liherald.com
I
Skye Margies/Herald
Honoring the fallen The Village of East Rockaway held its annual parade on Monday to honor those who gave their lives in service to the country. More photos, pages 3, 10.
Lynbrook North students create Social-Emotional Lending Library By AINSlEY MARTINEZ amartinez@liherald.com
In a quiet corner of Lynbrook North Middle School, behind the doors of the Guidance Suite’s Wellness Room, a new kind of library is taking root—not one defined by silence or strict rules, but by empathy, identity, and connection. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, students at North Middle School in the Lynbrook School District have created a SocialEmotional Lending Library: a curated collection of more than 75 books, available in both English and Spanish, that explore themes ranging from anxiety and neurodiversity to friendship, cultur-
al identity, and LGBTQ experiences. “This library is really for everyone,” said English teacher Kate Schwecherl, who helped lead the project alongside Spanish and English as a New Language teacher James Wolf. “We wanted to build something meaningful that gave students the space to see themselves in stories—and also to see each other.” Over the past several months, a core group of students met with Schwecherl and Wolf on Wednesday mornings to bring the project to life. Sixth grader David Akinkugbe, seventh graders Abigail Berghorn, Mackenzie Byington, and Genevieve Ruvolo, and eighth grader Kevin Ryan Continued on page 11
t’s a symbol of the community, and a part of our history.