__________________ Merrick _________________
HERALD Rotary gives back to veterans
Donate blood this Saturday
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Vol. 29 No. 23
JUNE 4 - 10, 2026
GUS LAFKAS
LICENSED ASSOCIATE REAL ESTATE BROKER
OVER 25 YEARS OF EXP ERIENCE
COMPLIMENTARY HO
ME VALUATION
$1.00
2300 MERRICK ROAD ����� 516-623-2771 • , MERRICK, NY 11566 ������ 516-445-0657 gus.lafkas@elliman.com Residential/Commercia l
Ron Manfredi/Herald
Softball champions! Calhoun’s softball team captured its first county title in program history Monday night, beating MacArthur 7-4 in Game 2 of the Class AA finals. Story, photos, Page 7.
Empire Games help recruit a new generation of firefighters By HERNESTo GAlDAMEZ hgaldamez@liherald.com
Students from two high schools in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District tested their strength, teamwork and composure in May during the third annual Empire Games, a local recruitment initiative to address the decline in volunteer firefighters. The competition brought together 40 students from Sanford H. Calhoun High School and John F. Kennedy High School to learn the fundamentals of firefighting while exploring volunteer service opportunities in their community. Empire Hose
Company 3 of the Merrick Fire Department came up with the idea for the games, held between May 7 and 21. Over the course of three nights, students participated in hands-on training exercises that introduced them to core firefighting skills, including donning and removing turnout gear, operating self-contained breathing apparatuses, hose handling and search-and-rescue techniques. The program culminated in a series of challeng es designed to simulate the physical and mental demands firefighters face during emergencies. Before the competition began,
Calhoun students participated in a two-day fitness and recruitment challenge at the school that served as a qualifier for the Empire Games. According to Calhoun Assistant Principal Mark Melkonian, students navigated agility ladders, completed push-up stations, crawled through a darkened obstacle maze and performed a rescue dummy drag alongside a fire e n g i n e . To p p e r f o r m e r s advanced to represent the school in the competition. The Empire Games was first introduced in 2024 as a unique recruiting effort aimed at younger residents. Organizers said the event was created in response to
dwindling volunteer numbers both locally and nationally, as fire departments increasingly struggle to attract new members. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the number of volunteer firefighters in the United States has dropped from nearly 900,000 in 1984 to roughly 680,000 in 2020. More than 80 percent of fire departments across the country are
staffed entirely or primarily by volunteers. Empire Hose officials said high school students were specifically targeted because of the department’s junior firefighter program, which allows residents under 18 to become familiar with the fire service before becoming eligible for full memContinued on page 2