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Kowalsky is honored for years of service the state’s 2 percent tax cap, rising costs and shifting educational needs, while still advancThe Oyster Bay-East Nor- ing new initiatives. Ianni predicted that the trust wich Central School District Board of Education honored and professional respect Kowalfor mer board president and sk y ear ned would endure longtime Trustee Laurie Kowal- beyond her formal service. “I have worked s k y o n T u e s d ay with many different with a plaque of leaders, but Ms. appreciation, recogKowalsky’s commitnizing her 10 and a ment to excellence half years of serand accountability vice to the district is something I will and its students. always value,” he Kowalsky, who said. “She recogstepped down from nized that dreams the board on Dec. are only possible 31, was joined at the through sacrifices meeting by her husband, Keith, as cur- LAURIE KOWALSKY and hard work, and she applied that rent board mem- Former trustee, truth to every decibers and district Board of Education sion made for the leadership reflected benefit of our stuon her tenure, which spanned periods of aca- dents and community.” Kowalsky announced her demic reform, fiscal constraints and the unprecedented chal- decision to step down in a Facelenges of the coronavirus pan- book post, describing her decade on the board as “a meandemic. Superintendent Francesco ingful and rewarding experiIanni praised Kowalsky’s com- ence” and expressing gratitude mitment to accountability, col- for the opportunity to serve the laboration and student-centered community. She also highlightdecision-making. Her work, he ed a series of accomplishments said, helped guide the district during her time on the board, through years marked by strin- many of them under Ianni’s gent budget restrictions under CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
By WILL SHEELINE
wsheeline@liherald.com
I
Courtesy Locust Valley Public Library
Kristine Piana, left, Locust Valley Public Library’s business manager, Nadine Buccilli, the library’s director, and Jennifer Santo, head of reference, are digitizing hundreds of films.
H.S. sports history comes to life at Locust Valley library By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Boxes of aging VHS tapes, metal canisters of 8-millimeter film and slide carousels once consigned storage closet at Locust Valley High School are now the nucleus of a local history project at the Locust Valley Public Library. The library has received hundreds of hours of 20th-century high school sports footage from the Locust Valley High School Athletic Department, and is in the process of digitizing and preserving the material, with dozens of games already available for public viewing online and more to come.
The collection, donated to the library last February, spans decades of athletic history and includes high school football, basketball and lacrosse games filmed as early as the 1950s, according to labels on the original reels. Head Librarian Nadine Buccilli said the scope of the donation became clear only after library staff began assessing the material. It arrived in multiple formats. There are more than 300 VHS tapes, a number of 8-millimeter film reels in metal tins, and carousels of slides, some partially filled or empty. According to Buccilli, the VHS tapes alone fill 343 cassettes totaling more than CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
really do believe that the school district is in good hands.