Update 11-13-12

 

Hi,

 

It's Veteran's Day as I write this, and I don't mean to seem hypocritical since I did everything I could to avoid going into the army, but it is again time to thank and remember those who served.

 

Next, a note than just missed getting into last week's newsletter, from Mary Sipp Green:

    The Harrison Gallery at 39 Spring Street, Williamstown, Massachusetts, announces a new show by Mary Sipp Green, from November 3rd to the 28th, 2012.

    If you can't get to the show, you can see almost two-dozen of Mary's new paintings by going to   theharrisongallery . com and clicking on View Show under the title painting.

    And if you happen to be in western Massachusetts, the gallery's hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 - 5:30, and Sunday, 11 - 4.

 

Another happy thought, from Barbara Blitfield Pech:  Just wanted to tell you all about a long-overdue lunch that finally found its way home.  The "Jasmine Lane Girls" -- me, formerly at number 16, Sara Cohen, class of '69, from number 20, and Pam Levy from number 28 -- are now all living within a 45-minute drive of each other here in south Florida.  Pam, if you remember, is the youngest sister of our dear class of '65 classmate Bari, of blessed memory.

    The three of us have been planning a get-together for months, but we know how those simple plans can go.  Still, through the magic of Facebook, we finally made the arrangements and had a lovely, if-too-short lunch that will now be not so hard to plan again and again.

    We really spoke very briefly about Green Acres, South, and common conversations because we shared a bond that didn't need to stay back on Jasmine/Memory Lane for longer than the appropriate trip.

    In an equally delightful note, Pam's insanely youthful mom, Selma, was able to join us, since her husband, Ed, was home "keeping himself busy."  Selma and Ed will happily celebrate 67 years of wedded bliss this coming year.  Mazel tov.

 

A less happy note, from Arlene Ainbinder Lynn:  Mr. Rooney's wife, Dorothy, passed away.  The wake will be at Macken Mortuary, 52 Clinton Avenue, Rockville Centre, on Tuesday, from 2 - 4 and 7 - 9 PM.  The mass will be on Wednesday at 11 AM at St. Agnes Church in Rockville Centre.

 

Also from Arlene:  the rescheduled South High Alumni Association meeting will be on this Thursday, November 15th, at 7:15 PM in the school library.  Our guest will be Andrew McClure, a representative from Building Homes for Heroes.  Please join us for an inspiring meeting and get involved with our alumni and our "Act of Kindness" project.

 

Finally, since there are a lot of people in the New York-New Jersey area who get the newsletter but have more important things to do right now than write and tell us how they're doing, here are some excerpts from three stories from the Valley Stream section of the online Long Island Herald:

 

Valley Stream Walloped Again 
By Andrew Hackmack

    It was a familiar sight in Valley Stream on Thursday with numerous trees and power lines down in the wake of a nor'easter which swept through Long Island. However, there was also a new twist - snow. At least six inches fell on Valley Stream in an early November winter storm.
    Schools were closed for the seventh time in the past two weeks and efforts to get back to normal after Hurricane Sandy were stalled. Mayor Ed Fare said that numerous trees and large branches fell into village streets as a result of the latest storm. He said the Fire Department also received numerous calls for wires burning. Fare said on Wednesday, village crews had to scramble to hook up plows to the trucks, which were still being used for cleanup efforts from Hurricane Sandy. He said the village was able to get 20 plows on the road by the height of the snowstorm. Some areas that had power restored earlier this week were back in the darkness again. Power lines were brought down from the heavy, wet snow which fell from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning.

 

Valley Stream Schools Lose Six Days 
By Andrew Hackmack 
    Valley Stream schools shut down for more than a week as a result of Hurricane Sandy, and officials are hoping to return a sense of normalcy to the 14 public schools. The buildings were shut down all of last week, in addition to Monday and Tuesday of this week. Students missed a total of six days, as Tuesday - Election Day - was already scheduled as a Superintendent’s Conference Day for staff only.
    “This is a first," Dr. Bill Heidenreich, superintendent of the Central High School District, said.  "I’ve never seen schools close six, seven days.” He said there are some options to make up instructional time, such as running a regular class schedule during midterm week. And winter hasn’t even hit, he noted, which could mean more closings and more time lost.

    He said at this point the district would learn what teachers would and wouldn’t be able to return to school. For teachers that will be out long-term while they put their lives back together, Heidenreich said the district will either use substitutes or have other teachers pick up an additional class.

    Heidenreich said the storm has brought out the best in the district’s employees. Many have offered their colleagues who have been displaced or lost electricity a place to stay. “If there’s a bright spot in any of this, it’s the kindness and generosity and outpouring of support,” he said. “People are just opening up their homes.”
    In deciding when to re-open school, Heidenreich said there were numerous concerns that had to be addressed. The gas shortage is an obvious challenge, especially for staff in being able to get to school. He expects the shortage will also lead to more students walking to school instead of being dropped off by their parents. When the traffic lights were out, Heidenreich said opening school wasn’t even an option because of the danger for both pedestrians and buses.
 

Businesses Look to Rebound After Sandy 
By Brian Croce

    As Valley Stream residents continue to pick up the pieces left behind by Hurricane Sandy, so too are the local businesses, many of which had to close their doors for several days. The power is slowly coming back to areas of the village, including the business district on Rockaway Avenue. P.J. Harper’s restaurant got its electricity back on Nov. 2, after losing it, like most of Valley Stream, on Oct. 29. Since the restaurant was without power for several days, all of its perishable contents had to be thrown out. “For us, it was a disaster because we lost all of our product,” said owner Paul Pandolfi. “We had to throw away like $3,000 worth of food.”
    Mike Magioncalda, owner of Magic Bagels on West Merrick Road also had to throw out all of his inventory last week. He and his son came into the store on Nov. 2 to clear out the perishable items. The power came back later in the day, but the food and drinks had already gone bad.

Magic Bagels opened its door once again on Nov. 4. “Saturday, it was like opening up a new store because we had to make all the bagels again, all the dough, all the salads and everything,” he said. “It was just crazy.”
    Businesses that had to close shop for several days have to try to make up for lost time, which isn’t easy. “There’s no way to rebound from it,” Magioncalda said. Despite his business being closed for most of last week, Magioncalda still paid his employees, and will offer half priced bagels until Nov. 15.
Pandolifi echoed similar sentiments about not being able to make up for lost days, but knows his business fared much better than others in the area. “Right now we’re just happy that we were able to get back open,” he said.

    Home Depot on Sunrise Highway never lost power thanks to its backup generator and was open the morning after Sandy hit. Store manager Jeffrey Kuhr said items such as generators and sump-pumps have been hard to keep on the shelves due to high demand. Unlike most other businesses in the area, Home Depot has seen a rise in customers over the last week and a half. Home Depot has dozens of employees, but not all of them were able to make it into work after the storm because bus and train services were shut down.

 

The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com

 

The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com / SouthHS65

 

 

Rich