2011-01-27

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Freeport's first baby
DADDY'S LITTLE FISHERMAN: That's what Jonathan Bracco
called his first born son, Nicholas Bracco. This bundle of joy was
delivered into his parents' arms, safe and sound, on January 2nd.
by Laura Schofer
There's nothing like a new baby. Just ask Gina
Bracco whose first born child, a little boy, came
into the world on January 2. The baby's name is
Nicholas Bracco and he is The Leader's First
Baby. He is also the son of Jonathan Richard
Bracco. The Bracco. clan are lifelong residents of
Freeport. They also own Captain Ben's on the
Nautical Mile.
"He's just wonderful. He sleeps better than we
do and is a delight," said Mrs. Bracco.
Indeed. During the telephone interview with
Mrs. Bracco, little Nicholas was cooing in the
background.
For a first-time mother the responsibilities can
be daunting, but Mrs. Bracco sounded calm and
happy. "He is a good eater, not fussy," she gushed.
Little Nicholas wasn't in a hurry. He was due on
December 23 but didn't make his grand appear-ance
until after the New Year.' ~
"The doctor said if I didn't deliver by the first
[of the year], he would induce. On January 1 I
went into labor and he was born on January 2,"
said Mrs. Bracco.
It may have been a long labor but Mrs. Bracco
said it was well worth the wait. Nicholas was
eight pounds, seven ounces at birth and was 20
1/2 inches'long. He was born at 3:28 p.m.
Nicholas "still has those grey baby eyes and a
bit of very light hair. We were surprised about
that," said Mrs. Bracco, who added that "he looks
. like my husband's baby pictures."
Congratulations to Gina and Jonathan Bracco
and to all the other couples in Freeport and
Baldwin who have new babies.
As the winner of the First Baby of the Year con-test
the Braccos are entitled to the following gifts:
A $25 gift certificate from Vicente Jewelers; a
special gift from Stride Rite of Merrick; a bot-tle
of champagne for Mom ' from Atlantic
Bayview Wines and Liquor; a $25 gift certici-ate
for the parents of the first baby from
Piccolo Pizza; one dozen long-stemmed roses
from the Merrick Flower Shoppe; a $25 gift
certificate from Merrick Bagel Cafe; and a free
one-year gift subscription to The Freeport-
Baldwin Leader.
Town's Animal Shelter progress questioned
by Laura Schofer ,
Some animal advocates are saying the
Town of J-Iempstead Animal Shelter in
Wantagh is not equipped to care for its
population.
At a protest at the town animal shelter
last week Derek Donnelly, an organizer
for a group called Hope for Hempstead
Shelter, said the shelter "is a haven for
patronage and, that with a $7 million
budget, the shelter does not have basic
services such as a full-time veterinarian
and volunteer program."
He also said that the changes the town
has promised "have yet to materialize."
The Town of Hempstead refutes these
charges, pointing to reports issued by the
state Department of Agriculture and
Markets that gave the town a satisfactory
rating. (Ratings are either satisfactory or
unsatisfactory.)
"I'm proud that the town's shelter
passed the state's review with flying col-ors,"
said town Supervisor Kate Murray
in a press release. "Not only did we get
positive overall reviews, but the state
found no deficiencies in 30 separate cate-gories
covered in the reports."
But Mr. Donnelly said, "The town
knew they were coming, so they were
prepared. This means nothing."
Two former volunteers, Diane Madden
and Lucille DeFina, agreed with him. "I
was an independent rescuer for eight
years and I saw a lot of neglect and
deplorable conditions," said Ms. Madden.
"The'money is not going to the animals.
I'm very worried about the cats," said Ms.
DeFinai
Both women were banned from the
. Shelter on October 22.. "We don't know
why," said Ms. DeFina.
Meanwhile, the town initiated an inves-tigation
into the shelter and contacted the
Nassau County district attorney's office,
who has launched its own investigation.
Previously, town spokesperson Susie
Pokalsky told The Leader that the issues
were administrative in nature and had
nothing to do with mistreatment of ani-mals.
The banned volunteers and other ani-mal
advocates went to Town Hall in late
October to ask for changes at the shelter.
The town issued a press release last fall
stating it would make sweeping changes
at the shelter. Its pet care agenda would
include a full-time veterinarian, a behav-iorist
and a. pet-rescue liaison, among
other changes. The town also removed its
Acting Director Charles Milone and
Adoption Coordinator Regina Thome
from their positions.
On January 11, advocates planned to
speak out at the Town Hall meeting.
However, the Town of Hempstead can-celed
its public comment portion of the
meetin'g "due to a security risk under
investigation by the police," said Ms.
Pokalsky.
"It had nothing to do with the animal
shelter; it was purely a matter of safety.
We called students [who were planning
on attending the meeting] and told them
not to come in."
"Residents of the town came to speak
publicly on behalf of animals that can't
speak for themselves and for taxpayer
rights," said Mr. Donnelly.
"We are calling into question whether
there was a legitimate threat or was the
town trying to silence the voice of the
people? One would think a security risk
that involves public safety would prompt
other security measures. There were no
other apparent security measures in place
at the meeting."
On January 12 the town shelter was
back in the news when town animal con-trol
officers were called to a Rockville
Centre home to rescue 17 severely neg-lected
dogs that were urine-soaked and
filthy.
A town press release stated that shelter
staff removed 10 pounds of matted hair
from rescued animals, provided immedi-ate
medical attention and worked into the
night to clean, groom and comfort the ani-mals.
"Recent rescues by shelter workers
spoke volumes about the passion and pro-fessionalism
of the town's animal care
team," said Supervisor Murray in the
news release.
Joe Panz of Rescue Ink added, "We
support the Hempstead Town Animal
Shelter in their efforts to raise awareness
about animal mistreatment and enhance
the quality of life for animals in need of
care."
(continued on page 7)
Village board
hears the public
page 3
Golden Tone
Orchestra
page 6
A comedian
from Baldwin
page 12