Familiar Faces at Caroline G. Atkinson School
Deputy Mayor Renoire Frierson answers questions from the students in Ms. Jean Diane's class.
Deputy Mayor Renaire
Frierson was recently welcomed
back to her old classroom at the
Atkinson School to read to Ms.
Dione's class. The students chose
the book, Talking Walls, a tale of all
the places in the world where walls
provide messages to people.
Ms. Frierson was taught by
Ms. Dione when she attended
Atkinson, and the former student
and her teacher shared their mem-ories
with the class. Ms. Frierson
was joined by her
mother, Mrs. Evelyn Frierson, who
is a teacher's assistant at the
school.
All three educators, (Ms.
Frierson teaches at Nassau
County Community College)
emphasized to the young people
how important it is to spend
time every day reading, and
encouraged the students to keep a
journal and practice writing.
"Reading is the magic key that will
take you where you want to be,"
explained Ms. Frierson, who is also
the Director of the Nassau County
Commission on Human Rights.
PAL Basketball
program holds
Awards Dinner
Mayor Bill Glacken
and Trustee Don Miller
were on hand at the
, Freeport Recreation
Center to help distribute
the trophies to the third
and fourth grade young-sters
who participated in
the program.
The Mayor told the
youngsters that the most
important lesson they
could take away from the
basketball program was
to have. learned about
sportsmanship, teamwork
and fair play. The young-sters
played on coed intra-mural
teams during the
past season.
Trustee Don Miller, Mayor Bill Glacken joined PAL President Mike Pomerico and Treasurer Tom Nicholson, in congratulating the players and
coaches for the third grade and fourth grade PAL basketball team.
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FEBRUARY, 2005' / www.FreeportNY.com THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Post Office Unveils Marian Anderson Stamp
Youngsters from
Freeport's New Visions and
John W. Dodd schools were
joined by Natalya Simone and
Yvette McDow in entertaining
the group that met at the
Freeport Memorial Library on
February 11th to honor the
first issue of the stamp dedicat-ed
to the great American
singer, Marian Anderson. The
event was one of the many cel-ebrations
held locally in con-junction
with Black History
month.
Co-sponsored by the
African-Atlantic Genealogical
Society, and the Freeport Post
Julius Pearce and Joyselta Pearce, founders of the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society, Freeport Mayor Bill Glacken, Post Mistress
Criselta Hatwood, Hempslead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, Post Office Customer Services Supervisor Roxanne Green, Freeport
School Superintendent Dr. Eric Eversley, and performers Yvelte McDow and Roslyn Nixon-Hinlon posed for photos after
the unveiling ceremony.
Office, the unveiling of the
stamp provided an opportunity
to learn the interesting details
of the life of Ms. Anderson, a
person who endured racial dis-crimination
during her long
musical career. Julius Pearse,
President of the Genealogical
Society, described the events
that led up to Ms. Anderson's
triumphant performance at the
Lincoln Memorial in Wash-ington,
D.C. after she was
denied the opportunity to per-form
at Constitution Hall in
Washington by the Daughters
of the American Revolution.
Select Chorale Returns from Triumphant
Musical Tour
Twenty-seven teenagers, all members of
Freeport High School's Select Chorale,
recently spent five days in England perform-ing
at the invitation of Helen Grady, the
choral conductor of the City Technology
College of Kinghurst, in Birmingham.
Ms. Grady had heard a CD recorded by
the Select Chorale, directed by high school
music teacher Stephen Pagano, and was so
impressed that she wanted the Birmingham
'ON 9t7 Freeport Nigh School Select Chorale students receive o worm welcome for their musical
tour in Birmingham, England.
students to hear them in person. "We
were a very big hit," said Director Pagano,
describing the tour as a wonderful experi-ence
both for the Freeport students and
the Birmingham community. "The Chorale
was very well received," he explained, "we
did five concerts, including one in
Worcester Cathedral, and the audiences
were very impressed with the professional-ism
of the students, the extensive range of
their repertoire and the musical talents
of our young people." Mr. Pagano said
the visit helped build bridges between
the Freeport students and the
Birmingham youth.
Ms. Grady was thrilled with the
visit. "'Sensational!', was my initial reac-tion
when I heard their CD. Then after
hearing them perform in person, I
thought their performances were
beyond all expectations." Under the
direction of Mr. Pagano, the Select
Chorale has won accolades not only from
Select Chorale Director Stephen Pagano and City Technology College of Kingnurs)
Chorale Conductor Helen Grady flank some of the members of the Select Chorale
before one of the concerts held in Birmingham, England.
the Freeport community, which contributed
heavily to defray the cost of the trip, but also
from expert music associations throughout
the northeast section of the United States.
The Select Chorale plans to schedule a free
"thank you" concert for the community at
the Freeport High School sometime in April.
Please watch for the announcement of the
time and date.
PTA Celebrates 82 Years of Snccess
One of the top priorities of the Glacken
Administration when it took office in 1997,
was to save the village's declining infrastruc-ture
from further damage, and to return
Freeport to its former glory. Unfortunately,
the preceding years of neglect had taken a
cruel toll on the roads, the streets, the parks
and playgrounds, the recreation center, the
buildings, the water wells, the power plants,
and all the other physical stock that make up
the Village's infrastructure.
Our "Five Worst Streets" program, which
dedicated immediate construction work to
those roads in the village that were in terrible
shape, has gone a long way in helping the vil-lage
make a comeback over the past eight
years, and has brought a renewed sense of
pride to our residents. Now, driving along a
seriously deteriorated roadway is the excep-tion
rather than the rule.
This year, we will begin the re-construc-tion
of Guy Lombardo Ave. Members of the
village's public works department are current-ly
meeting with representatives of Nassau
County to finalize plans for Freeport to over-see
the repair of that badly deteriorated
street and eventually to transfer ownership of
the road from the county to the village. The
project will provide brick sidewalks and
antique lighting fixtures along Guy Lombardo
Ave. between Sunrise Highway and Merrick
Road. Curb cuts, handicap-accessible ramps
and a new stormwater drainage system will
be incorporated in the project.
Reconstruction of the streets in the
Colony Park area is also scheduled for this
year, along with the repair, repaving and
upgrading project set for the Willowbrook/
Delaware/Tanglewood roads section in the
northwest. The exact streets included in the
Colony Park project include the reconstruc-tion
of Ann Drive South, Jeffrey Court, Ann
Drive East, Ann Drive North, Gladys Lane, and
Laurette Lane. The construction work will
include replacing sidewalk and curbing, and
rebuilding the stormwater drainage system as
necessary. The project will be completed by
the end of 2005. Streets included in the sec-ond
road repair project include: Willowbrook
Lane from Seaman Avenue to Delaware
Avenue; Tanglewood Lane from Willowbrook
Lane to Delaware Avenue; and Delaware
Avenue from North Brookside Avenue to
Seaman Avenue.
Unfortunately, these projects had been
placed on hold in 2004 due to the cost associ-ated
with the PCB cleanup at the Power Plant
No. 2 site prior to construction of the new gas
turbines. However, I am pleased to report that
they are back on the agenda for 2005, and we
expect to complete them by the end of the
year.
The last project set for this year is the
reconstruction of Albany Avenue in the
Industrial Park, a road heavily used by boaters
accessing the launch ramp and by tractor-trailers
shipping the goods produced by the
many manufacturing operations at the com-plex
south of Mill Road. The actual work on
this project, which will be conducted
overnight and on weekends to minimize traf-fic
problems, is expected to begin in the
Spring and will take approximately 6 months
to complete.
Plans for the Parks
Waiting for the mild weather to return is
a major factor in scheduling upgrades to the
village's park system. I'm sure many of you
have seen work progressing in Randall Park,
Northeast Park, Glacken Park, and Waterfront
Park.
New playground equipment has already
been installed in Glacken Park and Northeast
Park. Waterfront and Randall parks are
expected to be completed by Spring so that
pavilions, benches, and age-appropriate play-ground
equipment will all be in place in time
for the good weather.
The old sand that was used in the play-ground
areas will be removed and replaced
with new, colorful safety surfaces as soon as
Glackon Park's baseball ttiemed playground
the weather is warm enough for the matting
to be installed.
The replacement of the perimeter fencing
at Randall Park has been a major project and
is now near completion. The original fence
was installed in 1941.
The old fence was badly rusted, and in
many places the metal was rotted away from
the prolonged contact with salt water during
hurricanes, nor'easters and floods.
The original restroom/utility room at
Waterfront Park was demolished last
December as part of the park's restoration
project. A new concrete block building will
be constructed with men's and women's
handicap-accessible restrooms. The building
will also have a room for parks maintenance
and another for recreation programs.
Proposals to replace the fencing surrounding
the Randall Park and Martin Luther King Jr.
Park swimming pools are currently out to bid,
New lance surrounding Randall Park
and new fencing will be in-place for the sum-mer
swim season.
So much has changed in the past 8 years:
in our parks, playgrounds, recreation center,
roads and streets. Yet there are so many more
projects on the drawing board, and other
plans to follow them. Freeport has become a
true Renaissance community, thanks to its res-idents,
its employees and the hard-working
families that call our village home.
Northeast Pork's Forest Theme to coincide with the Picnic Area's 100 yr. old trees
Deputy Mayor Renoire Frierson and Trustee Don Miller congratulate PTA Council President Debra Mule,
Third VP Monica Johnson, Second VP Alma Roche and District Superintendent Dr. Eric Eversley
on another successful Founders Day celebration.
The Freeport School
District's Parent Teachers
Association held its annual
Founders Day event recently
and bestowed lifetime mem-berships
in the organization on
individuals who have made
outstanding contributions to
the PTA over the years. The
honorees selected represent
parents, teachers, administra-tors,
and staff. The evening's
program is arranged to surprise
the recipients with the
announcement that they are
being honored, and then bring
out their families and friends to
create a stage full of smiles and
hugs.
This year, a proclamation
from the Village of Freeport
and Mayor Bill Glacken, honor-ing
the PTA and Founders Day,
was presented by Trustee Don
Miller and Deputy Mayor
Renaire Frierson. Both praised
the invaluable work done by
the PTA, and credited it with
providing a family-centered
atmosphere where children
learn and grow.
Signs Installed Alerting
The members of Freeport's
newly-formed Neighborhood
Watch group gathered with
local elected officials to
celebrate the installation of
more than 40 signs around the
village alerting residents of
the existence of the program.
The group was organized to
assist neighbors both in
recognizing possible criminal
activity and training them
to alert the police immediate-ly,
thereby protecting one
another and their property.
Anyone interested in joining
the group may call 516-377-
0930.
Pictured in the photo are Freeport resident Debbie Wilson, Neighborhood Watch First Vice Chairperson; Nassau County Police
Officer ledo McCullough, Treasurer; Freeport Officer Cindy Cummings, Trustee Don Miller, Mayor Bill Glacken, Dewey Smalls,
Chairman; Dr. Janet Budcner, Second Vice Chairperson, Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson, and Police Chief Mike Woodward.
Mayor Bill Glacken joins Hempstead Town CounciKvoman Angie Cullin, and Trustee Don Miller in congratulating
Sheila Allen on the success of the New life Business Institute and the Penny Foundation.
Mayor Bill Glacken, Deputy
Mayor Renaire Frierson, Trustee
Don Miller and Hempstead Town
Councilwoman Angie Cullin,
attended the recent fund-raising
event sponsored by the New Life
Business Institute to assist the
Penny Foundation in providing
scholarships and other assistance
to men, women and young moth-ers
in need of employment.
The school offers free train-ing
in office skills and computer-ized
medical billing and provides
daycare, counseling, resume assis-tance,
GED preparation and job
interviewing techniques to low-income
persons. The school was
founded by Shelia Allen after she
achieved several years of business
experience in the workplace. Ms.
Allen established the Penny
Foundation as a non-profit opera-tion
dedicated to raising money
and providing scholarships to stu-dents
of the New Life Business
Institute. Since the school opened
in 2003, it has placed over 200 stu-dents
in office jobs, including indi-viduals
recommended by VESID,
DSS, and those with disability lim-itations.
If you are interested in
donating to the scholarship fund,
please contact the Penny
