Start the New Year Right ,T Join the Recreation Center
ary bikes, an indoor
pool with a steam room
and sauna, private
showers, and lockers. A
full size gymnasium ac-commodates
organized
basketball teams and is
available for individual
use. Certified fitness
professionals offer exer-cise
classes to meet
every interest, including
_ Jhe JreeportJRecreation Center's new "bubble" aerobics, strength train-
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January is the perfect time to take a",. The Recreation Cen-look
at the many activities offered at the ter's newly refurbished ice rink,;featur-
Freeport Recreation Center. There are ing a new "bubble" enclosure, new
sports programs, exercise classes and ac- dasher boards,-glass panels, safety net-.
tivities for individuals from tots to teens ting and expanded locker and bathroom
to seniors to keep everyone physically fit facilities, is home to the Freeport Skat-and
active while indoors during the ing Academy under the direction of Liz
Winter. Eldredge. Take a fresh look at Freeport s
The Health Wing offers an exercise Recreation Center - it has something for
room equipped with treadmills, station- everyone of every age.
I9TH ANNUAL
Winter Model Train Show
& Exhibition
Sunday, Jan. 11,2009
10:00am-4:00pm
LONG ISLAND'S
LARGEST
MODEL
RAILROAD
SHOW
FREEPORT RECREATION CENTER
~130E~ Merrick Fil|MQ|pl, NT
The Great South Bay MoSemailRoad Club
OPERATNG MODEL RR LAYOUTS IN ALL MAJOR SCALES
Admission $5.00 - Children under 12 Free with Adult
Door Prizes - Raffles $1.00 each - 6 for $5.00
Z RAFFLE PRIZES
1 - Lionel Train Set
donated by Nassau Hobby
Center
13 W. Merrick Road
Freeport,NY1152g,
Z. HO Train Set
Donated by Trainville
Hobby Depot
3703 Hempstad Tpke.
Levittown, NY 11756
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December, 2008 THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS www.freeportny.gov
Celebrating the Holidays
at the Freeport Recreation Center
Among those who attended Recreation Center event were Freeport Trustees Don Miller and
Jorge Martinez, Hempstead Town Councilwoman Angie Cullin, Mayor Bill Glacken, Nassau Legislator
David Denenberg, and Hempstead Town Clerk Mark Bonilla. Posing in front of the officials is a group of
youngsters who attended the festivities.
The Recreation Center officially kicked ance on the new ice
off the holiday season with . the rink. The newly
opening of its Winter Wonderland display installed "bubble"
on December 13th. Santa Claus arrived by covers the upgraded
fire truck courtesy of the Freeport Fire De- ice rink. The rink
partment to hear the holiday wish list of now features a vari-gifts
from more than 100 youngsters. The ety of improvements,
Freeport High School Select Chorale including new lights,
entertained the crowd with holiday new dasher boards,
favorites, while they waited to talk.to Santa, glass windows, safety
The children also enjoyed an elaborate array netting, comfortable
of Christmas trees decorated in a variety lockers, showers and
able during the warmer months for soccer
and lacrosse.
The Freeport Chamber of Commerce
also sponsored two holiday events earlier in
the month. On December 5th there was a
Holiday Boat Parade down the Woodcleft
Canal, and on December 7th an equally de-lightful
parade on land of vehicles and dis-play
floats made its way down Woodcleft
Avenue. Many of the local restaurants along
the Nautical Mile offered free dinners to
youngsters accompanied by adults.
The holiday display featuring a Christ-mas
tree, a Creche, a Menorah, and a Kwan-zaa
tableau at the Cannon Triangle in
Freeport's Central Business District was as-sembled,
and the lights were turned on, ear-lier
in December, and will remain lit until
the end of the holiday seaspn.
of themes, along with a miniature village
complete with a model train set, life-size
gingerbread cookies, and many other special
displays in the center's lobby.
The Freeport Skating Academy invited to a special surface
everyone to enjoy its first public perform- which will be avail-bathroom
facilities.
The bubble will also
accommodate sum-mer
programs thanks
Children admired the
see Santa
model village and holiday train display while waiting to
at his workshop at the Recreation Center.
Over the past nearly twelve years that
I have been privileged to serve as your
mayor, I have participated in numerous
discussion groups about what the key ele-ments
of a great community are. Invari-ably,
they can be reduced to three factors:
People, places and progress.
People
The best communities are by n'd means
the wealthiest in terms of per capita in-come.
What they are wealthy in, however,
is the diversity of their people, their open-ness
to new ideas, and their willingness to
transform strangers into neighbors. They
are inclusive rather than exclusive. They
have nothing to fear and no one to shun.
Places
--The'second-element-is-a-sense-of places--
Great communities are special because
they are where people choose to live,
work, socialize and raise a family. Many
things contribute to creating a sense of
place: strong families, good schools, well-paying
jobs, a wide range of housing, a
well-maintained infrastructure, cultural,
artistic and athletic programs and facili-ties,
and good architecture and planning.
People who share these values create a
sense of place in their communities. The
sense of place becomes the community's
identity.
Progress
The third element is an understanding of
the importance of progress. Great com-munities
are never completed. They are
constantly renewing and improving them-selves,
never satisfied simply to maintain
the status quo. A lack of progress is not
only unacceptable, it is unimaginable. No
community can be great without fully em-bracing
progress.
like Freeport.
Have a happy and healthy New Year.
The students and their teachers posed on the steps of Village Hall with Mayor
The youngsters in Ms. Teresa
Casoria's fourth grade class enjoyed
their visit to Village Hall and learned a
lot about Freeport's government when
they met with Mayor Bill Glacken in
early November. The students had a
number of questions concerning the
Village's police department, the parks,
the Freeport Recreation Center and the
•new •icerink.-".- ----
The Mayor described the Board
of Trustees meetings held on Monday
nights at 7:30 p.m., in Village Hall.
He explained that residents may attend
the meetings and address the board
about local issues, including road
reconstruction and other Village
matters. ,
The Freeport High
School Select Chorale vis-ited
the lobby of Village
Hall on December 23,2008
to perform traditional holi-day
music. Many of the
Chorale's alumni took part
in the annual event.
The Select Chorale,
under the direction of Steve
Pagano, has met with much
success over the years. The
va'r'idu'H rne'rnbdrs* N6f!Xith"e'J
Chorale have achieved a
variety of awards and
performed in a multitude of
venues during his tenure,
including the Carnegie Hall
Invitational, the Choral Exchange Tours, nition for Freeport High School's talented
Shea Stadium, Disney World International young people, the district is hoping to send
Choral Festival, the 100th Anniversary of the Select Chorale to Spain in April of
Ellis Island and many others. 2009, where it will perform at the Univer-
2009 will mark Mr. Pagano's 30th and sky of Barcelona. The Select Chorale was
final year as Chorale Director. Tercelebrate chosen to give concerts in Spain from
his remarkable success in winning recog- Monday, April 13 to Sunday, April 19,
Mayor Bill Glacken and Chorale Director Steve Pagano,
surrounded by the members of the Chorale, posed for a photo on the front
steps of Village Hall after their recent holiday visit.
2009, at the University of
Barcelona's Century Cathe-dral,
and also at La Sagrada Fa-milia,
the main square of the
village, as well as at Montserrat
(a local mountain peak). Each
student was able to raise over
$600 to pay his/her portion of
the expenses, and there are
many more fundraisers
planned. However, they will
need substantial financial help
to cover"the total cost.' "~ ~'
When the Select Chorale
visited Village Hall, an im-promptu
collection netted
over $100 toward the trip to
Spain. Anyone interested in
making a donation to the "El Grande Se-tenta"
fund in honor of Mr. Pagano and his
dedication to Freeport's students may send
a check or money order payable to:
FHS Chorus Trip, at Freeport High
School, 50 South Brookside Avenue,
Freeport NY. 11520.
Soccer and
PAL President Mike Pomerico and Director Tom
Clements posed for a photo surrounded by the flag
football players representing all the.different teams.
Freeport's Police Athletic League Soc-cer
and Flag Football Programs Awards cer-emony
took place at the Village s Recreation
Center the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The
event honored more than 500 youngsters
for their participation in the PAL Soccer
and Flag Football leagues. In order to ac-commodate
the large number of young- programs, call 516-379-5933. You may view
sters, the trophies were distributed at three other photos from the awards ceremony on
separate sessions. the village's website by going to
Mayor Bill Glacken attended the early www.freeportny.gov and click on depart-awards
ceremony and handed out ments, then scroll down to recreation, and
trophies to the youngest soccer players, click on P.A. L.
He reminded the children to thank
their parents for their help in mak-ing
their participation in soccer
,possible, and the coaches and man-agers
for volunteering their time to
teach the important lessons of good
sportsmanship, fair play and coop-eration.
'
PA'L^-President Mike Pomerico
told the attendees that the organiza-tion'ls^
alw.ays in need of friends and
family members to help out as
coaches, managers, or assistants. For
more information about joining PAL
Posing with one of the younger soccer teams are, left to
right, Coach Mark Stuparich; PAL President Mike
Pomerico; Mayor Bill Glacken, and Freeport Little League
President John Riso.
