Syosset Advance (8/18/23)

Educator receives BOCES award

Syosset BoE examines enrollments, trends

BY RIKKI MASSAND

As the Syosset Central School District’s Board of Education anticipates discussing a priority list of capital projects at its August 28 meeting, the board discussion in late July turned to predictions of future district enrollment.

As the report presented by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Rogers indicated, the “bubble” of higher enrollment currently found in Syosset’s lower grades will be shifting through the middle school and high school levels in the years to come, but

the surge in students is uneven. H.B. Thompson Middle School is currently seeing more of an impact than South Woods Middle School, and two district elementary schools are having their capacities soar.

In the midst of the board’s reflections on district trends, Dr. Rogers commented on the steady increases in residential construction and new housing developments coming to the Syosset and Woodbury area.

“With the new construction there is not only the desire for people to live in the community but the oppor-

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This past June, Megan Falck, a library media specialist at Walt Whitman Elementary School in the Syosset CSD, was recognized by Nassau BOCES and the Nassau Association of School Technologists (NASTECH) as a pioneering educator who has contributed significantly to the advancement of technology in education.

Ms. Falck was honored at the fifth annual Nassau Association of School Technologists Award Recipient (NASTAR) awards ceremony, held at the Nassau

BOCES Brookville Outdoor and Environmental Education Center.

Thanks to Megan Falck, the Walt Whitman Library Media Center is a lively blend of traditional library resources and progressive learning tools. The center also boasts a “Maker’s Space” — a collaborative workspace for creativity, learning, exploring and sharing. She has created a library culture that balances creativity, passion and inquiry, incorporating the necessary digital literacy

skills that are required to support student success. She prepares students for the future through literacy, coding and STEAM education.

“Ms. Falck is deeply devoted to her students and is passionate about creating exciting learning opportunities for them,” said her award nominator Christine Payne, coordinator of instructional and administrative technology. “She has a contagious smile, a generous spirit, and an enthusi-

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Town celebrates Indian independence Day

BY RIKKI MASSAND

India’s annual Independence Day and the many local contributions of the Indian diaspora were celebrated at the Oyster Bay Town Board meeting on Tuesday, August 15. Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino welcomed meeting attendees with a special greeting announcing, “Happy Indian Independence Day,” and discussing the ceremonies that took place in front of Town Hall, 54 Audrey Avenue in Oyster Bay.

Prior to the Town Board’s meeting, Saladino and the Town Council members and other local officials joined

leaders of the South Asian community across the Town of Oyster Bay in raising the Indian green, white and orange flag in front of Town Hall. Supervisor Saladino said that in keeping with the Town Board’s tradition since he took office in 2017, the August 15 meeting would begin with a prayer.

“We begin every Town meeting with prayer as we all believe that is very important as a society, and ecumenically we bring in a very diversified group representing so many different religions. It is our ecumen-

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Megan Falck (center), a library media specialist at Walt Whitman Elementary School in Syosset, is congratulated on being a Nassau Association of School Technologists Award Recipient, by (left to right) Coleen Vereline, Kelly Fokiano, Coordinator of Instructional and Administrative Technology Christine Payne, and Principal Chad Snyder.

Bethpage orchestra student earns scholarship

Fall Toddler Arts and Crafts program

The Town of Oyster Bay will be offering the popular Toddler Arts & Crafts Program again this fall, beginning on October 10. This 6-week program offers classes at the Town’s Ice Skating Center Community Room in Bethpage and at the Hicksville Athletic Center, and is open to children ages 2 through 4.

“The Town’s Toddler Arts & Crafts Program is a wonderful way to help support your toddler’s development through nurturing their artistic expression,” said Town Councilwoman Vicki Walsh. “Classes will certainly fill up quickly as this program offers children an opportunity to meet others their age and explore their creativity. Highlights of the program include holiday crafts and ceramics.”

The Toddler Arts & Crafts Program begins October 10 and is 6 weeks in duration. Residents who sign their toddler up for the program must choose one class per week, per child. Classes will take place on:

Bethpage High School Orchestra Director Dr. Eric Kay (left) with 2023 LISFA Studio Award recipient Katherine Sfeir

Incoming Bethpage High School sophomore Katherine Sfeir was honored as this year’s recipient of the Long Island String Festival Association Studio Award. This $500 scholarship award is presented to deserving students in ninth or 10th grade who were

selected and participated in the LISFA Festival this year.

Sfeir, a viola player, submitted a letter of recommendation from her orchestra teacher and wrote an essay explaining why she wanted to be considered for the scholarship.

• Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. for twoyear-olds, and 11:00 a.m. for three-andfour-year-olds at the Hicksville Athletic Center in Hicksville;

• Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. for

two-year-olds, and 11:00 a.m. for threeand-four-year-olds at the Ice Skating Center Community Room in Bethpage;

• Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. for twoyear-olds, and 11:00 a.m. for three-andfour-year-olds at the Ice Skating Center Community Room in Bethpage.

Registration will take place ONLINE through the Parks Portal available at oysterbaytown.com/portal beginning on September 6 at 9:00 a.m. Space is limited- first come, first serve. Registration will close when the program reaches full capacity.

Each class is approximately 45 minutes. The cost of the program is $35 per child who is a Town resident, and $45 per child whose care giver is a Town resident but not the child. The child’s birth certificate and a tax or utility bill will be required to validate age and proof of residency. A guardian must be present during the class. A smock and supplies will be provided with enrollment.

The Toddler Arts & Crafts Program is run by the Town’s Parks Department, Recreation Division. For further information, please call (516) 797-7945.

This Week at the Syosset Public Library

Monday, August 21, at 1:00 p.m.

Farm to Table Demonstration: Corn & Zucchini Fritters (IN PERSON)

Presenter: Chef Rob Scott

Learn how to create zucchini and corn pancakes and a strawberry crostini for dessert. A perfect way to use our farm fresh produce. Watch Chef Rob and then enjoy a tasting of both dishes. Fee: $5. To register, go to syossetlibrary.org.

Tuesday, August 22, at 2:00 p.m.

Afternoon Book Discussion (IN PERSON)

Join Lisa Hollander, Readers’ Services Librarian for a Book Discussion of “Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane. No registration needed.

See

Thursday, August 24, at 12:00 p.m.

#AskALibrarian (ON TWITTER)

Join librarians from Syosset Library and around the world on Twitter for #AskALibrarian to receive reading suggestions based on your requests. Must have a Twitter account to participate. Read a great book? Need a read-alike? Looking for your next book club choice? Use #AskALibrarian in your tweet.

Thursday, August 24, at 2:00 p.m.

Art Around the World: The Van Gogh Museum (HYBRID)

Presenter: Jay Schuck, art historian

Take a trip to Amsterdam and join the lecturer as he leads a tour through the galleries of the museum. No registration needed for in-person or Zoom. For Zoom link, go to syossetlibrary.org.

From classes to lectures and concerts to movie screenings, there's never a dull day at your local library! Check this paper each week for fun and informative all-ages activities, all for free or cheap!

(right).

Photo courtesy of the Bethpage Union Free School District

Town honors poster contest winners

Waterfront Festival at TOBAY Beach

The Town of Oyster Bay will be holding a Free Family-Fun Waterfront Festival and Outdoor Concert on Sunday, September 10, at TOBAY Beach Marina. In addition to the free concert featuring Jimmy Kenny and the Pirate Beach Band, the ultimate beach party tribute band to Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, and the Zac Brown Band, the day of free family-fun will

Oyster Bay Town Councilman Steve Labriola at John Burns Park.

The Town of Oyster Bay recently honored the winners of the 2023 Bike Safety Poster Contest. The competition was open to 5th grade students through out the Town of Oyster Bay and was held during the month of May in recog nition of Bike Safety Awareness Month. Robbins Lane Elementary School stu dents, Janice Jiang of Jericho and Brendan Lin of Syosset, were both hon

Bowlers needed

The Mercy League Ladies Bowling Team is seeking new members starting in September.

The league plays on Fridays at 9:45 a.m. at Syosset Lanes. $16 per week

concert, educational exhibits and foods and drinks as the summer ends,” said Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. “This free festival also provides a great opportunity to introduce children to recreational sport of fishing, as all equipment will be provided along with professional assistance and guidance.”

The Town of Oyster Bay Free Waterfront Festival and Concert is pre-

Attention students!

Graduated from school? Have an outstanding GPA? Made the honor roll or Dean’s List? Scored an internship or study abroad opportunity? We invite you to send details of any of these things and more, along with your name and contact info, to editor@gcnews.com for a chance to be seen in our paper!

Oyster Bay Railroad Museum

Upcoming Events at the Jericho Public Library

Friday, August 18

10:30 a.m.: Jump for Joy (Ages 18 Months to 5 Years) - Join us for a lively program of music and group activities for you and your child.

2:00 p.m.: VIRTUAL: Great Performers with Marc Courtade: The Genius of Lily Tomlin - Lily Tomlin has had a major career as a comedian, actress, writer and producer for over fifty years. She began in stand-up comedy performing monologues and creating a series of successful characters. This led to a versatile career which included television, stage, recordings and films. Her awards include the Emmy, Grammy and Tony, an Oscar nomination for her work in Nashville, and the Kennedy Center Honors. Tomlin continues to work into her 80s and remains as popular as always. This talk will showcase the genius and talent of this superb artist.

3:00 p.m.: Teens: Summer Reading Finale: Make Your Own Ice Cream Sundae - Summer reading has come to a close, so let’s celebrate by making and enjoying ice cream sundaes! Summer Reading Raffles will be run during the program, but you don’t have to be present to win. Just make sure you have logged all of your reading and used all of your points to be entered into the raffles. **Summer reading program participants only.

Monday, August 21

7:00 p.m.: Friendship Bracelet Workshop (Grades 2–5) - Crafting and friendship can go hand in hand. Learn how to make friendship bracelets.

Tuesday, August 22

2:00 p.m.: VIRTUAL: Art Lecture - The Van Gogh Cypresses with Professor Thomas Germano - This is the first exhibition to focus on the trees that Vincent van Gogh immortalized through his paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (May 22 –August 27, 2023) will showcase Wheat Field with Cypresses and The Starry Night (MoMA) two centerpieces in an exhibition which includes 40 works to illuminate Van Gogh’s fascination with Southern France’s distinctive evergreens. This very specific exhibition offers a unique opportunity to appreciate some of Van Gogh’s most celebrated works in a context that reveals the backstory from Vincent’s arrival in Arles c. 1888 to his confinement in the asylum at St. Remy in 1889/90.

Wednesday, August 23

2:00 p.m.: Teens: Summer Beach Painting - Brush up on your painting skills! As we head toward the end of the season, a professional artist will guide you in painting a delightful summer beach scene.

7:00 p.m.: Summer Constellation (Grades 3 to 5) - We will learn about Orion’s greater Dog “Canis Major”. Then we’ll create our own constellations using LED lights!

Thursday, August 24

10:30 a.m.: Tiny Songbirds (Ages 1–5) Tiny Songbirds is a cooperative early childhood music class that will have you and your little one singing, moving, playing instruments and creating musical moments together.

Free breakfast in schools

The Hicksville School District has announced an amendment to its policy for serving meals for children served under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for the 2023–2024 school year, which would allow for all children at all schools/sites to be served meals at no charge.

For additional information please contact the following person: Hicksville School District, Marcy Tannenbaum, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Business Office, 200 Division Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11801 or call 516-733-2110 or email: matannenbaum@hicksvillepublicschools.org

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Syosset BoE examines enrollments, trends

From page 1

tunity to do so, as there’s housing stock available. It seems that particularly in the wake of the pandemic – with the huge surge in the housing market 18 months ago, where it was extraordinarily volatile –there was much turnover that brought new families into the community. We have not experienced a surge like that (mid2021) during the summer of 2022 and now in summer 2023. It’s a relief in order to plan for enrollment, but we do see this trend and the bunch of students that entered the district will age through the district so as the group ages out of elementary schools it will be going through the middle school and then they’ll age into the high school,” Dr. Rogers explained.

At the board’s special meeting on July 25, School Board Trustee Jack Ostrick asked about the accuracy of district projections for enrollment. Dr. Rogers said the data that indicates more students will be at the middle school level in due time. The question involves the timing in which the higher number of students, now in elementary grades, reaches the middle school levels.

Ostrick commented that Syosset CSD is likely heading towards making significant investments in district buildings’ infrastructure and capacity.

“I think it’s something we need to come to terms with and come to agreement about, because otherwise it’s hard to frame the decisions we have to make,” he noted.

The firm the district has contracted for its enrollment projections geocodes all of the addresses for families of

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existing district students. This allows for a calculation that involves the split from “feeder” schools as for example, some of the Robbins Elementary and South Grove Elementary students go on to attend South Woods Middle School, while others attend H.B. Thompson Middle School.

Superintendent Rogers told the board members, “we are not just trending forward on a line, we are actually taking data of existing families in area homes and taking that to trend which one of the two middle schools the students will go to.”

He also said that with the current statistics, the school district may have about one year more than it projected it would have to adequately prepare aging school buildings for a higher enrollment than in previous years. He explained that the peak of the “bubble” is not the only concern, as the district intends on planning and facilities improvements to address “the ramps” leading up to and following the bubble of higher enrollment.

“We have to start putting room in place to accommodate the ramp, not just the bubble’s peak. With H.B. Thompson Middle School our projections have enrollment plateauing over the next several years and then coming down from that just a little bit, nothing dramatic from either increases or decreases,” the superintendent reported.

“The comparisons between HBT enrollment projections and its current year number were dead-on. With South Woods Middle School the projections were for it to grow a little more than HBT but for now, South Woods is a little below those projections. I still have full confidence in the projections for South Woods’ enrollment to grow, and I do feel we need a plan to accommodate that,” Dr. Rogers added.

Syosset High School will also continue to see a trend towards higher enrollment, the district administration believes. Since

Dr. Rogers started working in Syosset CSD the school has seen a steady increase, to over 100 more students throughout all four grades, year over year.

At its peak, the growth at SHS is expected to be at 10% of its current enrollment. Dr. Rogers explained that this will be a driver for more expansion of facilities, as with that model to accommodate 10% more students, based on 100 classrooms the district would need to add 10 more. The current capital project to add Classroom E94 is likely “Classroom No. 1 of hopefully many to come.” He clearly stated that the need for more classroom spaces will continue to grow in the coming school years.

Board Vice President Brian Grieco shared his thoughts on the consistency of enrollment projections. He said his interpretation of enrollment comes down to the kindergarten enrollments in the district, and whether or not Syosset CSD ends up with “a 20-year bubble with a new plateau, or if it’s one to two years with drastic numbers and then we’ll dip back down.”

Grieco asked if the kindergarten total enrollment for this year and next school year could be “plugged in” to the projections to determine the length of Syosset’s recent surge in enrollment. According to Dr. Rogers, the short answer is ‘no’ because the total enrollment picture is more complicated than each incoming class year of kindergarten students. The district has reviewed data on the number of live births among families already living in Syosset/Woodbury, but the trends indicate there are more families that will move in once children are of elementary school age.

Dr. Rogers said Syosset does see many more students enrolled in their years between first and fourth grade – representing up to 5% per year growth for a given class.

An incoming K-4 class stops growing by the time the cohort

reaches the secondary school level, and the projections end up “less volatile” for upper grades.

“We can and do feed data into the model, but an interesting phenomena in Syosset is that our kindergarten class is only about half composed of live births that occurred in Syosset. That class already includes people who moved into the district – the kindergarten class is roughly around 400 students per year while the graduating (12th grade) class is roughly around 550. You would think this means that if we graduate 550 kids but only enroll 400 kindergarten students the district will get smaller by 150 kids….but if you consider, will the 400 kids in kindergarten translate into 550 high school graduates, I can tell you what the trends indicate but for 12 years from now I would not rely on the trends, because through the next five to six years so much will be changing for that graduating class (of 2035),” Dr. Rogers told the board.

With this information on the table, Trustee Ostrick spoke about the short-term and immediate attention the elementary schools in Syosset will need. He said the district should devise a consistent decision-making model to configure and outfit the elementary schools, according to the enrollment figures anticipated.

“I would like specific sets of rule-making for why certain elementary schools will get significant improvements and others may not. We ought to pick some metric as the schools need to have additional space added to them, at a proportion that is consistent with a set of rules and reasons – whether it is based on square-foot-perchild or the maximum capacity with 23 kids per classroom,” he commented.

He suggested the board might have to weigh which schools to address with capital projects with a timeline, and how each elementary school

should end up with a certain amount of capacity for more students. Ostrick wants the district to review the number of addresses indicating the origins (neighborhoods) sending students to the elementary schools.

“Ultimately that is the feeding ground for how many people can be at any single school at a given time. At one point I looked at it, and while A.P. Willits Elementary had the most addresses for any school, strangely it had the lowest enrollment,” he said.

Superintendent Rogers says his thoughts were helpful, and Ostrick’s observation about A.P. Willits is accurate but an example of how “counterintuitive” metrics exist.

According to Dr. Rogers the district can understand, once a family moves in they will have children at elementary schools but they eventually move to the middle school level; meanwhile the home address is no longer a factor for the elementary school’s enrollment though the kids are still in the district.

“When you have surges of kids at one school, for a period of time that school will feel tight as the bubble goes through it, The bubble then exits the school and goes on to middle school, but the houses don’t turn over – the housing stock does not go away if we observe a lull at the elementary enrollment because it’s being occupied by middle school or high school-sending families. This contributes to the cyclical nature of seeing our enrollments at school buildings rise and fall, but they are not all rising and falling with one another. As a district we are growing overall, but I can think of (J. Irving) Baylis Elementary with a surge a few years ago which then crested and fell, and now those kids are aging into middle school but the district families remain within the Baylis catchment area,” Dr. Rogers noted.

Town celebrates Indian independence Day

From page 1

ical approach to government and community in this wonderful Town. As we celebrate Indian Independence Day we asked Giani Amarjit Singh from the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center (1065 Old Country Road in Plainview) and Head Granthi Giani Kuldeep Singh, from Guru Nanak Darbar in Hicksville,” he said.

The Town Board welcomed the two Sikh religious leaders as they recited an Ardas; all the Town officials stood, folded their hands and bowed their heads for participation in the prayer. Special thanks and wishes were offered during the Ardas, asking for Waheguru Ji’s blessing for the Council members, Supervisor Saladino and the public present at Town Hall.

The Town Board continued the meeting after thanking the members of the local Sikh gurudwaras who attended and shared the morning prayer. Supervisor Saladino reached out and told the residents, “May God bless you, and may God bless us all.”

The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by military veterans from AMVETS Post 21 in Oyster Bay. Supervisor Saladino said the Town greatly appreciates the veterans’ service to the country

and to all of the residents, “and your continued service to veterans and the community.”

The Pledge was followed by a moment of silence, to pray for the safety of active duty military and members of law enforcement and public safety divisions on Long Island and the region’s healthcare heroes, “who continue to protect us in healthcare settings throughout the Town and Nassau County.”

Syosset Students win Poster Contest

Town Supervisor Saladino spoke about the poster contest for bicycle and traffic safety that was open to 5th grade students. Dozens of local kids took part in the competition to raise awareness of bicycle safety.

The winners of the poster contest announced at Tuesday’s meeting were two Robbins Lane Elementary School students (who completed 5th grade last school year): Janice Jiang of Jericho and Brendan Lin of Syosset. They posed for pictures with Town officials, as Councilwoman Vicki Walsh, who represents Syosset, as well as Councilwoman Laura Maier were thanked for their efforts in making the Town’s bicycle safety poster program a great success.

“One only has to turn on TV or the

internet to learn of horrific accidents on our roads and sometimes they end in the perishing of residents and others. Safety on our roads is critically important and we take our role very seriously in promoting traffic and bicycle safety,” Supervisor Saladino said.

Special Olympics’ Spring Games

Another recognition ceremony at the August 15 Town Board meeting saw members of Special Olympics New York and the organization’s partners who helped in making the Special Olympics Spring Games, held at the Farmingdale School District’s Howitt Middle School on May 6, a great success. Many TOBAY officials were present at the May Special Olympics Spring Games, which included competitive track and field events for over 500 athletes, supported by over 300 coaches.

“Over the years the Special Olympics has offered our children and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in a true Olympic-style event. Like all athletes they train, they compete and they focus on the goal – not only physically but with their mindset. The competitors really strived to do their best. The athletes read an oath, which states ‘Let me Win, But if I can

not win let me be Brave in the attempt,’” Supervisor Saladino explained.

He then added his sentiments to that, reflecting on the great experience the event provides.

“Every student who competes, wins. They WIN the feeling of accomplishment, and they WIN the feeling of selfworth. To those volunteers, they get to spend time with the athletes and in many cases people who do not have as much as they have, who are very thrilled just for that opportunity to compete. What a fabulous lesson and growth opportunity for students in our community, and the students specifically in Farmingdale – we are very proud of them!”

“The school district hosted the games for the second straight year. They did a phenomenal job, and it is so appreciated, and we have so many organizations that donated from their hearts in many, many ways to the Games. The 7 Eleven corporation bought a generous sponsorship and provided over 600 meals for the staff and athletes,” Supervisor Saladino said, before he recognized leadership and employees from the 7 Eleven corporation and other Special Olympics Spring Games’ sponsors and staff at the meeting.

Syosset educator receives BOCES award

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asm for education that is both enjoyed and appreciated by her colleagues. We are so proud to have her in our district, and so grateful for all she does to keep everyone connected, both literally and figuratively!”

The NASTAR awards were created by the Nassau BOCES NASTECH Service to honor educators for their

innovation, leadership and support of technology initiatives in their school districts. Each recipient is selected by their district based on this criterion. This year, a total of 27 Nassau County educators were acknowledged for their achievements in a ceremony conducted by Nassau BOCES NASTECH and Data Privacy and Security Service Supervisor Laura Pollak and Program Specialist Barbara Deal.

August 18, 2023

Granville Island, Vancouver’s Nearby

Getaway, is Cornucopia of Art, Culture

BY KAREN RUBIN TRAVEL FEATURES SYNDICATE GOINGPLACESFARANDNEAR.COM

I have cleverly arranged for a late flight from Vancouver, so I would have a whole day to continue to explore.

Indigenous Tourism BC which has arranged my itinerary has offered a number of suggestions: rent a bike and riding around the seawall at Stanley Park; visit the Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St, Vancouver); visit Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver) to see Indigenous micro-exhibition Spirit Journeys: Walking with Resilience, Wellbeing and Respect; visit Granville Island.

Rick, the Skwachàys Lodge manager, just the evening before, had raved about how much he loves visiting to Granville Island – it has the best public market – and was planning to go himself.

I map out a delightful 3.3 km walk from the hotel to David Lam Park where I hop the cute Aquabus ferry for the few minutes ride to Granville Island. (Aquabus, $6/roundtrip, which also offers a 40-minute ferry ride tour)

As soon as I climb the stairs from the ferry dock, I appreciate why Granville Island very properly boasts of being a “magical escape within a city.” I would add: playful, whimsical, fantastical, a place of endless delight, a non-stop smile.

The charm of Granville Island lies in its unexpected mix of uses which reveal themselves as you simply wander around. People come for the most spectacular public market (open daily 9am-7pm) with 70 purveyors of all

manner of fresh produce and fine foods (some famous, like Lee Donuts, where as Rick tells me to expect, there is a line outside to get in); the Net Loft featuring “offbeat artisan goods” and marvelous boutiques and shops with local creations and imported crafts from Latin America, Asia and Africa like Mondo Company (“Step into our world and discover fairly traded, ethically sourced, handcrafted products from artisans around the globe”, www.mondoandcompany.com); a bustling Artisan District where you see and meet artists at work in their studios and galleries; a children’s district (toy stores!); and performance venues (Ballet BC coming to

Granville Island), plus special events and festivals, all taking over vacated (and for a time decrepit) industrial buildings. There is even a hotel.

Art and music are everywhereeven the cement factory (one of the few industrial uses that remains) has painted “Giants”on its gi-normous silos (painted by Brazilian graffiti artists Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for THETWINS), which was commissioned in 2014 by Vancouver Biennale as part of an open-air museum, and were only expected to be up temporarily. It cost $180,000 and 1400 cans of spray paint and costs $17,000 a year to maintain.

(https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/giants-on-granville-island-silos)

But before Granville Island was a cultural mecca, before it was an urban wasteland, before it was an industrial hub, it was the meeting place for three First Nations summer potlatch.

The xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and S əl ílw ə ta ʔ /Selilwitulh (TsleilWaututh) peoples are indigenous to the area around Vancouver and have lived on these lands for thousands of years...” Chief Janice George, Skwxwú7mesh, writes. “The Salish, the Indigenous people of the area, used a large sand bar (later filled in to become an Industrial Island, then Granville Island), and the surrounding areas for traditional purposes such as hunting, gathering, travel, and everyday living and cultural activities. The resources were so plentiful, the Salish people had a saying, ‘when the tide went out, the table was set,’ meaning that when the tide went out, they could walk with the tide and have enough food for their families.”  As Vancouver was colonized in the 1860s, it became shipping port (there are still the railroad tracks), but as industries shuttered, it descended into a derelict industrial wasteland from 1950-60s. A few artists squirreled away, making art in studios within the Quonset huts.

A historic marker notes that Granville Island was created between 1913 and 1916 when the government of Canada and the newly created federal Vancouver Harbour Commission contracted to pump and dredge over 1 million cubic yards from the bottom

Continued on next page

One of the most photographed scenes in Vancouver: “The Giants” at the cement factory on Granville Island, painted by Brazilian graffiti artists Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo (known as OSGEMEOS). Granville Island, once a gathering place for First Nations peoples, is a mecca for arts and culture © Karen Rubin/ goingplacesfarandnear.com

GOING PLACES, NEAR & FAR....

Granville Island, Vancouver’s Nearby Getaway

Continued from previous page

of False Creek and deposit the material behind pilings ringing several sandbars and First Nation fishing weirs. “Over the next 50 years, heavy industry waxed and waned” on Granville Island. By the early 1960s it had become a squalid, seedy and derelict industrial area.” For the next 10 years, while politicians debated, four entrepreneurs began buying up four buildings which they renovated into “The Creekhouse,” interestingly, retaining the industrial look.

In the 1970s, MP Ron Basford arranged for the Canadian government to buy the land and experiment with public spaces and venues for food, culture, and  artists. Today, Granville Island provides space for 300 businesses employing more than 3,000 people and is “an active public space showcasing Vancouver culture to locals and rest of world,” a marker states.

In the Artisan District, I meet artists Cheryl Hamilton and Michael Vandermere in their enormous, factory-sized studio space, ie creative artworks (her imaginative sculptures lately have been themed about climate change); BC Blacksmith Miran Elbakyan (www. bcblacksmith.com); Benjamin Kikkert who works in hot glass and mixed media sculpture; carver Todd Woffinden; silk weavers (www.silkweavingstudio. com), broommakers Mary and Sarah Schwieger (broomcompany.com). There are also indigenous art galleries.

At my last stop, I find myself in front of a gold plaque identifying this place as the site of renowned artist Bill Reid’s studio, where he created the sculpture that is now at Vancouver Airport.

This is now the Nutter Studio, where glass artisan John Nutter does the etching in glass that many of the indigenous artists design. He even created the glass windows for Young Israel Synagogue in Hillcrest, Queens NY (my old neighbor-

hood!) and seven windows for Atlantic Beach Jewish Center on Long Island (my brother’s neighborhood!) Small world! (www.johnnutterglassstudio.com).

We have a vigorous discussion of art versus craft, the revival of indigenous arts (or is it crafts?) and artists who feel obligated to re-create traditional symbols, images and techniques, versus developing their own style and statement.

Throughout Granville Island, there are homages to its Indigenous origins, and the website offers this statement: CMHC-Granville Island would like to acknowledge that we are located on the traditional territory of the xʷməθkwəyəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.

Check the Granville Island website for events (Sunset Dragonboat and Saturday Dragonboat drop in Sessions!), https://granvilleisland.com/

Skwachàys Lodge, Canada’s

First Aboriginal Art Hotel

Staying at the Skwachàys LodgeCanada’s first Aboriginal Art Hotelenhances my experience in Vancouver with this immersion into local Indigenous art and culture.

Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS opened the Skwachàys Lodge, the Urban Aboriginal Fair-Trade Gallery, and the Artists in Residence Program in June 2012, transforming a derelict SRO hotel into a social enterprise consisting of a boutique hotel with a street-level art gallery and on-site housing and studio space for 24 Indigenous artists.

The Artists in Residence Program provides up to three years of affordable housing, 24/7 access to workshops, and opportunities for personal and professional development that help artists develop their craft and move into the next phase of their careers. To date, 110 Indigenous artists have participated in the program.

The Lodge, the Urban Aboriginal

A GREENER VIEW

BY JEFF RUGG

Fair-Trade Gallery and production space are operated as a self-sustaining social enterprise. Artists are paid a fair price for their work (30%-60% of the retail price depending on the artist’s reputation and the cost that is underwritten by the gallery (framing, marketing and promotional expenses).

Skwachàys Lodge goes way beyond living in and supporting art – there are also opportunities for guests to engage in authentic Indigenous cultural experiences

Sweat Lodge Ceremony: Skwachàys has a traditional First Nations Sweat Lodge and offers private  Sweat Lodge Purification Ceremonies lead by a Sweat Lodge Keeper. The  Sweat Lodge, located in the rooftop garden, is a domed structure constructed from inter-woven willow branches symbolizing Mother Nature’s womb. During the ceremony, the Keeper places heated rocks –known as “grandmothers and grandfathers” –to cleanse and purify the participant’s heart, soul and spirit, bringing life balance and connection to Mother Nature.

Traditional Smudge Ceremony:

Skwachàys has an authentic Indigenous Smudge Room on its Raven Level. In a  Smudging Ceremony, sacred plants are burned, surrounding the participants’ body and senses in the aromatic smoke to purify body, spirit and home. Three different kinds of plants are used: cedar bows are burned for cleansing; sage to drive out ill feelings or influences, protecting the place of ceremony; and sweet grass, one of the most sacred plants, is burned to bring in positive influences and energies.

These ceremonies are personal and private, so arrangements must be made in advance. A minimum number of people is required. (For more information and costs, reservations@skwachays. com).

Studio Visits With Artists: Visitors can also arrange studio visits with Indigenous artists in residence.

DIY Compost Saves Money

Instead of spending money to have your yard waste picked up and hauled off to a composting facility and then turning around and buying organic matter for the garden and flower beds, why not just do it yourself? Compost has many sources and many uses. It is mostly decayed organic matter. The most common ingredients are leaves, grass clippings, dead plants and kitchen scraps from fruits and vegetables. Do not use animal products from the kitchen because they decompose slowly and attract pests.

By returning composted organic mat-

ter to the garden, you can improve plant growth. It adds nutrients, loosens clay soil for roots, water and air and improves the soil’s structure. Just as grass benefits from having the nutrients in its clippings recycled back into the lawn, trees also benefit from having their nutrients returned to them. If there are just a few leaves, mow them a few times to break them into small pieces that will filter down to the soil. Larger quantities of leaves can be composted and added back to the tree as mulch.

Keeping your compost pile in a bin will keep the area tidy. A bin can be purchased or made from snow fencing, wire fencing

or concrete blocks. The most important feature of any bin is that air must be able to circulate on all sides. The ability to cover it to keep rain out is also helpful.

Making compost is not very difficult if you follow a few basic principles. First, bacteria and fungi do the work, so they must be added and given the proper conditions to grow. They are added through the incorporation of soil into the pile or by store-bought inoculants.

Any plant material is food for these microorganisms. They use carbon in the food for energy and nitrogen for mak-

Continued on page 5

Artists including jewelers, painters, carvers, sculptors work on projects in the shared  Artist Studio, located in the basement  throughout the year.

The Skwachàys Lodge has a Kayachtn Room  (the Salishan word for “welcome”), a space where the Lodge community can come together to connect, create memories and share a meal – and is where breakfast is served.

“Indigenous culture rests on a communal social structure, one that values living in harmony with one another, as well as with the natural world.”

Skwàchays Lodge 31 W Pender St Vancouver, BC V6B 1R3 604.687.3589,    1 888 998 0797,    info@skwachays.com, https://skwachays.com/

Indigenous Tourism BC

With 204 Indigenous communities and more than 30 Indigenous languages – about one-third of Canada’s First nations population - British Columbia offer extensive authentic Indigenous experiences on reserves, in remote areas and even cities like Vancouver.

The best guide to these experiences is Indigenous British Columbia, a tourism development and promotion organization that connects visitors with Indigenous-owned, operated and staffed lodges, museums, culture centers, restaurants, wineries, hiking (indigenous guide), bear viewing, whale watching, outdoors adventures, wellness and other experiences.

Indigenous Tourism BC offers travel ideas, things to do, places to go, places to stay, and suggested itineraries. Download a trip planning app (https:// www.indigenousbc.com/indigenous-bctrip-planner-app/)

Indigenous Tourism BC, 100 Park Royal S #707, West Vancouver, BC V7T 1A2, 604-921-1070, https://www.indigenousbc.com

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear. com.

Crossword Answers

The talents of a cook, a singer and a florist

BY CLAIRE LYNCH

My friend, Samantha, always dreamed of opening a restaurant featuring breakfast and brunch so six months ago she did just that. She and her contractors spent time renovating an old building and setting up the interior with a bar, tables and seating for 45 people, and a huge kitchen. “Sammie’s Place” has been a hit from the first day. Using social media to advertise, people came from all over. Sandwiches include a chicken salad wrap with a side of chips and chicken cordon bleu, grilled, on a pretzel bun. Brunch is steak, eggs and home fries.

Her brunch special often includes pancakes piled high with fruit. On holidays she offers a lobster dish that people rave about and when lines started forming out the door, Sammie started taking reservations. That way the customers can take their time enjoying their meals, on special occasions or not, and not feel rushed by the people waiting to enter. Six days a week they are open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. That gives Sammie and her employees time to clean up and prepare for the next day.

Looking at her logo on the sign as she pulled out of the parking lot, she smiles seeing her silhouette encircled by the name of the restaurant, Sammie’s Place. She told me she was glad she had become a small business owner, that being her own boss allows her to have some independence and be as creative as she wants to be in the kitchen. And her customers love the results!

Reading a non-fiction book about singer Peter Cetera’s life was interesting because even though I’ve heard his songs so many times I never knew where he was from. This came up recently because my family and I were watching “Good Girls” on Netflix for the second time around and I was sur-

prised when Peter Cetera’s song “The Glory of Love” came on. It reminded me of 1986, the year it came out, and where I was then. At 30 years old, I was in the midst of my PR career working for a corporation in Manhattan. It seems so long ago and in many ways it was. Ronald Reagan was the president. When I saw the movie, “The Karate Kid Part II,” and heard the song, I sat upright in my chair. The lyrics go, “I’ll be the hero you’re dreaming of …”

Peter Cetera songs are great - he was a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band “Chicago” from 1967 until 1985 when he launched his solo career - so I decided to read more about his upbringing. Born in Chicago in 1944, Cetera has said that his mother was always singing around the house. Cetera was one of six kids and his mother taught them to sing in harmony while they were doing their chores around the house. His brother, Kenny, also remembers the family harmonizing together while growing up. Because people would give him compliments and say that he was a good singer, at age 11 Cetera realized that he actually had a talent for singing.

Cetera kept enjoying music and at 11 his parents bought him an accordion instead of the guitar he wanted. He calls himself “kind of a polka prodigy” and at 12 Peter Cetera won a local talent competition for his accordion playing. The show was broadcast on the radio the following week. In high school Peter Cetera thought of becoming a singer as a career.

When he was 15, some older students from his high school took him to a club to see a band called the “Rebel Rockers.” Cetera liked the music so much that afterwards he bought an acoustic guitar at Montgomery Ward. He eventually took up the electric bass, and started playing in a band with some

high school friends - a drummer, a guitarist and a saxophone player. Cetera and the guitarist were the lead singers.

Melanie, my old high school friend, worked a few retail jobs before deciding to open her own florist. She always wanted to be her own boss so when a shop that was the perfect size for what she wanted became available, Melanie seized the opportunity to go into business. Designing floral arrangements is what she really wants to do - that and decorating weddings and other celebrations with floral arrangements and potted plants. I’ve noticed that Melanie has a real knack for design and I’m envious of people who can take a plain space and make it look gorgeous. It’s a talent!

When I compliment her, Melanie says that she doesn’t really have a green thumb and she is not a person who spends time gardening outside but she’s got a creative flair. One time Melanie explained that both of her parents are very artsy and she got lucky by inheriting that gene. She likes what she does and it shows.

Her customers have agreed because

Melanie’s florist has done so well that she has hired five full-time employees. Sometimes Melanie packs the van with boxes of floral arrangements for delivery and on other days one of her employees does the deliveries to their happy customers. They are open six days a week - they are closed on Sundays for their day of rest.

When I stopped by her store recently, my favorite was the vase of lilies with carnations and chrysanthemums. It was beautifully arranged and I could see it brightening up a dining room table or sitting on top of a traditional fireplace mantel.

Melanie’s florist holds many beautiful things: baskets of flowers, different types of green potted plants, silk arrangements, botanical soaps, lotions, candles, specialty fruit and snack baskets and more. At the end of the day Melanie is happy about having a job she loves and equally as important, she offers steady employment to some local residents. That all sounds good to me!

BY TOM MARGENAU

For reasons that will become clear at the end of this column, I am updating another column I wrote about four years ago.

I am going to give you a series of names. I would give any reader a hundred bucks if he or she could tell me who they are and what they all have in common. Here are the names. Stanford Ross. William Driver. John Svahn. Martha McSteen. Dorcas Hardy. Gwendolyn King. Shirley Chater. Kenneth Apfel. Michael Astrue. Kilolo Kijakazi.

So who are they? They are 10 of the past 30 commissioners of Social Security. The Commissioner of Social Security is the top spot within the Social Security Administration. He or she is responsible for running one of the largest agencies in the federal government, in charge of maintaining Social Security number and earnings records for nearly every working American, and for paying retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to about 70 million people every month.

Yet, almost no one knows who these people are. Most folks can probably name the FBI director or the head of the CIA. But SSA is one of the many federal agencies whose top dog might as well be named “Underdog.” Who heads the VA? Who is the Commissioner of the IRS? Who runs the Federal Highway Administration? How about the Bureau of Labor Statistics? The heads of these and so many other federal agencies are almost always nameless political appointees. And therein lies a story I’d like to tell.

For part of my career with the SSA, I worked for several Social Security commissioners. Usually in the role of a speechwriter. Sometimes as the agency’s deputy press officer. By no means was I a major player on any commissioner’s staff. But I used to say that “at least I was in the room.” In other words, if the commissioner had a meeting with his or her top staff, I might be sitting in a chair in the corner of the room -- usually taking notes.

So I got to know a lot about the inner workings of the agency. I learned what the head of a big agency like the SSA really does. One of the commissioners I worked for (I won’t name names) was President Ronald Reagan’s pick to head Social Security. And one time, soon after she was appointed, she told me that Reagan told her this: “You really have only one job. Make sure those damn checks go out on time every month!”

But let’s be honest about that. The issuance of Social Security checks is pretty institutionalized. It’s built into the nature of the bureaucracy. Social Security checks have gone out on time every month for about 88 years now. Donald Duck could be the Commissioner of Social Security and the checks still would go out like clockwork each month. After all, commissioners come and go. It’s the dedicated civil servants who have been

with the agency for decades who really keep the place humming along and make sure those checks always go out in a timely manner.

So what the commissioner really does, what the head of any large organization really does, is set the tone for how services will be provided and how staff will be allocated to provide those services.

And for many recent years, the Commissioner of Social Security has had to deal with the problem of ballooning workloads (10,000 baby boomers retiring every day) and dwindling resources.

This is an issue that has always puzzled me. I mean, if any private business was growing by 10,000 new customers every day, they would be hiring lots of new staff to deal with the increased workloads.

But sadly, that’s not the way the public sector works. Because so many Americans keep clamoring for less government ... well, they’re getting it. The SSA’s administrative budget (along with the budgets of most federal agencies) frequently comes under the knife -- leading to severe staff shortages. So there is a reason why you have to wait on hold for a couple hours when you call the SSA’s 800 number. Or why there are huge backlogs in disability claim appeals.

So I’m sure the SSA’s newest commissioner (more about that in a minute) will be looking at these problems and trying to reallocate staff to improve service to the public.

Before I get to the new big boss at the SSA, I must make this point. A long time ago, a chief of staff for one of the Social Security commissioners told me this. “Tom, when a Democrat is president, you will get a good Commissioner of Social Security. When a Republican is president, you will get an ineffective Commissioner of Social Security.” This seemingly biased analysis carried a bit of weight with me because the chief of staff who told me this was himself a Republican political appointee!

His reasoning went like this. For years, Social Security has been known as a favorite of the Democratic party. So if a Democrat is president, and you are a potential Democratic political appointee, you would be pleased and honored to be named the Commissioner of Social Security. Some of the best and brightest people available got the job. On the other hand, if a Republican is president, and you are a potential Republican political appointee, almost the last job you want is to be the head of Social Security. More desirable jobs were filled by the top people, and SSA got someone from near the bottom of the Republican political appointee barrel. (And again, remember, these sentiments were those of a Republican politico.)

Sadly, this proved true when Donald Trump was president. He named as his Commissioner of Social Security a guy

named Andrew Saul. His critics charged that he was previously associated with some right-wing groups that advocated deep cuts in Social Security benefits. And surprise, surprise! His tenure at the agency didn’t go well. According to at least one government report, SSA employee’s job satisfaction declined during his reign -- citing lack of confidence in agency leadership as the main reason.

Now President Joe Biden has nominated Martin O’Malley as the next Social Security Commissioner. As a former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland, at least he comes into the job with some administrative experience running large governmental organiza-

tions. And I’m going to hope that what my former Republican colleague told me is true: because he was appointed by a Democratic president, I hope he will be an effective leader and turn the SSA back into the proud and service-oriented agency it used to be.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers on page 2

Expanding Your Home to Stay Where You Are

You’ve been searching high and low for another home to purchase with more space for your growing family and for working remotely. Maybe it’s about your location, better schools, or having your in-laws reside with you to watch your children. Whatever your reasons are, this market has been very stressful for those looking to move. Even for those 1st-time buyers, getting “knocked out of the ballpark” with bidding wars or not being prepared sufficiently enough by not having that all-important piece of paper called, “the commitment letter.” Getting stuck in your current situation, whether it is staying in your current rental or living with parents or in-laws has its pluses and drawbacks. But solutions are hard to come by, as the inventory is at historic lows, and interest rates are causing monthly payments to exceed many budgets. There are no extra dollars to be had to compete with the vast amount of other purchasers that are vying for the same limited number of homes that are for sale.

Those that are already in a home, in a desirable location with excellent schools have an option to consider expanding their footprint and go through the construction process, especially if a room for your job or business is a necessary and mandatory requirement. I get it, it’s not an easy task or decision to make, especially if you don’t want to rent another place and go through that additional expense, while your home is under construction. However, you could consider, staying in your home while construction is underway, as my daughter did, when she purchased her new home in 2022; but locked in her financing in December of 2021. She, her husband, and children lived in one section of their home, while the other part was

BY PHILIP A. RAICES

renovated. It’s not an easy path to take, but it can be accomplished with some concerted effort, stick-to-itiveness, determination, and perseverance. Obviously, it will save you a lot of money and you can see the daily progress as it unfolds showing you all the improvements. As far as inconvenience, there will always be some, but as they say, “no pain, no gain.” The contractor can completely seal off the areas properly, so the dust can be pretty much minimized, as was completed in my daughter’s new home. Interviewing at least 3-5 contractors and getting referrals and recommendations when hiring to make sure that the company you hire will start and finish the job within certain time constraints. Even paying a little extra bonus may incentivize your contractor to complete your renovation sooner or at least in a timelier manner. One issue that I will convey to you is depending on the level of quality and the availability, especially if they are high-end, is to order all your appliances right from the beginning as it took my daughter 16 months, with the delays and supply chain and production issues, to get her Subzero refrigerator.

Another important item to consider is your budget for the upgrades and improvements. Will you be financing or paying outright for the job? You could also consider a HELOC (home equity line of credit). This could be less money depending on your relationship with your lender and/or who you borrow from. This type of financing can be used and interest is only applied when the money is utilized; as you will be

paying your contractor a portion of the total as each step of the work is completed. Start with your bank and check a few others for comparison. You can do a secured loan if you have the necessary funds as this should provide you the lowest rate and cost.

If you work remotely at home then there is an allowable tax deduction equal to a percentage of the total number of rooms being used overall for your business. So if you have 5 rooms and use 1, then you would have a 20% write-off on all the expenses in running your home including your mortgage. However, I would advise you to always speak to your CPA to know the exact extent of your benefits from working at home.

The working environment will never be the same after the Covid19 Pandemic. The hours lost traveling to and from work can now be utilized either by being more productive or adding to your quality family time. I am quite positive that many will no longer have to go to their normal offices anymore. There have been some conflicting studies (WWW. BusinessNewsDaily.com May 26, 2023 and apollotechical.com January 3, 2023) that some say working remotely is more productive than being in an office environment, and some same the opposite. It’s all up to the individual and how they approach their work. But for a majority, studies have shown that the work-life balance increases productivity and enables a healthier lifestyle. So staying put, upgrading, and adding space just might be the solution to not having to move.

A GREENER VIEW

Continued from page 2

ing protein. They grow fastest and break down organic matter quicker when the carbon to nitrogen ratio is about 30:1.

Leaves are naturally about 60:1 and grass clippings are about 19:1. Two bags of grass clippings to one bag of leaves will provide a good nutrient balance for the microbes.

If you have been leaving the clippings on the lawn all year (that’s great), it is OK to use some for the compost.

The best place for the pile is in a shady, well drained, out-of-view (to you and the neighbors) location. The pile must be kept damp like a wrung-out sponge. If the pile

dries out the decomposition slows down, and if it is too soggy fermentation may start.

A compost pile of about five feet by five feet works best. It is large enough to retain the heat generated by decomposition and small enough to allow interior air circulation essential to prevent fermentation and sour odors.

The interior of the pile will reach a temperature of 130 to 170 degrees in about one week. The heat will kill many insect eggs, weed seeds and disease organisms. In two to three weeks the temperature will drop, and the pile will need to be mixed by turning it inside-out. Turning the pile after

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 40 years experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S.) and in 2022 has earned his National Association of Realtors “Green Industry designation for eco-friendly construction. He will provide you with “free” regular updates of sold and new homes in your town via the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island (MLSLI) or go to https://WWW. Li-RealEstate.Com and you can “do it yourself (DYI) and search on your own. For a “FREE” `15 minute consultation, as well as well as a “FREE printout or digital value analysis of what your home might sell for in today’s market without any obligation or “strings” attached. He can also provide a copy of “Unlocking the Secrets of Real Estate’s New Market Reality, and our Seller’s and Buyer’s Guides for “Things to Consider when Selling, investing or Purchasing your Home.

You can email or snail mail (regular mail) him with your request or ideas, suggestions or interview you for a specific topic and a Q & A for a future column with your name, email and cell number. He will email or call you back and respond to your request ASAP as long as he has your complete name, cell, email and/or full home or business address. Again, for a “FREE” 15 minute consultation, he can also be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@ TurnKeyRealEstate.Com to answer any of your questions and concerns in selling, investing, purchasing, or leasing residential or commercial property.

each peak in temperature will speed up the process.

The compost will be ready in two to six months, depending on the temperature and type of organic matter used. Virtually no decay takes place when the temperature is below the 40s. It is ready to use when it is dark brown, uniformly crumbly and has a sweet, earthy smell.

A properly maintained compost pile doesn’t smell bad. If it starts to smell rotten, it is either too wet or not getting enough air circulation. Turning it, mixing in more coarse material such as wood chips and covering it to keep out rain will help. If it is too dry, try cupping the top so

it will gather rainwater. If it is only moist and warm in the middle, it is probably too small. If the pile won’t heat up, add nitrogen from organic fertilizer like bloodmeal, manure or grass clippings.

Composting is an easy and cost-effective method of returning precious organic matter back to your plants and fixing clay soil problems.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@ greenerview.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 JEFF RUGG

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS

DIY Compost Saves Money

Saturn’s Changing Rings

BY DENNIS MAMMANA

Week of Aug. 20-26, 2023

Just about everyone’s favorite planet is back in our evening sky once again. The ringed beauty Saturn reaches its “opposition” point in late August (officially on Aug. 27) when it appears as a fairly bright “star” that rises in the southeast at sunset and remains visible all night.

You shouldn’t have too much trouble spotting this distant world since it’s now easily the brightest object in that part of the heavens. For additional help, keep in mind that the nearly full moon will appear near Saturn on the nights of Aug. 29 and 30.

Not only does a planet’s opposition mean that it lies opposite the sun in our sky, but it also means it’s closest to the Earth. This week, Saturn approaches within only about 814.6 million miles of our planet, and its larger apparent size produces a marvelous view through a telescope.

Even a small instrument with only a magnifying power of 30x or so will show its rings as well as Saturn’s largest and brightest moon, Titan. Of course, viewing through a larger telescope with a higher magnification under good skies will show not only the planet’s rings but also a break within them known as the Cassini division.

Saturn’s rings have been known

for nearly four centuries and, for most of that time, scientists debated their true nature. Today, because of hightech astronomical instrumentation and spacecraft visits, we know that the rings are composed of chunks of ice and dust whirling around the planet at thousands of miles per hour.

A person’s first view of the planet Saturn through a small telescope always elicits a gasp of wonder, as the remarkably three-dimensional ringed world appears suspended against the blackness of space. If you’ve never experienced this magnificent sight, now is the best time to do so, but you might want to wait until later in the evening when the planet is higher in the sky.

It may not appear like it when you see it, but Saturn’s ring system is massive. Its diameter is about 170,000 miles, which means that if it were brought to the Earth, it would fill much of the space between our planet and the moon. Interestingly, however, this ring system is only a few hundred feet thick at most!

Because these rings are tilted to their orbital plane, as Saturn revolves around the sun, we view them from different angles, causing them to take on dramatically different appearances over the years.

Since the rings are tilted at a 26.7-degree angle to the Earth, when Saturn’s poles are tilted towards the sun and Earth, the rings appear “open” at

LOST IN SUBURBIA Burial

at Sea

BY TRACY BECKERMAN

As I plugged my phone into the outlet next to the toilet, I had a fleeting thought that it was sort of an odd place for an outlet. I guessed that the previous owners had installed it there precisely so they could charge their phone and use it while they were doing their business. That was actually the last thought I had before my phone slipped out of my hands and fell directly below the outlet...

Into the toilet.

The good news was the water in the toilet was clean.

The bad news was it was still water. And you’re not supposed to get your phone wet, much less have it do a deepsea submersion in your toilet bowl.

For the lucky few, a wet phone will grudgingly continue to work with maybe a few glitches. But typically when this happens, the phone immediately turns into a gremlin and fries its

own insides.

It’s not pretty.

“Ack!” I yelled and plunged my hand into the toilet bowl to retrieve the phone.

“What’s wrong?” asked my husband. He’s used to hearing me make strange noises in the bathroom, but this one was not in my usual repertoire. I emerged from the bathroom with the phone cradled in a hand towel.

“My phone decided it would be fun to go for a swim,” I said forlornly. “It did a tuck and roll and then flipped into the toilet to its watery death.”

“That’s not good,” he replied. “What did you do to it to drive it to do this?”

“I added the Pokemon Go app.”

“That would do it,” he said.

I shook my head. Whether it was my fault or the phone’s was really irrelevant. The issue now was what to do to try to save it.

“What should I do?” I asked him.

“OK, so first turn off the phone,” he

directed. “Then get a plastic bag, fill it with dry rice and seal the phone inside for 24 hours.”

“You know, they not only say not to get your phone wet, but also not to feed it after midnight,” I replied. “Besides, I don’t think the phone is hungry.”

“It’s not for eating. Theoretically the rice will absorb the water from the phone and dry it out,” he said.

“Have you tried this before?” I wondered.

“Yes.”

And did it work?”

“Never.”

I sighed. It sounded completely ridiculous to me, but I figured I had nothing to lose except a cup of rice and a very expensive cellphone. Thus decided, I wanted to make sure I got it right.

I went to the pantry and stuck my head in, looking for the place where I stockpiled the rice.

“Does the rice need to be long grain?” I yelled.

their widest. The next time this happens will be in 2032.

And because the rings are so thin, when they’re edge-on to us they nearly vanish, leaving only a tiny, faint and nearly featureless yellowish-white disk. Sometimes we can see them as a very thin line crossing the planet. Looking at these paper-thin rings from the side is an advantage to astronomers, though, since it removes their glare and gives us a great opportunity to see the icy moons near the planet. This will happen again in 2025.

Follow Dennis Mammana at facebook/dennismammana.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

“No.”

“Wild? Basmati? Jasmine?” I wondered.

He sighed. “No, just plain old white rice will do.”

“I don’t have any white,” I yelled again. “Can I use brown?”

Yes.”

I poked my head back out of the pantry. “I only have organic. Is that OK?”

“Sure,” he groaned.

I poured the rice into a baggie and turned to my husband.

“Do you think the phone will be dead after all this?” I wondered.

“No,” he replied. “But I will.”

Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, “Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble,” available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online! You can visit her at www. tracybeckerman.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS

Find Saturn nearing its opposition point this Aug. 29 and 30

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HELP WANTED

GARDEN CITY POSITION

We are a premier funeral home located in Garden City, Long Island seeking a responsible, smart and personable individual, who can manage an office environment and assist funeral directors in their daily requirements. Duties require excellent phone etiquette, ability to work & communicate well with others, computer proficiency, punctuality, excellent work ethic, attention to detail, highly organized, willingness to learn and ability to follow direction. Good mobility is important as we have many stairs and movement throughout the building is part of the job. Proximity to Garden City is a VERY big advantage and having a clean drivers license is a requirement. We are looking for three or four days per week however, the job has the potential to add additional hours or to become full time with upward growth options but that is dependent on job performance. Pay and benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience. If interested please email resume to: pccv@mac.com

EMPLOYMENT

CAREER TRAINING

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants.

Call CTI for details!

(844) 947-0192 (M-F 8am-6pm ET) Computer with internet is required.

TRAIN ONLINE TO DO MEDICAL BILLING

Become a Medical Office Professional online at CTI! Get trained, certified & ready to work in months!

Call 855-543-6440 (M-F 8am6pm ET)

Computer with internet is required.

The successful candidate should be available

one

meeting per month and be able to perform other duties as needed during the week.

Duties include writing checks and making electronic payments, preparing budgets, preparing and filing monthly and annual financial statements, and other duties as determined and assigned by the Board of Commissioners of the Fire District.

Candidates shall have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Business Management and/or Accounting, and a a minimum of 4 years’ experience in accounting, budget preparation, transactional processing of accounts receivable/payable, and cash management. Candidates must also be proficient in the use of Quickbooks, Microsoft Excel, and Word. Prior experience with a Fire District or other governmental agency is preferred but not required.

Candidates cannot have a conviction of arson in any degree.

Please send resumes to caseypets@aol.com with a copy to alyson.muldoon@gmail.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

DIRECTV

New 2-Year Price Guarantee. The most live MLB games this season, 200+ channels and over 45,000 on-demand titles. $84.99/ mo for 24 months with CHOICE Package. Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV 1-888534-6918

HEARING AIDS!! High-quality rechargeable, powerful Audien hearing aids priced 90% less than competitors. Tiny and NEARLY INVISIBLE! 45day money back guarantee! 855-598-5898

MARKETPLACE

A.T. STEWART EXCHANGE CONSIGNMENT SHOP

516-746-8900

Antiques-FurnitureJewelry-Silver-MirrorsLamps-Artwork

Come to Consign & Stay to Shop Visit.... Our Shop 109 Eleventh St. Garden City

Mon-Fri 10-4 (Wed till 6) Saturday 12-4

Shop Our Online Store ATStewartExchange.org

Items to Consign?

Email photos (with sizing info) to: store@atstewartexchange.org

All proceeds benefit The Garden City Historical Society

Like us on Facebook & Instagram

INVITED ESTATE SALES

BY TRACY JORDAN is doing VIRTUAL TAG SALES and ONLINE AUCTIONS now!

Sell the contents of an entire house or sell just a few things!

You can host your own sale on invitedsales.com and Facebook and Instagram or we can do it for you. We can photograph, advertise and handle the winning pickups for you within a week!

Don’t worry about your closing date, we can get your house ready on time! We are a one stop service for all your needs when you are moving or selling a property! Selling, donating, discarding and cleaning out services can be done to meet your time frame with minimal stress. Contact info@invitedsales.com for more information or call 516-279-6378 to schedule a consultation or receive more information.

Visit us at www.invitedsales. com for a listing of our upcoming Virtual Tag Sales and Weekly Auctions!

MARKETPLACE

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

Autographed Collectors Baseball Items. Golf balls and useful power tools like new! Best offer.

Call 516-514-6026

WANTED TO BUY

LOOKING TO BUY!

Estates, Oriental items, Gold, Silver, Costume Jewelry, Dishes, Flatware, Watches, Clothing, Old Photos, Coins, Stamps, Records, Toys, Action Figures, Comics, Art and Furniture.

Immediate Cash Paid

Call George 917-775-3048 or 718-386-1104

PETS

PET SERVICES

DOG BOARDING

GARDEN CITY

For a day, a week or longer. Instead of leaving your dog at a kennel, home boarding with experienced dog lover available! $45 overnight.

References available.

Call 516-359-1298

AUTOMOTIVE

AUTOS WANTED

***AAA*** AUTO BUYERS

$Highest$ Ca$h Paid$ All Years /Conditions! WE VISIT YOU! Or Donate, Tax Deduct Ca$h. DMV ID#1303199

Call LUKE 516-VAN-CARS

516-297-2277

DRIVE OUT BREAST CAN-

CER:

Donate a car today! The benefits of donating your car or boat: Fast Free Pickup 24hr response Tax deduction Easy to do! Call 24/7: 855-905-4755

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

OFFICE SPACE

GARDEN CITY

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE

SPACE FOR SUBLET IN LAW

FIRM SUITE

1305 Franklin Ave, Third Floor Suite

3 to 4 windowed offices and 2 to 3 Admin Asst. workstations available.

Shared reception area and kitchenette, use of conference rooms and copier included. Walk to LIRR Mineola station, courts, government buildings and GC downtown. Ideal for attorneys, accountants, insurance agents.

Available September 1st

Contact Michael Sparacino: michael.sparacino@brosnanlaw.com

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

VACATION RENTAL MATTITUCK

2 Bayfront Homes For Rent

One 3 BR, 2 BTH, One 2 BR House. Available the weeks of June 24th-July 1st and August 26-September 2nd. 3 BR House $2050-per week. 2 BR House

$1850-per week. IDEAL FAMILY VACATION. Call 631-298-8433

SERVICES

ARE YOU BEHIND 10K OR MORE on your taxes? Stop wage and bank levies, liens and audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, and resolve tax debt FAST. Call 888-869-5361 (Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm PST)

JACK’S CUSTOM FRAMING

We can frame anything! Quality Care & Workmanship

Thousands of frames to choose from!!

Over 30 years in business! 92 Covert Ave, Stewart Manor 516-775-9495

ATTORNEY

STEPHANIE A. D’ANGELO, ESQ.

Elder Law, Wills & Trusts

Asset Preservation, Estate Planning, Probate & Estate Administration/Litigation

901 Stewart Ave, Ste 230 Garden City, NY 11530 516-222-1122 www.dangelolawassociates. com

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

AQUATEC LAWN

SPRINKLERS

SPRING TURN ONS

Backflow Device Tests

Free Estimates

Installation

Service/Repairs

Joe Barbato 516-775-1199

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES

in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 866-393-3636

CHIMNEY KING ENT. INC.

FREE ESTIMATES

Stainless steel liners cleaning & repair specialists. Masonry specialist.

FULLY licensed & insured.

NYC NASSAU SUFFOLK

516-766-1666 or 631-225-2600

Since 1982

chimneykinginc.com

SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

HANDYMAN

Careful & Reliable

Serving GARDEN CITY and surrounding area since 2003

Repairs & Installations of all types

Carpentry, Moldings, Lighting and More

35-yr Nassau Resident References

Lic#170101

Phone/Text Friendly

Frank: 516-238-2112

Email: Frankcav@optonline. net

MADE IN THE SHADE

CUSTOM WINDOW TREATMENTS

Blinds, Shades, Shutters, Draperies

Top Brands at Discount Prices! Family owned & operated

www.madeintheshadensli.

com

516-426-2890

MASONRY

All types of stonework

Pavers, Retaining Walls, Belgium Block Patios, Foundations, Seal coating, Concrete and Asphalt driveways, Sidewalks, Steps.

Free Estimates

Fully Licensed & Insured #H2219010000

Boceski Masonry

Louie 516-850-4886

PAULIE THE ROOFER

STOPPING LEAKS IS MY SPECIALTY!

Slate & Tile Specialists

All types of Roofing

Local References

Licensed & Insured

516-621-3869

ROOFS, GUTTERS, CARPENTRY, BATHROOMS, KITCHENS, NEW BASEMENT ENTRANCES, EXTENSIONS, MASONRY, FLOORS, WATERPROOFING, DRAINS, LEAKS, STOOPS, DECKS, DRIVEWAYS, DEMOLITION, RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL ARIS CONSTRUCTION

10% Discount w/ad. Call 516-406-1842

www.ArisLI.com

SERVICES

HEALTH SERVICES

FAMILY CARE CONNECTIONS, LLC

Dr. Ann Marie D’Angelo PMHCNS-BC

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Advanced Practice Nurse Care Manager

Assistance with Aging at Home /Care Coordintion

Nursing Home & Assisted Living Placement

PRI / Screens / Mini Mental Status Exams

Medicaid Eligibility and Apllications 516-248-9323

www.familycareconnections.com

901 Stewart Ave, Ste 230 Garden City, NY 11530

PAINTING & PAPERHANGING

MICHELANGELO

PAINTING & WALLPAPER

Interior, Exterior, Plaster / Spackle, Light Carpentry, Decorative Moldings & Power Washing.

Call: 516-328-7499

PARTY HELP

LADIES & GENTLEMEN

RELAX & ENJOY

Your Next Party!

Catering and Experienced Professional Services for Assisting with Preparation, Serving and Clean Up Before, During and After Your Party

Bartenders Available. Call Kate at 516-248-1545

CLEANING

CLEANING AVAILABLE EXPERIENCED POLISH HOUSE CLEANER

Good references, ability. Very honest, reliable, responsible and hard working. Own transportation. English speaking. Flexible days and hours. Reasonable rates. I will do a good job.

Call or text 516-589-5640

Place

SERVICES

SERVICES

DISH TV

$64.99 for 190 Channels + $14.95

High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply.

Promo expires 1/31/24

Call 1-866-595-6967

LEAK REPAIRS

Plumbing Repairs

Bathrooms, Showers, Kitchens

24 HOUR SERVICE

Call 516-668-5624

MAGNUM SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC.

Serving Garden City for 40 years.

Let Magnum Upgrade Your Existing Security System.

Burglar & Fire Alarms

Cellular Radio 3G Upgrades

Remote Access

Call: 516-486-5484

PASSION FOR SENIORS

Certified HHA’s, Companions & Homemakers. 24 hour care available. Also Nassau Locations. Trained in Dementia and Alzheimer’s care.

Call 718-850-3400

Field Ser vice Technicians F/T

Long Island’s Premier Short-Term Inpatient Neurological Rehabilitation Team

Innovative Patient Centered Care Rehabilitating Patients with Brain Injury, Stroke, and other Neurological Disorders.

Intense rehabilitation programming is provided up to 3.5 hours per day and up to 7 days per week.

PT/OT/Speech Therapy, Brain Training and Cognitive Rehab. Certified Brain Injury Specialists On Site. Emerge Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 6 Medical Plaza | Glen Cove

NASSAU & SUFFOLK LOCATIONS 516-457-5585

Catholic Daughters show appreciation to military

The Catholic Daughters of the Americas will be holding a special “Thank You Project” in support of members of the military who currently serve the country.

On September 30 and October 1 after

all Masses at St. Ignatius Loyola church, the CDA will host tables at the priests' garage where you can write a quick note of support. The CDA will supply paper, cards, pens and markers. You may also drop off notes you have already prepared.

You may also drop off your cards at any time in the box located in the church or mail or drop them to the rectory office (St. Ignatius Loyola, 129 Broadway, Hicksville NY 11801). Please mark them “Catholic Daughters Thank You Project”. Cards must be received by October 22.

Suggestions and other important guidelines:

• Address your card to “Dear

Family Care

Friend” or “Dear Service Member”

• Be positive! Write a note of encouragement or tell them of your hobbies or what life is like in your town.

• You do not need to sign your full name or provide an address.

• Please refrain from political statements or inappropriate topics or lengthy religions discussions.

• Please do not be holiday specific as cards will be sent throughout the year.