Rockville Centre
HERALD Cars parade for nursing homes
Rapid testing offered in RVC
Residents’ help needed for mural
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VOL. 31 NO. 19
MAY 7 - 13, 2020
OBITUARY
Former police commissioner McKeon dies hiring, and was someone Vafeades always admired and respected. For mer Rockville Centre “Jack was an affable, intelliPolice Commissioner John gent man who was generous and (Jack) McKeon died on April 24, always quick with a joke,” of complications of Parkinson’s Vafeades said. “After meeting disease brought on by Agent him once, you were likely to call Orange, and Covidhim your friend.” 19. He was 68. Va f e a d e s d e McKeon was scribed his predecesknown for his love of sor as “a pillar of the family; kindness to community,” noting friends; devotion to that he was a recipiduty, community and ent of numerous country; and his commendations and sense of humor. accolades, and had McKeon, who even been made an lived in Islip, had a honorary member of 37-year career with t h e v i l l a g e F i re the Police DepartDepartment. John McKeon ment, retiring in “Jack will be 2010 as the longestm i s s e d d e a r l y, ” serving commissioner in its his- Vafeades said, “but not forgottory, with 19 years as “the com- ten.” mish.” Sworn in on Feb. 13, 1973, McKeon was a graduate of he served as a uniformed and the FBI National Academy and plainclothes officer, detective, the FBI Academy for CEOs in sergeant, lieutenant, command- Quantico, Va., and earned associing officer of operations and ate’s, bachelor’s and master’s deputy to the commissioner degrees in criminal justice and before heading the department. security. He was awarded certifiC u r r e n t C o m m i s s i o n e r cations as a Protection ProfesJames Vafeades said that McKe- sional and Fraud Examiner, and on was “instrumental” in his CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
By JILL NOSSA
jnossa@liherald.com
Courtesy Village of Rockville Centre
Moving up in the ranks The Rockville Centre Fire Department officers installation ceremony took place outside the firehouse last week. Mayor Francis X. Murray swore in Chief Eric Burel, First Assistant Chief James Avondet, Second Assistant Chief Scott Mohr, and Fourth Battalion Delegate Mark Murray Sr., as well as seven company captains and their first and second lieutenants, secretaries and wardens. The department held its elections by absentee ballot. Its 300 volunteers have answered roughly 600 calls during the coronavirus pandemic.
District schools remain closed
RVC’s remote learning will continue through June By JILL NOSSA and SCOTT BRINTON jnossa@liherald.com, sbrinton@liherald.com
Students in Rockville Centre will not return to their school buildings for the remainder of the academic year, and will instead continue with distance learning to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The order to close schools statewide, announced last Friday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, came as Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths continued a steady decline, but the state was still see-
ing nearly 1,000 new cases a day, which Cuomo said was unacceptably high. The decision affects 4.2 million students in 700 public school districts, 89 SUNY and CUNY colleges, and 100 private colleges. “We are truly saddened that we cannot connect personally in our classrooms with all of our students,” Rockville Centre Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said, “but it is imperative that we focus first and foremost on maintaining the safety of our children and our families.”
“While we are all disappointed by the governor’s announcement . . .,” Tara Hackett, president of the Board of Education, said in a statement on behalf of the board, “we feel it is more important than ever to work with the district to keep a strong focus on educating our children. In a time of great uncertainty for us all, we want to ensure that our students are doing well both academically and psychologically. Our priority has been, and will continue to be, on delivering strong remote learnCONTINUED ON PAGE 8