The Senior Aqua-Belles
by Mrs. Cecelia Rebel
A ritual of friendship oc-curs
daily at the Freeport Rec-reation
Center pool. Men,
women, young, old, the able-bodied
and the disabled arrive
promptly each morning to par-ticipate
in physical fitness pro-grams,
to socialize and, more
specifically, to utilize the beau-tiful
swimming pool.
One day about two years
ago, I stumbled upon the
Freeport Rec Center. 1 had
been seriously ill in 1972, and
I remembered that the exercise/
swim therapy classes in the
hospital had made me feel bet-ter.
With the aim of develop-ing
a physical fitness regimen,
I decided to join the recreation
center. I was, however, unpre-pared
for the myriad of satis-factions
that came my way.
I was shy and didn't know
anyone. Each day I quietly en-tered
the dressing room and
noticed the same Seniors in
regular attendance. Gradually,
we began speaking by greeting
one another and exchanging
pleasantries.
"Hello."
"How are you?"
"How's the weather?"
Conversations soon grew
concerning health, politics,
foods, current events. Little by
little we learned each other's
first names.
A smile, a greeting, a hand-shake,
and then I met the hus-band
and wife team of Gloria
and Vinnie. Life in the pool
hasn't been the same since.
Smile, she said, "My name is
Gloria. Won't you join us?"
Her warm welcome and
winning, cheerful ways encour-aged
me to join the group, now
informally known as theAqua-
Belles.
An extrovert, Gloria as-sumed
leadership of these se-nior
women who enjoy simple,
water exercises a la Rockettes,
and so our group began. Born
of common needs, interests,
and because one person gently
established a camaraderie, a
circle of friends developed.
Now there's Marge, Millie,
Gloria II, Ann, Cecelia, Grace,
Shirley, Inge, Gladys and oth-ers.
These Aqua-Belles enjoy
being with one another. Among
us, there is laughter, love and
support. When a member is
absent, Gloria or one of the oth-ers
will phone to get assurance
that all is well. When some-one
is hospitalized or experi-ences
a death in the family or
the birth of a new grandchild,
we all sign a card or send a gift.
These seniors are vibrant,
lively, experienced loving
groups of citizens. Life has
dealt us various riches and dis-appointments
and molded us
into a rich mosaic of colors.
Our backgrounds, wealth,
health, creeds, and colors vary,
yet there's the common thread
that binds us - being human.
I'll cherish forever these
words written by Millie on the
Christmas card that she sent
me: "You have enriched my
life by being my friend."
Freeport will celebrate its colorful nautical heritage
during the Freeport Rum Runner's Festival to be held
September 24 and 25 from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
John J. Randall Park in Freeport will be transformed into a
Roaring 20 s wonderland complete with classic automobiles,
zoot suit and Charleston contests, art displays, and hot jazz 1
Vendors, entertainers and artists are needed for this exciting
event. For further mfromation call the Freeport Rum Runners
hotline at the Freeport Recreation Center 223-8000.
, N. T_ * !-*—H i;
This unedited letter was writ^> ===>
by Freeport fireman PC
Hashagen to Newsday
Anthony Mono.
Dear Mr. Marro,
People from all around
world come to America to sh
our way of life. Inherent amc
our rights is freedom of spei
and freedom of the press. Thi
rights are so strongly believed
that generation after generat
of our countrymen have not'o!
insured them by amending J
Constitution, but have fough
the death to defend them. ?
In than spirit, I amjamazec
the depths to which your nej
paper lowers itself under j
blanket of "Editorial ciommei
The editorial cartoon, run
your paper Saturday, July 3U,
1994, is in my opinoin not only
in poor taste, but libelous. To
suggest that Freeport firefighters
are to be compared to those
mindless among us that hide un-der
sheets to intimidate and
frighten the weak is ridiculous.
Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., the gen-eral
council of the Washington
Post writes, "Libel, a published
false statement that harms
someone's reputation, is the grim
reaper of loose journalism." The
journalism of Newsday, if that
word can be used in conjunction
with your paper is not only loose
but is insulting to all firefighters.
I am honored to wear on my
fire department uniform eight
ribbons that signify valor. I risk
my life not for awards, but rather
to strive to protect the life and
property of my neighbor. If my
peers want to reward my efforts
in some small measure I gladly
accept in the name of alT
firefighters.
Arbitrarily awarding ribbons
for reasons such as ethnicity
misses the point of awards in the
first place. It also diminishes the
efforts of those who have been
seriously injured or have made
the Supreme Sacrifice in these
life saving endeavors. |
The Freeport I live in, that I
help protect from fire, is a place
where people of every jrace and
every national origin get along
fairly well. In my experience,
the firefighters 1 workjwith are
no more or no less prejudice than
any group of people, including
newspaper reporters.
Vol. 1 No. 3
August 1994
Freeport Praised By Federal Housing Director
Jbse Cintron, the newly ap - of remixing Federal assistance
pointed representative for currently distributed to the Vil-the
Secretary of the U.S. De- lage through HUD. The Village
Ipartment of Housing and Urban
Development for New York
'State, made a fact finding tour of
Freeport Village August 9 at the
invitation of Freeport Mayor
Arthur W. Thompson.
The stop was Cintron's first
field visit since the na-tional
reorganization of "I see is a
HUD along state in- committed
stead of regional lines. „ vor who
Mayor Thompson , * .
praised the reorganiza- "as a P'an« • •
tion of HUD by Secretary Henry
Cisneros as a step toward sharp-ening
and focusing individual
state needs. Thompson said
Cintron has an excellent reputa-tion
as a skilled government pro-gram
strategist and project man-ager
and he hoped the visit would
give Cintron and HUD an oppor-tunity
to explore the possibility
receives Federal dollars for the
Community Development Block
Grant program, Public and Se-nior
Housing, CIAP and Anti-
Drug Control funds.
"Freeport Village is at an im-portant
crossroad," Thompson
said at a press confer-ence
held for Cintron.
"My administration
has stressed economic
development and qual-ity
of life issues as its
two highest priorities.
We clearly need Mr. Cintron as a
partner."
Cintrdn, prior to his appoint-ment,
spent more than 17 years
at various high level governmen-tal
posts in New York City. He
was a Vice President with New
York City School Construction
Authority. He is a past Director
Mayor Thompson (left) discusses with HUD officialjose Cintron the
proposal for a future nursing home at the former Brooklyn waterworks.
of Project Management with the
New York City Housing Devel-opment
Corporation, and a past
Assistant Commissioner of
Community and Neighborhood
Preservation for the New \fork
City Department of Housing
Preservation .and Development.
Thompson and Cintron toured
proposed scattered single-family
affordable housing sites, Urban
Renewal locations along Plaza
West, proposed long-term care
Continued on Page 2
Mayor Announces Hispanic Outreach
Space is now available at
Village Hall for a program
of outreach to Freeport's
Hispanic population by the
Freeport Hispanic Association.
, "Our Hispanic population has
grown by 22 percent in recent
years," Mayor Arthur W. Thomp-son
stated. "These Freeporter's
need to interact with Village gov-ernment
and deserve the oppor-tunity
for equal treatment and
representation."
BienvenidoAndujar, president
of the Freeport HispanicAssocia-tion
declared the Mayor's gesture,
"demonstrates the support and
recognition of the Association by
the Village administration. This
is a new and needed direction.
All of us greatly thank Mayor
Members of the Freeport HispanicAssociation meetwithMayor Thompson.
Thompson and the administra-tion,
and we are looking forward
to working closely with them to
make Freeport an even more
worthwhile community."
The Freeport Hispanic Asso-ciation,
the first of its kind hi the
Village, was formed nearly a year
ago and has recruited more than
one hundred members to its
ranks.
The Mayor noted, "The His-panic
voices needs to be heard. I
am enthusiastic and confident
that with continued cooperation
we can move Freeport forward
in a positive direction."
•Freeport Detective Fidel Balan is cited by theDEA 's Martin Maquire
during ceremonies at Village Hall. Also at the.ceremony were (from
left) were'Deputy Inspector John -Honkanen, MayorArthur Thomp-son
and Detective Lieutenant Arthur Burdette
Forfeiture Brings Funds For
Freeporfs War On Drugs
The Federal Drug Enforce-ment
Agency presented
Freeport with'$37,000 of .asset
•seizures from arrested drug
dealers. The money will be
used to step up Freeporfs war
on illicit drugs. Freeport De-tective
Fidel Balan was credited
with cracking a significant
heroin ring that had been oper-ating
in the Village.
DEA Resident Agent in
Charge Martin Maguire cited
Balan for his "outstanding ef-forts
and spirit of cooperation
in the investigation."
The Freeport detective ar-rested
;two alleged heroin traf-fickers
now being held on a to-tal
of one and a half million
dollars tail.
Seized in the raid was
nearly a kilogram of heroin,
$78,000 in cash, and a fully
loaded MAC-11 nine millime-ter
machine pistol.
Rec Center Registration Due
Registration forFall youth
.and adult programs at the
Freeport Recreation Center
begins in September,
> For Village residents, reg-,
.istration will be held Septem-ber
19, 20 and 21, and for
non-residents, on September
22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. at the Recreation Center.
Call 223-8000 for further,
information.5'/, j. ,1
HUD Praises Village
Continued from Page 1
facilities at the former Lydia E.
Hall Hospital and the Brooklyn
Waterworks, and the Dr. E.
Mitchell Mallette Senior Citizens
apartments, a past HUD-funded
project.
"What I see is a committed
mayor who has a plan and a vil-lage
which cares about the neigh-borhoods,"
Cintr6n said. "A
model for American; that's what
I've seen here."
Thompson noted that Freeport
is an ideal location in New York
to test demonstration programs.
"We are an Urban Village with
great diversity in housing stock,
business, and ethnic composi-tion.
What works in Freeport
could become a model for the
Nation," Thompson stated. "I
hope this meeting will be the be-ginning
of new direct dialogue
between Freeport Village Gov-ernment
and the Federal Govern-ment
that will serve to the ben-efit
of our citizens."
Cintr6n said he would return
to the Village of Freeport in Oc-tober.
Kiwanis Picnic to Benefit
First Night Freeport
SEP 20 1994
The Freeport Kiwanis is
demonstrating its support of
First Night Freeport, a commu-nity-
wide New Year's Eve cel-ebration,
by sponsoring a fun-filled
family day at Waterfront
Park on Saturday, August 27
from'noon to 6 p.m.
There will be games,
prizes, music and all-you-can-eat
hot dogs, hamburgers, corn,
chili, sausage and peppers, wa-termelon
and beverages. Lob-sters
will be.available at an ex-tra
cost. The price for an'adult
ticket is $12, $6 for -children,
and the bargain fate<of $25 for
a family of four plus $5 for each
additional member.
Celebrate summer at an old
.fashioned community picnic
and support the winter celebra-tion
of the Freeport community
through the universal language
of ;the arts.
The tickets are available at
the First Night Freeport office
.at the Freeport Recreation Cen-ter,
at Steve'sPrime Meats, 311
Guy Lombardo Ave., and at
White and Re Insurance, 133
W. "Sunrise Highway.
For further information call
223-8856.-- - -
Public Safety Committee
Formed
Mayor Thompson ap-pointed
the first members of
his newly-formed Public
Safety Committee at a Village
board meeting this past April.
This committee, headed
by Chairman Bruce Newbery,
consists of four other mem-bers;
Rocco Sagarese, Julius
Pearse, Emmet Paradine, and
James Kelly.
The forum was estab-lished
to provide public input
of specific community con-cerns
such as policing, fire
protection, highway and road
conditions, and safety in and
around public areas such as
the ;Long Island Railroad sta-tion.
"The intent 'of .this com-mittee
is to handle positive
suggestions and recommenda-tions
for solutions," Newbery
stated.
Citizens wishing (to make
suggestions to the committee
may do so by writing Village
Hall, 46 North Ocean Avenue,
Freeport, NY 11520, or by
calling Village Hall at 378-
4000.
Police Photographer Named
Jeff Jonap has been ap-pointed
Designated Freeport
Police Photographer by the
Village Board.
For the past two years,
Jonap has voluntarily pro-vided
the Police Department
with positive coverage of
their ceremonies and other
police related events while
working as a freelance pho-tographer.
"We thank Mr. Jonap for
his assistance to our Police
Department and look forward
to his continued coverage,"
said Mayor Thompson.
S.T.O.P. a Go!
The Town-of Hempstead's S.T.O.P. Hazardous Waste ;
Program will continue in 1994 through 1995. The S.T.O.P.
(Stop Throwing Out-Pollutants) program is for the collection
of household wastes and is held at various locations through-out
the Town of Hempstead in4order to be accessible to as
many residents as possible.
There is no'fee for Village of Freeporfresidents who take
'advantage of'the S.T.O.P. Program. Dates, times and loca-tions
of 'trie program are as follows: September 10 at
'Newbridge :Road Park garage, Newbridge Road, South
; Bellmorej'October 16 at North Woodmere Park Garage, Hun-pgrytHarbor
Road, North Woodmere; November 19 at Baldwin
Park garage, Grand Avenue, Baldwin; December 17 at
'Greenfield Cemetery, Milbiifn Avenue, Hempstead; March 4
, at Oceariside Park Garage, Maklon Brbwer Drive,'Oceariside;
and April 1 at Valley'Stream-pPW garage, Copaigue Street,:
Valley Stream. The collection times for all locations are from
9 a.m. to 4 p:m.
For additional information about S.T.O.P. call'the Freeport
Village ©PW Sanitation Division at 378-5020 or the Town ,
•'of Hempstead Sanitation Department at 378-4210.
\ ._
Village Clerk Appointed
Mayor Arthur Thompson
appointed a new Village Clerk
at the July 11 Board of Trust-
Village Clerk Nofa-Sudars
ees meeting.
Nora Sudars, a 10-year
Freeport resident, was most re-cently
employed as Associate
Director of Housing and Trans-portation
for Beth Israel Medi-cal
Center, Manhattan, before
her appointment to the Village.
"Ms. Sudars has an exem-plary
employment record,"
Mayor Thompson stated. "I am
confident that with her excel-lent
credentials, she will greatly
serve our community."
Sudars attended her first
Village meeting July 18 as Vil-lage
Clerk. Excited about her
newposition, Sudars.is eagerly
delving into her new workload.
ROW - MIA Remembrance
The Chamber o'f Com-merce
Annual 'Canoe and
Kayak Race and Recreation
Expo '94willbe held Saturday,
August -27 from 11 a.m. to 8
p.m. and Sunday, August 28
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cow
'Meadow Park,-Freeport.
Race fees are $35 per boat,
two per sons per boat.
For detailed information
and registration telephone the
'Chamber of Commerce at 378-
7402,
-Freeport has accepted the
proposal of Ange'lb'Cbrva & As-sociates
to -conduct a feasibility
study of a POW/MIA Remem-brance
Tower to be constructed
at 't'he former Meadowbrook
Bank Building at Sunrise High-way
a"t Guy Lombardo Avenue,
according'to Erie Hernphill, ex-ecutive
director of the Freepo'rt
'Community Development
Agency Cost of 'the study is'not
to exceed $4300.
Plans call for retaining, 're-habilitation
and res'toring the
landmark tower portion of the
building while the rest of the
building is demolished.
-Mayor Thompson said "This
tower will provide'long overdue
recognition for the men and
women who were captured or are
missing in action after bravely
serving'their/country.''
Seniors
Replaceme
Trip Off ere
Focus on Freeport
Jonap (r.) with Police Inspector
Edward Locke
The Westchester dinner
theatre trip for senior citizens
offered through the Freeport
Recreation Center, has been
cancelled by the theatre. A re-placement
trip to Old Bethpage
Restoration Village will be of-fered
on September 9.
School buses will leave the
Recreation Center at 9 a.m. and
travel to the John Peel Room at
the Island Inn, Westbury for a
full service breakfast before
traveling to Old Bethpage Vil-lage.
The bus will return to the
Recreation Center at 2 p.m..
A $26 fee includes all.
Please contact Bruce Mauro at
223-8000 for further informa-tion.
The medal awards systems of the Freeport Fire Department was the subject of a recent "Focus
on Freeport," cable broadcast, which was scheduled for viewing on Channel 25 onAugust 20
and 27 at 6:30p.m. and on Long Island One onAugusi 18 and 2'6 at 6:30 p.m. Oh 'the set with
Mayor Thompson (right) , who hosts 'the show, are (from left) Ex-Captain Andrew Hardwick,
Ex-Captain Paul Hashagen, Ex-Chief Raymond Maguire, arid Third Assistant Chief Jerry
Cardoso.
