John Jefferies to be Honored by Rotary International
The Village is fortunate to have many
long time employees who have spent most
of their working lives helping the residents
of Freeport. In recognition of his outstand-ing
service to the community, the Rotary
-International" organization" is~honoring~orie~
of Freeport's most familiar faces, John
Jefferies, with its Civic Leadership Award.
John Jefferies has been with the village
for 30 years. Beginning as a Recreation
Specialist and moving up to Senior
Recreation Leader, and-in 1978, to Manager
of the Center, John Jefferies has helped
shape the character of the facility and make
it the wonderful, full-service recreation and
social gathering place it is today.
Mr. Jefferies' low-keyed manner and
efficient response to the many needs and
requests that come up every day enable the
Center to offer a variety of programs and
services in a safe, secure environment. The
facility opens early in the morning on week-days,
at approximately 6:30 a.m., when the
staff welcomes the early crowd to the
Olympic sized pool and fully equipped exer-cise
room. Mornings offer the Kiddie Club
program for youngsters under 5 years of age
and special senior projects4prlolder people.
"La'tF~a"fterhobra usually see 'aTr"influx~of"
school children who take part in the many
programs, including ice-skating, basketball
or drama classes. In the evenings, there are
more sports programs, exercise classes,
senior events and meetings for local organi-zations.
Weekends the center is a hub of
activity with the addition of craft fairs and
trade shows including the long running win-ter
train show sponsored by the Great South
Bay Model Rail Road Club.
Mr. Jefferies' involvement with local
sports organizations and educational
groups, including the Freeport School
District's PTA, the Sports Boosters, Freeport
PAL, the LI Historical Miniatures Society, and
LI Midget Lacrosse League has complement-ed
and enriched his service to the Village.
Rotary International's Civic Leadership
Award will be presented to John Jefferies at
a special dinner event at Bedell's at
Westwind Restaurant on Thursday, February
26th, 2004. All proceeds from the event will
"be used'toTdver the cost of flowers to beau:
tify the Village's recreation areas this spring
and summer. For information on .purchasing
tickets or making a donation to the beautifi-cation
effort, please contact Jerry Tedeschi at
(516)379-6858.
Last Call for Little League Registration
The Freeport Little League will be accepting
registrations for youngsters from 5 years old to 18
years old at the Freeport Recreation Center, at 130
East Merrick Road, on Saturday and Sunday,
February 7th and 8th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both
days.
The fees range from $80 for the
younger children to $125 for the older play-ers.
If your youngster has not been regis-tered
before this season, you will need to
bring either the child's birth certificate or
passport. With the registration fee/you will
receive two $10 discount cards redeemable
at local shops.
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JANUARY 2004 www.FreeportNY.com THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Freeporters Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
More than 100 mem-bers
of the Freeport com-munity
attended the trib-ute
to Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. held at the
Freeport Memorial Library
on Jan. 19, 2004.
Youngsters from the New
Visions fifth grade ensem-ble
sang two songs; mem-bers
of the Freeport High
School Human Relations
Club recited poems by
Langston Hughes and Maya
Angelou, and the Dodd
Middle School Jazz Combo
played several selections.
There was a piano solo by
David Agu and inspiring
performances of "Lift Every
Voice and Sing", and "We Shall Overcome"
by Ms. Tanisha Mitchell. The young people
Senator Hillary Clinton with the young people who won MLK awards for their essays and performances olong with Rev. Reginald Tuggle, Pastor,
Memorial Presbyterian Church; Renaire Frierson standing behind Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
Celebration in honor of Dr. King included a
luncheon on Monday, Jan. 20th, at the
Marriott Hotel in
Uniondale. Among the
guest speakers was
Senator Hillary Rodham
Clinton. Senator' Clinton
described her visit as a
young girl to an inner-city
church in Chicago where
she heard Dr.
King speak. "His
words were so
powerful and his
message so sin-cere,
I knew that
I was witnessing
an important
celebration committee,
thanked the many people
who helped make the
luncheon a success. She
reminded the attendees
that the work of Dr. King
is not finished as she
quoted from his teach-ings:
"Human progress is
neither automatic nor
inevitable. Every step
toward the goal of justice
requires sacrifice, suffer-ing,
and struggle; the
tireless exertions and pas-sionate
concern of dedi-cated
individuals."
Other events were held
around the county over
the weekend to honor Dr.
King, including an ecumenical prayer service
at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary on
Sunday evening, January 18th.
In honor of Black History Month, the
United States Post Office stamp honoring
Paul Robeson, the actor, singer, activist and
athlete, will be-"6fficial!y "unveiled at the
Freeport Memorial Library on February 27th,
at 10 a.m. For further details contact Julius
Pearse at (516) 867-7480.
Members of Freeport's Human Relations Commission and community representatives with some of the young
people who performed at the Freeport Memorial library Celebration.
from the Operation Pride Vocal Group recit-ed,
and the Voices of Praise from the Greater
Second Baptist Church sang. Julius Pearse,
President of .the African-Atlantic Genealogy
Society, described his early days on the
Freeport Police Department.
The annual Nassau County Birthday
moment in history, and I was so
glad to be there that night."
Freeport Deputy Mayor Renaire
Frierson, who is also the Executive
Director of the Nassau County
Commission on Human Rights, and
who served as chairperson of the
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Executive Director of the Human Relations Commission and
Mayor Renaire Frierson, President of the African-Atlantic (
Julius Pearse, and Freeport Trustee Don Mauersberger.
;AGE FR< out Recreation Center is
Dear Neighbor,
Lately, in speaking with a number of res-idents
at various meetings throughout the
village, I find that many people no longer
remember how often Woodcleft Ave. flood-ed.
At its worst, it endured more than 130
episodes of flooding a year with every moon
tide and local storm making the 'Nautical
Mile' impassable to merchants, customers,
and local residents. Since May of 2000, when
the roadway along Woodcleft Ave. was ele-vated
over 2-1/2 feet, the 'Nautical Mile' has
thrived as new restaurants, shops, and stores
have opened and many existing businesses
have expanded.
A year ago, January 2003, we began the
most extensive and ambitious of our flood
elimination programs, the largest in the his-tory
of Freeport. We commenced construc-tion
work on the streets situated in the so-called
'flood bowl', another area that
endured frequent flooding following high
tides and the phases of the moon.
The area is located in the south-central
portion of the Village that is roughly bound-ed
by Atlantic Avenue on the north, Westside
Avenue on the west, Long Beach Avenue on
the east, and Casino Street on the south. It
also includes that
portion of
Roosevelt Avenue'
from Casino Street
to South Long
Beach Ave. and Ray
Street from Long
Beach Ave. to
Westside Ave. The
project has taken
12 months so far,
and there are still
finishing touches
that must be com-pleted,
including
landscaping. But to
the residents of
Casino Street, who
have lived for
decades with the
frequent flooding
village received more than $1.1 million
toward the cost of elevating these streets
from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. With the end of the 'flood-bowl'
problem, the village is approximately 90%
flood free. In another year or less, the resi-dents
of Casino and Cedar Streets may soon
forget their days of water-logged lawns and
flooded vehicles.
The families in the 23 homes that have
been elevated, again with the help of FEMA
money, have also come to enjoy their safer,
dryer houses, which are no longer plagued by
Ray Street looking south onto St. Marks Ave.
Ray Street facing west from South Long Beach Ave.
problem, the pro-ject-
has "made™a~
tremendous differ-ence.
Residents of
the 'flood-bowl'
were accustomed
to watching the
tides and the
moon and auto-matically
moving
their vehicles to
higher ground,
north of Atlantic
Ave., before each
flood.
This $4.5 million
flood elimination
project was partly
paid for with fed-eral
funding. The
frequent flooding. These homeowners bene-
"~fited'from 'the' federal 'assistance'witrf aTpbf-tion
of the cost of elevating their houses paid
for by the federal government and the
remaining amount they covered themselves.
Flooding had been.a serious and long-standing
problem in Freeport for decades,
but it is one of many which this administra-tion
has faced head-on over the past seven
years, and solved; There are many more chal-lenges
ahead of us in the years to come as we
rebuild Freeport from the ground up, but
working together, we cannot fail.
The ice rink at the Village's Recreation
Center is a busy place all winter with public
skating sessions, youth and adult hockey
teams, and a figure skating school that
offers instruction to boys and girls rang-ing
in age from as young as three years
old up to and including adults.
The Freeport Skating Academy
skaters recently returned from Lake
Placid, New York where they took part
in a synchronized skating regional com-petition.
The Freeport skaters won sev-eral
events: the Junior team placed first
in its division, the Intermediate team
won third place," and the Senior team
came in fourth in its division.
"We are a young organization,"
explained Liz Eldredge, the head instruc-tor
for Freeport's Skating Academy,
"and we have just begun entering many
of the synchronized skating competi-tions.
The girls did very well, especially
our Juniors. The skaters range in age
from 6 to 8 years old on the Junior team,
9 to 11 years old for the Intermediates,
and 11 to 16 years old on the Senior
team.
"Synchronized skating is the latest
trend in ice skating and a number of col-leges
now offer scholarships to the high-ranking
skaters," added Ms. Eldredge.
"Those interested in seeing a perfor-mance
in person may want to attend the
New York Islanders hockey game against
the Boston Bruins," she said. "The
Intermediate team has been- invited to-perform
between periods at the game
on February 24th at the Nassau County
Coliseum and the Seniors will be skating
during the Islander game scheduled for
March 31st." For further information
on the skating school or to get tickets to the
Islander games, call 377-2314 ext. 14.
The Arrows Hockey organization calls
Freeport's Recreation Center its home rink,
The Junior skaters won first place in the synchronized skating competition.
The Intermediate team placed third.
The Seniors took fourth place.
with teams on the ice for practices, scrim-mages
or games almost every day of the
week. The Arrows hockey teams are open to
boys and girls from 4 to 17 years old. The pro-gram
provides skating lessons and the fun-damentals
of hockey to the youngest
skaters, and programs and travel teams for
older players. The Arrows hockey organiza-tion
was one of the first hockey clubs to
develop a girls' program in the northeast
region with the establishment in the early
90s of the Waves. The Arrows marked its
40th Anniversary over the 2002/03 season
by celebrating the success of three of its
- four "travel -teams which-were" invited- to
participate in the New York State Amateur
Hockey Association Tier II Championships.
The Arrows Hockey organization will
once again sponsor the Dollars for Scholars
Tournament during the President's
Weekend holiday, February 14th - 16th,
2004, at the Freeport Recreation Center ice
rink. The event includes hockey competi-tions
from Tier II Mite teams through
Midget Majors, a skills competition, and
merchandise sales. The proceeds from the
event benefit the Freeport High School
Scholarship Program. Since it began more
than a decade ago, the Dollars for Scholars
organization has awarded more than
$100,000 to worthy high school graduates
from Freeport. For additional information
contact Fred Bobb at (516) 223-0009 or
James Parola at (516) 623-1041.
Several adult hockey leagues also make
their home at Freeport's.ice rink. For infot.
mation on joining or starting an adult
team contact the Recreation Center at
(516)377-2311 extension 10.
'14th Annual"
Proceeds to benefit Freeport High School's Scholarship Program
"Presidents Weekend"
FEBRUARY'114TTIH1 - H6TIHI, 2004
Tier II Mite through Midget Major
3 Game Guarantee
« Skills Competition - Sat., Feb. 14th « Chuck-a-Puck before all games
• Equipment & Tournament Apparel and Merchandise Sale
For additional information, contact our Tournament Director
Fred Bobb at (516) 223-0009
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH
Game Time: 7:OOP.M.
Tickets $30.00
Freeport Skating Academy's
Intermediate Synchronized Skating Team
will be performing between periods at the game.
Anyone interested in purchasing tickets for the game,
please see Liz in the Skating School Office.
Come and Cheer for the Islanders and our skaters.
