Casale's Corner
HICKSVILLE TIDBITS MARCH 2009
Boiler Fire, Fuel Spill At High School
The Hicksville Fire Department received an automatic alarm at 6:30pm on February 16th for a fire at the high school. According to Chief Edward Korona, when the department arrived, heavy smoke was pushing from the base of the chimney. Further investigation revealed a fire in the boiler room. The fire caused a fuel tank to rupture and about 500 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled.
The fire was contained within 20 minutes thanks to help from surrounding community departments; Bethpage, Farmingdale, Westbury, Plainview and East Meadow.
There was extensive damage to the building's electrical, heating and plumbing systems as well as minor damage to the roof. The classrooms were not damaged.
School was in recess at the time. The district anticipates the building to be open when classes resume on February 23rd.
TOB Residents Encouraged to Donate Blood at March 5 Drive
In the face of a critical shortage of blood on Long Island, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto and councilmembers Joe Muscarella and Rose Marie Walker urge residents to participate in the town's semi annual blood drive scheduled for Thursday, March 5th.
There is an almost constant shortage of blood in our area due to an increase in the number of medical procedures that require blood transfusions. The United States can no longer depend on blood shipped in from Europe because of concerns about Mad Cow Disease and other diseases.
Locations for the blood drive on March 5th: Town Hall South Conference Room, 977 Hicksville Road, Massapequa (10am to 3:30pm); Town Hall North at the Blood Mobile, 54 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay (9am to 2:30pm) and the Department of Public Works War Room (Highway), 150 Miller Place (11am to 3:30pm.
All blood types are needed, especially "O" Positive and "O" Negative.
"Please help make this blood drive a huge success," Venditto stated.
For more information, please call Maryann Hughes at 624-6493.
Sarah Grace Memorial Blood Drive
Another blood drive to benefit the Sarah Grace Foundation for Children with Cancer, Inc. will be held on Saturday, March 28 from 10:30am until 2:30pm in the Hicksville Public Library's Kenneth Barnes Community Room.
For more info, contact Matthew or Marissa Weippert at 433-9745 or email
You can also call the New York Blood Center at 1-800-688-0900.
19th Annual Flower and Garden Show
Hicks Nurseries' 19th annual Flower and Garden show will be held at the Westbury location starting on Friday, March 13th and will run through Sunday March 22nd.
This is a free, 10 day event. Featured will be beautiful indoor display gardens in bloom, gardening seminars, cooking demos and many activities for children.
Parking and admission is free and hours during the show are 8am to 6pm daily, and Friday until 8pm.
For more info, call 334-0066 or visit http://www.hicksnurseries.com
Hicks Nurseries is located on Jericho Turnpike.
Help Girl Scouts Send Cookies to Troops
Operation Cookie will be held again this year.
Purchase a box or a case and donate the cookies to be shipped directly to our troops overseas. This could not be possible were it not for the generosity of DHL who donates their shipping services to the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. Last year, 30,000 boxes of cookies were sent to our soldiers.
Don't forget the Cooke Military Weekend on March 14-15 and be sure to make your donation to remind our military troops of home.
For more info, visit http://www.gsnc.org or call 741-2550 or contact a Girl Scout in your neighborhood.
Night At The Races March 7th
Holy Family Council, Knights of Columbus, will host a Night at the Races on Saturday, March 7th at 7pm. The event will be held at the Holy Family School Cafeteria, 25 Fordham Avenue, Hicksville.
Admission for this fundraiser is $10.00. The pre-registration fee of $8.00 can be made at
Hofstra Continuing Education Hosts Sportscasting Information Session
Veteran sports broadcaster Ed Ingles is the director of the Sportscasting Institute at Hofstra University. The Continuing Education program will present a free entry into the Sportscasting world with an information session at Dempster Hall, South Campus on Wednesday February 11th from 6 to 7:30pm.
If you've ever dreamed about being a sportscaster, join the session to learn more about the workshops.
The Teen Sportscasting Workshop is offered July 20th to the 24th. The Adult Sportscasting Workshop is offered August 3rd through the 8th.
Other well-known sportscasters are on the teaching staff including Len Berman, Samantha Ryan, Sam Rosen, Mike Breen, John Discepolo, Kenny Albert and others to be announced.
Computer Resource Center To Be Closed
The Computer Resource Center (CRC) located at 101 Jerusalem Avenue (across Old Country Road near the library) was opened in the fall of 2006. There was a need to provide patrons computer and Internet access at the time and the main library could not handle the task.
After more than a year monitoring usage, it was determined that the CRC is no longer a viable entity. The patronage was not sufficient to support continuation. So, the library board recently announced the facility has been put up for sale and is listed with the Hicksville based Montana Agency, Inc. for $2.5 million. The building is approximately 8,000 square feet.
Should the building be sold successfully, the proceeds will be used to provide much needed changes to the main library.
The Hicksville Public Library Computer Resource Center will remain open until sold.
New Parking Garage Will Be Built at Current Site
The on again, off again parking garage is on again. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto announced that a new, state of the art, parking garage will be back again at the corner of Duffy Avenue and Newbridge Road.
There were many residents that didn't want anything built again because of aesthetic consideration. No one really wants to look out their window and see a building -- a park, maybe -- a building, no.
So, serious consideration is being given to building a significant portion of the garage underground. This would reduce the traumatic visual impact tremendously.
The town will bid this proposal and others considered previously.
Your guess is as good as mine as to the outcome??!!
The Hicksville train station is at a critical location, right in the heart of the Town of Oyster Bay, Venditto said. "We recognize that commuters rely on obtaining a parking space to get to work. This alternative, if feasible, meets their needs while balancing the concerns of nearby residents."
Little Shelter Animal Adoption Center
The state of the economy has everyone wondering what catastrophe will happen next to screw up their life. Losing jobs, losing homes, watching life savings disappear is not what we want, of course. We want the best for our families, our kids, our friends. We can only pray for a huge turnaround.
Another catastrophe that has a dramatic effect is the treatment of our pets. Hey, if it comes down to feeding my kids, I have to then make a serious decision. It isn't fair to punish a pet by not feeding him or her. So many people are doing the right thing by offering their pet for adoption. However, many are just abandoning their pets and that just ain't right.
I remember years ago when my wife, Joyce moved to Pennsylvania. I would travel and spend weekends relaxing at our home. One night I heard a noise and opened the curtain in the living room and saw a wild animal standing on our upstairs deck. We had the lights on but on a dimmer. I turned the dimmer up, but the animal took off. It looked like a dog but I couldn't be sure.
Joyce said, "what if it is a dog, and it has no place to live?"
So, being the wonderful person she was, she put out food, and the creature did return. We watched the animal eat and got to take a good look at what it was.
It turns out it was a she and she was a mixture of husky and shepherd. A beautiful dog.
She would return every day, then magically disappear. When I talked to Joyce during the week, she said that she named the dog "Magic" because she would appear then disappear.
Joyce and I liked to walk the mountains and Magic would appear and walk with us, always keeping her distance.
She got brave and started to get closer to us, sometimes nudging us with her muzzle, then running away. This went on for awhile.
Joyce talked to security and they said that dog had been dumped in the community weeks prior and just went around looking for food. Several people were feeding her, including us.
She got pretty comfortable sometimes taking a nap near the deck. We don't know where she slept at night, but she was not in anyone's house.
Joyce had the notion to capture her and make her a pet. She worked with security and they said if we captured her, she would have to be taken to the shelter. They would keep her there for awhile and if no one claimed her, then we could have her.
To make a long story short, we would up with Magic and she became a wonderful pet. She is alive an living with Joyce in Augusta.
So, if you have an inclination to adopt, go to Little Shelter Animal Adoption Center at 33 Warner Road, Huntington, NY 11743 or call 631-368-8770, Ext 206 or visit the web at http://www.littleshelter.com
You can also check the local shelters in your area to adopt a pet.
Thanks,
Buffalo Bob Casale
Class of 1958 visits HHS in September 2008
