Msgr. Thomas Leavey, 85

The parish of St. William the Abbot, Seaford, lost its pastor emeritus, Msgr. Thomas G. Leavey, on October 4, 2010, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. The diocese has listed the funeral arrangements and a curriculum vitae here. The funeral parlor death notice in Newsday, mentioning Msgr. Leavey's relatives, is linked here.
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Born in 1925 and raised in Jackson Heights, Father Leavey was ordained in 1951. He came to St. William's in 1971 and served as pastor until about 2003. He is remembered as understanding, helpful, kind.
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In paradisum deducant te angeli ..... Into paradise may the angels lead you, may the martyrs receive you at your coming, and may they guide you into the holy city, Jersusalem. May the chorus of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, once poor, may you have eternal rest.

Siren

Problem Oriented Policing

Three or four years ago, three citizens showed up for an informative community meeting presented by the 7th precinct in the Tackapausha auditorium. On July 28, 2010, some 22 or 23 people showed up for a likewise informative meeting at the Merrick Library, perhaps because the North Merrick Community Association spread the word.
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For an accurate account of the meeting, please see Merrick Patch. The reporter deserves compliments.
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POP officers from the first and seventh precincts made brief presentations and gave clear, non-evasive answers to many questions from the audience. POP means problem-oriented-policing. Major concerns were about drug sales, theft from cars, and nighttime rowdyism and vandalism on school grounds.
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I was struck by the importance and usefulness of phoning 911 rather than the precinct. Only 911 can respond with a car. The 911 department also keeps records of every call and every follow-up. That is, one may later inquire what the follow-up was. Immediately after each call to 911 is received, it is assigned a priority, but all receive attention and leave a record.
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As with the less-attended meeting at Tackapausha, I came away grateful for the work of the Nassau County Police.

Memorial Day, 2010

Above is the war memorial placed in a park at the Seaford railroad station. The Town of Hempstead maintains this park, which is shaded by lofty trees. A year or two ago, at a meeting of the Seaford Historical Society, I got the impression that no record could be found of a Seaford resident serving in the U.S. Civil War, the war that generated the custom of Decoration Day. The appellation Seaford did not yet exist here; the residents were farmers and fishermen needed for their produce; and the draft office for Queens County was in Jamaica.
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A reader has posted the following comment:
"I'd just like to give a word of thanks to the Seaford Wellness Council, Seaford American Legion, Seaford Fire Department, Long Island Horticultural Society and Boy Scout Troop 239. For 2010, I know they maintained the WWI Memorial near the train station in Seaford. Congratulations on joint effort that was well done." You may read the comment also by clicking on the word "Comments" several inches below, at the end of this post and the photos.





Above is the war memorial in front of Seaford's American Legion Post on Penatiquit Avenue.




Above, members of Seaford's American Legion Post march north on Washington Avenue, Memorial Day, 2010. Edwin Welch, born in 1895, lost his life on November 8, 1918, three days before the Armistice, after his regiment of engineers had repaired a bridge across the Meuse. They found shelter in a house in Remille, but they came under fire, and Edwin was killed. Surviving relatives live here on the South Shore of Nassau County.




Click on the arrow above for a video of the Seaford High School Marching Band in the Memorial Day parade, 2010.





Click on the arrow above for a video of a pipe band preceding the Seaford Fire Department.

The wreaths atop this fire truck will be placed at the Four Chaplains Monument in front of Seaford Middle School.








Above is the Four Chaplains memorial in front of the Seaford, N.Y., Middle School. Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.
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Further information on the Four Chaplains may be found here.
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The editor recalls when the 3-cent commemorative postage stamp honoring the Four Chaplains was issued in 1948. Another link to the stamp is here.

Ninth grade cohort of 2005

Today's Newsday (3.10.2010) gives a summary of high school graduation rates in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The NYS Education Department has released these figures and more in the pdf file linked here.
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The "2005 cohort" is those students who began ninth grade in 2004-5 and ordinarily would have graduated by August 2009 after four years of high school. I have not yet found an explanation of how transfers-out and transfers-in are counted, and whether the cohort includes the same students at the start and at the finish. Not in Newsday but rather in the file linked above is the size of the 2005 cohort. Seaford's 2005 cohort is 226 students, 92% of whom graduated by August, 2009. Wantagh's numbers are 264 students and 98%. Massapequa: 624 and 96%. Plainedge: 283 and 95%. Bellmore-Merrick: 983 and 95%. Island Trees: 222 and 91%. Levittown: 658 and 94%.
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I have not located NY State figures for non-public schools, where again I feel that the size of the beginning cohort and the transfers are important information.

An extraordinary snowman

Found on February 27, 2010, in Seaford, New York. Congratulations to those who built him!

Snowfall of February 10, 2010

Snow fell on Seaford for most of Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The next morning, I found a depth of 14 inches on our lawn. Here are several photos taken in Seaford on Thursday, February 11. The youngsters did not have school on the 10th or 11th, but streets were in good condition by the 11th, when temperatures climbed.

Tree planting

Many thanks to the Town of Hempstead for trees planted in several locations during the past two months:
In early January, 2010, along Locust Avenue near Paddock Road, part of where new storm drains were added.
About November, 2009, along the north side of Sunrise Highway west of Washington Avenue.
In late December, 2009, throughout the newly-paved parking lot S-3 between Jackson Avenue and Southard Avenue, that is, behind the Seaford library.

Meeting 12.1.2009 of Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners' Assoc.

Each of the above views can be enlarged by clicking on the photo. Both look west on Ocean Avenue, Seaford. At the far end of the block, Ocean Avenue turns north for about a half-mile to Bayview Street. Most of the meeting of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners' Association at the Seaford Library on December 1, 2009, concerned a plan by a developer ("Seaford Landing") to build 46 senior condominiums on two acres somewhere along the left side of this section of Ocean Avenue. Previously, the developer had considered building eleven single-family homes here. If the plot is east or west of this photo, please tell me. The address given for Seaford Landing is 3660.
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Three men from the developer addressed a group of about twenty-five at this meeting, which became quite contentious. It seems that the developer has not yet asked for a calendar date with the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals for the variances needed for the 46 condos. Please do not confuse this project with the proposed condos on Arrowhead Place, located on the adjacent peninsula to the west. I was pleased to see this morning that a length of north-south Ocean Avenue is being repaved.
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I am certain that the Wantagh Citizen will have a more detailed account of this meeting.

St Joseph honored at St William's

About twenty-five years ago at St. William's church, the baptismal font was moved from a semicircular part of the vestibule to the front of the nave. A shrine replaced it, and on November 15, 2009, the former baptistry was reopened with a statue honoring St. Joseph. To the right is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, New Yorker, who lived from 1774 to 1821. To the left, the statue was chosen to represent St. William the Abbot, who was born in Vercelli, northern Italy about 1085 and spent much of his life at Montevergine, central or southern Italy. He died about the year 1142. The sword may refer to the power of the Word, perhaps as found in a Bible in his other hand.

Veterans' Day in Seaford, NY, 2009

The men and women who served their country deserve both thanks and praise.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

Past commanders of the the post were introduced and honored.