The following is a list of top stories, compiled by the editor, which occurred throughout 2007. The stories are in the order of which they appeared in the paper. Full stories can be obtained by logging on to www.antonnews.com and clicking on the Farmingdale Observer archives. Due to space constraints, not all stories from 2007 appear in this Year in Review. Cold weather did not deter over 100 onlookers from making their way to Farmingdale State College on the morning of Dec. 5. Their purpose - to honor the countless trade unions that worked shoulder-to-shoulder with rescue, police and fire personnel in the post-September 11 recovery effort. Over 18 union officials were present for the ceremony that brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience. The event was held at the future home of the Long Island 9/11 Memorial - a proposed site at Farmingdale State College that will memorialize the 455 Long Islanders who perished on September 11. The Farmingdale Village Board got right down to business at the first meeting of the new year on Jan. 2, continuing a discussion on traffic calming and amending two zoning laws. The village board presented the latest traffic calming proposal to residents. It included lighted crosswalks from the Grey & Grey building to Village Hall (across Main Street) and the Grey & Grey building to the Farmingdale post office (across Prospect Street), rumble strips down Prospect Street and speed tables at the west end of Prospect. The State University of New York Board of Trustees recently voted unanimously to name W. Hubert Keen, Ph.D., president of the State University of New York College of Technology at Farmingdale. Keen will succeed Dr. Jonathan Gibralter, who served as president of Farmingdale from 2001 until August 2006, when he left to assume the presidency of Frostburg State University in Maryland. The Farmingdale School District is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Defendini to the position of school business administrator effective Jan. 2. Over the course of this past year, Defendini participated in an administrative internship that included time in the business office. His work there has helped to establish the foundation for success in his new position. An early morning fire on Jan. 22 that damaged an abandoned building north of Republic Airport in East Farmingdale took 100 responding volunteer firefighters almost three hours to extinguish. Conklin Street was closed for over an hour while firefighters battled the blaze that is being investigated by the Suffolk Arson Squad as "suspicious." The two-and-a-half-story structure, owned by the New York State Department of Transportation, has been abandoned for 20 years. On Monday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 a.m. the Farmingdale Fire Department responded to a car into a house on the corner of Melville Road and Secatogue Avenue. The driver and one occupant left the scene and the Nassau County Police Department is investigating. There was minor damage to the house and the carriage in the front yard. No injuries were reported. Congratulations to Farmingdale High School's outstanding athletes. Farmingdale's Scholar Athlete Teams, teams with an average of 90 percent or better are as follows: golf, football, Dalerettes, girls swim team, girls tennis, boys soccer, girls soccer, cheerleading, girls volleyball, girls cross country and boys cross country. Most of the 50 residents who attended a Jan. 31 public hearing regarding a proposed cell tower in Farmingdale were not opposed to the tower itself, but rather its location. The tower, which would provide state and commercial cell service, consists of a 100-foot flagpole with internally mounted wireless telecommunications antennas. The associated ground equipment will be placed at the base of the tower within a proposed 3,135-square foot equipment yard compound secured by a 6-foot perimeter fence. The site would be accessed from Bethpage Road via the existing Park Police entrance. The Farmingdale Community Summit Council presented the fifth annual Farmingdale Jumps basketball game on Jan. 31. The event featured the Harlem Magic Masters versus a team consisting of teachers, administrators and other employees from the Farmingdale School District. The event was sponsored by the Farmingdale Community Summit Council and The Farmingdale Council of PTAs. This past holiday season, 15-year-old Farmingdale resident Dylan Cruthers collected hundreds of toys and games for the children who are seen at the Suffolk County Child Advocacy Center. Assisted by his coaches from the New York Apple Core hockey team, Dylan gathered the toys from donations at his church, school, neighbors and his teammates. The 143,000 sq. ft. Wal-Mart in Farmingdale is slated for opening on Wednesday, March 14, the store's manager Greg Tucker said. The store, which will be located at 901 Route 110, has been under development for over a year. Already Tucker said 385 employees have been hired. Wal-Mart has reached out to the community by attending Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce and Breakfast Rotary meetings. Nassau County has renewed its lease on a section of land that is owned by New York State and is adjacent to the Massapequa Preserve in the Viceroy section of Farmingdale. The original lease agreement between Nassau County and New York State was for a 20-year period that would have expired on Feb. 28 of this year. The county has renewed the lease for 10 years and is in negotiations to acquire the land from New York State in a land swap deal. The new agreement does not satisfy some local residents who are upset with the condition of the land and feel that much more needs to be done to protect and preserve the area. Farmingdale High School Regents exam results will be reported to the New York State Education Department this month. In English/Language Arts (ELA), 96 percent of our students met graduation requirements for a local diploma, while 89 percent met the requirements for a Regents diploma. In mathematics, 95 percent met the requirements for a local diploma and 91 percent for a Regents diploma. At the March 5 board meeting, village officials passed a local law entitled Local Law to Prohibit Illicit Discharges, Activities and Connections to Separate Storm Sewer System. The purpose of this law is to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Village of Farmingdale through the regulation of non-stormwater discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This law establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the MS4 in order to comply with requirements of the SPDES General Permit for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. Several members of the Environmental Protection Agency as well as representatives of the potentially responsible parties were present to discuss an update on the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund Site in Farmingdale. At the March 19 meeting at the Farmingdale Public Library, EPA Project Manager Lorenzo Thantu explained details of the ongoing investigation. On Tuesday, April 10, residents voted to pass the 2007-08 Farmingdale Public Library budget. The budget vote tally was 301 yes votes to 135 no votes. Current Trustee Tom Arangio ran unopposed for another five-year term and received 367 votes. The 2007-08 budget of $3,364,670, represents a $76,760, or 2.3 percent, increase over the previous year. The Farmingdale School District continually updates its capital projects plan and looks to implement necessary capital projects with as little impact as possible on taxpayers. Approval of Proposition #2 on May 15 will provide funding for boiler/burner replacements at the high school, Howitt Middle School West and Northside and Saltzman East Memorial elementary schools and window replacement on the south side of the high school. The Runner's Edge, located at 242 Main Street in Farmingdale will donate $1 from every sale during the month of April to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Bob Cook of the Runner's Edge then presented the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a check for $1,175, which represented $1 from every sale made in the store during the month of April. The Runner's Edge is a supporter of the Society and its Team in Training Program. When Farmingdale resident Tom Hickey was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1999, he was determined to not let the illness be the "death sentence that it once was." A cancer survivor for just over eight years now, Hickey, 49, first heard about the Farmingdale Relay For Life, an overnight event designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer in the community, about four years ago. This year, Hickey is serving as the overall event chairperson. After Farmingdale resident Nancy Walsh watched the movie Hotel Rwanda, she said she could not believe that she was so unaware and uninformed about the genocide occurring in Rwanda at the time. Over a month ago, Walsh joined the Long Island Darfur Action Group after seeing an ad in Newsweek about the Save Darfur Coalition. She and other members have organized a fundraiser called Strike Out Genocide! for May 12. All proceeds will benefit the Save Darfur Coalition. At the May 7 meeting of the Farmingdale Village Board, members voted to pass three local laws. The first, which established a Park Land Fund, creates a park land fee and/or reservation of park land in the event of an approved subdivision. Under this law, developers are to either create park land or pay a fee, not to exceed $10,000 per lot created, when applying to build a subdivision. Secondly, the board voted to establish architectural review, which allows "the existing board additional power to look into the aesthetics of a building proposal," Village Attorney Kevin Walsh said. The village has a site review statute in place where they study projects to make sure there is ingress, egress, garbage removal, etc. This adds to that statute. The third local law was passed to regulate the display of merchandise on sidewalks. Merchants will now have to fill out an application with the board stating what type of merchandise will be displayed and pay a fee that can be changed from time to time. The law also limits the types of displays to new and seasonal items only. There will be a $350 fine for violations of this law. Residents voted to pass the Farmingdale Public Schools budget at recent elections held on Tuesday, May 15 at Howitt Middle School. The proposed budget adopted by the Farmingdale Board of Education was $133,252,904 for the 2007-08 school year, which represents a 4.01 percent expenditure increase over the previous year's budget of $128,116,500. This represents a tax levy increase of 3.53 percent over last year. Residents voted in favor of the budget in a 2,285 (yes) to 1,414 (no) vote. Voters chose from three candidates to serve two three-year terms on the Farmingdale Board of Education. Incumbents Russ Catanzaro and Tina Diamond were re-elected. Terms begin in July. In addition to the budget vote (Proposition No. 1) and trustee election, Proposition No. 2 was the proposed capital projects initiative to replace the remaining four original boiler systems in the district using New York State's offer of $2,040,368 in EXCEL Aid. Residents also approved this proposition in a 2,296 (yes) to 960 (no) vote. Proposition No. 3 was the Farmingdale Youth Council budget, which passed in a 2,309 to 1,067 vote. A new book by Farmingdale resident John Hanc Jones Beach: An Illustrated History, traces the history of Jones Beach, from the naming of the beach after the pirate Thomas Jones, through its inception and mid-20th century heyday as a State Park, and on through a decline in popularity to the present day, where it has recently come back into the public eye thanks to publicity surrounding Donald Trump's proposed $30 million restaurant complex at the site. This year's varsity softball team under the direction of Ms. Lundy and Mr. O won the League I Conference III title for the second straight year. Its League record was 13-1. Ms. Lundy told the girls this was one of her best teams in the last 10 years. The team finished 12th in the county. In the playoffs, they lost to a Division I Syosset team 6-0. The Farmingdale Village Board held its June 4 meeting before a sparse crowd of 10 residents. The board then opened the Public Hearing on extending the moratorium, which is slated to expire this month. A six-month moratorium extension with an option for two three-month renewals was approved. The reason for the extension, according to Village Attorney Kevin Walsh, is because the "board is considering more local laws." Mayor Graf reminded residents that waivers can be granted if the building proposals are within reason and the board can vote to stop the moratorium at any time. The Lady Dalers defeated Massapequa 11-9 to defend their Nassau County Class A Championship and then they defeated Ward Melville last Sunday at Hofstra 14-11 to capture the Long Island Class A Championship for the second year in a row. Both games were tough, hard, close games that the Lady Dalers survived. The Lady Dalers then earned their second consecutive Long Island Championship. In a May 31 letter to Farmingdale residents, 8th Precinct Inspector Commanding Officer Michael P. Cronin addressed "ongoing problems" in the vicinity of Massapequa Preserve, Farmingdale High School, Woodward Parkway School and Bethpage State Park. According to Cronin's letter, some of the laws that will be enforced are: "unlawful possession of marijuana, consumption of alcohol, park closed at dark, no trespassing, littering, disorderly conduct, congregate with other persons and refuse to comply with a lawful order to disperse, property closed to the public, use of established ways (example: beer party pits), alcohol in the park and all-terrain vehicles." Farmingdale High School is proud to announce Sean Feiner as valedictorian. Sean will be attending Brown University in the fall majoring in Bio-Chemical Engineering. Salutatorian for Farmingdale High School is Krystal Cantos. Krystal has been accepted to Columbia University, Princeton University and Harvard University. On Sunday, July 8 under a picture perfect blue sky, plenty of sunshine and gentle breezes, residents of Farmingdale gathered to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Village Hall-Fire House Building and the 25th Anniversary of the Village Pops. On Sunday, June 24, Farmingdale was once again the Wheelchair Sports Capital of the World, as wheelchair racers from every continent were on hand to celebrate the 16th annual running of the Nick Katsounis Memorial Wheelchair Championship 10 Kilometer Race. The Farmingdale Jewish Center recently closed its Farmingdale location and combined with the Wantagh Jewish Center. Now called the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center and located in Wantagh, the center serves over 400 families. This year St. Kilian's Players celebrate their 20th anniversary with a show that promises to be different from the traditional Broadway genre of previous summers, yet just as enjoyable. The Players began 20 years ago when a young vibrant priest arrived at St. Kilian's with the idea of bringing a musical to the parish. The Farmingdale School District has put into action a traffic safety proposal focused on making changes aimed at creating a safer and more efficient drop-off route. The fencing around Howitt Middle School is to help ensure that students walk within the crosswalk. The Howitt Middle School parking lot has been improved with an additional crosswalk in front of the library. The surrounding area is fenced in to ensure that students walk within the designated crosswalk. In addition, a one-way traffic pattern was established within the parking lot, helping to make the area safer for the children. Farmingdale's Republic Airport has been in discussion with the Federal Aviation Administration since they requested in February 2005 that Republic Airport undertake the widening of Taxiway Bravo to meet current runway safety area standards. Two years later, Republic Airport has begun preparing bid documents to commence the $8 million project. One of the stated goals of the American Legion is, "to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community" and to "successfully carry out acts of service to our community." Now, one local American Legion post is appealing to its community for help. The Hugh C. Newman Memorial Post 449 is looking for new members and a place to call home. South Farmingdale Water District (SFWD) has appointed Charlie Prucha as its new Superintendent. Prucha was awarded the position based on his experience with the district, where he amassed a comprehensive knowledge of the operations, plans and personnel over the past 30 years. Long Island homeowners are once again eligible for real property tax refund checks, only this year it is not only based on their property tax burden, but their income level as well. The checks, which are part of the 2007 Middle Class STAR Rebate Program, are offered to all homeowners who receive the basic STAR exemption. Residents of the Farmingdale School District who earned (combined income of residential property owners and their spouses) up to $120,000 in 2005 can expect to receive a rebate check of up to $748.26. Enhanced STAR recipients in Farmingdale will receive up to $623.55. A public hearing was held at the July 9 board meeting regarding 10 new single-family dwellings at 20 Merritts Road. After Anthony Addeo, Esq., who represents the owner, Mrs. Hubbard, presented the application to the board, Mayor Graf opened the hearing to the public. Residents of East Farmingdale Civic Association President Thomas H. Joseph frequently refers to East Farmingdale as the "forgotten hamlet of the Town of Babylon," as the community lies just east of the Nassau/Suffolk County border. For the 5,400 residents of East Farmingdale, Joseph says their main issue is Michel Park. The weather could not have been better for the third annual Main Street Mile, making the memories of the winds and rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto from last year's race a distant memory. Records were set this year for registrants (335) and two course records for the men (4:10) and women (4:48). This event was presented by Bob Cook, owner of the Runners Edge on Main Street in Farmingdale, who was race co-director along with Mark Leff of Cisco Systems. Proceeds from the Main Street Mile support the Companions in Courage Foundation, founded by former New York Islander and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, who was in attendance and participated in the event. Proceeds from this year's event exceeded $7,500, which was contributed to CiC. At the Sept. 4 board meeting of the Farmingdale Village Board, trustees held a public hearing on local laws regarding amending the village's business zoning district. The local laws discussed were to expand the Business "D" district on the south side of Fulton Street, 220 feet west of Main Street and 900 feet east of Main Street, to expand the permitted uses in the Business "D" zone and to provide for incentive zoning in the Business "D" district. These local laws would allow for townhouses to be built in Business "D" zones, creating mixed use area. The 10 new townhouses approved for south of Route 109 and west of Main Street are now in Residential "B" zone, however, would be included in the Business "D" district if these local laws are passed. At Long Island's first Global Warming Summit on Sept. 29, local families will have the opportunity to learn what they can do to help stop global warming. Presented by The Center for Science Teaching and Learning, the summit will take place at Farmingdale State College. Organized by CSTL, the Global Warming Summit is the Island's first and only event of its kind geared specifically toward families. It will feature alternative energy demonstrations, hands-on workshops, green vendors, well-known speakers and more. The event will focus on what families can do at home, work and school to help reverse climate change. Entering his 21st year in education, new Farmingdale High School Principal Glen Zakian said he was drawn to this career because of his involvement in school and extracurricular activities when he was a student. Local elected and appointed officials recently welcomed Nassau County's first emergency shelter trailer to Farmingdale. Each of the county's 19 legislative districts will receive one of the trailers, which are used to augment the Red Cross shelters in case of an emergency, and would be deployed to affected areas. In the wake of the dog fighting guilty plea by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, a 9-year-old Farmingdale boy made a very personal decision. Chance William Creamer went with his grandmother to Bideawee in Wantagh to donate a jersey with the quarterback's number on it, "for the puppies." At an Oct. 15 Farmingdale Village Board work session, the board and a group of 25 residents received an update on the visioning process for Farmingdale Village. Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, began with a PowerPoint presentation. The visioning process Alexander was referring to includes public outreach, building moratorium, visioning recommendations, code changes, project development and ongoing support/feedback. Nassau County Legislator Dave Mejias recently arranged for the transfer of county-owned land to the Village of Farmingdale for a passive park, transforming an unused parcel of land into a pristine neighborhood park. Leg. Mejias secured a $50,000 grant to pay for the construction on the .38-acre site. A student who attends school in Farmingdale was recently diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The student is receiving medical care and is recovering. Our district is working closely with the Nassau County Health Department to minimize any risk to students and to school employees. While your child has not been identified to be at any increased risk of contracting MRSA, I believe it is important that all families and staff be provided with the same information about the infection and about actions that can be taken to help prevent its transmission. Come Nov. 11, Farmingdale residents will have a variety of ways to commemorate the Veterans' Day holiday. For one Farmingdale family, however, the day will hold an added significance. Not only has the Happ family seen three generations of service in the U.S. military, but on Nov. 9 they will welcome home their only family member still on active duty, as Army Specialist Ian Happ returns from a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq. The family's involvement in the military goes back to World War II, when both of Specialist Happ's grandfathers did their duty. His paternal grandfather, Norman Happ, served with the Army in the Pacific theater during that conflict, while at the same time his maternal grandfather, Lt. Col. (Ret) John Maguire, was in Europe, where he was awarded both the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his heroic endeavors. Both men, now deceased, were longtime Farmingdale residents. Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton recently announced that a Joint House and Senate Conference Committee has approved the Fiscal Year 2008 Veterans Affairs and Military Construction Appropriations bill, which includes $8.4 million in military construction funding for the Gabreski Air National Guard Base Pararescue Facility in Westhampton Beach and $65 million for the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Farmingdale. The Farmingdale Dalers (9-0) took on the Baldwin Bruins (7-2) at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium last Saturday night for the Nassau County Conference I Championship in front of 4,000 fans. Current Farmingdale Village Trustee George "Butch" Starkie recently announced his candidacy for mayor, challenging current Mayor George Graf. Running on the Green Leaf Party line, Starkie said he has decided to run because of his "love for Farmingdale." Mayor Graf, who is running on the Farmingdale Family Party, said he is seeking re-election to a second term "because there is much still to be accomplished." Thomas Cinelli recently announced that he will be running for mayor in the March 18 election as an independent candidate with no running mates. A first-time candidate, Cinelli said he is running because he isn't happy with the job that the current administration has done and he would like to bring change to the village. John Garry recently announced that he will be running for mayor in the March 18 election with no party affiliation. Garry, who first announced his candidacy in an ad in March 2006, said he is running for election because "I am greatly disappointed in the depressed state of the Main Street shopping district." The Dec. 3 Farmingdale Village Board meeting was run like any other; however, by the end of the night it was clear board members had taken sides on the upcoming contested mayoral election between Mayor George Graf and Trustee Butch Starkie. Twelve years of active community involvement may be good enough for most people, but according to former Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale (CCAF) President Mike Grello, a move to Suffolk County will not hinder his affinity for Farmingdale.