Residents are reminded that the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law requires that when a school bus stops and flashes red lights, traffic approaching from either direction must stop before reaching the bus. Once stopped for a school bus, you may not go again until the red lights stop flashing or the bus driver or a traffic officer waves you on. For our childrens safety is of paramount concern. Please obey the law. A chronic problem involving motorists in the village is the failure to safely yield the right of way to volunteer firefighters who are responding to a fire alarm. Under state law, volunteer firefighters are permitted to display a flashing blue light in their vehicles as they are responding to fire emergencies. While this flashing blue light does not entitle the driver to violate any of the speed limits, traffic controls, etc., it does signify that the driver is responding to an emergency. All motorists seeing an approaching vehicle displaying this flashing light are encouraged to safely yield the right of way as they would were it an emergency vehicle displaying red flashing lights. The annual observance of Fire Prevention Week in Garden City will be Oct. 4- 10. All residents and friends are invited to attend the Annual Inspection and Open House on Sunday, Oct. 6, at noon. The program will be conducted at fire headquarters and in the employee parking field, located on the west side of village hall on Stewart Avenue. Your fire department does an outstanding job to protect our lives and homes. Please stop by to show your support for them. I'm sure that your entire family will enjoy the program.

The Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department will conduct its monthly STOP (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) program Saturday, Oct. 5. The program, which is being held at various locations throughout the Town of Hempstead, will make hazardous waste facilities accessible to as many residents as possible. The Oct. 5 program will be held in Franklin Square at Rath Park. The hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Under the STOP program, residents are able to take polluting materials to the facility and have them disposed of by a registered professional disposal company, free of charge. The facility will not accept the following materials: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, infectious or medical waste, propane or oxygen tanks, radioactive materials, unlabeled materials and fire extinguishers.