www.gardencityny.net

Two recent car accidents that occurred during the Christmas holiday have stunned the village. The loss of two of our high school youngsters as well as the serious injuries to two other students, who remain in the hospital, has caused the Garden City community to not only grieve but pull together to support the involved families.

On behalf of the board of trustees I want to thank the police, fire and ambulance personnel for their excellent response time and efforts to secure help for the injured students. We also want to thank the school district board, administration, faculty and counseling staff as well as clergy from all houses of worship for providing a forum during vacation time so that parents and students could begin the healing process. Additional preparations were in place so students were able to return to school Jan. 5 without incident. This community is extremely strong and has the tradition of working together to help each other through such tragedies and moving forward. Our prayers and thoughts remain with all involved families.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, each of the four property owners' associations will conduct its electors' meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to select and place in nomination candidates for village trustees. The meeting is open to all qualified voters who reside in their respective section of the village.

The officers and directors of these associations deserve your assistance and cooperation. As your representatives, they must be able to communicate with you and know your views, problems and recommendations if they are to be fully effective. Please attend and participate in your associations' meeting.

The respective meetings will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the following locations:

Central: Garden City Library 8 p.m.

Western: Homestead School 8 p.m.

Eastern: Stewart School (cafeteria) 8 p.m.

Estates Stratford School (auditorium) 8 p.m.

Collection of Christmas Trees, Wreaths for Recycling

A reminder to residents who have a live Christmas tree or wreath to dispose of - please leave them at the curb on your regularly scheduled recycling collection day. They will be collected by the department of public works and offered to other agencies for beach erosion control or rendered at the Village Yard for use around trees and shrubs as mulch.

Please assist the village by removing tree stands from the discarded trees and cooperate with your neighbors by disposing of them only on the scheduled recycling collection days.

In anticipation of snowstorms during the next few months, the following suggestions are offered in an effort to reduce inconvenience to residents and to assist the village in serving their needs.

If possible, wait until the village plows the street to clear the snow from your driveway entrance. If you can't wait, shovel to the right since most snowplows push to the right. This will reduce the accumulation of snow which will be pushed back into your driveway.

When you hear that a storm is expected, move your car off the street into your driveway. This will speed up the plowing operation.

Park your car, or cars, as close to the end of the driveway as is safely possible. This eliminates the need for shoveling the entire driveway to free your car when the storm has ended and the roads are safe to travel.

If you are unable to shovel snow or are going to be away, make arrangements to have the snow cleared from your sidewalk. One source of assistance is to contact PAVES to obtain the help of our village youth who are looking for employment - telephone number 248-0390. Please remember that you are responsible to shovel your walk within 24 hours after the storm. The police department will enforce this.

Please also shovel the snow from the curbs so that crossing the street will not be hazardous.

Please clear snow away from all hydrants so that the fire department can reach them without delay.

To facilitate safe garbage collections, a walk should be made from the sidewalk to where the garbage is kept. If this is not possible, it is suggested that the garbage be carried to the curb for pickup.

In addition, as a safety tip, make sure that your chimney and heating furnace is operating properly and that the area around the unit is free of any type of debris.