During July and August the board of trustees will meet once a month. The dates are Thursday, July 14 and Aug. 18 at 8 p.m.

On June 4 the Garden City Centennial Soccer Club hosted "Soccerfest" to 138 Garden City intramural teams and 10 travel teams to celebrate the end of the soccer season. Children participated in contests and received special awards during the course of the day. Representatives from the Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation were on hand to promote awareness in skin cancer and offered free skin cancer screenings to the first 100 visitors to sign up.

On June 18 and 19 the Garden City Rams boys and girls lacrosse organization, led by the tireless efforts of Dr. Anthony Randi, hosted the Jay Gallagher Memorial Lacrosse Tournament. Over the course of the two days of competition, 76 teams, including 20 teams from Garden City, competed. Approximately $30,000 was raised for the Miracle Foundation's fight against cancer and the Andy Foundation.

I wish to thank the board of directors of the Garden City Centennial Soccer Club and the Garden City Rams Lacrosse organization as well as Dr. Anthony Randi, all the volunteers and the Recreation Department staff for all of their efforts, especially for leaving the fields in a pristine condition after their use.

Chairman of the village's Environmental Advisory Board (EAB), Trustee Nicholas Episcopia, asked me on behalf of the EAB to remind everyone that the season for West Nile Virus is upon us. In 1999, the West Nile Virus (WNV), was identified in Nassau County, spread by mosquitoes that have fed on an infected bird or animal. Although most people infected will not develop symptoms, some will develop West Nile encephalitis, which is a serious concern. We generally think of mosquitoes as a nuisance pest. Although their bite can be uncomfortable, usually followed by redness, swelling and itching, I think that it is important to note that most mosquitoes do not transmit this disease.

The following suggestions are proactive strategies to prevent their breeding. West Nile Virus usually spreads by the bite of a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. Outdoors, use insect repellents containing DEET (follow the directions on the package) ... Use good screens on your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out and empty any standing water in the yard to get rid of mosquito breeding sites ... Most people infected with WNV show no symptoms. Up to 20 percent have mild symptoms, including fever, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms typically go away after a few days ... Less than one percent of those infected experience severe symptoms that range from high fever and neck stiffness to disorientation, coma, tremors, vision loss and paralysis. Symptoms may last several weeks or may even be permanent ... If you develop symptoms such as a high fever, confusion, muscle weakness and severe headaches you should see your doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment, which may require hospitalization.

I would like to remind residents that it is their responsibility to water village trees planted in front of their homes. Despite some rain this past spring, the summer will hopefully have some wonderful hot sunny days so please note that if you recently had a tree planted in front of your home, please take the time to water it. The proper way to water is to first loosen the soil around the tree if it has become baked hard and then allow a hose to run at the base of the tree at a rate slow enough so that the water will be absorbed into the area around the tree trunk.

Watering hours: between 5 and 10 a.m. and 6 and 10 p.m. Odd-numbered house addresses should water on odd-numbered days and even-numbered addresses on even-numbered days. Be sure that sprinkler timers are adjusted for the correct dates and times. Thank you for your cooperation.