Hicksville To Commemorate Two 9/11 Heroes

Anton Community Newspapers • 132 East 2nd Street • Mineola, NY 11501 • Phone: 516-747-8282 • FAX: 516-742-5867

Hicksville To Commemorate Two 9/11 Heroes

Written by Cory Twibell Friday, 07 September 2012 00:00

George Howard, Terry Farrell gave their lives at Ground Zero

Two local heroes, George Howard and Terry Farrell, who both held strong ties to the Hicksville community before their final hours on Sept. 11, 2001, will be honored this Sunday, Sept. 9 with a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. at the Hicksville Fire Department’s Strong Street Fire Station Memorial.

Honorary Chief George Howard was an ex-captain of Emergency Company 5 and a member of the Port Authority Police Department working out of JFK Airport, where he organized the PAPD Emergency Service Unit. During the attack on the Twin Towers in 1993, Howard responded to the scene on his day off and rappelled down an elevator shaft to rescue more than 60 occupants trapped in an elevator – an effort that awarded him a subsequent Medal of Valor. In addition to his volunteer firefighter service, which spanned nearly three decades, Howard was a youth soccer coach in Hicksville. West John Street between Newbridge Road and Strong Street now reads, “P.O. George Howard Way.”

The community will once again gather to remember those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, including Hicksville’s George Howard and Terry Farrell. Photo by Kevin Imm Ex-Chief Terry Farrell was a member of Citizens Engine Company 3 and elite member of the New York City Fire Department, Rescue 4. Farrell was on duty with the FDNY and was providing assistance in the Tower One relief effort when the building collapsed. He was an active member of the Hicksville Fire Department as the organization’s 55th Chief. In 1991, after 16 years with the Hicksville Fire Department, Farrell and his family moved to South Huntington, where he immediately became a member of the Dix Hills Fire Department and eventually served as their 1st assistant chief. Farrell’s bone marrow donation in the 1990s saved the life of a 6-year-old girl, who was suffering from blood cancer. The girl and her family flew in from Nevada to thank Farrell as the young girl, Chantyl, referred to Farrell as “my Mr. Nice Man.” Farrell’s five brothers established a firefighter’s assistance fund in Terry’s name (http://www. terryfund.org/).

Howard and Farrell were among the 343 firefighters and 60 police officers who died preserving the American way of life. The Hicksville Fire Department, Hicksville’s myriad service associations and local residents will pay tribute this Sunday to George and Terry and the thousands of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

For more information, visit www. hicksvillefd.com.

News

Hicksville Native Wins FIT Award

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

Hicksville native Jae Lee recently rose to the top of his senior class at New York Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), winning the Critic Award for sportswear. But fashion wasn’t the path that Lee originally chose.

In high school, Lee excelled in art classes and thought that he wanted to go to college and major in fine arts. However, he said, it was while watching an episode of “Project Runway” that he had a revelation. “All of a sudden I was thinking that it was something I could/should do and that’s what kind of led to it,” he said. He made up his mind that he was going to apply to fashion school and enlisted the help of one of his art teachers in school to help him. “We really scrambled and put together this presentation in about two weeks, where other people, I’m sure, worked on theirs for months,” he said. Lee said that when he went to present his portfolio, he didn’t think the meeting went well at all. “Everyone was really well prepared,” he said. But, he admitted, it must have gone better than he thought, because he was accepted to FIT.

WWII Armor Museum Opens

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

In the face of cancelled air shows and the downgrading of NYC’s Fleet Week, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced on May 9, that American soldiers will be forever honored on Long Island through the creation of the Museum of American Armor to be built at Old Bethpage Village Restoration thanks, in part, to a million dollar gift from Lawrence Kadish.

“We are watching powerful tributes to our American military reduced or eliminated across the nation and its just plain wrong,” stated County Executive Mangano. “Fortunately, the Memorial Day weekend air show at Jones Beach will be held regardless of the loss of the Thunderbirds, but Fleet Week in New York City will be greatly diminished and across the country air shows are being cancelled weekly. Nassau County is moving in another direction. An armor museum that honors every American soldier will be created on county property this year which will not only pay tribute to those who have defended our nation but will also strengthen the county’s tourism and destination industry and provide a new source of revenue.”

Sports

For The Love Of Tennis

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

Hicksville residents honored by tennis association

The U.S. Tennis Association Long Island Region has recognized several Hicksville residents for their tennis playing or volunteering achievements. The group was honored at the USTA Long Island Region’s 23rd Annual Awards Dinner, which recognizes superior efforts both on and off the tennis court.

Terry Fontana received the Vitas Gerulaitis for the Love of Tennis award. She has been a longtime fixture in the Hicksville tennis community and is the driving force behind the Hicksville Community Tennis Association (CTA), which, since 1995, has been promoting the development of tennis as a means of healthy recreation and physical fitness and to create a community resource for physical activity throughout the area.

Lady Comets Honor Departing Seniors

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

It was a cold season for softball this year, colder than usual. Anyone who knows the sport recognizes that the weather can be changeable, but this softball season was fraught with snow, pouring rain, cancelled games, frigid temperatures, and blowing winds that would cause any team to crave the warmth of indoors.

That wasn’t the case with the Hicksville High School Lady Comets Varsity Softball team. They played through it all like champions, and endured the rough weather like superstars.