Nov. 23 is Thanksgiving and the Merchants Association wants to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday. We pray for peace and we pray that our men in the military will be coming home soon.

Can you believe that the Christmas and Chanukah holidays are coming soon? I always comment that we live in a great community and this proves to be true around this time of year. One of our local Cub Scout troops in the area has already called me to make arrangements for decorating one of the holiday houses on Park Blvd. Other calls are coming in about community service. This is wonderful! We are all looking forward to the holiday season.

The Merchants' Christmas Houses will be going up on Park Boulevard this weekend. They will be decorated the following week. We must thank Colman from Panache Beauty Salon on Park Blvd. for donating his time and labor. This is a lot of work and Colman and his staff work all weekend to do this for the community. Thanks and appreciation must also go to the Inc. Village of Massapequa Park for their cooperation with this project.

The Village Christmas tree lighting and Chanukah Menorah lighting will be held on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. Mark your calendars.

Don't forget; please shop locally. Our merchants depend on it. Reminder - remember our food drive this year. Astoria Bank and the Massapequa Post are drop-off places for your donations. We are doing this in conjunction with the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce and your help is needed this holiday season. All items will be distributed through the outreach program in our area. It is a good feeling to help those less fortunate than us. Thank you for participating in this very important cause.