During the year 2007 much of the news in Massapequa was dominated by events in the school district, including the usual stellar performances of the Massapequa High School athletic squads. There was also business news, including the adoption of a building moratorium in Massapequa, plus the creative efforts of local citizens.

In school news, the spring election was marked by the rare defeat of an incumbent as Tim Taylor upset Arlene Martin for a seat on the board of education. Taylor, who focused on tax and spending issues, won the election by a slim 2,554 to 2,481 margin. During the campaign, Taylor also criticized pay raises for school administrators. The school budget, plus a vote on a proposition that would approve an EXCEL aid program for Massapequa also passed.

That vote was followed by news at a June 20 BOE meeting that the district's superintendent, Dr. Maureen Flaherty, was suspended. School officials would only say that the suspension was a "personnel matter" and had nothing to do with "theft, child abuse, or sexual misconduct."

Immediately following Dr. Flaherty's suspension, Dr. Charles Sulc, the district's deputy superintendent, was named acting superintendent.

In July, Christine P'Simer was named superintendent of the Plainedge School District, replacing Dr. John A. Richman.

The Massapequa School District also saw renovations to its main campus, including 40 new parking spaces and two floors with eight new classrooms.

On the athletics front, the Massapequa High School girls' varsity basketball team had a great regular season, going undefeated and often winning their games by lopsided margins. The Lady Chiefs lost the Nassau County Class AA final to Hicksville, but with many fine players from the 2006-2007 season returning for the 2007-2008 campaign, the Massapequa dynasty is sure to keep rolling along.

In the diamond, the Massapequa High School boys' varsity baseball squad repeated as Class AA champs, defeating Connetquot, 10-4 in the championship game. The next week, however, the Chiefs lost a tough one to Utica, 2-1, in the Class AA state semifinal game, ending yet another terrific season.

Although both the girls' basketball and boy's baseball squads fell short in the bids for a state title, the Massapequa High School girls' volleyball team did succeed in winning a state crown. In November, the Lady Chiefs defeated Pennfield to win not only the Class AA state title, but also to complete an undefeated season.

Away from the athletic field, the Oyster Bay Town Board, in August, approved a six-month building moratorium for Massapequa. Specifically, the moratorium included the issuance of building permits for the construction of new and expanded buildings; demolition permits for buildings except for unenclosed additions such as decks and porches; preliminary or final approval for any subdivision plat or partitioning map; building demolition permits; and variances related to lot area, lot dimensions or setbacks for new buildings on all residentially zoned property south of Merrick Road in the village. Certain projects, including pools, unenclosed additions such as porches and decks, air-conditioning units and fences were exempt from the moratorium.

On the cultural scene, several residents made their mark in 2007. This past fall, two World War II veterans, Jack Greaney and Melvin Brenner, were part of a documentary on that conflict, New York War Stories, one that appeared on WLIW-TV.

In addition, Massapequa resident Pat Fenton has authored a play Kerouac's Last Call, one that dramaticizes the last night that the novelist Jack Kerouac spent on Long Island. The play, which includes major figures from Kerouac's own life, was produced at Gunter's, the saloon in Northport where Kerouac did spend his final night on the island.

Also on the theatrical front, John Carpenter continues to show and deliver commentary on Smelling Like A Rose, a film about Carpenter's own recovery from a near-fatal auto accident. Carpenter is also using the film as a vehicle for inspirational talks to various audiences on Long Island.

On a sadder note, Jan Serra, a Massapequa native, and co-designer of the Firefighters Bell Tower erected in 1986 at the corner of Park Boulevard and Sunrise Highway in Massapequa Park, died at the age of 83 on Aug. 28. Mrs. Serra served as president of the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce in 1984, was active in the Historical Society, Republican Club, AARP, and the New York State American Institute of Architects (AIA). Mrs. Serra and her good friend Robert S. Thompson, former mayor of Massapequa Park, co-chaired the community fund drive to erect the Bell Tower and time capsule that will be opened July 4, 2076.