All good things come to an end. This saying certainly pertains to the summer. Just as the summer will soon end, one of its joys - the Village of Mineola Summer Recreation Program - came to an end on Friday.

Some of the 301 children enrolled in the program bid farewell to the program with a song sung before Mayor John P. Colbert, Deputy Mayor Lou Santosus and trustee Elizabeth Conlon. Trustees Maryanne Warnecke and Linda Fairgrieve could not attend the ceremony.

The children sang the song Summer Rec under the direction of head counselor Eileen Cahill to the tune of Summer Nights, the popular song from the play and movie Grease.

Mayor Colbert, Deputy Mayor Santosus and trustee Conlon praised the work of Suzanne Skaflestad, who ran the program, as well as the staff.

After the children completed their song, the mayor paid tribute to the participants in the summer recreation program and thanked the parents for their cooperation. "Mineola has the best kids in Nassau County," Colbert said. "This is what it is all about - kids having fun during the summer."

Activities coordinator for the village, Angelo Scuccimarri, said the program was a great success this summer. Even with some of the inclement weather, the village was still able to accommodate the children through the use of the community center in village hall. "The kids had a great time. I can't wait until next year," he said.

The program began on July 5 and ran Mondays from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There was an extra hour on Mondays to allow for swimming activities in the Mineola Swimming Pool.

Among some of the activities the program featured were capture the flag, Frisbee, relay races, drama and acting, croquet, dodgeball, crafts/board games, and hockey. Prior to the mayor arriving, some of the children announced over the microphone what their favorite activities were. Drama, dodgeball, arts and crafts, and just spending time with the counselors were among those mentioned.

The last day also gave children the opportunity to say goodbye, for now, to new friends and old and to the counselors they worked with. It also gave the children an opportunity to get Mayor Colbert's autograph. The mayor was busy signing some of the children's shirts, adding to the collection of autographs they had collected over the course of the summer.

In her first year running the program, Skaflestad was happy with the way the summer turned out. "I really enjoyed running the program for the youth of Mineola," she said. "Seeing the smiles on the children's faces and knowing they had a good time made it all worthwhile."