Since June of 1921, Mineola has been the home community of Boy Scout Troop 45. For the past 55 years it has called the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street its home, meeting every Tuesday night during the school year. Since 1921, over 90 young men of the Troop have reached the rank of Eagle. These 90 plus Eagles are but a small portion of the hundreds of young men from our community who have entered the Troop as boys and learned how to be men through the Troop's program. These boys and the men they have become are the legacy of Troop 45.

For over a year, members of the Troop Committee have been planning a huge 80th Anniversary celebration. The big event is scheduled for Feb. 24, and for several months they have been actively looking for as many Troop 45 alumni as they can find. If you or a member of your family were a member of Troop 45, they'd love to hear from you. Please drop Assistant Scoutmaster Frank D'Elia a note at 40 Fairfield Avenue in Mineola and he'd be happy to send you information.

You can also visit the Troop's website at http://www.geocities.com/troop45bsa to find out about this event and other Troop activities or send them an e-mail message at troop45bsa@usa.net.

Feb. 24, looks to be a great celebration of 80 years of continuous service to our community. I hope you'll help Troop 45 as they attempt to contact as many Alumni as possible.

This winter season we have had more snow than in the past years. The Village, mindful of the safety of our residents, starts plowing when there is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches of snow on the ground.

To assist in the snow removal operation, your help by removing all vehicles from the street would be greatly appreciated. The reason is that the plow crews always attempt to clear all our streets of snow from curb to curb. If cars are on the street, it is not possible to properly remove the snow.

Many of our residents attend to clearing their sidewalks and driveways while it is still snowing. To minimize having the snowplows undo what you just finished - especially driveway aprons, we suggest that you wait until the plows have finished plowing and shovel the "apron's snow" to the right. When the snow removal crews are sanding/salting your streets, there is little risk of the plows returning. (The Highway crews will sand/salt our streets to prevent ice conditions after every snowstorm.)

Please do not shovel or blow snow into your streets. This could well create a driving hazard for yourself and your neighbors.

Our Village has approximately 36 miles of roads. Many of our residents are unaware that many of the streets are maintained by the state and Nassau County.

The Port Washington Yard of the Nassau County Division of Highways (571-7950) maintains First Street, Herricks Road, Mineola Boulevard, Nassau Boulevard, Old Country Road, East Old Country Road, Sheridan Boulevard, Westbury Avenue, Willis Avenue and portions of both Main and Second Streets.

The East Hills sub-station of the NYS Department of Transportation (621-2180) maintains Jericho Turnpike, East Jericho Turnpike and Hillside Avenue.

The Fifth Annual Pasta Dinner, which is being hosted by the Mineola Junior Fire Department, will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Village Community Center, 155 Washington Avenue.

All are invited to come and enjoy a meal of pasta, meatballs, salad, beverages and dessert. There will also be raffles and prizes. The donation is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and children under 10.

Tickets are available at the door, or please call Gary Mazur or Rob Connolly at the Chief's Office at 747-5860 for advance tickets.

On Valentine's Day, Winthrop-University Hospital invites seniors to learn about their heart. The free lecture, "The Heart: Maintaining the Beat...Keeping the Rhythm," will be presented on Feb. 14, by the Hospital's Health Update for Seniors educational series. It will be held at the Mineola Community Center, located at 155 Washington Avenue in Mineola. It will begin with registration and blood pressure checks at 1:15 p.m., followed by the program at 1:45 p.m.

Steven Zeldis, MD, attending cardiologist at Winthrop, will focus on what seniors need to do to maintain a healthy heart. The discussion will include risk factors for heart disease that can be treated, as well as what seniors and their doctors should look for to keep their hearts healthy.

Health Update for Seniors is coordinated by Geriatric Health Services and RISE (Referral, Information and Support-services for the Elderly) at Winthrop, and is part of the Institute for Family Care. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please call 663-3916 to make a reservation.

In November of 1921, Father James Burke, then pastor of Corpus Christi Church, purchased the Graves Estate on Searing Avenue to be used as a school. The original house consisted of two three-story structures joined by a spacious garage.

Father Burke had these buildings reconstructed and in August 1922, two sisters from The Sisters of Saint Dominic staffed the school, which served grades one to four. The initial enrollment was 125 children. By the time the first class graduated in June 1927, the school had 280 in eight classrooms.

In 1939, the Jackson Avenue and Hampton Street Schools were built as part of the Work Progress Administration (W.P.A.) Summer is quickly approaching and it means that it is time to begin to process Leisure Passes. Within the next week, everyone will receive a letter and application for the 2001 Mineola Leisure Pass. This pass is your key to all of our Village activities as well as our Community Swimming Pool and Skating Rink. Please follow the instructions carefully so that your registration process can go smoothly. If you do not receive an application by Feb. 12, please call the Recreation Department to request one. To the world you might just be one person, but to one person you might be the world.