Mineola Leisure Pass applications are now being processed in the Leisure Pass Office at the Village Hall.

If you were a member last year you need only send the following:

Homeowners: Copy of the full front page of a recent LIPA bill and copies of any two of the following:

* Tax Bill

* Water Bill

* Mortgage statement.

Renters: Copy of the full front page of a recent LIPA bill and copy of your Lease Agreement.*

* If you do not have a lease agreement, you will need to obtain a notarized letter from your landlord stating all members of your household that live at your address. This letter must be signed by a Notary Public.

If you are applying for the first time or you were not a member last year, you will need to call for appointment to have your picture taken. This will be done by appointment only. We cannot accommodate walk-ins. You will need to provide the information above plus:

* Driver's License or Non-Operators ID for adults (must be picture ID with name and Mineola address)

* Birth Certificate or School ID for children

If you need to make an appointment or have additional questions, please call the Leisure Pass Office, 746-2326 during office hours - Tuesdays and Thursdays: 6 - 9 p.m.; Saturdays: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

You may also call this number at any time and leave a message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Internal Revenue Service provides live telephone assistance during the tax-filing season from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday. Please call 1-800-829-1040 for assistance.

When you purchased your home and "put down" less than 20 percent, many lenders required the borrower to have Private Mortgage Insurance(PMI).

For home mortgages signed on or after July 29, 1999, The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, the PMI payments- with limited exceptions must be terminated automatically when you have 22 percent equity in your home based on the original property value.

Some of the "exceptions to the rule" are:

1. If your loan is "high risk."

2. If you have not been current on your payments within the year prior to the time that your equity reaches 22 percent.

3. If you have other liens on your property.

If you signed your mortgage before July 29, 1999, you have the right to ask to have the PMI cancelled once your equity in your home exceeds 20 percent. But, federal law does not require your lender to cancel the PMI. Because your lender is not required to cancel the PMI, you should contact your mortgage holders to determine what the guidelines are for you to cease making these payments.

There will be a Public Hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 2,0 at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, 155 Washington Avenue for the purpose of receiving public input regarding Community Development Funding.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has identified scams that you are most likely to receive. Some of these are:

1. Business Opportunities

These business opportunities make it sound so easy to start a business that will earn "lots of money" without much work or cash investment. Many of these "opportunities" so they say or infer, will earn you $140 a day or as much as $1000 a day.

The FTC has determined that many of these solicitations are in fact, illegal pyramid schemes.

2. Chain Letters

You are asked to send a small amount of money ($5 to $20) to four, five or six names on the "list." This communication may well claim that it has been reviewed and/or approved by the government. The fact that there is a "product" such as a report on how to quickly make money, a mailing list or even a recipe does not "change" its status. Chain letters are illegal.

3. Free Goods

Solicitations offer valuable goods (ie. computers, free long distance phone cards, etc.) and all you have to do is join our "club" and get five of your friends to likewise join the "club." Again, the scam is another ponzi scam.

The New York State Office for the Aging publishes a quarterly newsletter, ie. Aging News,

which includes among other things, special reports, studies, etc.

Copies of this publication and other publications of interest to seniors may be obtained free of charge by writing to NYS Office for the Aging, Public Information Office, 2 Empire State Plaza, Albany NY 12223- 1251 or by calling the N.YS Senior Citizens Hotline at 1-800-342-9871.

No, this is not a scam. The New York State Comptroller's website, www.osc.state.ny.us indicates that "The State of New York is currently holding billions of dollars in unclaimed funds."

"This website will instruct you how to avoid having your money turned over to the state and how to get it back if it is 'abandoned'." If you don't have access to a computer, you may write to: Office of the State Comptroller, Office of Unclaimed Funds, 110 State Street, Albany, New York 12236.

The population during the early 1900s of Mineola was:

1910 - 1081

1915 - 2318

1920 - 3016

1925 - 5240

More than 10 percent of the population of the Town of North Hempstead lived in Mineola in 1925.