Having spent five weeks at LIJ I'm finally back in circulation and will resume my column. I want to give a special thanks to Father Bob Batule for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit me in the hospital.

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Gerard Terry was named by County Executive Tom Suozzi to the Board of Assessors. Gerard and I go way back to the days he was a student activist at Mineola High School and a close companion of Tom DiNapoli and Judy Randall. The three often traveled together and Tom, Gerard and Judy were weekly visitors to the newspaper office. Tom, of course, became the youngest person in America ever to be elected to a school board at the age of 18. He later became an assemblyman, the Democratic town leader and the loser in the primary to Mr. Suozzi. Judy is an editor with the Staten Island Advance. That was really a great class from MHS.

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Manny Losquadro, owner of Hy-Grade Fuel on Columbus Pkway, and a resident of Albertson, has suffered a heart attack. We pray for his speedy recovery.

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Former Mayor Ann Galente is using a walker these days having recently suffered a broken ankle in a fall.

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Bill DeLuca of Emory Rd. enjoys eating at Friendly Ice Cream.

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Herman Edwards, the NY Jets coach, was seen recently dining with his wife at Maxwells in Garden City.

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Kevin and Kathy Etherson who live at the Wedgewood Apts. on First St. have bought a house on Marcellus Rd.

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Gary Katz is a good customer of Randi Cleaners.

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Always good to see Carole and Pat Healy on Wellington Rd. around Mineola.

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Tom and Dorothy Rudolph are active in the village, Tom, a city cop, is rooting for his NY Mets these days.

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Teena Grosinski of Wardwell Rd. takes daily walks around the West End. She notes the increasing amount of dog feces she encounters in and around Memorial Park. Other people have noted the same problem. The village should start to clamp down on those people who are not picking up after their dogs.

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Albino Barros Garcia of Raff Ave. is the owner of Creative Services in town.

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Tony Spimoni and Leslie Wilson dined at the Jericho.

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Always good to talk with longtime neighbor Nick Buttino of Beebe Rd.

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Among those enjoying a repast at our favorite diner were Mary Calfapietra of Jefferson Ave, Catherine Murphy of Lincoln Ave., Kerry Tice and Owen and Susan Kelly of Houston Ave.

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Ed Hanlon and his wife Matty live on Latham Rd. Ed ushers at 11:30 Mass at Corpus Christi. Matty, by the way, is a good friend of Vicki Mussa of Beebe Rd. having been girlhood friends when they were teenagers in the Bronx.

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Our oldest son Richard and his wife Laurie are just back from California where they attended the Oscar awards in L.A. Richard is executive editor of Entertainment Weekly.