A message board with running lights will flash news of the community on a sign in front of the Fleet Bank at Jericho Turnpike and Mineola Blvd. At least this is the hope of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce which is exploring the feasibility of the message board which costs about $14,000. The Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest on Long Island, will hold its annual "We Are Mineola" night Dec. 2. Mayor Colbert will be the guest speaker for September bringing the Chamber his "State of the Village" message. In October, Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell will be the speaker and in November we hope to have Matt Smith talking about reassessment. Smith is an appraiser.

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Patricia Mulrooney works for The Long Island Catholic both in advertising sales and proofreading. Her husband John is past Grand Knight of the K of C. The Mulrooneys live in East Williston.

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It was good ushering at Corpus Christi with Joe Pryor. Joe and his wife Catherine live on Arlington St.

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Sal and Marian Scibiliace of Washington Ave. had breakfast at the Jericho. The couple has lived in Mineola for 47 years.

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Betty Conlon lives with her daughter Elizabeth, the village trustee, on Latham Rd. In Betty's younger days, she was a force in village affairs attending village and civic meetings and always speaking out on the issues of the day.

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You certainly don't have to be Irish to buy your gas at the popular Shamrock Station of Pat McDonald's on Herricks Rd. But if you are Irish it's great to talk about the old sod. On a recent morning we met Mike Lane of the Irish Echo, Tom Kelly, Joe Kirby, John Woods and Dan Murphy.

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The village and the scouts are building a beautiful memorial to the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy in the park. The site should be ready by Sept. 11.

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A 7-Eleven store is coming to the southwest corner of Jericho Tpke. and Mineola Blvd.

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Good talking to Inga Wuefel the other day. Inga lives on Harrison Ave. Her father was the owner of the wonderful Superior Woodworking store many years ago at Willis and Harrison Aves.

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Dennis O'Sullivan is very active in the Irish-American Center. He lives in Williston and stops at the Jericho Diner most mornings for his coffee.

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Al and Peggy Ford were up from Florida. Al and Peggy, who formerly lived in the President Apts., are the founders of Willis Hobbies now run by their sons Steve and Ken.

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Pete Holowecki of Liberty Ave. is active in Legion affairs. Pete is just back form Indianapolis and North Carolina.

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Sr. Maryleonora Donnelly spent 32 years in Bangladesh and is now residing at the Holy Cross Convent in Indiana. She is the sister of Tony Donnelly, head usher at Corpus Christi.

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Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has declared Sept. 3 a day of recognition for the Mineola American, which Grace and I founded Sept. 3, 1952. The actual commentary issue will be Oct. 2. That issue will record the history of the village for the past 50 years and will be mailed free to every house in the village.

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The forthcoming wedding of Anthony Wollover and Susan Katz has been announced. Both live in Mineola.

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Attending the last pool board meeting were Paul Rubin, Tom Spae, Kathy Holiday, Herb Polack, Ann and Richard Fry, Joanne and Gary Drivas, and Jay and Cheryl Monaco. It was announced that next year's program will have some modification. Cell phones may be used for essential calls but must be very brief and the two-guest only rule may be relaxed. There was a good deal of talk about building a competitive swim team while others thought the events should be more about fun for the kids. It was said that more emphasis should be placed on the fact that this is a heated pool as some people were not really aware of that. The pool board noted the increasing difficulty in getting lifeguards not just here but elsewhere.

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A small dinner party was held to celebrate the 91st birthday of John Lindner, a past president of the Chamber of Commerce.