Mineola is going to be a happening village this summer. Not only is the village celebrating its 100th anniversary, but the Mineola Fire Department will be hosting the Nassau County Firemen's Association 2006 Parade, Drill and Block Party.

The Nassau County Firemen's Association is an organization made up of all volunteer firefighters in Nassau County. On May 18, ex-chief of the Mineola Fire Department Mike DeStefano, will be sworn in as president of the association. For the Mineola Fire Department and DeStefano, who has put in many hours of dedicated volunteer service to the village, it's a big deal. In the association's 103-year history, Mineola has had five presidents. The last one was Bill Pokorny in 1996.

The department of the incoming president has the honor of hosting the annual gala, which includes a parade, drill and block party. In this case, Mineola, in July, will host the extravaganza. While hosting this event is deemed an honor, the Mineola Fire Department wants to minimize the inconvenience to residents in the areas affected by the block party and parade. Mineola firefighter Mark Danielson met with the village board on Wednesday to go over concerns the board may have. Danielson plans on meeting with the board on a monthly basis and keeping residents informed so that everyone will be aware of the festivities that will take place in July.

The annual meeting and dinner during which DeStefano will be sworn in will be held on May 18 at the fire department headquarters. Then from Thursday, July 6 to Sunday, July 9 a block party will be held at the Wilson Field parking lot. All the firefighters from the Nassau County Firemen's Association are invited as are all residents. There is entertainment scheduled such as the Capris and a DJ. The hours are Thursday and Friday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday noon-11 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The parking lot is also expected to be reserved for set up on Wednesday, July 5 and for breakdown on Monday, July 10.

Festivities includes two firematic drills. The motorized drill is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 8 and the old-fashioned drill is scheduled for Friday, July 7 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., although this drill may be moved to Sunday, July 9. Both drills will take place at Michael J. Tully Park in Garden City Park so there will be no impact to the residents of Mineola.

Perhaps the biggest event of the gala is the parade, which will take place on Saturday, July 8 at 6 p.m. The parade will stage on Emory, Andrews, Latham, White, Beebe and Wardwell Roads. It will proceed east on Jericho to Sheridan, then south to Westbury, then west to Hudson and then south to the end at Wilson Field. The parade is sure to be extravagant, as approximately 50 fire departments will be participating. Each will bring three to five vehicles with some departments bringing more and some bringing less. The trucks will park on Liberty and Second Street, east of Hudson after the parade.

Among some of the concerns Mineola Mayor Jack M. Martins had was parking. The block party in the Wilson Field parking lot will take place in July, during the height of the pool season and the mayor is concerned about where people can park. Mayor Martins also expressed concern about making sure residents in the areas where the fire vehicles will stage prior to the parade will be informed since the staging streets will be closed from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 8 so that there will be no parking on those streets. Mayor Martins also expressed concern since the events will need village employees, the village must budget to pay for those employees.

The Mineola Fire Department has made committees for all aspects of the event to handle a multitude of potential concerns and to make sure the event goes smoothly. Residents should expect more information as the event approaches.