At the 2006 Smart Growth Awards luncheon, held at Friday, June 16, at the Crest Hollow Country Club, the Village of Mineola was presented with a Smart Growth Award by Vision Long Island for its comprehensive master plan.

Vision Long Island called the village's master plan dynamic and complimented Mayor Jack M. Martins and the village administration proving itself to be an example of a local government that is unafraid of implementing new and creative models of planning and development.

The master plan, which was released late last year, acts as a blueprint for the village in planning for long-term economic vitality. The plan, Vision Long Island points out, provides a model for transportation and the creative combination of planned residential, retail and office space will significantly increase the walkability of the existing downtown, while mitigating the density impact on auto congestion.

According to Vision Long Island, "the recommendations outlined in Mineola's Master Plan Update exemplify cutting-edge practices in downtown and renewal nation-wide."

Facing a countywide shortage of certified lifeguards, the Mineola Community Pool opened for the season June 17. Despite tireless efforts to recruit lifeguards, the Community Pool opened with only 12 lifeguards hired. As a result, the pool will remain on modified hours (noon-8 p.m., including Mondays) until further notice. Therefore, the following adjustments had to be made:

"Early-Bird" swim, including the exercise program for all those 18 years of age and older, will be suspended until normal hours resume.

Swimming lessons will remain in effect; however, only swim lesson participants and their parent/guardian will be allowed in the facility during their scheduled lessons and only the children registered for classes will be allowed in the water with their instructor. Stickers will be placed on the child's pass to permit them to enter the pool before noon. All parents/guardians and siblings will have to remain on the upper-deck only and will not be allowed in the main pool or kiddy pool.

The Community Pool staff will continue their ongoing efforts to recruit additional staff in the hope of resuming regular hours as soon as possible, and requests to be contacted with any information regarding potential qualified lifeguard candidates by calling 746-0785.

Anyone 16 years of age or older interested in becoming a lifeguard can call the American Red Cross at (516) 747-3500 to obtain information about upcoming lifeguard courses. Furthermore, anyone who has already taken the American Red Cross lifeguard training and needs Nassau County Lifeguard Certification, please call the Nassau County Department of Health at (516) 571-3680 to register for an upcoming certification exam.

The Mineola Pool opened its doors for the 2006 summer season on Saturday, June 17. Mayor Jack Martins, joined by Deputy Mayor Lawrence Werther and Trustees Linda Fairgrieve and Paul Cusato, welcomed invited guests and employees to another wonderful summer at our Community Pool. Also in attendance were Pool and Recreation Board members Jay Monaco, Chairperson, Nancy Portoghese Bauer, Jeffrey Clark, Richard Maher, Maryanne Langone, and Lou Sanders. Pool Director Dan Kopetic welcomed guests and new staff members to the pool including new pool supervisors, Kim Servat and Drew Kane. Dan also recognized the pre-season staff for doing a terrific job in getting the pool ready for the summer.

In recognition of last year's well-received registration procedure, the Mineola Community Pool will again be conducting swim lesson registration on one day, Saturday, June 24th, starting at 8 a.m. This is a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE basis and will be for both the first and second session. Registration will be taking place at the pool's front gate.

In order to give everyone a fair opportunity, only parents of the child/children being registered for lessons will be permitted to register their child/children. In the event that a parent cannot be present at registration, an adult family member may register children for swimming lessons based upon the following conditions:

The adult family member (i.e. aunt, uncle, grandparent) must present a letter signed by the parent(s) of the child or children to include the following information:

A. Name of adult family member registering child or children.

B. Relationship of adult family member to child or children.

C. Name of child or children.

D. Reason parent is unable to register child or children.

1. The adult family member registering a child or children must have the current leisure passes of the child or children to be registered.

2. The adult family member may only register a child or children from one family. Registering a child or children from multiple families will not be permitted.

It would be appreciated if parents wishing to use this procedure for registering their children for swim lessons notify the Mineola Pool Office in advance by contacting 746-0785.