TR In The Spotlight At April 12 Lecture, The Progressives And The Constitution

Friends of Sagamore Hill’s Dr. John A. Gable lecture series continues

It is once again time for the Dr. John A. Gable Lecture Series sponsored by the Friends of Sagamore Hill (FOSH) and held at Christ Church Parish Hall. The series kicked off on March 29 with a talk by Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Wynn speaking on “Theodore Roosevelt: The Intellectual: TR as writer, contributor, and correspondent.” The next lecture in the series takes place on Thursday, April 12 at 7:15 p.m., as James L. Coll, associate professor of American and Constitutional history at Nassau Community College speaks on “The Progressives and the Constitution.” Admission is free and refreshments are served.

Estampas Folkloricas Peru To Perform On April 12 At HCC Dinner

This year the 15th Annual Hispanic Cultural Center dinner will showcase three performances by Estampas Folkloricas Peru. Estampas Folkloricas Perú is a nonprofit organization whose main goal is to preserve, promote, and diffuse Peruvian folklore and cultural manifestations through dance and music. Its repertoire includes traditional dances from the different regions of Peru, including the coast, the mountain areas and the jungle.

Most members of the dance group are students from colleges, universities and schools districts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and New York City.

OB-EN Writers Win Awards at RHM’s Great Presidents Contest

Educational excitement in the OB-EN school halls extends to Raynham Hall Museum

Educational enrichment comes in many forms. The classrooms of the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School and the James H. Vernon School are often buzzing with excitement as parents and friends share in many writing celebrations with students as young as kindergarten ages. These celebrations and the reading and writing programs in place in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich schools have been praised by the Columbia University Teachers College and visited and studied by teachers from other districts all over Long Island.

There’s Still a Great Variety of Items at Buckingham Village

Buckingham’s Variety Store is reinvented as Buckingham Village

Something old has become something new as Buckingham’s Variety Store has reinvented itself into Buckingham Village. It is located at 36 Audrey Avenue in downtown Oyster Bay. Walter Imperatore, of Renaissance Property Associates, LLC, who manages the Oyster Bay real estate for owner Charles Wang said, “It is a new concept for the store. It’s been an idea in the back of our minds for a while. Recently, it seemed to us that there were a lot of little businesses that wanted to open up locally. Think Long Island First was the first. They were recently joined by Chef Fran’s Kitchenware. Now we have these different store owners with their own products sharing space.”

ENCA Puts $2,500 Into Median Cleanup

Thorough cleanup needs professional help in heavily trafficked locations

Last summer Tom Kearney of East Norwich took out his old-fashioned scythe and “mowed down” the thigh-high grass in the median along Route 106. He was tired of waiting for the NYS DOT to come through and do the cleanup. This year, the East Norwich Civic Association (ENCA) is planning to pay for a thorough cleanup of the medians – in the heavily trafficked areas that are more than the volunteers can handle safely.

At the Thursday, March 22, meeting of the ENCA, the members voted to spend $2,500 for a cleanup of the medians along Route 25A and Route 106 from Mill River Road to Sugar Tom’s Lane. It cuts a swath through their downtown business area; and will also cover the median on 25A east of Route 106. Doing the initial cleanup will not be enough unless the work is maintained, and therefore, president Matthew Meng and vice president Sean Rainey plan to talk to the local business owners to see if they would like to contribute funding to pay for the monthly work needed. They want to set an example that they are willing to work with not only the merchants, but with the DOT too.

Gaps Aren’t Only at the LIRR But School Budget’s Is Filled

OB-EN school board adds revenue, subtracts expenses and fills the NYS cap/gap

What’s a budget gap and why are we trying to fill it?

The Oyster Bay-East Norwich school budget gap is the difference between capped revenues and the necessary expenditures to run the district. This gap came as the result of legislation by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration.

Marie Colvin’s Death Inspires Freedom Fighters

Syrians Want America’s Freedom

The story of the life and death of Marie Colvin, war correspondent, is still being written. Her death in the shelling of an improvised media center in the Baba Amr district of Homs, Syria, where she was reporting the effects of the war on innocent people, has earned her the love and respect of the Syrian people. Her location in Baba Amr is believed to have been targeted by the government forces of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad because journalists were informing the world about what is happening there.   

To express the thanks of the Syrian people for Colvin’s telling of their story, the Marie Colvin Convoy for Freedom of Syria has been making its way from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., stopping in 11 cities across the country to raise awareness of ongoing fighting in Syria.

Way-Finding Signs Are in OB’s Future

Preserve America project manager Meredith Maus working on historic signage

When the Oyster Bay Main Street Association (MSA) received a Preserve America grant, it put into motion a two-year project that is still in the works. It included working with local students to encourage their knowledge of local history and is now in the pre-production phase as they fine-tune the copy and photos for way-finding signs that are the aim of the program.

Presently, Meredith Maus is the project manager for the Preserve America efforts. She is currently using the Oyster Bay Historical Society files to look at antique photographs to include in the interpretive signs. As shown in a photograph of the Octagon Hotel plaque, the larger signs may use more than one photograph to identify each location.

Oyster Bay Celebrates the Heroic Life of Foreign War Correspondent Marie Colvin

If you are desirous of an impressive, meaningful funeral, lead an impressive meaningful life. That is the message of Marie Colvin’s life, which she lived with passion whether working or having fun. She was a full-throttle lady with nothing withheld. She surrounded herself with friends as accomplished as she. Katrina Heron, her roommate from Yale, designed her memorial website and gave the eulogy at the funeral mass at St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church on Monday, March 12, for the fearless 56-year-old journalist who died in Syria three weeks ago.

Marie Colvin: The Greatest Storyteller of All

To me, a world without Marie is unimaginable. I am just now beginning to experience this shadow of a place, and for the first time, there is no Marie to give me comfort or guide me through. Marie has so many friends and colleagues who loved her so deeply, and countless admirers who were awed by her courage as a journalist. While I mourn together with those who loved her and take enormous pride in her accomplishments, my tribute is to my big sister and lost soulmate.