Here are the Plainview-Old Bethpage Herald's top stories of this past year, as selected by the editor.

When anyone hears the date September 11, there is only one thing that is thought of. A tragedy still with no ending is the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States. It was a dark day in U.S. history - in the history of the world - and the attack was an affront to the freedom that is the heart of America.

Local heroes rushed to the scene to aid people directly affected. Americans will never forget their dedication and service and those people instantly became heroes.

To help alleviate the tragedy locally, many businesses offered their services, residents donated blood and items were collected and taken to the area that became known as "Ground Zero."

Students made and sold pins and other items and donated the money to charities to assist WTC charities. Americans united and everyone helped.

Five Mattlin Middle School students rummaged their closets and sold their toys, books and jewelry to benefit the victims of the devastating Sept. 11 tragedy.

Nicole Betancourt, Sara Rao, Nicole McDonough, Lauren Nimetz and John Paul Montiel all decided to use the two days to raise money. The fifth-graders set up a stand on Washington Avenue in Plainview on Tuesday, Sept. 18 and sold their goods to passersby.

The fifth-graders made a total of $366, which was donated to a fund setup by Computer Associates who will match the donation bringing the grand total to $732. The money will go to help children affected by the World Trade Center tragedy.

The American Jewish Committee, in cooperation with North Shore Synagogue of Syosset, presented a forum entitled "A New Kind of War: Are we prepared to respond to terrorism?" at the North Shore Synagogue in Syosset. The purpose was to educate residents of Nassau County on the County's ability to respond to all types of terrorist threats.

Home Depot filed an application with the Town of Oyster Bay to build a store in Plainview earlier this year.

In February, hundreds of concerned residents of Plainview and Old Bethpage attended a meeting sponsored by the Washington Avenue Civic Association to voice their concerns over Home Depot's application to build a 119,000 square foot retail store and garden center in a 9.5 acre industrial area between Round Swamp Road and Sunnyside Boulevard, bordering the north service road of the Long Island Expressway in Plainview.

A panel consisting of Ginger Lieberman, president of the Washington Avenue Civic Association, which represents approximately 300 Plainview residents; Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs; Assemblyman David Sidikman; councilmembers Bonnie Eisler and Leonard Symons; former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Lew Yevoli; three representatives from Home Depot; and Dolores Fredrich, the lawyer representing Home Depot, were there to listen to the residents' concerns.

The main concerns of residents include over-saturation of Home Depots, traffic congestion, constant noise, air pollution, uncertain property values, tractor-trailers and late night deliveries. Residents are also concerned that the new Home Depot store would create a domino effect in Plainview - if Home Depot is built, more retail stores will follow.

No new developments have been made regarding this stage as the application is still in the preliminary phase with the Town of Oyster Bay.

In July, the Plainview Water District, one of Long Island's largest drinking water suppliers, filed suit in New York Supreme Court in Nassau County to prevent MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) from contaminating its supply system. According to information obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, MTBE, more than 80 times above the applicable cleanup guideline, has been detected at a former Mobil gas station approximately 450 feet away from the district's nearest supply well. A second well is located nearly 800 feet away.

MTBE is a toxic and persistent chemical added to gasoline sold on Long Island and in many other areas around the nation. MTBE released into Long Island's environment by spills or leaking storage tanks can contaminate groundwater that supplies drinking water for all residents of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. A total of 126 public water wells on Long Island have reported MTBE contamination.

MTBE underneath the former Mobil gas station at 1101 Old Country Road was detected at 840 parts per billion (ppb), more than 80 times the 10 ppb groundwater cleanup guideline. Unless the MTBE is cleaned up, it will be drawn into the nearby water supply wells. Treatment systems for MTBE are extremely costly and require years to be designed, installed and tested. The District's lawsuit specifically called for the following:

* The immediate remediation and cleanup of the MTBE contamination.

* Negligence in contaminating and polluting the groundwater in Plainview and threatening the drinking water wells.

* Failure to warn of the potential hazards of MTBE.

* For punitive damages of $2 billion.

* For compensatory damages of $500 million.

The Plainview Water District provides drinking water to more than 35,000 residents of Plainview and Old Bethpage and is a primary supply on Long Island.

In August, the Water District held a public information meeting to discuss its efforts to clean up the spill. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and other local officials attended this vital meeting. The Board of Commissioners, superintendent and its attorney were available to answer questions and concerns.

In January, Democrat Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli announced his candidacy for county executive. One week later, Democrat Glen Cove Mayor Thomas Suozzi also announced his candidacy. A democratic primary was inevitable.

In February, Republic Bruce Bent announced that he had interest in running for County Executive after Thomas Gulotta announced that he would not be seeking re-election in November. Bent, who had no political background, offered his services as Nassau County Executive for a salary of $1. He planned to take the post and straighten up the county's fiscal problems - a task he felt he was well-suited for with his financial background.

During the September Democratic primary, the shocking news hit that Tom Suozzi defeated Tom DiNapoli, who had the backing of the Democratic Party, by more than 5,000 votes.

Suozzi and Bent held debates and campaigned heavily for the November election. On Nov. 6, Suozzi easily defeated Bruce Bent by a 203,901 to 104,052 margin and was just sworn in as the first Democratic county executive in three decades.

All of the Nassau County Legislators retained their seats, meaning the Democrats still hold a 10-9 majority. For the first time, Nassau County will operate with a Democratic legislature, county executive and county comptroller.

The Town of Oyster Bay remained active and strong through a year filled with changes in the Town of Oyster Bay government.

Anthony Macagnone was elected into office in November 1999 as a Democrat. In July, Macagnone announced that he changed his party registration and is a member of the Nassau County Republican Committee. This announcement brought the total number of Republicans on the Town of Oyster Bay Board up to six against the lone Democrat Bonnie Eisler.

During the November election, incumbent Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto (R) was challenged by Jericho resident Joseph Lorintz (D) for the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor position. After heated debates and a great deal of campaigning, Venditto was successful and elected to his third term as Supervisor of the Town of Oyster Bay.

Election time brought some new players to the political scene. Democrats David O'Brien, Mary McCaffrey and Josephine Reder all ran for the three councilmember seats up for election in November. All political newcomers stormed the town with their ideas and hopes for Oyster Bay. Mary McCaffrey was successful and was voted in as a councilmember by Oyster Bay town residents. She will join Eisler and raise the total number of Democrats on the Town Board to two.

Republicans Incumbent Angelo Delligatti, Incumbent Leonard Symons and newcomer Chris Coschignano also ran for the three open seats. All three took their campaign trail through the various towns in the Town of Oyster Bay to alert residents to their ideas. Both Delligatti and Coschignano were successful in their political race and will be sworn in as councilmembers in January.

After sitting on the Town of Oyster Bay board since 1989, Symons was not re-elected by voters, a situation that surprised many residents. His term ends at the end of 2001.

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto announced the creation of the Traveling Town Hall in March and the mobile facility, that has the ability to bring information and assistance directly to residents in their home communities, began making stops at preset destinations in late April. Venditto hoped this traveling town hall would bring town government closer to residents, a goal he feels he accomplished.

The New York State Department of Public Service held a meeting on Nov. 15 to allow local residents an opportunity to comment on the proposed electric generating facility KeySpan is seeking to construct at a site on Spagnoli Road in the Town of Huntington.

KeySpan proposed the construction of a natural gas-fired 250-megawatt combined cycle generating facility to serve the need for electricity on Long Island and the proposed location is situated on an undeveloped 31-acre parcel along Spagnoli Road in Huntington.

KeySpan is seeking a certificate to construct the facility until Article X of the New York State Public Service Law and has submitted a Preliminary Scoping Statement that describes the project.

This proposed project is in a beginning phase and, according to Kimberly Harriman, assistant council with the Department of Public Service, one of the governmental entities involved in review of electric generating siting applications, conversations have taken place between staff at the Department of Public Service, staff at the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health regarding the content of the draft stipulations. The applicant is obligated to present draft stipulations, which are designed to serve as a road map for the applicant to follow in developing a full-blown application.

Although this project is in the Town of Huntington, nearby Town of Oyster Bay residents feel the construction would greatly impact them and are concerned about the proximity of their homes to the proposed plant. Many residents from Plainview, Old Bethpage, Farmingdale, Woodbury and Syosset were present at the meeting to voice their concerns.

Community members present at the meeting were allowed to comment only on topics contained in the draft stipulations, which include air quality and meteorology; cultural resources; electric transmission facilities; fuel facilities; land uses and local laws; noise; social and economic implications; geology, seismology and soils; terrestrial ecology; traffic and transportation; aesthetics and visual resources; water resources; reliability and alternatives; decommissioning requirements; solid and hazardous wastes and system production modeling.

Many residents are concerned about Farmingdale's Republic Airport and the effect that the proposed plant will have on take-offs, departures and everyday happenings at the airport. The proposed plan includes a 195-foot smokestack that some feel might hinder sight for pilots and flight personnel. Also, the heat plume was mentioned as a concern at the meeting and many were concerned about the impact that has on the nearby airport. "We don't want our residential area to become another Rockaway," one concerned resident said.

What would a year in review story be without a mention of the Cerro Wire property in Syosset? Major strides were made this year with the Town of Oyster Bay Board voting against the Taubman Company's proposed mega-mall.

The Michigan-based Taubman Company submitted an application for a special use permit to build an 860,000 square foot, up-scale shopping center. The fashion center would feature high-end anchor stores, namely Lord and Taylor and Neiman Marcus, and would house 135 other stores located on two floors between those two anchor stores.

This battle is long from over, but local residents and civic groups felt a sense of relief after battling a big company and prevailing in the Town of Oyster Bay.

The application is now in the hands of Judge James M. Catterson in the Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead. The case will be heard on Feb. 12, but regardless of Judge Catterson's decision, appeals should be expected and this application will end up in the Appellate Court in Brooklyn.

The Plainview Chinese School and Cultural Development Center opened in Plainview in 2001.

Charles B. Wang, founder of Computer Associates International Inc. donated the building to help spread the awareness of Chinese language and culture to the greater Long Island Community. The aim of the school is to teach Chinese language and culture to American born Chinese youngsters and to children from non-Chinese speaking families.

This school differs from other Chinese schools across Long Island as this is housed in a permanent facility. "Most Chinese schools and other weekend schools on Long Island rent space in church basements or public schools," said Plainview Chinese School Principal Ming-der Chang. "It has been that way for the last 20 years. We are very fortunate that the Charles B. Wang Foundation was willing to support us so the Chinese school can have a home."

There are over 200 students enrolled at the Plainview Chinese School and there are approximately 70-80 children in each program that is offered and there are usually no more than 15 children per class. Although some classes for adults are offered, the focus is on children and their parents at this time.

In December, Plainview and Old Bethpage residents approved the library's $5,163,317 bond referendum, which is equal to $42 per year for an average house assessed at $7500 for 15 years.

Construction, which is expected to take one year, will begin late spring of 2002. Under the plans, the family center will be expanded and a lecture/program facility will be added to the east side of the building. The expansion will double the size of the existing family center, which will be expanded to 25 feet to the west with a mezzanine. Also, more computers will be available for residents to access databases that are not available from homes and are needed for school assignments. Bookshelves are needed for special collections that are currently stored in the basement and not readily available to the public and, under the proposal, those bookshelves will be added. Additional shelf space is also needed for Family Sharing books on timely topics such as divorce, drugs and death. The new mezzanine will give the library more room for books. Computers will also be added giving the children six computers and another computer room for research.

The new lecture program facility will have 240 permanent seats, a stage, two conference rooms for meetings and a gallery for exhibits. This new addition will allow the library to present more programs for adults and children as requested by the community. The community also will be able to enjoy film presentations, shows, operas, and concerts in a proper atmosphere. The new expansion provides additional meeting room space for local groups.

The weather in 2001 was very peculiar. The year began with perhaps the biggest snowstorm this area has seen in five years and some entered December wearing short-sleeved-shirts and driving with their windows down.

Local residents awoke in early January to find approximately a foot of snow, which left some unprepared. Emergency numbers set up for residents to call and local television news stations broadcast emergency information to keep residents abreast on the forceful storm.

Anyone who planned ahead to next winter is watching his or her new snow blower gather dust. The temperature this past December reached record-breaking high temperatures in our area and the first signs of winter only hit a few weeks ago.