Continuing with tradition, here are the Syosset-Jericho Tribune's top stories of 2004, as selected by the editor. They are listed here in no particular order. Due to space constraints, not all information can be included in this list.

Three hundred of America's high school seniors, including four from Syosset and three from Jericho, were recently honored for their excellence in science as they reached the semifinals of the Intel Science Talent Search (STS). Often considered the "Junior Nobel Prize," the Intel STS is America's oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition.

Jessica Fields, a senior at Jericho High School, recently earned national honors in the 2004 Siemens-Westinghouse Science Competition. The Jericho High School senior will split a $50,000 scholarship with teammate Taylor Bernheim, from The Ramaz Upper School in New York City, as the second-place team in this national contest.

Mary Marks, director of public information and community relations for the Jericho School District, was recognized for her communication and community relations efforts as an award recipient in the 25th Annual Communications Contest of the New York State Public Relations Association (NYSPRA), which continues to be one of the largest competitions in the nation.

Jericho residents approved this year's budget and elected Joseph Lorintz to the Jericho School Board over incumbent Saundra Gumerove-Bernstein.

Jericho High School's top graduates were honored at graduation. Allison Ivans was named co-valedictorian, Jeremy Price was named co-valedictorian and Erica Braverman was named Salutatorian for Jericho's class of 2004.

Jericho was also the host of another successful Relay for Life event, in which over 950 residents participated in. This enormous school community gathering was held to support the outstanding research, education, advocacy, and service of the American Cancer Society. Donations were approximately $80,000.

Also this year, Jericho Superintendent of Schools Hank Grishman represented the NYS Council of School Superintendents in the State Comptroller's teleconference.

New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi announced the school districts that will undergo audits and Syosset was one of the districts that will have administrative expenses examined.

In a year where a record number of applicants entered the Intel Science Talent Search, Syosset High School senior Daniel Choi has emerged as one of 40 finalists selected to compete for scholarships in Washington, DC.

Syosset Central School District voters approved the proposed 2004-2005 school year budget and returned the two incumbents on the ballot to the board of education. The third seat on the board of education was won by Lana Ajemian, a long-time community resident who has been very active in the school district.

The Class of 2004 graduated with 99 percent of the students planning to attend college. Collectively, they received academic, merit-award scholarships of $10,780,77. Outside of the classroom, students excelled on athletic fields and won numerous honors in many competitions associated with co-curricular clubs and teams.

Graduates were honored at a ceremony where the co-Valedictorians Aaron Stanton and Daniel Choi and Salutatorian Naeha Chaudhry addressed the class and wished everyone success in their life after Syosset High School.

On Feb. 5, a deal to preserve 50 acres on Jericho's Underhill Property was completed with the town, state and county all coming through with the funds they promised. The agreement, which has been a conceptual understanding since October 2002, finally came to fruition.

This deal ends decades of battling between local residents, environmental groups and land-owner Roger Tilles, owner of the Tilles Investment Company. Tilles has tried to develop the Underhill Property since 1972, according to Louis Soloway, partner in the Real Estate Practice Group at Certilman Balin, which represented the Tilles Investments Company. "This deal is a wonderful example of state and local government working in unison with business to satisfy commercial development, as well as the wishes of the environmentalists," he said.

The Underhill Property, which sits atop the first federally designated sole aquifer and is one of two state-designated groundwater protection areas in Nassau County, will be subdivided with New York State purchasing 25.12 acres, Nassau County purchasing 16.67 acres and the Town of Oyster Bay purchasing 8.33 acres, all which will be preserved as park area. The developer, The Holiday Organization, led by Gerald Monter, will build 102 single-family units to be known as the Hamlet Estates at Jericho on the remaining 31-acres and agreed to sell 40 percent of the homes to people 55 and older to lessen the initial impact on the Jericho School District.

The Syosset Hamlet Plan Committee, in cooperation with the town, distributed surveys to both residents and business owners in Syosset to help develop a plan to improve downtown Syosset.

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto and Councilman Chris Coschignano along with a Steering Committee held visioning workshops throughout the year to help develop the Syosset redevelopment and revitalization plan to give residents a chance to comment and provide input for the future of Syosset and Woodbury.

This visioning plan is part of the Vision 2020 Plan Initiative that focuses on individual areas of the town which require individual attention and provides implementation tools to meet the goals of the community. The Syosset Hamlet Plan is still a work in progress and the work will continue in 2005.

Each year, the Syosset Chamber of Commerce continues to grow. This year started with the installation of the new officers for 2004 - Jim Tinnelly is president and the other officers are First Vice President Tricia Shannon, Second Vice President Michael Biggiani, Secretary Thomas Dunn and Treasurer Stephen Rothmaler.

The directors, to fill staggered terms, are Kevin Allison, Maria Anderson, William Chabina Jr., Warren Church, Steven Cohen, Chris Coschignano, Jo Costa, Joe Hilker, Owen Kassimir, Lisa Predmore, Preston Pumphrey, Philip Rhoads, Jonathan Rudes and Michael Siciliano. Past presidents include Jerry Siegel and Frank Urso. Honorary directors are Jack and Sal Biondo and Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs.

Also in 2004, Michael Siciliano was honored as the Chamber Person of the Year for his hard work and dedication to the community and the chamber.

The holiday lighting event was a success and local residents really anticipated the event since last year's event was cancelled due to inclement weather. Michael Biggiani was the master of ceremonies and Biggiani, along with the hard working holiday lighting committee, hosted a successful event.

The Cerro Wire battle is still unresolved although the courts are now deciding the fate of the 39-acre lot in Syosset.

In March, the Taubman Company applied for and was granted a demolition permit by the Town of Oyster Bay and then demolished all structures on the property.

In September, an icon in Syosset was demolished when the water tower was knocked down to complete the demolition. The 150-foot tower came down to the cheers of the union workers present on the Syosset property.

In November, approximately 500 residents gathered on Robbins Lane to push for a building moratorium and a Robbins Lane Corridor. A building moratorium for Robbins Lane would, according to those pushing for the issue, put a hold on all building on Robbins Lane, including the former Cerro Wire property and the possibility of a Lowe's Home Center, and possibly re-zone the entire Robbins Lane corridor.

The Taubman company stands by its position that regardless of the recent efforts of local residents, the mall will be built and this is only delaying the process.

The battle over the mall is still in the hands of the Appellate Division and no decision was reached in 2004.

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto announced the 2004 Women of Distinction.

Phyllis Marino, a resident of Syosset was named a Distinguished Woman in Business. Amy Stein, a resident of Jericho, was named this year's Distinguished Woman in Education. Dorothy Blumstein, a resident of Woodbury, was named a Distinguished Woman in Government. Saundra Gumerove, a resident of Jericho, was named the 2004 Distinguished Woman in Health Services. Eileen Gentilcore, a resident of Syosset, was named a Distinguished Woman Volunteer for 2004.

In April, a hearing was held regarding local laws to create a special Recreation (REC) District within the Town's Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) and to rezone certain properties within the SGPA to REC and lower density residential zoning classifications.

According to Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, the purpose of the REC District is to help assure the preservation and continuation of existing recreational/open space uses so as to protect the quality and quantity of groundwater recharge into the sole-source aquifers which provide drinking water for town residents. The REC District will also prevent or reduce flooding through the preservation of wetlands and drainageways and by the minimization of impervious surface coverage. Additionally, the REC District will protect visually and environmentally important natural features of the land such as trees, wetlands, streams and habitat for rare or endangered species of plants and animals.

Under the REC District, permitted principal uses would include public parks and municipal uses by the town, as well as by the county, state or federal government or a special district with town board approval. Permitted uses with a special-use permit would include country clubs and private membership clubs.

A ceremony was held in May to honor Jeffrey Allen Mosenson and dedicate the Syosset-Woodbury Town Park pool in his honor. Jeffrey was traveling to class at the New York Institute of Technology from his Woodbury home on Jan. 28, 2003 when he was involved in a fatal car accident. Jeffrey was only 20 years old.

The Jericho Fire Department, of which Jeffrey was a member, presented the colors at the ceremony and Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto welcomed those in attendance on a day when the sun was shining down on the park, the baseball games that were taking place nearby and also the dedication ceremony. Venditto reminded everyone that they were there to celebrate someone's life, rather than focus on death.

Venditto urged everyone to go to the website that has been set up in Jeffrey's honor at www.jeffreymosenson.com. "You will be overwhelmed by this website and you will leave with a tear and a smile," said Venditto.

In August, Home Depot opened its newest store, located at 111 Jericho Turnpike in Syosset. Work began in 2003 to convert the former Kmart to an 117,000-square-foot Home Depot store.

In June, Lowe's Home Centers submitted a pre-application to the Town of Oyster Bay regarding the possibility of building a 167,000-square-foot home improvement store and garden center on an approximately 18-acre parcel opposite the highly contested Mall at Oyster Bay on the Cerro Wire Site on Robbins Lane in Syosset.

According to Town of Oyster Bay Spokesperson Phyllis Barry, the pre-application process was set up for developers with a large project who want to get an idea of what is in store before they proceed with a full application.

In June 2003, residents approved a bond referendum to expand the Syosset Public Library and after months of paperwork and planning, work began at the end of 2004.

The building expansion will provide for a 50 percent increase in shelf space and triple the space for DVDs, CDs and videos. A new second floor is dedicated and designed to be a comprehensive reference and research center with books, computers, printers and photocopy machines. The expansion will also include a 150-seat sloped auditorium where residents can enjoy programs, meetings and other planned activities.

The auditorium will be finished first and will be in use while construction continues on the rest of the building. Library officials look forward to an opening dedication ceremony of the 150-seat theatre about a year after construction begins.

The larger re-configured parking lot will have 132 spaces and will be one of the largest library parking lots in Nassau County. In an effort to maximize available parking, special attention will be paid to the scheduling of programs and the use of the meeting rooms and theatre. The new back entrance to both the auditorium and the library will facilitate easy access from all parking spots.

A painting party was held earlier last month to allow younger Syosset residents to paint a good-bye message on the community center walls.

Although most incumbents were re-elected to office in November, the area saw some changes. David Sidikman, who had represented the 13th Assembly District for the last 12 years, was beaten by Democrat Charles Lavine in a primary in September. Lavine was later elected to office in November.

Although the Presidential race was not decided before midnight of election day, President George W. Bush defeated Senator John Kerry in the election.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer was overwhelmingly supported in his bid for re-election to his Senate seat receiving 72 percent of the voters' support. In Congress, Democratic incumbent Steve Israel was returned to office in the second district and Republican incumbent Peter King was re-elected in the third congressional district.

In the Senate races, Republican incumbent Carl Marcellino was re-elected in the fifth district and in the Sixth Senatorial District, Republican incumbent Kemp Hannon was re-elected to office.

In Assembly races, Democratic Charles Lavine was elected in the 13th district and Republican incumbent Donna Ferrarra was re-elected in the 15th district.

In October, environmental and civic leaders kicked off a month-long campaign to win approval of two environmental bond acts in Nassau County and Oyster Bay. The first was a $50 million Environmental Bond Act for all Nassau County voters to vote on, which was passed with 171,545 residents voting yes and 52,449 voting no.

The law's key component will allow the county to purchase development rights to farmland and horse farms. Only five farms remain in Nassau County. Development rights would ensure that these farms remain for generations to come without the county exercising any maintenance costs.

A portion of the $50 million bond will be used for acquisition and improvement of the Nassau County park system. Purchases of available land may be made to increase the size of parkland for both active and passive purposes. County facilities with playgrounds, athletic fields, outdoor concert sites and equestrian capabilities may all benefit from the proposed referendum. Improvements to Nassau's recreational historical and museum facilities may also be made with portions of the bonds; however, routine maintenance to parks will not be covered under the agreement. In addition to preserving county parkland, a portion of the funds generated will be used on clean water projects designed to protect Nassau County's groundwater. If the referendum passes, the county will consider projects that construct or improve sediment collection basins, storm drain catch basins and end-of-pipe treatment. Monies raised through the referendum may also be used to rehabilitate brownfields in Nassau. These sites currently are unusable due to past contamination. Continued cleanup of sites will allow Nassau County to regain control of these lands and put them to proper use within the communities. The bond is expected to cost the average Nassau household $7 per year.

Oyster Bay voters had the opportunity to vote on the $30 million SEA Fund II, which was also passed with 45,534 voting in favor and 18,934 against the bond. Half of the $30 million will be used for open space and parkland acquisition and the other half for park improvements throughout the town. The SEA Fund II bond will cost the average household in the Town of Oyster Bay less than $1.35 per month.