Great Neck’s roads, including main arteries, are driving disasters. They are ridden with potholes and getting worse.

Whether Middle Neck Road, Bayview Avenue, Great Neck Road, Steamboat Road., the Lakeville Road section just north of LIE Exit 33 – the crisis is dangerous and needs to be addressed before there are injuries and fatalities.

Our well-paid local officials in the various villages, the town and the county, need to deal with this crisis Now.

David Zielenziger

Great Neck

Did you know:

* there is a way to wipe our New York State deficit without new taxes?

* our governor and our legislators have the power to do this now?

* by collecting pennies we would have about $16 billion this year?

* that this miracle is called the New York State Stock Transfer Tax?

 Our solution is so simple. Currently there is a tax of pennies on every dollar of stock bought from a firm that trades on Wall Street. Incredibly, this tax is refunded to the buyer.

For this year only, New York State should collect and not rebate the stock transfer tax.

Wall Street traders are doing well without this money, and New York needs it. Instead of the rebate, put the money into the general fund, thereby eliminating the state deficit.

In addition the state would have more than five billion in operating capital and the opportunity to fund much needed job creating initiatives. We would be able to continue our “save harmless” policies for education, maintain our police and fire departments, fix our roads and have a cushion for our future.

Sandra Salat

Great Neck

The passing of former Brooklyn Dodger great Duke Snider marks the end of the “Boys of Summer.”

Snider was the last living regular day to day player who made up many of the 1950s Dodgers winning teams. They included catcher Roy Campanella, first baseman Gil Hodges, second baseman Junior Gilliam, shortstop Pee Wee Reese, third baseman Billy Cox, right fielder Carl Furillo and Jackie Robinson who played several positions. Most have long forgotten that today’s Los Angeles Dodgers had their roots in Brooklyn New York.

The original Brooklyn Dodgers name was derived from Brooklyn residents who would dodge the hundreds of trolley cars which ran on dozens of routes for decades until their own decline and final death in the 1950s. The golden era of baseball in New York City took place in the ‘50s with a three-way rivalry between the American League’s Bronx Yankees, and the National League’s New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers.

All three teams claimed to have the best center fielder in baseball. On street corners all over town, citizens would argue whether the Yankees Mickey Mantle, Giants Willie Mays or Dodgers Duke Snider was champ.

Ordinary Brooklyn natives could ride the bus, trolley or subway to Ebbets Field to see their beloved Dodgers. Working and middle class men and woman of all ages, classes and races commingled in the stands. Everyone could afford a bleacher, general admission, reserve or box seat. Hot dogs, beer, other refreshments and souvenirs were reasonably priced. Team owners would raise or reduce a players salary based on their performance the past season.

Salaries were so low, that virtually all Dodger players worked at another job off season. Most Dodger players were actually neighbors who lived and worked in various communities in the county of Kings.

Residents of the era sat outside on the neighborhood stoop, shopped at the local butcher, baker, fruit and vegetable stand. Television was a relatively new technology and the local movie theater was still king for entertainment. Brooklyn still had its very own daily newspaper – the Brooklyn Eagle-, which ended publication some time in the mid ‘50s.

The Dodgers departure from Brooklyn coincided with many residents also moving out of town. Many in search of the American dream including my own parents in 1962 moved to Great Neck, New Hyde Park, East Williston, Williston Park or other communities in eastern Queens, Nassau or Suffolk County. Their desire had them leave town to own their own home, leaving a more crowded urban environment for the open space of the outer boroughs or suburbs.

This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the old Brooklyn Dodgers playing their final season in Brooklyn. During the 1950s, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley tried to find various locations for construction of a new baseball stadium, which he pledged to finance using his own funds. With limited seating and automobile parking capacity at Ebbets Field, he needed a new modern stadium to remain financially viable.

New York City master mega builder Robert Moses refused to allow him access to the current day Atlantic Yards project site. This location was easily accessible to thousands of baseball fans from all around the Big Apple via numerous subway lines.

Thousands of fans who moved to eastern Queens, Nassau and Suffolk County would have had direct access via the Long Island Rail Road. Imagine how different Brooklyn would have been if elected officials had stood up to Robert Moses and allowed construction of a new Dodgers stadium in downtown Brooklyn. The 1950s Boys of Summer might have played on with new players entertaining new generations for decades more.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

As we approach the election in Great Neck Plaza, I’m thrilled to see that my letters to the editor continue to elicit such a response.

More than that, I’m thrilled to see that so many of the issues I have raised over the past year have finally started generating some traction with the folks that occupy Village Hall. As far as I am concerned, it’s great that The Jean Team now has the courage to act on some of my recommendations.

For instance, when I ran for trustee in 2009 (and helped generate the highest voter turnout in recent memory), my running mates and I made economic development one of our core issues; now after years of denying there was a problem, Mayor Celender says it’s among her most important priorities (for the moment we should ignore the fact that her plan to rezone downtown is an ill-conceived idea that will only leave more empty storefronts and apartments).

I also think it’s wonderful that a year ago I began calling on the village to get involved in addressing the service cuts and fare increases plaguing LIRR riders in the Plaza (especially when the Plaza announced their plan to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into LIRR owned property); now after ignoring the issue, Mayor Celender recently suggested that the reduction of service is a problem and she hopes to address it.

I also appreciate the village heeding my call to put board of trustee agendas online before meetings to increase public engagement; even though they first rejected the idea. And I thank the village for following my lead as I continue to push for increased pedestrian safety, specifically at crosswalks in the village; regardless of the fact that they initially dismissed my concerns, they are now slowly starting to address them as we can see with the new crosswalk sign on Shoreward Road near the post office (let’s ignore the fact that I requested a stop sign to make it illegal to speed through, but in any event, it’s a start).

So congratulations Mayor Celender for recognizing the error of your ways and embracing my stance that this community needs help and you need policy ideas.

Transparency remains a major problem at Village Hall, evidenced most recently at a trustee meeting when it was Trustee Marksheid, who in response to my questions, was the first and only one to publicly acknowledge that part-time-highly-compensated Trustee’s Schneiderman and Rosen, along with Mayor Celender, accept free health insurance for their families paid for with village tax dollars (thanks Pam for outing your colleagues for shamelessly diving into the community chest that overflows with tax dollars).

The truth of the matter is that on March 15 this community will be no better off by putting Trustee Schneiderman back in office. I say this because on March 16 he will continue his role as an unashamed self-benefiter who lacks leadership skills, legislative intelligence, ideas and ability, and whose personal needs trump that of the community.

As for my critics, thank you. I am a strong proponent of public discourse and whether or not you like my approach, I appreciate you continuing the conversation (even if it is being helped along by political consultants, the mayor’s landlord, and the management company hired to run her husband’s apartment building).

As a community, we deserve better than Gerry Schneiderman and Jean Celender. Maybe 2012 will be our year!

Michael S. Glickman

Great Neck

We are writing this letter in strong support for Bonnie Parente for village trustee.

She is a very focused, driven and organized working professional as well as a loving mother, mentor and friend. Bonnie is a very dedicated person who has a proven track record as a successful labor attorney as well as the most devoted and creative girl scout and boy scout leader you will ever meet. She is an enthusiastic individual who brings great zest and energy to everything she does.

A village board needs professionals who are comfortable and able to communicate effectively to deal with local issues and to be a vibrant force in dealing with Albany and all its nuances.

Bonnie has the background, ability, and desire to work with all the constituencies of a vibrant village. She loves East Williston and would use her vast knowledge and experience in the best interests of the village residents.

Please support Bonnie Parente and her team of Bobby Shannon and Dave Tanner.

McCauley Family

East Williston

To the Residents of Williston Park:

It is important to remind all of our residents that the village elections are once again upon us, and, as American citizens, we have the privilege of voting for the candidate of our choice.

Last year Mayor Paul Ehrbar appointed Barbara Alagna to fill the trustee seat vacated when Trustee Swenson-Dowd was appointed associate justice.

By applying the knowledge she gained while a village employee in the capacity of secretary to the board of trustees and secretary to the zoning board of appeals and coupling that with her business experience, Barbara has become a valuable asset to the village board of trustees in a short time.

If elected as trustee on March 15, 2011, Barbara will be able to provide the continuity to the village board that is so necessary for the continued effectiveness of the board that we have seen during this past year.

My wife, Mary Ann, and I, village residents for over 33 years, will be voting for Barbara on March 15 and ask that you join us is getting out the vote for a candidate who is dedicated and energized to serve as a trustee in our great Village.

Steve and Mary Ann Griffin

Williston Park

The Town of North Hempstead’s annual Polar Plunge drew 500 people taking the plunge into Long Island Sound at North Hempstead Beach Park last Saturday to raise money for the New York State Special Olympics.

“It was cold,” said Town of North Heampstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, recounting the plunge he took in his fifth consecutive participation in the event.

This year, Kaiman’s five-year-old daughter Iyana joined her father in taking the plunge, along with Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck) and the 500 other stalwart souls who solicit sponsors to raise money for their frigid romp in the surf.

This year the effort raised $70,000, according to town spokesman Sid Nathan, who said the event also aims at raising awareness for individuals with intellectual disabilities in addition to helping support the 48,000 athletes who train for the state Special Olympics.

“They’re freezin’ for a reason,” is the tagline for the event, which is part of the town’s annual Winterfest.

Mild weather gave the swimmers and more than 500 onlookers that neared the 60-degree mark under fair skies as the participants taking the plunge hit the water at noon.

Preliminary festivities in the park included the presence of a DJ from radio station WBAB and a face painter who kept youngsters occupied through the morning.

In the wake of the harsh winter. the Village of Mineola Public Works Department has been busy in recent weeks repairing the damage.

“Over 114 potholes have been fixed since February,” Mineola Department of Public Works Superintendent Thomas Rini told the Mineola Village Board of Trustees last Wednesday.

Rini told the trustees that as the DPW has made the repairs it has also been creating an inventory of potholes still in need of repair.

“With the snow gone, we’ve been going over the damage done to the asphalt and we’ve been able to fix the smaller potholes,” Rini said. “Now we’re creating lists and taking assessments of what we need to look back on.”

In other developments Village of Mineola Mayor Lawrence Werther thanked state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) and state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck) for work on the creation of a bill, which now allows villages to continue the use of lever voting machines for the next two years.

“The old ways are sometimes the best ways,” said Werther.

Werther announced that the Mineola Junior Fire Department will be holding its 15th Annual Paster Dinner Fundraiser on Sunday March 13.

Eight intersections in New Hyde Park, Mineola, Garden City Park and Williston Park are on a list of 125 intersections being considered for the second phase of 50 red-light camera installations around Nassau County.

Citing public safety and increased revenue, area officials generally support the plan which critics say is moving ahead too quickly.

“It appears, based on the information that we’re getting, that the initial phase – 50 cameras – is meeting with some success,” said Nassau County Legislator Rich Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park).

Intersections that are candidates for the cameras, intended to discourage or catch scoff-laws running red lights, include Jericho Turnpike, at the intersections of New Hyde Park Road, Mineola Boulevard, Herricks Road, Willis Avenue and Nassau Boulevard; Old Country Road, at the intersections of Mineola Boulevard and Roslyn Road, and the intersection of Hillside Avenue and Willis Avenue.

Nicolello, who voted in favor of implementing the second phase of red-light camera installations, noted that the frequency of auto accidents had been reduced at some intersections in the county where the cameras had been installed. And he downplayed concerns about the increased risk of rear-end accidents when motorists suddenly stop on yellow lights to avoid being snapped by the cameras.

“That is a concern. But the thinking is that the rear-end accidents are not as not as severe as the accidents that occur when somebody enters an intersection,” Nicolello said.

Village of Mineola trustee Scott Strauss, a former New York City detective, also endorsed the idea.

“If it’s going to reduce accidents, I’m all for it,” Strauss said. “We need to slow down a little bit, and watch out for pedestrians and other cars.”

Strauss dismissed concerns expressed by some people that the cameras are a sign of the times, as technology enabling obtrusive surveillance.

“I think it’s a good safety measure. I know people talk about ‘Big Brother is watching’. But if you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have any concerns,” he said.

Five locations in Lake Success are also being consider for red-light cameras – the intersections at Marcus Avenue and the entrance to Northern State Parkway, Community Drive and the South Service Road, Lakeville Road and Northern Boulevard and Lakeville Road at the North and South Service Roads.

In a statement to Blank Slate Media, Lake Success Mayor Ronald Cooper said he will consult with Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth, (D-Great Neck), regarding the issue which he has supported in the past.

“The ones that are in Lake Success are on county roads. There is a camera already at Marcus and Lakeville and we did not object to that installation,” said Cooper. “The issue is one of safety, and if the cameras serve that purpose then I am not against using them.”

Approved by the Nassau County Legislature Feb. 25, Phase II of the red-light camera plan requests that the state double the number of red-light camera installations from 50 to 100 in the coming months to generate needed revenue and for the overall public safety of drivers.

Bosworth favors a fair distribution of red-light cameras, but is reserving judgment on proposed sites until the final list of 50 is made by county representatives from traffic safety, engineering, parking and traffic violations and the public works department. who will make the final decision regarding camera installations.

Introduced in the state Assembly by Charles Levine, (D-Glen Cove), phased two of the red-light camera bill is awaiting approval from both houses in Albany.

“Why don’t we see which spots are actually chosen,” said Bosworth, who does not anticipate that all proposed locations in Great Neck will be picked. “If only 50 are chosen and five are in Great Neck, it would be excessive,” Bosworth said. “I will certainly keep an eye on it.”

The 125 intersections on the list were chosen strictly by the amount of accidents at each location, according to county officials.

“It’s not a question of choosing districts here, it’s a question of where accidents occurred over a period of time,” said Gregory May, director of legislative affairs for Nassau County, to lawmakers in Mineola last week.

John Corlett, chairman of the AAA state legislative committee, said the county is “charging ahead too quickly” with the plan.

Cortlett said concerns have been raised by some of the 2.7 million members he represents regarding the motives of the red light cameras.

“I would like to be able to tell them convincingly that this is about traffic safety, not revenue. I would have to say that right now I can’t do that,” said Corlett.

Timing of amber lights is set to the posted speed limit at intersections, not actual speed, according to county officials, but critics argue that more reaction time needs to be added to give drivers proper time to stop.

Speaking at an open session of the legislative meeting last week, county resident Jack McCloy said perception time and reaction time need to be included in the calculation.

“This calculation is not being used right now,” said McCoy, who has initiated an Article 78 challenge against New York City in the state Supreme Court, challenging red light camera timing. The suit will be heard March 22, according to McCloy.

To the delight of local officials, state Sen. Jack Martins and state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel held a press conference Friday at the Great Neck House to announce their recently-passed village election bill, which will allows villages to continue to use lever voting machines through 2012.

With the looming budget crisis and Medicaid reform dominating the discussion in Albany, the lawmakers were able to get the attention of state legislators from both sides of the aisle and get the bill approved just prior to the March 15 elections.

“For all of the faults that we have with or current system now, the idea of going back to using lever machines made sense,” said Martins, a Republican from Mineola.

In July 2010, the state enacted legislation under the Help America Vote Act that required all elections be conducted using optically scanned ballots.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Schimel and Martins bill Feb. 28 – his first as governor.

“Once we got there attention, and were able to say stop,” Martins said.

With optical scanning machines costing about $1,500 each to rent and lever rentals at $150 each, the new bill helps villages save money and time.

“What is the purpose of having a machine that tabulates the count when you have to go back and recount it anyway?” said Martins.

Schimel thanked Martins for his pragmatism and ability to work across the aisle for a bill she said was important to the entire state.

“This law was just a realistic and timely solution of reforming the process of our election system,” said Schimel, D-Great Neck.

Martins called Schimel “a great assemblywoman.”

The new legislation will help villages with the transition to using the optical scanning systems in the future.

“It clearly demonstrates that they understand and support local government,” said Great Neck Village Mayor Ralph Kreitzman, who gave opening remarks. “Thanks to them we now have some time to resolve yet another difficult, costly, unfunded state mandate that was thrust upon our village.”

Opposition to the Schimel-Martins bill, came from self-described “good government” groups who argued that the bill would disenfranchise voters with disabilities.

“Were not disenfranchising anyone. We are giving them the ability to vote in a medium they are familiar with,” Martins said.

Numerous calls from Saddle Rock Mayor J. Leonard Samansky were a driving force behind getting Cuomo to sign the bill, according to Martins.

“As the mayor of a small village I was not about to rent a machine for thousands and thousands of dollars in an uncontested election and throw the money down the sewer,” said Village of Thomaston Mayor Robert Stern, who said the new legislation will help his village during the upcoming election.

“I’m happy about it, I think we are headed in the right direction,” said Stern.

Calling Schimel and Martins “Batman and Robin,” Marvin Natiss, president of the Nassau County Village Officers Association and mayor of North Hills, hailed the pair’s local government roots and ability to officials reach across party lines.

“They came from opposite sides of the political spectrum but they both started in local government,” said Natiss. “I’m so happy that you were able to get this passed.”

Schimel said because of the hundreds of e-mails and phone calls to Albany from village officials and residents, leadership had to react.

“Your phone calls and letters worked,” said Schimel. “You really made a spill.”

Schimel said the hardest part about pushing the legislation through was the six-week timeline and the fact that it was election legislation, which is sometimes difficult to get through.

When the Mineola School Board gave iPads to all of the fifth grade students in the Jackson Avenue School last September, no one really knew how the youngsters would respond to using Apple Computer’s small-screen state-of-the-art devices for their school work.

But five months, and lots of new iPad applications after the introduction of the portable hand-held devices, the kids and their parents agree that the move has proved to be a productive one, according to surveys the school conducted among both groups last month.

During a presentation at last Thursday night’s school board meeting in the Jack Avenue gym, school principal Matthew Gaven said the objective was nothing less than implementing a quantum leap in learning techniques.

“The whole basis of this was to create 21st century thinkers, thinking creatively, collaboratively and using critical thinking,” Gaven said.

All the fifth graders have in-district e-mail service to enable them to share files with each other and receive lessons and homework questions from their teachers via e-mail. The students started working on collaborative WIKI research projects that enables them to link to one another’s research projects on various subjects online, according to Gaven.

“Part of the power is the amount of engagement students have,” Gaven said.

Asked to identify their favorite applications, the hands-down winner was an Apple educational program called State Stacker, a game that awards points as the students make progress in identifying the names, capitals, nicknames and shapes of the 50 U.S. states.

“They’re obsessed with this program,” said Gaven, who noted that 59 percent rated it as their favorite in what apparently has taken off as a school-wide competition to snag the highest point total possible

An informal survey among fifth graders at the meeting confirmed State Stacker’s popularity.

“I hide [the iPad from my mom so I can keep playing State Stacker,” Jackson Avenue fifth grader Juliana Lupo confided.

The Safari web browser was the second most popular application, according to 57 percent of the students, who ranked accessing Web pages as their next most favored activity (37 percent) .

Nearly half – 48.5 percent – rated science as their favorite subject. Nearly 70 percent rated research as the most interesting activity they engage in with the iPads. But reading was a close second, at 66.7 percent, followed by writing (55 percent), science (33.3 percent) mathematics (31.7 percent) and social studies (23.3 percent).

Approximately two-thirds of the students (65 percent) indicated that they’re using their iPads at home 30 minutes or an hour each day. And 82 percent can go online at home via WiFi, according to Gaven, who said that online access away from school was initially an issue when the students first received their iPads.

Among their parents, 87 percent said their children were more interested in their studies since they’d begun using the Apple devices. More that three-quarters of the parents (77.4 percent) said they’d had frequent conversations with their kids about the iPads. The vast majority of all parents (91 percent) favor continuing the fifth grade program and expanding the program into sixth grade.

Gaven credited the five teachers who had adapted their routines, simultaneously teaching the students two subjects in separate groups.

“What we’ve asked of them is to turn things upside down,” Gaven said.

The Jackson Avenue faculty have been working with student teachers from Adelphi University to develop new educational technology classes. Other school districts, including Garden City and North Shore, have sent representatives to observe students using the iPads. Representatives from Herricks are coming this week, Gaven said, with Friends Academy to follow suit shortly.

“We’re forming our vision on skills,” Mineola Superintendent of Schools Michael Nagler said. “We don’t know what jobs our children will have in 15 years.”

The four Cs – creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking – form the foundations of the school’s approach, according to Nagler, who seconded parents’ sentiments in saying it is “important” to replicate the educational experiment in sixth grade.

“We’re ahead of the curve and I’d like for us to stay there now,”

Nagler said, noting that school districts that have introduced iPads for use as integral elements in school curriculums have typically done so at high school or middle school level.

In other developments:

* Nagler said the “last pieces in the puzzle” of next year’s school budget would be in place for a March 16 hearing in the Willis Avenue School.

* Nagler announced new starting and finishing times for district schools next fall, as follows: 7:26 a.m. and 2:18 p.m. at the high school; 7:55 a.m. and 2:32 p.m. at the middle school; 9:09 a.m. and 3:16 p.m. at the Jackson Avenue School; 8:12 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. at the Meadow Drive and Hampton Street Schools; and 8.43 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. at the Willis Avenue School.

In an election season that has witnessed a few sudden turns, the final phase of the municipal election campaigns in Mineola, Williston Park, East Williston and Mineola has revealed no surprises as the finish line approaches.

No write-in candidates have emerged to challenge the Mineola mayoral candidacy of Trustee Scott Strauss, who is running for the top office unopposed. Strauss was appointed to the board last December to fill the vacancy created when Lawrence Werther was elevated from deputy mayor to mayor after Jack Martins won election to the state Senate, vacating the mayor’s office.

Werther initially said he intended to stay in the office by running in the election. But he subsequently changed his mind, citing work commitments, and deciding to run for re-election to his seat as trustee on the village board as Strauss threw his hat into the open ring.

A dark-horse candidate, Christopher Wales, emerged, filing a petition on the last day possible to challenge incumbent trustees Werther and Thomas Kennedy, who are running mates with Strauss in the New Line Party.

Then one week after candidate petitions were filed, Kennedy told his running mates that new job responsibilities would prevent him from seeking another term in office. And George Durham suddenly entered the race to replace Kennedy on the ticket.

Kennedy recommended Durham, according to Durham, who is a long-time friend of Strauss. He interviewed with the New Line running mates and joined them.

“I believe the New Line party is doing the right thing,” said Durham, who ran unsuccessfully for trustee as an independent candidate in 2006. “The village is headed in a new direction. I think the ‘pay-as-you-go theme’ is a good thing.”

That theme is the legacy of Martins, whose fiscal conservatism is widely credited with bringing Mineola back from the brink of a financial abyss after he took office eight years ago.

Durham carries a legacy of his own, tied to Martins’ village planning initiative, as a former member of the community planning committee when he made his independent run for office.

He sees a problem in the empty storefronts around Mineola that are a sign of the difficult economic times. He said that attention must be paid to that vacuum as well as to the Winston Manor project, which is expected to have a favorable impact on the village’s downtown business development.

“Things like that need to be seen through correctly,” Durham said.

Durham said he’s concerned about the independent challenge from Wales.

“Chris Wales is a very nice guy. He does have a good chance of winning,” he said.

Werther could not be reached for comment on the campaign.

Wales said he believes that his one-man door-to-door campaign under the banner of his self-styled Mustang Party – an allusion to Mineola High School’s teams’ nickname – has been making an impression on voters.

“I’m much more confident now than when I first started,” Wales said. “I think people were looking for someone with a fresh approach.”

Wales is prodding Mineola voters to think green – and fiscally efficient – with ideas such as installing solar panels on the roof of village hall, using electric cars in place of the current municipal vehicles and replacing existing street lights with energy efficient LED lights.

“When you talk to people about being smarter in spending money, they listen,” Wales said

Financial concerns are at the top of every voter’s list, particularly in light of the state fiscal crisis, according to Strauss, who said he can relate to those concerns.

“I certainly understand. I know what it is to be a young homeowner and struggle,” Strauss said. And having held a power of attorney in assisting his own elderly parents, he said he understands financial problems from that perspective too.

The other issue he’s heard about, and seen for himself, is the proliferation of garbage on village streets, either a hangover from the recent thaw or a result of businesses and residents not paying attention to the village garbage collection schedule and leaving refuse out on their curbs.

His prescription is an educational effort. Strauss said his objectives are to keep things clean and running efficiently at minimal expense for all constituencies.

“We need to keep services going with no major impact for our residents and businesses,” Strauss said.

Polls at Mineola Village Hall will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15.

The Williston Park race pits incumbent Barbara Alagna, was expecting to run unopposed for a one-year term on the village board. She was appointed to fill out the term of Beth Swenson-Dowd last year when Swenson-Dowd was appointed associate justice and has to run to keep the seat. But a last minute filing brought Jim Bumstead into the race, running a one-man campaign in which he has traversed the village on foot handing out fliers flagging his candidacy.

Alagna, a former secretary to the village board and zoning board of appeals, said she’s aiming “to manage all required tasks with efficiency and integrity.” She has enjoyed strong support from letter-writers to local newspapers that have included endorsements from Mayor Paul Ehrbar and his wife, former Mayor Doreen Ehrbar.

Bumstead touts his experience in banking as something that could benefit the village board. He’s expressed concerns about snow removal and potholes in village streets, a vestige of the extreme winter conditions.

Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday at American Legion Post 144 at 730 Willis Ave.

The Village of East Williston features a hotly contested races for two board seats between three candidates.

Bobby Shannon, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Willistons, and attorney Bonnie Parente are running on the Community Party slate with Trustee David Tanner, who is running unopposed for mayor.

They are opposed by veteran recreation committee chairperson Caroline DeBenedittis who entered the race as a last minute entry as an independent.

The competition for the two trustee seats opened up after Mayor Nancy Zolezzi and Deputy Mayor James Daw Jr. both decided not to seek re-election.

Tanner, Shannon, Parente have sent out at least one mailing promoting their candidacy as well as going door-to-door and encouraging letters to the editor and local newspapers including endorsements from Zolezzi and Daw. Shannon and Parente, along with their supporters, have stressed their strong community ties and professional careers. Shannon, who has a law degree, operates a contracting business, Reality Roofing.

DeBenedittis and her supporters have stressed her years of involvement in the community.

Polling will take place at the East Williston Village Hall from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday.