On a very cold early Saturday morning, the New Hyde Park Cheetahs were on fire against the Syosset Thunder.

Goalkeeper Irene Krische made many tremendous diving saves throughout the match which was a key part of the great win.

Defenders Olivia Lappin, Kaitlyn Louie, Channing Woo and Paulina Papadoniou were all very strong, marking their opponents closely and rapidly taking goal kicks and sideline kicks before their opponents were able to reposition themselves, another key part of the great win.

Louie and Lappin made long, strong kicks on defense, making certain they cleared the ball out of the goal zone.

Aggressive midfield play by Daniela O’Modie broke up attempts by the opponents to reach goal.

On the front line, Samantha Bravo, Kassidy Keefe and Sabrina Rodrigues were super as they pressed on Syosset’s defense, taking many shots on goal and keeping the ball on their half of the field.

Many corners kicks were had by the Cheetahs as their first goal came off one by Lappin whose perfectly placed ball taken from the corner fell perfectly to the inner front post of the net making it very difficult for the goalie to save. Great goal Olivia!

Staying focused throughout the game, Rodrigues on the left wing got possession of the ball, dribbled past the Syosset defender and makes a great pass to Samantha Bravo who quickly trapped the ball then with one touch took a shot straight pass the goalie. Great goal Samantha and nice teamwork Cheetahs!

Nice footwork and controlling of the ball by Andrea Waldron and Kristina Horan on the offense as they kept on moving around to stay open, to receive possession of the ball, switch the field of play and run down toward goal.

The New Hyde Park Cheetahs played a very solid game against the Thunder.

Excellent teamwork and communication by all.

Thanks to our coaches – Mike, Gabe and Peter – for a great game!

We missed Lauren Hessler and Julia Feldman.

The Herricks High School wrestling team completed its fifth invitational tournament with a second-place finish in the New Year’s Tournament last weekend.

Nineteen Highlanders won places in competitive action against Westhampton Beach, Babylon, Smithtown Christian, Southampton (from NYS Section XI), Clarkstown North, Edgemont (from NYS Section I), and Brooklyn Tech (PSAL). Eight Herricks grapplers reached the finals in Elite Division action.

Junior Anthony Rosa won his first major tournament championship at 189 by pinning all four of his opponents. This is his third straight tournament finals appearance, and all of that off-season serious weight training is really paying off. “He gets better every time he wrestles,” assistant coach Chris Auriemma observed.

“Coach Auriemma works hard with our big boys, and you can see the improvement,” Herricks wrestling coach Cliff Forziat remarked. “At 196 [pounds] Anthony was holding his own at 215 [now 217], but since he has been down to 189 [now 191] he is 9-2 with eight pins and three finals appearances.”

Ryan Singh (sr-112) made his fifth finals appearance and won his third tournament championship. He currently leads the team with 22 varsity wins and 15-pin victories.

Senior Dan Grandelli (125) made his first trip into the finals and brought back silver.

“Danny says virtually nothing,” Forziat noted. “He just comes every day, works hard, and does whatever the team needs him to do. It’s great to see him punch his way through to the finals.”

Carlos Rodriguez (sr-135) got bopped in the face during his third victory (a pin), and the coaches sent him out to have a medical professional check on him. “Los” returned shortly thereafter and is fine, but thus ended up in second place at 3-0.

“It was something that we had not seen before, and after all is said and done, the safety of these young fellows comes first with me and my staff,” Forziat explained.

Bethpage, Patchogue-Medford, and Locust Valley all had certified EMT’s or Athletic Trainers on duty at their tournaments for on-site higher level assistance. Herricks does not. Hmm.

Chris Farrell (sr-145), Tom Gonzalez (sr-152), Kevin Ryersen (sr-160), and Bill Rynne (jr-215) also reached the finals in Elite Division competition. This is the third time for Farrell, fourth time for Gonzalez, second time for Ryersen, and Rynne’s first foray at this level.

Will Rodriguez (jr-119) had two pins and a major decision on his way to a third-place finish.

Two sophomores, Paul Tantillo and John Temperino, shared third place honors at 140. These two young fellows are especially intense, though very inexperienced in Varsity Elite Division action, but they are both clearly ready to do battle wherever they are sent.

Matt Grandelli (fr-103), Andrew Farrell (so-112), Tom Dunn (sr-135), and Will Dowd (jr-215) all had fourth-place finishes.

On the Second-Man Varsity level freshmen Joe Tadros (125) and Solomon Aziz (215) both had second-place finishes. Dan Akhtar (so) came in fourth at 125.

When you first enter the Muller Arena during one of these wrestling events you find wall-to-wall folks and non-stop wrestling action on three mats. So far, nobody seems to be able to run a multi-team wrestling event as efficiently as Herricks can and does. In 10 hours there were over 300 individual bouts beginning on time and with flexible ability groupings for the athletes. The industry standard that venues hope to reach is eight bouts per hour per mat. Herricks has this a bit higher than ten per hour per mat (with no down time). The typical tournament averages about 125-130 matches over 10 hours.

Herricks wrestlers typically average 10 to 15 more matches per season than their counterparts in other districts at much lower cost.

“We want to provide a dynamic program with maximum opportunities for every eligible team member, not just the top few, at below industry cost,” Forziat said. “We have developed and continuously strive to improve an effective process. We have crack head table personnel, able team-member administrative support, and the best team of involved parents and alumni that you will find anywhere.”

Snow Storm continued:

While discussing snow removal, I’ve been asked “why cars are to remain off the streets for 18 hours after the snow stops falling ? “

On the surface, it seems that this may possibly be more of an inconvenience to the residents as opposed to a real need for snow removal. The purpose of the 18 -hour rule is to help our plow crews to do a complete job.

If cars are put back in the streets too early it prevents the plow from completing their task of the necessary clean up. If salt is to be spread, the trucks are unable to fit down most streets with cars parked on both sides. Therefore, the crews are unable to complete their assigned tasks.

On a separate note, both commercial and residential sidewalks are to be shoveled. Failure to do so, creates a dangerous condition for pedestrians, who may be forced to walk on the streets. This is also a violation of a village ordinance which could result in the offender receiving a summons.

If you have a neighbor who is away or unable to shovel, lend a hand to help avoid a problem. Once again, I ask all residents to comply with the village snow ordinances to ensure safe means of travel for both pedestrians and motor vehicles alike and to avoid the issuance of a summons.

Former Village of Williston Park Trustee Kevin Dunne has asked that I mention that North Hempstead will be picking up electronic waste items on Jan. 24 and 25 at the parking lot of the Herricks Community Center. Residents who are looking to dispose of various electronic devices are encouraged to utilized this service.

A special thanks to the Williston Park Fire Department and Rescue Squad. This past week a good friend was visiting my home and was in need of emergency care. Volunteer firefighters and rescue crews were on the scene quickly and moved my friend to Winthrop Hospital. Their rapid response, in this situation was extremely beneficial to the well being of my good friend, a long time resident of Williston Park.

As we’ve moved into the frigid days of winter, I ask resident to stay in touch with their neighbors, especially our seniors and those living alone.

Keeping lines of communication open during this time of year can be extremely beneficial to all.

Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar

One wonders why the Williston Times publishes a political diatribe week after week as a “Reader’s Write” letter. Why isn’t it published and identified as the political column it is? I am, of course, referring to Larry Penner of Great Neck.

Some months ago I questioned why Great Neck letters were published in the Williston Times. Mr. Blank’s answer was that there were insufficient letters from the Willistons, so you filled the space. In the Jan. 14th issue there are two and one-half pages devoted to letters. It seems that your former reason for publishing Great Neck letters is no longer valid.

Alan Reff

East Williston

Herricks School Board vice president Richard Buckley will assume another, more whimsical role for the next two weekends, appearing as Sky Masterson in a local community theater production of “Guys and Dolls.”

It’s the second production in as many years that Buckley has appeared in at the Sid Jacobson Community Center in East Hills. He’s also appeared in two musicals at the Herricks Community Theater in recent years, starring as Harold Hill in “The Music Man” and as Sid Sirok in “The Pajama Game.”

Performing in musical theater is a natural counterpoint to Buckley’s regular job as drama and chorus teacher in Lawrence High School for the past 26 years.

“I direct and teach drama. It’s really great to be on stage performing theater,” Buckley said. “It gives you authenticity to teaching the kids since you’re on stage. And I just love it. I enjoy theater.”

Buckley is back on the community theater stage for the past seven years after taking a hiatus of 15 years from moonlighting as a singer for various bands.

“I was the wedding singer,” he said. “Then I was raising my family.”

Buckley passed on his dramatic and musical impulses to his three daughters. His eldest daughter, Sarabeth, now a junior at Tufts University, acted in high school productions. HIs daughter Emily, 17, is playing the lead role in the Herricks High School production of “Our Town.” His youngest daughter, Julia, 16, plays a musical instrument, as do her two siblings.

Buckley is also deeply involved in community service. A resident of Williston Park, he is in his eighth year as a member of the Herricks School Board.

An avid theater-goer, his passion is treading the boards to express himself with his tenor voice in a venue that he thoroughly enjoys.

“The nice thing about community theater is that everyone is there for the love of theater,” Buckley said. “I only do musical theater. I like to sing and dance.”

He directs two shows each year at Lawrence, and he said that performing helps him in that role, and in teaching drama. He said the experience of being on stage helps “to deal with things like nervousness and how to work in ensemble with other actors.”

In the artistic vein, Buckley is a photography buff. And he’s also a fan of that often dramatic American pastime of baseball, as avid New York Yankees supporter.

Performances of “Guys and Dolls” at the Sid Jacobson Center are scheduled for Jan. 22, 23, 29 and 30. For information, call 516-484-1545, ex. 110.

Dominick Grosso says it was just chance that he bought the delicatessen that he has been running for the past 16 years in New Hyde Park.

For the many customers who patronize Dominick’s Italian-American Deli at 401 Herricks Road in New Hyde Park, it was a happy turn of fate.

Grosso, 53, was working at Eastern Meats in Franklin Square when he heard that the people who ran the Dietz Dairy – which previously occupied the building that houses his deli – were pulling up stakes. He had no way of knowing that the dairy had become unpopular, and he struggled when he first tried to establish his business there. Then one day a woman from the neighborhood suggested he change the name of the place, and a transformation took root.

“People started coming in. They saw how fair I was, how friendly I was. And the food was good,” Grosso said.

These days, they’re still coming in from New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Herricks, Floral Park, the Willistons and Mineola for a hero at lunchtime or to arrange catering for an event. And Grosso counts many of them as more than just customers.

“I don’t think you can get any better customers than you get over here. Once in a while you find customers like this. They’re more like friends,” Grosso said.

Many of his customers demonstrated their appreciation for his presence in the neighborhood when the legality of the deli’s presence was questioned by the Town of North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals three years ago.

As Grosso recounted it, the issue of his deli was raised when the BZA realized that a neighboring garden center didn’t have a legal permit to operate its business there.

A neighbor’s subsequent complaint brought the BZA’s attention to the deli, and the board determined that while the dairy’s operations had been permitted, the deli was in an area that was zoned for residential use. In effect, that meant that the deli could sell milk, but not sandwiches – and catering was also not a permitted use.

“Our main thing here is cold cuts and catering. Catering is half the business,” said Grosso, who is still trying to sort out a solution, with Town of North Hempstead Councilman Angelo Ferrara acting as intermediary with the board of zoning appeals.

Grosso credits Ferrara with holding off a determination from the BZA long enough for residents to get wind of the dispute. The residents filled the hearing room in support of Grosso in his initial encounter with the board, and turned out again for a town meeting at Clinton G. Martin Park earlier this year when Ferrara presided with all parties, including representatives of the landlord, present to discuss the issue.

More than one speaker at that meeting pointed out that Grosso was a veteran, a former U.S. Marine, who deserved to be allowed to continue making a living in a business that the community clearly wanted to remain right where it is.

His service to his country is a particular point of pride to Grosso, who served for four years in stations around the world, which gave him a fresh appreciation for his adopted country.

“I wanted to do something for this country,” he said, explaining his reason for enlisting.

Grosso had migrated to the U.S. from his native Italy with his father, Vincenzo, and two brothers in 1962. He was raised in Jamaica, and moved to the area with his family when his parents bought a home in Bellerose eight years later.

A resident of New Hyde Park for the past 30 years, he’s lived in the same house with his wife, Tina, near his home parish of Holy Spirit Church since 1990.

Their four children – Dominick. Jr., Vincent, Marissa and Daniella – also live in the area. Grosso said he spends a lot of his free time with his family, particularly with his three grandchildren, Nicholas, Lorenzo and Alissiana. And his son, Vincent who has worked in the deli with his father for the past 12 years.

Grosso expresses his gratitude for his good fortune in the business by contributing to local schools and churches. He’s also an active member of the Knights of Columbus, the local Elks Lodge.

“I want to give back to the community,” Grosso said.

He contributes to Wounded Warriors and Carolina Canines, an organization that trains guide dogs for disabled veterans. He’s also a member of American Legion Post 144 in Williston Park and the Marine Corps League in Port Washington.

Stan Derby, one of Grosso’s comrades in that Marine Corps League post, called Grosso one of the group’s “MVPs.”

“He is our most contributing member in every way, both financially and actively,” said Derby, who said Grosso always steps up when something needs to be done.

That’s why he’s an honorary life member there. And it’s indicative of a man who has established a bond in his community with his ready smile, serving up deli sandwiches at a reasonable price.

In fact, Grosso said his prices haven’t change in four years, and won’t anytime soon, because he sees the financial fallout among his neighbors.

“We haven’t raised the prices here. We know people are hurting out there,” he said.

Grosso doesn’t seemed concerned about surviving his tug of war with the board of zoning appeals. He expects the deli eventually will be relocated to the corner space of the property it now occupies. With a newly minted website and the prospect of an even better location for the deli, the outlook is good from his perspective.

Grosso survived an aneurism and valve replacement surgery nearly 15 years ago that he said gave him a decidedly positive perspective on life itself.

“When you go through that, it makes you look at things differently,” Grosso said, smiling.

New Hyde Park Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro clarified the budgetary allocation for village of Department of Public Works snow removal to dispell possible misunderstandings he said were prompted by a recent report in a local newspaper.

“There’s been a lot of misunderstanding around the cost of snow removal. Every year we budget pretty much the same amount of money for snow removal,” he said.

Lofaro said the village annually earmarks $15,000 for personnel overtime and $10,000 for sand and salt, with a total of $30,000 for all anticipated expenses, which he described as a “pretty conservative amount” for what is typically expended during winter seasons with light snowfalls.

A recent report in the New Hyde Park Herald Courier mistakenly reported the village incurred $30,000 in snow removal costs for the post-Christmas blizzard. The actual cost was $16,900.

“On years when we get a lot, we’ll spend more than has been appropriated,” he said, explaining that expenses are then drawn from other budget lines, such as tree trimming. “If we don’t have any lines to borrow from, worst comes to worst we borrow.”

Lofaro indicated that the sequence of recent storms is a source of concern for the board.

“We do get concerned when we have several storms or we have storms on holidays. We look very carefully at the snow lines and try to expend it in a very conservative way,” Lofaro said, noting that the board anticipates exhausting that budgetary line annually to minimize taxes on residents.

“If we had three major storms, we could be in trouble on the overtime aspect of it,” Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio said.

Petruccio said the village had considered snow insurance in the past, but had rejected the idea.

He praised DPW Superintendent Tom Gannon for his “creative” use of funds following the two recent snow storms.

Lofaro noted that there were also less evident costs associated with the preparation the village Department of Public Works has to undertake prior to each predicted snowfall.

“Getting those trucks prepared takes several hours to do so,” he said. “We had a situation that the weather forecasters said it was going to snow, and we spent as much time getting prepared and then unloading the sand and salt from the trucks because it did not snow.”

Preparation work includes DPW crews putting sand and salt down when snow starts falling, Lofaro said.

Lofaro neglected to note that a portion of snow removal costs are recovered from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In other developments:

• The refurbished Willilam Gill Theatre on the second floor of New Hyde Park Village Hall will have its grand reopening on Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. with residents invited for performances by local musicians. Light refreshments will be served.

• The village official largely responsible for overseeing the revamped theater project, Village Clerk Pat Farrell, has resigned his position to take a position as village clerk in Floral Park. The board officially accepted Farrell’s resignation.

• The village board is seeking to reschedule a meeting that was cancelled with the state Department of Transportation to review changes proposed changes for Jericho Turnpike in what is denoted as the village business district.

• The village board passed a resolution to pay recently retired DPW Superintendent Jim McCloat $45,764.25 from its contingency account for compensatory time accrued during his tenure.

Following a nine-month search, Rev. Jimmy Coffey will be installed next Sunday as the new pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Hyde Park.

Steve Simon, a member of the church’s board of trustees, said Coffey as a “solid theologian and solid pastor” who he thought could articulate the Lutheran theology of the Reformation.

“We really feel that God’s hand was in this and this man has the right skills to bring us forward,” Simon said.

Coffey holds a B.A. degree in Religion from Concordia University in Irvine, CA and a masters of divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. During the 12 years he served as pastor of the two churches in Connecticut, Coffey also served as adjunct instructor for Religion and Literature at Concordia College in Bronxville, NY. He also has presented numerous theological papers at various symposia and national seminars.

Coffey replaces Rev. Robert Riebau, who served as pastor at Trinity Lutheran for the past four years, according to Simon, who credited him with reviving the church’s congregation.

Riebau left his position at Trinity Church to become pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Maryland, where family and friends who had sponsored him through seminary school asked him to serve, Simon said.

Coffey said his first task would be to familiarize himself with the members of his new congregation.

“Some of the basic things that don’t ever change are addressing the needs of the individual in the congregation, and to serve their needs in spiritual and in practical ways,” he said.

Asked what social changes he’s observed over time in his ministries at the two churches he served as pastor in Connecticut, Coffey said he thought people simply had less free time in their lives.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that people are becoming busier and busier,” he said.

Coffey noted that it’s not unusual for at least one member of each household in his congregations to be commuting to work for 20 hours each week.

“You have to be sensitive to that when you’re planning events and services,” he said, adding, “Families have lost valuable family time together and you have to be sensitive to that as well.”

Coffey has been married to his wife, Yasuyo Suzuki, for the past 13 years.

Trinity Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Coffey’s installation next Sunday will take place at 3 p.m. The congregation gathers for its Sunday morning services at 9 a.m. in the church, which include worship, fellowship and Bible study,

The Nassau County Police Department Third Precinct reported this week a drop of more than 6 percent in major crimes during 2010 and a decrease of nearly 12 percent in all other crimes.

Residential burglaries in the Third Precinct declined more than 16 percent – from 277 in 2009 to 232 in 2010, according to police statistics. But other burglaries were up by just over 22 percent year to year – from 94 to 125 incidents. Robberies increased over 22 percent, from 89 to 109, while commercial robberies decreased by nearly 8 percent, 39 to 36 year to year.

After busting a Brooklyn-based burglary ring earlier this year with increased surveillance in North New Hyde Park, Searingtown, Manhassett Hills and Roslyn Heights, and checking license plates of cars cruising through those areas, the Third Precinct noticed a sudden spurt of burglaries again toward the end of the year being tied by another group of people, according to Third Precinct Chief Inspector Kevin Canavan.

“Our efforts are continuing with that,” he said. “A lot of the serious crimes we have here are crimes against property.”

The increase in commercial burglaries was tied a single offender who robbed convenience stores along Hillside Avenue by throwing fire hydrant caps through the windows of the stores and quickly grabbing “whatever he could grab,” Canavan said, including cash lottery tickets and cash.

A man was eventually caught with a cache of lottery tickets that the police were able to trace the locations of the break-ins, Canavan said. Police also determined the man was stealing the hydrant caps from the Manhasset-Lakeville water works.

The winter season is a prime time for burglaries because the time change with shorter daylight hours gives would-be thieves a larger window of opportunity as it get dark earlier in the day.

“What we managed to do this year was to put more emphasis on quality of life stuff,” Canavan said.

Canavan said a shift in strategy at area malls, including the Lake Success Mall and Roosevelt Field, helped to reduce the incidence of petit larcenies and criminal mischief. The Third Precinct took some of its plan clothes officers out of the malls and put uniformed officers in patrol cars in the parking lots, which also had an impact on car thefts.

“Roosevelt Field boosts our numbers up. We got the officers out of the mall and into the parking lot,” Canavan said. “It makes an impression out there. The more cops that are visible, it prevents the opportunity for people to do crimes.”

Prior to the tactical shift, police had noted a pattern of stolen cars moving between Roosevelt Field and the Green Acres shopping mall. With the increased police presence outdoors, a period of four months ensued during which no cars were stolen from the Roosevelt Field parking lots, according to Canavan.

The Third Precinct covers the second largest geographical area in the county, encompassing an area with a northern border of Manhasset Hills and Roslyn Heights, extending south into Hempstead, and traversing from the Floral Park-Bellerose border, extending east to Westbury and New Cassel, where the largest number of assaults take place.

There was a 23 percent increase in felony assaults between last year and the previous year, from 108 to 133. Among other violent crimes, there were three murders in 2010 – the same as in 2009 – while 10 reported rapes occurred the past year, compared to 11 reported rapes during the prior year. Criminal sexual acts dropped from three last year to one incident this year. Cases of sexual abuse doubled in number, from three last year to six this year.

There has been a marked increase in drug arrests during 2010 compared to the prior year, according to Sgt. Tom Ianucci, who declined to quantify the degree to which illegal drug trafficking has increased year to year. He has been leading a staff of 10 officers who operate in plain clothes or undercover in the Third Precinct’s anti-crimes for the past year.

The biggest problem is illicitly-peddled prescription drugs because of ease of access through bogus prescriptions handled by unscrupulous pharmacists who see big profits from the trade, according to Ianucci.

“It’s a major problem in this area. We make several arrests a week,” he said, “It’s a business, like anything else, and the dollar speaks.”

In one recent case, officers in Ianucci’s unit caught a suspect who was ferrying 3,000 pills to Boston from Florida, a location of ready access because of the large number of pain-treatment centers there and the ease of abusing its system, Ianucci said.

Variations of oxycodon, prescribed for acute pain, or lab-created ecstasy pills – powerful amphetamines – are particularly popular.

The anti-crimes unit also busted a trio who suspects who had stolen a doctor’s prescription pad for synthetic narcotic painkillers when a suspicious pharmacist at a Hillside Avenue pharmacy reported his misgivings about the prescription to the police. Two busts of suspects with ecstasy also occurred – on in Westbury, the other in New Hyde Park.

In perhaps the most dramatic bust of the year for his unit, two officers observed a couple divvying up 50 “decks” or individual packets of heroin in the parking lot of the Dunkin’ Donuts on Jericho Turnpike and Herricks Road. They arrested them, drove out to their “connection” in the couple’s car, drawing out the supplier and capturing him with an additional 220 heroin packets after a protracted car chase.

“My guys interview them, and we get the location of the main supplier of Long Island for this brand name of heroin called Big Boss coming from Bronx, supplying most of Long Island,” Ianucci said.

The apparent increase in heroin use locally is a matter of economics – and the immediate effect on those who choose to use it, Ianucci said.

“It just comes in waves. It’s supply and demand,” he said. “The cost drops, people use it and get addicted to it and you get epidemic of use in certain areas.”

In a major marijuana bust a few months ago, Ianucci and his partner investigated and busted a “grow house” in Carle Place on a tip from a neighbor. There was a strong odor of the marijuana plants being grown in the basement of the house, which was equipped with a high-tech air circulation system that was venting the aroma outside the house. Ianucci said the unoccupied house’s electric meter was spinning much faster than it should because of the air circulation system and the high-powered lights set up for the plants, which could be glimpsed through a basement window.

“Nobody’s home in the house, but the meter’s spinning,” Ianucci said. “And the windows are tar-papered on the inside.”

The police officers waited for the plant’s attendant to show up, intercepted at the door of the house and convinced him to permit a consent search of the house, which could make the court more lenient on him. The bust yielded 64 mature marijuana plants, which the police estimated were being harvested for seven pounds of pot every six weeks with a street value of $4,000.

Three Herricks High School seniors have been recognized as semi-finalists in the annual Intel Science Talent Search, with a shot at making the finals of the competition later this month.

The three students – Julie Chang, Neil Pathak and Edward Vargas – were among 15 Herricks High students who submitted the requisite lab research, research papers and essays to apply for the contest.

Vargas’s project was to study the possibilities of being able to identify brains that exhibited the deformed shapes that characterize aspects of brain structure in schizophrenics. He compared two analysis methods in a magnetic resonance imaging tool for shape analysis called Spherical Harmonics-mat.

“Schizophrenia was probably the diseases that interested me most of what they worked with there since there’s so little known about it. Shape analysis seemed very promising for an investigative angle,” Vargas said.

Vargas conducted his research over two months this past summer after undergoing a period of training at the Psychiatry Neuroscience Laboratory in Boston, Mass.

The results showed that one of the Spherical Harmonics-mat formats called Iterative Point Index could successfully detect variations of more or less than two millimeters for protrusions in the brain and variations of more or less than four millimeters in the brain, Vargas wrote in his abstract on the project. He said that it confirmed prior research that indicated the validity of the method as a neuroscience tool.

Renee Barcia, science research teacher at Herricks High, said the students’ research was admirable for its real-world applications. In Vargas’s research, she pointed out that along with detecting signs of schizophrenia, the MRI imaging could aid in early detection of brain tumors.

Vargas said he was “very proud to share the glory with two other Herricks students.”

“It feels really surreal. I never thought I’d get this far,” said Julie Chang, who worked on comparative ultrasound methods to evaluate osteoporosis.

She and Pathak estimated that they had logged 40 to 50 hours per week in conducting their research as Simons Fellows last summer at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University. That was the same routine that Vargas said he maintained in Boston.

“It feels like our hard work paid off,” said Pathak, who added that he was “humbly proud.”

Pathack studied the effectiveness of using single-walled carbon nanotubes – tiny microscopic structures – for precisely targeted chemotherapy and radiothermal therapy to destroy cancer cells. A specialized form of fluorescent microscopy was used to evaluate the impact of the nanotube delivery system in attaching the therapeutic substances to cancer cells.

His objective was “to create time-efficient delivery system, and his research indicated the novel drug delivery system of the nanotubes could be effective, based on three combinations of chemicals he used in the lab work.

Pathak, who will be attending Yale University next year, is aiming for a career as a doctor, either as a physician or as a researcher. His father, Naveen, and his mother, Isha, are both internists.

Vargas, who has been accepted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he aspires to work in research. His mother, Yvanka Pachas, is a psychiatrist.

Chang is considering a career in bioengineering or biotechnology. Her parents, Lisa and Joe are both physical therapists.

Chang’s project explored the potential for quantitative ultrasound treatment as an alternative to X-ray treatment. Its potential is not well understood because knowledge about the behavior of ultrasound waves is lacking. She used qualitative ultrasound machine to measure the effects of broadband ultrasound attentuate and ultrasound velocity as methods to evaluate the structural properties of bone. Her research showed that understanding the interaction of ultrasound with bone will enable clearer interpretation of results from that technology for more effective diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Apart from her scientific interests, Chang is an accomplished young musician who plays violin in the Herricks High School Chamber Orchestra. She’s also been playing piano as long as she’s been taking violin lessons, since she was five years old.

Pathak plays tennis and said he has a strong interest in writing. He is currently editor-in-chief of the Herricks High School student newspaper, the Highlander.

In his spare time, Vargas enjoys reading the works of various philosophers.

“I think it’s always good to keep a healthy balance,” he said.

All three said they were cramming to meet their respective research papers cooperatively as the deadline loomed, and the sense of camaraderie between the three was evident as they spoke about that experience.

All three agreed that the Herricks High School science research program gave them a good grounding for their Intel lab projects.

“It’s outstanding work,” Bracia said, adding that the three had conducted graduate school level research. “They’re motivated, talented, dedicated science students who’ve been able to take on challenging work. They’ve fulfilled their potential.”

E-mail: rtedesco@archive.theisland360.com

Nassau County unions said this week they will go to court if the Nassau County Legislature approves a law proposed by County Executive Edward Mangano to empower him order contact concessions.

“We feel its unconstitutional. If they pursue that, we will pursue litigation,” said Jim Carver, president of the Nassau Police Benevolent Association.

With the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority threatening to take control of the county’s finances, Mangano urged county unions to renegotiate their contracts.

“If they do not, I am fully prepared to enforce the concessions the county needs,” Mangano said at a press conference last week.

The county executive said the County Legislature is prepared to hold hearings on the Taxpayer Relief Act, which would include voluntary concessions, ordered concessions and lay offs, if necessary.

NIFA told Mangano in December that he had until Jan. 20 to prove that the county’s 2011 budget is balanced. Mangano has maintained his 2011 budget is balanced even without union concessions, but would need further spending cuts to balance their budget in 2012.

Mangano said it’s not fair for the county’s public-sector employees to be immune while private sector families bear all the sacrifice of a bad economy.

Union leaders said they oppose a NIFA takeover and will continue to negotiate with the Mangano on concessions.

“We feel the county executive should have the opportunity to manage the budget,” Carver said.

While the Republican Legislative majority passed a balanced budget for 2011, budgets for 2012 and beyond will not be balanced unless labor contracts are renegotiated, according to Mangano.

“Nassau families and seniors already pay the second highest property taxes in the nation and they are at a breaking point,” he said.

Mangano was joined in his called for labor concessions by Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos.

“I urge the public employee unions to work with the administration and agree to labor concessions that are no different from those required in the private sector,” Maragos said.

NIFA has no authority to reopen labor contracts with the unions, according to NIFA Chairman Ronald Stack who commented on the subject after a hearing last month.

Current labor contracts, which include annual salary increases, longevity pay, educational allowances that do not require any education, time off for donating blood and a no-lay-off provision, can only be opened through mutual agreements with the unions or through the authority that will be granted to the county executive through the Taxpayer Relief Act, according to Mangano.

Mangano said that over the life of the union contracts, total benefits derived are projected to exceed the Consumer Price Index by more than $500 million unless concessions are made.

The agency is required under state law to take control of the county’s finances if it determines that the county has a 1 percent budget deficit; currently $26 million for Nassau County.

Reach reporter Rich Jacques by e-mail at rjacques@archive.theisland360.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Follow Rich Jacques on Twitter at twitter.com/ richjacques.

State Sen. Jack Martins (R-MIneola) has been appointed as chairman of the Committee on Local Governments by state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre).

Martins had served as mayor of Mineola for eight years before being elected to represent the 7th Senate District, and he has said he planned to be a strong voice for local government in the state Legislature.

Martins is currently co-sponsoring legislation with state Assemblyman Michelle Schimel (D- Great Neck) to amend the terms of the community empowerment bill drafted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo before his election. The bill aims to change the standards required to enable consolidation of municipal governments statewide.

“Local governments are the backbone of our communities. I want to thank our local elected officials, volunteer firefighters and emergency workers and organizations for doing so much for us,” said Martins, who thanked Skelos for the appointment.

“As the former mayor of Mineola, Jack Martins understands what it takes for a local government to balance while keeping taxes low as well as how difficult it can be when Albany passes yet another back-breaking mandate,” Skelos said.

Martins also was appointed to the labor, civil service and pensions, and the corporate authorities and commissions committees.

As a members of the labor committee, Martins said he would look for initiatives to create jobs on Long Island.

He cited the presence of men and women in labor unions in the 7th Senate District as the primary reason for his appointment to that committee.

Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@archive.theisland360.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204