Philip Williams, a longtime resident of Merrick and commander of American Legion Post 1282, was mourned by hundreds of his family members, friends and fellow veterans during a funeral Mass at Curé of Ars Roman Catholic Church in Merrick on Monday. Williams died last week after a four-week battle with cancer. He was 66. more

“In a community like this, you don’t really think about families struggling, but year after year, we have more and more families in need,” said Liana Sventoraitis, social worker at Sanford … more

As if riding a zip line off the Great Wall over water weren’t enough, there was always snacking on fried scorpions to get the four Bellmore-Merrick teachers’ hearts racing. The women also played … more

Unresolved teacher contracts remained at the forefront of community concerns at the Nov. 10 North Merrick Board of Education meeting. Contract negotiations were not on the meeting agenda, but several residents and one teacher used the public comment period to urge the Board of Education to resolve the dispute surrounding contracts that expired in June 2008. more

Saul Lerner, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District athletic director, recently resigned his post as coordinator of the Nassau County Boys' Basketball Committee because, he said, the Section VIII Athletic Council rejected a proposal of his to fine-tune the seeding process that ultimately determines teams' playing schedules. In 2006, Lerner was the architect of an ability-grouping system that determined a team's conference by its record. Previously, teams were assigned to conferences without much regard to their records. Rather, officials used what they called the "snake," in which teams were seeded and then laid out on a grid that wound back and forth in serpentine fashion. more

Veterans, elected leaders, firefighters and Boy Scouts circled around the Town of Hempstead Showmobile parked at the Merrick War Memorial in North Merrick on Wednesday to salute America's veterans. more

It's a safe bet that any dust settling on the blackboard in Lisa Drewes's classroom at Fayette Elementary School in North Merrick is a byproduct of abandonment rather than chalk. The fourth-grade room is outfitted with one of 15 SMART Boards in the North Merrick School District, a new tool that teachers are crediting with revolutionizing teaching methods and making conventional blackboards obsolete. "I put my schedule on it every day, aside from that I don't write on my blackboard at all," Drewes said. more

More than 600 people dressed in costumes of all kinds walked up and down Merrick Avenue this Halloween, making this year's annual costume parade sponsored by the Merrick Chamber of Commerce and the Merrick Herald the biggest to date. What's N Store was a contributor to the event. more

NextG Networks filed a motion in New York State Eastern District Court on Oct. 21 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Merrick Gables Association against NextG, the Town of Hempstead and cell phone provider Metro PCS. The Merrick Gables Association and a group of Nassau County residents filed suit in late August after months of frustration with cell phone antennas and 40-foot-tall poles that were installed near homes and schools, on town-owned public rights of way, by NextG Networks, a wireless frequency provider contracted with Metro PCS in Nassau County. more

The Kiwanis Club of Merrick welcomed a new president and slate of officers for 2009-2010 at the club's 61st Annual Installation Dinner on Oct. 15 at the Hempstead Golf and Country Club. Tammy McLoughlin was tapped as Kiwanis's newest president, replacing Susan Gruen Helsinger, who was lauded after a successful year leading the community-service organization. McLoughlin is a fourth-generation Merokean, with strong ties to the community. "My family has lived here forever, and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else," she said. more