A look ahead

A new year has begun in Seaford and Wantagh, and there is a lot to look forward to in 2016. After the holiday break, schools are back in session and calendars are filling up with events.

Seaford High School hosts its annual Patrick J. Butler Wrestling Tournament this Saturday at 9 a.m., and the Vikings will welcome teams from around Nassau County. The longstanding event honors Butler, who wrestled at Seaford and died in a car accident in 2004, when he was 15.

One of the first events on the calendar this year in Wantagh is the Chamber of Commerce’s installation dinner, which will be held on Jan. 14 at the Riviera in Massapequa. Chris Brown will begin his second year as president of the organization, and other officers will be sworn in.

The Seaford Library board of trustees is welcoming a new member this month. Margaret Grub was selected by the board to fill the vacancy created by Vice President Steve Gaughran’s retirement at the end of 2015. She is to be sworn in at Monday night’s meeting, and will have to run in April for a full five-year term. Grub is an active member of the Friends of the Seaford Library.

For the second consecutive year, Wantagh High School will host the regional Science Olympiad competition. Teams from schools in eastern Nassau County will compete in a variety of events on Jan. 30, vying for an invite to the state tournament.

The following day, Maria Regina and St. William the Abbot schools in Seaford will both host open houses to celebrate the beginning of Catholic Schools Week.

Looking for some local theater? Wantagh High School’s drama students will present “Gypsy” the first weekend of February, while “The Little Mermaid” hits the Seaford High School stage on March 4 and 5.

Anniversaries

This year, the Wantagh Preservation Society will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the relocation of the old Wantagh train station to its current location, where it underwent extensive renovations and reopened as the local history museum in 1982.