Last week, on the fourth day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores held their annual lighting of the Menorah ceremony at Veteran’s Memorial Park.
William Wilgus, the vice-president of the Chamber, bid the assembled crowd a warm welcome to this warm yearly tradition, held only days after the Chamber lit their huge Christmas tree in the same location.
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“Thank you for coming down tonight,’ Wilgus said. “On behalf of the board of directors and all our members, we’d like to wish you a Happy Hanukah and welcome you to our annual Festival of Lights...the traditional lighting of the Menorah. Tonight we will be lighting the fourth light on our beautiful Menorah.”
Among the attendees was Assemblyman David McDonough, R-Merrick, who contrasted the hope of the holiday season with the recent hardships suffered by those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
“Today is the Festival of Lights of the Jewish religion,” McDonough said. “And I just hope there’s a light in all of your hearts for all of those people who were drastically affected by Hurricane Sandy. Remember, when you celebrate this holiday season, just try and help those people in every possible way that you can.”
Legis. David Denenberg, D-Merrick, continued the sentiments expressed by McDonough, saying that Bellmore had only grown stronger as a result of its recent trials.
“Only a few weeks ago, Bellmore was hard-hit...the disaster of Sandy was right in our backyards,” Denenberg said. “But the miracle was everyone working together...we really pulled together. We’re not out of it yet, not by a long stretch, but when we say our blessings, we celebrate the miracle in our time, because we recognize that there are miracles every day.”
Afterwards, Rabbi Howard Hoffman of Temple Beth-El of Bellmore spoke of the significance of the Festival of Lights not only to those of the Jewish faith, but the community as a whole.
“Hanukkah is about the triumph of the spirit,” Hoffman said. “That spirit has never left the Jewish people. It emerges in times of trouble and persecution, and it continues to be with us today. We are here today to celebrate that spirit with our children and the members of the Bellmore community, both Jewish and non-Jewish.”
Amy Pearlman was one of the many local residents who attended the Menorah lighting ceremony.
“It’s lovely that we, as neighbors, can gather together here and celebrate Hanukkah as a community,” she said. “Even though there’s a chill in the air, we can sing and make merry and celebrate the Festival of Lights together.”
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Bellmore Hosts Hanukkah Menorah Lighting
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Greg Bashaw May 21, 2013 at 09:32 pm
As for the mandate, maybe YOU should run for the Board, we need a change and thats WHY I am…Read More running... Thanks for the info though!
Greg Bashaw May 21, 2013 at 09:30 pm
FYI- Rosemary Corliss, mentioned it 2times as something are are planning to loo at....at Meet the…Read More Candidates Night......
Pat Boyle Egland May 20, 2013 at 04:06 pm
The NBUFSD BOE has not mentioned cutting bussing in over a year, it is not a part of the 2013-2014…Read More budget.
The pensions and benefits are not regulated by the BOE it is a state mandate.
Pat Boyle Egland May 22, 2013 at 02:48 pm
Eliminating the CHSD is a great idea but it needs to be voted on by the citizens of all 4 districts…Read More . In BM we have 5 set of administration - North Bellmore, Bellmore, North Merrick, Merrick and CHSD . Pensions are a are a state and national battle NOT local
Greg Bashaw May 20, 2013 at 12:50 am
Well for starters, why not give candidates 401K's and only pay a proportion of their benefits...Hire…Read More teachers and adm that actually live in our district...... Has anybody proposed dismantling the high school district......From the way I understand they have tried unsuccessfully to combine, well then how about saving moneu and splitting up the 3 high schools...This was we wont need 2 administrations...... I will try and I will think out of the box!
Dan DeLilla May 18, 2013 at 10:40 pm
So Lu Scala never had any children so it might be safe to say you have never been to a PTA meeting…Read More or a School Board meeting or a budget presentation so then you would have no idea how the money is spent good or bad. I'm sorry that your neighbors make more than you but like anything else you get what you pay for there are educational requirements for teaching and administration jobs, I'm sure you would be happy if all the school personnel could be replaced by minimum wage earners or better yet we could close all the schools after all you have been out of school for 40 years so you don't need them anymore, but thats not how it works. Why is always the uninformed that speak loudest and longest?
Lu Scala May 17, 2013 at 08:49 am
I never had any kids.. and am the last kid who went to to the Bellmore Merrick school system.....its…Read More been almost 40 years since I was a Mempham grad..and it is very disharting to hear that my many many high tax dollars..are not enought for these kids I have been sororting all these years!!! Who is getting all the money??? Its all bull.. aI live inbetween teachers.. how is it they can afford high end cars, housekeepers, landscapers, ect??????... the money is being spent in the WRONG WAYS TO THE TEACHERS, AND MOST OF ALL THE ADMISTRATION, THE SCHOOL BOARD ECT... I AM CALLING FOR A MASSIVE AUDIT AND GET0 per year.. they afe not worth any more then that.. THE MONEY BACK FROM ANYONE WHO WAS PAID MORE THEN $75,00....
patti May 16, 2013 at 08:28 pm
A bit of a surprise considering kids come home with a supply list a mile long (and average $40-$75).