NCC open Vets' Resource Facility
By Brendan Murray
On the even of Veterans Day, Nassau County Community College opened the doors of the Veterans Resource Facility, its newest asset for members of the U.S. Armed Forces studying at the largest single-campus, two year college in the State University of New York system.
"This day is special, this facility that we are opening today is special, and the people who will be served by it, and the purposes it will serve, are special indeed," said Dr. Kenneth K. Sanders, acting president of Nassau Community College; it is a profound day for what it portends for enhancing our ability to serve our student veterans."
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In Memoriam - Walter E. Ellensohn
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| Walter E. Ellensohn |
| March 21, 1929 - November 5, 2014 |
On November 5, 2014, Walter E. Ellensohn passed away and reported to Post Everlasting. Walter Ellensohn was a Merrick Post No. 1282 member and he was the chairman for the Merrick's Veteran Memorial Park. He will be sorely missed.
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Merrick district passes vets' tax breaks
Officials lower estimate of tax breaks' cost
By Brian Racow
The Merrick Board of Education on Sept. 9 approved school tax exemptions for local veterans, ending months of rancor that followed the board's choice last winter to miss a deadline to pass the exemptions for the 2014-15 school year.
Contingents of Merrick veterans were present at board meetings during the spring and summer to voice their protest, arguing that they had earned tax reductions for their service to the country. District officials originally cited concerns about the exemptions' cost to non-veteran homeowners and permanent nature under state law, but eventually they changed their minds. The board vote on Sept. 9 was unanimous.
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Community support sustains a veteran, his family and friends
Groundbreaking on free house for Cpl. Kevin Vaughan
By Brian Racow
Kevin Vaughan, a Marine corporal who was wounded in Afghanistan and received a hero's welcome when he returned home to North Merrick in 2012, will now receive a free house, courtesy of Building Homes for Heroes. Vaughan, his family and friends, local veterans, North Merrick firefighters, elected officials, student musicians, neighbors, supporters, and members of the media were among the 150 or so people on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday marking the start of construction on a two-story house on Little Whaleneck Road. Building Homes for Heroes, a Valley Stream nonprofit organization that built 17 houses for veterans last year and aims to complete 28 more this year, will give the house to Vaughan, according to Andrew Pujol, the charity's founder and president, and elected officials.
Read more: Community support sustains a veteran, his family and friends