By Sabina Cardali
Welcome to the Point. The Point being College Point. I hope that Valentine's Day brought open hearts that are loving, believing, giving and grateful. Now that is something to think about with the chirping of incoming birds and spring around the corner.
Be sure to attend the St. Patrick's Dance at the St. Ambrose Council on Saturday, March 4, at 8 p.m. For $25 per person you can expect: corned beef & cabbage, wine, beer and soda, live musicians and more. Call Tim O'Donnell at 359-6338. Come see the leprechauns at St. Ambrose Council.
A Murder Mystery will unfold on Saturday, April 1, 8 p.m. at the Council for $35 per person and include: hot meal, beer, wine, soda, BYOB. DJ dancing will be featured and the Murder Mystery was written exclusively for St. Ambrose Council. Reservations must be made in advance. Call Bruce Johnson 358-6873 or Melissa and Karen at 762-0506.
Anthony Sessa, a graduate of PS 129 and Holy Cross High School, has passed the last of the grueling CPA exams. His family couldn't be prouder.
Congratulations to Tommy Delutz, Jr. 1st PBA Title, AC Delco All Star Classic.
It was wonderful seeing Eva and Bill Mieras at the Pasta for Lovers at the St. Ambrose Council. Bill is teaching at Jamaica High School and is ecstatic about it. Eva has one fault, she works too hard and too long. She had been telling me about slipping on the ice and the very next day she had to console me, as I repeated her slippery feat.
Congratulations to Johnny Rolando, a teacher at PS 72, for the beautiful mural that he painted celebrating the second birthday of Terrence King and the theme of Blues Clues.
At Poppenhusen Institute there will be country line dancing on Mondays. Beginners will go at 6:45-7:45 p.m. for a $5 fee. Intermediates will hit the floor between 7:45-9:45 p.m. for a fee of $6.
Group keyboard lessons for children (ages 6-12) 5-6 p.m. for a fee of $60 for 10 sessions. The Instructor is Sing Ing Ho.
The College Point Community Ambulance Corps 59th Annual Installation Dinner will be held at Verdi, 149-58 Cross Island Parkway, Whitestone, New York on Sat., April 8, 7 p.m.
I attended the first task force meeting on graffiti that Fred Mazzarello held at the College Point Board of Trade Office. Leo Nicholas, who has been attacking this problem for more than six years, gave his personal account on his hard-working efforts. More attention has to be given to this problem by all factions: family, business members, elected officials, police department and to enforce the law and put teeth in the law. It is quite apparent that youths between 13-17 have a great deal of time on their hands with no proper recreation outlets. Not having our sports fields available for the last three years has not helped this problem. With a cooperative effort of parents, schools, churches, and hard work, we can help this situation a great deal.
With the coming of spring and many people contemplating house repairs, please be wary of anyone knocking on your door who you do not know. Look through your peephole and if you don't know the person, don't open the door. If they claim to be a service repairman and you haven't called them for service, don't let them into your home. Whether they are uniformed or driving a service truck, unsolicited repairmen should not be permitted entry. False documents and stolen trucks are a ploy thieves use on unsuspecting home owners. Don't open your outer door. Report any suspicious act of this nature to the local precinct.
The Association for the Advancement of Blind and Retarded, Inc. & New York Child Learning Institute, will be holding their 44th Anniversary Dinner Dance on Friday, March 24, at Terrace on the Park, Grand Ballroom, Flushing Meadow Park. Cocktails will be served at 7:30 p.m. with an 8:30 dinner. Feted will be Humanitarian Award Recipient, George Shebitz, Esq. and Freedom Award Recipient, Nicholas Catinella. Two of their programs are run in College Point: a thrift shop at 15-08 College Point Blvd., run for and by the people it serves and a school for children with autism at 123-14 14th Ave. Tickets are $125 each. A special section of the dinner dance journal has been designated for College Point friends and neighbors. Quarter-page ads are available for $125. For information call: (718)321-3800.
And a stone's throw away in Whitestone … It was a pleasant surprise seeing Marcia and Bob Tramunti enjoying St. Valentine's at Caffe on the Green. The surroundings are beautiful and the food was great. I couldn't help but watch the ducks and geese swimming in all their glory.
I just missed Joe Franco that evening but everything went well.
Holy Trinity School will be having an Alumni Reunion on Oct. 28, 2000.
Mrs. Menna and Mrs. Kawka said that Holy Trinity School has had 30 graduations as of June 2001. The school opened in September, 1967. Pass the word. Spread the news – dinner, dancing, a DJ, and a school tour will be featured and all former teachers will be invited.
Holy Trinity parish mission will start on the weekend of March 12. Paulist Father David Farnum and Barbara Budde will conduct this mission. It will get under way Sunday evening through Thursday evening starting at 7:30 p.m. and be followed by a community social.
I cannot repeat this enough. Here are some basic facts about the U.S. Census. The census is a count that adds up everyone living in the U.S., citizens and non-citizens alike. The information from the census survey is confidential. The law prohibits the disclosure and sharing of information with any other government agency. The census is taken every 10 years. The next census will be taken on April 1, 2000. The information taken from the census determines the number of representatives from your community who will represent you in Congress. The census data helps to determine the distribution of federal dollars in your community for everything from planning schools and building roads to providing recreational opportunities and managing health care services. Every year, the federal government distributes more than 180-billion dollars to different communities based on census information. If the census questionnaire is not filled out, you, your family and community may lose valuable public benefits and services.
If you are wondering why you have 29 days in this month of February instead of 28, this is what you call a Leap Year. I often wonder why they called it “leap.” What is the real reason?
Sabina Says: It was so wonderful to hear how delighted my grandson Eric was in celebrating his seventh birthday. It was a four-day event: Sunday school, family party, bowling party with 15 of his friends and his class at school. I laughingly said he was now four years older but he insisted that wasn't so and that it all was the big “7.” Many, many more happy ones with our love!
