By Sabina Cardali
Welcome to the Point. The Point being College Point.
It has been very busy with the continuing celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year 4700 Year of the Horse. The men and women from Taiwan, China and Korea will be accompanied by Bahamians dancing, beating drums and wearing bright costumes.
Congratulations to Surrey Spice Girl, “Best in Show” at the 126th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. She is a perfectly coifed — it takes three hours — miniature poodle. At 3 years old, she has won 39 Best in the Show honors and, in this show, beat 2,568 dogs in 159 recognized breeds.
The Salt Lake City Olympic Games continue to shine in gold, silver and bronze. It was nice to see that Russia’s Anton Sukharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya shared the gold and the podium with new champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada. All the hard work that goes into the training and proficiency of each of the sports becomes highlighted by winning and all the wonderful smiles.
State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) have been named to the newly created Senate Majority Task Force on World Trade Center Recovery. They will oversee efforts to rebuild and recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The panel must evaluate all of the plans having to do with downtown redevelopment. It will assess money being spent to make sure it is being handled in the best way possible.
Emma Mangano worked in the Gelmart office in College Point as a payroll clerk. She was wished well on her retirement by many people who came to her dinner at the 5 Corners which she just loved.
Congratulations on the forthcoming nuptials of Effy Manesis and Bobby Hadolopis.
Speedy recovery to Lil Moss, Carol Reilly and Richard Reilly.
St. Agnes High School students for the past 20 years have been adopting children through the “Neighbors Together” program in Brownsville, Brooklyn. This year the students donated money, shopped for gifts and wrapped them. Each girl took a truly personal interest in this program and gained a sense of fulfillment.
St. Ambrose Columbiettes will be hosting a Chinese Auction and Luncheon Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. The event will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 22-38 College Point Blvd. For tickets or information, call Melissa at 661-3721 or Millie at 321-1354.
Poppenhusen Institute will be having Irish Candlelight Cafe Night on Saturday at 7 p.m. with Morning Star, featuring singer Mary Courtney, performing authentic music. Tickets are $15, which includes pastries and hot and cold beverages. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
Other events at Poppenhusen include:
• A Brazilian music performance April 13 with Debora and John Watts. Tickets are $7, $5 for members and should be purchased in advance. Refreshments will be sold.
• A free slide show and lecture on archaeology in ancient tribes of the southwestern United States will be held April 6 at 2 p.m.
• A walking tour of College Point will be held April 27. Meet at the institute at 10:45 a.m. for the 11 a.m. tour. The $5 fee includes lemonade and cookies which will be served back at the institute.
• Attend a German-American concert May 11.
• May 18 is Memory Lane Day, featuring a video on longtime College Point residents. The free event begins at 2 p.m.
The 24th Queens Half Marathon will be held in College Point along with the Skaggs-Walsh 5K Run on April 13. More than 3,500 runners from the tri-state area as well as competitors from various foreign countries will compete for awards and prize money.
The Skaggs-Walsh 5K Run will start at 8 a.m. and the Queens Half-Marathon will step off at 8:10 a.m. Check-in for both races is at MacNeil Park, 119th Street and Poppenhusen Avenue. Borough President Helen Marshall will be the official starter of the Half-Marathon.
The Queens Half-Marathon has been selected for the New York Roadrunners Grand Prix Series and is also a points race for women. Additional cash prizes of $2,000 will be awarded to the first three men and women who finish the race. The major sponsor for both races is the Skaggs-Walsh Fuel Co. which has sponsored the event for the last 10 years. Contributing sponsors are the Queens Surface Co. Science Bus Co., NYPD 109th Precinct, departments of Parks, Sanitation, Highways, Community Board 7, the Queens borough president’s office, College Point Security Patrol, JM Tennis Court Maintenance, Jetro Cash and Carry, Target Stores, Coca-Cola, College Point Board of Trade, College Point Ambulance Corp, NYC Emergency Medical React and the Abbey in Williamsburg.
The College Point Board of Trade has donated two $250 scholarships to the first male and female full-time students from Malba and College Point who finish the Skaggs-Walsh 5K Run. Entry blanks are available at Skaggs-Walsh.
The Association for the Advancement of Blind and Retarded, Inc. will be sponsoring its annual dinner-dance on April 12 at Terrace on the Park in Flushing. Contact Eileen Keegan, Bernadette Polestar, ARAB Inc., 15-08 College Point Blvd., PO Box 560247, College Point, NY 11356 or call 321-3800.
SABINA SAYS — Contact all your officials, as I have been notified that the mayor will be taking away FDNY ambulances from our community on March 3. We would then have one Fire Department ambulance covering College Point, Flushing, Bay Terrace, Malba, Beechhurst and Whitestone.
Reach columnist Sabina Cardali by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 140.
