Mineola Village Board Notebook: Jan. 5

• The public meeting was the first presided over by Mayor Larry Werther, who was appointed mayor last month. It was also the first public meeting for Trustee Scott Strauss, who was appointed to the board by Werther last month.
• It was a happy holiday for Trustee Paul Cusato. His daughter recently gave birth to a baby girl.
• The  thanked the  for running the Operation Santa Program, which was coordinated by ex-chief Gary Mazur. The firefighters escorted Santa Claus to over 200 homes in the village.
• The village board also congratulated ex-chief Walter Crosby, who is celebrating his 50th anniversary with the Mineola Fire Department.
• J.P. Iacona, an 11-year-old from Elmont, and longtime resident Bill Urianek presented checks to Christine McDonald of America's Vet Dogs for $626 and $650 from money they collected. The organization seeks to provide veterans trained dogs for companionship.
• Trustees Paul Cusato and Paul Pereira as well as firefighter Bill Gresalfi paid tribute to Tom Flynn, who past away in November. Flynn was heavily involved in the PAL and dedicated much of his time to helping to provide sports programs to the community's youth. 
• Gresalfi reminded the community that March 13 is the date for the Mineola Junior Fire Department's annual pasta dinner.
• The village board gave permission to the County Seat Kiwanis Club to use the community center of village hall on Sunday, Feb. 6 for the annual pancake breakfast from 6 a.m. to noon.
• The village board gave permission to the Evening Star Quilters to use a general purpose room of village hall for a workshop session on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• The village participated in the  program and collected 58 toys.
• The board denied a request from the Embassy Apartments, located at 120 Clinton Ave. and 125 Lincoln Ave., to temporarily allow parking on the north sides of Clinton Avenue and Lincoln Avenue east of Willis Avenue.

The next meeting of the village board will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2010 in the .