TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 • 24 Silver Jubilee For Elm. Franciscan Forest Hills Student Earns Congressional Gold Medal Meng Applauds Teenager’s Volunteerism NY Senate Bill Saves Wild Mute Swans Avella Says Agency Couldn’t Justify Eradication Award Ceremony For Woodside Pack The Scouts of Woodside Pack 390 attended an award ceremony on Friday, June 20 which closed advancements for the 2013-2014 year. While the Scouts accepted their belt loops, activity pins and badges, their parents and caregivers looked on proudly as their achievements culminated to fruition. Pack 390 will resume Pack Meets starting Friday, September 12 at St. Teresa's Roman Catholic Church. The Scouts pictured, from left to right; Michael Tonns, Matthew Padilla, Xavier Caba, Madison Castillo, Noe Lopez, Kazuki Russo, Alex Ovanessian, Aurelius Herrera, Milo Erlich, Jayen Lopez, Isamu Russo, Cillian Connelly, Jayen Lopez, Michael O'Sullivan, Noah Jacobson, Henry Kaeser, Jack McShane, Joseph O'Sullivan, Theo Orecchio, Joshua Jiminez, Manny Jeffcoat, Patrick Chrzanowsky and Andrew Minchala, and the adults, pictured left to right, Catherina Cheun, Tony Tonns, Marvin Jeffcoat, Commander M. J. Smith, Deacon R. Abundo, Esteban Erlich, Michael O'Sullivan, Jaime McShane, Joseph O'Sullivan, Joe Connelly, Joe Orecchio and Julio Caba at the ceremony. Linda Corcoran of Elmhurst, second from right, was honored by the members of the Secular Franciscan Fraternity of St. Adalbert Church in Maspeth by fellow members celebrating her 25-years. It is their custom to celebrate the members’ 25th anniversary of profession. Linda is the wife of the late Capt. Jack Corcoran of the New York City Fire Dept. With Corcoran, In the photo, left to right are Carmela Cangialosi, Constance Watz and Betty Pietromonaco. (photo: Ben Schiff) Glendale Vets Honor A Young Volunteer A Youth Community Service Award was presented to Nicholas Scala on Memorial Day for his work with the veterans at the Sgt. Edward R. Miller VFW Post #7336 in Glendale. Pictured left to right are; Men's Auxiliary President Jim (Rocky) Feddern, Post Commander Israel Rivera and Men's Auxiliary Senior Vice President and Community Relations Chairman Kevin McBride. Rep. Grace Meng recently presented Forest Hills student Soham Daga with the Congressional Award Gold Medal, Congress’ highest award for youth. Meng awarded the 17-year-old Daga with the honor during a special ceremony on Capitol Hill that recognized all 283 Congressional Award Gold Medal recipients from across the country. To earn the award, individuals must spend two years or more completing at least 400 hours of community service, 200 hours of both personal development and physical fitness activities, and a fournight expedition or exploration. “Soham is an exceptional young man who worked tirelessly to help others and achieve very challenging goals,” said Meng. “I’m proud of Soham for earning this huge honor, and it’s a privilege to congratulate him.” Daga fulfilled his community service by volunteering for Boy Scouts service projects mainly in Queens. He cleaned parks and cleaned and painted churches, senior citizen facilities, and public schools. He also helped install and maintain landscaping. In addition, he spent a summer serving communities in India by organizing medical camps and teaching students. For his personal development, Daga engaged in policy debate and became captain of his high school policy debate team. -SEE GOLD ON PG. 57- State Sen. Tony Avella announced the unanimous passage of his state legislation by the State Senate to establish a two-year moratorium on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) controversial plan to eradicate all wild mute swans in the state by 2025 and declare them a “prohibited species.” The bill (S.6589) will also require DEC to demonstrate that actual damage to the environment or other species have been caused by the mute swan population across the state. “The facts do not support DEC’s plan to eradicate these beautiful creatures,” stated Avella. “With the passage of my bill, I think it is now quite clear that DEC’s careless plan to eradicate the entire mute swan species entailed too many questions and not enough answers. These birds have been around for decades and the population is estimated at only 2200. How can they be a threat to society? This has been a huge issue for the State of New York and I am glad that we will now have the time to properly examine and hopefully change this plan with legal protections that prevent harm to the swans and allow New York residents to live in harmony with these treasured birds.” Assemblyman Steven -SEE SWANS ON PG. 56-
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