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Tara Conry
Long Island native Tara Conry is newsday.com's Nassau community journalist. A Hofstra University communications graduate, most recently she was a local editor for Patch and previously reported for the New York Daily News, Reader's Digest and SmartMoney. She's earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Press Club of Long Island and the American Society of Magazine Editors. When not covering Long Island's local communities, Tara enjoys running (often with her Old English Sheepdog by her side), playing soccer and indulging in her love of musical theater.
Early Father's Day gift from dad, a liver, gives infant hope
Photo credit: Tara Conry
Michael DeRise rolled around the living room floor of his family’s Bethpage home Thursday, playing with his toys and occasionally spouting “Dada.” Although too young to understand it now, Michael, who celebrated his first birthday on June 11, has a special piece of his dad inside of him.
One that very well may have saved his life.
Seeing their baby crawl, play and babble is a sight that...
Read more »Port Washington policeman Brian Staley earns historic promotion
Photo credit: Tara Conry
The magnitude of what Brian Staley was about to accomplish struck him as he pulled to the side of the road on 201st Street in St. Albans, Queens, on Wednesday. An African-American man who appeared to be down on his luck was collecting bottles, and Staley stopped to hand him his empty soda container.
“You look nice. Where are you going?” the man asked, noticing Staley’s police dress uniform.
“I’m...
Read more »New Carle Place bike shop gives students free helmets, safety lesson
Photo credit: Tara Conry
Bridget Healey moved her jaw up and down to make sure the chin strap on her new bike helmet wasn’t too tight. After a few adjustments, the fit was perfect and she was ready to hit the road.
“It feels secure and safe,” said the 11-year-old Mineola girl who enjoys bike riding, in-line skating and scootering with her older brother and neighbor. “I’m going to wear it every time now, because I’m...
Read more »Improv comedy night will benefit children with cancer, honor Sarah Grace Weippert
Photo credit: Handout
When Matt Weippert thinks about his daughter, Sarah, he remembers her sense of humor.
“She was a little bit of a practical joker,” said Matt Weippert, 55, of Hicksville. “She kept us laughing and she gave us a lot of strength while she was sick.”
Sarah died in 2002 at the age of 12 after losing her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer, but her family has kept her...
Read more »Student sleuths compete in Stony Brook CSI Challenge
Photo credit: Tara Conry
Dressed from head to toe in a white Tyvek suit, Andrew Leathem scoured an area roped off by crime tape Monday morning for evidence that would help his team solve the attempted murder and kidnapping they were told took place there.
Leathem, 18, a senior at Oceanside High School, and his classmates meticulously documented and recovered every fingerprint, footprint, hair follicle, insect, weapon...
Read more »‘American Ride’ TV show stops at Sagamore Hill
Photo credit: Tara Conry
Wearing a skull rag and a denim vest, Stan Ellsworth drove his Harley around Theodore Roosevelt’s estate at Sagamore Hill Thursday.
The visit to the former president’s home in Cove Neck was just one of the many stops Ellsworth, a former high school history teacher and football coach, has made across the country while filming his television show, “American Ride.”
“‘American Ride’ is basically...
Read more »Islip residents pass on lessons of appreciation at Memorial Day tribute
Photo credit: Tara Conry
As Tom Gilbride marches down Main Street in Islip each year for his town’s Memorial Day parade, he recalls his fallen comrades.
“The faces go by,” said Gilbride, 62, who served in the United States Marine Corps from 1970 to 1973. “There’s guys that I went to boot camp with who, because of orders … made it to Vietnam and some didn’t return.”
Hundreds of families took part in this year’s...
Read more »Hundreds transform Riverhead's Main Street during annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival
Photo credit: Tara Conry
With her fingers covered in colorful chalk, Rita Nigro, 8, let her imagination run wild Sunday on the pavement of East Main Street in Riverhead.
“That’s a wombat,” she said, pointing to an orange cat holding a bat that she had drawn on the street. “It’s going, ‘Hey batter, batter, batter’ … It doesn’t seem to know it’s the batter!”
A rainbow, a fish and a T-Rex were also included in...
Read more »Students’ performance of 'Change at Jamaica' featured at Penn Station
Photo credit: Howard Schnapp
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec has seen his pieces performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. Now, he can add Penn Station to that list.
When commuters pass by the video monitor located near the elevators at the station’s 34th Street entrance, they can watch a recording of the world premiere of Moravec’s latest work, “Change at Jamaica,” performed by student...
Read more »Long Islanders win big in ‘Wheel of Fortune’ NYC finale
Photo credit: Wheel of Fortune
When she was just learning how to spell, Jessica Stean would call out letters while watching “Wheel of Fortune” with her grandparents in their Westbury home.
As a loyal fan of the show, Stean, 29, of Westbury, has become much better through the years at solving its puzzles, and she was able to prove it during the episode that aired Friday night. Stean won $25,262 in cash and prizes, including...
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