Long Island briefs

MASSAPEQUA

Students to meet with veterans Friday

Students at Berner Middle School in Massapequa will meet in small groups with veterans on Friday as part of Take a Veteran to School Day.

The event has grown from about a dozen veterans talking with roughly 100 students in 2007 to an all-school event on Friday, when more than 70 veterans will meet throughout the day in groups of four to five with about 1,200 students, said Noreen Miller, a social studies teacher who coordinates the program.

"It's a great opportunity for kids to appreciate what veterans do," she said. "It's not very often that veterans get to speak about their experiences."

The program was developed by the History Channel, which provides teacher guides and other materials that Miller and other Berner teachers have supplemented over the years.

Veterans will be from a range of ages, from those who fought in World War II to more recent veterans of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Miller said. A 25-year-old Massapequa resident stationed in Kuwait will Skype to one class, she said.

Miller said the small groups create a more personalized experience for the students that will stick with them for years. Students prepare the questions. The small-group format also is more comfortable for the veterans, she said.

"They don't want to talk to a whole crowd of people," Miller said.

The event is Friday because the school is closed on Veterans Day, which is today.

SOUTHAMPTON TOWN

Town waitlist for affordable units open

Southampton officials are reminding residents interested in affordable housing opportunities to register for the town waiting list.

Applications are available online at southamptontownny.gov/Southampton-Housing-Authority, or by calling the Housing Authority at 631-488-4220, ext. 205.

"This is an effort to keep our waiting list active and up to date, recognizing that the availability of affordable units is intermittent," said Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst in a news release. "When these opportunities do occur, we look to the waiting list to fill these units as soon as possible."

Residents who register and meet program requirements may be eligible to purchase or rent affordable housing units within the town. The options include both senior age-restricted units and non-age-restricted units. All units have income restrictions, and are targeted for middle- and moderate-level earners.

"This is attainable, workforce housing geared for people who work for local businesses, at the hospital or in the schools and who are struggling to find available rental housing, or homes they can afford to purchase," Throne-Holst said.

HICKSVILLE

IDA approves candy company's expansion

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano has announced the Nassau Industrial Development Agency's approval of an economic development agreement that lets a major manufacturer and distributor of chocolates and gourmet foods to expand its operations in Hicksville and add 20 jobs.

"This latest economic development compact assists Nassau Candy Distributors in expanding their operations and creating 20 new permanent jobs," he said in a news release.

The release said that the economic development compact will assist Nassau Candy Distributors -- which in 2014 bought and renovated an existing 127,000-square-foot building at 300 Duffy Ave. with IDA assistance -- to add another 26,000 square feet. The company now employs 328 people at its facility. The expansion project, which will cost the company $4.3 million, will generate more than $21 million in economic benefits for Nassau County and almost $1.8 million in net new taxes for local taxing jurisdictions.

Nassau Candy was founded more than 80 years ago on Front Street in Hempstead Village and sells more than 10,000 items.

The IDA provides assistance to Nassau businesses interested in relocating, expanding and financing new investments.

For more information, visit nassauida.org or call 516-571-1945.

HUNTINGTON

Nonprofit gives $75G to veterans groups

Just in time for Veterans Day, the Northport-based nonprofit Cow Harbor Warriors presented donations of $75,000 to local veteran organizations during a ceremony at Huntington Town Hall on Monday.

The money was raised from the annual Cow Harbor Warrior Weekend, which was held the weekend of Sept. 12 and capped a 22-week-long series of awareness, education and fundraising events aimed at helping those who served during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and other veterans in need.

The 22-week campaign is symbolic, representing the average of 22 suicides of veterans that occur each day, Cow Harbor Warriors officials said.

This year's recipients are The Semper Fi Fund, The Disabled American Veterans Transportation Network, Paws of Wars and the Northport VA Medical Center, all of which received separate checks in varying amounts.

Cow Harbor Warriors, whose mission is to honor and enable post-9/11 wounded veterans and veterans in need, was founded in 2012. Don Mckay, president of the Cow Harbor Warriors, said the fundraising efforts prove that Northport and the surrounding communities as well as other local organizations truly care about veterans.

"The impact of war can be felt thousands of miles away from the battlefield, for months and even years after leaving the combat zone," McKay said. "It's reassuring to know that the American people will continue to stand up for wounded veterans for as long as their assistance is needed."