Upcoming community events and meetings

NASSAU COUNTY: Two candidates for legislature to debate

The two candidates for the Nassau County legislative seat vacated this month by Robert Troiano are set to square off in a debate on Feb. 6 hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Democrat Siela Bynoe, a top official at the Huntington Housing Authority, will challenge Republican Pepitz Blanchard of Westbury, a respiratory therapist for Nassau University Medical Center.

The debate is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. at the Ethical Humanist Society, at 38 Old Country Rd. in Garden City.

The special election for the 2nd Legislative District will be held Feb. 11.

The district — which includes Hempstead, West Hempstead, Westbury, New Cassel, Lakeview, Hicksville, Rockville Centre and East Garden City — has 24,395 registered Democrats, 6,031 registered Republicans and 5,976 unaffiliated voters, according to the Nassau Board of Elections.

Troiano defeated Blanchard in November but vacated the seat earlier this month after taking a position with the Town of North Hempstead. — ROBERT BRODSKY

HAMPTON BAYS: Hearing on Canoe Place Inn to be held

The long-running controversy over the redevelopment of the Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays is reaching a benchmark of sorts.

The final hearing on the preliminary environmental statement on the proposed reconstruction of the property is expected to take place next month.

Once that hearing is closed, the developers — R Squared LLC — will have a starting place to review public comments on their project and come up with a plan to mitigate adverse effects the development might cause.

That further work will end in a Final Environmental Impact Statement on the project, which will have to be reviewed and approved by the Southampton Town Board.

The firm purchased the historic Inn property in 2004, and wants to renovate the decaying hotel and build 40 town houses and a wastewater treatment facility on the land.

At a town board meeting Tuesday, officials said the hearings under the State Environmental Quality Act had closed in December and that the town hearings are likely to be closed next month. — MITCHELL FREEDMAN

PORT WASHINGTON: Polar Plunge for Special Olympics

Long Islanders can brave Port Washington’s chilly waters in March, during a Special Olympics “Polar Plunge” event.

The 10th Annual Town of North Hempstead Polar Plunge is scheduled for March 1, at North Hempstead Beach Park.

Money raised supports the athletes of Special Olympics New York.

The plunges are held throughout the state to raise funds for Special Olympics programs.

Residents can call 311 or 516-869-6311, or Kristina Aquilone at the Special Olympics Long Island at 631-254-1465 ext. 203. Residents can visit www.polarplungeNY.org/northhempstead to form a team. Registration begins at 10 a.m., and the plunge begins at noon. — SCOTT EIDLER

HUNTINGTON: Legislator to speak at Black History event

The Town of Huntington’s 27th annual Black History Month Celebration will feature the Suffolk County Legislature’s first minority presiding officer as keynote speaker.

DuWayne Gregory, chosen to lead the Legislature earlier this year, is the first person of color to hold that post. The program is to be held at the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School, 151 Lowndes Ave., in Huntington Station, at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6.

The celebration is to include musical entertainment by Walt Whitman High School junior Kalif Jones; the Voices of Faith Missionary Youth Choir featuring Peter Marion; the Bethel AME Church Choir; and the Huntington Outreach Ministry. Poetry readings are also scheduled.

Kevin Thorbourne, director of Minority Affairs for the town, said the evening’s program will serve as a learning opportunity for those who attend.

“It’s an opportunity to bring everyone together from the minority community, African American experience as well as from other cultures,” Thorbourne said. “It brings everyone together as a community learning about our history and people in our community who are also making a difference.”

A collation will follow the program. The free event is open to the public. For further information, contact Thorbourne at 631-351-2842 or email to kthorbourne@huntingtonny.gov.

The Huntington Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans to sponsor its Black History Program on Thursday, Feb. 20. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the South Huntington Public Library, 145 Pidgeon Hill Rd., Huntington Station.

The keynote speaker will be dentist Johnasina Cummings, of Cummings Family Dentistry of Huntington and a clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook University.

For more information, contact chapter president Betty J. Miller at 631-421-2433.

— DEBORAH S. MORRIS

BROOKHAVEN: Vote on $11.2M bond issue for landfill set

The Brookhaven Town Board on Tuesday is expected to vote on a $11.2 million bond resolution to pay for improvements to the 270-foot high Yaphank landfill.

The improvements are for the seventh and eighth phases of cell 6, roughly 100 acres of land used to dump ash, town officials said.

New alarms, relocating a manhole and creating a linear system, which creates a barrier between waste and the environment, will also be improved, town officials said. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. at Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville.

The landfill, which normally brings in more than $40 million in revenue for the town, is expected to reach capacity in roughly a dozen years. — DEON HAMPTON

EAST NORTHPORT: Island Harvest to conduct food drive

A “Super Bowl” food drive is being held on Saturday in East Northport.

The drive is sponsored by Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) and Island Harvest, one of Long Island’s largest distributors of emergency food assistance.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., nonperishable food items will be collected at Super Stop & Shop, located at 3126 Jericho Tpke. The food will be distributed to area food pantries.

Based in Mineola, Island Harvest’s volunteers and staff collect surplus food from hundreds of local restaurants, caterers, farms and other food-related businesses. The organization states that they distribute the food to nearly 570 soup kitchens, food pantries and other places. According to a study the group conducted with Long Island Cares in 2010, about 64,900 people on Long Island receive emergency food assistance in any given week. — DENISE M. BONILLA