TWF 343: Hurricane Lee Isn't Quite Coming to Town

 Hello, friends,

This is a short update to let you know that Hurricane Lee is in the neighborhood, this weekend.

I've found Ryan Hall to be a pretty good meteorologist to listen to.  His prediction is that Hurricane Lee will pass Long Island to the east.  It'll push a lot of water our way.  I was listening to another meteorologist talking about how we aren't likely to get rain or super-heavy wind, but we will experience a pretty severe high tide that might, I suspect, flood parts of the south shore of Long Island.

That means South Freeport might flood, too.

Image courtesy of Accuweather

I was unable to find anything on the Freeport website or the Facebook page for the Office of Emergency Management about predicted impacts, so maybe it won't be that big a deal, but it's still worth being weather-wise.

Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author and part-time journalist who occasionally publishes The Weekly Freeporter when there's important news like hurricane information.  You can find his website here if you're interested in a fantastical adventure of some kind.

TWF 235: Another Winter Storm, Janus! And FHS Swim records, and parking meters, and more!

Hey there, Freeport,

So, with another big winter storm on the way, I'd like to take a minute to post some news updates, large and small!


The Headline:  Winter Storm Janus

What Hercules wasn't, Janus might be; still, let's remember the snow-storm advice TWF put out when Hercules came through...

 - Try to stock up on anything you need before the snow gets heavy.
 - Help your neighbors do the sidewalks if you can.  If possible, clear out a 3-feet circle around your nearby fire hydrants.  (via TJ Johnson.)
 - Avoid driving!  If you absolutely have to, drive carefully!  Go slowly, allow yourself lots of time to stop, do not make sharp turns, and have your lights on!
 - If the power goes out, be careful with candles!
 - Keep a cell phone handy; a battery-powered radio is a good idea, too.  If you need to report a non-life-threatening emergency, call the Nassau County line at 1-888-684-4274.  For medical emergencies ONLY, use 911.
 - Get your car off the road!  Park your cars in your driveway, if you can. (Via FFD member Robert Volpe).  Additionally, the Village has suspended all parking meters until Thursday - there's no excuse, Freeport.  Park your car off the road so the plows can get through!
 - Bring your pets inside!  If it's too cold for you, it's too cold for them!

 We're expecting about a foot of snow, this time around.  Be safe!

Image courtesy of The Weather Channel

I've received word that Freeport Public Schools will be closed tomorrow as a result of this storm.  All after-school activities have been cancelled, today.



Freeport High School swimmer Jon Ruiz-Soto breaks an FHS record!

Sadly, I wasn't even aware this swim meet was going on until I got there, and I missed getting accurate times!  However, Jon Ruiz-Soto, who I've written about previously, broke a long-standing record on January 10th.  The event was the 200-Yard Individual Medely relay (50 yards of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle, each, one after another).

The record was previous held by Kendall Smith, who holds many others for FHS Swimming.  The IM is arguably the second-most difficult race, just a touch less painful than my old stand-by, the 500-Yard Freestyle.


Freeport Parking Meters Suspended Until Summer

As you may recall, The Weekly Freeporter seized on reports about municipal parking meters being installed at the Nautical Mile and other places in Freeport.  Incensed business owners reacted as one might imagine; these new regulations had, in fact, damaged winter-time business.

In what is perhaps the most telling sign of the Kennedy administration's willingness to listen to business-owners and residents alike, at the Monday, January 13th Village Hall meeting, the recently-installed munimeters have been suspended until warmer weather reaches us.

This is still a far cry from the "Resident-Employee" system this publication has proposed, and some of the damage has already been done, but it's good to know that a willingness to re-examine bad policies has returned to Freeport.


The Weekly Freeporter is produced by Jesse Pohlman.  Jesse is a writer from Freeport, NY.  Click this link to check out his new webpage!

Thank you for reading!