🌱Mineola Man's Bail Scam + Meat Loaf's 1978 Nassau Visit

Welcome back, Merrick! Here's everything you need to know to get this Saturday started off right.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and cold. High: 30 Low: 23.

Here are the top stories in Merrick today:

1. A man was arrested on Thursday for attempting to scam a Nassau County woman out of thousands. Police say that Joshua Estrella Gomez, age 28, of Mineola, claimed to be the grandson of an elderly woman, requesting money from her. Get the details at the Daily Voice.
2. Superstar musician Meat Loaf died on Thursday at the age of 74. Relive one of his epic concerts with the 'Live at Nassau Coliseum' recording and a reflective article from the Greater Long Island.
3. Sewanhaka High School's Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) group recently participated in the district competition and met with success. Read about the team and its wins at The Island Now.
4. And here are some more local high school students doing awesome stuff: The Calhoun High School track team recently claimed another championship, Jerry Barmash reports. It's the girls' team's fourth consecutive win, led by upperclassman Sara Manson. (Merrick Patch)
5. Get a look at the Weather Kids' latest visit to a local school over at NBC New York. This week, they visited Charles E Schwarting Elementary School in Massapequa. It was the program's 80th school visit, which included virtual visits throughout the pandemic.

Today in Merrick:

• Nature Snow Globes: Families are invited to the Environmental Education and Resiliency Center for an opportunity to gather natural art supplies to make into a winter nature snow globe. Reservations required. (1:30 PM - 3:00 PM)
• Saturday Nights @ United Skates: Roll on over to Seaford for some active fun. (5:00 PM - 7:30 PM or 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM)
• Cipha Sounds: Head to The Brokerage in Bellmore to hear from a multi-talented performer. Ages 16+. $22. (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Check out Merrick Library's collection of art from a recent program: "Families had a lot of fun creating and competing in the Ugly Art War competition at the library earlier this week." (Facebook)
• Mark your calendars! Registration for The Town of Hempstead's Aquatics Program is coming up soon. Peruse the course listings and get ready to register starting January 31 at 9:00 AM through February 1 at 10:00 PM. (Instagram)

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• Tremendous Office & Home Furniture Liquidation Warehouse Sale (January 22)
• Curbside Food Drive (January 22)
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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you soon!

— Ash DeMello