A young man was getting out of his car on Saturday morning when he was hit in the head by a man with a gun in what police are calling a robbery.
The Suffolk County Police Department is looking for three male assailants after the incident outside the 7-Eleven on Broadway in Greenlawn, shortly after midnight.
It began when the 21-year-old victim was getting out of his car in the convenience store parking lot, police said. Three men approached him, one displaying a handgun. That gun-wielding suspect struck the 21-year-old in the head, but he fled without handing over any of his belongings and called 911.
Police did not give further details on the exchange between the victim and the attackers, but called the incident a robbery.
All three assailants were wearing dark clothing, police said. One was described as a thin, dark-skinned black man in his late teens, standing about 5 feet 7 inches. Another was described as being about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds and wearing a mask.
Detectives from the SCPD’s 2nd Squad are investigating the incident. Anyone with information i asked to call them at 631-854-8252 or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS.
A teen was killed when his car overturned in the woods on William Floyd Parkway early on Saturday.
The Suffolk County Police Department said the Shoreham 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after a police officer observed his 2005 Suzuki overturned in the northbound media near Whiskey Road at 5:45 a.m.
There were no other cars involved in the crash that killed the teen, identified as Kevin Callejas, according to police.
Detectives from the 7th Squad are investigating and impounded the Suzuki for a safety check.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call the squad at 631-852-8752.
Participants from a previous Relay For Life at the high school take a lap. Photo from Alyssa Patrone
The fight to raise money and awareness for cancer research reaches far and wide, and on June 4, Northport High School’s track and football field will host nearly 900 people dedicated to doing their part to eradicate the disease.
Northport High School has held Relay for Life events since 2009, making the one this year its eighth annual. The popular American Cancer Society fundraiser starts with teams raising money from local businesses and individuals to be donated for the cause. During the event, which can last up to 24 hours, at least one participant from each team circles a track, usually at schools or parks, at all times as a reminder that cancer never sleeps. Campsites are set up for each team and laps during the relay are dedicated to various survivors and those who died of the illness.
Alyssa Patrone, the American Cancer Society representative overseeing Northport’s event, said Northport participants have raised more than $121,000 so far this year, bringing the total raised in eight years to about $1.3 million.
“There are so many incredible events that happen in our community, but Relay For Life really gives the Northport-East Northport community a place to gather and rally behind those who have been affected by cancer,” Patrone, a Northport resident herself, said in an email. “The volunteers that work to put the event together make sure that the Northport-East Northport community knows that if you’ve ever been touched by cancer in any way, we are here for you. At the event there really is a feeling of hope in the air that’s almost tangible. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s something truly special.”
Currently Deborah Kelly is listed as the top fundraiser on Northport’s page on the Relay for Life website, with more than $6,000 for her team “Steps for Christine.” Kelly’s page on the website says she is participating in the relay for “my sister and all the people who are battling this terrible disease.”
Ashleigh Basel of “Team Rainbow” has raised more than $4,000 for the cause. She also explained why she’s participating in the event on her Relay for Life page.
“I know there are a lot of worthy causes to support, but I think participating in an event that helps save lives from cancer is about as worthy as it gets,” she wrote.
The American Cancer Society has invested more than $4.3 billion in cancer research since 1964, according to its website. The organization estimates that in 2016 more than 1.6 million new cancer diagnosis will occur, and nearly 600,000 people will die.
For more information about Relay for Life or to make a donation, visit www.relayforlife.org.
A scene from this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in Kings Park. Photo by Mark D’Angio
The parade may be over, but the Kings Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has been keeping busy, working on the preparations for its 2017 Grand Marshal Ball and 2017 St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Within three weeks of the 2016 parade, one of the largest on Long Island, committee members were reviewing various phases of the 2016 parade. The first order of business was to select a grand marshal. In an unprecedented move, the McWilliams Sisters — Cathy Donnelly, Barbara Griffin and Marge Stajk — were named to lead the 2017 St. Patrick’s Parade.
This honor is believed to be unique, as three siblings were named grand marshals, the organizers said.
The McWilliams sisters were selected based on their Irish heritage, community spirit, and personal demeanor. Their parents, Edward and Margaret McWilliams, moved from County Carlow, Ireland, settling in Kings Park, where the parents opened the Park Diner in 1944. The family consisted of three sisters, Catherine, Barbara, and Margaret, and three brothers, Edward, Joseph, and Ronald.
The sisters attended St. Joseph’s School until the 8th grade, graduated from Kings Park High School, and raised their families in Kings Park. The parade committee noted that each sister donated time and efforts toward various charitable endeavors, especially as members of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 3.
The Grand Marshal Ball will be held at Flowerfields, on Friday, November 18. The event will consist of the presentation of the “McWilliams Sisters,” Irish music and dance, raffles, and live band. The Kings Park St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017.
The committee thanked Kevin “The Professor” Denis for his extraordinary efforts as its chairman. As one of the Parade’s founders, he excelled at raising the necessary funding for the parade, which features more than 20 bagpipe bands, fire departments, floats, and organizations. During the past six years, the Kings Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade has become one of the largest parades on Long Island. Denis will continue to aid the committee. Kevin Johnston was named the committee’s new chairman.
People at an anti-drug forum stay afterward to learn how to use the anti-overdose medication Narcan. Above, someone practices spraying into a dummy’s nostrils. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Residents from all Brookhaven communites are welcomed and encouraged to attend Brookhaven Town Youth Bureau’s free substance abuse awareness and opioid overdose prevention program training class, provided by Suffolk County EMS, on June 7 at Brookhaven Town Hall.
The training will discuss what an opioid overdose is, the signs and symptoms that will help identify an overdose, what to do until EMS arrives, and how to administer nasal Narcan to reverse an overdose.
Substance abose treatment information resources will be available from 5:30-6:30 p.m., and Narcan training will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Brookhaven Town Hall is located at 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville. Call 631-451-8011 for more information or to RSVP by May 27.
Wildcats will look to redeem last-season loss to Sayville on June 1 at Stony Brook Unviersity
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Shoreham-Wading River's Chris Gray makes his way to the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue's Richie Lacalandra shoots the ball through traffic. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue's Trevor Kennedy maintains possession while a Shoreham-Wading River defender checks him to try to force a turnover. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue teammates celebrate the early lead. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River's Kevin Cutinella squeezes between Comsewogue defenders to take a shot on goal. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue's Jake MacGregor sends the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue's Will Snelders shoots and scores between two defenders. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River's Chris Gray passes the ball down the field. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue's Will Snelders and Richie Lacalandra celebrate Snelders' goal. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River's Jon Constantraces around the back of the goal and shoots. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River's Kevin Cutinella shoots and scores the game-winning goal. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River fans storm the field to celebrate with their semifinal-winning team. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Fans rushed onto the Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field to celebrate with the victors on Thursday, and as the students piled up on top of the No. 2-seeded Shoreham-Wading River boys’ lacrosse team, the Wildcats felt the rush of the 8-4 comeback win they took part in that is sending them into the Class B finals.
For Kevin Cutinella, the win was meaningful in more ways than one.
“Since it was on our home field — the Tom Cutinella Memorial Field — it’s significant,” he said. “It feels good.”
The junior midfielder, younger brother of the student-athlete who died following a head-on collision in a football game in late 2014, had scored the game-winning goal in the Class B quarterfinals against Eastport-South Manor with 1:49 left in regulation. This time, he also scored what would be the game-winning goal against Comsewogue High School, when he received a feed with an open look on the left side of the cage, and sent the ball into the netting to get the Wildcats past the round that held them back last season.
“It felt good,” he said of the goal as his face lit up. “You can’t think up things like that. I put myself in the right spot at the right time and executed.”
Cutinella also fired the first shot of the game, which went off the post with 2:58 left in the first quarter. Comsewogue came prepared though, knowing their opponent’s plays and blocking key players to keep them distant. Senior Warrior goalkeeper Jake MacGregor made it that much more difficult for the Wildcats, blocking all attempts in the quarter.
Shoreham-Wading River junior attack Chris Gray finally found a way to score when he swiveled around the back of the cage and dumped the ball into the top right corner. But Comsewogue junior Will Snelders had a quick response, whipping a diagonal strike in from 20 yards out, as the Warriors were running into trouble getting close to the crease.
“We need to work hard — whistle to whistle. They’re not going to back down; they’re going to fight.”
Shoreham-Wading River senior midfielder Jason Curran received a pass on a fast break and beat out MacGregor for a 2-1 advantage, but Comsewogue responded when senior midfielder Trevor Kennedy rocketed a shot from 15 yards away to tie it up.
The Warriors try to pull away from there. With 3:14 left in the half, Snelders took the ball from behind the cage and scored and, with eight seconds left, sophomore Richie Lacalandra found an open shot off a feed from senior midfielder and attack Brandon O’Donoghue for a 4-2 halftime lead.
The Warriors defense was holding down the fort and the offense was connecting on turnovers and finding its groove. But head coach Pete Mitchell told his team at halftime that he knew the win wasn’t going to be that easy.
“Take advantage of the tendencies we see in film,” he said. “We need to work hard — whistle to whistle. They’re not going to back down; they’re going to fight.”
And fight they did.
Shoreham-Wading River head coach Mike Taylor said the Warriors did something his team wasn’t prepared for — locking in Curran. So the team made adjustments to work around the blocks.
Gray scored to pull the team within one less than two minutes into the third, and although MacGregor made a save, so did Shoreham-Wading River senior goalkeeper Jimmy Puckey, who ended up shutting out the Comsewogue offense in the second half.
“We settled down and started playing as a team, and when we start playing like a team no one can stop us,” Puckey said. “I felt good once I had the first few stops under my belt. I had a rough one in the second quarter but then the defense and I locked it down the rest of the game.”
Junior attack Jon Constant tied it up a minute and a half into the fourth quarter, and with 4:44 left on the clock was when Cutinella scored the game winner.
“When we start playing like a team no one can stop us.”
“We tried to force it too early and just paced ourselves in the second half,” Cutinella said. “Patience is key.”
Shoreham-Wading River junior Joe Miller winning a majority of the faceoffs was also key to the team’s comeback, but what Taylor credits above all is how far the team has come since its overtime loss in the semifinals last year, after an undefeated season.
“Most of the kids had never played varsity before and they didn’t have any playoff experience, so they got into that game and the pressure got to them,” he said. “They’re acting like savvy veterans now, so when the pressure was on, they didn’t feel it. They kept it together and got back in the game. I think the loss last year was painful, but it’s probably part of why we are where we are today.”
Now, the Wildcats are ready for redemption.
Shoreham-Wading River will take on the No. 4 Sayville, which upset No. 1 Bayport-Blue Point, on June 1 at Stony Brook University at 3 p.m.
“I believe in every one of us,” Cutinella said. “This is our year.”
Above, the Stony Brook Village Center in the 1940s. Photo from the WMHO
By Ellen Barcel
It’s been 75 years since the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (originally the Stony Brook Community Fund), under the direction of philanthropist Ward Melville, constructed the Stony Brook Village Center. It was planned as a “living Williamsburg” recognizing the historic importance of the village “where culture would blend with natural beauty as a part of everyday life — the first planned business center in the U.S.”
Ward Melville in front of the Stony Brook Post Office in the 1970s. Photo from WMHO
Interestingly, the selection of Stony Brook as the site for this center came about by accident. The Melville family was on its way to the South Fork when, taking the wrong train, they found themselves in Stony Brook. “[Frank and Jenny] fell in love with the area,” noted Stephanie Ruales, special events coordinator at the WMHO. They vacationed in the area and finally, son Ward Melville planned the Stony Brook Village Center.
The WMHO has mounted a special exhibit, “It Takes A Team To Build A Village,” which will run now through Sept. 7, to display the memorabilia associated with the history of the center.“We started to look for a couple of pictures and found so much,” said Gloria Rocchio, president of the WMHO and exhibit curator.
“What’s very interesting to me, what I didn’t know, was that Jenny Melville [Ward Melville’s mother] was Canadian and that she bought up property here in the early 1930s, the Depression. When she died, Ward Melville picked up the gauntlet. She was the one who started the garden club — the tea house (later becoming the Three Village Inn) at the old homestead,” said Rocchio.
Co-curated by Ruales and Rocchio with help from Karen Kennedy, the exhibit consists of dozens of enlargements of historic photos, showing the village before, during and after the construction as well as the original blueprints for the village center and letters documenting the purchase of the land. In addition, there’s the original model of the proposed village center used by Melville to present the proposal to the village back in 1940. The exhibit also includes some items from the 1940s, representative of the time.
Just a year later, July of 1941, the new village center was completed. Over the years, various businesses have come and gone, including a four-lane bowling alley in the basement of one of the buildings. In the early 1940s, the automatic pin setting machine didn’t exist, so pinsetters, usually young men, stayed down by the pins, ready to reset them after each bowler’s turn.
The old Hallock Homestead which is now the Three Village Inn. Photo from WMHO
When searching out the historic photos and documents, Ruales noted that they found an eight-millimeter film of the grand opening of the center, “something we didn’t know that we had. We had it converted” to a DVD and it is running on a loop at the exhibit.
One of the unique features of the village center is the mechanical eagle on top of the Stony Brook Post Office, which flaps its wings every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Noted Marie Gilberti, communications manager at WMHO, Ward Melville himself, “planned and instituted,” the eagle.
But, the eagle was installed for a few years, with its wings flapping up and down, when Melville decided he didn’t like the way it looked. The eagle was taken down and reconfigured, so that the wings flap back and forth now.
Melville also had the Dogwood Hollow Amphitheater constructed opposite the bank in Stony Brook. Concerts were held there through the 1950s and 60s. “Big name” entertainers performed at the concert, noted Rocchio. They included Liberace, Ferrante and Teicher, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger, Victor Borge, the Clancy Brothers and Lionel Hampton. “Mr. Melville paid for it himself,” Gilberti added. But, unfortunately, the concerts outgrew the venue and were stopped in 1970.
The mechanical eagle on the Stony Brook Post Office still flaps its wings every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Today, live concerts are still held, but in front of the post office, sponsored by the WMHO. “We’re going to have a concert from each decade this summer,” said Rocchio. She noted that a history of Dogwood Hollow will be on display at the Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., in a building (originally the fire house) owned by the WMHO.
The Jazz Loft will be a center for music education. It is open through Saturday, May 28, from noon to 5 p.m. Beginning June 2, it will be open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For details, events and performers, go to www.thejazzloft.org. Beginning in September, Swing Dance Long Island is schedule to hold its dances there.
According to Ruales, the whole idea for the exhibit came from Rocchio. “She was in charge of the exhibit.” It was her idea “to celebrate [the anniversary] and … for people to come and see the history,” of the area.
The name for the exhibit, “It Takes A Team To Build A Village,” came about because “we are honoring a lot of people who were involved in constructing the center. It’s a huge village center,” added Gilberti.
Ward Melville, left, with Governor W. Averell Harriman and his wife enjoy a Dogwood Hollow concert. Photo from the WMHO
Future events connected with the 75th anniversary include a ceremony on July 9 recreating the 25th anniversary celebration. “We’re going to have antique cars from each decade in the village,” said Rocchio. A talk by her is also planned for the future. “There are so many things I’ve been taught by Mrs. Melville [Dorothy Melville, Ward’s wife] that no one knows. I worked for her for 10 years. She was the president” of the WMHO. “I was the Administrator at that time.” Rocchio added that putting together the exhibit and various events connected with it “has been a labor of love.”
The exhibit is currently on display at WMHO’s Educational and Cultural Center, 97P Main Street, Stony Brook through June 19 (Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and June 20 through Sept. 7 (daily, 10 a.m. through 5 p.m.) — closed Memorial Day and July 4. There is no admission charge, but donations are suggested. For further information, call 631-689-5888 or visit www.wmho.org.
A photo captures construction underway at the Stony Brook Village Center in 1940. Photo from the WMHO
Paul Lasinski, center, smiles with Harborfields High School Athletic Director John Valente, left, and Principal Rory Manning. Photo from Hansen Lee
Paul Lasinski of Greenlawn has been an athletic trainer and health teacher at Harborfields for nearly 20 years, and in less than two weeks he will walk the halls and fields of the high school for the last time as he prepares to retire.
It was about 18 years ago when Lasinski, or “Ski” as he’s known at school, took the position of athletic trainer. Ever since then, he has been a mainstay of the HF athletic program.
“I try to treat the student-athletes like I would want my child to be treated,” Lasinski said in an interview. “The kids here at Harborfields are really great. If you treat the students well and they know that you’re there for them, they know you’re giving your all for them, then a bond will come.”
Lasinski said he will be moving to South Carolina soon, and his replacement has already started training. Rachel Jersky, currently the athletic trainer at Bayport-Blue Point High School, will take over from him.
Lasinski’s history • Hofstra athletic trainer in 1976, when men’s hoops first went to NCAA tournament
• Two sons graduated from HHS
• Was athletic trainer at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy • Has been at Harborfields since ’97
“Not having Paul roam the sidelines in his infamous trainer’s cart, or watch him tapes hundreds of ankles throughout the year, will be difficult to get used to,” said John Valente, Harborfields director of health, physical education, athletics, medical and nurse services. “[He] has left his mark on so many that he can never be replaced for who he is and what he has represented to the Harborfields Central School District.”
Lasinski said his favorite moments over the course of his HF career have been the times when he worked closely with the students. He said he was not looking forward to saying goodbye.
“The last week is going to be so difficult for me,” he said. “Being around the kids … and watching them play was such a highlight for me.”
He said one of his favorite memories was when the boys’ basketball team won the New York State championship in 2012. Lasinski was on the bus coming home with the team from Glens Falls when he said members of fire departments in the town reached out to him because they wanted to orchestrate a welcome home ceremony for the boys. He let the head coach know, and they decided to keep it a secret from the boys to surprise them.
“When we pulled around the corner … and the boys saw the sirens and the American flags, it was mayhem. That was a special moment,” he said.
Valente said it’s no secret the athletic director shares a bond with many student athletes.
“Behind this talented professional is a man revered by students, staff, parents and the entire community,” he said in an email. “Paul … gives of himself freely. He has been known to travel to athletes’ homes to check on an injury or provide care. It has always been inspiring and touching to witness the interaction that Paul has with the student athletes. They genuinely love Ski.”
Lucas Woodhouse, point guard of the 2012 team and now a key member of the Stony Brook University basketball roster, said Lasinski was an important piece of the group.
“[He] played a huge part in our team’s success over the years,” Woodhouse said. “He was great to be around, so much that people would go to just hang with him and talk about anything. It was great to have him be a major part of the team every year.”
The Greenlawn resident said he has enjoyed his time as a health teacher and said the most important part of teaching high schoolers is maintaining an open conversation, whether the topic is drugs, nutrition or sexual activity.
“You have to talk about it [with the students],” he said. “You really have to tell them what’s going on and make them aware of the choices they could make and how they affect them.”
Lasinski drives his golf cart around the grounds at Harborfields. Photo from Hansen Lee
As an athletic trainer, Lasinski would be looking over nearly 300 student athletes each day during the busier sports seasons.
“Thank God they don’t all get injured at once,” Lasinski joked.
He said a Saturday in the fall could have him working up to 12 hours, between soccer games in the morning and then football games in the later afternoon.
“You need to have a good wife,” he said of his wife Bonnie, who was a support system when he would work extra hours at the school. “She spent a lot of Saturdays without me, but she knows it’s what I love. This is what I do best. This keeps me young.”
And his efforts did not go unnoticed across the district. Valente said Lasinski has gone above and beyond his work responsibilities throughout his years of service.
“Paul works many hours and never looks at his watch,” he said. “It is not uncommon for him to be treating students as early as 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and then work over 10 hours throughout the day being at all of the contests.”
Dedication service in memory of Sergeant Harry Golden and Private Raymond Wishart on the Setauket Village Green, Sept. 1,1919. Rev. T. J. Elms, pastor of Setauket Presbyterian Church, delivered the address. Photo from Beverly Tyler
By Beverly C. Tyler
The celebration of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first called, began when the first proclamation for a day to decorate the graves of Union soldiers killed in the Civil War was made on May 5, 1868 by General John A. Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
He declared, “It is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept from year to year.”
May 30 was chosen as the day, “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country during the late rebellion.” In 1873 New York State recognized Memorial Day as an official holiday and many other states followed during the next few decades.
In the Three Villages, Memorial Day is observed with ceremonies, first in Stony Brook and then in Setauket.
In Stony Brook, a plaque first dedicated on July 6, 1946 states, “This tablet is erected and dedicated, as an abiding memorial and as a token of the affectionate esteem of grateful citizens, to those gallant young men and women of the Stony Brook community who, in obedience to their country’s call, courageously offered their lives in World War I and World War II to maintain the American principles of liberty and justice.”
The large rock on the Setauket Village Green was added in 1919 to honor the men who died in the First World War. A plaque to honor the men who died in World War II was added in 1946. A new plaque honors the young man, Chris Brunn, who died in Vietnam in 1969. The soldiers honored here were from families who immigrated to Setauket from England, Scotland, Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Ireland, Germany, France and Italy.
Two men from the local area gave their lives in World War I, Raymond Wishart and Harry Golden. The massive boulder and south-facing bronze tablet were erected on the Setauket Village Green in their memory. The boulder was brought from Strong’s Neck and the plaque was designed by the well-known artist William DeLeftwich Dodge who painted the murals on New York history that are in the state capital in Albany.
Private Raymond Wishart, son of Postmaster and Mrs. Andrew Wishart, was born September 10, 1893, and he died in France on August 23, 1918. His remains were returned to this country and were buried in the Caroline Church of Brookhaven graveyard on a Sunday in July 1921.
Harry Golden is remembered by his nephew Sam Golden. “He was a Sergeant in charge of the mules, “ Sam recalled. “His unit was attacked and he was killed. He was 28 years old when he died and he’s buried there in France.”
On the opposite side of the rock is a plaque that was placed there after World War II. It reads, “1941-1945 – In memory of Clifford J. Darling, Henry P. Eichacker, Francis S. Hawkins, David Douglas Hunter, Orlando B. Lyons, Anthony R. Matusky, Edward A. Pfeiffer, [and] William E. Weston of the United States Armed Forces who gave their lives in World War II.”
The graves of these soldiers, who served during the two World Wars, are marked by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054. The grave of Francis S. Hawkins, Tech. Sgt., 853 AAF Bomb Squadron, is also in the Caroline Church of Brookhaven graveyard, near the stone of Raymond Wishart, and it details his service. “The son of Everett Hawkins, the last miller in Setauket, and Celia Swezey was born in Setauket on June 18, 1911. He volunteered in the U.S. Army Air Force Sept. 24, 1942.
On Nov. 25, 1944 he gave his life to his country while on his 28th bombing mission over enemy lines, when his plane “The Moose” was shot down over Hanover and crashed near Gehrden, Germany.”
The graves of patriots who served in the Revolutionary War are not forgotten, either. There are thirty Patriot graves in the Three Village area that have been identified and marked with flags, including Anna Smith Nancy Strong, her husband Selah Strong and Culper Spy chief Abraham Woodhull. The graves are in eight separate graveyards, some of which are family burial grounds.
After ceremonies on the Setauket Village Green, units of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, fire departments and other community organizations parade each year to the Memorial Park in East Setauket for the final services of the day. The brief tribute honoring those who served, and especially those who died in the service of their country, is an experience that should be observed and renewed each year.
Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.
A man was violently robbed and thrown out of a moving car earlier this month, and police have recently arrested three suspects in the case.
While at a bar on Hawkins Avenue in Ronkonkoma on May 6, three men allegedly offered a ride to the victim shortly before 4 a.m., the Suffolk County Police Department said.
They headed north into Lake Grove but during the ride, police said, the trio punched and choked the man, then stole his jewelry, wallet, cell phone and cash before throwing him out of the moving car.
The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.
A few weeks later, detectives arrested three local men in connection with the crime, on three separate days: 36-year-old Jason Mikalauskas, of Lake Grove, on May 23; 21-year-old Michael Masterson, of Centereach, on May 24; and 23-year-old Dominic Dentici, of Ronkonkoma, on May 26.
All three were charged with second-degree robbery, and Mikalauskas is facing additional charges of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was also arrested on an active warrant, police said.
Attorney information for Mikalauskas and Dentici was not available on the New York State court system’s online database. Masterson was listed as representing himself and could not be reached for comment.
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