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TBR Staff

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TBR News Media covers everything happening on the North Shore of Suffolk County from Cold Spring Harbor to Wading River.

File photo
Jessly Diaz, 14, of Huntington Station has been reported missing. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Police have issued a Silver Alert for a missing Huntington Station woman who suffers from depression.

Jessly Diaz, 14, went missing from her home located at 7 Kingston Place  Feb. 16 at approximately 9 p.m. Diaz is Hispanic with brown hair and black eyes. Diaz is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs approximately 100 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white jacket with grey snowflakes.

Anyone with information on Diaz’s location is asked to call 911 or the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

As a reminder, Silver Alert is a program implemented in Suffolk County that allows local law enforcement to share information with media outlets about individuals with special needs who have been reported missing.

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The Port Jefferson Ice Festival Included a multitude of ice based activities, such as watching carvings by Richard Daly and ice skating. Photo by Julianne Mosher

Ice was looking very nice in Port Jefferson last weekend as the village hosted its first ever Ice Festival Feb. 8 and 9, bringing in a professional ice sculptor who made a marvel for nearly every business downtown.

Richard Daly, New York’s only certified master ice carver, came down for both days showing off his skill and artistry. Despite warm weather on Saturday, crowds streamed into the village to witness Daly in his craft, running a chainsaw over huge blocks of ice. Each business had its own individual sculpture, such as a giant burger in front of Gourmet Burgers Bistro and Baby Yoda in front of Prohibition Kitchen. Also, businesses were booked out in tickets for the Mac and Cheese Crawl, where people could sample the cheesy pasta samples from 18 separate businesses.

The event was sponsored by the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District.

All photos by Julianne Mosher

Open cast call

Simple Gift Productions will hold auditions for the well-loved children’s tale Alice in Wonderland at the Stony Brook Community Church, 216 Christian Ave., Stony Brook on Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All roles are open. This is a tuition-based program for kids/teens in grades 3 to 12. Rehearsals are Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with performances at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s Educational & Cultural Center in Stony Brook Village on April 18 and 19. For registration information and audition materials, email [email protected]. 

Suffolk County Legislator Tom Donnelly, pictured right, presents a county proclamation to Douglas E. Davidson, executive director of the Long Island Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo courtesy of Leg. Donnelly’s office

Suffolk Legislator Tom Donnelly recently joined Douglas E. Davidson, executive director of the Long Island Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and other dignitaries at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the organization’s new local headquarters, located at 300 Broad Hollow Road, Melville in his legislative district. The previous offices were further south on Broad Hollow Road, also in Melville.

Founded in 1980, and with chapters located throughout the country, the national Alzheimer’s Association is the “leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research with a mission to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.”

“As someone who has had a family member faced with this devastating disease, it was very moving for me to attend this ribbon-cutting dedication,” said Donnelly. “I welcome the LI Alzheimer’s Association to this new location and thank them for all they do to raise awareness, support research and provide assistance to families who are dealing with Alzheimer’s.”

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Photo courtesy of Northwell Health

Huntington Hospital has achieved a prestigious four-star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in its annual 2020 hospital rankings, its comprehensive quality measurement report released on Jan. 30.

CMS hospital rankings of more than 4,000 Medicare-certified facilities nationwide take into account over 50 performance measures that analyze health care outcomes such as readmission rates, patient experience, safety and quality of care. CMS’ hospital rankings are considered among the best hospital report cards to help inform where to receive medical care.

Huntington Hospital’s CMS rating follows its recognition as New York State’s highest-ranked community hospital by U.S. News & World Report in its 2019-20 Best Hospital list.

“From redesigning our Center for Mothers & Babies to include all private rooms for a better patient experience to consistently setting and meeting high benchmarks for health care quality, we at Huntington Hospital take our patients’ needs to heart as we thoughtfully provide them with world-class care,” said Dr. Nick Fitterman, executive director of Huntington Hospital. 

“We are always looking at ways to not only provide the necessary health care that our Suffolk County residents require, but to go above and beyond to give them the best medical care available,” he added.

Huntington Hospital nurses have received the highest nursing honor – Magnet designation – a Long Island record four times in a row.  The hospital’s orthopedics program has also been consistently been ranked by the Joint Commission with the gold seal of approval for its hip and knee replacements and was among the top 1 percent nationally in orthopedics, according to U.S. News. 

Huntington Hospital has also been designated as a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology and a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery by the Surgical Review Corporation.

For more information about Huntington Hospital, go to www.huntington.northwell.edu or call 631-351-2000.

 

Photo from Smithtown Library

On Jan. 13 the Passport Acceptance Facility at the Smithtown Library celebrated the execution of its 500th passport application. David Lawreniak of Smithtown was the lucky patron who made this appointment to apply for a new passport. Lawreniak received a travel gift basket as a token of appreciation for utilizing the service. 

The Passport Acceptance Facility opened its doors at the Main Building of the Smithtown Library at 1 North Country Road  in November of 2018. It is open to all patrons, regardless of library district by appointment only. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 631-360-2480, ext. 192 or email [email protected].

Pictured from left, Smithtown Library Assistant Director Patricia Thomson, Smithtown building head and passport acceptance agent Eileen Caulfield, passport acceptance agent William Salas, David Lawreniak, passport acceptance agent Christine Baum, passport acceptance agent Andrew Salomon and Smithtown Library Director Robert Lusak.

Northport Middle School closed after contamination concerns. File photo

A local U.S. senator is calling for a federal agency to assist in the toxic chemical investigation at Northport Middle School, which is closed for the remainder of the academic year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in a Feb. 3 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, Andrew Wheeler, urged the EPA to join local and state regulators in conducting an investigation of toxic chemicals at the school and near the campus, as well as in the Northport-East Northport school district.

“Our children’s and workers’ health is too important to risk, therefore I urge EPA perform a comprehensive site investigation and take whatever action necessary to address any contamination found,” Schumer wrote.

The decision to close the middle school came after an investigation by Bohemia-based PW Grosser Consulting Inc. — the district’s environmental firm — which revealed elevated levels of mercury vapor outside one of the classrooms. Tests also found elevated levels of benzene in soil samples from septic systems around the school.

The school’s closing has resulted in the district relocating 660 sixth- to eighth-graders to other buildings, according to Schumer.

The senator expressed other big concerns.

“Just under 3 miles down the road from Northport Middle School, a [New York State Department of Health] review revealed that there was a statistically significant higher rate of leukemia among the Northport High School’s graduating class of 2016,” he wrote. “Consequently, the NYSDOH has launched a wider investigation into cancer occurrences throughout the Northport-East Northport school district.”

In the letter, Schumer included information from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. According to the public health agency, the major health effects of long-term exposure to benzene include damage to bone marrow and a decrease in red blood cells. Schumer added that long-term exposure to benzene in the air has been shown to cause leukemia according to multiple health agencies, while the EPA has determined benzene to be carcinogenic to humans.

“In the case of Northport Middle School, mercury vapors are especially concerning as, in this form, the mercury more easily reaches the brain,” he wrote.

Schumer urged the EPA “to utilize all of its available authority, as well as its considerable technical expertise, to quickly investigate and address the possible contamination around Northport Middle School and within Northport-East Northport school district.”

Mom

MEET MOMOA!

This week’s shelter pet is Momoa, a 2½-year-old male domestic shorthair, currently at the Smithtown Animal Shelter. He originally came to the shelter as a stray in April of last year. He was quickly adopted due to his beautiful coat and sweet temperament. 

Unfortunately, he was brought back when he couldn’t get along with the owner’s dog. He would be best as the only pet in the household and a great fit for a family that has older children.

The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Walk-in hours are currently Monday to Friday,  8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sundays by appointment only. For more information, call 631-360-7575.