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Update Shoreham teen hurt in car crash passes away June 14

by Kyle Barr - June 14, 2019

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A post on a Gofundme page set up by Joseph Dwyer has confirmed Melissa Marchese, 18, of Shoreham died due to her injuries June 14.

“With a heavy heart, deep sorrow and tremendous regret, I write to inform you that Melissa Marchese has gone to be with the Lord,” Dwyer wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Melissa and the Marchese family. Thank you all for your generous donations during this time of unthinkable sadness and utter despair. God Bless.”

The Gofundme page raised nearly $20,000 from 294 people in six hours.

*Original story

A Shoreham teen was seriously injured in a crash at the corner of Route 25A and Miller Avenue the evening of June 13.

Suffolk County Police said Evan Flannery, of Shoreham, was driving a 2007 Hyundai Elantra southbound on Miller Avenue and was turning left into Route 25A when his car was struck by a 2006 Honda Accord, being driven westbound on Route 25A by Michael Troiano, of Ridge, at approximately 6:50 p.m.

A passenger in the Hyundai, Melissa Marchese, 18, of Shoreham, was airlifted via Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries. Flannery, 17, and another passenger in the Hyundai, Caroline Tyburski, 18, of Shoreham, were transported to St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson with non-life-threatening injuries. Troiano, 34, was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead with non-life-threatening injuries.

Marchese has been known as a standout softball player in SWR, having been recognized as All-League in the Scholar-Athlete Team in March and is committed to the University of Hartford for softball.

The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District said they have canceled all high school final exams for June 14 and released the following statement:

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the impacted students and their families. The district’s mental health team will be available in the high school library for student support today.”

A Gofundme for Marchese and her family can be found here.

The vehicles were impounded for safety checks. Anyone with information about this crash is asked by police to call the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.

SWR high school senior seriously injured in car crash in Shoreham

by Kyle Barr - June 14, 2019

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20190613_201635 — A crash in Shoreham left several injured. Photo from Kevin Wood

A Shoreham teen was seriously injured in a crash at the corner of Route 25A and Miller Avenue the evening of June 13.

Shoreham-Wading River senior Melissa Marchese During an April 22 Softball game. Photo by Bill Landon

Marchese has been known as a standout softball player in SWR, having been recognized as All-League in the Scholar-Athlete Team in March and is committed to the University of Hartford for softball.

The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District said they have cancelled all high school final exams for June 14 and released the following statement:

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the impacted students and their families. The district’s mental health team will be available in the high school library for student support today.”

A Gofundme for Marchese and her family can be found here.

The vehicles were impounded for safety checks. Anyone with information about this crash were asked by police to call the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.

This post has been updated with a statement from the SWR school district.

Longtime constable in PJ village retires to fanfare and salutes

by Kyle Barr - June 13, 2019

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Lawrence Santangelo, right wipes a tear from his eye as his fellow constables bid farewell. Photo by Kyle Barr

Lawrence Santangelo, 65, has been with the Port Jefferson Code Enforcement for 18 1/2 years, and to the men and women who worked with him over that time, he has been a force of kindness and good.

Lawrence Santangelo bids farewell to his fellows in the department. Photo by Kyle Barr

“He’s the most benevolent guy,” said Sergeant Anthony Tucci of the Port Jeff constabulary.

“He’s a philanthropic type of person. The type of guy to send flowers to a person if they’re sick.”

On June 7, the constables gathered at the rear Village Hall steps to send off their respected compatriot into retirement with salutes and the sound of bagpipes.

Santangelo is also the district manager for the Sayville Fire District, the department he’s been with for close to 25 years. In addition, he’s been a senior court officer since 2002, and said he has developed a strong friendship with the judges of the court.

He was a mentor to a number of younger officers in the constabulary, and when he came down the steps of Village Hall, he shook the hands of each officer in turn, from the longest serving to the youngest member.

The longtime code enforcement officer came into the village having already known several of the people from working together in the Town of Brookhaven.

Members of the Port Jefferson Code Enforcement and Mayor Margot Garant, back blue shirt. Photo by Kyle Barr

“I loved it here — I still do,” he said. “I worked with great people.”

He came to the village in 2001, and in 2004 became a sergeant. At the end of 2018, he was promoted to lieutenant.

Now Santangelo is soon moving to Anthem, Arizona, where he plans to enjoy retirement in the sun with his family.

“I’m looking forward to retirement, but it’s a strange feeling that on Monday I don’t have to go to work,” he said.

Shoreham village looks to expand coverage for RP Fire District

by Kyle Barr - June 10, 2019

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Shoreham-Village-Hall-3_Barrw — Village of Shoreham Town Hall is located at 80 Woodville Road. Photo by Kyle Barr

The Village of Shoreham is looking to put themselves under the protective umbrella of the nearby fire department.

While the village currently contracts with the Rocky Point Fire District, village officials have requested home rule applications to extend the fire district boundaries to encompass the tiny North Shore municipality. It might seem like a minor change but expanding the district boundaries to include the .5-square-mile village could take months of work getting the state to agree to the extension.

Rocky Point Fire District boundaries currently do not include the Village of Shoreham. Image from from Long Island Index Maps

For more than a decade, Shoreham village has contracted out to the Rocky Point Fire District for their fire and emergency service needs, according to Rocky Point Fire District manager Ed Brooks.

Neither a representative of Shoreham village nor the village attorney, the Riverhead-based Anthony Tohill, responded to multiple requests for comment.

If the district boundaries are expanded, the cost will instead come out of village residents’ taxes paid to the district. Brooks said the cost shouldn’t be much different for village residents either monetarily or in the coverage by the district.

“We met with them, they sent us some literature and letters, we had a meeting, we advised our attorney, we have given our consent to make the application,” Brooks said.

Village officials requested that the Town of Brookhaven send a home rule request to the New York State legislature to extend the fire district’s boundaries, which was approved unanimously at Brookhaven’s May 23 meeting. A copy of the letter for the request was forwarded to State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk).

The expansion of the district boundaries requires home rule requests by both Shoreham village and the Town of Brookhaven to New York State, requesting special legislation to expand. The process could take months.

“By extending the boundaries, the state gets involved, there’s legislation — it’s a long process,” said town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point).

The Village of Old Field started the same process at the tail end of 2016 to bring in the Setauket Fire District. By July of 2017 the town hosted a public hearing and approved the extension. The fire district taxes were on residents’ bills by December of that year.

Rocky Point Fire District attorney, the Port Jefferson-based Bill Glass, who represents the fire district, said this change would have virtually no difference to the district, adding it would also have little to no difference in the amount the village pays for emergency services.

“When these contracts were designed, they were designed that [village residents] would pay as much as if they were paying for it through their taxes,” Glass said.

Port Jefferson Station Family Dollar robbed in early May

by Kyle Barr - June 7, 2019

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PoliceCar3w — Suffolk County police car. File photo

Security footage of man who allegedly robbed PJS Family Dollar. Photo from SCPD

An employee of a PJS Family Dollar was assaulted and the store robbed early this May.

A man assaulted an employee of Family Dollar, located at 526 Jefferson Plaza, May 2 at approximately 10:40 a.m. The man fled with a cash register drawer that contained approximately $200.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 800-220-TIPS (8477) or texting “SCPD” and your message to “CRIMES” (274637). All calls and text messages will be kept confidential.

Police: Miller Place vehicles damaged by two men

by Kyle Barr - June 7, 2019

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Suffolk County Police are looking to identify and locate two people who allegedly damaged vehicles in Miller Place.

A total of four vehicles parked at two different houses on Miller Place Road were damaged sometime overnight between May 23 and 24. Three tires and two windows were damaged on a 2013 Jeep Wrangler and three tires were damaged on a 2016 Dodge Ram at one home while two tires were damaged on both a 2010 Subaru Forester and a 2008 Toyota RAV4 at another home.

Carnival worker allegedly inappropriately touched girl in Lake Grove

by Kyle Barr - June 6, 2019

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Crime-Scene-cop-car-police-w — File photo

Mugshot of Louis Shelton. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Police have arrested the operator of a carousel ride for allegedly inappropriately touching a child on a ride at the Smith Haven Mall.

Police said a 7-year-old girl was riding on the carousel at the Dreamland Amusements carnival at the Smith Haven Mall June 5 at around 7 p.m. when she was allegedly inappropriately touched by the operator, Louis Shelton.

Special Victims Section detectives charged Shelton, 50, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, charged with sexual abuse 1st Degree and endangering the welfare of child. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip June 6.

Detectives are asking anyone with information or who believes they may be a victim to call the Special Victim’s Section at 631-852-6184.

Northport man struck by lightning during June 2 thunderstorm

by Donna Deedy - June 3, 2019

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Lightening-2 — Photo from National Oceananic and Atmospheric Administration.

A Northport man was struck by lightning in front of his home at 10:48 p.m. June 2 during a heavy thunderstorm.

Northport fire department officials said Jonathan Borriello, 29, went out to his front porch to get a better view of the thunderstorm and realized the U.S. flag was still being displayed. He took the flag down and placed it on the porch. He remained on the porch and a moment later, a tree about 11 feet away, was struck by a bolt of lightning. The bolt ricocheted and struck him on the left shoulder and arm, and he was thrown about twenty feet.

The Northport Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene. Police on the scene observed burn marks to the victim’s hands and he complained of tingling in his legs. According to Northport Fire Department Chief John Jacobsen, the victim was transported to Huntington Hospital via Northport Fire Rescue with non-life threating injuries. He was treated and released from the hospital.

Jonathan later stated that at the moment the bolt struck, there was an incredible white light and crashing sound, and then he was on the ground. He also reported that there are embers on the porch where he was standing.

The Northport Police would like to remind everyone that thunderstorms can be very dangerous and that you should remain inside a secure structure until the storm has passed.

PJS firefighter recognized for saving Selden man from heart attack

by David Luces - May 31, 2019

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Firefighter Cliff Lesmeister greets Selden resident Bob Short for the second time at SBU Hospital. Photo by David Luces

“It means everything that he was there — he knew,” Bob Short, a Selden resident said of Cliff Lesmeister, a Port Jefferson Station resident and New York City firefighter. The man had rushed to his aid after he crashed his car and stopped on a lawn in Selden and went into cardiac arrest Feb. 25.

Lesmeister and Olivia Hoerner were presented with a community award. Photo by David Luces

Four months later, Short and Lesmeister reunited for the first time since the incident at Stony Brook University Hospital May 28. The 28-year veteran of the FDNY and Olivia Hoerner, an EMT from the Selden fire department, were presented with the Stony Brook University Heart Institute’s HeartSaver Community Award.

Lesmeister was off-duty and was parked on the other side of the road taking a phone call when he witnessed Short’s car crash. He and a bystander ran across a street, called 911, broke the car window to rescue Bob and started performing CPR. In a short time, the Selden EMS/fire department responded, and Bob was taken to the Heart Institute. After 15 days of treatment, which included a protected percutaneous coronary intervention procedure, Short was released March 12.

When asked if he remembered anything from that day. Short said he doesn’t remember a thing and when he regained consciousness his wife told him he had suffered a heart attack.

Lesmeister and Short’s wife Dawn embrace. Photo by David Luces

“Something was wrong — I had to act, and I was just happy I was there,” the FDNY firefighter stationed in Astoria said.

Short stated he didn’t know what he could say to the firefighter and said he didn’t know if he’s supposed to be here or not supposed to be here after all that has happened.

“You are supposed to be here,” Lesmeister reassured him.

Recipients of the HeartSaver Community Award are recognized for delivering exemplary cardiac care to the community at large by the Heart Institute’s Chest Pain Center and Door-to- Balloon Committee.

Police: two women allegedly break into PJ Marina

by Kyle Barr - May 30, 2019

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Suffolk County Police 6th Precinct officers are trying to identify and locate two people who allegedly entered a marina illegally and untied boats in Port Jefferson back in April.

Two women allegedly climbed over the fence at Port Jefferson Marina on West Broadway and untied two boats sometime between April 25 at 6 p.m. and April 26 at 7 a.m.