Times of Middle Country

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Suffolk County Police today arrested a Centereach man for the murder of Henry Hernandez, then 16, of Riverhead, whose remains were found in Centereach in March of 2020.

 Following an investigation, Homicide Squad detectives arrested John Mann Jr., 19, of Centereach, and charged him with Murder 2nd Degree. He will be lodged at the Yaphank Correctional Facility and is scheduled to be arraigned June 13 at the Supreme Court in Riverhead.

 Below is the original release and initial update.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

***UPDATE***

Suffolk County Homicide Squad detectives believe the deceased was a victim of violence. He was described as 5 feet 3 inches tall to 5 feet 5 inches tall, wearing size 4 ½ mens sneakers. He is believed to be dead for approximately one year prior to finding the body.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Below is the original release.

 Incident:         Human Remains Found in Centereach

Location:        75 Jay Road, Centereach

Date/Time:     Sunday, March 15, 2020 at approximately 5:25 p.m.

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating human remains discovered in Centereach this evening.

Suffolk County Police responded to 75 Jay Road at approximately 5:25 p.m. after a 911 caller reported skeletal remains had been found behind a home.

The remains were taken to the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner to be examined.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.

This past weekend, the Port Jefferson-based Chapter 319 of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, also known as AHEPA, held its inaugural car show fundraiser in the parking lot of the Greek Orthodox Church of Assumption on Saturday, June 4.

George Kallas, vice president of Chapter 319, discussed the history of the organization. “Back in the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was persecuting Greeks in [the state of] Georgia,” he said. “They were intimidating the citizens not to go to the Greek diners and they were burning crosses on Greek lawns. A couple of Greeks got together, they went to Washington, D.C., they petitioned the president, they formed AHEPA, they were authorized to carry arms, they went back to Georgia and they pushed back against the Ku Klux Klan.” He added, “The whole idea was to help the Greeks assimilate into American culture and become American citizens.”

Michael Iasilli, a Greek Orthodox resident of Brookhaven whose father helped put this event together, spoke of the important contributions the chapter has made in bringing the community together and raising funds for people in need. 

“AHEPA is a believer in Hellenism, and there are a lot of social justice aspects that are a part of their mission,” he said.

Since its inception, AHEPA has stood for volunteering, community engagement, furthering education and philanthropy. In the Port Jefferson community, AHEPA hosts several regular events, including a fishing trip, New Year’s dinners at Pax Christi Hospitality Center and now a car show.

“The proceeds from this event will go to the church and will go to Ukraine,” Kallas said. Describing the car show, he added, “This is the first time we’re doing it. We want to do it on a regular basis, but we’re just feeling it out right now. It seems to be a success so far.”

— Photos by Raymond Janis

Photo from Facebook

A growing divide has emerged between the people of the North Shore and the Long Island Rail Road, and it is time for the local community to bridge this gap.

In board rooms and public meetings throughout this area, local officials today express similar frustrations about their various dealings with this public railroad company.

On Monday night, Port Jefferson Village trustee Bruce Miller described the complications that arose during a recent meeting with LIRR reps as neither party could agree on a common path forward. A day later, Brookhaven and state officials traveled to Stony Brook train station, echoing the decades-old call for the electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch line.

Local elected officials are most familiar and best equipped to handle the plights of their constituents. Yet in communities throughout this area, our leaders are meeting resistance with LIRR, whose leadership changes too often. While LIRR rightly devotes much of its energies to the more heavily traveled Ronkonkoma Branch, the residents of the North Shore pay taxes and have an interest in this company, too. 

LIRR officials should be aware of the frequency of riders who travel inland to the main line in the center of the Island. This suggests residents here are rejecting the railways in their own backyard for a longer drive to the train station — albeit a faster and more direct  commute into Manhattan. The unintended consequences of this are greater congestion on our roadways and more pollution generated by cars. This burdensome commute impairs our quality of life, costing us more energy and placing unnecessary strain on our physical and mental health.

For decades, the people of this area have asked LIRR to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch. Today, as the cost of diesel fuel surges exponentially due to inflation, this transition is more necessary than ever before. Despite the preponderance of evidence that electrification will reduce air and noise pollution, that it will cut costs for the railroad and the taxpayer, and that it will deliver a better ride for the people of this community, electrification has been nothing more than a pipedream.

There is no better time than right now to electrify the line. With a flood of infrastructure stimulus cash from the federal government, the opportunity is ripe for the taking. We must thank our representatives who are fighting to secure a better ride and remind them to keep applying the pressure. 

At some point, LIRR must soon give in and when it does, it will be for the better.

The second in a two-part series, this article highlights the strain COVID-19 has placed on a mental health care system that was already resource-constrained. Mental health care workers, from social workers to psychologists, psychiatrists and emergency medical teams, have responded to the increasing need for their services, cutting back on vacation times and dealing with patients who threaten violence against themselves and others. During the pandemic, health care workers who focused on the emotional well-being of patients also sought balance in their own lives. To borrow from the TV show “Law & Order,” these are their stories.

For some, running half marathons, spending time with family, meditating and communing with nature helps. For others, staying connected and reaching out to the kinds of services they themselves provide also offsets the growing strains in their work.

Health care workers have shouldered the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years, reaching out well beyond their job description to help patients amid a period of intense uncertainty that threatened their physical and emotional health.

The cost to health care workers, including those who work in behavioral or mental health, has been considerable, as time at the hospital and speaking with patients remotely cut into their personal lives and threatened their own sense of balance.

“It was very difficult to be a doctor through the storms of COVID,” said Dr. Stacy Eagle, director of Psychiatry at Port Jefferson-based St. Charles Hospital. Health care workers had to “deal with a lot of mental health issues” during the last few years.

Indeed, hospitals throughout the area offered varying levels of support while their staff were on-site, including meditation rooms and aroma therapy. They also suggested personal health checks and provided on-call services for employees who might be struggling amid concerns about their health and the well-being of family members and their patients.

While the general public has tried to push COVID into the back of their minds, attending sporting events and movies, going to restaurants and returning to patterns and activities that are reminiscent of life in 2019, health care workers have increasingly needed mental health support.

Employee Assistance

Over the last several months, Stony Brook University, which has an Employee Assistance Program, has seen a rise in the number of staff reaching out for help.

During the pandemic, Stony Brook launched an employee helpline for those who need mental health support, including psychotherapy and/or medication management. Compared to last year, Stony Brook is seeing a two-folded increase, or triple, the number of employees reaching out for services, according to Dr. Adam Gonzalez, director of Behavioral Health and associate professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at Stony University Renaissance School of Medicine.

“There are high concerns about employee burnout, resignations and departures from health care,” Gonzalez wrote in an email. “Most concerning is the risk for suicide — the ultimate consequence of burnout.”

Stony Brook has an employee support team that implements wellness initiatives, including daily mindfulness meditation sessions, yoga and stretching, and confidential one-on-one support by a faculty and staff care team and employee assistance program.

Dr. Poonamdeep Gill, director of the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program at Stony Brook Hospital, said the mental health team is “seeing more patients who are sicker from a mental health standpoint. People are really struggling. It does take a toll on you.”

Gill said Stony Brook is proactive with staff, making sure they can access services. The university also encourages staff to check in with their leadership team if they are feeling burned out or struggling.

Dr. Michel Khlat, director of St. Catherine of Siena in Smithtown, said he has seen some of the same health care fatigue that has beset hospitals and other health care facilities throughout the country.

“Staff members have gotten overwhelmed with the volumes,” Khlat said. “Some are altering their occupations to see more outpatients. Some are reverting to part-time and per diem work.” He has had a few friends in Florida who are seeing the same phenomenon, with health care workers quitting or cutting back on hospital time and going into private practices.

Bounce forward

The Northwell Health System has been working on the support of all health care workers, including in mental health, said Dr. Vera Feuer, associate vice president in School Mental Health. Northwell has adopted a stress first aid response, peer support, and a resilience model to recover from stress and trauma.

The military developed stress first aid to deal with situations like the pandemic, in which there is ongoing stress with an uncertain ending. That, Feuer said, differs from a single event, like 9/11, where something traumatic occurs and survivors build back from it.

The pandemic has involved over two years of continuous stress and this feeling of uncertainty, she added.

Stress first aid teaches people to support each other in resilience and to “bounce forward,” Feuer said. “It is difficult to maintain in a busy, stressful environment.”

Finding balance

Doctors suggested they engaged in a wide range of activities to help with their own mental health.

A believer in the value of nutraceuticals and supplements, Dr. Jeffrey Wheeler, the director of the Emergency Room at St. Charles Hospital said he also works on focused breathing.

Eagle, his colleague at St. Charles, urges people to pursue some of their hobbies, such as reading or painting. She also recommends staying off of or limiting social media, particularly for younger children who might find the information and the reaction to postings unnerving.

Stony Brook’s Gill believes in physical activity and exercise. She ran a half marathon a few weeks ago on Long Island.

“I make sure I stay active,” she said. “We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of other people.”

Stony Brook’s Gonzalez stays closely connected to family, friends and work colleagues.

“I also try to stay active and explore nature,” Gonzalez said. “I regularly practice mindfulness [which is] tuning into the present moment in a nonjudgmental way.”

Gonzalez enjoys a good TV show or movie to disconnect and unwind as well.

Northwell’s Feuer said she’s worked harder than she ever had, but, at the same time, she feels fulfilled by the hope and meaning in her work.

For Feuer, the silver lining is the attention to mental health, which “we know has been a problem for a long time. I’m hoping the right resources and interventions” will help those who need it.

To read the first of this two-part series, “Mental health strain for Long Islanders,” visit tbrnewsmedia.com.

Wedding. Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

We’re finally here.

These poor couples have had to wait for days, months and years to tie the knot in front of family and friends. It’s such a relief that we can all gather again, celebrating the love that binds two people forever and that may, if it hasn’t already, lead to children.

It seems that the list of dos and don’ts for weddings has changed, just as so many other parts of modern reality have altered the way we go about our lives.

Here are a few of the dos and don’ts, starting with the don’ts.

— Cough. Ever. If you have to cough, swallow it or make it sound like a strange laugh. No one wants to hear a cough, least of all at a wedding. Go outside to cough. Cough in the car. Cough into your hand like you’re saying something private and being discrete. Go to the edge of the parking lot and cough.

— Chew with your mouth open. No one wants to see the food you’re eating, especially not in the third year of COVID-19.

  Point to the food and say how much better you could make it. Look, we know that you’ve lost a step on your social graces from being home so often. We know that you’ve spent a great deal of time cooking meals to your satisfaction. We know that you are a great admirer of your own food, your own voice, and your own way of doing things. Appreciate that someone else has made the food and will clean it up and that they do things differently than you do. You can have food you know you love as soon as you walk back into your fortress of solitude.

— Talk about politics. You’re not going to convince anyone who doesn’t agree with you already of your views. So, why bring it up? This isn’t the time to try to make a reasoned argument with relatives who only share genes and nothing else. Smile if they bring something up you find disagreeable.

— Complain about the weather. The bride, groom and the extended family have no control over the weather. If it’s too hot, get a drink. If it’s too cold, shift back and forth from one foot to the other or bring a sweater. The weather is either perfect, dramatic, lovely or dynamic.

— Talk about your own wedding. If people were there, they remember. If not, they don’t need you to compare what’s going on to what you did. Your wedding may have been lovely, but you’re not there right now.

— Point to someone else’s mask and ask them why they’re wearing it. Do whatever is comfortable for you. Don’t tell anyone else what to do because, well, that doesn’t work and it gets people angry. They do their thing, you do yours.

— Binge watch shows while you’re waiting for the ceremony to start. Yes, the invitation said the party would start at 7 p.m. and it’s now 7:18 p.m. So what? You’re there to celebrate other people and to witness this lovely moment. Netflix and other shows can wait. Live your life.

— Show pictures of your pet. Many of us added dogs, cats and fish, particularly during the pandemic.

Okay, so, here is a short list of dos:

— Give other people a chance to talk. Silence, periodically, is okay. You don’t need to fill every quiet moment, if there are any, with your opinions, thoughts and experiences.

— Ask someone to dance who seems eager for a partner. Grab your mother-in-law, your brother-in-law, or your something-in-law by the hand, lead him or her to the floor, smile, and appreciate the chance to dance.

— Remember that you won’t have to see many of these people until the next blessed event, whenever that is.

— Thank the bride, groom and their families for a lovely event. Even if you hated it, you’ve got some good stories to share and you gave your wonderful pets a short break from you.

Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Medical scientists released fantastic news Sunday that made me think of my father and weep. In a small trial of 18 patients with rectal cancer, who took a particular drug, the cancer totally vanished. My dad died of rectal cancer in 1975.

Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr of Memorial Sloan Cancer Center was an author of the paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine explaining the results, according to The New York Times. He said he knew of no other study in which a treatment completely obliterated a cancer in every patient.

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” the NYT quotes Diaz as saying. The trial was sponsored by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline. My dad and all these other patients faced chemotherapy, radiation and surgery with possible colostomy bags as treatment for their cancer. Unlike my dad, with the benefit of the new drug, dostarlimab, 47 years later, they all seem to be cured, although only time will tell. So far, it has been three years. And none of the patients had “clinically significant complications.” The medicine was taken every three weeks for six months and cost $11,000 per dose.

“It unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them,” according to the NYT.

I guess we are thinking of our dads this month in particular since Father’s Day is coming quickly, and we need a gift for the occasion. This incredible breakthrough seems like the ultimate present for any fathers suffering from this disease, and of course for anyone else, too. But it has come too late for my adored dad.

My father, born in 1904, came to the City from the family’s Catskill dairy farm when he was 13. One of 9 children, “the middle child,” he would like to distinguish himself by saying he was sent off by his father to build his life since he was now considered an adult. He liked to tell us stories about his total ignorance of urban life.

A favorite concerned the boarding house in which he first rented a room. It was in a brownstone a block away from where his next older brother lived in Brooklyn. He had only shortly before arrived, had dutifully sat down to write a letter home explaining his new circumstances and had gone out as instructed by his landlady to mail the letter in the mailbox on the corner. Deed done, he turned around to return, only to discover that each building looked the same. He had no idea which held his room. Ultimately someone came out to find him.

He quickly found a job delivering packages to various parts of the city. But that proved a puzzle. He had a map and was able to figure out his destination for each delivery. He rode the buses so as not to lose his sense of navigation. But he could not understand why one time the bus would go where he wanted but other times would turn off and head in a different direction. So to be sure of winding up where he needed to go, he ran. He ran all over the city until he was fired. He was deemed to be too slow.

Another early instance of having arrived in an alien world happened when he followed his brother into a tiny room in a tall building. Surprised when the doors slid closed behind, he could feel the floor drop beneath his feet. Bending into a crouch, he prepared to cushion the shock of the landing when he realized the others in the space were staring at him. He was in his first encounter with an elevator.

Of course, he was the constant victim of teasing in the next office in which he worked. He still remembered when the office manager gave him a folder to bring to the stationery store down the block. Wise now, he retorted, “I’m surprised you would try to trick me, Miss Murphy. I know every store is stationary.”

My dad went on to become a successful businessman in Manhattan. But that’s a story for a different day.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. speaks at the 2019 Sandy Hook Promise Gala. Photo from Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office

By Donna Deedy

People are calling for reform after the recent onslaught of mass shootings that included an elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 young children and two teachers were gunned down in their classroom with an automatic assault rifle.

“We’re seeing an absolute epidemic and the loss and slaughter of innocence and it has to stop,” said New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-Setauket). Corporate greed, he said, has mixed into a movement that has become very confused. “People are identifying with weapons.”

Englebright pointed out Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) response to the latest school tragedy. According to a June 6 press release, she “signed a landmark legislative package to immediately strengthen the state’s gun laws, close critical loopholes exposed by shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde and protect New Yorkers from the scourge of gun violence.”

What exactly can a person do to reverse the gun violence epidemic that is plaguing the nation?  

The nonprofit group Sandy Hook Promise has outlined a comprehensive response to that very question. Founded by some of the parents whose first graders were murdered in their Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, the group has taken a holistic approach to the situation and they say they are leading out of love. Their programs combine community awareness and mental health research with effective prevention strategies, while separately advocating for sensible, bipartisan gun safety policies. 

“Take your heartache, your fear, your anger and sadness, and channel them into action,” said Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden, co-founders and CEOs of Sandy Hook Promise, who each lost a son in the Newtown tragedy. “We must take action today and every day until this epidemic of violence ends.”

So far, more than 14 million people and 23,000 schools nationwide have participated in Sandy Hook Promise programs, according to their website, which has led to 115,000 anonymous tips and reportedly resulted in 321 confirmed lives saved with crisis interventions.

Here in Suffolk County, Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) launched Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs initiative in 2018, his first year in office. 

“After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, I made school safety a priority for the Sheriff’s Office,” Toulon said.

Over the last few years, county officers have trained more than 30,000 students, teachers and staff with Sandy Hook’s methods. Miller Place, East Islip, Central Islip, Lindenhurst and Bridgehampton are a few school districts that have participated in the program.

Toulon said he’s proud to have partnered with the Sandy Hook foundation and encourages more people to participate in its lifesaving movement. 

“Now, more than ever, programs like Sandy Hook Promise are needed as school threats are on the rise,” he said.

TBR News Media reached out to few school districts in our circulation area for comments on their programs. Through their public relations firm, Smithtown Central School District preferred not participate in the story but it posts position papers on mental health and social and emotional learning on the district’s website. Three Village said it is not affiliated with Sandy Hook Promise. We did not receive a response to follow-up questions about their programs before press deadlines. 

Sandy Hook Promise encourages anyone interested in pursuing community support for its programs to become a “promise leader” by registering on its website. 

Here’s a brief overview of Sandy Hook Promise programs:

There are four distinct programs developed by educators with expertise in curriculum development. All of it is accessible in person or online via Sandy Hook Promise’s Learning Center at no cost. Their award-winning programs include lesson plans, activities, games and discussion guides. Anyone who registers on the group’s website, www.sandyhookpromise.org, can access the charity’s free digital library that includes training sessions. The Start with Hello and Say Something programs both fall under the umbrella of the organization’s Know the Signs program. 

Start with Hello 

Start with Hello teaches children and youth how to minimize social isolation and empathize with others to create a more socially inclusive and connected culture. That lesson is explained in three steps: 1. See someone alone; 2. Reach out and help; 3. Start with Hello. 

Say Something

Experts say that people who are at risk of hurting themselves or others often show warning signs before they carry out an act of violence. Sandy Hook Promises trains middle school and high school students to spot these signs and do something about it. This program also follows a three-step approach: 1. Recognize the signs of someone at risk, especially on social media; 2. Act immediately and take it seriously; 3. Learn how to intervene by telling a trusted adult or by using the program’s anonymous reporting system. 

Say Something Anonymous Reporting System

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System can be used when students see classmates who are at risk of harming themselves or others. It requires additional training for school district personnel and local law enforcement. It is reportedly the only anonymous reporting system in the U.S. that offers training along with a mobile app, a website and a hotline — exclusively for schools. 

The charity also runs its National Crisis Center that operates 24/7, 365 days a year. Experienced crisis counselors trained in suicide prevention, crisis management and mental health support respond to the tips. 

So far more than 120 school districts participate in this program, along with the states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. A webform is available for schools and agencies interested in registering for access to this system. 

SAVE Promise Club

Students interested in starting a club or leading a committee within an existing club receive, at no cost, tools from Sandy Hook Promise, so they can plan activities that promote kindness and inclusiveness to instill the value of looking out for one another in their community. The club, called Students Against Violence Everywhere, is supported by a contract with U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe & Supportive Schools and can be accessed from the government’s website:  safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/resources. The initiative reinforces the key messages of the Start with Hello and Say Something programs.  

Gun safety policies

The mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children. It advocates what it calls sensible, bipartisan gun safety policies to support that goal. They’ve created a sister organization, called an action fund, that works to pass legislation that advances school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention issues. 

“We believe in protecting the second amendment,” said Aimee Thunberg, Sandy Hook Promise’s media contact. “But we support policies that promote safe gun ownership to keep our children and communities safe.”

The group supports the bipartisan background check legislation that recently passed in the House of Representatives, but still needs Senate attention. The organization also supports extreme risk protection orders, or red-flag laws, that allows family and law enforcement to seek the court’s help to temporarily separate people in crisis from firearms. New York State’s red-flag law was implemented in August 2019 with roughly 160 weapons seized in Suffolk County, more than any other county in the state.  The organization also advocates bans on assault-style weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines to prevent more mass shootings.

Anyone who wants to, can get involved to help the Sandy Hook mission. In addition to programs for parents, students, teachers and other youth organizations, Sandy Hook Promise welcomes volunteers to help showcase their programs at community events to build better awareness. 

Otherwise, in response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Sandy Hook Promise has compiled a list of very specific things people can do to help end gun violence. It’s available at www.sandyhookpromise.org/blog/gun-violence/what-you-can-do-right-now-to-help-end-gun-violence. 

“Our key message is that gun violence is preventable, and we have actions that every individual can take in their family, community, schools and with politicians,” said Nicole Hockley in a recent blog post.  “Don’t back away. Be part of the solution.”

TBR News Media asks readers who have participated in Sandy Hook Promise programs to email us at [email protected] and let us know about your experience.

File photo

Even as the newer omicron subvariant of COVID-19 continues to spread throughout Long Island, hospitalizations and infections have been lower.

Hospitalizations, which had risen to 490 in mid-May from about 130 in early April, have been “slowly declining for the past week or two,” according to Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Service.

Area health care professionals suggested that the severity of symptoms also had eased up.

“COVID hospitalization rates are lower than in prior COVID waves,” Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of infection control at Huntington Hospital, explained in an email. Most of the patients have mild to moderate illnesses, although Huntington Hospital still does have some severe cases and/or a COVID-related death.

The average number of positive tests per 100,000 people in Suffolk County has declined from recent peaks. As of June 3, the 7-day average number of positive PCR and rapid tests per 100,000 people was 33, which is down from 52 on May 27 and 67.7 on May 20, according to New York State Department of Health data.

“If anything, Suffolk County rates are dropping,” said Dr. Michel Khlat, chief medical officer at St. Catherine of Siena in Smithtown. “We’re seeing a drop in inpatient cases.”

Many of the cases St. Catherine is finding are incidental, as the hospital tests for the virus in connection with other procedures.

At this point, the newer subvariant of omicron, called BA 2.12.1, accounted for 78.1% of the positive samples collected between May 22 and May 28 in New York, which is up from 593% in the prior two weeks, according to figures from the New York State Department of Health.

“Preliminary data suggest that Omicron may cause more mild disease, although some people may still have severe disease, need hospitalization, and could die from the infection with this variant,” Pigott added in an email.

Khlat suggested that hospitals aren’t tracking the type of variant. Even if they did, it wouldn’t alter the way they treated patients.

“It doesn’t make a difference” whether someone has one or another subtype of omicron, Khlat said. The treatment is identical.

Area doctors and medical care professionals continue to recommend that residents over 50 receive a second booster, particularly if they are immunocompromised or have other health complications.

“People over 50 should get the booster — it decreases the severity of COVID,” explained Popp.

Like much of the rest of the country, some Long Islanders have also contracted COVID more than once. The reinfection rate per 100,000 is currently 7.3%, according to New York State Department of Health figures.

“We are certainly seeing symptomatic COVID infections in persons who report having COVID at the beginning of this year or last year,” Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of the Healthcare Epidemiology Department at Stony Brook Medicine, explained in an email. 

Popp explained that natural immunity from a COVID infection generally lasts about two to three months. Vaccine-related immunity generally lasts twice that duration, for about four to six months.

Doctors continue to urge caution during larger, poorly-ventilated indoor gatherings.

“Close crowds without masks, in an indoor setting with poor air flow, would be one version of a scenario with potential super-spreader potential,” Donelan explained.

Donelan said Stony Brook encouraged staff and patients to consider receiving boosters when they are eligible.

Popp believes wearing masks indoors while in a large gathering is a “reasonable” measure. That includes theaters, airplanes, buses and trains.

At Huntington Hospital, meetings continue to take place online.

“We decided as an organization that the risk of transmission is high enough to continue these measures,” Popp wrote. “We cannot afford to lose team members to COVID since it can negatively impact our operation.”

State and local elected officials joined Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine at the Stony Brook Train Station June 7. Photo by Rita J. Egan

During the late morning hours of June 7, people gathered at the Stony Brook train station but not to board a train. They were there to call out the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road for not getting on board with modernizing the Port Jefferson Branch line.

Steve Englebright at podium. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) asked state and local officials to join him at a press conference at the station to urge the MTA and the LIRR to extend electrification on the Port Jefferson Branch. In addition to the elected officials in attendance, civic, chamber, business and environmental leaders were also on hand to show their support.

Many in attendance have vocalized the need for years, including during a December 2019 press conference at the train station. However, plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

East of Huntington the 24 miles or so of railroad tracks are not electrified, and the LIRR uses dual-mode trains that can switch from electric to diesel.

Those in attendance addressed concerns such as air pollution from the diesel trains and traffic congestion from residents driving south to take trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch. They also said electrification would benefit the area, including efficient experiences for passengers, more business drawn to the area, increased enrollment at Stony Brook University and real estate values increasing. 

Romaine said the Port Jeff Branch was the busiest line of the LIRR. He called diesel fuel “some of the most polluting fuel that we have.” He added that Suffolk County and Brookhaven “have been shortchanged by the MTA.”

He said that with the passage of President Joe Biden’s (D) $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill and more than $10 billion estimated to go to the MTA, it was time for Suffolk County residents to see improvements on the railroad

“That is supposed to help rebuild our infrastructure,” the supervisor said. “We’re asking for a 20th-century technology — electrification. Diesel is a 19th-century technology. We haven’t even asked for 21st-century technology.”

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) also called for infrastructure money to be spent in the area. Regarding North Shore residents traveling to stations along the Ronkonkoma Branch, he said everyone needed to come together to ensure that those in the area could drive to a nearby station without changing trains to get to New York City. He added with a feasibility study that was started in the 1980s, the time had come for change.

“We need to make sure that we’re here for the commuters,” Mattera said. “Mass transit is so important for our future, and MTA shortchanges us all the time.”

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said when the Climate Leadership and Community Protection legislation was passed on the state level in 2019, it included the call for electrification across all sectors — transportation, residential, commercial and more. He said the same year the legislation passed, the MTA purchased 55 diesel engines.

“Maybe they haven’t figured it out yet but diesels are, as the supervisor indicated, antique technology, and we need to move toward technology that doesn’t pollute the air,” Englebright said.

State Sen. Mario Mattera. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) said that the diesel engines not only are harmful to air quality, but also when they arrive at a station the vibration can be felt in nearby neighborhoods. Kornreich said there are people in Port Jefferson Station who “have to listen to the sound of diesel throbbing all night.”

Mitch Pally, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute and a former MTA board member, called on the state Climate Action Council to mandate the MTA to have responsibility in electrifying train lines across Long Island.

“Only in that way will the mass transit system that we have not only transport our people, but do it in an environmentally sensitive manner,” Pally said.

Anthony Figliola, who is running in the Republican primary for Congressional District 1, said after the press conference he was encouraged by the bipartisan support. He added that Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) is also supportive of electrification.

Figliola and Charlie Lefkowitz, president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, were part of the North Shore Business Alliance formed in 2017 that worked on a feasibility study for electrification of the branch.  The MTA included $4 million in their five-year 2015-19 capital plan to pay for a feasibility study on electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch

Figliola said if elected to Congress he will be committed “to helping fund this critical economic development and environmental project.”

“The next step is for the MTA to complete the study,” he said. “My hope is the MTA will think twice before spending any additional dollars on more diesel trains.”

File photo by Rita J. Egan

Last week, students nationwide walked out of their schools to stand up against gun violence and to demand stricter gun laws, including young people in the TBR News Media coverage areas.

It’s crucial for students to know that we journalists walk with you. We may not always be there physically, but we are always there in spirit. As community watchdogs, it is our duty to help educate people on what’s going on in their towns, and to let those in charge know that we are watching them too.

Parents, teachers, administrators and lawmakers must understand that young people are terrified by the headlines of the lastest mass shootings at schools. Our youth are being targeted, as our grownups stand by without solutions.

Yes, many school districts along the North Shore have several security measures in place. Visitors are often required to ring a buzzer before entering a front door, where an attendant will buzz them in. Once inside the main entrance, they cannot walk through the school without showing ID first. Often, a security guard or hall monitor will escort them to wherever they may be going.

While we applaud district administrators who have taken extra precaution to secure their buildings, protecting the lives of children and teachers goes beyond locked-door policies.

To prevent mass shootings — such as those in Uvalde, Texas; Sandy Hook, Connecticut; and Parkland, Florida — it is time for our nation to stop avoiding the deeper conversations about gun reform. The horrifying headlines we see every day will not disappear until there are real changes. 

If a parent visiting a school to see their son or daughter receive an award is required to go through a few steps just to walk through a school, then someone buying a gun of any kind needs to go through several measures. The procedures in place are simply not enough.

We know that there are some in this country hellbent on committing senseless harm who yearn to leave a mark on this world by depriving it of what is good and pure. Our nation needs stricter gun control laws so that these deranged individuals can be denied the opportunity to be remembered for the carnage they inflict upon humanity. 

The fight against gun violence goes even deeper than stricter laws, though. The battle begins with making mental health services available to everyone who needs them, including our youngest citizens. Children should always know that there is someone to talk to and help them navigate whatever they are going through in life.

Sometimes one’s journey in life may feel like a deep, dark tunnel. It’s up to parents, journalists, educators, administrators and elected officials to show our young people that there is always a light at the end of any tunnel.

Most of all, students need to know that the adults in their communities are there for them. We encourage students to attend board of ed meetings and to step up and speak out. We also invite our young readers to write in and let us know how they feel about the current gun laws, school safety and whatever else may be on their minds.

We are here for you.