Over the course of the last year, North Shore residents have gotten relaxed or forgetful when it comes to locking their car doors.
For example, Fred Leute, chief of Port Jefferson’s code enforcement, said that over the past month, village code has been receiving calls about people rummaging through open vehicles.
He said that right now, thanks to Ring camera footage, they have seen three separate people on camera trying to open car doors.
“They’re looking for loose change or cash,” he said. “They’re checking for open doors — not even looking inside.”
Leute said this can be prevented.
“Lock your doors,” he said. “Double check.”
And while the village experienced these incidents over the last few weeks, he said that this problem isn’t confined to just one area.
“We’re aware of what’s going on,” Leute said. “It’s happening all over.”
A spokesperson from the Suffolk County Police Department said several North Shore hamlets have reported thefts from motor vehicles. These numbers cannot verify if a car was unlocked or not.
From January 2021 until this Jan. 22, there have been 111 reported thefts from a motor vehicle in Old Field, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Rocky Point, Selden, Setauket and Stony Brook.
Old Field and Poquott had the least amount, with just two each in the fall, while Selden experienced 46 thefts — the most happening in July, August and December of last year.
Port Jefferson reported 10, 13 for Rocky Point, 17 for Setauket and 21 for Stony Brook.
These numbers also do not include thefts of parts from the vehicle like tires or catalytic converters.
But along with small thefts from inside easy-to-reach cars, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said during a recent press conference that eight cars were stolen across Suffolk County in one week — Dec. 19 through Dec. 23.
“Many victims of vehicle theft not only leave their cars unlocked, but they leave key fobs in plain sight, either on the passenger seat, the driver’s seat or in the cup holder,” Bellone said during the Dec. 23 Hauppauge press event. “This allows car thieves to easily enter the vehicle and take off.”
When foxes are spotted in a neighborhood, residents may wonder if the animal poses any danger to them or their dogs and cats or if they have rabies because they’re out in the daytime. However, experts say seeing foxes out during the day doesn’t necessarily indicate rabies.
Tod the fox is currently recuperating from mange at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown. Photo from Sweetbriar
“Generally, foxes are most active at night or during twilight, however they can be active at other times of day when food demands are higher such as needing to conduct additional foraging to feed young,” according to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials. “During the winter months, foxes may be more inclined to hunt during the day, so a sighting in daylight hours is often not an indication of a sick animal.”
The DEC added that foxes should be viewed at a distance while they are searching for their necessities.
“If foxes are being sighted near residential homes it is probably because some resource need is being met, i.e., shelter, such as under decks or sheds, access to food, where rodents or other natural forage are located.”
Janine Bendicksen, curator and director of wildlife rehabilitation for Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, said sometimes a person may see a fox circling. This is a result of people who feed them, which is not a good idea as they begin to depend on humans for food. Because of this dependency, when a fox sees a person, they begin circling in anticipation of being fed.
“The fox is definitely more afraid of you than you are of it,” she said. “Foxes have what they love to eat. They love to eat mice. They love moles, rats, and won’t necessarily go after your cat or dog. Could they? Absolutely. But chances are they’re going to be more afraid of the dog than it is of them.”
While people don’t have to worry about their dogs and cats if foxes are spotted, they do have to keep an eye on their chickens. Bendicksen said people who find that foxes get into their chicken cages need to house the birds in an enclosure that is completely fox proof because the animal can get to the chicken easily if there are any substantially sized holes.
Tod the fox was found outside someone’s back door. Photo from Sweetbriar
Fox population
Bendicksen said there hasn’t been an uptick in the fox population necessarily, but with more people at home during the pandemic, she believes more residents have noticed them than they did in the past. Even the number of calls they have received about injured wildlife, in general, have increased over the last couple of years, she said, as people are spending more time outdoors.
The fox population is a cyclical one. When it’s a good summer and they can get more than adequate amounts of food, she said, in turn, the animals have many pups.
However, this can result in overpopulation and the foxes get mites, which cause the contagious disease known as mange. The foxes can die from the disease. When another good summer comes along, the population can grow again.
“The population does go up and down based on food and based on the disease that keeps them in check,” Bendicksen said.
Recently, the nature center saved a fox with mange when a resident found him curled up outside their front door.
“He would not have survived the winter,” the wildlife director said. “We literally got him just in the nick of time. His hair just started to fall out. His eyes were just starting to shut. He would have died of secondary infections and starvation had he not come in.”
The fox, named Tod by the staff, will now spend the winter with the nature center and be released in the spring when he is “older and wiser,” according to Bendicksen.
Injured foxes
If a person sees an injured fox, they should contact an animal rescue such as Sweetbriar (631-979-6344, www.sweetbriarnc.org).
Bendicksen said foxes are difficult to catch, and they have to be extremely sick for a person to catch them. She pointed out that people rarely see foxes hit along the road because of their speed and other skills.
“The foxes are truly super intelligent, super shy, super careful, and so to catch a sick fox, they have to be in pretty bad shape,” she said.
The Stony Brook University men’s track and field team competed in the Great Dane Classic meet hosted by UAlbany on Jan. 29 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.
Senior Robert Becker and junior Shane Henderson led the way for the Seawolves earning first-place finishes in the mile and 5000 meter, respectively. Becker clocked in at 4:07.33 for the mile and Henderson crossed the line in 14:20.63 for the 5000 meter.
HIGHLIGHTS
Becker earned a first-place finish in the mile with a final time 4:07.33. Aiden Smyth and Conor Malanaphy followed closely behind in third and fourth place with final times of 4:10.19 and 4:10.98, respectively.
Henderson took first and set a new personal best in the 5000 meter crossing the line in 14:20.63. Carlos Santos finished closely behind in third-place with a final time of 14:26.36 also setting a new personal best.
Richmond Boateng earned a second-place finish and set a new personal best in the 400 meter clocking in at 48.54. Aleks Zdravkovic crossed the line in 49.66 earning an eighth-place finish.
Colin Ross finished in second-place and recorded a new personal best in the 3000 meter with a final time of 8:22.80. Ryan Dearie also set a new personal best with a time of 8:31.60 which was good for an 11th place finish.
NEXT UP
The Seawolves are back in action for the Boston University Scarlet & While Invite on Saturday, February 5 in Boston.
For the first time in her career, Stony Brook University senior guard Earlette Scott has been named the America East Player of the Week. Scott had a dominant two games as she helped Stony Brook to a 2-0 record on the week.
The senior averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Scott shot an efficient 47.4 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 100 percent from the stripe.
Scott filled the stat sheet for the Seawolves on Jan. 26 vs. the Catamounts. She finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and a team-high tying three steals. The guard shot 50.0 percent from the field and converted a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Her eight made free-throws were the most that she has made in a game while at Stony Brook.
In Jan. 28th’s win over New Hampshire, the guard led the scoring for the Seawolves, recording a team-high 15 points. She also finished with a team-high three made three-pointers and shot 5-of-11 from the field in her 29 minutes of play.
Earlette Scott takes control of the ball during last Friday's game.
Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
The Seawolves used a second half surge to down New Hampshire, 73-60, on Jan. 28. With the win, the Seawolves extended their winning streak to eight games in a row. The eight-game winning streak marks a season-high and the team’s longest winning streak since they won 22 consecutive games during the 2019-20 season.
After trailing, 29-28, at the halftime break, Stony Brook went on to outscore New Hampshire, 45-31, over the final 20 minutes of the game. Senior guard Earlette Scott led the Seawolves in scoring as she poured in 15 minutes en route to the win. The guard scored 10 of her 15 points and shot a near perfect 3-of-4 from the field in the second half as she fueled Stony Brook’s offensive attack.
Graduate forward India Pagan registered her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate forward Leighah-Amori Wool joined Scott and Pagan in double figures as she finished the game with 11 points.
Stony Brook’s lead grew to as large as 17 points with 1:00 minute to play in the game. The Seawolves shot an efficient 43.1 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from behind the arc. Stony Brook knocked down 10 threes, its most in a game this season.
The team returned to the court Feb. 2, when it traveled to Vestal, to take on Binghamton. Results were not available as of press time.
Jahlil Jenkins takes a shot during last Friday's game.
Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
The Stony Brook men’s basketball team (12-7, 5-2 America East) flew out of the gates on Jan. 28, building a 20-point advantage against New Hampshire, and were able to hold on 76-69 at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham.
Jahlil Jenkins finished the day with a team-high 20 points, while Anthony Roberts and Tyler Stephenson-Moore joined with 17 and 16, respectively.
After New Hampshire took a 6-4 lead, the Seawolves ripped off an 18-0 run, during which they made all six of their shots from the field and four from beyond the arc. At 22-6, Stony Brook slowly grew the advantage to 38-18 at the 2:55 mark of the period. They would take a 16-point advantage into the break.
The Wildcats were able to bring it as close as four in the second 20 minutes, with the Stony Brook advantage dwindling to 55-51 with 9:20 to go, but the Seawolves quickly responded with nine of the next 10 points to balloon the lead back to double figures.
Stony Brook cemented its position in second place in the America East, going into the weekend at 5-2 in league play.
“That’s an awesome road win for us. They were a team that was 7-0 at home and are a really physical squad we had to face on a short turnaround. We played at a really high level for the entire game. They made some runs in the second half, which good teams do, but we were able to keep a comfortable lead despite them playing really well in the second half. The runs had more to do with how well they were playing, I did not think we played poorly in the second half. Overall, it’s a really good win for us on the road,” said head coach Geno Ford
The team returned home for a SUNY battle with Binghamton on Feb. 2. Results were not available as of press time.
Through March 27, The Reboli Center for Art & History in Stony Brook will for the first time feature the photographs of the late artist Joseph Reboli and several well-known Long Island and New York based photographers including Donna Crinnian, Jeremy Dennis, Vanessa Fischer, Daniel Jones, Jacques LeBlanc, Timothy McCarthy, Jessica Neilson, Patricia Paladines, Matthew Raynor, Paul Scala, Leonid Shishov, Corinne Tousey, Marlene Weinstein, and Jo-Anne Wilson in a new exhibit is titled Through the Lens.
Photo by Jeremy Dennis
In conjunction with the exhibit, the History Room will feature a companion show focusing on the life and work of nature photographer, Howard Eskin, a patron of the arts and dear friend of Joseph Reboli, who also collected many of his paintings.Eskin concentrated on photographing nature, and many of his pictures were published by the Audubon Society. In addition, there will be a slideshow depicting the evolution of photography from when the first recorded photograph was taken in the early 1800s.
“Just as Joe’s paintings glowed with illuminous light, so do his photographs. Joe was not widely known for his photography, but he really enjoyed it and I am happy to share that side of him. I have known the Eskin family for a longtime, and am very proud to document Howard’s life and work as part of this new exhibit,” said Lois Reboli, a founder and president of the Reboli Center.
The Reboli Center is located at 64 Main Street in Stony Brook, and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 631-751-7707 or go to www.ReboliCenter.org.
At the end of World War I, Spanish Influenza caused the world to focus on the same kinds of measures that people have been using to protect themselves, including wearing masks and social distancing.
Back then, pharmaceutical companies couldn’t produce vaccines and boosters for the H1N1 flu virus which killed 50 million people worldwide, including 650,000 people in the United States.
A family and their cat during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918. Public domain photo
History professors at Stony Brook University described a decidedly different period over 100 years ago and the reaction by the American people to the public health crisis.
The armistice to end the war was signed in the middle of the pandemic, said Nancy Tomes, distinguished professor in the Department of History at Stony Brook University.
“Our noble dough boys were coming back after having saved Western Civilization,” Tomes said. There was no finger to point to blame someone for the coming hardship. The American public recognized that this was an “ailment our brave boys brought home. It’s your obligation to take care of these soldiers.”
People who didn’t do their part to help heal members of the military and reduce the threat were considered “slackers.” When public health officials in New York asked workers to stagger the times they took the subway, people “were not supposed to kick up a fuss because this is war,” Tomes said.
During the Spanish Influenza, people didn’t express partisan politics about public health issues.“The idea was that there’s an epidemic and it’s all hands-on deck,” she added.
Contrast that with modern times, when an anti-federal government ideology has been developing for decades, said Paul Kelton, professor and Gardiner chair in American History at Stony Brook.
“That’s been brewing since the 1980s,” Kelton said. The COVID pandemic happened at a time when this distrust toward the federal government “reached its peak.” Today, “we have a national media culture where we focus on the federal government” and, at the same time, the country has an anti-federal government ideology that’s animating a large portion of the American population,” he said.
Kelton, whose expertise includes the study of Native American history, suggested that several tribes have embraced the opportunity to get the vaccine, in part because of the encouraging response among tribe leaders.
The Navajo, for example, who have a well-earned skepticism toward the federal government, have a high rate of vaccination because the tribal government has taken charge of this public health effort.
“When people are empowered at the state and local level, rather than the federal government coming in and doing it, it makes a difference,” Kelton said.
Indeed, the communities that have resisted vaccines and public health measures during the current COVID crisis include areas with high rural white populations.
To be sure, historians recognize that the specifics of each pandemic, from the source of the public health threat to the political and cultural backdrop against which the threat occurs, vary widely.
Recalling a saying in the field of public health, Kelton said, “if you’ve seen one pandemic, you’ve seen one pandemic.” That suggests that the lessons or experiences amid any single public health threat don’t necessarily apply to another, particularly if the mode of transmission, the symptoms or the severity of the threat are all different.
“The lesson from history is to expect the unexpected when you’re dealing with germs,” said Kelton. “Novel germs are hitting populations in different circumstances. We are living in different conditions than in the past.”
What pandemics generally do, Kelton said, is expose fissures in society.
Part of what the study of other pandemics suggests is the need for opportunities to live healthier lives among those who are impoverished or are feeling disenfranchised.
“If nothing changes and health care access [remains as it is],we are going to repeat that again,” Kelton said.
Basic access to better nutrition can help fight the next pandemic, reducing the disproportionate toll some people face amid a public health threat, he said.
“Things like making sure that homeless people can get into a homeless shelter and not infect each other, the nuts and bolts of keeping people healthy, we neglected,” added Tomes.
David Tunney is ready to open a new restaurant in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo from Eagle Realty Holdings
After being vacant since September, the spot formerly occupied by Pentimento will be home to a new restaurant.
In a statement Jan. 31, Eagle Realty Holdings Inc. announced David Tunney, who owns and operates several restaurants on Long Island from Port Jefferson to Roslyn, will open a new restaurant at 93 Main St. in Stony Brook Village Center.
“After many interviews with at least a half-dozen local and more distant restaurateurs, Eagle Realty Holdings trustees are pleased with our choice of David,” said chairman Richard Rugen in the press release.
According to Eagle Realty, Tunney is expected to open the new restaurant in the spring. He has not announced the name of the business or what will be offered.
“This will be a new concept, different cuisine and a whole new look,” Tunney said in the press release.
The business owner has been in the restaurant industry for 35 years and is a familiar face in the Three Village area. He grew up in Setauket and graduated from Ward Melville High School. In 2019, he bought the former Raga Indian Restaurant on Old Town Road and turned it into Old Fields Barbecue.
“This is where I grew up, this is where my roots are, and it’s amazing to come back to it,” Tunney said in a 2019 TBR News Media interview.
In addition to the Setauket spot, he owns Old Fields restaurants in Port Jefferson and Greenlawn and Old Fields Barbecue in Huntington. He is also one of the founders of the Besito Restaurant Group along with his brother John and part-owner of Besito Mexican restaurants in Huntington and Roslyn.
In the 2019 interview, Tunney said he had good memories of growing up in the Three Village area. His mother, Marilyn, worked in the TBR News Media offices for 25 years, and one of his first jobs was at the Arby’s that once was located where the Setauket Main Street firehouse is today. Tunney said his first job was with the former Dining Car 1890 that was located on Route 25A and Nicolls Road, where he started as a dishwasher.
In the interview, Tunney said he leaves the cooking to the chefs and enjoys the hospitality side of the business, which he learned from his brother John.
“The part I really love about it is making people have a great experience and that they just love all the food, the service, the ambiance, how they are taken care of,” he said in the interview.
Love always finds a way! Even in the midst of uncertain times singers can express affection over the internet. This year again the Harbormen Chorus has prepared a “Virtual Singing Valentine” to be delivered to those Special Sweethearts out there.
By digitally combining individual vocal renditions, their Director Rob Ozman was able to create a combined quartet effect to delight the viewer. For $35 they will email you a link which opens up to a classic, endearing Love Song for your Valentine, with your name attached. Please call Mr. Cupid soon (by Feb. 7 in time for Valentine’s Day delivery) to reserve your virtual presentation at 631-644-1029.
Prev
