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Northport Village trustees Jerry Maline, left, and Damon McMullen pose together. File photo

Jerry Maline and Damon McMullen won their first bids for Northport Village trustees back in 2008. They both ran unopposed in 2012.

But on Tuesday, March 15, there is a chance the pair, who have been tied together for eight years, might be split up.

Former member of the Northport-East Northport school board Joe Sabia is the third candidate vying for the two open trustee positions this year.

“It’s a very good working relationship,” Maline said in a phone interview about McMullen. “We don’t always agree on things, but we talk it out and we come to a consensus on what’s best for the village. We support each other in our individual endeavors that help the village. We have a mutual respect for each other.”

Maline, 53, has lived in Northport since 1996. In addition to being a trustee, he also serves as the village’s commissioner of information technology, parks, personnel athletic activities and planning and development. Maline works as a trial attorney for State Farm, though his legal experience includes time in the district attorney’s office in the Bronx, as well as stints as a trial attorney for narcotics and homicide cases.

Maline said he believes his legal background has helped to keep litigation costs low for the village.

“I’m just running on my merits,” Maline said. “Everything I do is intertwined with the village… I live around the corner from Main Street. I walk through the parks five to seven times a week. I walk up and down Main Street five to seven times a week. I just want what’s best for Northport Village.”

Maline mentioned improving parking in downtown Northport as one of the goals he’d like to accomplish if he were to secure another term. One of McMullen’s causes during his tenure has been to improve the water quality of Northport Harbor and Bay, which Maline said is an issue he’d like more time to deal with.

“Ideally I’d love for kids to be able to swim in the harbor again,” Maline said.

Maline and his wife Carla have two kids, an eighth-grader and an 11th-grader, in the Northport-East Northport school district.

McMullen, who could not be reached for comment, is the current village commissioner of police and wastewater treatment. He is retired from the U.S. Postal Service, and is also a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Maline said McMullen has led the charge to improve water quality, which played a part in the reopening of the Centerport shore in July 2015.

“When you run for election, you have an idea of all of the things you want to get done, but other things came up that need attention,” McMullen said in an interview after his re-election in 2012. “Right now the main issues are improving the water quality [of Northport Harbor and Bay] and upgrading the sewer treatment plant. But we want to continue to make improvements to our parks.”

His colleagues have called McMullen a tireless worker who always finds time to help others.

Sabia said in an interview he is running because votes on the Village board too often pass with a consensus. He said he’d like to shake things up. Maline declined to comment on challenger Joe Sabia.

Election day is Tuesday, March 15, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Northport Village Hall.

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Northport-East Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Northport-East Northport school officials are crafting a budget for 2016-17 that would maintain all programs from the current year.

Superintendent Robert Banzer gave an update on the $160 million budget at the board meeting Thursday night, explaining the reason for the $1.8 million increase over the current year’s spending plan.

The rising costs are due mostly to staff changes and inflation, not new additions or programs, Banzer said, calling the budget “essentially” a rollover. But the district is expecting eight teachers to retire at the end of this year, and he expects that will save Northport money moving forward because new hires replacing the staffers will receive lower salaries.

The state-mandated cap on how much Northport can increase its tax levy is only 0.55 percent this budget season, according to Banzer, so non-tax revenues such as reserves and state aid will fund a majority of the budget increase.

Northport’s projection of how much state aid it will get next year, $13.9 million, would not cover that deficit. In fact, the district is expecting a 0.39 percent decrease in overall state aid, because the current year’s total had included funding to implement a full-day kindergarten program — funding that will not be repeated in 2016-17.

And it’s unclear how much the state will restore to the Gap Elimination Adjustment, a deduction it began taking out of all school districts’ aid a few years ago to help close its own budget deficit.

“There has been a lot of discussion that there will be full restoration of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which for us would be an additional $840,000,” Banzer said at the meeting. “We’re anticipating that by the end of the month, we will have a budget where we know what [the GEA restoration amount] will be.”

Banzer added that the district would hammer out the finer details of its revenue streams “as the picture becomes clearer and we have more information from the state.”

Trustee Regina Pisacani asked the superintendent if any suggestions the Athletic Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee — a group she spearheaded — gave in December are being considered for inclusion in the 2016-17 budget. Proposals for capital projects ranged from turf fields to updated lockers.

“I can’t help but think about the Athletic Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee, and the recommendations that they just made,” she said at the meeting. “Were those things looked at and recommended for this budget?”

Banzer said the projects would all be discussed, and that savings realized from the upcoming retirees’ salaries could possibly be used toward projects like those.

The district will have further budget meetings on the next few Thursdays in March, including March 10, 17 and 31, the last of which will provide an opportunity for public input.

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The members of Kodiak who just performed at the Paramount in Huntington last weekend. Photo from Rich Orofino

At the Paramount last weekend, what came before the headliner was almost more impressive.

Northport-based band Kodiak performed on the Huntington stage for the first time that night, opening for Billy Joel cover band Big Shot on Saturday, Feb. 27, and the teens rocked the house.

Before the show last weekend, Kodiak had played mostly open mic nights at their high school and some local bars around Northport, according to songwriter and lead singer Rich Orofino, 17.

In an interview at Orofino’s family home Monday, he and lead guitarist Matt Louis, 16, reflected on their big night while also looking toward their bright future.

“People are singing our lyrics in the crowd,” Orofino said. “That’s, like, the best feeling.”

Orofino and Louis, students at Northport High School, stressed how appreciative they were for the opportunity presented by the Paramount and Big Shot to be able to play the show, which will be remembered as a milestone for Kodiak.

Drummer Jonah Cohn, 17, and bass player Jack Burns, 18, round out the group.

The band has been together for about a year. They compared the sound of their eponymous debut album, released in 2015, to the indie rock band Real Estate. They mentioned Bob Dylan, The Who and Led Zeppelin as some of the bands they listen to.

Their second album, “Romantic Rebel and the Phony Reaper,” which they expect to be done in the next month or so, will have a harder, more electric-driven sound.

Because of that shift, Louis and Orofino had a hard time pinpointing Kodiak’s genre. But they’re okay with that.

“You should never try to duplicate yourself,” Louis said of their evolving style.

Wisdom and maturity came through in shocking abundance while speaking to the guys. That maturity softened Linda Orofino to the idea of her son pursuing such a tumultuous and uncertain career as a musician, a few decades after her husband took his shot at stardom and fell short.

“I did not want my son to be a musician,” his mother said. But his dedication and talent have proved her wrong, she said. Her husband is proud too, she added, when he hears Kodiak perform.

Orofino estimated that he has written about 230 songs, and while he couldn’t name a favorite at first, he settled on “Embers,” off their first album, after some deliberation.

Orofino and Louis both said that music is their one and only priority right now. They don’t have other hobbies — this is all they’ve ever wanted to be.

“I’ve been writing songs since ninth grade,” Orofino said. “In tenth grade one of my best friends put my name down on an open mic list at the school and I just stepped on stage and played two of my songs and I got a standing ovation. That was, like, the greatest feeling on Earth and I just never wanted to not be on a stage from that point on.”

Lead singer Rich Orofino sings as Matt Louis plays during their performance at the Huntington venue. Photo from Rich Orofino
Lead singer Rich Orofino sings as Matt Louis plays during their performance at the Huntington venue. Photo from Rich Orofino

Anyone who has spent time in Northport could understand how artists from there find inspiration.

“There’s so much Northport in our music,” Louis said.

Orofino fully endorsed that sentiment. “There’s literally an osprey’s nest we sing about,” he said, motioning toward the back door of the home, which looks out on the Long Island Sound.

Kodiak will be playing a two-hour show at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in downtown Northport Village sometime in March or April, as a fundraiser for a Northport food pantry. The date has not yet been determined.

Visit them online at www.kodiakband.bandcamp.com to hear their music or find out about future Kodiak shows.

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Joe Sabia file photo

Joe Sabia will be waiting for results on a stressful election eve for the third time in his 39 years as a resident of Northport Village on Mar. 15.

Sabia, a former member of the Northport-East Northport school board and a mayoral candidate in the 2014 Northport election, is running for trustee on the village board this time around.

“I’ve been here since 1977,” the 60-year-old Sabia said in a phone interview. “I’m not a newcomer.”

Sabia will face incumbents Jerry Maline and Damon McMullen in the 2016 election. He said that his experiences running for school board and mayor have prepared him.

“I realized people have to get out and vote,” Sabia said, adding that he knocked on about 1,400 doors when he was running for mayor in 2014 against incumbent George Doll. But that wasn’t enough to unseat the incumbent mayor.

Sabia said that he was not happy about the village’s proposed budget that was released in January, which included more than a 3 percent increase to the tax levy. Lowering taxes was one of several issues that Sabia said is important to his campaign and eventual term, if he is elected.

“You’re pushing people to the limit,” Sabia said about taxpayers in the village.

He also mentioned fixing sidewalks and roads in the village, changing the way that snow removal is handled, improving village parks, addressing environmental concerns associated with storm water runoff and upgrading street lights to be more efficient as some of the issues that are important to him and in need of the village’s attention.

“I have fresh ideas,” Sabia said. He said he is also interested in “revamping” village hall, though he said he would prefer to fund a project like that through donations, not tax dollars.

Asharoken Village found success with resident donations financing parts of the cost for the new village hall, which opened in January 2015.

Sabia has a history of wanting to keep costs low.

He went after his former school board colleagues at a board of education meeting on July 1, 2015, after they approved the appointment of Lou Curra as the district’s interim assistant superintendent for human resources, a position that paid Curra $935 per day during his six months in the position. He said he believed Curra was being overpaid.

Sabia owns Sabia’s Car Care, an automotive repair shop located on Fort Salonga Road in Northport. Nonetheless, he said he’s confident that he would have more than enough time to effectively serve the village as a trustee.

Sabia’s daughters, ages 25 and 29, were products of the Northport-East Northport school district, and his late wife Valerie served as the village court clerk until she passed away about four years ago, he said.

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The cover of Michael Medico’s new novel, The Sainted. Photo from Medico
The cover of Michael Medico’s new novel, The Sainted. Photo from Medico
The cover of Michael Medico’s new novel, The Sainted. Photo from Medico

By Melissa Arnold

Michael Medico of Northport has written for decades in marketing, but now that he’s retired, he’s decided to explore writing fiction. His first novel, “The Sainted,” was released this past fall, and the 69-year-old couldn’t be happier.

The book finds Chris, a devout Catholic from Long Island, experiencing visions and dreams from the saints — ordinary men and women who lived extraordinary lives for God. The dreams begin as helpful advice and guidance, but their messages soon turn dire as the saints warn of impending doom. Chris is thrust into a classic battle of faith and doubt, good and evil, that can speak to readers of all backgrounds.

Medico took some time recently to share what it’s like being a newly published author.

Tell me a little bit about your background.
I was born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx and then moved out to Long Island when I was about 13 years old. I was in the Navy, and after I got out I was in the advertising industry for 45 years before I retired. I’ve written pretty much my entire life, but it was mostly commercials and articles — not something really ambitious like fiction.
I love reading fiction in my spare time, especially books that deal with suspense, thrillers and the supernatural. I read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy and many more in that vein. That genre has always interested me, and I thought if I wanted to write fiction, I would try that.

What was it like for you to get published?
I have an agent, Alan Morrell, and we’ve been friends for 25 years. He was able to help me find a publishing company called Brick Tower Press. The process took about a year. It’s beyond a rush, both fun and frustrating, but certainly a very rewarding experience.

What gave you the idea to write a faith-based book? Are you a person of faith?
I’m a lapsed Catholic but am very much a man of faith. I’d gone to both parochial grammar school and high school. So I have a background in Roman Catholicism and have always been inspired by the saints — these real people who lived their lives in an amazing way, regardless of whether they were single or married. Some were even martyred. There are over 10,000 people that the Church honors as saints, and I wanted to help give people an understanding of who they are while writing something entertaining at the same time.
St. Agnes is someone who amazes me. She came into the world surrounded by lights, and her devotion to God throughout her life, even as a little girl, is so inspiring. So many [saints]have faced terrible evils but   are still totally consumed by their love for God.

Early in the book, you described the main character, Chris, in great detail. Is he based off of you in any way?
We do have similarities — we’re both Italian, both grew up Catholic, both raised in the Bronx and moved to Long Island, but he’s a far better man than I am. He continues to go to Mass as an adult. We’re all sinners, and Chris has his flaws, but he’s a truly good man. He represents every man, all of us. He embodies the good and bad of human life. And I think that’s important for the way Satan sees him in the book. Chris is like a trophy for [the devil] — if he can get Chris, he can get anyone.

Michael Medico. Photo from Medico
Michael Medico. Photo from Medico

You’ve paid a lot of homage to New York and Long Island in this book. Why did you choose to have the story take place here?
I guess I really could have set it anywhere, but I grew up in the Bronx and moved to Long Island. My wife and I settled in Huntington — it’s beautiful and has a great culture. They have the arts, restaurants, live music and, most of all, good people. It’s home. I thought that would be the best place for Chris to be.

This story has a classic good versus evil theme. How do you think people today relate to that?
Chris is thrust into the middle of this terrible evil, and I think a lot of us can relate to that in seeing the senseless tragedies that happen here on earth. We all have to find a way to respond to those things.

The book is part of a trilogy. What are your plans for the next two books?
The second book is already finished. We’re just editing it now. And I’ve written the first chapter of the third book.
Those stories will explore how the events in the first book affect people around Chris and, later, the rest of the world. The series will culminate in a great confrontation of good and evil, but I haven’t decided exactly how that will go yet.

Do you hope to write other books after this series is completed?
I’m thoroughly enjoying my writing, and I hope to do it as long as I’m able. It keeps my mind sharp. I’m contemplating writing at least one book for children in the future.

Where can people find the book or learn more about you?
I’ve set up a website at www.thesaintednovel.com. There’s a short bio on me, a sample of the book and ways to purchase it, plus a form to contact me. You can also buy the book online just about everywhere books are sold, including for Kindle and Apple devices.

Michael Medico will hold a book signing at Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington, on March 9 at 7 p.m. For more information, call 631-271-1442 or visit www.bookrevue.com.

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Harborfields' Robert Pecorelli nails a 3-pointer in the Suffolk County Section XI championship game at Stony Brook University on Feb. 27. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

For the first time in 20 games, the Harborfields’ boys’ basketball team met its match.

Harborfields' Danny Morgan drives the baseline. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Danny Morgan drives the baseline. Photo by Bill Landon

With the Class A champion Harborfields ahead 56-55 with 5.2 seconds left in regulation, the Class AA champion Half Hollow Hills West, went to the free-throw line and swished both opportunities to capture the overall Suffolk County championship title, 57-56, at Stony Brook’ University’s Island Federal Credit Union Arena Friday night.

“It’s been all year that our guys don’t stop fighting and they have a way of just staying in the game, even against a team like Half Hollow Hills West,” Harborfields head coach John Tampori said. “We were able to stay right with them.”

It was a push-and-shove game from the opening tipoff, and neither team was able to break the game open. After Harborfields senior guard Robert Pecorelli launched a deep shot that hit the basket at the buzzer, the game was tied 18-18 at the end of the first eight minutes.

Harborfields senior guard Malcolm Wynter swished his second 3-pointer to open the second quarter, which retied the game at 21-21.

Hills West turned up the heat and edged ahead with a buzzer-beater of its own to end the half up 32-24.

Harborfields' Malcolm Wynter stares down the Half Hollow Hills West defense. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Malcolm Wynter stares down the Half Hollow Hills West defense. Photo by Bill Landon

Harborfields’ 3-point game caught fire in the third period when Pecorelli banked his fourth trifecta of the game, Wynter drained his third and senior guard Danny Morgan netted his second, as the momentum began to shift.

On Hills West’s next possession, Morgan snatched the inbounds pass, and bolted through the paint for a layup that again tied the game, this time, at 41-41 with less than two minutes left in the period.

Trailing by a point in the fourth, Harborfields senior forward Nick Mitchell got the call off an inside pass, did a spin move in the paint and found the rim to put his team back in front, 50-49, with 5:19 left in regulation. Hills West countered though, to retake a one-point lead.

Wynter’s lightning-fast defensive play matched his high-scoring offense, as the senior sensed where the Hills West’s no-look passes were going. On a seemingly simple inbounds pass, Wynter flashed in front for the steal and went to the rim for the score to retake the lead for his team.

Harborfields' Nick Mitchell scores two points. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Nick Mitchell scores two points. Photo by Bill Landon

Hills West retaliated with two consecutive scores to take a 55-52 lead with just over a minute left, but Mitchell went to the stripe shooting two and split his appearance to make it a two-point game. Wynter struck again with a monster 3-pointer, his fourth of the night, to retake the lead by one with 58 seconds left in regulation.

Trailing by one with 5.2 seconds left, Hills West senior Richard Altenord went to the charity stripe shooting two. The senior calmly sank both for a one-point advantage as Harborfields called time out.

“Hills West — they’re real good,” Tampori said. “Anyone who beats Brentwood and Northport is really good.”

With time for one final offensive possession, Harborfields did what it has done all season, and put the ball in Wynter’s hands. The senior raced to the top of the key in a desperate attempt to find the net, but the buzzer sounded before the point guard could get the shot off.

Harborfields' Alex Bloom scores a layup. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Alex Bloom scores a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

“We got a little unlucky,” Tampori said. “They had the last possession and they got a foul called and that was the difference in the game.”

Wynter lead his team in scoring with 20 points, Pecorelli put up 12 and Morgan added 10.

Harborfields sets its sights higher when the Tornadoes travel to Long Island University Post for the Long Island Championship on March 6, where they’ll face Elmont for a second time this season. The Tornadoes defeated the Nassau champions 61-60 on Jan. 16 in a nonleague matchup. Tipoff for the championship game on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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Northport senior Lukas Jarrett scores a field goal in the Tigers' 72-47 loss to Half Hollow Hills West in the Suffolk County Class AA Semifinals on Feb. 21 at Stony Brook University. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport senior Sean O'Shea scores a 3-pointer. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport senior Brennan Whelan leaps up to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport junior Kevin Cryer-Hassett scores two points. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport senior Sean O'Shea makes his way into the paint. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport sophomore Justin Carrano fights through traffic as he reaches for the rim. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport senior Joe Stockman scores a layup. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The Tigers’ tallest player was short on time, and it wasn’t enough to dig his team out of the hole that knocked them out of the playoffs.

The No. 3-seeded Half Hollow Hills West boys’ basketball team took advantage of No. 2 Northport’s early foul trouble, which left star senior center Lukas Jarrett benched for most of the first half with two personal fouls. By the time he returned to the Stony Brook University court for the second half of the Suffolk County Class AA semifinal matchup, the Tigers’ 31-20 deficit only continued to grow.

Northport had finished the season undefeated in League II, at 14-0, and only suffered one loss this season, a 70-48 defeat at Baldwin. The Tigers’ 72-47 loss on Sunday evening proved to be a similar-looking one, with the Colts coming up with big blocks and an array of 3-pointers to stifle Northport. The difference this time, though, was that the 6-foot, 7-inch Jarrett was not around to counter with many blocks of his own, and although the Tigers scored six 3-pointers, the Colts’ Matt Asenjo had six alone, followed by Kian Dalyrimple with five. The two combined for 41 points — almost as much as Northport’s entire team.

When Jarrett returned, he came through with a block to go along with a field goal and two free-throw points. Northport senior guard Sean O’Shea, who had been strong on offense the entire season, took over in Jarrett’s absence, scoring six points in each half for a team-high 12 points. Jarrett finished with nine points. Guards Brennan Whelan, a senior; Kevin Cryer-Hassett and Ryan Magnuson, both juniors; and Justin Carrano, a sophomore, tacked on five points apiece.

Northport was able to close the gap back to 11 points with O’Shea’s field goal at the 6:27 mark of the third, but by the end of those eight minutes the Tigers were down 49-30. Half Hollow Hills West led by as much as 30 points, after a trifecta put the team up 70-40 with 2:35 left in regulation, but O’Shea’s free-throw point, Cryer-Hassett’s 3-point play and junior guard Brett Vansteenbergen’s 3-pointer helped narrow that lead to give the game its final score.

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Head coach Andrew D’Eloia speaks to his team during a timeout. File photo by Bill Landon

Head coach Andrew D’Eloia has brought the Northport boy’s basketball team to its first undefeated season.

D’Eloia is in his fourth year as head coach, but he is no stranger to the halls and basketball courts at Northport High School. He graduated from Northport in 1991 and played as point guard for the boy’s basketball team.

“I’m extremely familiar with the district,” D’Eloia said in a phone interview. “I wanted to be able to give back to the community. The Northport High School basketball team did a lot for me, to help me develop — it taught me discipline, teamwork and investing in a common goal.”

D’Eloia now lives in Huntington with his family and owns AD Hoops Training, a basketball training business in Brooklyn.

Before coming back to Northport, he worked as an assistant coach at various institutions including Hunter College in Manhattan and Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School in Brooklyn. He was then offered the assistant coach job at Northport High School and D’Eloia jumped at the opportunity.

Head coach Andrew D’Eloia speaks to his team during a game. File photo by Bill Landon
Head coach Andrew D’Eloia speaks to his team during a game. File photo by Bill Landon

After a year as assistant coach, D’Eloia became head coach, and while he said he didn’t want to bring any major changes to the team, he did want to implement some new focus points.

Among his ideas, he said he wanted to encourage the boys to set up a plan for the off-season, to stay in the best shape they could. He said he believes this helped the team’s bond become even stronger.

“The team chemistry is phenomenal,” he said. “This is one of the best teams I’ve been around in terms of the element of camaraderie, and it’s one of the most unselfish groups as well.”

Since taking over as head coach in 2012, the boy’s record is 72-14, they have won 18 playoff games and made it to the Suffolk County final four all four years. In 2013, the boy’s made it all the way to the state semifinals but fell to New Rochelle.

This was the first year since 1995 that the team has gone undefeated in the league, and D’Eloia credited that to the work of the entire team.

“They are coachable and they do right both on and off the court,” he said. “This is a team in every sense of the word.”

The head coach said that not only are the starting players key to the success of this season but also the supporting players, who have worked well to “conserve small minutes.”

Looking forward, D’Eloia said he hopes his team will continue to play at the highest level possible at every game and go as far as they can in the playoffs.

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Diana Todaro speaks during the budget presentation at the board of education meeting on Wednesday night. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.

Budget season has come to the Harborfields Central School District, and residents could be in for a budget that pierces the tax levy cap.

At a Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night, Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Human Resources Francesco Ianni presented options the district has to choose from for the 2016-2017 budget, calling it an “evolving process.” Harborfields was given a small tax levy cap increase from the state, which means that the district may have to consider piercing the cap if they want to provide any new programs, or face a budget with no additions to stay within the cap.

“Approximately 17 percent of the annual budget that is coming from state aid, but that number is fluctuating everyday,” Ianni said at the meeting. “Reserve funds will account for about 7 percent, and 76 percent of the budget is coming from the community.”

The main concern with this year’s budget, Ianni said, is the .37 percent tax levy increase cap, which is limiting the district’s ability to even rollover last year’s budget. A rollover budget is the same budget as the year before.

The 2015-2016 budget was roughly $80 million, and if a rollover budget were used this year, the total would be approximately $81 million, with an increase of $1,159,907.

If the rollover budget passed, there would need to be a tax levy increase of .84 percent, according to the district, which is .47 percent more than what the state is mandating. If the district abides by the state tax levy increase cap, they will be $287,408 short of the rollover budget total.

Those variables leave the district with some options, Ianni said.

A budget within the tax levy would be $81,346,454, the district said. This would require the district to not only refuse any new mandates or potential additions like full-day kindergarten, but also to cut costs.

But if the district decided to pierce the tax cap, Ianni presented several different budgetary routes the district could take. One is what he described as the simple rollover budget, which would require less than .5 percent of an increase in the tax cap and bring the total budget to $81,633,862.

“But, what if we add some mandates?” Ianni asked during the presentation.

The district presented a potential budget that included mandates like an additional librarian, AIS teacher and an English as a New Language teacher, which would bring the budget to $81,833,862 and a tax levy increase of 1.17 percent.

Ianni said the third possible scenario is the most costly because of additions like $600,000 for full-day kindergarten, $20,000 for a teacher’s assistant testing room and anywhere from $100,000 to $150,00 for a BOCES cultural arts program. The total here brings the budget to about $82.6 million, and would bring the tax levy cap to 2.57 percent.

Ianni said the district has not made any decisions yet as to which budget they would pursue, and would continue to discuss options at various workshops and community forums over the coming weeks.

The next upcoming budget meeting was scheduled for March 5 at 9 a.m.

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2016 Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame inductees Tom Combs, Chuck Downey and Rich Cimini pose for a photo at the induction announcement press conference. Photo by Alex Petroski

The Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that they will be inducting eight new members in 2016. The class includes Setauket resident Rich Cimini, the New York Jets beat reporter for ESPN; Commack resident Chuck Downey, the first Stony Brook University athlete to sign a professional sports contract; and Setauket resident Tom Combs, the athletic director at Patchogue-Medford High School and a standout football star for Smithtown, among others.

Television and radio host David Weiss introduced the inductees at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Hauppauge during the press conference.

“It’s an honor to be associated with such great inductees, great athletes and coaches,” Cimini said during the press conference after he was introduced. “I’m just a guy who got cut from his varsity baseball team by Bill Batewell. At least he’s a Hall of Famer, so I can say that I got cut by a Hall of Fame coach.”

Cimini graduated from Sachem High School in 1981. He has covered the Jets for Newsday, the Daily News and now ESPN during his long career as a reporter.

“It has been such a great ride that I have a fear that I’m going to wake up one day and realize it’s just been a dream, and that I actually have to go out and get a real job,” Cimini said.

Downey, who is currently a Battalion Chief for the FDNY, credited his parents for instilling values of hard work that led him to be successful in life. His father Raymond, who was also an FDNY firefighter, was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Suffolk is very special, and to be here today with these other inductees — thank you very much,” Downey said during the press conference. He was a three-sport athlete at Deer Park High School, before playing football at Stony Brook University, and ultimately signing an NFL contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1988.

Combs has played, coached and been an athletic director in Suffolk County dating back to the 1970s. He is also a member of the Hall’s board of trustees.

“This is quite a talented class,” Combs said. “I’ve been involved with the Hall of Fame for the last five years and I can honestly say this is a very intimidating group with some amazing accomplishments.”

The other inductees include Jillian Byers, a thre-sport standout from Northport who went on to become a four-time All-American in lacrosse; Frank Romeo, who was a longtime boys’ basketball coach at Comsewogue High School who was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame last year; and Laura Gentile, Maria Michta-Coffey and Isaac Ramaswamy, all of whom went to Sachem.

Richie LoNigro, owner of Port Jefferson Sporting Goods, will also receive a Special Recognition Award for his dedication to the athletes of Suffolk County. He is one of only six people in the country to receive the Rawlings Sporting Goods Silver Glove Award, which has been given to some of the most respected people in the sporting good industry

The ceremony for the 2016 inductees will take place on May 6, also at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Hauppauge. Tickets are $95. For more information visit https://www.suffolksportshof.com.

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