An eagle scout project slated for this weekend stands to benefit the children of the Three Village area.
Christopher Helenek of Troop 427 announced a car wash event for this weekend at the HSBC bank inside the Setauket Kohl’s shopping center with hopes of raising money to build picnic tables for children at Benner’s Farm in East Setauket.
The car wash will run on Saturday, July 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 4036 Nesconset Hwy.
Summer activities for the family
This blog was originally posted in July 2013. It has been updated with current information.
You may still be recovering from those last couple of weeks of careening from one end-of-school-year event to the next, but once the novelty of not having to make it to the bus in the morning or churn out homework in the afternoon wears off, boredom will set in hard and fast.
When younger kids are not in camp, entertainment often falls on mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, or whoever else is looking after the little ones.
Fortunately, our area is not wanting for things to do, and we all have our fail-safe go-to’s — the Emma S. Clark or the Middle Country Libraries for their smorgasbord of classes and activities, the fields or labyrinth at Avalon, West Meadow Beach, or the sprinklers in Port Jeff.
For those days when you want to venture out a little farther, here are just a few more ideas for getting out and about. And let me just preface my recommendations with one bit of advice: wear insect repellant in addition to the sunscreen! The bugs are out in full force!
Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown
The nice thing about Sweetbriar is you can just get up and go without any real planning or effort, and you can easily spend a couple of hours between picnicking, walking the exhibits and enjoying the outdoor setting. Because much of it is outside, it may not be ideal for a sweltering day.
The animal rehabilitation center is home to horned owls and other birds of prey, and if you hit the right time, you might just see Iggy, the iguana who usually resides inside, walking the grounds sunning herself. The butterfly house is open for business, and there are walking trails, an English garden and an outdoor play spot, complete with water play area, chalk boards and even a log see-saw.
The indoor exhibit features reptiles, amphibians, honey bees and other small animals, as well as skeletons and other educational displays. The rainforest room upstairs is a child’s favorite because of the “bridge” that extends over a faux river. Just watch out for the ginormous tarantulas hanging out, quite literally, in their tanks at the back of the room and make sure to have some pennies to toss into the “river.”
For hours, directions and information about camps and special programs, visit the website, https://sweetbriarnc.org. Sweetbriar is located at 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown, NY11787, 631-979-6344.
Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center in Holtsville
Another great place for animal viewing is the Holtsville Ecology Center. The small zoo is home to a variety of animals including a bald eagle, emu, horses and a giant pig. All inhabitants are previously injured animals that cannot be re-released.
Though entrance is free, you may want to have change on hand to buy feed for the goats from the dispensers. Afterwards, you can enjoy a picnic lunch in their picnic area, run around the playground or ride bikes, scooters or roller blade on the trails. Oh, and there is an ice cream truck parked outside the entrance, so be prepared to indulge!
For more information visit brookaven.org The Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center Nature Preserve is located at 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY. 631-758-9664.
New York State Parks
Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown and Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Oakdale both offer biweekly Tiny Tots Nature Discovery classes for children 3 to 5 years old. All you have to do is call ahead to reserve a space. The hour-long class is only $4 per adult and $3 for children!
There are also programs for older children, families and adults. This Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. there will be a bat program at Caleb Smith Park. You can learn about bats in the educational center before walking through the woods scouting for the creatures. While this particular event is recommended for those 5 and up, you can get information about other programs at Caleb Smith by calling 631-265-1054. (They are in the process of updating their website).
For more information on programs at Connetquot River State Park, go to nysparks.com.
Sailors Haven and the Sunken Forest on Fire Island
If you’re looking for a bigger adventure, take the Sayville Ferry across to Sailors Haven on Fire Island, where you’ll find the Sunken Forest and a beach with fine sand and huge seashells for collectors. A boardwalk connects the visitors’ center, the showers, beach and forest. You can either wander around on your own, or take a free ranger-led tour.
Bring your own snacks, since the snack shop is closed while the marina is under construction. Both should reopen at the end of July. The good news, though, is there are lifeguards on duty and the bathrooms and showers are open.
As you can expect, attire for the woods and attire for the beach are not exactly compatible, especially because the forest, situated on freshwater bogs, is extraordinarily buggy — we’re talking total feeding frenzy. Shorts and sleeveless shirts are not advisable, or you will be running to avoid being devoured. Bug spray is ESSENTIAL.
The Visitors Center is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit the website nps.gov or call (631) 597-6183.
A motorcyclist was seriously injured in Huntington after colliding with a car driven by a Huntington Station teen on Thursday night, according to police.
Suffolk County Police said they are investigating the motor vehicle crash, which took place at New York Avenue and Prime Avenue in Huntington. Quincy Nelson, 17, was driving a 2005 Chrysler 300 southbound on New York Avenue when he made a left turn onto Prime, colliding with Lee Ownes, 33, of Brooklyn, who was driving a 1974 Honda motorcycle at about 9 p.m.
Owens was transported to a local hospital where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries for a dislocated shoulder and a sever laceration to his left leg. Nelson and his two male passengers were uninjured.
No tickets were issued. The vehicle and the motorcycle were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this crash to contact Second Squad detectives at 631-854-8252.
A toxic one-gallon bottle of sodium hydrochlorite spilled in a FedEx car in Huntington village on Wednesday, impairing the driver’s ability to breathe.
At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Huntington Fire Department received a call from the Suffolk County Police Department regarding a hazardous materials incident on Green Street, according to Huntington Fire Department Chief Robert Berry. The department responded to the scene along with the Town of Islip HAZMAT TEAM. The team was able to secure the material.
The Fedex truck was carrying four one-gallon bottles of sodium hydrochlorite, an additive used in cleaning supplies, when one of the bottles opened and leaked in the truck.
The driver was transported to Huntington Hospital, Berry said, after having difficulty breathing.
FedEx didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment this week.
Suffolk Republicans select candidate with experience serving as town councilman, building commissioner
The Suffolk County executive race is on.
County Republicans have selected Jim O’Connor to challenge Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) in November. And in his words, O’Connor said he could not be more honored to represent his party in the pivotal race.
“John Jay LaValle [chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee] called me up and asked me if I would be interested in the position, and I said of course,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you be interested in that position?”
O’Connor, now a resident of Great River, is a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Maroney O’Connor LLP. He has a long resume of working in local government, starting in the Town of North Hempstead in 1998 as an elected councilman, where he served until 2001. From 2006-08, O’Connor was appointed building commissioner for North Hempstead.
He had a very brief run at the Nassau county executive spot in 2001 — for approximately 48 hours, to be exact — before the Nassau Republicans chose to back candidate Bruce Bent instead.
O’Connor’s opponent, Bellone, also garnered similar public service accolades before assuming office at the county level in 2011. Bellone served on the Babylon Town Board for four years, starting in 1997, and was then elected supervisor of Babylon Township in 2001.
Since being voted into office, Bellone said he was proud of passing three consecutive balanced budgets under the tax cap, securing a $383 million investment in clean water infrastructure — the largest of the county in 40 years — and negotiating labor contracts that make new employees more affordable and requires new employees to contribute to health care costs.
“We must continue to move Suffolk County forward,” Bellone said in an email through a spokesperson. “While we have made a lot of progress there is so much work left to do.”
Specifics of moving Suffolk County forward, Bellone said, include continuing to hold the line on taxes, creating new jobs, growing the economy and keeping young people on Long Island.
Bellone also said he is interested in utilizing better the many assets that Suffolk County has, including Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. If re-elected, he said he wants to make sure the county is leveraging those assets to create innovation jobs.
But O’Connor said he found flaws in the way that Bellone has handled the financial aspects of the county.
“The attitude is, ‘Let’s put off tomorrow what we could do today,’ and that is hurting my children and my children’s children, in terms of the amount of debt that will fall on their shoulders,” O’Connor said in a phone interview.
Under an O’Connor administration, there would be an implementation of a Suffolk County debt management plan, which would start the process of a debt ceiling, much like what has been done in Washington D.C., O’Connor told Times Beacon Record Newspapers in an exclusive interview.
“It’s a simple concept,” he said. “Let’s look at the county’s existing revenue streams and compare it to the county’s maturing debt in an effort to retire, or reduce, the interest payments that will burden future generations of Suffolk residents.”
Suffolk County has $180 million of structural deficit and more than $1.5 billion in cumulative debt, according to O’Connor, who said these factors have led the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, to say that the county is in fiscal distress. O’Connor said he wants to stand up for the taxpayers of the county.
According to Bellone, when he first entered office, Suffolk County’s finances were in free fall, with a deficit of more than $400 million. He has since cut the deficit significantly by shrinking the government by more than 10 percent.
“I know that Suffolk County taxpayers are overburdened,” Bellone said. “That’s why I am committed to staying under the property tax cap at the same time as I cut my own salary and volunteered to be the first employee in the history of Suffolk County to directly contribute to their health care.”
Keith Davies, campaign manager for Bellone, said his candidate was the right choice for residents to continue moving Suffolk County forward: “Steve Bellone has a proven record of protecting our tax dollars and our quality of life. He’s balanced three consecutive budgets, kept taxes under the tax cap and protected our drinking water by investing in our clean water infrastructure.”
The Suffolk County Republicans, however, said they believed O’Connor would lead the county in a better direction.
In a statement, LaValle said O’Connor’s reputation from both Democrats and Republicans from North Hempstead is what drew him to asking him to fight for the position.
“He’s a guy that is very well respected of course by Republicans in the area, but also by many Democrats,” LaValle said. “In this day and age of almost political hate, here is a guy where not only Republicans but prominent Democrats were speaking very highly of him. That stuck with me.”
By Ellen Barcel
One really nice activity for gardeners and non-gardeners alike in the warm weather is enjoying garden tours. A new and special tour of gardens will take place in Port Jefferson this Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain date is July 12.
The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Suwasset Garden Club will present the first annual Gardens and Landscapes of Port Jefferson, sponsored by Times Beacon Record Newspapers in celebration of the summer and the 40th anniversary of the newspaper.
A total of ten gardens — nine stops — each unique in its own way, may be visited. There’s a secret garden and a Zen garden complete with waterfall. Another site has a moss rock garden. There are perennials, annuals, hydrangeas, fruits, vegetables, shade gardens and sun gardens.
One location, the Mather House Museum Garden, has two gardens, the Thomas Jefferson Garden, created and maintained by the Suwasset Garden Club, and the Wayne Helmer Herb Garden, created by the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson and the Herb Society.
While visiting each garden will be a special treat in itself, each location will have something extra to offer. Barbara Ransome, director of operations for the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, remarked, “We’ve paired up with the Night Herons; there will be (at least) six artists who are going to be painting — watercolorists — at different gardens.” Confirmed artists include Dottie Court, Sunny Bateman, Gail Chase, Ellen Ferrigno, Phyllis Farmer and Barbara Siegel.
Ransome added that all gardens will have refreshments. For example, one Victorian, terraced garden will offer high tea while visitors will be serenaded by harpist Marilyn Levine. One garden has a chocologist — yes, a specialist in chocolate from Chocology Unlimited of Port Jefferson, who will be giving out samples to enjoy. The Garden with a Lemon Kick will have a lemonade stand set up for visitors’ enjoyment. A Cake in Time, owned by Sherry Sobel of Mount Sinai, will donate mini cupcakes for the event, and three gardens will have special raffle baskets.
Members of the Suwasset Garden Club will serve as greeters at each garden, ready to assist and answer any questions that visitors have.
Pat Darling, whose garden is one on the tour, said, “I’m huge on nature … I enjoy utilizing nature, like the moss in the garden and tree stumps.” Describing her garden, she noted, “Entering through a whimsical garden gate, gardens come to life reflecting the passion of an artist.” And yes, two of the Night Heron Artists will be painting at her garden.
Commenting on one of the other stops on the tour, a Victorian house whose porch is filled with red, white and blue flowers — very patriotic so near to Independence Day, Darling said, “the elements are so spectacular . . . (it’s) an incredible porch . . . so gorgeous, magnificent,” noting that the owner always decorates for July 4th.
This is one not to be missed — enjoy the plantings and enjoy the extras.
The cost of the tour is $30. Call 631-473-1414 for tickets. Tickets are also on sale at the chamber office or Eventbrite on the chamber’s website: www.portjeffchamber.com. There is also a map on the website to direct visitors to the various gardens.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Gallery North’s 11th Annual Wet Paint Festival is a tribute to late artist Joseph Reboli and is a celebration of plein air painting as well as the gallery’s 50th anniversary. Joseph Reboli, a native of Long Island, was known for his ability to create finely detailed paintings of well-known locations, including local beaches, the Three Village area and Block Island.
Artists of all styles will paint and create monoprints at the Gallery North Campus and the Three Village Historical Society, Setauket, from July 10 to 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors to the event will have the opportunity to observe artists as they capture and interpret the area’s natural and historic beauty. Visitors will also have the opportunity to create their own monoprints on site, giving them a preview of the new Community Art Center, which will be launched soon. Two ArTalks will be held during the festival on Saturday, July 11. At 11 a.m. artist Larissa Grass will introduce monoprinting and will give a demonstration where attendees will be able to participate and make mono-prints, followed by photographer Jeff Foster at 1:30 p.m., who will introduce “Improve Your Digital Photography by Using Raw Files”.
All work created by participating artists of the festival will be shown alongside work by Joseph Reboli at an exhibition at Gallery North. A reception for the show will be held on Friday, July 17, with a silent auction, music and refreshments from 6 to 8 p.m.
Artists participating in the 11th Annual Joseph Reboli Wet Paint Festival are as follows:
Judy Auber Jahnel, Svetlana Ballot, Rose Barry, Sheila Breck, Natalie Carbone, Alaine Chamberlain, Granville Fairchild, Greg Furjanic, Laura Goelz, Junee Kim, Alicia Peterson, James Jahrsdoefer, Donna Butcher, Christine DuPuis, Paul Jay Edelson, Denise Faraci, Donna Grossman, Anne Katz, Kathee Kelson, Elizabeth Kolligs, Arntian Kotsa, Linda Davidson Mathues, Muriel Musarra, Paula Pelletier, Susan Pierce Grossman, Joan Rockwell, Joe Rotella, Jeanne Salucci, Oscar Santiago, Sungsook Setton, Barbara Jean Siegel, Angela Stratton, Takami Natsuko, Chris Taylor, Susan Trawick and Marlene Weinstein.
Throughout the year Gallery North presents original exhibitions and offers community events, educational and arts in health care programming and a range of classes suitable for both adults and children.
Gallery North is located at 90 North Country Rd., Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-2676.
Huntington nonprofit affords teachers a creative license
In a time when most news about education is related to highly controversial state-mandated standardized testing, one Huntington nonprofit seems too good to be true.
The Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education will reach $1 million in funded grants next year since its inception in June 1993, according to the foundation. HFEE is “dedicated to enhancing the quality of the Huntington public schools in education, the arts and athletics,” according to its mission statement. Its funding comes entirely from donations and 100 percent of that money goes back into the school district.
“We are very lucky to have had such concerned parents back in 1993 to have formed such an awesome organization,” Maria Cassar, co-president and board of directors member since 2004, said in an interview this week. “HFEE has donated so much to the district and has become an organization that teachers, parents and students can come to with great ideas for our school district,” she said.
“Teachers come to us with so much enthusiasm for special projects,” Cassar said. She mentioned a hydration water filling station and a cell culture lab at the high school as a couple of her favorite projects from recent years.
Some other grants listed on the foundation’s website include a freshwater ecosystem pond at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School last May and a donation to the school district’s athletic department that included a three-dimensional climbing wall, a defibrillator and a new shell (a boat used for crew) for the crew team in 2013.
In 2015, HFEE funded grants for a gem stonecutter at the high school, a 3D printer for J. Taylor Finley Middle School and other projects totaling more than $40,000.
Teachers in the Huntington school district understand how lucky they are to have a support system like HFEE that allows them to come forward with creative ideas that often receive funding.
“It’s huge,” Maryann Daly, an employee of the Huntington school district for 33 years, said about the support both financially and creatively that she receives from HFEE. She estimated that she has personally written about $60,000 worth of grants over the years. “It’s what the association between parents and teachers is all about,” she said.
Daly is the chairperson of the district’s SEARCH program, which stands for Scholastic Enrichment and Resource for Children in Huntington. The program is designed to provide hands-on group instruction for the most gifted and talented of the district’s students.
Daly’s job involves implementing a creative curriculum meant to enrich and supplement traditional education, so the assistance that she has received from HFEE and the ability to spread those creative and enriching ideas to the whole district is irreplaceable, she said. Daly said that her position forces her to “think outside the box,” and that is never an issue for HFEE.
One of Daly’s favorite grants was funded by HFEE in 2004. The $15,200 grant replaced the district’s old Starlab, or a portable planetarium, with a brand new one. Another program, which started in 2004 and continued through 2014, allowed fourth-grade students to receive two one-hour lessons from the New York Hall of Science in preparation for a standardized test.
“The Huntington Foundation is absolutely amazing,” Tracey McManus, a teacher at Jack Abrams and an employee of the district for 15 years, said in an email this week. “They have helped me incorporate such unbelievable experiences for my students.” McManus cited a grant for an incubator used to hatch ducks and a grant in 2014 for the pond where she later saw ducks swimming as a couple of her favorite projects funded by HFEE.
Brian Reynolds, an employee of the Huntington school district for 25 years and a current technology teacher at the high school, fondly remembered the “smile from ear to ear” on a student who won a car race on a track for CO2 cars in front of his entire lunch period. He said the boy was virtually skipping through the halls for days after. Reynolds said it was the first thing the boy ever won in his life.
“It is a very exciting year for the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education,” Cassar said, looking forward to the 2015-16 school year. “We are all so thrilled to pass the $1 million mark in what we have funded for the school district.”
The foundation offers a few different types of grants to teachers in the district for special classroom enhancement projects, in addition to one $1,000 scholarship for a graduating senior and one scholarship for a lucky sixth-grader interested in a three-day environmental camp, according to the HFEE website.
For more information or to donate to HFEE visit www.huntingtonfoundation.org.
A new leader has taken the helm of the Huntington school board.
Trustee Tom DiGiacomo was unanimously voted the president of the school board at the board’s reorganizational meeting on Monday evening. Trustee Xavier Palacios nominated him for the position, and Trustee Bari Fehrs seconded his nomination.
Trustee Jennifer Hebert maintained her position as vice president of the board.
DiGiacomo succeeds incumbent President Emily Rogan, a nine-year member of the board, who has held the leadership role for four years.
After his appointment as president, DiGiacomo publicly thanked Rogan for her leadership, noting she’d “done an excellent job in helping our district improve.” He noted, at one point, that he had “big shoes” to fill.
When reached by phone on Wednesday, Rogan said she supported DiGiacomo.
“I think he will do a terrific job,” she said. “Tom has my support 100 percent. Did I still want to be president? I would have gladly been president. There were trustees on the board who wanted a change.”
In an interview after the meeting, DiGiacomo spoke briefly about his appointment.
“I’m honored and privileged that my fellow trustees have nominated me and made me president.”
Newly elected Trustee Christine Biernacki also took an oath of office at Monday night’s meeting, along with several other school officials, including Superintendent Jim Polansky and District Clerk Joanne Miranda.
By Rachel Siford
There’s a new big building on the Stony Brook University campus.
Stony Brook’s new 70,000-square-foot Computer Science building had its grand opening ceremony on Wednesday, July 1, and North Shore leaders had a lot of hope for the future within those walls. The new facility cost $41 million and has 18 research labs along with classrooms and offices for professors.
Stony Brook’s computer science program is currently ranked eighth in the country for graduate programs. It was a ranking that several leaders said should improve with help from the new facility.
“The computer science department deserves a place to really showcase our facilities and to match the great people inside them,” said Samuel L. Stanley Jr., Stony Brook University president at the ceremony.
The new building is located next to Roth Pond and will start holding classes in the fall. Speakers, including Senator Kenneth P. LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Chairman of the Computer Science Department of 17 years Arie Kaufman, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Today is a very happy day for computer science,” Kaufman said. “This might be the happiest day in the 46 years of the computer science department.”
Various demos were set up around the three-story building. The Immersive Head Monitoring Displays demo allowed attendees to put on virtual reality goggles to tour the building virtually.
The virtual colonoscopy — invented by Kaufman — was also showcased to show how it could identify with 100 percent accuracy if a patient has a tumor without going through the invasive procedure. It has been licensed, FDA approved and commercialized.
LaValle added that his goal was to get the program from eighth to first place, and the way to do that was to have state-of-the-art equipment for students to use.
“As the country and the world evolve into a high-tech economy and lifestyle, this state-of-the-art facility will ensure that Stony Brook University students and researchers have access to the newest technologies while reaffirming the university’s leadership role as a nationally ranked computer sciences center,” said LaValle.
The newest building has five centers: National Security Institute, Center for Mobile Computing, Center for Smart Energy, Center for Dynamic Data Analysis and Center for Visual Computing. Another demo shown at the opening was the Internet of Things, which predicted that by 2020 everyone would have at least five smart devices on them, like cell phones, watches and tablets.
The Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook is even starting to research how to protect people if someone’s smart device is stolen and how to limit how much information can be extracted from it.
Looking ahead, Stanley said the university would explore ways to establish a five-year capital plan to seek more ways to fund new buildings on campus.
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